Reckoning and Redemption: The 9/11 Commission, the Director of National Intelligence and the CIA at War

This chapter focuses on the attacks on the US on September 11, 2001, and the impact on CIA. The agency received intense criticism from Congress in the final form of the 9/11 Commission Report, and had to adapt. But it also needed to move extremely quickly in the aftermath of the attacks, working alone and with allies, old and new. Having failed to prevent the attacks, the CIA was the tip of the spear in the US’s retaliation. Document: Office of Inspector General Report on Central Intelligence Agency Accountability Regarding Findings and Conclusions of the Report of the Joint Inquiry into Intelligence Community Activities Before and After the Terrorist Attacks of September 11, 2001.