Posted on 09/12/2001 9:15:07 PM PDT by Pokey78
WASHINGTON -- At 9:03 a.m. Tuesday, as Vice President Dick Cheney was staring at the TV screen, the second hijacked airliner exploded against the Twin Towers. At that moment his Secret Service detail grabbed him and hurried him down to "PEOC."
The President's Emergency Operations Center is an underground facility hardened to withstand blast overpressure from a nuclear detonation. On the way to the tubular structure, Cheney was told that another plane, or a helicopter loaded with explosives, was headed for the White House.
Cheney promptly called the president in Florida, who had just boarded Air Force One, and urged him not to come back to Washington immediately.
In the PEOC, the vice president was joined by Condoleezza Rice, the national security adviser, and Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta, among others. They were told that six commercial aircraft were unaccounted for, all of which were potential missiles. One had supposedly crashed in Kentucky (not true), and another in Pennsylvania (that report of a crash was valid; its passengers or crew, apparently struggling with the hijackers, may have saved the White House).
According to a high White House official speaking to me on background, the airliner that had taken off at Dulles — AA Flight 77 — "did a 360" (meaning it changed direction from the White House) and at 9:45 slammed into the Pentagon.
About that time, accounts began coming into PEOC that four international flights were headed toward Washington over the Atlantic and another from Korea. It could not be immediately determined that they were not hostile and part of the terrorist scheme. U.S. fighter aircraft and an Awacs control aircraft were scrambled aloft.
A threatening message received by the Secret Service was relayed to the agents with the president that "Air Force One is next." According to the high official, American code words were used showing a knowledge of procedures that made the threat credible.
(I have a second, on-the-record source about that: Karl Rove, the president's senior adviser, tells me: "When the president said 'I don't want some tinhorn terrorists keeping me out of Washington,' the Secret Service informed him that the threat contained language that was evidence that the terrorists had knowledge of his procedures and whereabouts. In light of the specific and credible threat, it was decided to get airborne with a fighter escort.")
After the president put down at an Air Force base in Louisiana and made a tape for broadcast (presumably no satellite was available for a live feed), he was, in Rove's term, "pretty antsy" about not being at the center of command.
Bush made clear to Cheney, says my source who was in the bunker, his intense desire to return to Washington immediately. The Secret Service objected strongly. The vice president, a former secretary of defense, suggested Air Force One go to Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska, headquarters of the Strategic Air Command, with a communications facility where the president could convene the National Security Council.
"It would have been irresponsible of him to come back, pounding his chest," says my source, "when hostile aircraft may have been headed our way. Any suggestion that he should have done so is ludicrous."
Confession: I made just that suggestion in yesterday's column, which stimulated two set-it-straight calls. Why didn't the V.P. make an appearance during that long afternoon in Bush's stead? The official reason is that Cheney was busy in the basement; the real reason, I think, is that he was unduly concerned it would appear presumptuous.
The most worrisome aspect of these revelations has to do with the credibility of the "Air Force One is next" message. It is described clearly as a threat, not a friendly warning — but if so, why would the terrorists send the message? More to the point, how did they get the code-word information and transponder know-how that established their mala fides?
That knowledge of code words, presidential whereabouts and possession of secret procedures indicates that the terrorists may have a mole in the White House — that, or informants in the Secret Service, F.B.I., F.A.A. or C.I.A. If so, the first thing our war on terror needs is an Angleton-type counterspy.
Well, Rep. Gary Condit, disgraced member of the House Intelligence Committee, moved off of Page 1. We tend to believe he would have done anything to save his sorry hide, even cavort with our enemies.
Oh, toupsie, you're not alone. The hearts and minds of millions of Americans are right there with you. You're in our prayers.
Small problem with the above...
After a 360 you are still going the same direction.
But…I still think any able-bodied soul who is in the vicinity should be over there volunteering.
Rather than blabbering about how tough it is for him—when his fiancée survived unscathed, it would be much more appropriate to be thankful and appreciative and to be focusing on comforting and aiding others who lost so much.
Here in Tampa today we had a wait of 7+ hours to GIVE blood to help the victims. Apparently, our friend was too busy talking on the phone with his mommy or walking around crying about big black guns to offer his services or donate his blood!
Lastly—I would NEVER ask people to ‘pray for me’ whilst the real victims lay buried beneath the rubble. It really ticked me off to read what I saw as such a selfish and inconsiderate request.
Sorry, should have preceded that with a "Barf Alert" . . .
Sorry, you are way out of line here. You had a previous disagreement with toupsie on another thread, and you are entitled to your opinion of him, but considering the events of the last days, and his proximity to the horror in NYC, your post is at best, in very poor taste.
Spare me your false-Christian tidings. A real man and a real Christian would be thinking about service to his fellow man in need.
Your personal self-absorption and callous disregard for others is sickening.
The worst is over. I've been scared for nine years that this inevitable occurance would be done with nukes on NY and D.C. and maybe L.A., too, with none of our precious government and monuments left, all three branches of government wiped out simultaneously. My belief predated the initial bombing of the WTC, that for sure they would do something to the WTC as it is big and a symbol.
So, wear your mask. Your biggest risk now is lung damage and emphysema.
They're satisfied with what they've done to New York. It's D.C. that is still at risk.
I've read a couple of his books, and he is a good fiction writer.
Please go back and re-read his post. He talks about friends who are still missing, and asks, "pray for us"! You also have no idea what he may or may not have been doing during this tragedy, and the vitriol of your remarks are inappropriate. You may continue your hatred, but please, keep it to yourself. The rest of us have more important enemies right now, and my anger is reserved for the monsters who massacred our innocent citizens.
That knowledge of code words, presidential whereabouts and possession of secret procedures indicates that the terrorists may have a mole in the White House — that, or informants in the Secret Service, F.B.I., F.A.A. or C.I.A.
Or in the Senate, with SS close by at all times.
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