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Final 9/11 Commission Hearing: Chaos, Miscommunication Left
U.S. Woefully Unprepared For Sept. 11 Attacks
Banana Republicans and Weapons of Mass Deception
Battleground State: Wisconsin and the 2004 Elections
Final 9/11 Commission Hearing: Chaos, Miscommunication
Left U.S. Woefully Unprepared For Sept. 11 Attacks
Plagued by miscommunication and confusion, U.S. aviation
and military officials were entirely unprepared for the Sept.
11 attacks in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania, the 9/11
Commission reported Thursday. We hear excerpts of the hearings,
including the voices of the hijackers on the planes and a
minute-by-minute account of President Bush's reactions on
the morning of the attacks.
Plagued by miscommunication and confusion, US aviation and
military officials were entirely unprepared for the Sept.
11 attacks in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania, the 9/11
Commission reported yesterday.
In its final public hearing, the commission detailed a series
of communications breakdowns at the White House and the Pentagon
so severe that jet fighters were sent to chase phantom aircraft
while real airliners crashed undisturbed into their targets,
killing 3,000 people.
The staff report included an exhaustive minute-by-minute
re-creation of the morning of the attacks, showing how the
chaos and communication breakdown left no hope of intercepting
and shooting down the planes.
Relatives of Sept. 11 victims attending the hearing listened
through tears to recordings of hijackers' voices, which were
captured in radio transmissions and picked up by air traffic
controllers. The terrorists' remarks had been cited in news
reports but never before played publicly.
(Tape) At 8:24:38, the following transmission came from
American 11:
American 11: We have some planes. Just stay quiet, and you'll
be O.K. We are returning to the airport.
The controller only heard something unintelligible; he did
not hear the specific words "[w]e have some planes."
Then the next transmission came seconds later:
American 11: Nobody move. Everything will be O.K. If you
try to make any moves, you'll endanger yourself and the
airplane. Just stay quiet.
Hearing that, the controller told us he then knew it was
a hijacking. The controller alerted his supervisor, who
assigned another controller to assist him, and redoubled
efforts to ascertain the flight's altitude. Because the
controller didn't understand the initial transmission, the
Manager of Boston Center instructed the Center's Quality
Assurance Specialist to "pull the tape" of the
radio transmission, listen to it closely, and report back.
Between 8:25 and 8:32, in accordance with the FAA protocol,
Boston Center managers started notifying their chain of
command that American 11 had been hijacked. At 8:28, Boston
Center called the Command Center in Herndon, Virginia to
advise management that it believed American 11 had been
hijacked and was heading toward New York Center's airspace.
By this point in time, American 11 had taken a dramatic
turn to the south. At 8:32, the Command Center passed word
of a possible hijacking to the Operations Center at FAA
headquarters. The duty officer replied that security personnel
at headquarters had just begun discussing the hijack situation
on a conference call with the New England Regional office.
The Herndon Command Center immediately established a teleconference
between Boston, New York, and Cleveland Centers so that
Boston Center could help the others understand what was
happening. At 8:34, the Boston Center controller received
a third transmission from American 11:
American 11: Nobody move please. We are going back to the
airport. Don't try to make any stupid moves.
The voice heard in the those recordings is believed to 9/11
hijacker Mohammed Atta. In their recreation of the morning
of the attacks, the 9/11 commission detailed a chronology
of communications by aviation and military officials:
(Tape)
At 8:37:52, Boston Center reached NEADS. This was the first
notification received by the military-at any level-that
American 11 had been hijacked:
FAA: Hi. Boston Center TMU, we have a problem here. We have
a hijacked aircraft headed towards New York, and we need
you guys to, we need someone to scramble some F-16s or something
up there, help us out.
NEADS: Is this real-world or exercise?
FAA: No, this is not an exercise, not a test.
NEADS promptly ordered to battle stations the two F-15 alert
aircraft at Otis Air Force Base, about 153 miles away from
New York City. The air defense of America began with this
call.
Accounts of the numerous communications breakdowns on the
morning of Sept. 11 were detailed throughout the commission's
report:
(Tape)
NORAD did not know about the search for American 77. Instead,
they heard once again about a plane that no longer existed,
American 11. At 9:21, NEADS received a report from the FAA:
FAA: Military, Boston Center. I just had a report that American
11 is still in the air, and it's on its way towards-heading
towards Washington.
NEADS: Okay. American 11 is still in the air?
FAA: Yes.
NEADS: On its way towards Washington?
FAA: That was another-it was evidently another aircraft
that hit the tower. That's the latest report we have.
NEADS: Okay.
FAA: I'm going to try to confirm an ID for you, but I would
assume he's somewhere over, uh, either New Jersey or somewhere
further south.
NEADS: Okay. So American 11 isn't the hijack at all then,
right?
FAA: No, he is a hijack.
NEADS: He-American 11 is a hijack?
