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3/22/2002 6:14:11 AM
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9/12/2001 2:10:53 AM
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By Andrew Quinn and Alan Elsner NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Three planes commandeered by unknown, knife-wielding hijackers slammed into the Pentagon (news - web sites) and New York's landmark World Trade Center on Tuesday, sending towering symbols of America's financial and military might crumbling into rubble and burying thousands of people alive. President Bush (news - web sites), speaking after a day that saw America reel under its worst attack since the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, vowed to stand firm against terrorism and bring the perpetrators to justice. The twin 110-story World Trade Center towers, which drew as many as 40,000 people per day, lay toppled and in ruins. The Pentagon, the nerve-center of the nation's military, was severely damaged with flames still burning late into Tuesday night. NBC News quoted sources as saying at least 800 died when the passenger jet slammed into the fortress-like building. Bush, in the first official confirmation of what could be a staggering death toll, urged vigilance as U.S. forces worldwide went on highest alert. ``Thousands of lives were suddenly ended by evil, despicable acts of terror,'' Bush said in a televised address. ``Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings ... they cannot touch the foundation of America,'' Bush said. ``These acts shattered steel but they cannot shatter the steel of American resolve.'' Bush said the search was underway for those responsible, adding ``We will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbored them.'' With the nation in shocked disbelief, major U.S. financial markets were ordered closed for a second day on Wednesday. Asian markets plunged. SUSPICION CENTERS ON BIN LADEN While no group has claimed responsibility for the attack, suspicions centered on an implacable U.S. foe -- exiled Saudi Osama bin Laden (news - web sites), who is being sheltered in Afghanistan (news - web sites) by the Taliban government. Explosions lit up the night sky in the Afghan capital of Kabul and reports said there were missiles flying across the city. But a Pentagon official denied U.S. involvement, and the anti-Taliban opposition later claimed responsibility. Utah Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch (news - bio - voting record) told ABC News he had been told by top intelligence officials that all signs pointed in the direction of bin Laden. ``We know that people on (one of the aircraft) appear associated with bin Laden,'' he told ABC. Local television in Miami reported that federal agents were sent to serve search warrants on a home or homes in south Florida in connection with the attacks. In New York, Mayor Rudolph Giuliani (news - web sites) said the death toll could ultimately be ``horrific.'' Hundreds of firefighters and police are missing and feared dead after trying to rescue others. In a glimmer of good news, Giuliani said late Tuesday that two people, identified as Port Authority police officers, had been pulled alive from the wreckage of the massive towers. ``At least there's some hope that we'll be able to get some people out,'' Giuliani said. Police said others trapped inside made desperate pleas for help via cell phones. Nevertheless, officials feared the death toll could climb into the tens of thousands because as many as 40,000 people worked in huge towers. A nearby 47-story building, World Trade Center No. 7, collapsed seven hours later after a raging fire. A hotel in the complex was also reported to have collapsed. It was a day of horror, in which people hurled themselves out of windows high above the ground to avoid being burned alive or buried under tons of steel. A person who answered the phone on the trading floor of broker Cantor Fitzgerald near the top of the World Trade Center said, ``We are fucking dying!'' when asked what was happening. The entire nation was brought to a halt by scenes of terrified people fleeing the mayhem flashing across TV screens. The mighty twin towers, anchoring the southern tip of Manhattan imploded one at a time, sending a massive plume of dust and smoke billowing over the city. President Bush, in Florida at the time of the attacks, rushed back to Washington after crisscrossing the country in the biggest crisis yet of his presidency. AN ACT CONDEMNED
World leaders condemned the attack. German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder called the strikes a ``declaration of war against the civilized world.'' A shaken Palestinian President Yasser Arafat (news - web sites) called them ``a terrible act,'' though Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied territories and Lebanon celebrated. Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s Iraq, long a U.S. foe, said the United States deserved the attacks for what it called ``its crimes against humanity.'' The attacks, which involved the hijacking of four California-bound commercial planes -- two from Boston, one each from Newark and Dulles, outside Washington -- brought the country to a standstill, turning cities into ghost towns. Bush Administration officials told members of Congress in on Capitol Hill late on Tuesday that an estimated three to five hijackers were aboard each of the airliners and they were armed with knives described as box-cutters, Rep. Allen Boyd (news - bio - voting record), a Florida Democrat, told reporters. Financial markets were closed and millions of workers sent home early. All commercial flights were canceled and all airports shut in an unprecedented move. For the first time since D-Day, major league baseball games were canceled. The crisis began shortly before 9 a.m. EDT when the first plane slammed into the north tower in New York's financial district, opening a huge hole near the top. A second plane followed 15 minutes later, scoring a direct hit on the south tower. Minutes later came the report of a third kamikaze attack on the Pentagon, in Northern Virginia across the Potomac river from Washington. A section of the five-story, five-sided complex -- the world's biggest office building which was never attacked during decades of the Cold War -- collapsed and burned, sending gray smoke billowing over Washington. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said the casualty total was unclear, but added: ``It will not be few.'' NBC News said at least 800 were feared dead, although fire officials told other reporters the toll could be lower. District of Columbia Mayor Anthony Williams declared a state of emergency in the city. As White House staffers were evacuated and key personnel taken to safe locations, most of the federal government shut down for the day. The Trade Center towers -- which opened for business amid great fanfare in 1975 -- were one of New York's best-known landmarks, rivaling the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building. Not knowing if more attacks were on the way, authorities evacuated landmarks like the White House, the Pentagon, the Sears Tower in Chicago and the Walt Disney theme parks. In both New York and Washington, the National Guard was called to duty. It was the worst attack on American soil since Japanese war planes bombed the U.S. fleet at Pearl Harbor in 1941, killing 2,280 soldiers and 68 civilians and forcing the United States into World War Two. 266 ABOARD FOUR HIJACKED PLANES Authorities said at least 266 people were on board the hijacked planes -- two that crashed into the twin towers, one that slammed into the Pentagon and a fourth that crashed in a wooded area near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. ``I looked outside and saw a big chunk of the World Trade Center missing,'' said Verizon employee Ellen Leon. ``Fifteen minutes later I saw people jumping out of the building. Bodies were flying out. I don't know if they were already dead or if they were just going to die.'' The attacks triggered panic, disbelief and heroism in the largest U.S. city, where police and firefighters risked their lives to save people from the twin towers before its 200,000 tons of steel frame and 43,000 windows came smashing down. ``Hundreds of people are burned from head to toe,'' said Dr. Steven Stern at St. Vincent's Hospital in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of lower Manhattan. Foreign financial markets fell sharply on news of the attacks, which economists said could help shove the shuddering global economy into recession. The London FTSE index plummeted 5.7 percent and Latin American markets tumbled. Oil prices spiked up. Asian markets opened on Wednesday in chaos, with Tokyo stocks sliding to 17-year lows and other regional markets also showing sharp losses. Email this story - View most popular | Printer-friendly format Earlier Stories
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9/12/2001 2:27:09 AM
9/12/2001 4:47:53 AM
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Chronology of terror
September 12, 2001 Posted: 7:41 AM EDT
(1141 GMT) 8:45 a.m.: A large plane, possibly a hijacked
airliner, crashes into one of the World Trade Center towers, tearing a gaping
hole in the building and setting it afire.
