11 September 2001 and Organizational Factors

Introduction

The tragedy of 11 September 2001 in the United States of America has gone down as one of the worst crimes in history. The massive loss of life and destruction caused by the fall of the Twin Towers came as a shock to all Americans. Immediately after the incident, an analysis of possible flaws and errors in the US security system began. However, the study went much further and raised such essential topics as trust, communication, excessive self-confidence, and others. The 9/11 Commission Report, released in 2004, contains a detailed review by the commission of the problems and mistakes that made this terrorist act possible (Opotow & Shemtob, 2018). In addition to typical security flaws, excessive self-confidence and organizational factors were among the fundamental causes of the 11 September tragedy.

Organizational Factors that Created an Environment for The Terrorist Attacks

Before considering organizational problems, it is crucial to understand their cause. The lack of control over organizations, communication, and coherence among them was a consequence of the Government’s excessive self-confidence in the security of its country. According to Zelikow (2004), “The most important failure was one of imagination. We do not believe leaders understood the gravity of the threat” (p. 18). The belief that the US could not be a target for a terrorist was one of the critical reasons that communication between different organizations and departments was not sufficiently regulated. For example, in the report, considerable attention is paid to criticizing the fact that the information available at that time about al Qaeda had to be shared among all organizations. Therefore, duties have been assigned across agencies (Zelikow, 2004). The abovementioned factors have led to more specific errors regarding organizational actions, which will be discussed in the next paragraph.

The report considers such organizational factors as operational opportunities, policy, capabilities, and management. According to the 9/11 Commission Report, several organizational factors contributed to the terrorist attacks on 9/11. One major factor was the lack of communication and cooperation between government agencies, such as the FBI and the CIA, which prevented the sharing of critical intelligence information (Opotow & Shemtob, 2018). In addition, inadequate security measures were in place at the airports and on the airplanes, as well as a lack of preparedness for a terrorist attack of such magnitude. There were also issues with the design and structural integrity of the World Trade Center buildings, which made them more vulnerable to collapse. Furthermore, insufficient emergency response and evacuation plans were in place for the buildings, which led to a high number of casualties.

Changes to Improve Communication and Information Sharing

The changes identified as necessary to prevent the recurrence of terrorist acts in the U.S. are a comprehensive approach, not just a security improvement. As Zelikow (2004) states, “Long-term success demands the use of all elements of national power: diplomacy, intelligence, covert action, law enforcement, economic policy, foreign aid, public diplomacy, and homeland defense” (p. 26). This security strategy has created specific structures based on maintaining quality communication between all U.S. security organizations and agencies. Among them, one should highlight the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which brought together multiple federal agencies to coordinate efforts to protect the country from terrorism (Giblin, 2014). Another change was the creation of the Terrorist Screening Center (TSC), which maintains a centralized database of known or suspected terrorists used by law enforcement and other government agencies. This approach has improved communication between organizations and security in the U.S.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it is essential to emphasize that learning from history is one of the most important approaches to improving the well-being and security of a country. Reasons such as self-confidence and organizational factors in the 9/11 tragedy became illustrative for Americans and contributed to introducing new approaches to the country’s security.

References

Giblin, M. J. (2014). Organization and management in the criminal justice system: A text/reader. Sage.

Opotow, S., Shemtob, Z. B. (2018). New York After 9/11. Fordham Univ Press.

Zelikow, P. (2004). The 9/11 commission report. National Commission on Terrorist Attacks.