Zelikow's 'What Do I Do Now?' Memo

8/14/2019 Zelikow's 'What Do I Do Now?' Memo

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March 2, 2003MEMORANDUMTo: All Incoming StaffFrom: Philip ZelikowSubj : "What Do I Do Now?"

As you arrive for work at the Commission, you will find an empty in-box - or no in-boxat all. Your colleagues will slowly be arriving as they are appointed an d disengage fromtheir other jobs. Some will hold full TS security clearances; others only at the Secretlevel; still others may not yet have any security clearance at all. You'll be f igur ing outwhere you sit, how to get the office supplies you need, or how to perform basic tasks -like getting your computer to work. This is the work environment of a start-up. It can bedisorienting.So here are some sugg estions to help you organize the work you should start do ing onDay One, regardless of your clearance status.I. Take Care of Your Personal PaperworkBe sure you have comp leted and retained copies of yo ur relevant paperwork in threecategories:

Your federal employment status, salary, and benefits. You can get and track thesewith our GS A liaison, Melyn da Clarke, or the Comm ission's adm inistrativeofficer, Tracy Shycoff .Your security clearance. You can track these wit h John Ivicic.Yo ur financial disclosure:a) If you r salary is at or above $102,165, you are required to file th e publicfinancial disclosure form s issued by the Senate Ethics Committee. Y ou mus t dothis with in 30 days of you r formal s tar t date at the Commission. The Commissionalso has responsib ili ties with respect to this inform ation and will retain a copy ofyour forms. Stephanie Kaplan can help you locate th e necessary forms andinstructions.b) If you r salary is below this threshold, you should n onetheless reflect careful lyon all sources of nongovernment income you or yo ur spouse have received dur ingth e last tw o calendar years, or assets you hold. Please prepare a confidentialmemo to me that describes any poten t ia lconflicts of interest tha t m ay arise with


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your work for the Commission. In making these judgments, consider outsideperception - ask yourself how it wo uld look if this information was made publicand you had not disclosed it.c) W hatever your salary, if you were employed by a private law or consultingfirm before coming to the Commission, please disclose any notable clients of yourformer firm that, to the best of your knowledge, might be affected by theCommission's work. This would include, fo r example, airlines, parties in any9/11-related litigation, officials who are objects of Commission examination, orany clients being represented in lobbying or litigation related to homelandsecurity or counterterrorism.

All information you provide will be handled in strict confidence. D isclosure does no tnecessarily create a bar from doing your work. If we have any concerns w e will discussthem with you and consult with the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Commission. Fulldisclosure is your best protection against any potential concern. If you are in doubt aboutwhat you must do, let me know or, as they come on board, you can contact theCommission's counsel or his or her assistant counsel.

II. Compile and Digest the Work Already Done on Your Subject, and Prepareto Share It with th e CommissionersSignificant research and analysis ha s been published in open sources on every majortopic being examined by the Com mission. Our goal is to synthesize and build upon goodwork that has already been done. Yo u mu st therefore be fam iliar with those foundations.For your team's subject, you must be conversant with all the more important work thathas been done in at least the last five years - and on some topics much earlier, includingmajor press stories, relevant execu tive bra nch reports, and congressional or G AO studies.You should download or acq uire copies of these wo rks as part of yo ur team's workingfiles and for reference. The Com mission w ill reimbu rse any reasonable expen ditures.Your back grou nd research should include official executive branch docum ents, such asspeeches and published papers (like the N ational Hom eland Secu rity Strategy or theNational Strategy fo r Com bating T errorism), and it should include copies of relevantcongressional hearings. You can locate relevant hearings either by co ntacting thecommittee staffs or by usin g inform ation services such as Thomas (Library of Congress)or the Lexis/Nexis-owned CIS/Index.As you proceed w ith this wo rk, keep thinking about how to share what you have learnedwith the commissioners in the most effective way. Keep a rolling list of what w ri t tenwork youconsider truly essential and also keep a select list of the best people - eitherbecause of their association with that essential w ork or other experience andqualifications. These should be people you wo uld like to learn from . The purpose in thisphase is orientation and backgrou nd know ledge, d igest ing what w e have already learned -


