[Back to 9/11 Questions Page]President Bush's recollection of the events of 9/11 raises
questions with regard to what he was told and the actions he
and others took. The following is excerpted from a question and
answer session following President Bush's address to displaced
workers in Orlando, Florida on December 4, 2001.
The Complete 9/11 Timeline
Included is a link to the White House page of the entire press
release and links to sources related to problems with the
response to the terrorist attack.Following the President's answer are some questions it raises.
Q: One thing, Mr. President, is that you have no idea how much you've
done for this country. And another thing is that, how did you feel when
you heard about the terrorist attack? (Applause.)THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, Jordan. Well, Jordan, you're not going to
believe what state I was in when I heard about the terrorist attack. I was
in Florida. And my Chief of Staff, Andy Card -- actually, I was in a
classroom talking about a reading program that works. I was sitting
outside the classroom waiting to go in, and I saw an airplane hit the tower
-- the TV was obviously on. And I used to fly, myself, and I said, well,
there's one terrible pilot. I said, it must have been a horrible accident.But I was whisked off there, I didn't have much time to think about it.
And I was sitting in the classroom, and Andy Card, my Chief of Staff, who
is sitting over here, walked in and said, "A second plane has hit the tower,
America is under attack."And, Jordan, I wasn't sure what to think at first. You know, I grew up in a
period of time where the idea of America being under attack never entered
my mind -- just like your Daddy's and Mother's mind probably. And I
started thinking hard in that very brief period of time about what it meant
to be under attack. I knew that when I got all of the facts that we were
under attack, there would be hell to pay for attacking America.
(Applause.)I tried to get as many facts as I could, Jordan, to make sure I knew as I
was making decisions that I knew exactly what I was basing my decisions
on. I've got a fabulous team. A President can't possibly be President
without a good team. It starts with having a great wife, by the way.
(Applause.)And so, I got on the phone from Air Force One, asking to find out the
facts. You've got to understand, Jordan, during this period of time, there
were all kinds of rumors floating around. Some of them were erroneous.
Obviously -- for example, there was a news report saying that the State
Department had been attacked. I needed to know what the facts were.
But I knew I needed to act. I knew that if the nation's under attack, the
role of the Commander-In-Chief is to respond forcefully to prevent other
attacks from happening. And so, I've talked to the Secretary of Defense;
one of the first acts I did was to put our military on alert.An interesting thing happened shortly thereafter. Condoleezza Rice -- who
was not with me but was with the Vice President because they were in
the White House compound -- called me on Air Force One after that, and
said that she had gotten a call from Russia, from Vladimir Putin, who
understood why we were putting our troops on alert, and, therefore,
wasn't going to respond. That was an important phone call. Because
when I was coming up, and a lot of other older-looking people here who
were coming up with me -- (laughter) -- that would never have happened
in the past. An alert by the United States would have caused Russia to go
on alert, which would have created a complicated situation. But that
wasn't the case.By the way, we're heading into a new era. One of the positive things that
comes out of the evil was, we're reassessing relationships in order to make
the world more peaceful. I believe it's important for us to have positive
relations with our former enemy and to rethink the defenses of the United
States of America. (Applause.)At any rate, I knew I had a job to do. And I was quoted in the press the
other day as saying I haven't regretted one thing I've decided. And that's
the truth. Every decision I made, I stand by. And I'm proud of the
decisions I've made. (Applause.)
President
Meets with Displaced Workers in Town Hall Meeting
Questions Arising from the President's Account
I was sitting outside the classroom waiting to go in, and I saw an airplane
hit the tower -- the TV was obviously on. And I used to fly, myself, and I
said, well, there's one terrible pilot. I said, it must have been a horrible
accident.Obviously the President was not watching any commercial or public
television channel, if he saw the first "airplane hit the tower," as he said.
It seems likely that what he saw on television was what the rest of us saw
shortly after Flight 11 struck the North Tower. That would have been the
smoking and burning North Tower.The President had trained as a fighter pilot, which training includes
intercepting aircraft that have gone astray. Obviously the aircraft had
gone astray before it had flown into the restricted airspace intended to
protect The World Trade Center Towers and other buildings in New York.
Did the President wonder what had been done when the emergency first
arose, when that aircraft left its assigned flight path? Did the president
wonder why the air defense systems had failed to escort the errant
plane away from the restricted airspace?When he arrived at Booker Elementary School, reporters asked the
President if he knew what had happened in New York. He replied that he
did know what had happened and that he would have something to say
about it later. From the President's recollection, however, it is clear that
he did not know what he should have known by that time. Flight 11 had
been reported hijacked prior to its crashing into The World Trade Center.
Even if Flight 11 had not been hijacked, twenty-five minutes before it
struck The World Trade Center, it was clear that it was in trouble, which
required that it be intercepted. Because the FAA records have not been
made public, we do not know when controllers reported the emergency
situation, which included its radically deviating from its assigned flight
path, loss of transponder signal, and failure to reply to controller
communication.Why it was not until eighteen minutes after the emergency should have
been reported that NORAD says it was notified has yet to be explained.
Nevertheless, if established procedure had been followed, the President
would have been told that there was a hijacked plane headed for New
York more than ten minutes before it reached The World Trade Center.
