1

Apply the 8 Elements of Thought to the 9/11 Report & Discuss the 8 Elements in Relation

to Report

Student’s Name

Institution Affiliation

Course

Professor’s Name

Date
8 ELEMENTS OF THOUGHT ON THE 9/11 REPORT & DISCUSSION 2

Apply the 8 Elements of Thought to the 9/11 Report & Discuss the 8 Elements in Relation

To the Report

Critical thinking is defined as the power to check the elements of one’s reasoning and

evaluate the reason against intellectual standards: logic, clarity, depth, accuracy, and precision.

The eight elements of thought mostly applied are purpose, questions, concepts, information,

inference, implications, and point of view (Elder et al., 2012). The 9/11 incident of terrorism was

one of the saddest moments in American history, a dozen lives were lost, and until today the

incident is still engraved in our minds. Therefore, in this paper, I will apply the eight elements of

thought to the 9/11 report and discuss the eight elements concerning the report.

Purpose or Objective

What is the 9/11 trying to accomplish? What is the function of the 9/11 report? What are the

motives and intentions of the Report? The 9/11 report provides the chronological events on what

transpired during that fateful day and how the attack materialized. It further provides an in-depth

analysis of the government's solutions to prevent further attacks and loss of American lives.

Questions Raised

Was there collaboration between the Muslims living in America and those of al Qaeda? Who is

the enemy, and how did they gain entry into the country? According to the Report, "the 9/11

attacks on World Trade Center and the Pentagon were more elaborate, to the point and

destructive than any other assaults". The Report explores the genesis of hostility between the

United States of America and the Islamist extremists. "Bin Laden had grievances against the

United States polices in the Middle East and the presence of U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia.”
8 ELEMENTS OF THOUGHT ON THE 9/11 REPORT & DISCUSSION 3

According to the report, "three of the four cell members had gained access to the East Coast of

the United States and had pilot training."

What caused the flight 9/11 incident?

The 9/11 flight incident is a result of several factors. The Islamic extremist was angered

by the invasion by the Soviet Union invasion. U.S. support of Israel was a major factor. Bin

Laden’s was against the United States’ troops being present at the holiest home of Islam’s- Saudi

Arabia.

Was Osama Bin Laden Involved?

Muslim youths from all over the globe went to Afghanistan as volunteers against the

Soviet Union. Osama Bin Laden was among them, though being wealthy. He built a lethal

organization that attracted, trained, and recruited more believers in their course. The bombing in

Kenya and Tanzania U.S. embassies was Bin Laden's work through al Qaeda.

Information

It includes the facts, evidence, or the experiences the Report uses to figure out what

happened during the attack. According to the 9/11 report, “the 19 hijackers got through the

security checkpoints system they knew its weakness and how to defeat it, they took over the four

flights.” The Report further clarifies “that the defense of U.S. air space depended on the

interaction between; North American Aerospace Defense Command and the Federal Aviation

Administration and that the existing protocols were not suited for an attack of hijacked planes

which were used as weapons”.

8 ELEMENTS OF THOUGHT ON THE 9/11 REPORT & DISCUSSION 4

Concepts

Concepts are theories or hypotheses that are used by the Report to answer the question of

what happened. The 9/11 incident is seen as a shock but not a surprise. It is because there were

already plenty of warnings that the Islamist extremists had given prior that they had plans of

killing a huge number of Americans. The U.S. intelligence had reports of attacks that were to be

executed by al Qaeda. The 9/11 report hypothesis that the whole attack operation was a

calculated move planned to perfection. According to the Report, "the plotters were flexible and

resourceful." The Report's findings say that the “brand of terrorism presented by al Qaeda to the

U.S. government institutions could not handle or is well designed to meet”

Inferences

What conclusion is the 9/11 report trying to come to regarding what happened? Given all the

facts, what are some of the solutions to the terrorism in America? According to the report, there

was a lapse in security intelligence that allowed al Qaeda to capitalize on and harm American

people. "As of late 4 September, 2001, the white house staffer given the responsibility of

counterterrorism policy coordination claimed that the government hadn't made up its mind to

answer the question that al Qaeda was a big deal?" the Report states that the intelligence

community struggled from 1990 to 2001 to gather intelligence on terrorism. The Report further

tries to point out the security sector as being the weak link by stating that "the FBI had attempted

several reforms efforts directed at strengthening its capability to prevent terrorists' attacks but the

reforms failed."
8 ELEMENTS OF THOUGHT ON THE 9/11 REPORT & DISCUSSION 5

Assumptions

What did the U.S. government take for granted regarding the events that lead to the terrorist

attack? According to the Report's findings, "the opportunity to destroy the 9/11 plot was the

inability of the government to manage the problems of the twenty-first century. During the 2000

attack on the USS Cole, the U.S. government assumed that it was deed the al Qaeda that had

launched its terrorism operations without confirming that Bin Ladin gave the order. “The

government explored suspicions about whether the two terrorists had accomplices in U.S.”

Point of view

Is there another way to look at the 9/11 incident that the U.S. government should have

considered? The Report states that the lack of actionable intelligence frustrated the fight against

terrorism due to a lack of military options for attacking Bin Ladin and the al Qaeda organization.

"They didn't want to risk collateral damage hence make United States look bad while making the

Bin Laden look even stronger.” The boarders' permeability and aviation security provided a great

advantage to the terrorists to capitalize on. According to the Report, "the planning and execution

of the terrorism cost between 400,000 dollars and 500,000 dollars making use of the banks in the

United States."

Implications

How significant are the implications of the “Fire Department of New York's decision, the New

York Police Departments, and the New Jersey” involvement in the rescue mission during the

incident? The Report states the organizations were the first to respond at the scene, staying in

danger to save lives. What were the implications of the government troops' presence in Saudi

Arabia? According to the Report, “Osama Bin Ladin and four others declared publicly that it
8 ELEMENTS OF THOUGHT ON THE 9/11 REPORT & DISCUSSION 6

was God’s decree that each Muslim should kill any American.” In 1998, Bin Ladin and al Qaeda

carried out attacks on U.S.embassies in Tanzania and Kenya, respectively, killing 12 Americans.

According to the report, “since the 9/11 incident, the United States have killed or captured many

of al Qaeda leaders and severely destroyed the organization.”

8 ELEMENTS OF THOUGHT ON THE 9/11 REPORT & DISCUSSION 7

References

Elder, Linda & Paul, Richard (2012); The Thinker's Guide to Analytic Thinking (2nd Ed);

Tomales, CA; Foundation of Critical Thinking.

The 9/11 Commission Report (2004); Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist

Attacks upon the United States; Executive Summary