Posted on 09/11/2001 9:17:10 AM PDT by t-shirt
Markets slump after Trade Center blast Aircraft crash into World Trade Center, Pentagon
By Vince Heaney, FTMarketWatch 4:52:00 PM BST Sep 11, 2001
LONDON (FTMW) -Markets slumped to fresh year lows in the wake of what President Bush called "apparent terrorist" attacks.
Two planes crashed into the world Trade Center in New York causing the collapse of both towers of the building. Three planes are reported to have crashed into the Pentagon in Washington, causing part of the building to collapse.
The director of the World Trade Center said that up to 10,000 people could have been in each tower.
The White House, Pentagon and other key government buildings were evacuated, all flights in the U.S. have been grounded, and all incoming flights have been diverted to Canada.
The FTSE 100 [UK:1805550] slumped 5.7 percent to 4,746 and the FTSE TechMARK index [UK:1859502] finished 4.6 percent lower at 1,278.9. See pan-European markets report See London's volume movers at a glance <
Crude oil prices surged in the wake of the disaster, with October Brent Crude prices trading at $30.69 a barrel, up more than $3 a barrel. Oil majors were among the FTSE gainers, with BP [UK:BPA] up 4.9 percent and Shell [UK:SHEL] up 2.2 percent.
The only other FTSE gainer was aerospace and defence firm BAe Systems [UK:BA] which gained 4.7 percent.
Insurers plunged on the London market. CGNU [UK:CGNU] fell 9.9 percent, Royal Sun Alliance [UK:RSA] dropped 15.2 percent and Prudential [UK:PRU] slid 12.4 percent.
British Airways [UK:BAY] was another sharp decliner off 21 percent, with news of the grounding of all flights in the U.S. Airports operator BAA [UK:BAA] lost 16.4 percent.
Hotels and leisure group Hilton [UK:HG] dropped 21 percent.
Currency markets also saw wild swings in the wake of the U.S. attacks. Sterling reached a 6-month high against the dollar around 1.4690, and recently traded at 1.4630. The dollar spiked sharply against the euro, reaching a high around 0.9090, up from 0.8975 before the blast.
Gold surged in the wake of the news, rising $16 an ounce to $287 an ounce in London.
The New York stock exchange delayed the market open indefinitely. Sky News reported that Canary Wharf in London was also being evacuated, but Canary Wharf Group [UK:CWG] told FTMarketWatch the building was not being evacuated, but remained on standby. Canary Wharf shares fell 8 percent.
---------------------------
Sept. 11, 2001
`Apparent' terrorism strikes hit U.S.
By Jon Friedman,
CBS.MarketWatch.com
4:39:00 PM BST Sep 11, 2001
NEW YORK (CBS.MW) - Apparent terrorist attacks leveled the World Trade Center in New York and rocked the Pentagon building in Washington, D.C., Tuesday morning, causing pandemonium and terror in the nation's political and financial centers.
Both towers at the World Trade Center collapsed after two hijacked commercial jets crashed into the upper stories. In addition, part of the Pentagon building was said to have collapsed. The Associated Press reported there was a car bombing at the State Department in Washington.
President George W. Bush called the attack on the World Trade Center an "apparent" act of terrorism.
"Today, we've had a national tragedy," Bush said, addressing the nation from Sarasota, Fla., where he had been scheduled to deliver a speech about education.
A catastrophic series of events unfolded at about 8:45 a.m., Eastern. First, two airplanes struck Tower One of the World Trade Center and smoke billowed out of the top floors of the building, a business center and popular tourist attraction.
Then, approximately an hour later, Washington, D.C., was under attack in what was feared to be another act of terrorism.
Trading at the New York Stock Exchange was suspended.
Reports circulated at about 9:43 a.m. that the White House was evacuated. Fires broke out at the Pentagon and on the Mall in Washington, D.C.
The apparently well-coordinated attack on the World Trade Center occurred at rush hour as New Yorkers made their way to work in the Wall Street financial district in lower Manhattan.
In Brooklyn Heights, Dena Driver, an eyewitness to the collapse, held the hand of her 16-month-old son Liam and told CBS.MarketWatch.com: "I heard a loud crash, and you could see the building sinking, and everyone started crying.
"People were running in all directions. People with family in the buildings were there and crying," Driver said, speaking from a location just across the East River.
