http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/28/politics/28fbi.html?hp
The FBI intercepted Al-Qaeda radio communications on September 10th 2001 saying that "zero hour" was the next day, but didn't get the message translated until several days later.
The fact that the FBI took days to get the radio messages translated means there was no sense of urgency within the agency to prevent attacks on US soil from ever happening.
Here are a list of problems that even today plague the FBI:
1. Outdated computer software;
2. Not enough people to translate tapes;
3. Inadequate funding;
4. Managers firing subordinates who report problems.
The translation situation is so bad that GOP senator Charles Grassley is saying that the FBI is, "drowning in a sea of information" of Al-Qaeda information that it hasn't gotten around to.
In the forthcoming debates, John Kerry should take Bush to task for not adequately funding the FBI and other counter-terrorism agencies and pledge to help the FBI fully modernize its system by the end of his first year.
This would play perfectly into his theme that Bush is misleading the Americans because he is saying one thing and doing another. On one hand, Bush is talking about how he wants to lead a "crusade" against terror. On the other hand, Bush is not giving the FBI the funding and personnel it needs to effectively fight the war on terror.