When a hijacking is reported by the FAA, the President is also notified
immediately through the Secret Service.Before American Airlines Flight 11 struck the North Tower of the World
Trade Center, United Airlines Flight 175 had been reported hijacked and
was then approaching New York. The President should have been informed
that one, two and then three airliners had been hijacked as soon as each
determination had been made by controllers of the FAA. Yet, when he
arrived at Booker Elementary School, he did not seem to be at all aware
of any hijacking, which is confirmed by his recollection.But I was whisked off there, I didn't have much time to think about it.
And I was sitting in the classroom, and Andy Card, my Chief of Staff, who
is sitting over here, walked in and said, "A second plane has hit the tower,
America is under attack."According to reporters covering the President's visit at Booker
Elementary School, Andy Card did whisper in the President's ear in the
classroom at about five minutes past nine. Once the second plane hit The
World Trade Center, it was evident that the first strike had not been an
accident. Was the President curious to know why things were not working
as they should with the air defense system, part of which is immediate
notification of the President when there has been a hijacking?And I started thinking hard in that very brief period of time about
what it meant to be under attack. I knew that when I got all of the
facts that we were under attack, there would be hell to pay for
attacking America.Shouldn't there also be consequences for anyone who failed to take
required actions to protect Americans, people working or visiting
America, and American property? And when would be the best time for
the commander-in-chief to become envolved in defense of the country,
to be getting the facts, to understand what was going on and respond as
only a commander-in-chief can? From what the President tells his
audience, it appears that he saw no role for himself as commander-in-
chief at that time. Only when the scheduled visit was concluded, he
seems to say, he would be free to deal with those matters.What is perhaps the most disturbing aspect of the President's recollection
of the events of September 11th is that this is what he has to say twelve
weeks later, long after the facts pointed to a pattern of extreme delays
and errors in judgment on the part of our air defense on September 11th.
Instead of being disappointed, the President seems satisfied that he was
not informed of emergencies while there was still time to avert the horror
that terrorists inflicted.I tried to get as many facts as I could, Jordan, to make sure I knew as I
was making decisions that I knew exactly what I was basing my decisions
on. I've got a fabulous team. A President can't possibly be President
without a good team. It starts with having a great wife, by the way.At sixteen minutes past nine, while the President was "talking about a
reading program that works," a fourth airliner was reported as hijacked.
From the President's account here, as well as the reports of others present
at Booker Elementary School, there was no point at which someone might
have told the President of the fourth hijacked flight. The President's team,
with the exception of his wife, was anything but great that day. If the air
defense system had been working as it normally does, the President would
have known that three airliners had been hijacked five or more minutes
before he entered the classroom. If the President had known of the multiple
threats when they first were observed, is it possible to believe that he would
have visited Booker Elementary School at all that day?At any rate, I knew I had a job to do. And I was quoted in the press the
other day as saying I haven't regretted one thing I've decided. And that's
the truth. Every decision I made, I stand by. And I'm proud of the decisions
I've made.The decision the President made at about five minutes past nine (not to
excuse himself from the classroom) when he admits to having known that
America was "under attack" is hardly a decision any commander-in-chief
should be proud of. Although it was too late for him then to play a part in
thwarting the first and second attacks, because he chose to give "a reading
program that works" priority above an air defense system that works, he
was unaware of further hijackings at a time when effective response could
have saved lives and prevented further destruction.The decision the President made to shoot down American Airlines Flight 77,
as a last resort, was made after that plane had already struck the Pentagon.
The decision was too late to be effective because the President was not
engaged in the defense of his country when he should have been. Much of
the failure of the air defense system that day was due to the time lag
between determinations of emergencies and acknowledgment of those
reported of those emergencies by NORAD. This problem could have been
avoided, if the President had used the open lines that are regularly activated
in such situations as hijackings. He would have also been able to direct
effective response to the hijacked airliners that were headed toward New
York, if established procedures had been followed.The times NORAD says it received reports of emergencies requiring
immediate response are twenty to nearly forty minutes later than normal.
If the President had been informed, as he should have been, when the first
aircraft was determined to have been hijacked and had used open lines to the
FAA, the air defense response could have been effective. The President, with
his knowledge of the speeds intercepting aircraft are capable of, could have
asked questions about the responses to the emergencies that would have
assured effectiveness.Why hasn't the President acknowledged any of the problems that were
noted in the days immediately following the terrorist attack? If the causes
of extreme delays and inadequate responses that occurred on 9/11 are not
discovered, how can they be corrected?It was reported that the Secret Service strongly urged the President not to
return to Washington D.C. from Florida that morning, owing to the great
concern for the safety of Air Force One and the President. While this is
understandable, whether or not the reports of a "credible warning" that
"Air Force One was next" (later denied) were received, there is the serious
question of why such a concern for the safety of the President was not in
evidence earlier? Why didn't the Secret Service urge the President not to go
to Booker Elementary School, when one hijacking after another was being
reported and one of the hijacked airliners had entered a restricted airspace
and struck The World Trade Center? Emma E. Booker Elementary School
is less than five miles from an international airport (Sarasota-Bradenton).
Since the President's father had been the target of an assassination attempt
on the heels of the 1993 truck bombing of The World Trade Center, the
President, by keeping to a scheduled visit that could be known to the
terrorists, was in endangered. Why this lapse of security precaution?
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