"In five minutes, you couldn't even see Manhattan," Driver said. "Smoke and ash were everywhere in Brooklyn Heights."
All airports around the U.S. were ordered closed by federal authorities and airline flights were halted nationwide. Further, international flights scheduled to land in New York and Washington were diverted to Canadian cities.
"Everybody's panicking," an eyewitness in New York shouted on a CNN broadcast not long after the tragedy occurred, underscoring the terror and confusion throughout the morning.
There were unconfirmed media reports that there were 1,000 injuries caused by the World Trade Center event.
The media reported that one of the airplanes was an American Airlines aircraft, a Boeing 767, whose flight originated from Boston.
The tragedy shattered a typically busy day in New York, which was gearing up for a mayoral primary election between Republican and Democratic candidates. The primaries were called off in the wake of the crisis
The FBI is reportedly investigating one or more possible hijacking cases Speculation was rampant that the New York Stock Exchange had been evacuated, potentially throwing into jeopardy the status of trading for the session. Calls placed to the main telephone number of the World Trade Center were not answered immediately after the news broke.
"Terrorism against our nation will not stand," President Bush said, calling for a moment of silence. He said he would call on the "full resources" of the U.S.
The disasters were the most devastating in the U.S. since a federal building was exploded in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995, killing 168 people. On Feb. 26, 1993, a bomb exploded in the basement garage of the World Trade Center, killing six people and injuring 1,000 more.
Jon Friedman is media editor for CBS.MarketWatch.com in New York.
Plane attacks leave New York paralyzed, U.S. shocked
------------------------------------
BY MARC FERRANTI, IDG NEWS SERVICE (September 11, 2001)
In what President George W. Bush called an "apparent terrorist attack," two airplanes flew into the twin towers of New York City's World Trade Center just before 9 a.m.
today, leading to loss of life, paralyzing city ground and air traffic and halting trading on stock exchanges. The attack led the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration to close all U.S. airports.
"Today we've had a national tragedy; two airplanes have crashed into the World Trade Center in an apparent terrorist attack on our country," Bush said in remarks broadcast after the incident.
Immediately after the explosions, officials at the Nasdaq Stock Market and New York Stock Exchange said they would suspend trading. By about 10:30 a.m., both of the twin towers of the World Trade Center had collapsed.
In addition, an explosion -- another apparent plane attack, according to media reports -- occurred at the Pentagon, the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Defense, right after the World Trade Center incidents. Both the Pentagon and the White House were evacuated, as were buildings throughout major cities in the U.S.
No reports of the number of deaths or injuries were announced within the first hour of the attacks, though local eyewitnesses speaking on radio and television said they had seen bodies on the ground in the World Trade Center area.
One of the planes that flew into the World Trade Center was a Boeing 767 that had taken off from Boston and then was hijacked, according to media reports. Reports also said the plane was an American Airlines flight headed to Los Angeles.
"I've ordered that the full resources of the federal government go to help the victims and their families and to conduct a full-scale investigation to hunt down and to find those folks who have committed this act. Terrorism against this nation will not stand," Bush said in his remarks.
Major Internet news sites slowed to a crawl or became inaccessible. Telephone communication also became sluggish.
--------------
------------
NBC TV News Has Reported 10,000 likely dead.
Afghan opposition leader injured in suicide bombing attack
By KATHY GANNON,AP
KABUL, Afghanistan (September 10, 2001 10:01 a.m. EDT) - The military chief of forces fighting Afghanistan's ruling Taliban was unconscious and in serious condition with head injuries Monday after a suicide bombing attack, his brother said.
Ahmed Shah Massood, 48, underwent emergency surgery at a hospital in Tajikistan after two men posing as journalists detonated a bomb that may have been hidden in a television camera. The blast Sunday in northern Afghanistan killed both bombers and one of Massood's spokesmen, said Bismillah Khan, another Massood spokesman.
The loss of Massood would devastate the opposition, already a fractured collection of groups who fought each other when they ruled much of Afghanistan for four years until the Taliban took control in September 1996. Their deposed government still holds Afghanistan's seat in the United Nations and operates embassies in several capitals of the world.
The Taliban, a hard-line Islamic militia, currently rules roughly 95 percent of the country, with Massood's alliance in control of the remaining 5 percent, mostly in the north.
Kahn accused the Taliban of sending the suicide bombers into Massood's territory. Taliban officials could not immediately be reached for comment.
