Just finished "Without Precedent: the Inside Story of the 9/11 Commission" by Tom Kean and Lee Hamilton. Curiosity piqued by comparison with possible 1/6 commission and Ben Rhodes involvement.
It reads well as a straightforward narrative. Some random thoughts:
- in 2004 we were still very worried about the threat of terrorism. Will historians conclude that we overreacted? I think so--it was mostly a one-shot lucky blow.
- a couple times they note that in interviewing Afghanis the message was: "don't leave us again". In 2004 Afghanistan was looking okay, but it's rather sickening to read it now, when we're leaving in a hurry. A mistake on Biden's part, I think, though it could follow the course of Iraq--get in, get out, get asked back in.
- on page 220 they observe that by 9/11 neither the NYC Fire Department nor the Police Department had demonstrated willingness to answer to an Incident Commander who was not a member of their own department. I want to know if Bloomberg's reorganization of NYC government has fixed that problem. I suspect not.
- on page 292 they decry the partisan atmosphere of DC then, the worse they'd seen in 30 years.
I think they soft-pedal their failure to get Congress to reorganize their committee structure.
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