FAA: Yes. .
NEADS: And he's heading into Washington?
FAA: Yes. This could be a third aircraft.
The mention of a "third aircraft" was not a reference
to American 77. There was confusion at that moment in the
FAA. Two planes had struck the World Trade Center, and Boston
Center had heard from FAA headquarters in Washington that
American 11 was still airborne. We have been unable to identify
the source of this mistaken FAA information.
The Sept. 11 commission's report also found that an executive
order by Vice President Cheney that gave the military permission
to shoot down hostile aircraft did not come until long after
the last hijacked airliner had crashed:
(Tape)
At 9:49, 13 minutes after getting the question from Cleveland
Center about military help, Command Center suggested that
someone at headquarters should decide whether to request
military assistance:
FAA Headquarters: They're pulling Jeff away to go talk about
United 93. Command Center: Uh, do we want to think about,
uh, scrambling aircraft?
FAA Headquarters: Uh, God, I don't know.
Command Center: Uh, that's a decision somebody's gonna have
to make probably in the next ten minutes.
FAA Headquarters: Uh, ya know everybody just left the room.
The timeline of events detailed in the commission's report
demonstrated that the last of the four planes had crashed
well before Cheney authorized the shoot downs. The panel also
found that due to miscommunication and uncertainty, the shoot
down orders were never passed on to fighter pilots:
(Tape)
In upstate New York, NEADS personnel first learned of the
shoot down order from that chat log message:
Floor Leadership: You need to read this...The Region Commander
has declared that we can shoot down aircraft that do not
respond to our direction. Copy that?
Controllers: Copy that, sir.
Floor Leadership: So if you're trying to divert somebody
and he won't divert-
Controllers: DO [Director of Operations] is saying no.
Floor Leadership: No? It came over the chat... You got a
conflict on that direction?
Controllers: Right now no, but -
Floor Leadership: Okay? Okay, you read that from the Vice
President, right? Vice President has cleared. Vice President
has cleared us to intercept traffic and shoot them down
if they do not respond per CONR CC [General Arnold].
In interviews with us, NEADS personnel expressed considerable
confusion over the nature and effect of the order. Indeed,
the NEADS Commander told us he did not pass along the order
because he was unaware of its ramifications. Both the mission
commander and the weapons director indicated they did not
pass the order to the fighters circling Washington and New
York City because they were unsure how the pilots would,
or should, proceed with this guidance. In short, while leaders
in Washington believed the fighters circling above them
had been instructed to "take out" hostile aircraft,
the only orders actually conveyed to the Langley pilots
were to "ID type and tail."
After its exhaustive account of the events on Sept. 11, 2001
the commission summarized its conclusions:
(Tape)
NORAD officials have maintained that they would have intercepted
and shot down United 93. We are not so sure. We are sure
that the nation owes a debt to the passengers of United
93. Their actions saved the lives of countless others, and
may have saved either the U.S. Capitol or the White House
from destruction. The details of what happened on the morning
of September 11 are complex. But the details play out a
simple theme. NORAD and the FAA were unprepared for the
type of attacks launched against the United States on September
11, 2001. They struggled, under difficult circumstances,
to improvise a homeland defense against an unprecedented
challenge they had never encountered and had never trained
to meet.
That was the 9/11 Commission's conclusion on US defense systems.
Among the new information contained in the report is a detailed
reconstruction of the reactions of President Bush on the morning
of the attacks:
(Tape)
The President was seated in a classroom of second graders
when, at approximately 9:05, Andrew Card whispered to him:
"A second plane hit the second tower. America is under
attack." The President told us his instinct was to
project calm, not to have the country see an excited reaction
at a moment of crisis. The national press corps was standing
behind the children in the classroom; he saw their phones
and pagers start to ring. The President felt he should project
strength and calm until he could better understand what
was happening. The President remained in the classroom for
another five to seven minutes, while the children continued
reading. He then returned to a holding room shortly before
9:15, where he was briefed by staff and saw television coverage.
He then spoke to Vice President Cheney, Dr. Rice, Governor
Pataki, and FBI Director Mueller. He decided to make a brief
statement from the school before leaving for the airport.
The Secret Service told us they were anxious to move the
President to a safer location, but did not think it imperative
for him to run out the door. Between 9:15 and 9:30, the
staff was busy arranging a return to Washington, while the
President consulted his senior advisers about his remarks.
No one in the traveling party had any information during
this time that other aircraft were hijacked or missing.
As far as we know, no one was in contact with the Pentagon.
The focus was on the President's statement to the nation.
No decisions were made during this time, other than the
decision to return to Washington. The President's motorcade
departed at 9:35, and arrived at the airport between 9:42
and 9:45. During the ride the President learned about the
attack on the Pentagon. He boarded the aircraft, asked the
Secret Service about the safety of his family, and called
the Vice President. According to notes of the call, at about
9:45 the President told the Vice President: "Sounds
like we have a minor war going on here, I heard about the
Pentagon. We're at war....somebody's going to pay."
