U.S. War on Terrorism/
Sept. 11 Terrorist Attacks in the U.S. -
Selected Web Pages

This page describes web sites and government reports related to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the U.S. For web sites and government reports related to the U.S.-Iraq War, please see the page U.S. Iraq War - Selected Web Pages.

• Undergraduate Research Guide: Terrorism
  Compiled by: UW-Madison, College Library
  URL: http://college.library.wisc.edu/resources/subject_guides/terrorism.htm
  Last updated: June 11, 2005
  • Locally-produced subject guide for "finding materials on terrorism used as a means of resistance to the modern state. The Overview section concentrates on general studies which analyze why and how terrorism occurs and government and media responses to terrorism. Information about September 11, 2001 is also included in this guide."
  • Describes books held by UW-Madison libraries (mostly at College Library), and provides hints on searching MadCat for materials on the general subject of terrorism.
  • Provides descriptions of and links to journal databases the UW subscribes to, and gives search strategies.
  • Has links to selected Internet sites.

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• Terrorism: Attacks and Responses
  Compiled by: Larry Romans, Vanderbilt University, Jean and Alexander Heard Library
  URL: http://www.library.vanderbilt.edu/romans/terrorism.html
  Last updated: January 21, 2005; links checked monthly.
  • Two kinds of links on the page:
    • By Subject, including:

      Afghanistan and the Taliban Alternative Views Arabs and Islam Bioterrorism

      Homeland Security Iraq Law Enforcement Military Response

      Osama bin Laden and al Qa'ida Past Terrorist Attacks Relief Efforts and Coping Resources Sept. 11 - World Trade Center and Pentagon

    • By Source, including:

      Indexes & Directories News Archives

      Government Agencies Executive Branch & Independent Agency Publications Legislative Branch Publications

      International Responses Educational Sites Research Centers & Specialist Organizations

• America's War Against Terrorism: World Trade Center/Pentagon Terrorism and the Aftermath
  Compiled by: Grace York, University of Michigan, Documents Center
  URL: http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/usterror.html
  Last updated: June 10, 2005
  • Links to government, commercial, and non-profit sites.
  • Sections include

    September 11th Attack [including links to U.S. & world news sources] Terrorism Suspects and Prosecution Counterterrorism Post Sept. 11 Attacks Previous Attacks

    Other Countries Background Research Related Web Pages [on Chemical and Biological Warfare and Middle East Conflicts]

• Annotated Bibliography of Government Documents Related to the Threat of Terrorism and the Attacks of September 11, 2001
  Compiled by: Kevin D. Motes, U.S. Government Information Division, Oklahoma Department of Libraries
  URL: http://www.odl.state.ok.us/usinfo/terrorism/911.htm
  Last updated: May 17, 2004
  • Bibliography now totals more than 700 printed pages. The bibliography is broken into individual sections, each available as separate PDF files.
  • Covers both paper and electronic documents. Provides SuDocs numbers and urls, which have live links.
  • Sections include:

    Terrorism & the American homeland Aftermath of the attacks of 11 September 2001 Emergency preparedness Infrastructure & federal facilities security Homeland security efforts & domestic counter-terrorism Weapons of mass destruction

    The international context of terrorism International terrorism & counter-terrorism International relations, policy & treaties beyond the Middle East region U.S. interests, policies & relations in the greater Middle East The turbulent Middle East & the Arab-Israeli peace process Terrorist groups: ideologies, methods, failing states and anti-western sentiment

    The "War on Terrorism" Executive responses Legislation U.S. military services & the use of force Organizing the government to combat terrorism Afghanistan Iraq

Background information

• The September 11th Source Books
  Compiled by: the National Security Archive (see http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/nsa/the_archive.html for a description)
  URL: http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/sept11/
  Last updated: September 11, 2004
  • Recent primary documents on U.S. terrorism policy. As of June 2005, seven volumes available:

    Volume I: Terrorism and U.S. Policy, including sections on: Terrorism and Usama bin Ladin Congressional Research Service reports General Accounting Office reports Department of Defense directives, instructions and statements Presidential Directives and Executive Orders Volume II: Afghanistan: Lessons from the Last War, including sections on: The Soviet Experience in Afghanistan: Russian Documents and Memoirs U.S. Analysis of the Soviet War in Afghanistan: Declassified Essay - Afghanistan: The Making of U.S. Policy, 1973-1990 Volume III: BIOWAR: The Nixon Administration's Decision to End U.S. Biological Warfare Programs. Volume IV: The Once and Future King?: From the Secret Files on King Zahir's Reign in Afghanistan, 1970-1973. Volume V: Anthrax at Sverdlovsk, 1979: U.S. Intelligence on the Deadliest Modern Outbreak Volume VI: The Hunt for Bin Laden: Background on the Role of Special Forces in U.S. Strategy Volume VII: The Taliban File (contains 4 parts)

