The 9/11 Commission Report

According to the 9/11 Commission Report issued July 22, 2004, the U.S. government was not prepared to detect mistakes by al-Qaida plotters and stop the worst terror attacks in American history.

The final report recommends sweeping overhaul of the nation's intelligence services to disrupt future attacks.

The panel determined the "most important failure" leading to the Sept. 11 attacks "was one of imagination. We do not believe leaders understood the gravity of the threat."

The commission identified numerous "specific points of vulnerability" in the Sept. 11 plot that might have led to its disruption had the government been better organized and more watchful.

The report concludes that despite these opportunities, "we cannot know whether any single step or series of steps would have defeated" the 19 hijackers.

The report stopped short of addressing the crucial 7 minutes that the President failed to act -- action which could have stopped the second, third, and fourth planes.