The opposition originally had said Massood only suffered leg wounds; however, Ahmed Wali, Massood's brother and the opposition's ambassador in Britain, said the injuries were more serious.
"The doctor says it will be 10 or 12 hours before we know" whether he will survive, Wali told The Associated Press by telephone. "His condition is stabilizing, but he is still unconscious. All we can do is rely on the doctors."
Wali said the veteran Afghan commander was flown immediately to Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, following the explosion. Massood met briefly with several of his commanders before being operated upon, Wali said. He has been unconscious since the surgery.
The most serious injuries were head wounds caused by shrapnel. Massood also suffered wounds to his leg and hands.
Since the suicide bombing Sunday afternoon, there have been conflicting reports about the extent of Massood's injuries, with the Russian news agency Itar-Tass reporting his death.
According to Wali, the suicide bombers were traveling on Belgian passports, with a multiple Pakistani visa issued by the Pakistan embassy in London.
"The whole thing was organized by Pakistanis and some Arab circles, that was for sure," Wali said.
According Khan, the explosion happened soon after the interview began on Sunday around 4 p.m. at Massood's base in Khodja Bahauddin in northern Afghanistan's Takhar province.
In addition to both bombers, the blast killed spokesman Azim Suhail, Khan said. Khan was reached by satellite telephone from Kabul, the Afghan capital, which is ruled by the Taliban.
The two bombers were welcomed into opposition territory as journalists. They first conducted interviews with opposition soldiers in Shomali, about 30 miles north of Kabul, then were taken to meet Massood, Khan said.
The bomb was either hidden in the camera or concealed around the waist of one of the bombers, said Mehrab Mastan, the opposition's ambassador in Paris, who spoke to AP by telephone.
Mastan said the interview was conducted in the office of Suhail, the spokesman. The two journalists and Suhail were sitting at one end of the room, with Massood several feet away.
Massood is the military head of the anti-Taliban alliance, whose political leader is ousted president Burhanuddin Rabbani. He was Rabbani's defense chief during his rule of most of Afghanistan from 1992 until 1996, when the Taliban took power.
He has repeatedly accused the Taliban of sending foreign fighters to the front line, particularly guerrillas from Arab countries and neighboring Pakistan. The Taliban have denied the accusation.
Sick, isn't it? I hope they come to their senses....my husband and his family who are Jewish are as conservative as me, but we have those Spielberg types here, and they are disgusting! I'm going to church to pray for this country and all the lost souls killed today...
By Jon Friedman, CBS.MarketWatch.com 6:10:00 PM BST Sep 11, 2001
NEW YORK (CBS.MW) - Terrorist attacks leveled the two World Trade Center towers in New York City and rocked the Pentagon building in Washington, D.C., Tuesday morning, causing pandemonium and terror in the nation's political and financial centers. News reports estimated that 10,000 people could have perished in the destruction.
At about 8:50 a.m., Eastern, the first of two hijacked commercial jets crashed into the upper stories of the World Trade Center, followed by another attack 18 minutes later.
Authorities were frantically trying to evacuate the 50,000 people who work in the twin towers. About 150,000 to 200,000 people move through the buildings on typical weekdays.
In addition, part of the Pentagon building was said to have collapsed. The Associated Press reported there was a car bombing at the State Department in Washington. See full story.
President George W. Bush called the attack on the World Trade Center an "apparent" act of terrorism. "Today, we've had a national tragedy," Bush said, addressing the nation from Sarasota, Fla., where he had been scheduled to deliver a speech about education.
Across the U.S., the nation reacted to the crisis in widespread ways. The U.S.-Mexico border was closed. Trading at the New York Stock Exchange was suspended. The New York National Guard was called in to assist the relief effort. See full story.
A catastrophic series of events unfolded at about 8:45 a.m., Eastern. First, two airplanes struck Tower One of the World Trade Center and smoke billowed out of the top floors of the building, a business center and popular tourist attraction.
Then, approximately an hour later, Washington, D.C., was under attack in what was feared to be another act of terrorism.
Reports circulated at about 9:43 a.m. that the White House was evacuated. Fires broke out at the Pentagon and on the Mall in Washington, D.C.
The apparently well-coordinated attack on the World Trade Center occurred at rush hour as New Yorkers made their way to work in the Wall Street financial district in lower Manhattan.
