CHAPTER 25 - PRESIDENT BUSH
Summary
(1) On 9/11, President Bush arrived at Emma E. Booker Elementary School just before 9 AM, at which point he learned from brief conversations with his senior staff both in person and at the White House only that a twin-engine airplane aircraft had hit World Trade Center (Com-pg. 35). Every person in President Bush’s entourage and the people in Washington D.C. that they were in contact with claimed to be unaware that any hijacking had taken place at this time (Com-pg. 35, MSNBC x4, CNN). This was remarkable for three reasons. One, the communications capabilities of the presidential limousine were duplicative of the White House itself (Saint Petersburg Times (now Tampa Bay Times)). Two, as we have already seen, NORAD fighters had already been launched certainly in response at least to the Flight 11 hijack and strong evidence indicates NORAD also became aware of Flight 175 at 8:43. Three, as we have already seen, the Secret Service (which is responsible for protecting the president) joined the FAA hijack net when it opened at 8:50 and therefore certainly knew of the hijack.

(2) For months after 9/11, President Bush repeatedly made the impossible claim that he saw footage of Flight 11 hitting the World Trade Center while waiting to enter the classroom even though no such footage surfaced until the following day (Boston Herald, Saint Petersburg Times, Wall Street Journal, WH Press Secretary).

While in the classroom, at 9:05 Bush learned of the 2nd WTC impact at 9:03. Both he and everyone present immediately understood America was under attack (Com-pg. 38). Only Bush and Defense Secretary Rumsfeld had national command authority, meaning they could order the destruction of a passenger plane (Com-pg. 17). Nevertheless, Bush remained in the classroom until almost 9:15, prepared a speech until 9:30, and delivered the speech live from the school until 9:35. During this time period, neither Bush nor anyone in his entourage purportedly sought to contact the Pentagon to coordinate a military response. Also during this time, neither Bush nor anyone in his entourage was purportedly aware of the hijackings of Flights 77 and 93 (Com-pg. 38-39). This was despite knowledge of the Flight 77 and 93 hijackings being widely disseminated amongst top White House/Secret Service, military, and FAA officials, as we have seen.

(3) Both Bush and the Secret Service were heavily criticized for their collective inaction despite knowing the nation was under attack (Saint Petersburg Times, MSNBC, Bamford). Numerous parties in Bush’s entourage, including Secret Service members, immediately realized Bush’s location had been public information for days and hijackers may target the school in an attempt to decapitate the government (Politico, Daily Mail, NBC News affiliate WFLA-TV). Bush later claimed he did not immediately evacuate the school because he didn’t want to scare the children (who would all have been killed if the school was successfully targeted) or cause Americans to panic (Bush). The Consensus 9/11 Panel argued that this breach in protocol by Bush and the Secret Service suggested insider knowledge that the president was never in danger (Consensus 9/11).

President Bush spoke on the phone from Air Force One with Vice President Cheney between 9:42 and 9:50 (Com-pg. 39). As we have seen, numerous media reports and White House/Pentagon/NORAD officials agree that the president passed shoot-down authorization to Cheney during or before this call, resulting in the near shoot down of Flight 93. However, the 9/11 Commission said this authorization was passed during another Bush-Cheney phone call between 10:10 and 10:15 (well after Flight 93 crashed) for which there was no documentary evidence the call ever took place (Com-pg. 40-41).

(1) Sources:
CNN, 9/11/2006, “The Situation Room,” (transcript)
MSNBC, 9/11/2002, “Andrew Card: 9/11 Interview”
MSNBC, 9/11/2002, “Dr. Condoleezza Rice: 9/11 Interview”
MSNBC, 9/11/2002, “Karen Hughes: 9/11 Interview”
MSNBC, 9/11/2002, “Karl Rove: 9/11 Interview”
Saint Petersburg Times (now Tampa Bay Times), 7/4/2004, “Of Fact, Fiction: Bush on 9/11”
9/11 Commission, July 2004, “9/11 Commission Report,” pg. 35 

(2) Sources:
Boston Herald, 10/22/2002, “What Did Bush See and When Did He See It?”
Office of the Press Secretary, 12/4/2001, Remarks by the President in Town Hall Meeting, Orange County Convention Center Orlando, Florida; “President Meets with Displaced Workers in Town Hall Meeting”
Office of the Press Secretary, 1/5/2002, Remarks by the President in Town Hall Meeting with Citizens of Ontario, Ontario Convention Center, Ontario, California; “President Holds Town Hall Forum on Economy in California”
Saint Petersburg Times (now Tampa Bay Times), 7/4/2004, “Of Fact, Fiction: Bush on 9/11”
Wall Street Journal, 3/22/2004, “Government Accounts of 9/11 Reveal Gaps, Inconsistencies”
9/11 Commission, July 2004, “9/11 Commission Report,” pg. 17, 38-39