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- not interviews with officials who are objects in our inquiry. (I'll discuss them in thenext section.)Beginning in April, every team should be readying draft plans for review that envisionthe contents of a briefing book and a notional schedule for one or two days of privatebriefings or public hearings on that team's subject area. This will provide a way, early inour work, for all commissioners to have the opportunity to get up to speed with theessential background material on every team's subject area and interact directly with astrong set of experts.You should consider what might better be handled in private and what can just as well bedone in public. Our initial hearings in New York City, for example, are likely to includepublic presentations and discussions with commissioners of some studies that havealready been done on the structural performance of the WTC towers and the emergencyresponse by the FDNY.

III. Prepare forFurther Research and AnalysisAs you do your background research, yo u should be identifying critical issues of fact an djudgment, and particular records and people relevant to addressing those issues. To bespecific, youshould be preparing- at a minimum:

Working chronologies for your topic.Lists of key questions or issues, expecting that yo u will regularly need to reviseand prioritize them.Organizational charts for the agencies,or parts of agencies, which are especiallyrelevant to your work. Many of the agencies or entities have been significantlyreorganized in recent years. Y ou should have charts showing their variousconfigurations over at least the last five years.Notes identifying which individuals held each of the key positions in the relevantchains of command throughout this period.Running, prioritized lists of critical records an d knowledgeable individuals(judged above all by their firsthand knowledge of relevant events).

A s you prioritize your lists, these judgments may be influenced by how much you think isalready known. For that an d other reasons, every time yo u attach a high priority tointerviewing a particular individual, yo u should feel obliged to compile every relevantrecord of prior testimonies, talks, or writings that you can locate for that individual.These investments of effort will pay off later.


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Those who are work ing Al Qaeda an d related terrorist organizations should adopt thesame approach, as if Al Qaeda was one of the organizations they are examining from theinside (which it is). Work to the limits of the available material - which for some weeksmay remain largely unclassified. The list of "knowledgeable individuals" should againbe compiled on the same criteria of firsthand knowledge, tho ugh you should also identifyany experts who m ay later be able to help you find more direct evidence.Draft chronologies, lists, and charts should be shared at least among colleagues in teams,and perhaps with h elpful colleagues on other teams, so that "team" versions of these draftdocuments are available for review by mid-April. We may revise these targets ascircumstances warrant.In sum, there is plenty that you can do as soon as you come on b oard, w hatever you rsecurity clearance status. An d never, ever assum e that classification levels are a reliableguide to the value of information.

IV. General GuidelinesRegardless of form al classification, you are wo rking with sensitive inform ation on topicsof great public interest. You should not discuss the Commission or its work with th epress. Period. This is a brig ht line rule: D o not talk to the press at all. If you arecontacted by a reporter, do not return the call. Forward the m essage to m e or to Chris, orto ou r Deputy fo r Com munications once he or she is in place. This is also a way that youcan protect you rself, in the event that any leaks prom pt further inquiries.Interactions with Comm issioners can be helpful to you and to them. If you are contactedby a comm issioner w ith questions, please contact Chris or me. Consulting with th e Chairand Vice-Chair, we will be sure that the appropriate members of the Commission staffare responsive.Do not pub licly disclose the street address of the Commission. If pressed you canmention "K Street" or some other general location. This in form ation is not classified, butit is sensitive. If this information is published so that millions ca n find it, we may receiveunwanted visitors. O ur location is secure, but its secu rity rests partly on its anonymity.We do not hav e setbacks, etc. W e will soon have a PO Box as our m ailing address, and apublic website to help people learn abo ut our efforts.

W e expect to have tw o principal office locations in the Distr ict of Columbia, and a verysmall office to support our work in New Yo rk City. Y our own office assignment may betemporary, until full staff assignments are in place.


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And - as you arecatching your breath - TomKean, LeeHamilton, Chris Kojm and Ithank you , once again, fo r joining up for an intense, challenging, an d rewarding period ofpublic service. You are now part of a history-writing and history-making enterprise,working with some of the most talented peop le in America, and led by an outstand inggroup of com missioners. Welcome.

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Zelikow's 'What Do I Do Now?' Memo