In Brooklyn Heights, Dena Driver, an eyewitness to the collapse, held the hand of her 16-month-old son Liam and told CBS.MarketWatch.com: "I heard a loud crash, and you could see the building sinking, and everyone started crying.
"People were running in all directions. People with family in the buildings were there and crying," Driver said, speaking from a location just across the East River.
"In five minutes, you couldn't even see Manhattan," Driver said. "Smoke and ash were everywhere in Brooklyn Heights."
All airports around the U.S. were ordered closed by federal authorities and airline flights were halted nationwide. Further, international flights scheduled to land in New York and Washington were diverted to Canadian cities. See full story.
New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani said the city is "trying to evacuate thousands and thousands of people" from the World Trade Center.
There were unconfirmed media reports that there were 1,000 injuries caused by the World Trade Center event.
The media reported that one of the airplanes was an American Airlines aircraft, a Boeing 767, whose flight originated from Boston.
The tragedy shattered a typically busy day in New York, which was gearing up for a mayoral primary election between Republican and Democratic candidates. The primaries were called off in the wake of the crisis
The FBI is reportedly investigating one or more reported hijackings.
Speculation was rampant that the New York Stock Exchange had been evacuated, potentially throwing into jeopardy the status of trading for the session. Calls placed to the main telephone number of the World Trade Center were not answered immediately after the news broke.
"Terrorism against our nation will not stand," President Bush said, calling for a moment of silence. He said he would call on the "full resources" of the U.S.
Canada's Prime Minister Jean Chretien said: "We stand ready to provide any assistance that our American friends may need at this very, very difficult hour and in the subsequent investigation."
The disasters were the most devastating in the U.S. since a federal building was exploded in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995, killing 168 people. On Feb. 26, 1993, a bomb exploded in the basement garage of the World Trade Center, killing six people and injuring 1,000 more.
Jon Friedman is media editor for CBS.MarketWatch.com in New York.
http://www.ftmarketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid={BB0F949F-8D4A-4DBB-A27C-74146844C64D}
That was my thought!
Did you notice that the planes hit the towers at about the same height? That height may have been optimial in terms of having the towers collapsed: higher torque applied to the base of the towers. Are there any civil engineers here who could tell?
In D.C., Plane Crashes Pentagon
By JERRY SCHWARTZ
AP National Writer
NEW YORK (AP) -- In a horrific sequence of destruction, terrorists crashed two planes into the World Trade Center and the twin 110-story towers collapsed Tuesday morning. Explosions also rocked the Pentagon and the State Department and spread fear across the nation.
The fate of those in the skyscrapers was not immediately known. Authorities had been trying to evacuate the 50,000 people who work in the twin towers, but many were thought to be trapped.
In D.C., Plane Crashes Pentagon
''This is perhaps the most audacious terrorist attack that's ever taken place in the world,'' said Chris Yates, an aviation expert at Jane's Transport in London. ''It takes a logistics operation from the terror group involved that is second to none. Only a very small handful of terror groups is on that list. ... I would name at the top of the list Osama bin Laden.''
President Bush ordered a full-scale investigation to ''hunt down the folks who committed this act.''
Within the hour, an aircraft crashed on a helicopter landing pad near the Pentagon, a car bomb exploded outside the State Department, and the West Wing of the White House was evacuated amid threats of terrorism. And another explosion rocked New York about an hour after the crash.
Authorities went on alert from coast to coast, halting all air traffic, evacuating high-profile buildings and tightening security at strategic installations.
Evacuations were ordered at the United Nations in New York and at the Sears Tower in Chicago. Los Angeles mobilized its anti-terrorism division, and security was intensified around the naval facilities in Hampton Roads, Va.
One of the planes that crashed into the Trade Center was American Airlines Flight 11, hijacked after takeoff from Boston en route to Los Angeles, the airline said.
The planes blasted fiery, gaping holes in the upper floors of the twin towers. A witness said he saw bodies falling and people jumping out. About an hour later, the southern tower collapsed with a roar and a huge cloud of smoke; the other tower fell about a half-hour after that.
Firefighters trapped in the rubble radioed for help.
''Today we've had a national tragedy,'' Bush said in Sarasota, Fla. ''Two airplanes have crashed into the World Trade Center in an apparent terrorist attack on our country.'' He said he would be returning immediately to Washington.