9:03 a.m.: A second plane, apparently a
passenger jet, crashes into the second World Trade Center tower and explodes.
Both buildings are burning. 9:17 a.m.: The FAA shuts down all New York City
area airports. 9:21 a.m.: New York City Port Authority orders
all bridges and tunnels in the New York City area closed 9:30 a.m.: Bush, speaking in Florida, says the
country has suffered an "apparent terrorist attack."
9:40 a.m.: The FAA halts all flight operations
at U.S. airports, the first time in U.S. history that air traffic nationwide
has been halted. 9:43 a.m.: An aircraft crashes into the Pentagon,
sending up a huge plume of smoke. Evacuation begins immediately. 9:45 a.m.: The White House evacuates. 9:57 a.m.: Bush departs from Florida. 10:05 a.m.: The south tower of the World Trade
Center collapses, plummeting into the streets below. A massive cloud of dust
and debris forms and slowly drifts away from the building.
10:08 a.m.: Secret Service agents armed with
automatic rifles are deployed into Lafayette Park across from the White
House. 10:10 a.m.: A portion of the Pentagon collapses.
10:10 a.m.: United Airlines Flight 93 crashes in
Somerset County, Pennsylvania, southeast of Pittsburgh. 10:13 a.m.: The United Nations building
evacuates, including 4,700 people from the headquarters building and 7,000
total from UNICEF and U.N. development programs. 10:22 a.m.: In Washington, the State and Justice
departments are evacuated, along with the World Bank. 10:24 a.m.: The FAA reports that all inbound
transatlantic aircraft flying into the United States are being diverted to
Canada.
10:28 a.m.: The World Trade Center's north tower
collapses from the top down as if it were being peeled apart, releasing a
tremendous cloud of debris and smoke. 10:45 a.m.: All federal office buildings in
Washington are evacuated. 10.46 a.m.: U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell
cuts short his trip to Latin America to return to the United States.
10.48 a.m.: Police confirm the crash of a large
plane in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. 10:53 a.m.: New York's primary elections
scheduled for today are postponed. 10:54 a.m.: Israel evacuates all diplomatic
missions.
10:57 a.m.: New York Gov. George Pataki says all
state government offices are closed. 11:02 a.m.: Giuliani urges New Yorkers to stay
at home and orders an evacuation of the area south of Canal Street. 11:16 a.m.: CNN reports that the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention is preparing emergency-response teams in a
precautionary move. 11:18 a.m.: American Airlines reports it has
lost two aircraft. American Flight 11, a Boeing 767 flying from Boston to Los
Angeles, had 81 passengers and 11 crew aboard. Flight 77, a Boeing 757 en
route from Washington's Dulles Airport to Los Angeles, had 58 passengers and
six crew members aboard. Flight 11 slammed into the north tower of the World
Trade Center. 11:26 a.m.: United Airlines reports that United
Flight 93, en route from Newark, New Jersey, to San Francisco, has crashed in
Pennsylvania, southeast of Pittsburgh. The airline also says that it is
"deeply concerned" about United Flight 175. 11:59 a.m.: United Airlines confirms that Flight
175, from Boston to Los Angeles, has crashed with 56 passengers and nine crew
members aboard. Emergency personnel at the scene say there are no survivors. 12:04 p.m.: Los Angeles International Airport is
evacuated. 12:15 p.m: San Francisco International Airport
is evacuated and shut down. The airport was the destination of United
Airlines Flight 93, which crashed in Pennsylvania.
12:15 p.m.: The Immigration and Naturalization
Service says U.S. borders with Canada and Mexico are on the highest state of
alert, but no decision has been made about closing borders. 12:30 p.m.: The FAA says 50 flights are in U.S.
airspace, but none are reporting any problems. 1:04 p.m.: Bush, speaking from Barksdale Air
Force Base, says that all appropriate security measures are being taken,
including putting the U.S. military on high alert worldwide. He asks for
prayers for those killed or wounded in the attacks and says: "Make no
mistake, the United States will hunt down and punish those responsible for
these cowardly acts." 1:27 p.m.: A state of emergency is declared by
the city of Washington. 1:44 p.m.: The Pentagon says five warships and
two aircraft carriers will leave the U.S. Naval Station in Norfolk, Virginia,
to protect the East Coast from further attack and to reduce the number of
ships in port. The two carriers, the USS George Washington and the USS John
F. Kennedy, are headed for the New York coast. The other ships headed to sea
are frigates and guided missile destroyers capable of shooting down aircraft.
1:48 p.m.: President Bush leaves Barksdale Air
Force Base in Louisiana aboard Air Force One and flies to an undisclosed
location.
