Oral History Project 9/11: The Unanticipated Line to Edward Snowden and Rand Paul by Michael Fine. AP Comparative Politics Mrs. Flynn June 15, 2015

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1 Oral History Project 9/11: The Unanticipated Line to Edward Snowden and Rand Paul by Michael Fine AP Comparative Politics Mrs. Flynn June 15, 2015 * * * The terrorist attacks in the United States on September 11, 2001 were the culmination of a lengthy, well-organized and well-financed plan by Al-Qaeda ( the Group ). For the citizens of the United States, the attacks constituted one of those rare national tragedies that every adult who was alive at the time can recall years later in great detail. 1 In hindsight, the attack might have been prevented if various warning signals had been recognized or pieced together by the U.S. intelligence services. For instance: 2 the FBI failed to follow through on warnings from its agents in Arizona that terrorists may be training in local flight schools; the CIA failed to notify other agencies that Al-Qaeda members had entered the U.S.; reporting from human intelligence was not shared showing that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (one of the planners of the bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993) wanted to send terrorists to the U.S. and attack from within; information from phone intercepts among known terrorists (including the hijackers) was not shared, nor was the fact that some of these calls originated from the U.S. or that known terrorists were living in the U.S. and being supported here (including by renting rooms from an FBI 1 Note on oral history from the Author s parents: previous days of U.S. national tragedy (where every adult can remember in great detail where they were and the details of such events) include: Pearl Harbor day (December 7, 1941) and the assassination of President John F. Kennedy (November 22, 1963). On 9/11, the Author s father was working in midtown Manhattan and watched the Twin Towers crumble on TV at a Radio Shack near his office. His strongest memory is how deathly quiet the streets were at about noon, despite being filled with people covered in soot who had walked from lower Manhattan and were continuing on their way north, all in utter silence. 2 Greg Miller, More 9/11 Clues Were Overlooked, The Los Angeles Times, December 12,

2 informant). One of the main problems was that such information was designed not to be shared - sometimes (perhaps understandably) to protect sources and methods that were being used, in other cases (inexplicably) by persons seeking to protect or legitimize their budget or the purpose of their agency. In fact, the highly compartmentalized nature of the U.S. intelligence community dated from the Cold War era (1950s 1990s), where access to information was highly restricted, on purpose, to prevent accidental or other unauthorized disclosures. Also, in possibly the greatest failure, there was no single U.S. governmental person or agency that was tasked with assembling the different threads of information and weaving them together into an overall story. Thus, no single person recognized the larger picture of an emerging global terrorist threat posed by Al-Qaeda and other non-state entities. The attack on 9/11 consisted of the hijacking of four planes by a total of 19 terrorists. Two planes were crashed into the World Trade Center (Twin Towers) in New York City, causing the buildings to crumble and the death of over 3,000 people, including over 400 police and firemen. A third plane crashed into the Pentagon building in Washington D.C., killing about 125 people, and the fourth plane crashed into a field outside Shanksville, Pennsylvania after a revolt by passengers brought the plane down short of its mission apparently to crash into the White House or the Capitol Building. 3 As tragic as this was, Al-Qaeda had in fact originally planned a larger operation, involving attacks using10 planes, and even landing the final plane in Washington D.C., containing the murdered bodies of all male passengers /11 Attacks Facts and Summary, History.com. Accessed June 12, >> 4 David Stout, Original Plan for 9/11 Attacks Involved 10 Planes, Panel Says, The New York Times, June 16,

3 In the immediate aftermath of 9/11 the American people rallied around their leaders. 5 President George W. Bush s approval rating increased to 90% and members of Congress gathered on the outside steps of the Capitol Building to sing God Bless America. One of the first concrete steps in a newly announced Global War on Terrorism involved military action by the U.S. and certain allies against the Taliban in Afghanistan, as such group was seen as a strong supporter of Al-Qaeda. At home, a new cabinet-level Department of Homeland Security was formed, and just six weeks after 9/11 legislation called The USA Patriot Act was passed in the Senate by a vote of 98-1 and in the House of Representatives by The Patriot Act was designed to improve counter-terrorism efforts by giving the government broad new surveillance powers. At the time there was overwhelming public support for an intelligence effort that would weave together the threads and connect the dots of various terrorist warnings, as had not been done prior to 9/11, and for giving such group or persons the tools to accomplish this mission. It was true that powers contained in the Patriot Act included the right to collect information selectively or in bulk, including against U.S. citizens, without a warrant and without other normal oversight for instance, the government no longer had to demonstrate the object of a search was an agent of a foreign power or there existed a reasonable suspicion that any seized records were related to criminal activity. 7 At this time, the desire to prevent another attack on the homeland was the paramount concern. Other physical and behavioral changes in the U.S. were also beginning to occur. Airport security was no longer handled by individual airports; rather this now fell under control of the 5 Jason Villemez, 9/11 to Now: Ways We Have Changed, PBS.org, September 14, Patriot Act US Department of Justice, Justice.gov. Accessed June 10, >> of the USA Patriot Act.<< 7 Surveillance Under the USA Patriot Act, American Civil Liberties Union; aclu.org. Accessed June 12, >> -usa-patriot-act.<< 3