The crashes at the World Trade Center happened minutes apart, beginning just before 9 a.m.
Heavy black smoke billowed into the sky above one of New York City's most famous landmarks, and debris rained down on the street, one of the city's busiest work areas. When the second plane hit, a fireball of flame and smoke erupted, leaving a huge hole in the glass and steel tower.
John Axisa, who was getting off a commuter train to the World Trade Center, said he saw ''bodies falling out'' of the building. He said he ran outside, and watched people jump out of the first building. Then there was a second explosion, and he felt heat on the back of neck.
WCBS-TV, citing an FBI agent, said five or six people jumped out of the windows. Witnesses on the street screamed every time another person leaped.
People ran down the stairs in panic and fled the building. Thousands of pieces of what appeared to be office paper drifted over Brooklyn, about three miles away.
Several subway lines were immediately shut down. Trading on Wall Street was suspended. New York's mayoral primary election was postponed. All bridges and tunnels into Manhattan were closed down.
David Reck was handing out literature for a candidate for public advocate a few blocks away when he saw a jet come in ''very low, and then it made a slight twist and dove into the building.''
Terrorist bombers struck the World Trade Center in February 1993, killing six people and injuring more than 1,000 others.
''A second occurrence is just beyond belief,'' said Ira Furber, former National Transportation Safety Board spokesman.
''It's just sick. It just shows how vulnerable we really are,'' said Keith Meyers, 39, of Ohio. ''It kind of makes you want to go home and spend time with your family. It puts everything in perspective,'' Meyers said. He said he called to check in with his wife. They have two young children.
In New York, ''we heard a large boom and then we saw all this debris just falling,'' said Harriet Grimm, who was inside a bookstore on the World Trade Center's first floor when the first explosion rocked the building.
''The plane was coming in low and ... it looked like it hit at a slight angle,'' said Sean Murtagh, a CNN vice president, the network reported.
In 1945, an Army Air Corps B-25, a twin-engine bomber, crashed into the 79th floor of the Empire State Building in dense fog.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, September 11, 2001
'I just saw the top of Trade Two come down.'
By HELEN O'NEILL
AP Special Correspondent
NEW YORK (AP) -- It was the scene of a nightmare: people on fire jumping in terror from the Trade Towers just before the buildings collapsed.
''Everyone was screaming, crying, running, cops, people, firefighters, everyone,'' said Mike Smith, a fire marshal from Queens, as he sat by the fountain outside the Supreme Court building, shortly after the second tower collapsed. ''A couple of marshals just picked me up and dragged me down the street.'' More on the Story Planes crash into World Trade Center, creating horrifying scene; Pentagon, attacked
This was the horror unfolding in New York City in the wake of an apparent terrorist attack.
''I just saw the building I work in come down,'' said businessman Gabriel Ioan, shaking in shock outside City Hall a cloud of smoke and ash from the World Trade Center behind him. ''I just saw the top of Trade Two come down.''
Nearby a crowd mobbed a man on a pay-phone, screaming at him to get off the phone so that they could call relatives. Dust and dirt flew everywhere. Ash was 2 to 3 inches deep in places. People wandered dazed and terrified.
''People were jumping out of windows,'' said an unidentified crying woman. ''I guess people were trying to save themselves. Oh my God!''
''I was in the World Financial Center looking out the window,'' said one woman. ''I saw the first plane and then 15 minutes later saw the other plane just slam into the World Trade Center.''
Another eyewitness, AP newsman Dunstan Prial, described a strange sucking sound from the Trade Center buildings after the first building collapsed.
''Windows shattered. People were screaming and diving for cover. People walked around like ghosts, covered in dirt, weeping and wandering dazed.''
''It sounded like a jet or rocket,'' said Eddie Gonzalez, a postal worker at a post office on West Broadway. ''I looked up and saw a huge explosion. I didn't see the impact. I just saw the explosion.''
Morning commuters heading into Manhattan were stranded as the Lincoln Tunnel was shut down to incoming traffic. Many left their cars and stood on the ramp leading to the tunnel, staring in disbelief at the thick cloud of smoke pouring from the top of the two buildings.
On the streets of Manhattan, people stood in groups talking quietly or watching on television at ground-level network studios.
Joan Goldstein, communications project leader for The Associated Press, was on a bus from New Jersey at about 8:50 a.m. when she saw ''smoke pouring out of the World Trade Center building. We said, 'Oh, my God! The World Trade Center's on fire!''