2 p.m.: Senior FBI sources tell CNN they are
working on the assumption that the four airplanes that crashed were hijacked
as part of a terrorist attack. 2:30 p.m.: The FAA announces there will be no
U.S. commercial air traffic until noon EDT Wednesday. 2:49 p.m.: At a news conference, Giuliani says
that subway and bus service are restored in New York City. Asked about the
number of people killed, Giuliani says, "I don't think we want to
speculate about that -- more than any of us can bear." 3:55 p.m.: Karen Hughes, a White House
counselor, says the president is at an undisclosed location, later revealed
to be an Air Force base in Nebraska, and is conducting a National Security
Council meeting by phone. Vice President Dick Cheney and National Security
Adviser Condoleezza Rice are in a security facility at the White House.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is at the Pentagon. 3:55 p.m.: Giuliani now says the number of
critically injured in New York City is up to 200 with 2,100 total injuries
reported. 4 p.m: CNN National Security Correspondent David
Ensor reports that U.S. officials say there are "good indications"
that bin Laden is involved in the attacks, based on "new and
specific" information developed since the attacks. 4:06 p.m.: California Gov. Gray Davis dispatches
urban search-and-rescue teams to New York City. 4:10 p.m.: Building 7 of the World Trade Center
complex is reported on fire.
4:20 p.m.: U.S. Sen. Bob Graham, D-Florida,
chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, says he was "not
surprised there was an attack (but) was surprised at the specificity."
He says he was "shocked at what actually happened -- the extent of
it." 4:25 p.m.: The American Stock Exchange, the
Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange say they will remain closed Wednesday.
4:30 p.m.: The president leaves Offutt Air Force
Base in Nebraska aboard Air Force One to return to Washington.
5:15 p.m.: CNN Military Affairs Correspondent
Jamie McIntyre reports fires are still burning in part of the Pentagon. No
death figures have been released yet. 5:20 p.m.: The 47-story Building 7 of the World
Trade Center complex collapses. The evacuated building is damaged when the
twin towers across the street collapse earlier in the day. Other nearby
buildings in the area remain ablaze. 5:30 p.m.: CNN Senior White House Correspondent
John King reports that U.S. officials say the plane that crashed in
Pennsylvania could have been headed for one of three possible targets: Camp
David, the White House or the U.S. Capitol building. 6 p.m.: Explosions are heard in Kabul,
Afghanistan, hours after terrorist attacks targeted financial and military
centers in the United States. The attacks occurred at 2:30 a.m. local time.
Afghanistan is believed to be the home of Saudi militant Osama bin Laden, who
U.S. officials say is possibly behind Tuesday's deadly attacks. U.S.
officials say later that the United States had no involvement in the incident
whatsoever. 6:10 p.m.: Mayor Rudolph Giuliani urges New
Yorkers to stay home Wednesday if they can.
6:40 p.m.: U.S. Defense Secretary Donald
Rumsfeld holds a news conference in the Pentagon, noting the building is
operational. "It will be in business tomorrow," he says. 6:54 p.m.: Bush arrives back at the White House
aboard Marine One and is scheduled to address the nation at 8:30 p.m. The
president earlier landed at Andrews Air Force Base with a three-fighter jet
escort. CNN's John King reports Laura Bush arrived earlier by motorcade from
a "secure location." 7:17 p.m.: U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft
says the FBI is setting up a Web site for tips on the attacks:
www.ifccfbi.gov. He also says family and friends of possible victims can
leave contact information at 800-331-0075. 7:02 p.m.: CNN's Paula Zahn reports the Marriott
Hotel near the World Trade Center is on the verge of collapse and says some
New York bridges are now open to outbound traffic.
7:45 p.m.: The New York Police Department says
that at least 78 officers are missing. The city also says that as many as
half of the first 400 firefighters on the scene were killed. 8:30 p.m. (all times are EDT): President Bush
addresses the nation, saying "thousands of lives were suddenly ended by
evil" and asks for prayers for the families and friends of Tuesday's
victims. "These acts shatter steel, but they cannot dent the steel of
American resolve," he says. The president says the U.S. government will
make no distinction between the terrorists who committed the acts and those
who harbor them. He adds that government offices in Washington are reopening
for essential personnel Tuesday night and for all workers Wednesday. |
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9/12/2001 4:48:24 AM
9/12/2001 6:03:52 AM
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Taliban denies involvement
September 12, 2001 Posted: 6:49 AM EDT
(1049 GMT)
KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN) -- Swift to deny any
involvement in the terrorism attacks in New York and Washington,
Afghanistan's ruling Taliban has condemned the violence. Taliban officials also denied that Osama bin
Laden, the millionaire Saudi fugitive blamed for past terrorist attacks
against American targets, was the behind the attacks. Intelligence officials and other sources have
told CNN that bin Laden -- living in sanctuary in Afghanistan -- or the Al
Quaida group he heads are considered suspects in the attacks. "There are good indications that persons
linked to Osama bin Laden may be responsible for these attacks," an intelligence
official told CNN, echoing the sentiments of some U.S. politicians.
From the Afghan capital of Kabul, CNN's Nic
Robertson said that there was a sense of apprehension among senior Taliban
officials concerned that possibly Afghanistan may be a place were retribution
might be sought. Speaking soon after the attacks, the Taliban's
Foreign Minister Wakil Ahmed Mutawakel criticized all forms of terrorism. He told reporters that Afghanistan nor bin Laden
had been directly accused and it was not necessary for his country to take
security precautions. Also, Taliban's spiritual leader, Mullah
Mohammed Omar, said in a statement that bin Laden was not behind the attacks.
