Twenty years after September 11

 

September 11, 2021

Today marks 20 years since the horrific September 11 terrorist attack. Many of us still remember exactly where we were on that day, and here at POGO we’ve been doing a lot of reflecting on how our country changed in response to this tragic event.   We believe we must honor those we lost and the first responders and service members who served our country in the immediate aftermath and the wars abroad that followed. But we must also look back at the ways our government reacted to the attack with a critical eye and learn how leaders may have failed along the way.   The Constitution Project at POGO has been examining secrecy in the aftermath of 9/11, with a piece on the surveillance dragnet put in place following the attack and forthcoming analyses on additional ways the federal government abused its power in the name of national security. They’ll cap off their series on secrecy with a Constitution Day event on secrecy and the War on Terror.   We’ve also been examining the war in Afghanistan and the United States’ failure to complete a successful reconstruction effort. We’re hosting John Sopko, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, on Tuesday for a conversation about the lessons we have learned and still need to learn from the project reconstruction in Afghanistan. ANALYSIS State Secrets That Aren’t Secret Twenty years after September 11, the government is still using national security secrecy to cover up torture — and the Supreme Court may soon make it easier for the government to hide evidence of other crimes. Read More ANALYSIS Secrets, Surveillance, and Scandals: The War on Terror’s Unending Impact on Americans’ Private Lives We are still unraveling the mass surveillance enacted at the start of the War on Terror. This deep dive shows how secret surveillance defied the rule of law and undermined democracy — and how civil rights advocates steadily fought back. Read More ANALYSIS Axing Pentagon Cost Reports Threatens Acquisition Oversight The already difficult task of understanding the true cost of weapons will be made much more difficult unless Congress acts to restore a key oversight report. Read More REPORT Seven-Year Contractor Whistleblower Case Meets a Sad End Michael Sandknop has two reports from two different inspectors general: one substantiating his whistleblowing, and a second substantiating subsequent reprisal against him. But seven years later, he hasn’t received a dime of remedy. Read More DATABASE No More Lines: Millions Stream Live Supreme Court Arguments After almost three million oral argument streams since May 2020, the time has come for the U.S. Supreme Court to provide permanent live audio access to oral arguments. Read our letter urging the Supreme Court to make live audio streaming permanently accessible. Read More QUOTE OF THE WEEK “I know why Democrats want to frame [the Protecting Our Democracy Act] as a Trump accountability bill, but we have been pushing for nearly all of these reforms for decades.” Danielle Brian, Executive Director, in the New York Times OVERHEARD UPCOMING EVENTS “Afghanistan Reconstruction” Twenty Years On: Lessons Learned and Not Learned We’ll be hosting Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction John Sopko for a town hall on what we have learned (and what we have failed to learn) about missions of foreign reconstruction. September 14. 1:00 - 2:00 PM ET. Save your spot.   State Secrecy and the War on Terror Join us for a conversation on how the goal of security has been used to obscure the disturbing truth about state-sanctioned torture and unchecked abuse of power. September 17. 12:00 - 1:00 PM ET. RSVP. ONE LINERS “The stance, the way they’re holding the rifles, the trigger finger, how’s it’s flat and laying outside the trigger guard. That’s hallmark American military training right there.” Dan Grazier, Jack Shanahan Military Fellow, in the Los Angeles Times   “The Trump administration had more violations than I’ve ever seen in any administration and, in fact, was openly hostile to enforcement of the Hatch Act.” Walter Shaub, Senior Ethics Fellow, in Business Insider   “We did spend well over $80 billion in assistance to the Afghan security forces. But that’s not all equipment costs.” Dan Grazier, Jack Shanahan Military Fellow, in Associated Press   “The committee has a responsibility to find out what exactly happened on that day and what led up to that horrendous attack, and they should have access to all records that help answer those questions.” Tim Stretton, Director of the Congressional Oversight Initiative, in The Hill   “They haven’t even announced nominees for about 20 percent of the positions that the Senate has to confirm – that’s a big backlog.” Dylan Hedtler-Gaudette, Government Affairs Manager, in Roll Call

pogo.org The Project On Government Oversight (POGO) is a nonpartisan independent watchdog that investigates and exposes waste, corruption, abuse of power, and when the government fails to serve the public or silences those who report wrongdoing. We champion reforms to achieve a more effective, ethical, and accountable federal government that safeguards constitutional principles.

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