Washington is taking stock this week of lessons learned and challenges that remain ten years after the 9-11 terrorist attacks in New York, at the Pentagon, and over Pennsylvania.
The Senate Homeland Security Committee held a hearing today where the Government Accountability Office released a report on the Homeland Security Department and its progress in adjusting to new threats over the last decade. DHS was created by Congress and the Bush Administration after the 9/11 attacks as the first new cabinet-level department since the 1980s.
Also, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) hosted an all-day forum on the role of intelligence gathering in defending against further terrorist attacks. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano provided the keynote address, and members of congress and other officials took part in panel discussions.
C‑SPAN continues a week of programming looking back at 9/11 and hearing from those affected by the terrorist attacks.
American History TV (which airs evenings at 8pm ET on C‑SPAN3) has Oral History interviews with people who were at the White House, U.S. Capitol, the Pentagon – and in the skies above Washington on 9/11.
And on the anniversary weekend, Saturday we'll be LIVE at 12:30pm ET from Pennsylvania, with the dedication of the Flight 93 National Memorial; Sunday we'll be LIVE starting at 8:30am ET on all the C‑SPAN networks with memorial ceremonies from New York, the Pentagon, and Pennsylvania.
Here's the complete lineup for the week:
C‑SPAN3 American History TV Oral Histories:
Wednesday
John Jester, the Pentagon’s Chief of Defense Protective Services on 9-11,and Mary Beth Cahill, chief of staff to Senator Ted Kennedy
Thursday
Rear Admiral David Thomas, who was in the Pentagon on 9/11 and Major Heather Penney – one of the first F-16 pilots scrambled from Andrews Air Force Base on 9-11
Memorial Coverage on C‑SPAN Networks:
Saturday
12:30pm LIVE Flight 93 National Memorial Dedication Ceremony. Dedication of Phase 1 of the permanent Flight 93 National Memorial.
Sunday
8:30am LIVE - The memorial ceremony at the World Trade Center site. President Obama, former President Bush, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, and former Governor George Pataki are all expected to attend
9am LIVE (C‑SPAN2) - The Pentagon memorial - Vice President Biden, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and others expected to speak.
9:30am LIVE (C‑SPAN3) - memorial the crash site of United Flight 93, a ceremony honoring the people who died there on September 11, 2001.
ALL DAY on C‑SPAN - we'll replay all of the memorial ceremonies, bring you archival footage and new C‑SPAN interviews, and hear from viewers about their memories and thoughts over the phone, by email, and via Twitter.