The NSC released the memo below from Richard Clarke to Condi Rice from January 2001 outlining the need for attention on al Qaeda. How closely this advice was this advice followed? To the letter …. after September 11th. Would 9/11 have been averted? We don’t know. But we do know that precautions were suggested and ignored. If your inactivity led to disaster, you’d probably fear for your job, maybe get fired, but certainly not get promoted. Ah, the perks of working in the Bush administration.

Bush Administration’s First Memo on al-Qaeda Declassified