February 20,2004
Thomas H. Kean
CHAIR
Lee H. Hamilton Ms. Pat Downs
VICE CHAIR Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence
Richard Ben-Veniste 5000 Defense Pentagon
Washington, DC 20301-5000
Fred F. Fielding
Jamie S. Gorelick
Slade Gorton
Bob Kerrey
John F. Lehman
Timothy J. Roemer
James R. Thompson
Philip D. Zelikow
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
301 7 th Street SW, Room 5125
Washington, DC 20407
T 202.331.4060 F 202.296.5545
www.9-llcommission.gov
Dear Pat:
As the Commission finalizes its review of DoD's document production in
preparation for its upcoming visit to NORAD headquarters, a matter that
remains puzzling to us is the absence of an after-action report (hereinafter
"AAR") regarding NORAD's response to the hijackings on 9/11. I
understand that this issue has been the subject of numerous telephone and
email discussions between our respective staffs, dating back to at least last
September. The purpose of this letter is twofold: first, to review the record
and reassert the Commission's request for AARs related to NORAD's
response on 9/11; and second, to seek DoD's written clarification as to where
we stand with respect to this issue.
On May 9, 2003, the Commission submitted to DoD Document Request No.
1, which requested, inter alia, "All DoD after-action reviews relating to the
events of 9/11/01. ..."(DoD Req. No. l,Item 10). In response to this request
DoD produced AARs from a number of DoD services and components,
including the Air Force, Navy and NMCC. A similar report related
specifically to NORAD's performance on 9/11 was not forthcoming.
Commission staff raised the absence of such an AAR in phone calls and
emails in the months that followed, including the attached September 8, 2003
email (which was forwarded again to DoD on October 20, 2003). With
respect to this issue, the Commission clarified its request in the following
manner:
"We are seeking from NORAD ALL documents that could be
fairly characterized as an after-action report. This would
include all documents that summarize, analyze, evaluate or
discuss NORAD's response to the events of 9/11. It would
also include all interviews with NORAD personnel that were
involved in NORAD's air defense operation on 9/11."
Of course, as DoD Document Request No. 1 makes clear, the request covers
AARs related to NORAD's performance on 9/11 even if they were produced
elsewhere in DoD.
26 Federal Plaza
Suite 13-100
New York, NY 10278
T 212.264.1505 F 212.264.1595
Ms. Pat Downs
February 20, 2004
Page 2

In order to clarify DoD's position with respect to this matter, we request that,
if DoD believes it has produced all documents that constitute the AAR(s)
related to NORAD's response on 9/11, it provide the Commission with a list
of such documents. If there are no documents within DoD responsive to this
request, please state so in writing. If there are documents responsive to this
request that have not yet been produced to the Commission, please provide
such documents and an explanation as to why they have not previously been
produced.

In light of our upcoming visit to Colorado (currently scheduled for March 2),
we look forward to hearing from'you by February 26, 2004. Thank you for
your cooperation.

Sincerely yours,

)aniel Marcus
General Counsel

cc: Under Secretary Stephen A. Cambone

Stuart Aly