Ten Years Later: We Will Not Forget (2011)

February 2011 | Read the Full Report (PDF)

Summary

There is no perfect defense against international terrorism, and the threat to Americans at home and abroad will remain for the foreseeable future. Our protection against such acts requires vigilance and an intelligent use of the means available to detect terrorist plots and to disrupt them. That means having the ability to identify international terrorists attempting to enter the United States as well as those who have penetrated our defenses and are already in the country. 

The recommendations of the 9/11 Commission identified major chinks in the nation’s armor. Yet, ten years after the attacks, those recommendations have not yet been fully implemented. We have identified both improvements that have been made in our defenses and measures that remain lacking. The agenda for further action is not long, but achievement of the reforms it identifies would represent a major contribution to making our country safer for our families and friends and international visitors. 

We owe it to those who lost their lives in the attacks of September 11, 2001 and to their loved ones as well as to present and future generations to take all reasonable steps to provide for their security in an environment that respects freedom of expression, assembly, religion and the other freedoms on which our nation was founded.