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John Lehman, 9/11 Commissioner and former Secretary of the Navy, delivered the Banquet Address at the Middle East Institute’s 58th Annual Conference in Washington, DC. Lehman’s address focused on the 9/11 Commission and its report - discussing the process of establishing the Commission, its findings, conclusions and policy recommendations.

The Commission, comprising five Republicans and five Democrats, worked tirelessly for 22 months interviewing approximately 1,250 people, including Presidents Clinton and Bush, former secretaries of state, and desk officers, among others. As the Commission’s work progressed and the story became clearer, Lehman noted that the members, while holding very different views, agreed more than would have previously been thought. Ultimately, this diverse group of individuals ended up with a unanimous view on the facts and on the recommendations the Commission made.

The number one finding, according to Lehman, was that 9/11 took place because of a “failure of imagination." Lehman discussed past terrorist attacks and how a lack of US response set a pattern. An inability to clearly discuss this issue, Lehman contended, is still present—especially in the misnaming of the war on terror. Terror, he argued, is only a weapon of a global movement based on a politicized, aberrant interpretation of Islam, and the US must fight the movement and not just the weapon.

Lehman also commented on the quick reaction by Congress to the Commission's organizational recommendations, which were actually secondary to the policy recommendations in the report —namely, being proactive in attacking sanctuaries for organized terrorist groups. The US should also proactively confront the social and economic roots of terrorism, for example by assisting countries in providing alternatives to madrassahs. Although the Commission also addressed the need for organizational reform, Lehman urged policymakers to first address the policy recommendations set out in the report.