--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Immediately after the September 11th…" description: "\"Immediately after the September 11th attacks, I volunteered to go to Afghanistan in any capacity that the CIA wanted me. Four months passed before I wa..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/432/john-kiriakou-35426_able_immediately-after-the-september-11th-att_75961.jpg" --- # Immediately after the September 11th attacks, I… ![“Immediately after the September 11th attacks, I volunteered to go to Afghanistan in any capacity that the CIA wanted me. Four months passed before I was able to go overseas, just because my skill set was not one that was important in those really early days after the attacks.” quote by John Kiriakou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/432/john-kiriakou-35426_able_immediately-after-the-september-11th-att_75961.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/432/john-kiriakou-35426_able_immediately-after-the-september-11th-att_75961.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/432/john-kiriakou-35426_able_immediately-after-the-september-11th-att_75961.jpg) > “Immediately after the September 11th attacks, I volunteered to go to Afghanistan in any capacity that the CIA wanted me. Four months passed before I was able to go overseas, just because my skill set was not one that was important in those really early days after the attacks.” [John Kiriakou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kiriakou/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker volunteered for CIA work after 9/11 but was delayed because his expertise wasn't needed early on, highlighting mismatched skill demand in crisis response. **In simple terms:** Volunteerism vs. operational relevance Key Takeaway Timing of skill relevance matters Themes Crisis response Volunteerism Skill relevance Bureaucracy Talent allocation Mood Reflective Determined Type Personal anecdote Historical reflection When to use this quote - Post‑9/11 recruitment - Volunteer offers - Skill‑specific assignments - Early‑stage crisis operations Key Concepts Motivation Organizational priorities Resource matching Practical Applications - Strategic staffing in emergencies - Aligning talent with mission needs Questions to Reflect On - How can organizations better assess skill needs in emergent situations? - What mechanisms ensure volunteers are utilized effectively? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Afghanistan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afghanistan/) [Cia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cia/) [September](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/september/) [Skills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/skills/) ## Related quotes > [President Obama has said that our aspirations should be realistic. We are not going to turn one of the poorest countries in the world,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-petraeus/president-obama-has-said-that-our-aspirations-should-be-realistic-we/) [David Petraeus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-petraeus/) > [Afghanistan has the capacity to become an industrialized country because of its mining and agriculture sectors. We can also create jobs for educated men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashraf-ghani/afghanistan-has-the-capacity-to-become-an-industrialized-country/) [Ashraf Ghani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashraf-ghani/) > [ 15 of the 19 \[September 11th\] hijackers were from Saudi Arabia. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-moore/15-of-the-19-september-11th-hijackers-were-from-saudi-arabia/) [Michael Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-moore/) > [I haven't seen it. I don't really need Michael Moore to tell me about September 11th.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudy-giuliani/i-haven-t-seen-it-i-don-t-really-need-michael-moore-to-tell-me-about/) [Rudy Giuliani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudy-giuliani/) > [We've had no evidence that Saddam Hussein was involved with the September 11th.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/we-ve-had-no-evidence-that-saddam-hussein-was-involved-with-the/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [My last vestige of 'hands off religion' respect disappeared in the smoke and choking dust of September 11, 2001, followed by the 'National Day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/my-last-vestige-of-hands-off-religion-respect-disappeared-in-the/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [In time, perhaps, we will mark the memory of September 11th in stone and metal, something we can show children, as yet unborn, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/in-time-perhaps-we-will-mark-the-memory-of-september-11th-in-stone/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [I too remember September 11th. I remember immediately putting into place security procedures all throughout our company that did business in 170 countries where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carly-fiorina/i-too-remember-september-11th-i-remember-immediately-putting-into/) [Carly Fiorina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carly-fiorina/) > [There are terrible, terrible memories of September 11th, things that I saw, people that I lost, the devastation, the identification of bodies. I mean,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudy-giuliani/there-are-terrible-terrible-memories-of-september-11th-things-that-i/) [Rudy Giuliani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudy-giuliani/) > [There's no question that Saddam Hussein is a threat Yes, he has chemical and biological weapons. He's had those for a long time. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wesley-clark/there-s-no-question-that-saddam-hussein-is-a-threat-yes-he-has/) [Wesley Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wesley-clark/) > [The country was not focused on terrorism before September 11th.