"Osama bin Laden could be
responsible," he said. "This type of terrorism is too great for one
man." 'Multinational enterprise'
The Taliban gave sanctuary to bin Laden in 1996
mainly they say because of his role in war efforts that led to the withdrawal
of Soviet Union forces from Afghanistan after 10-years of occupation. Terrorism analyst Magnu Ranstorp told CNN that
bin Laden is was in charge of a terrorism organization that is "truly a
multinational enterprise" with followers from many different
nationalities. He also said that bin Laden is being viewed as a
possible suspect behind the terrorism attacks. "Most of the attention is focused on bin
Laden, perhaps not on him personally but on many of his lieutenants his
followers all over the world," Ranstorp said. Ranstorp said there has been a massive
international effort since 1996 when bin Laden declared a holy war against
the U.S. to tack bin Laden, his financial assets and his followers down. He added that U.S. and other intelligence
agencies have had a great difficulty in gathering information on the Al
Quaida group because of the de-centralized nature of the organization and
their experience is understanding how western intelligence operates. U.N. pullout
Meanwhile, the United Nations has began
evacuating its international staff out of Afghanistan as precautionary
measure. Local staff have been paid their salaries and it
was likely there would only be a skeleton staff of UN officials left in Kabul
and other cities around the country. Many other smaller non-government organizations
and aid groups are also preparing to pull out of Afghanistan. The U.N. relocation is expected to be completed
by Thursday, a statement said. Attacks in Kabul
Also on Wednesday, helicopter gunships operated
by the Northern Alliance attacked Kabul's airport, firing missiles at
targets. The Northern Alliance have been involved in a
long running civil war with the Taliban control about five percent of the
country. The Taliban says two airplanes and a workshop
were damaged in the attacks. |
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9/12/2001 6:32:52 AM
9/12/2001 6:34:18 AM
9/12/2001 6:34:27 AM
9/12/2001 7:07:32 AM
Under
Construction
Isoroku Yamamoto
Isoroku Yamamoto’s “famous last words:”
“I fear we have awakened a sleeping giant
and filled him with a terrible resolve.”
Mastermind of the Pearl Harbor
attack, and leader of Combined Fleet until 1943, his plane was shot down over
Bougainville on April 18, 1943 by American P-38 aircraft. I personally think
Yamamoto was a gifted individual, but also a bit over-rated. His needlessly
complex operational scheme at the Battle of Midway
dispersed his forces in the face of a still-dangerous foe, and directly led to
the disaster there. Further, in the subsequent battles around the Solomons he
was seemingly unable to capitalize on the weaknesses of the U.S. carrier forces
opposing him, and was also unwilling (until it was too late) to risk sending
the heavy surface units of the Combined Fleet down there to kick some butt.
This unwillingness, to me, belies Yamamoto's underlying belief that battleships
still were the ultimate arm of decision, and should therefore be hoarded in
hopes of participating in a Decisive Battle.
9/12/2001 7:07:42 AM
9/12/2001 10:46:28 PM
9/12/2001 10:46:34 PM
9/13/2001 1:23:22 AM
Passengers voted to attack hijackers
September 13, 2001 Posted: 12:46 AM EDT
(0446 GMT)
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Passengers on board the
hijacked United Airlines Flight 93 that crashed in rural Pennsylvania Tuesday
apparently decided to attack the terrorists who had commandeered the plane,
according to family members of one passenger.
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Passenger Jeremy Glick, flying with his
2-month-old child Emerson, called his wife Liz and in-laws in New York on a
cell phone to say the plane had been hijacked.
All 38 passengers, and possibly the crew, had been
herded to the back of the plane.
Glick said they were aware a plane had crashed
into the World Trade Center in New York and that some passengers were talking
about retaking control of their plane.
Moments earlier, according to a partial transcript
of cockpit chatter obtained by CNN Wednesday, air traffic controllers heard
someone shout, "Get out of here," through an open microphone.
The plane, which took off from Newark bound for
San Francisco, was near Cleveland, flying at 35,000 feet.
The microphone goes off and comes back on.
Scuffling is heard. Somebody again yells, "Get out of here."
The microphone goes off again, then on, and a
voice in broken English -- an Arabic accent, according to a source who heard
the tape -- says:
"There is a bomb on board. This is the
captain speaking. Remain in your seat. There is a bomb on board. Stay quiet. We
are meeting with their demands. We are returning to the airport."
The microphone goes off.
At that point, air traffic radar showed the plane
abruptly turning 180 degrees, heading southeast, apparently toward Washington
with the possible intention of crashing it into the White House or Capitol.
Joanne Makely, Glick's mother-in-law, told CNN
Wednesday the family called New York state police on another phone while Glick
was still on the line and relayed messages to them from Glick.
Glick told police he could see three men he
described as Arabs and that the plane was over countryside, according to
Makely.
One of the hijackers "had a red box he said
was a bomb, and one had a knife of some nature," Makely said.
Glick was not the only person on the flight to
make a phone call during the hijacking.
The Associated Press reported Wednesday that a 911
dispatcher received a call from an unidentified man who said, "We're being
hijacked!"
A flight attendant called her husband and told him
three other attendants had been stabbed by the hijackers, according to an
airline employee who asked not to be named.
Passenger Thomas E. Burnett Jr., 38, made four
calls to his wife Deena in San Ramon, California, the AP said.
"A group of us are going to do
something," Burnett said at one point, his wife told the AP. He also said
one passenger had been stabbed.
Glick and Burnett both said in their calls the
people on board knew of one or more attacks on the World Trade Center,
evidently from the other phone calls.
"He wanted to know if that was true,"
Makely said.
After Glick was told the reports were true, he
left the phone for a while, returning to say, "The men voted to attack the
terrorists," Makely said.
"He left the phone and said he would be
back," Makely said. "That's the last we heard."
Burnett's wife told the AP her husband
"thought he was going to be home. He was going to solve this
problem."
Passenger Mark Bingham, 31, called his mother to
say the plane had been taken over by three men who said they had a bomb, the AP
reported.
Alice Hoglan said she thinks her son may have
helped prevent the hijackers from hitting a more populated area.
"It gives me a great deal of comfort to know
that my son may have been able to avert the killing of many, many innocent
people," she said.
Makely described Glick as 6-feet-2, 220 pounds,
and an athlete. She did not know how many men voted to attack the terrorists.
Glick's father-in-law, Richard Makely, said he
took the phone, hoping to hear Glick come back and say the passengers and crew
had regained control of the plane.