Perhaps 10 minutes later, ''All of a sudden, there was an orange plume, a huge explosion. It shot out the back of the building. Everybody on the bus was just moaning and gasping,'' said Goldstein, who wept and trembled as she spoke.
The plume was from the second plane, but she didn't see the plane because of the thick smoke.
She tried to call friends who work there, but couldn't get through.
''It was the most horrible thing I've ever seen in my life,'' said Goldstein.
No, YOU are a total failure of intelligence.
P.S. to Jim - we don't need this yahoo here today, but I'll defer to you.
Pretty amazing flying, piloting those airliners into the towers, hitting them both square.
Could these people be former US service men? I mean, could these people be friends of Tim McVeigh?!
I mean, _any_ offshore group would simply _know_ that reprisal for such an attack would be massive beyond belief (although with modern politicians, who knows). Could this be domestic?! Mark W.
People were put in place, policies were altered, huge amounts of money was raised, people in both high and low places have been making things happen for a long time and this morning was just the end (maybe) result.
Were rogue pilots planted? Were flight crew personnel corrupted? Did we have spies working in airports at the security check points?, baggage handling?
During the Clinton administration, security was essentially non-existence. Was this part of the prerequisites? Was the China-gate part of this? Was the dive in the DOW about this? (money manipulation from abroad).
Terrorists have always been replete with loose lips. In a society that appeals to the lowest of humankind, it has always been necessary for them to employ less than professional assistance to pull off their plots. These people often deal in drugs and other sundry activities to support their lifestyle. These people draw a reasonable amount of attention from our trusted resources. So why were we not aware of a plot of this magnitude?
I believe this was not a terrorist attack but an invasion from without. I suspect China and believe they are playing us against the middle-east so they can benefit from the spoils. I also think Clinton played a role in staging this.
Everyone agreed that Clinton would not surrender his power after leaving the Presidency. Maybe he hasn’t.
Plane crashes into Pentagon; troops deployed in response to apparent terrorist attack
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Pentagon took a direct, devastating hit from an aircraft and the enduring symbols of American power were evacuated Tuesday as an apparent terrorist attack quickly spread fear and chaos in the nation¹s capital.
The nerve center of the nation¹s military burst into flames and a portion of one side of the five-sided structure collapsed when the plane struck in midmorning. Secondary explosions were reported in the aftermath of the attack and great billows of smoke drifted skyward toward the Potomac River and the city beyond.
Authorities immediately began deploying troops, including a regiment of light infantry.
"Terrorism against our nation will not stand," vowed President Bush, in Florida on a morning when not only Washington was struck, but the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York were hit by planes and later collapsed.
There was no attempt to minimize the impact.
"This is the second Pearl Harbor. I don¹t think that I overstate it," said Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., referring to the attack 60 years ago that surprised the nation and propelled it into World War II.
With Bush in Florida, his advisers were preparing a list of options, including closing the nation's borders, according to a senior U.S. official.
The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said it was premature to discuss military options because investigators were still trying to determine who was responsible for the attacks.
Away from the Pentagon, unexplained explosions were reported in the vicinity of the State Department and the Capitol. Agents with automatic weapons patrolled the White House grounds.
The departments of Justice, State, Treasury and Defense and the Central Intelligence Agency were evacuated -- an estimated 20,000 at the Pentagon alone.
One lawmaker said the congressional leadership had been hustled away to safety.
And the FAA ordered the entire nationwide air traffic system shut down.
A torrent of people rushed from their office buildings throughout the nation¹s capital, eager to leave a city under siege. The cell phone networks were overloaded, clusters of people sprayed on the sidewalks and at least one suburban school district announced plans to close early.
The Pentagon was hit a short while after the World Trade Center was struck.
Paul Begala, a Democratic consultant, said he witnessed an explosion near the Pentagon, saying it sent a huge, orange fireball skyward.
AP reporter Dave Winslow also saw the crash. He said, "I saw the tail of a large airliner. ... It plowed right into the Pentagon."
Gen. Richard Myers, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that prior to the crash into the Pentagon, military officials had been notified that another hijacked plane had been heading from the New York area to Washington. He said he assumed that hijacked plane was the one that hit the Pentagon, though he couldn¹t be sure.