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-country-was-not-focused-on-terrorism-before-september-11th/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Last week, the House of Representatives passed a resolution honoring the victims and heroes of September 11th. As we commemorate the anniversary of 9-11,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-mccaul/last-week-the-house-of-representatives-passed-a-resolution-honoring/) [Michael McCaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-mccaul/) > [There will be no going back to the era before September 11th, 2001, to false comfort in a dangerous world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/there-will-be-no-going-back-to-the-era-before-september-11th-2001-to/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [But the point is to get a whole new generation of people and people in general more re-engaged in news, and this has happened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/but-the-point-is-to-get-a-whole-new-generation-of-people-and-people/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [The terrorist attacks of September 11th and the courageous actions of our armed forces in Afghanistan and Iraq remind us that friends of tyranny…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-levin/the-terrorist-attacks-of-september-11th-and-the-courageous-actions-of/) [Carl Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-levin/) ## More by John Kiriakou > [It's not up to Google, it's not up to Apple to turn over our personal communications in order to save the country. It's up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kiriakou/it-s-not-up-to-google-it-s-not-up-to-apple-to-turn-over-our-personal/) [John Kiriakou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kiriakou/) > [I can remember only a small handful of instances in which I talked about politics with my parents. I remember my parents telling me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kiriakou/i-can-remember-only-a-small-handful-of-instances-in-which-i-talked/) [John Kiriakou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kiriakou/) > [If the CIA is going to disrupt future terrorist attacks, it needs to recruit spies to infiltrate those groups in order to disrupt the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kiriakou/if-the-cia-is-going-to-disrupt-future-terrorist-attacks-it-needs-to/) [John Kiriakou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kiriakou/) > [The CIA has transformed from an organization created to recruit spies to steal secrets, into a paramilitary organization, a paramilitary force. It's not supposed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kiriakou/the-cia-has-transformed-from-an-organization-created-to-recruit-spies/) [John Kiriakou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kiriakou/) > [I've never heard a White House staff say that the president was too stupid or too ill-informed to have broken the law. And that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kiriakou/i-ve-never-heard-a-white-house-staff-say-that-the-president-was-too/) [John Kiriakou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kiriakou/) > [The truth of the matter is, we can certainly fight against terrorism and fight terrorist groups around the world without having to give up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kiriakou/the-truth-of-the-matter-is-we-can-certainly-fight-against-terrorism/) [John Kiriakou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kiriakou/) > [You can't just blurt the information out to the Russian foreign minister and the Russian ambassador. What happens is, the information goes back to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kiriakou/you-can-t-just-blurt-the-information-out-to-the-russian-foreign/) [John Kiriakou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kiriakou/) > [I had never really given any thought to working for the CIA, but graduation was upon me; I was getting married just a week…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kiriakou/i-had-never-really-given-any-thought-to-working-for-the-cia-but/) [John Kiriakou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kiriakou/) > [The big issue is this incremental whittling away of our constitutional rights, our most important constitutional rights, including freedom of speech. This is something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kiriakou/the-big-issue-is-this-incremental-whittling-away-of-our/) [John Kiriakou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kiriakou/) > [I think the president, very simply, has never read a copy of the Constitution. I think that that's true. He's just never bothered to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kiriakou/i-think-the-president-very-simply-has-never-read-a-copy-of-the/) [John Kiriakou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kiriakou/) > [It's much less romantic in that you have to go to www.cia.gov and click "Apply Now." For me it was much more clandestine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kiriakou/it-s-much-less-romantic-in-that-you-have-to-go-to-www-cia-gov-and/) [John Kiriakou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kiriakou/) > [Even if torture works, it cannot be tolerated -- not in one case or a thousand or a million. If their efficacy becomes the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kiriakou/even-if-torture-works-it-cannot-be-tolerated-not-in-one-case-or-a/) [John Kiriakou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kiriakou/) [Explore all 13 John Kiriakou quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kiriakou/) ## More Able quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. 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