The Victims of Terrorism: An Assessment of Their Influence and ...

9/11: Power in Numbers 5under oath and those persons being interviewed were primarily academics, not governmentofficials (Kean, Hamilton, and Rhodes, 2006, pp. 54 and 128).Four FSC members, dubbed the “Jersey Girls” by the media covering their activities,became some of the best-known 9/11 family members. Inspired by the political efforts of thePan Am 103 family groups, this group of 9/11 widows—Kristen Breitweiser, Patty Casazza,Mindy Kleinberg, and Lorie Van Auken—became one of the driving forces behind the pushto systemically reform the U.S. intelligence community. According to the groups’ leaders,the turning point in their efforts was the 300-person rally they organized with fellow FSCmembers Beverly Eckert, Mary Fetchet, Carie Lemack, Stephen Push, and Robin Weiner inWashington, D.C., in June 2002 to demand the creation of an independent 9/11 commission(Jacobs, 2002; Gest, 2002b; Lemack, 2004). Armed with a portfolio of photos, keepsakes,and personal memories, they had already developed an effective routine of regularly travelingto Washington to lobby congressional representatives and senators. Breitweiser was, in fact,one of the two victims’ family representatives asked to testify before a particularly importanthearing, held on September 18, 2002, of the Joint Senate and House Intelligence Committeeinvestigating the intelligence failures on 9/11. The selection of Breitweiser and Push, formertreasurer and director of FOS11 who lost his wife, Lisa Raines, onboard American Airlinesflight 77 when it crashed into the Pentagon, was proof that their respective groups—(FSC andFOS11) had gained early recognition as those most influential and well informed (Lee, 2002).The four widows also formed their own organization, September 11th Advocates. Composedonly of the Jersey Girls themselves, September 11th Advocates is not a group in the traditionalsense of the term, in that it does not have an open membership; nonetheless, it is included inthis paper and analyzed as one of the 16 9/11 family groups.Although the Jersey Girls’ role in the creation and progress of the 9/11 Commission isperhaps the best known, members of the FSC and other family groups have also wielded significantinfluence. FOS11, for instance, grew to comprise 1,500 members drawn from victims’families, an additional 500 persons who registered on the group’s Web site as friends or concernedcitizens, a seven-person board of directors, an advisory committee, and administrativestaff. While nearly half of FOS11’s members live in the New York metropolitan area (includingNew Jersey and Connecticut), residents of 47 other states and 10 other countries have joined.Operational responsibilities are divided between its board members, who are charged withactively promoting FOS11’s goals, and a staff whose tasks include coordinating the group Website, providing emotional support to members, and additional activities such as oversight ofgroup finances, public relations, and external (e.g., media and governmental) communication(FOS11, undated).With its large membership base, FOS11 has consequently emerged as one of the morevocal and influential groups to arise out of the tragedy. Its board members, for instance, wereespecially active in promoting a variety of important policy initiatives to advance the group’smission of raising awareness about the importance of preparedness for, and the prevention of,future attacks. At the forefront of this campaign have been both Carie Lemack (vice president,FSC) and Stephen Push (see Butler, 2003). During the 9/11 Commission’s first hearing, heldin New York City on March 31, 2003, for example, Push was one of four family memberswho testified (Push, 2003). Interestingly, FOS11 members Carol Ashley, Beverly Eckert, Carie