9/11 Commission

National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States

Seal of the 9/11 Commission
Agency overview
Formed	November 27, 2002; 21 years ago (2002-11-27)
Dissolved	August 21, 2004; 19 years ago (2004-08-21)
Jurisdiction	U.S. government
Agency executives	Thomas Kean, Chairman Lee H. Hamilton Vice Chairman
Key document	Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2003
Website	9-11commission.gov (archived)

The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, commonly known as the 9/11 Commission, was set up on November 27, 2002, to investigate all aspects of the September 11 attacks, the deadliest terrorist attack in world history. It was created by Congressional legislation, which charged it with preparing "a full and complete account of the circumstances surrounding the September 11 attacks", including preparedness by the U.S. federal government for the attacks, the response following the attacks, and steps that can be taken to guard against a future terrorist attack.

The 9/11 Commission was chaired by Thomas Kean, a two-term former governor of New Jersey from 1982 until 1990, and included five Democrats and five Republicans. The legislation creating the commission was signed into law by President George W. Bush.

The commission's final report, known as the 9/11 Commission Report, was published on July 22, 2004.^[1] It is a lengthy 585 pages, including the findings of the commission's extensive interviews and testimony that was received during its investigation. The primary conclusion in the 9/11 Report is that failures of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) permitted the September 11 terrorist attacks to occur and that wiser and more aggressive actions by these agencies could potentially have prevented the attack.

After the publication of its final report, the commission closed on August 21, 2004. The commission's website was shut down, but has been archived.^[2]