Instead, he said, "I heard the end of the
story."
He would not say exactly what he heard, other than
to say "it would not have indicated" what ultimately caused the
plane's nose dive into a field in Somerset County, southeast of Pittsburgh, 90
minutes after the first airliner hit one of the twin towers in New York.
-- CNN Correspondent Kelli Arena and Producer
Jonathan Larsen contributed to this story.
9/13/2001 1:23:52 AM
9/13/2001 2:01:43 AM
White House Said Targeted
By SANDRA SOBIERAJ, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - The White House and Air Force One, two potent symbols of the American presidency, were targets of Tuesday's suicide bombers, government officials said.
Sketching a scenario that is normally the stuff of Hollywood thrillers, White House press secretary Ari Fleischer (news - web sites) cited ``real and credible information'' that the hijacked airplane that slammed into the Pentagon (news - web sites) was originally intended to hit the White House.
Air Force One, which was with Bush in Florida at the time of the attacks, also was in the terrorists' sights, Fleischer said Wednesday. ``That also is one of the reasons why Air Force One did not come back to Andrews (Air Force Base, Md.) where some people may have thought it would.''
He refused to say what kind of attack might have been aimed at the presidential jet.
Asked if evidence pointed to an assassination plot that went awry, Fleischer said he would tell reporters only what he knew about the prospective targets, ``and I think you can draw your own conclusions.''
The astonishing disclosure came seven years to the day after a Maryland man with a history of mental illness crashed a stolen light plane against the south side of the White House, an act that showed how vulnerable the mansion can be. It was reopened Wednesday for regular tours and some 400 people streamed through, receiving small American flags as they left.
The Bush administration was eager to explain Wednesday, in considerable detail, why Bush did not return immediately to Washington and take clear charge after the terrorists who struck at New York's World Trade Center turned to the nation's capital.
Throughout Tuesday, images of the Pentagon in flames - smashed by a hijacked airliner - and White House aides fleeing across Pennsylvania Avenue provided a sharp contrast with pictures of Bush heading for an underground bunker hundreds of miles away.
Fleischer said national security officials learned that both the White House and Air Force One were targets just as Bush's Boeing 747 lifted off Tuesday morning in Sarasota, Fla., where the president was to make an education speech. He already had announced on national television that he was hastening back to Washington. That plan was scrambled in mid-flight, and all who were aboard Air Force One - for a destination then unknown - were ordered to turn off their cell phones lest signals from the phones give away the plane's location.
At that time, there still were reports of unidentified planes in the air despite a Federal Aviation Administration (news - web sites) order instructing all planes in U.S. airspace to land at the nearest airport, Fleischer said.
Back in Washington the White House had been evacuated and Secret Service snipers with automatic rifles sealed off a two-block perimeter. Vice President Dick Cheney (news - web sites) remained inside the complex and was shuttled among several ``secure locations,'' including the Situation Room in the basement of the West Wing, where he and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice (news - web sites) were in touch with Bush by telephone and videoconference.
Under a tight wrap of secrecy, Bush first flew to Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana and then to Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska, home of the U.S. Strategic Command and an underground bunker with specialized equipment allowing Bush to meet via video teleconference for 65 minutes with his national security team at the White House.
He joined them there at dusk, helicoptering from Andrews to the South Lawn under cover of three decoy Marine choppers.
Sensitive to any suggestion that Bush was in hiding and not at the helm, officials said at the time they were only adhering to the Secret Service and military playbook for national emergencies when they bounced Bush around from one secret destination to another. On Wednesday, Fleischer said the main plan was to land Air Force One where no one expected it.
Security remained extraordinarily tight Wednesday at Andrews, home base for the presidential air fleet. The main gate was blocked by a Humvee, a heavy truck and a bus. Guards were armed with machine guns.
9/13/2001 2:01:52 AM
9/13/2001 3:52:45 AM
Diplomats, reporters, aid staff flee Afghanistan
September 13, 2001 Posted: 5:05 AM EDT (0905
GMT)
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KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN) -- International
diplomats, aid workers and many reporters evacuated Afghanistan on Thursday
amid growing fears the country may be involved in retribution attacks by the
U.S.
Reuters news agency also reported that many Arab
nationals had fled the country and other residents had begun to build trenches.
Three United Nations flights left the capital
Kabul on Thursday for Pakistan.
On board were three international diplomats, from
U.S., Germany and Australia.
They had been in the Kabul trying to secure the
release of eight international aid workers on charges of converting Muslims to
Christianity.
Also on board the aircraft were the last of the
international U.N. staff. The U.N. has now completed the evacuation of 80 staff
in total.
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Before they left they paid off all local employees
and packed key documents, taking them with them.
Many overseas journalists who had been reporting
from Afghanistan also boarded the planes.
The International Committee for the Red Cross has
also started to pull out its 30 international staff based in the country.
The reduction of all international and overseas
workers by independent non-governmental aid groups is also under way and
expected to be completed later Thursday.
'Sad catastrophe'
The departures have fuelled apprehension and fear
on the streets about what will happen next.
Residents have been listening to Taliban-run radio
where there have been reports of the events in the U.S.
Many Afghans, like the Taliban leadership, have
condemned the terrorism attacks and offered their sympathy.
But CNN's Nic Robertson in Kabul reports that they
are very concerned about the possibility that they could be involved in
retribution attacks on Afghanistan.
The Taliban on Wednesday issued further statements
condemning the terrorism in Washington and New York and appealing to the U.S.
not to attack the country.
Taliban officials called the attack a "sad
humanitarian catastrophe."
The Taliban appealed to the U.S. not to attack
Afghanistan, saying the Afghan people were already in a great deal of misery.
Wednesday's statement came after a meeting between
senior Pakistani diplomats and Taliban officials. Pakistan is one of the only
countries that recognizes the Taliban government.
The Taliban was swift to deny any involvement in
the terrorism attacks in New York and Washington.
