In Baghdad early today, an explosion destroyed a police station and tore off the front of the Shahine hotel which is frequently used by foreign businessmen. At least four people died.

9/11 Commission: Gov’t Ignored Suicide Hijackings Threat
The federal 9/11 commission reported Tuesday that federal aviation authorities had failed to focus on the potential threat of suicide hijackings even though officials knew it was a possible means of attack as far back as 1998. The commission also said aviation officials did little to increase security or screening procedures even in the weeks before Sept. 11 when the intelligence community knew an Al Qaeda attack was imminent. Two of the hijackers had been placed on terrorist watch lists in the weeks before the attacks but their names were never provided to the Federal Aviation Agency. Their names never appeared on no-fly lists. An audiotape of Flight 11 attendant Betty Ong was also released yesterday. She said “I think we’re getting hijacked. [The] cockpit is not answering their phone.... We can’t even get into the cockpit. We don’t know who’s up there.”