One of two planes that crashed into the World Trade Center was hijacked after takeoff from Boston and headed to Los Angeles with 92 aboard, American Airlines disclosed.
The second plane may have flown out of Newark, N.J., the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Asked if there was any possibility the crashes were anything other than deliberate, a government official said it appeared not to be an accident.
http://www.gainesvillesun.com/articles/2001-09-11gg.shtml
I heard Col David Hackworth earlier say that he believed the pilots were shot and that the hijackers were trained aviators.
Plane crashes into Pentagon; troops deployed in response to apparent terrorist attack
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Pentagon took a direct, devastating hit from an aircraft and the enduring symbols of American power were evacuated Tuesday as an apparent terrorist attack quickly spread fear and chaos in the nation¹s capital.
The nerve center of the nation¹s military burst into flames and a portion of one side of the five-sided structure collapsed when the plane struck in midmorning. Secondary explosions were reported in the aftermath of the attack and great billows of smoke drifted skyward toward the Potomac River and the city beyond.
Authorities immediately began deploying troops, including a regiment of light infantry.
"Terrorism against our nation will not stand," vowed President Bush, in Florida on a morning when not only Washington was struck, but the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York were hit by planes and later collapsed.
There was no attempt to minimize the impact.
"This is the second Pearl Harbor. I don¹t think that I overstate it," said Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., referring to the attack 60 years ago that surprised the nation and propelled it into World War II.
With Bush in Florida, his advisers were preparing a list of options, including closing the nation's borders, according to a senior U.S. official.
The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said it was premature to discuss military options because investigators were still trying to determine who was responsible for the attacks.
Away from the Pentagon, unexplained explosions were reported in the vicinity of the State Department and the Capitol. Agents with automatic weapons patrolled the White House grounds.
The departments of Justice, State, Treasury and Defense and the Central Intelligence Agency were evacuated -- an estimated 20,000 at the Pentagon alone.
One lawmaker said the congressional leadership had been hustled away to safety.
And the FAA ordered the entire nationwide air traffic system shut down.
A torrent of people rushed from their office buildings throughout the nation¹s capital, eager to leave a city under siege. The cell phone networks were overloaded, clusters of people sprayed on the sidewalks and at least one suburban school district announced plans to close early.
The Pentagon was hit a short while after the World Trade Center was struck.
Paul Begala, a Democratic consultant, said he witnessed an explosion near the Pentagon, saying it sent a huge, orange fireball skyward.
AP reporter Dave Winslow also saw the crash. He said, "I saw the tail of a large airliner. ... It plowed right into the Pentagon."
Gen. Richard Myers, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that prior to the crash into the Pentagon, military officials had been notified that another hijacked plane had been heading from the New York area to Washington. He said he assumed that hijacked plane was the one that hit the Pentagon, though he couldn¹t be sure.
One of two planes that crashed into the World Trade Center was hijacked after takeoff from Boston and headed to Los Angeles with 92 aboard, American Airlines disclosed.
The second plane may have flown out of Newark, N.J., the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Asked if there was any possibility the crashes were anything other than deliberate, a government official said it appeared not to be an accident.
http://www.gainesvillesun.com/articles/2001-09-11gg.shtml
The president briefly turned somber before he resumed reading.
He addressed the tragedy about a half-hour later.
By Barbara Vobejda The Washington Post
WASHINGTON -- A plane crashed on the helicopter landing pad adjacent to the Pentagon Tuesday morning, and there was an explosion at the Capitol Building, both occurring less than an hour after two planes crashed into the World Trade Center in an apparent terrorist attack. Shortly before 10:30 a.m., a car bomb exploded outside the State Department, according to Associated Press.
There were no immediate reports of injury or damage at any of the federal buildings in the Washington, D.C., area.
The attack at the Pentagon building, which occurred less than an hour after the New York attacks.....
---------------------------------
Rest of this Washington Post story can be found:
http://www.gainesvillesun.com/articles/2001-09-11ff.shtml
I have never heard of Chinese suicide attacks. Care
to cite some? And the PLO has more than a six-pack
of terrorists ready to greet Allah in glory. Why posit
China when you have all the ingredients you need
right in front of you? Occam's Razor applies here.
Israeli ousting of this cancer from her borders does
nothing for China, nor does a concerted American
attack on them. But I'm willing to listen to your
evidence, if you'll post it right here.
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