Sanctuary
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Taliban Foreign Minister Wakil Ahmed Mutawakel: no direct
allegations |
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Taliban officials also denied that Osama bin
Laden, the millionaire Saudi fugitive blamed for past terrorist attacks against
American targets, was behind the attacks.
Intelligence officials and other sources have told
CNN that bin Laden -- living in sanctuary in Afghanistan -- or the Al Qaeda
group he heads are considered suspects in the attacks.
"There are good indications that persons
linked to Osama bin Laden may be responsible for these attacks," an
intelligence official told CNN, echoing the sentiments of some U.S.
politicians.
The Taliban gave sanctuary to bin Laden in 1996
mainly they say because of his role in war efforts that led to the withdrawal
of Soviet Union forces from Afghanistan after 10-years of occupation.
Significantly, the population and leadership are
also concerned that any attacks could open the door for the Northern Alliance
-- effectively the opposition government in Afghanistan which has been engaged
in a long running civil war with the Taliban.
The frontline of the conflict is around 30 miles
(48 kilometers) from Kabul and has been more or less static for the past five
years.
The Taliban fears that a sustained attack by the
U.S. could help push forward an offensive from the Northern Alliance to retake
Kabul.
9/13/2001 3:52:54 AM
9/13/2001 5:05:44 AM
9/13/2001 5:05:52 AM
9/13/2001 5:56:55 AM
Congress working on resolution authorizing force
September 13, 2001 Posted: 12:54 AM EDT
(0454 GMT)
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Congressional leaders
worked late into Wednesday night on a resolution authorizing the use of force
in response to Tuesday's terrorist attacks on New York and Washington.
Legislators are hoping for a resolution similar to
the one crafted in 1991, which authorized the use of force against Iraq prior
to the Gulf War.
Some Democrats have raised concerns that the final
statement not resemble the Gulf of Tonkin resolution, which critics say
essentially gave President Lyndon Johnson a blank check for the Vietnam War.
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A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Tom
Daschle, D-South Dakota, said: "Whether we come up with a solution or not is
an open question. Members on both sides of the aisle are wanting to be careful
about things we write here."
Rep. J.C. Watts, R-Oklahoma, called the measure
being considered "a resolution of resolve" and said the meetings came
at the White House's request.
A spokesman for House Speaker Dennis Hastert,
R-Illinois, said he hopes to work out the resolution's wording in a meeting
with Democrats and White House officials Thursday morning.
Earlier Wednesday, the chairman of the House
Appropriations Committee said that Congress will move quickly to appropriate
$20 billion for the White House to spend on rescue, repairs and
counterterrorism efforts after the attacks on Washington and New York.
Rep. Bill Young, R-Florida, said lawmakers hope to
have the spending bill on President Bush's desk by Thursday afternoon. The
legislation would require the money be spent in certain categories but give the
Bush administration broad discretion on spending in these groups.
A spokesman for House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt
of Missouri said the bill was Congress' "top priority."
Hours earlier, Gephardt told the House: "This
is war. And we will do everything in our power together to make sure that
terrorists never, ever again can create this mayhem, this chaos, this violence
against our people and our country."
The $20 billion appropriation would go to pay for
federal, state and local agencies responding to the ongoing crisis; to counter,
investigate and prosecute domestic and international terrorism; to increase
transit security; to repair public facilities and transit; and to support
national security.
Young called the bill "punch No. 1 of a
two-punch program." The second punch, he said, will come with next year's
national security appropriations.
Negotiators from both parties spent several hours
Wednesday discussing an exact amount for the emergency spending bill and
details on how the money can be spent.
Meanwhile, lawmakers presented a united front,
with many urging a swift and strong response to the attacks. The Senate and
House took up a joint resolution to condemn the actions, express condolences to
victims' families and loved ones and declare Wednesday a national day of
mourning.
"The world should know that the members of
both parties, in both houses, stand united in this: The full resources of our
government will be brought to bear in aiding the search and rescue, and in
hunting down those responsible and those who have aided or harbored them,"
said Senate Majority Leader Daschle.
"I say to our enemies: We are coming,"
said Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona. "God may have mercy on you, but we
won't."
One by one, members in both houses spoke out on
the floor in a series of speeches that frequently rang with emotion and
bitterness. The partisan clashes that so often resound in the halls of the
Capitol were put aside, and representatives solemnly pledged unity with each
other and with the White House to defend the nation.
There was a widespread determination that those
responsible for "the worst attack in the beloved history of America"
-- in Gephardt's words -- would pay the price for their actions.
Some lawmakers singled out Osama bin Laden, the
billionaire Saudi fugitive accused of past acts of terrorism against the United
States, and whom federal officials believe may be responsible for Tuesday's
horrifying sequence of events.
Lawmakers also pointed fingers at the Taliban
government in Afghanistan, which has shielded bin Laden within its borders.
"Bin Laden is at war with the United States,
and it is time that we reciprocated," said Sen. Arlen Specter,
R-Pennsylvania, who added: "We have the capacity, we have the capability,
the military strength to do what is necessary."
Many members of Congress ended Wednesday by
participating in a prayer vigil in the Capitol rotunda to remember victims of
the attacks.
"We stand together tonight not as Democrats
or Republicans but as citizens of the world, as Americans, as brothers and
sisters with pain and with hurt," said Rep. John Lewis, D-Georgia.
"We are a circle of trust that cannot be broken. We are one people. We are
one family. We are one nation."
9/13/2001 5:57:06 AM
9/13/2001 5:59:51 AM
TIME
Exclusive: Inside the Plot
In an excerpt from
TIME's forthcoming special issue, TIME's exclusive reporting on the terror in
the sky and the plotting on the ground.
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ABC/AP |
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Wednesday, Sep. 12, 2001
Only God knows what kind of heroic acts took place at 25,000 feet as passengers
and crews contended with four teams of highly trained enemy terrorists. But it
is clear that the hunt for the culprits began way up in the sky, by the doomed
passengers and crews themselves, minutes before the attacks took place. The
victims on board at least two of the four planes whispered the number and even
some of the seat assignments of the terrorists along with their final goodbyes
in their brief and haunting Tuesday morning cell phone calls. A flight
attendant on board American Flight 11 called her airline's flight operations
center in Dallas on a special airlink line and reported that passengers were
being stabbed.
