On September 16, 2001, CIA head George Tenet wrote a memorandum which called for the coordination of efforts between different factions of the intelligence community: ” ‘The agency [CIA] must give people the authority to do things they might not ordinarily be allowed to do,’ the memo declared, according to an official who described the document in detail. ‘If there is some bureaucratic hurdle, leap it.’ Tenet’s memorandum addressed what many government officials say were some significant flaws in the nation’s defenses against terrorism that were exploited by the hijackers on Sept. 11.”
– James Risen, “In Hindsight, C.I.A. Sees Flaws That Hindered Efforts on Terror,” The New York Times, Oct. 7, 2001