Connecting the dots before 9/11 at FAA

The New York Times > Washington > 9/11 Report Cites Many Warnings About Hijackings:
"The F.A.A. 'had indeed considered the possibility that terrorists would hijack a plane and use it as a weapon,' and in 2001 it distributed a CD-ROM presentation to airlines and airports that cited the possibility of a suicide hijacking, the report said. Previous commission documents have quoted the CD's reassurance that 'fortunately, we have no indication that any group is currently thinking in that direction.'"

One supposes the operative word in that quote is "currently." Of course, the US knew about the "Bojinka" plot in the Phillipines a few years before. And, as this new FAA report admits, in the four months and ten days prior to 9/11 the FAA security branch passed along to management 52 intel reports naming Al Qaeda or UBL - these constituted fully one half of al the intel reports during that period. Five of these reports noted Al Qaeda training for or having the capacity to conduct hijackings. Two reports mentioned suicide operations but not in relation to aviation.

This latest report makes the failure to take appropriate actions before 9/11 even more inexcusable. The order to fortify cockpit doors, for example, should have been made when they put together the idea that suicide hijackers might try to use planes as weapons. Instead, we have an FAA spokesperson praising her agency and the industry: "After 9/11, the F.A..A. and the entire aviation community took bold steps to improve aviation security, such as fortifying cockpit doors on 6,000 airplanes ..." "Bold" steps! Literally closing the barn door after the horse got out is a "bold" step?