Welcome to the inquiry with me, Tanya Beckett.

Each week, one question for expert witnesses and an answer.

September 11th of this year will mark two decades

since a group of militants from the Islamic Extremist Group Al-Qaeda

hijacked four airplanes to carry out suicide attacks

against targets in the United States, claiming the lives

of almost 3,000 people.

The atrocities led President George Bush

to launch a prolonged war on terror

with bitter conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

20 years on, Iraq is beset with violence

and Afghanistan is back in the hands of fundamentalist group

the Taliban.

This week on the inquiry, we're asking,

did America get its response to the 9-11 attacks right?

Part 1. Homeland Security

On September 11th, 2001,

Bruce Hoffman was sitting in his office in Washington, D.C.

when a hijacked plane crashed into the building opposite.

I was actually on the other side of the highway

from the Pentagon when American Airlines flight 77 crashed into it.

I didn't actually see it myself because my office

...