A detailed account of President Bush's reaction on the morning
of the Sept. 11 attacks in the 9/11 Commission report. The
report is the last interim staff report before the commission
races to complete book-length final report by the end of July.
- John Nichols, is the Editorial Editor of the Madison
Capitol Times and a correspondent for The Nation magazine.
Banana Republicans and Weapons of Mass Deception
We speak with PR Watch editors, John Stauber and Sheldon
Stauber about their new book, Banana Republicans: How the
Right Wing is Turning America into a One-party State. and
the right wing's rise to dominance in American politics.
As we continue our 70 city Exception to the Rulers Media
and Book tour. Today, we are in Madison, Wisconsin celebrating
community radio station WORT and community Tv WYOU. Tomorrow,
we will be at Madison's Barrymore Theatre at 7:30 pm and tonight
we will be at the 10th anniversary celebration for the Center
for Media and Democracy, publishers of PR Watch. We are joined
by the founders of the Center, John Stauber and Sheldon Rampton.
They have written a number of books, among them Weapons of
Mass Deception, which deals with the buildup to the invasion
of Iraq. Their latest book just out documents the right wing's
rise to dominance in American politics. It is called "Banana
Republicans: How the Right Wing is Turning America into a
One-party State."
For the first time since 1932, the Republican Party dominates
at every level of the federal government. The G.O.P. now controls
both houses of Congress and the White House, and conservatives
dominate the Supreme Court. The Party also holds an edge in
state electoral politics; Republican Governors preside over
twenty-eight states, and the G.O.P. holds a slight majority
of state legislatures.
Conservative voices dominate the editorial pages of most
American newspapers and reverberate throughout the echo chamber
of A.M. talk radio stations. Even among the high-powered lobbying
firms of Washington, D.C.'s K Street, the Republican party
holds sway.
- John Stauber, Executive Director of the Center
for Media and Democracy. Along with Sheldon Rampton,
he edits the publication PR Watch based in Madison, Wisconsin.
Stauber and Rampton have written a number of books including
"Weapons of Mass Deception" and their latest "Banana
Republicans."
- Sheldon Rampton, Executive Director of the Center for
Media and Democracy. Along with John Stauber, he edits the
publication PR Watch based in Madison, Wisconsin. Stauber
and Rampton have written a number of books including "Weapons
of Mass Deception" and their latest "Banana Republicans."
Battleground State: Wisconsin and the 2004 Elections
We take a look at how Wisconsin could impact on the elections
in November with Ed Garvey, perhaps the best-known rebel lawyer
in the state and John Nichols, Editorial Editor of the Madison
Capitol Times.
Next week, the Bush and Kerry campaigns will intensify their
campaigning for the November presidential elections. Both
men will travel extensively across the country and television
and radio will see an unprecedented number of advertisements.
The amount of money spent in this election is expected to
break all previous records, particularly the Bush administration
which has amassed the largest campaign war chest in this country's
history.
At least at this point, the polls put Kerry and Bush more
or less in a dead heat and some observers believe the race
will come down to a few battleground states. Among them is
Wisconsin where we are broadcasting from today and Monday.
We are going to take a close look at this state and how it
could impact November's elections.
We speak with Ed Garvey. He is perhaps Wisconsin's most well-known
rebel lawyer. He rose to prominence as head of the National
Football League's Player's Union. In 1998, he was the Democratic
Party's candidate for governor. He lost that race, in which
he was outspent nearly 13-1 by his Republican opponent, Tommy
Thompson, who is now President Bush's Health and Human Services
Secretary. Garvey heads up a law firm that for years has gone
up against large corporations and the state of Wisconsin.
- Ed Garvey, perhaps Wisconsin's best known rebel lawyer.
He is a former Wisconsin Assistant Attorney General and
was the 1998 Democratic nominee in the gubernatorial race,
in which he was outspent 13-1 by his Republican opponent-President
Bush's current Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy
Thompson. Garvey's latest project is fightingbob.com,
a news site about Wisconsin politics.
- John Nichols, Editorial Editor of the Madison Capitol
Times and a correspondent for The Nation magazine.
For a copy of today’s program, call 1 (800) 881 2359.
Our website is www.democracynow.org.
Our email address is mail@democracynow.org.
Democracy Now! is produced by Mike Burke, Sharif Abdel Kouddous,
Ana Nogueira, Elizabeth Press, Jeremy Scahill and Parvez Sharma.
Mike Di Filippo is our engineer.
Thanks also to Uri Galed, Angela Alston, Orlando Richards,
Simba Russeau, Johnny Sender, Rich Kim, Joe Murgio, John Randolph,
Chris Zucker, Karen Ranucci, Denis Moynihan, Eric Rweyemamu,
Jenny Filipazzo and Isis Phillips.
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