• Attack on America: Remembering September 11th
  Compiled by: David Durant, Political Science and Government Documents Librarian, East Carolina University
  URL: http://personal.ecu.edu/durantd/wot/911.html
  Last updated: June 9, 2004
  • Links to background information from U.S. government sources (including Congressional Research Service reports), news sources, and think tanks.
  • Sections include:

    General Sources Digital Archives and Exhibits Remembering the Victims

    The Perpetrators Coping With Events

• A Review of the FBI's Handling of Intelligence Information Prior to the September 11 Attacks (released publicly June 2005) (Redacted and Unclassified)
  Issued by: Office of the Inspector General (OIG), Dept of Justice
  Available from:
  • Office of the Inspector General, Dept of Justice (home page: http://www.usdoj.gov/oig/)
    URL: http://www.justice.gov/oig/igspecr1.htm
    One long, large PDF file (32.3 MB); slow to download.
  • University of Michigan Documents Center (home page: http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/)
    URL: http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/fbi911.html
    Also in PDF format, but broken into chapters. Biggest file (Chapter 5) is about 14 MB.
  Date: Full, classified report issued July 2004; public, unclassified version issued June 2005
  Background:
  • Full report (classifed at the top secret level) was completed in July 2004 and provided to the FBI, the Department of Justice, the Congress, the CIA, the National Security Agency, and the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States.
  • At the request of members of Congress, the OIG created an unclassified 371-page version of the report.
  • The original unclassified report included information about the FBI's investigation of Zacarias Moussaoui. Because Moussaoui's court case is ongoing, Moussaoui's defense counsel objected to the release of any information related to Moussaoui's case and certain other information. The OIG redacted from the report the information requested by Moussaoui's defense counsel.

• National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States
  Also known as: The 9-11 Commission
  Maintained by: National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States
  URL: http://www.9-11commission.gov/
  Last updated: September 20, 2004. Will not be updated. From the site: "It is now a Federal record managed by the National Archives and Records Administration."
  
  • Has links to the full final report (released July 22, 2004). Can download PDF files containing either the full report or individual sections.
    • The final 9-11 Commission report is also available from GPO Access (a service of the Government Printing Office) at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/911/index.html
  • Other sections include:

    "About the Commission," with frequently asked questions, laws establishing the commission, and biographies of commission members and staff "Hearings," with archived video and transcripts of the commission's public hearings, as well as prepared statements presented at the hearings

    "Press," with press releases from the commission "Archive," has, at the very end of the page, links to the commission's two interim reports (issued July 8, 2003, and September 23, 2003)

• Joint Inquiry into Intelligence Community Activities before and after the Terrorist Attacks of September 11, 2001
  Also known as: S. Rept. 107-351 or H. Rept. 107-792
  Issued by: Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
  Available from: GPO Access, a service of the Government Printing Office
  URL: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/serialset/creports/911.html
  Date: Date on cover is December 2002; full report available to public July 2003
  • Available in PDF format.
  • Can download the full 832-page document as one file, or can download smaller sections of the report.

• America Responds
  Maintained by: FirstGov (the U.S. government's public portal)
  URL: http://www.firstgov.gov/Topics/Usgresponse.shtml
  Last updated: Updated daily
  • Links mostly to practical sites, rather than policy or background documents.
  • Sections include:

    September 11th Commemorations, 2003 Protect Yourself Travel Safely Help Your Country

    Personnel Locators National Guard and Reserves Support for Military Families

    Humanitarian Crisis Response Contact Elected Officials Learn More About Iraq

  • A section called Past Features of America Responds includes the following links:

    Government Agencies Perform After September 11 Learn More About Terrorism

    September 11th Commemorations, 2002 Victims of September 11-Benefits and Assistance

• Government Publications on Terrorism
  Compiled by: University of Maryland Libraries
  URL: http://www.lib.umd.edu/GOV/terrorism.html
  Last updated: August 20, 2004
  • Links to selected, recent U.S. government publications on terrorism, including Congressional hearings from 1999 through 2001.

  Sites for Congressional publications

  • Legislation Related to the Attack of September 11, 2001 (part of the Thomas site; see following entry)
    Maintained by: Library of Congress
    URL: http://thomas.loc.gov/home/terrorleg.htm
    Last updated: October 30, 2002. Will not be updated.
    • Covers:

      Bills & Joint Resolutions Signed Into Law Other Resolutions Approved

      Legislation With Floor Action Legislation Without Floor Action

    • For each piece of legislation, you can retrieve the bill summary, status, and full text.

  • Thomas: Legislative Information on the Internet
    Maintained by: Library of Congress
    URL: http://thomas.loc.gov/
    Last updated: varies between databases. For more information, see "How Often Is Thomas Updated?"
    • Current and recent Congressional information in the areas of legislation, Congressional Record, and committee information. Legislation databases include bill summaries and texts, the Congressional Record, public laws, and roll call votes.
    • Can search databases, browse legislation by number, and browse Congressional Record by date.

