LASALLE COLLEGE HIGH SCHOOL

SOPHOMORE SUMMER READING 2013

SOCIAL STUDIES DEPARTMENT

BOOK:The 9/11 Report: A Graphic Adaptation by Sid Jacobson

ISBN: 13: 978-0060899684

OBJECTIVE: Our discussion of the events surrounding 9/11 will center on the graphicnovel written by Sid Jacobsen and Ernie Colon. These authors used both words and graphic animation to briefly discuss the critical aspects of the report given by the 9/11 Commission. The students will be asked to decipher critical aspects of this work in an attempt to develop a greater understanding of both that day and the years leading up to this horrific event.

During your reading you will be responsible for the following.

  • Have completed the reading of The 9/11 Report upon your arrival on the first day of school.
  • Your assignment is to construct an essay that examines the three significant factors which led to the deaths of nearly 2000 people on 9/11. You should answer the following question.
  • In what ways did each of the following factors contributed to the death and destruction on September 11, 2001
  • Development of Al Qaeda
  • Failure of the U.S. government/intelligence to stop Al Qaeda.
  • Improper planning on the part of New York City officials
  • Your essay should be approximately 500 words, and typed. Parenthetical citations are necessary. A first draft is due on September 4, 2013, with a final draft due on September 11, 2013

You will read the following READING GUIDE to the book The 9/11 Report: A Graphic Adaptation.

THE 9/11 REPORT: A GRAPHIC ADATATION

That 911 has defined our times and determined the course of our new century remains obvious. But the 911 report first published in July 2004 has actually been read by very few Americans. Given the complexity of the report, this dignified adaptation allows for a new readability in a graphic novel form. Yet it conveys the basic facts of the complicated history of the attacks and offers keen insights and the basic truths of the original report. Thus it is not a work of fiction and not a novel; it is a work of history relying on words and artwork.

If this work has any agenda at all it seems to become an instruction manual on how the world went wrong; the mistakes leading up to the attacks on 911, the inadequate resources and uncoordinated intelligence and the slow pace of correcting the errors revealed in the report.

Chapter OneWe Have Some Planes

  1. This book begins with 19 headshots. How are they arranged and why in this manner?
  • Who are these men? Where are they from?
  • What brought them together?
  • Later in the book a 20th man is revealed. Who is he and why is he not pictured here?
  • Nearly all of the first 25 pages have a solid background. Why did the artist choose to do this?
  1. One of the strengths of this work is the organization of the ‘4 flights at once’ timeline format. (Flight 11, Flight 175, Flight 77, Flight 93).
  • In what way (or not) is thisaneffective way to convey the coincidental nature of the events into a single tragedy?
  • How does this timeline indicate the success and failures of airline pilots and passengers to communicate with outside parties?
  1. After reading Chapter One “We have Some Planes…”
  • Make a list of what you consider to be the mistakes and oversights on the part of security officials, intelligence experts, aviation professionals, governmental agencies that contributed to the four planes being hijacked.
  • Up- date this list when you complete your reading of this book
  1. Regarding ‘Improvising a Homeland Defense” (p. 18)
  • What does it mean to ‘improvise’ something?
  • How does the meaning of this word in the context of 911, pertain to the failures of this nation to defend itself?
  1. Review the ‘National Crisis Management’ (p. 26).
  • How much of the initial information given to President Bush about the 911 attacks was correct? How much was wrong?
  • Review the Commission’s Conclusions (p. 29). What do they mean when they say that ‘the conflict did not begin on 911’?

