9/11 — The First Great Ideological Clash of the 21st Century
The first plane was an accident. The second was an attack. The third was a declaration of war.
President George W. Bush on the 9/11 attacks
SARASOTA, FLORIDA. Tuesday 11th September 2001. President George Bush received his daily intelligence briefing from the CIA early that morning. There was nothing in there that was out of the ordinary. At 8:54 am he arrived at the Emma E. Booker Elementary School to take part in a reading class with some of the school’s children before announcing his education reform plans. Just before he went into the classroom, he heard the news from the director of the White House Situation Room Captain Deborah Loewer that a small plane had hit the North Tower of the World Trade Centre. “What a tragedy” — Bush’s team assumed pilot error and continued with their schedule.
The President entered the classroom with teacher Kay Daniels and assumed his seat in front of the children. The class began reciting their words, with Bush totally unaware of the scope and scale of what was about to unfold. Minutes later, at 9:03 am, a second plane hit the South Tower. This was no accident.
President Bush’s Chief of Staff Andy Card received the news moments later and patiently waited at the back of…