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That gave investigators a head start Tuesday morning that something had gone terribly wrong, but there were plenty of other clues. Even before the smoke had cleared, it was obvious that the culprits knew their way around a Boeing cockpit — and all the security weaknesses in the U.S. civil aviation system. The enemy had chosen the quietest day of the week for the operation, when there would be fewer passengers to subdue; they had boarded westbound transcontinental flights — planes fully loaded with kerosene; armed with makeshift knives and retractable knives; they had gained access to the cockpits and herded everyone to the back of the plane. Once there, they turned off the aircraft's self-identifying beacons known as transponders, a move which renders the planes somewhat less visible to air traffic controllers. And each aircraft performed dramatic but carefully executed course corrections, including a stunning last maneuver by flight 77. The pilot of that plane came in low from the south of the Pentagon and pulled a 270-degree turn before slamming into the west wall of the building.
The hunt for those responsible
By Tuesday afternoon, the spooks were making progress. Eavesdroppers at the supersecret National Security Agency had picked up at least two electronic intercepts indicating the terrorists had ties to bin Laden. By nightfall, less than 12 hours after the attacks, US officials told TIME that their sense that he was involved had gotten closer to what one senior official said was 90 percent. The next morning, US officials told TIME they have evidence that each of the four terrorist teams had a certified pilot with them, some of whom had flown for Saudi Airlines. It’s not yet clear whether the pilots were trained in the US, or in Saudi Arabia or both. Intelligence officials believe each team had four to five persons. Some team members, it is thought by US intelligence, crossed the Canadian border to get into the U.S. TIME has learned that within the past few months, the FBI placed two men associated with an Islamic Jihad terror group on a border watch list, but through a screwup, the pair got into the U.S. anyway. The two men appear to have been on American Airlines Flight 77, the plane that crashed into the Pentagon, TIME has learned. Boston appears to have been a central hub for the operation; U.S. intelligence believes a bin Laden cell in Florida was a support group helping with the aviation aspects of the attack.
Intelligence officials pouring over old reports believe they got their first inkling of planning for the attack last June, although at the time the intelligence was too vague to indicate the scale of the operation. In the summer U.S. embassies, particularly those in the Middle East, were put on heightened alert. The U.S. military in the region moved to a higher level of alert. The CIA was getting vague reports "of some kind of spectacular happenings" by terrorists, said a U.S. intelligence official, but the reports were vague as to timing. "A lot of this reporting we had in the summer that gained our attention and had us concerned, but wasn't specific, could have been tied to this," said U.S. intelligence officials.
Even had they known more, could officials ever have contemplated the scale of this thing? The blasts were so powerful that counter-terrorism teams have begun asking the airlines for fuel loads on the plane; aviation experts have been asked to calculate the explosive yield of each blast —in kiloton terms. The reason? Washington wants to see if the planes amounted to weapons of mass destruction. "What we want people to realize is they’ve crossed a line here," said a U.S. intelligence official. In fact, some senior administration officials are considering drafting a declaration of war, although the State Department is leery since nobody knows precisely who the war would be against.
Placing the blame
"Anyone who says this is not an intelligence failure is blowing smoke. This is an intelligence failure and a security failure," said Lt. Gen. (ret.) William Odom, former head of the National Security Agency (NSA) and the former head of US Army intelligence. "The security guys will blame it on the intelligence guys and the intelligence guys will tell us the great successes they had in the past."
9/13/2001 6:00:00 AM
9/13/2001 11:48:42 PM
Twin Towers Couldn't Sustain Attack
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By SHARON L. CRENSON, AP National Writer
NEW YORK (AP) - The World Trade Center's twin towers were two of America's most visible symbols of engineering prowess, so when they crashed to the ground in an avalanche of ash, many asked how it could have happened.
Experts in skyscraper design and construction say it was probably simple: The 110-story towers were conceived to withstand powerful impacts, but their steel skeletons couldn't protect them from thousands of gallons of flaming jet fuel.
``Steel melts, and 24,000 gallons of aviation fluid melted the steel. Nothing is designed or will be designed to withstand that fire,'' said Hyman Brown, a University of Colorado civil engineering professor and the Trade Center's construction manager.
``If they did it lower in the building, the fire department could have gotten to it sooner. In its simplicity, it was brilliant,'' he said.
Masoud Sanayei, a civil engineering professor at Tufts University, said the fire's heat may have disconnected one of the towers' concrete floors from the tubular steel columns ringing the buildings. If one or two floors collapsed, it would have created a pancake effect of one massive floor caving into the next.
``In my opinion, the fire weakened the connection between the floor system and the columns on the higher floors and caused a couple of the floors to collapse,'' Sanayei said. ``The floors are very heavy, made of reinforced concrete, so when one hits the next, they cause a domino effect ... and it can go all the way down to the first floor.''
He said no one could be expected to survive such a catastrophe.
Brown, too, noted that although the twin towers had staircases in all four corners for evacuation, video clips led him to believe those escape routes were cut off for people on higher floors long before the buildings collapsed.
Architect Minoru Yamasaki, who died in 1986, worked with engineers John Skilling and Leslie E. Robertson to design the twin towers, once the world's tallest buildings.
In his 2000 book ``Building Big,'' architect David MaCaulay described the towers' engineering as ``a series of load bearing exterior columns spaced 3 feet apart and tied together at every floor by a deep horizontal beam, creating a strong lattice of square tubing around each tower.''
The core surrounding the elevators inside was much the same, with a giant lattice work of steel covered by poured concrete connecting the interior columns to the exterior ones. The design was free enough for each of the towers to hold 4 million square feet of space unencumbered by columns or load bearing walls.