Chapter TwoThe Foundation of the New Terrorism

  1. Why is Big Ben in the background at the start of Chapter 2?
  • Why is bin Laden shown shaking hands with various people. How many times does this occur in this chapter?
  1. Define the following from p. 30.
  • a)fatwa b) infidels c) social and economic malaise d) the new terrorism e)superpower.
  • connect the dots
  1. Why does bin Ladin consider civilians as well as military to be targets in his Declaration of War?
  • Explain his reference to the Soviet struggle in Afghanistan?
  • How are these events related?
  1. How would you explain the rise of Bin Ladin and al Qaeda to an international organization?
  • Who was Ayman Al Zawahiri ?
  • What was the ‘Golden Chain’?
  • What is the nature of a Jihad?
  • What was the relationship of the US to the Mujahedeen?
  • What was the relationship between al Qaeda and the Mujahedeen?
  1. What was the significance of the death of Abdullah Azzam to the rise of bin Laden?
  • What role did the Saudi monarchy play in his rise to power?
  • Explain bin Ladin’s vision of himself and his role in international terrorism?
  • What were his 3 stated ‘purposes’?
  1. Look at the national flags on p. 36.
  • Name each.
  • Do you recognize or have knowledge of all of them?
  • Why are these particular flags shown?
  • Should the U.S. flag be included in this grouping?
  1. Identify ‘Al Khifa’. What role did it play in spreading al Qaeda’s message in the U.S.?
  • What was the significance of Sudan’s expelling of bin Ladin from their country?
  • What was the relationship of al Qaeda and the Taliban?
  1. What was the historical significance of the 1996, August 7th, bombing of the American Embassy in Nairobi andDar Es’ Salaam?
  • What does the prominent red-lettered SLAMsignify?
  • Find other such ‘sound effects’ lettering in the work. Do you consider this to be an effective use of art?

Chapter ThreeCounterterrorism Evolves From the Old Terrorism to the New

  1. Review the difference between the ‘old’ and the ‘new’ terrorism.
  • What was the significance of the bombing of the Twin Towers in NYC on February 26th, 1993? Who were Ramzi Youssef and Mohammed Salameh? How were they caught?
  • In what way did the investigation and capture of the culprits have an ‘unfortunate consequence” for the future?
  • Who were the 3 men arrested on p. 40? What is ‘horse’?
  1. Why did the 5 year plan formulated by the FBI under Louis Freeh fail?
  • What were some other reasons in the Law Enforcement Community? What is the significance of the ‘Wall’ in this regard?
  • In the Federal Aviation Administration
  • Identify the ‘flash-back’ scenes on p. 41 and explain why they appear in the Intelligence Community, in the State and Defense Departments, and in the education of Americans in foreign languages
  1. When did the Defense Department first become concerned with terrorism?
  • Name 3 other early encounters with international terrorism before bin Ladin.
  • What was the significance in regards to the future of the Hezbollah’s massacre of US Marines in Beirut, Lebanon in 1983?
  • And in Somalia in 1993?
  1. Identify the 6 individuals in a sort of ‘line-up’ on p. 43?
  • Who do these figures represent?
  • Identify the conclusions of the Commission as it relates to the role of Congress.
  • What is the significance of the jig-saw puzzle on p. 44?

Chapter FourResponses to Al Qaeda’s Initial Assaults

  1. Who was Jamal Ahmed Al Fadl and what was his role in identifying the extent of bin Ladin’s Al Qaeda?
  • What became of the CIA’s plan to capture Al Qaeda?
  • What was the ‘tragic result’ of not capturing him in August 1998?
  1. Describe the effectiveness of ‘bolding’ or ‘telegraphing’ as it relates to the word ‘obsessed’ on p. 47?
  • Who is saying this? What is his obsession? In what ways does this obsession manifest itself? What 5 point plan did this person have?
  • Explain the role of Diplomacy and Covert action to get bin Ladin. How are they different?
  1. What is meant by ‘collateral damage’?
  • How did such fears delay or side track action against bin Ladin?
  • Describe the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance.
  • Place the Tajiuks and Pashtuns on a map of Afghanistan
  • What role did Ahmed Shah Massoud play in helping the US in its quest to capture bin Ladin? Based on his body language on p. 51, could he be considered to be an American ally?

Chapter 5Al Qaeda Aims at the American Homeland

  1. Identify and describe the role of each of the 3 “subordinates” who worked on the 911 plot.
  • Describe the ‘Planes Operation’. When and how did it come about? Who was the leading organizer?
  • What was the nature of the training for the recruits for these missions? Where did it take place?