(3) Sources:
Daily Mail, 9/8/2002, “The Day the President Went Missing”
George Bush, 2010, “Decision Points” pg. 127
James Bamford, 2002, “Body of Secrets: Anatomy of the Ultra-Secret National Security Agency” pg. 633
MSNBC (Phil Donahue Show), 8/13/2002, “911 Debate Opened Wide On Donahue,” interview with Kristen Breitweiser
Politico Magazine, 9/9/2016, “We’re the Only Plane in the Sky”
Saint Petersburg Times (now Tampa Bay Times), 7/4/2004, “Of Fact, Fiction: Bush on 9/11”
WFLA-TV (NBC News affiliate), 9/11/2013, “Sarasota County Played a Pivotal Role in 9/11.”
9/11 Commission, July 2004, “9/11 Commission Report,” pg. 39-41

Multiple Federal Agencies Track Hijackings in Real-time; Entire Bush Team Claims Ignorance
On 9/11, President Bush arrived at Emma E. Booker Elementary School at about 8:55, per the 9/11 Commission Report. Upon exiting his limousine, senior White House Advisor Karl Rove told Bush that a twin-engine aircraft had hit the World Trade Center. Then, just before entering the classroom, Bush spoke on the phone to National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice at the White House. Rice likewise told Bush a twin-engine airplane aircraft had just hit World Trade Center and then added, “That’s all we know right now, Mr. President.”

By this time, the FAA had informed NORAD of Flight 11’s hijacking (8:37) and of Flight 175’s hijacking (at 8:43, per NORAD, disputed by 9/11 Commission), Otis Air National Guard fighter jets had received the scramble order (at 8:46 A.M) and launched (at 8:53 A.M), and the FAA had opened the “hijack net” teleconference (8:50, per Dan Noel) to track the hijackings with the Secret Service. Vice President Cheney confirmed on Meet the Press that the Secret Service, which is responsible for protecting the President, was on the teleconference.

Incredibly, every person in President Bush’s entourage and the people in Washington D.C. that they were in contact with claimed to be unaware that any hijacking had taken place. Here are several examples:

• White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card, who was with the president, told MSNBC: “[When] It was first reported to me… [my] reaction was, ‘What a horrible accident. The pilot must have had a heart attack.’”

• Adviser Karl Rove replied, “Yes, absolutely,” when his MSNBC interviewer suggested, “I guess at that point, everyone is still thinking it is an accident.”

• White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer, who was with the president, said (per CNN), “[W]hen only the first tower had been hit, it was all of our thoughts that this had been some type of terrible accident.”

• White House Counselor Karen Hughes, who was in Washington D.C. at the time, later explained to MSNBC, “…my immediate thought was what a terrible accident.”

• National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, who was in the White House office, told MSNBC, “I thought, what a strange accident.”

• The 9/11 Commission Report concluded, “In the absence of information that the crash was anything other than an accident, the White House staff monitored the news as they went ahead with their regular schedules.”

The claim of ignorance at this time is all the more incredible in light of Secret Service expert Philip Melanson’s statement to the Saint Petersburg Times:

“In the presidential limo, the communications system is almost duplicative of the White House – he [President Bush] can do almost anything from there…”

The Saint Petersburg Times further added that CNN coverage of the 8:46 World Trade Center strike began almost immediately and journalists at the school were already receiving cell phone calls with the news when Bush arrived.

Only President Bush and Defense Secretary Rumsfeld had authority to shoot down a civilian aircraft. Page 17 of the 9/11 Commission Report stated:

“Prior to 9/11, it was understood that an order to shoot down a commercial aircraft would have to be issued by the National Command Authority (a phrase used to describe the president and secretary of defense).”

Sources:
ABC News, 9/11/2002 “9/11: Interviews by Peter Jennings”
ABC News, 9/14/2002, “Moments of Crisis, Part 1: Terror Hits the Towers: How Government Officials Reacted to Sept. 11 Attacks”
CNN, 9/11/2006, “The Situation Room,” (transcript)
MSNBC, 9/11/2002, “Andrew Card: 9/11 Interview”
MSNBC, 9/11/2002, “Dr. Condoleezza Rice: 9/11 Interview”
MSNBC, 9/11/2002, “Karen Hughes: 9/11 Interview”
MSNBC, 9/11/2002, “Karl Rove: 9/11 Interview”
New York Times, 9/16/2001, “Text of Vice President Cheney's Remarks on ‘Meet the Press’”
Newsweek 12/30/2001, “The Day that Changed America”
NORAD press release, 9/18/2001, “NORAD’s Response Times”
Saint Petersburg Times (now Tampa Bay Times), 7/4/2004, “Of Fact, Fiction: Bush on 9/11”
9/11 Commission Public Hearing Transcript, 5/23/2003, “Panel 1: September 11, 2001: The Attacks and the Response; Panel 2: Reforming Civil Aviation Security: Next Steps”
Politico, 9/9/2016, “We’re the Only Plane in the Sky”
9/11 Commission, 4/28/2004, “Memorandum for the Record: Interview with [FAA Emergency Operations Staff Manager] Dan Noel”
9/11 Commission Report, 7/24/2004, pgs. 17, 20, 35 

President Bush Repeatedly Makes an Impossible Claim
While his staff’s claims were dubious, President Bush’s claim was outside the realm of possibility. The Saint Petersburg Times pointed out that during a Florida town hall meeting on December 4th, 2001, President Bush stated:

“I was sitting outside the classroom waiting to go in, and I saw an airplane hit the tower—the television was obviously on, and I use to fly myself, and I said, ‘There’s one terrible pilot.’ And I said, ‘It must have been a horrible accident.’ But I was whisked off there—I didn’t have much time to think about it.” 

