Locate a terror incident (i.e., an act of either domestic or international terrorism) or a terror incident offender from the “Counterterrorism Guide: Historic Timeline” of the S. Office of the Director of the National Intelligence in the Learning Resources, and/or from an alternative website.
Research that act of terrorism, familiarizing yourself with any details about the offenders, the planning process, and opportunities for intervention.
Recommend opportunities where intervention could have prevented the terrorist attack.
Recommended Opportunities for Intervention
The extensive post-mortem, primarily documented in The 9/11 Commission Report, revealed numerous "missed opportunities" where effective intervention could have thwarted or significantly disrupted the plot. These opportunities fall into strategic, intelligence, and tactical categories:
1. Intelligence and Information Sharing (Systemic Failure)
The single greatest failure was the inability to "connect the dots" due to rigid legal and bureaucratic barriers between the CIA, the FBI, and other agencies.
Intervention: Mandatory, Real-time Information Fusion.
Intelligence agencies (CIA) must be legally required to immediately share actionable terrorism information with domestic law enforcement (FBI) and immigration authorities.
Specific Example: The CIA had intelligence on two hijackers (Nawaf al-Hazmi and Khalid al-Mihdhar) having Al-Qaeda ties and entering the U.S. in early 2000, but they failed to place them on watchlists or notify the FBI in time for them to be located.
2. Financial and Logistical Disruption (Operational)
The plot required significant funding and specific training, both of which presented vulnerabilities that could have been exploited.
Intervention: Aggressive Financial Tracking and Disruptive Outreach.
Investigators should have been authorized and equipped to follow small, seemingly legitimate financial transactions (wire transfers from Dubai to the hijackers' U.S. bank accounts) that supported the plotters' lengthy stay and flight training.
Specific Example: Counterterrorism agents should have investigated the oddity of Middle Eastern men with little aviation background enrolling in expensive, full-time U.S. flight training programs, which required significant cash payments. Flight schools should have been better informed and encouraged to report suspicious training requests.
Sample Answer
The terror incident chosen for this analysis is the September 11, 2001 (9/11) Attacks, a pivotal act of international terrorism perpetrated by Al-Qaeda against the United States.
9/11 Attacks: Offender, Planning, and Intervention Opportunities
The 9/11 attacks involved a sophisticated, multi-year conspiracy that capitalized on organizational, communication, and intelligence-sharing failures across U.S.