2.What was the ‘Hamburg Contingent’?

  • Why is it important to the development of the 911 plot? How were its members different than other violent jihadists?
  • How much did the 911 attacks cost? Where did the money come from?

Chapter SixFrom Threat to Threat

  1. What was the so-called ‘Millennium Crisis’? To what degree and to what extent was it successfully resolved?
  • US Secretary of State Madeline Albright said,’ We do not have a strong hand with the Pakistanis.” How would you explain the difficulty in gaining the support of Pakistan and its President Musharraf despite President Clinton offering him “the moon?”
  1. In what way did the attack on the USS Cole on 10/12/2000 symbolize the difficult transition of power from the Clinton to the Bush Administrations?
  • How is this same problem personified in the role of Richard Clarke?
  1. Look carefully at the pictures on p. 65 which portray some very powerful people. How do you imagine this page would be interpreted by someone who does not speak or read English just based on the non-verbal layout and the lighting of the faces?
  • How would you characterize the new approach of the administration of President Bush?

Chapter SevenThe Attack Looms

  1. How successful were the initial attempts of the 911 pilots to learn to speak English and to get pilot’s licenses in the US?
  • Describe the ‘muscle hijackers’. Where did they come from? What were their physical traits, mental characteristics, social and political points of view? What past experiences did they share?
  • Describe the nature of the training which the muscle hijackers underwent.
  • Why were so many of the recruits Saudis?
  1. What is Hezbollah and what role did it play?
  • What about the nation of Iran?
  1. What was the role played by Mohamed Atta in coordinating the activities and plans of the Hamburg group?
  • What is the Hudson Corridor?
  • Describe the way in which the targets and alternate plans were decided upon.
  1. Why was a Boeing plane chosen?
  • Why were the hijackers given necklaces and bracelets?
  • What weapons did they choose?
  • How was the date of the plot arrived at?
  • What was the relationship between the 911 attack and the start of the Taliban offensive against the Northern Alliance?
  1. Describe the visual code (p. 77) that was sent to all hijackers. Graphically and numerically, what does it mean?

Chapter EightThe System Was Blinking Red

  1. What is a ‘PDB”? Explain the importance of the August 6th, 2001 PDB.
  • What do critics of the Bush administration point out in regard to these documents?
  • What insight did Richard Clarke have on the possibility of a terrorist attack on US soil as of April 30?
  1. The Commission found that no domestic agencies mobilized in response to any threats of terrorism nor was there any CIA effort to coordinate with the FBI.
  • Why was there more done overseas to counter the threat of terrorism than inside the US?
  1. “Whatever that means’? Explain the relevance of this remark on p. 80. What triggered this remark? To who was it directed? What attitude does it portray?
  • ‘The CIA plays zone defense. The guys at the FBI tend to play man-to-man.” Explain this metaphor to differentiate the two agencies? How would you describe their ability to work together?
  • How would you explain the total misunderstanding of the rules of investigation regarding the hunt for Mihdharand Hazni? Why was this misunderstanding so serious to the future of the 911 plot?
  1. Who is KSM (Khaled Sheikh Mohammed)? Who is Mukhtar? Who is Al-Ballushi?
  • Why did the US Government not know this?
  • Why is this so important to the 911 plot?
  • Relate this back to the jig-saw puzzle on p. 44.

