Twenty years after the 9/11 terror attacks, is America safer?

Some analysts and lawmakers argue intelligence agencies are better able to detect threats from overseas, but there are also new challenges.

What You Need To Know

  • When officials investigated the leadup to 9/11, one problem quickly became clear: intelligence agencies were not sharing information

  • Twenty years later, one former CIA analyst says intel sharing has improved, but other threats remain

  • Rep. John Katko, a NY Republican, worries the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan could create a "big black hole" for terrorist groups and intelligence

  • Rep. Gregory Meeks, a NY Democrat, is concerned about the threat of domestic terrorism

In the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, officials set about trying to figure out what went wrong.

One problem quickly became clear: intelligence agencies were not sharing information.

Former CIA analyst and national security council staffer Emily Harding argues that has in many ways been addressed.

“If I wrote a piece for the president, it went through a great many people's desks before it landed on his,” she said. “You had to check with your colleagues from every other intelligence agency.”

Harding, who is now a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, says the U.S. has also developed new counterterrorism skill sets, allowing intelligence officials to better track one cell to another.

But Rep. John Katko, the top Republican on the House Homeland Security Committee, worries those skills could be put to the test with the U.S.’s departure from Afghanistan and the Taliban’s recapture of the country.

“We've now got a very big black hole in Afghanistan, and [if] terrorism groups metastasize in Afghanistan once again we've got a real problem on our hands,” the upstate New York lawmaker said.

The Biden administration insists they possess so-called “over the horizon” capabilities to keep tabs on things, even without boots on the ground. However, some, like Harding, are a bit dubious.

Others argue there is another threat that needs attention. Rep. Gregory Meeks, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, points to the home front and the threat of domestic terror.

“We've got to get our eyes on the prize,” said the Queens Democrat.

Consider the violent Jan. 6 attack on Congress. A U.S. Senate report about the attack found new problems with intelligence gathering and sharing.

However, Harding notes that when it comes to domestic threats, there are also unique hurdles.

“Part of what makes us who we are and what makes us Americans is that we hold dear to these rights and freedoms, and not a lot of people are going to be eager to give the FBI additional authorities to pursue First Amendment protected speech,” she said.

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