4 newly created Transportation Security Administration who introduced a variety of screening procedures still used today. Public access to governmental buildings became more restricted, metal screening machines were installed in office building lobbies around the country, heavy bulwark anti-crash barriers sprang up on sidewalks in front of banks, courthouses, stadiums and other public spaces, in each case designed to thwart another terror attack on U.S. soil. 8 Another fundamental change was occurring as well an increased collaboration among the different intelligence services. The guiding principle changed from need to know to responsibility to share. 9 One of the great successes from this new policy was a collaborative sharing of information used eventually to target and kill Osama Bin Laden, the leader of Al-Qaeda. However, the increased sharing of intelligence also increased the risk that leaks would occur - the most spectacular being the purposeful leaks made in 2013 by NSA contractor Edward Snowden. Although the exact facts are not known (some speculate, for instance, that Snowden was a Russia-recruited spy 10 ), Snowden says that he was particularly disturbed by the domestic surveillance programs instituted under the Patriot Act. Thus, even as a fairly low-level IT tech at a regional NSA cryptology center (in Hawaii), Snowden had access to a vast quantity of intelligence materials which he was able to steal and leak to the press before fleeing to Hong Kong and eventually Russia. 11 This is the very risk that Cold-War intelligence 8 Note on oral history from the Author s parents: prior to 9/11, it was common to arrive at the airport a few minutes before the flight and run straight to the departure gate (where a ticket agent designated was stationed to look for runners before closing the airplane doors), or to go straight to office building elevators when arriving for any business meeting, or to carry bags or other materials into any ball yard without delay. None of these things are possible after 9/11. 9 James R. Clapper. How 9/11 Transformed the Intelligence Community, The Wall Street Journal. September 7, Zoe Szathmary and Associated Press. Russian Spy Agency Sought To Recruit NSA Leaker Edward Snowden, DailyMail.com. June 4, Luke Harding. How Edward Snowden Went from Loyal NSA Contractor to Whistleblower, The Guardian.com, February 1,

5 compartmentalization was designed to stop. It is ironic that the 9/11 attacks led to the Patriot Act, which allowed employment and access for someone like Snowden, who was himself able to damage the efforts designed to prevent another 9/11. Snowden says he takes the threat of terrorism seriously but cannot justify programs that cost us liberties and freedoms that our Constitution says we should not give up. 12 It is true that we are all protected under the Constitution s 4th Amendment against unreasonable searches and seizures. It is also true that these Constitutional protections are inherently at odds with the government s expanded powers under the Patriot Act. Since we are now almost 14 years removed from 9/11, the cost of surveillance versus liberties is being weighed differently by many people. Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky led a recent debate against re-authorization of the Patriot Act, particularly those provisions allowing bulk collection of telephone records. As a result of this and other legislative maneuverings, the Congress this month just curtailed, for the first time since 9/11, some of the surveillance powers under the Patriot Act particularly those related to collection of phone records, the program first revealed by Edward Snowden. 13 The new legislation (approved on June 2 by a vote of in the Senate, and previously by in the House) is called the USA Freedom Act. There have been extraordinary changes in the U.S. since 9/11. The debate about government power versus individual liberty is one aspect of our culture that continues to be central in people s thinking and everyday life. Such debate can be traced in a line from 9/11 to 12 Ashley Alman. Edward Snowden Reflects on 9/11: I Take the Threat of Terrorism Seriously, The Huffington Post. May 28, Jennifer Steinhauer and Jonathan Weismann. U.S. Surveillance in Place Since 9/11 is Sharply Curtailed, The New York Times. June 2,

6 the actions of Edward Snowden to the debate of Rand Paul (and others) on Capitol Hill, an unexpected and fascinating result. LIST OF WORKS CITED: 9/11 Attacks Facts and Summary, History.com. Accessed June 12, >> Ashley Alman. Edward Snowden Reflects on 9/11: I Take the Threat of Terrorism Seriously, The Huffington Post. May 28, James R. Clapper. How 9/11 Transformed the Intelligence Community, The Wall Street Journal. September 7, Luke Harding. How Edward Snowden Went from Loyal NSA Contractor to Whistleblower, The Guardian.com, February 1, Greg Miller, More 9/11 Clues Were Overlooked, The Los Angeles Times, December 12, Patriot Act US Department of Justice, Justice.gov. Accessed June 10, >> of the USA Patriot Act.<< Jennifer Steinhauer and Jonathan Weismann. U.S. Surveillance in Place Since 9/11 is Sharply Curtailed, The New York Times. June 2, David Stout, Original Plan for 9/11 Attacks Involved 10 Planes, Panel Says, The New York Times, June 16, Surveillance Under the USA Patriot Act, American Civil Liberties Union; aclu.org. Accessed June 12, >> -usa-patriot-act.<< Zoe Szathmary and Associated Press. Russian Spy Agency Sought To Recruit NSA Leaker Edward Snowden, DailyMail.com. June 4, Jason Villemez, 9/11 to Now: Ways We Have Changed, PBS.org, September 14,