Chapter NineHeroism and Horror

  1. Describe the nature of the World Trade Center complex; its size, population and purpose.
  • What weaknesses were revealed in the 1993 bombing that made the complex vulnerable to future tragedy?
  • Explain the problems of organization and communication which plagued the NYPD and the Port Authority Police and the New York Fire Department.
  • Did the Office of Emergency Management resolve the problems identified above?
  1. Describe the immediate impact of the Flight 11 crash into the North Tower.
  • Why were the occupants not able to evacuate immediately?
  • How did occupants of the South Tower react?
  • How did the New York security forces (NYPD, Firefighters, Rescue Teams, and Hazmat Teams) react?
  • What is the difference between a ‘rescue operation’ and a ‘firefighting ‘one?
  1. When and where did the second plane hit?
  • What was the immediate impact on the occupants of the South Tower both above and below the point of impact?
  • What directions were now given to occupants of the North Tower? What was the result?
  • What were the prevailing thought about the possibility of a collapse of both Towers?
  1. When did the attack on the Pentagon take place in relationship to the timing of the NYC attacks?
  • What were the differences between the emergency responses in NYC and at the Pentagon?
  • Between p. 90-96 where both horror and heroism are displayed, there are few word “balloons”. Why do you think the authors chose this format?
  1. “We must plan for the next attack. This is the best way to honor the memories of those we lost….In the new age of terrorism, they are the primary targets.”
  • Who are ‘they”?
  • What was the statistical data regarding the emergency response in NYC? Do you agree with the Commission’s conclusion that the evacuation below the point of impact was a ‘success’? Explain
  1. What decisions/actions of WTC personnel were most criticized by the Commission?
  • What criticisms and reforms were directed toward the FDNY and NYPD?

Chapter 10Wartime

  1. Describe the 5 immediate responses of the US Government to the crisis.
  • Did any Saudi nationals flee the US?
  • Why is this an issue of concern for the Commission to investigate?
  1. ‘We are at war”.
  • Name the 8 members of President Bush’s ‘War Council’.
  • What task was given to the council as a whole?
  • What tasks were given to each member separately?
  • Outline the requests made to the Pakistani government. What was its response to these requests?
  1. Review the initial conflict within President Bush’s circle of advisors as to whether Iraq “had a hand” in the 911 attacks.
  • Who held the various points of views on this question?
  • What is ‘anecdotal evidence’? Is it sufficient to launch a general strike against a supposed enemy?
  • What role did Paul Wolfowitz play in this conflict of opinion?

4. “This is civilization’s fight”. What did President Bush mean by this?

  • When did the government commence its airstrikes and special operations against the Taliban and al Qaeda?
  • Identify the 3 phases of the operation code named ‘Infinite Justice’ (soon changed to ‘enduring freedom”)
  • How important were neighboring countries in the success of these plans?
  • How successful were these plans initially? Were bin Ladin and Zawahiri captured?

Chapter 11Foresight and Hindsight

  1. Explain the ‘benefits and handicaps of hindsight’.
  • How can they be overcome?
  • Do you think that the Commission was able to decide whether ‘the insights that seem apparent now would really have been meaningful at the time (of 911)’?
  • How would you explain the rather hidden presence of Old Glory on the iconic image on p. 107?
  1. Name the ‘4 kinds of failures’ which the Commission identified.
  • How was the 9/11 attack different than and more devastating than the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor?
  • Then also the Chinese invasion of South Korea?
  • Have there been other surprises in US history?
  • In what way was Al Qaeda ‘more globalized than the US?
  1. In regards to the ‘failure of imagination”, what does this mean?
  • What did the Commission mean when it said that the US must find a way to “routinize and even bureaucratize the exercise of imagination; to ‘institutionalize imagination?’
  • How is the inability to analyze how an aircraft might be used as a weapon an example of this kind of failure?
  • Have there been other such failures in US history?
  • What do you think is the theme created on p. 110 by having the single map in the background?
  1. What did the Commission mean by a “failure of policy’?
  • What does the dialogue balloon on p. 111 mean in reference to ‘bigger fish to fry’?
  • What ‘lesser forms of intervention’ could have been employed? Short of an all- out invasion of Afghanistan prior to 9/11 to slow the progress of Al Qaeda?
  1. What did the Commission mean by a ‘failure of capabilities’?
  • Name and explain 4 such failures of cap abilities.
  1. What did the Commission mean by a ‘failure of Management’?
  • Explain the meaning of the two dialogue balloons on p. 113 a) “This is kept within the company” b) “No way. It’s all kept inside our own offices’.
  • What lesson were learned (or not) by the handling of the Y2K crisis of the millennium?

Chapter 12What to do? A Global Strategy