Air Force One arrived at Offutt at 2:50
P
.
M
. At about 3:15, President Bush
met with his principal advisers through a secure video teleconference.
4
Rice
said President Bush began the meeting with the words, "We're at war,"
5
and
that Director of Central Intelligence George Tenet said the agency was still
assessing who was responsible, but the early signs all pointed to al Qaeda.
6
That
evening the Deputies Committee returned to the pending presidential direc-
tive they had labored over during the summer.
7
The secretary of defense directed the nation's armed forces to Defense Con-
dition 3, an increased state of military readiness.
8
For the first time in history,
all nonemergency civilian aircraft in the United States were grounded, strand-
ing tens of thousands of passengers across the country. Contingency plans for
the continuity of government and the evacuation of leaders had been imple-
mented.
9
The Pentagon had been struck; the White House or the Capitol had
narrowly escaped direct attack. Extraordinary security precautions were put in
place at the nation's borders and ports.
In the late afternoon, the President overruled his aides' continuing reluc-
tance to have him return to Washington and ordered Air Force One back to
Andrews Air Force Base. He was flown by helicopter back to the White House,
passing over the still-smoldering Pentagon.At 8:30 that evening, President Bush
addressed the nation from the White House. After emphasizing that the first
priority was to help the injured and protect against any further attacks, he said:
"We will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts
and those who harbor them." He quoted Psalm 23--"though I walk through
the valley of the shadow of death . . ." No American, he said,"will ever forget
this day."
10
Following his speech, President Bush met again with his National Security
Council (NSC), expanded to include Secretary of Transportation Norman
Mineta and Joseph Allbaugh, the director of the Federal Emergency Manage-
ment Agency. Secretary of State Colin Powell, who had returned from Peru after
hearing of the attacks, joined the discussion.They reviewed the day's events.
11
10.1 IMMEDIATE RESPONSES AT HOME
As the urgent domestic issues accumulated,White House Deputy Chief of Staff
Joshua Bolten chaired a temporary "domestic consequences" group.
12
The
agenda in those first days is worth noting, partly as a checklist for future crisis
planners. It began with problems of how to help victims and stanch the flow-
ing losses to the American economy, such as
· Organizing federal emergency assistance. One question was what kind
of public health advice to give about the air quality in Lower Manhat-
tan in the vicinity of the fallen buildings.
13
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Final 10-11.4pp 7/17/04 4:12 PM Page 326