A Failure of Initiative (Unabridged)

Summary

In the aftermath of the September 11th attacks, the United States government launched a massive investigation into the intelligence failures that allowed the attacks to happen. The resulting report, known as the "9/11 Commission Report," was a scathing indictment of the intelligence community, and it led to a number of reforms.

But what if the 9/11 Commission Report got it wrong? What if the real story of the intelligence failures that led to 9/11 is much more complex and disturbing than the official narrative?

That's the question that Thomas Kean and Lee Hamilton, the co-chairs of the 9/11 Commission, set out to answer in their new book, "A Failure of Initiative." Drawing on new evidence and interviews, Kean and Hamilton argue that the intelligence community was not simply incompetent, but that it was also hobbled by a culture of risk aversion and a lack of imagination.

"A Failure of Initiative" is a must-