That's from FBI Director Robert Mueller, testifying Thursday before the House Judiciary Committee on counterterrorism practices.
Gee, what else might have derailed the 9/11 plotters? Maybe an official warning to the president. Something like “Bin Laden Determined to Strike in US.”
Or maybe a president who didn't have his head up his ass, or an FBI, CIA, and NSA who were capable of playing nicely together. Or, you know, massive surveillance on the entire U.S. population. Whatever.