Sections of exterior wall were wrapped around the outside in 24- and 36-foot high sections, creating a sort of patchwork so that not all the floor joints would meet walls at the same height, according to MaCaulay.
Minoru Yamasaki Associates issued a statement saying the firm was in contact with authorities and had offered assistance.
``We believe that any speculation regarding the specifics of these tragic events would be irresponsible,'' the statement said. ``For obvious reasons, MYA has no further comment at this time.''
9/13/2001 11:48:50 PM
9/13/2001 11:50:13 PM
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How
the World Trade Center fell
By
BBC News Online's Sheila Barter The design of the World Trade Center saved
thousands of lives by standing for well over an hour after the planes crashed
into its twin towers, say structural engineers.
But the towers' ultimate collapse was
inevitable, as the steel cores inside them reached temperatures of 800C -
raising questions as to why hundreds of rescue workers were sent into the
doomed buildings to their deaths. The steel and concrete structure performed
amazingly well, said John Knapton, professor in structural engineering at
Newcastle University, UK. "I believe tens of thousands of lives
have been saved by the structural integrity of the buildings," he told
BBC News Online. "They had a lot of their structure
taken out, yet they remained intact for more than an hour, allowing thousands
to escape." Temperatures at 800C But as fires raged in the towers, driven by
aviation fuel, the steel core in each building would have eventually reached
800C - hot enough to start buckling and collapsing. The protective concrete cladding on the
cores would have been no permanent defence in these extraordinary
circumstances - keeping the intense heat at bay for only a limited timespan.
"It was the fire that killed the
buildings. There's nothing on earth that could survive those temperatures with
that amount of fuel burning," said structural engineer Chris Wise. "The columns would have melted, the
floors would have melted and eventually they would have collapsed one on top
of each other." The building's construction manager, Hyman
Brown, agreed that nothing could have saved it from the inferno. "This building would have stood had a
plane or a force caused by a plane smashed into it," he said.
"But steel melts, and 24,000 gallons
(91,000 litres) of aviation fluid melted the steel. Nothing is designed or
will be designed to withstand that fire." Once the steel frame on one floor had
melted, it collapsed downwards, inflicting massive forces on the
already-weakened floor below. Science of collapse From then on, the collapse became
inevitable, as each new falling floor added to the downward forces. Further down the building, even steel at
normal temperatures gave way under the enormous weight - an estimated 100,000
tonnes from the upper floors alone. "It was as if the top of the building
was acting like a huge pile-driver, crashing down on to the floors
underneath," said Chris Wise. Early in the unfolding horror, some office
workers were told to stay where they were – dreadful advice, said Professor
Knapton.
People's only hope was to run and keep
running - reaching open ground. The building could have fallen over sideways,
he points out, potentially bringing even greater devastation. Other buildings - including the 47-storey
Salomon Brothers building - caved in later, weakened by the earlier
collapses, and more nearby buildings may still fall, say engineers. But the eventual collapse of the twin
towers was so predictable that the order should have been given to withdraw
emergency services within an hour, said Professor Knapton. He watched in
horror, knowing the building would fall within two hours. The hundreds of dead firemen and police
officers should simply not have been there, he said. "I think they should not have gone in
at all," he said. "If they did decide to take the risk, they should
have been pulled out after an hour." But in the panic and horror, the order was
never given for rescue workers to abandon the building. "Mistakes were
made," said Professor Knapton.
"It sounds harsh - this had never
happened in the world, so you can hardly criticise them. "But I would have given the order to
get out. You would have thought someone with technical expertise would have
been advising them." But he acknowledged that the sheer scale of
the tragedy probably overwhelmed the operation commanders. "I think everyone was not thinking. It
was like a horror film and I think people's rationale had gone," he
said. Steel-core design The building's design was standard in the
1960s, when construction began on what was then the world's tallest building.
At the heart of the structure was a vertical steel and concrete core, housing
lift shafts and stairwells. Steel beams radiate outwards and connect with
steel uprights, forming the building's outer wall. All the steel was covered in concrete to
guarantee firefighters a minimum period of one or two hours in which they
could operate - although aviation fuel would have driven the fire to
higher-than-normal temperatures. The floors were also concrete. The building had to be tough enough to
withstand not just the impact of a plane - and the previous bomb attack in
1993 - but also of the enormous structural pressures created by strong winds.
Newer skyscrapers are constructed using
cheaper methods. But this building was magnificent, say experts, in the face
of utterly unpredictable disaster. |
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See also: 12 Sep
01 | Americas Internet links: New York City government information Washington
DC government information Federal Emergency Management Agency
Top Americas stories now: Global hunt for terror suspects
Blow to New York survivor hopes
More disruption for US flights
Brazil Aids programme copied abroad
US markets to re-open on Monday
'Fifty' suspects in FBI investigation
Links
to more Americas stories are at the foot of the page. |
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9/13/2001 11:50:34 PM
9/13/2001 11:51:40 PM
9/13/2001 11:51:47 PM
9/14/2001 12:29:06 AM
9/14/2001 12:29:13 AM
9/14/2001 2:50:23 AM
9/14/2001 2:50:30 AM
9/14/2001 3:08:50 AM
9/14/2001 3:10:34 AM
9/14/2001 3:10:41 AM
9/14/2001 4:22:35 AM
This shows the FIRST (1st) Airliner hitting the FIRST (1st) WTC tower.
9/14/2001 4:23:00 AM
Again, the 1st Airliner hitting the 1st Tower.
9/14/2001 4:23:56 AM
9/14/2001 4:26:32 AM
This is the Second (2nd) Airliner hitting the Second (2nd) WTC Tower:
9/14/2001 4:29:00 AM
12/20/2001 6:04:34 AM
It has been over three months now, since the attack, and the fire department just got the fire put out, from the WTC collapse.
12/20/2001 6:05:22 AM
12/21/2001 12:42:05 AM
12/21/2001 12:42:10 AM
3/8/2002 7:41:04 AM
3/8/2002 7:41:07 AM
8/12/2002 10:36:59 PM
8/12/2002 10:37:06 PM