Michael Hayden (NSA) Opening Statement

Michael Hayden (NSA-Director) gives an opening statement. Hayden opens up with the personal accountability in how Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) is obtained during and after the 9/11 attacks. Hayden also states that Al Qaeda attacked without warning and is puzzled as to why there was so little information about these attacks. Also Hayden states that they knew about certain hijackers names in the years prior to 9/11, including Nawaf al-Hazmi, Salim al-Hazmi and Khalid al-Mihdhar, and had data which laid out a "significant" attack but Hayden does explain that the NSA had no idea what this meant. NSA had more than 30 warnings and Hayden claims they reported these to the State Department, but the information was too vague he goes on to explain. Another point of contention Hayden makes clear is that the meta-data they collected before the 9/11 attacks was too much due to lack of manpower at the NSA. Some of that information could very well have prevented the attacks but Hayden doesn't state this, that information comes out later from former NSA analysts, William Binney and Thomas Drake. (10-17-2002)