  • GPO Access: Legislative
    Maintained by: U.S. Government Printing Office
    URL: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/legislative.html
    Last updated: updated daily
    • Searchable full text databases including Congressional bills, public laws, and the Congressional Record, among other publications.
    • Can search across multiple databases.

• UN Actions Against Terrorism
  Maintained by: UN's Information Technology Section, Department of Public Information
  URL: http://www.un.org/terrorism/
  • Has links to:

    Latest developments Links to General Assembly documents and bodies related to terrorism Security Council resolutions

    Security Council's Counter Terrorism Committee Reports and statements from the Secretary General Conventions and Declarations

• News Focus: Afghanistan
  Maintained by: United Nations News Service
  URL: http://www.un.org/News/dh/latest/afghan/afghan2.htm
  • Includes UN press releases, background information on Afghanistan

• United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA)
  Maintained by: UNAMA
  URL: http://www.unama-afg.org/
  
  • Links to background information on UNAMA, press releases, UN documents related to UNAMA, and information about Afghan Parliamentary elections.

• Conventions Against Terrorism
  Maintained by: United Nations Office of Drug Control and Crime Prevention
  URL: http://www.undcp.org/terrorism_conventions.html
  • Summaries of and links to the full text of the 12 major multilateral conventions and protocols related to terrorism.
  • Not all states are party to these agreements, or have begun to implement them. For a listing of states who have signed these agreements, see:
    • United Nations Treaty Collection: UN Conventions on Terrorism, http://untreaty.un.org/English/Terrorism.asp (for signatory information on four conventions that deal explicitly with terrorism)
    • Print source: Multilateral Treaties Deposited with the Secretary-General: Status as at 31 December, 2003. New York: United Nations, 2004. 2 volumes. Location: Memorial Reference Stacks, JX 171 U372 v.2003.

• 11 September 2001 - The Response (Research Paper 01/72)
  Compiled by: House of Commons Library
  URL: http://www.parliament.uk/parliamentary_publications_and_archives/research_papers/research_papers_2001.cfm   Note: this link takes you to a list of research reports; the 11 September 2001 paper is number 01/72. Click on the title to retrieve the 123-page PDF file.
  Updated: January 8, 2004
  • Topics covered include:

    Reactions from the U.S., U.K, and others Osama bin Laden and the al-Qaeda network Background on the Taliban, Afghanistan and Pakistan

    International legal issues Military options

• House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee Publications
  Maintained by: The Committee (For more about the committee, see http://www.parliament.uk/parliamentary_committees/foreign_affairs_committee.cfm.) URL: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmfaff.htm
  
  • The Foreign Affairs Committee has published several reports on the "War on Terrorism" and the war with Iraq, including:
    • Foreign Policy Aspects of the War against Terrorism (2005 report; ordered printed March 22, 2005).
    • Foreign Policy Aspects of the War against Terrorism: (2004 report; ordered printed July 21, 2004) with reports on Iraq, Afghanistan, the Russian Federation, and the Israel-Palestine conflict. Includes recommendations, minutes, evidence, and links to a list of evidence and reports from the Foreign Affairs Committee since 2001.

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Meta-site for educators

• September 11th Tragedy [For educators & others who work with children]
  Compiled by: Kristin Partlo and Bernie Foulk, Center for Instructional Materials and Computing, University of Wisconsin-Madison
  URL: http://cimc.education.wisc.edu/ed_info/webliographies/sept_11_tragedy.html
  Last updated: April 4, 2004
  • Created to help teachers as they talk in their classrooms about the events of Sept. 11 and terrorism.
  • In addition to links to pages to help educators deal specifically with the events of Sept. 11, sections include:

    Children & Trauma Promoting Understanding Peace & War

    Public Safety For Children

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Access to government information since 9/11/01

• Balancing Information Access Since September 11: A Background Issues Kit: Chronology
  Compiled by: ALA's Government Information Round Table's Education Committee
  URL: http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/GODORT/education/current/chronology.html
  Last updated: May 2002

• Balancing Information Access Since September 11: Background Issues Kit: Brief Bibliography
  Compiled by: ALA's Government Information Round Table's Education Committee
  URL: http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/GODORT/education/current/bib.html
  Last updated: June 2002

• Balancing Information Access Since September 11: Background Issues Kit: Web Resources
  Compiled by: ALA's Government Information Round Table's Education Committee
  URL: http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/GODORT/education/current/websites.html
  Last updated: March 16, 2003

Created by:
Beth Harper
Government Documents Reference Librarian
276 Memorial Library
728 State St, Madison, WI 53706
(608) 262-9852