He repeated the same anecdote one month later during another town hall meeting in Ontario, California. However, footage of the first WTC Crash was not shown on television until the next day. The Boston Herald later remarked:

“Think about that. Bush’s remark implies he saw the first plane hit the tower. But we all know that video of the first plane hitting did not surface until the next day. Could Bush have meant he saw the second plane hit—which many Americans witnessed? No, because he said that he was in the classroom when Andrew Card whispered in his ear that a second plane hit.”

Finally, in March of 2004, the Wall Street Journal quoted an unnamed Bush spokesman as stating this had all been “just a mistaken recollection.” 

Sources:
Boston Herald, 10/22/2002, “What Did Bush See and When Did He See It?”
Office of the Press Secretary, 12/4/2001, Remarks by the President in Town Hall Meeting, Orange County Convention Center Orlando, Florida; “President Meets with Displaced Workers in Town Hall Meeting”
Office of the Press Secretary, 1/5/2002, Remarks by the President in Town Hall Meeting with Citizens of Ontario, Ontario Convention Center, Ontario, California; “President Holds Town Hall Forum on Economy in California”
Saint Petersburg Times (now Tampa Bay Times), 7/4/2004, “Of Fact, Fiction: Bush on 9/11”
Wall Street Journal, 3/22/2004, “Government Accounts of 9/11 Reveal Gaps, Inconsistencies”

Bush Completes Photo-Op and Broadcasts Live Remarks on Site after Second WTC Impact
President Bush entered the classroom around 9 AM for his scheduled photo-op. At 9:03, Flight 175 crashed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center. Inside the classroom, numerous members of the media and Bush’s staff, including Press Secretary Ari Fleischer, immediately received the news via pager. Virtually everyone immediately understood it was a coordinated attack. Per the 9/11 Commission Report (pg. 38), at 9:05, Chief of Staff Andrew Card crossed the room during a lull in the children’s reading demonstration and whispered in Bush’s ear:

“A second plane hit the second tower. America is under attack.”

Despite receiving this news (9/11 Commission Report pg. 38-39), Bush continued with the photo-op until just before 9:15 at which point he left the classroom and entered an adjacent holding room. From about 9:15 to 9:30, Bush briefly watched television coverage of the burning WTC towers, talked on the phone to multiple officials, and worked on a public statement. The 9/11 Commission Report said he talked to Condoleezza Rice, New York Governor George Pataki, FBI Director Robert Mueller, and Vice President Cheney.

However, senior advisor Karl Rove told Campbell Brown of NBC News that he was unable to reach Cheney because he had already been evacuated to the PEOC. Although, as discussed in Cheney’s chapter, numerous sources said the Vice President was evacuated to the PEOC immediately after the second WTC impact at 9:03. (Sources included Trans. Sec. Mineta, New York Times, Telegraph, President Bush’s secretary Ashley Estes, White House Photographer David Bohrer, and White House Terrorism Advisor Richard Clarke.) In this case, a call from Bush after 9:15 could have been taken by Cheney there, which would harmonize with Transportation Secretary Mineta’s testimony that Cheney received Bush’s shoot-down authorization before Mineta entered the PEOC at 9:20.

In any event, the 9/11 Commission Report claimed that not one person in the President’s entourage, nor anyone they were in contact in Washington D.C., was aware of the other hijacked aircraft during this period. It stated:

“Between 9:15 and 9:30… No one in the traveling had any information during this time that other aircraft were hijacked or missing. Staff was in contact with the White House Situation Room, but… no one with the President was in contact with the Pentagon. The focus was on the President’s statement to the nation.”

However, as we have seen, numerous parties in the FAA, military, and White House/Secret Service agree that there was broad awareness amongst them that Flights 77 and 93 were being reported as possible hijacks in this timeframe and that Langley scrambled fighter jets at 9:24 in response to these reports. Parties included Garvey, Belger (firsthand witness), Weikert (firsthand witness), Asmus, Schuessler, Steenbergen (firsthand witness), FAA, Air Force, NORAD, Eberhart, Scott, McKinley, Arnold (firsthand witness), Air Force, Marr (firsthand witness), Powell (firsthand witness), Mineta (firsthand witness), Riggs (firsthand witness), Cheney, Garabito (firsthand witness), Clark (firsthand witness).

As a reminder, let’s review some of the statements from persons present at the White House. Secret Service agent Barbara Riggs during a 2006 interview at Cornell University stated:

“Through monitoring radar and activating an open line with the FAA, the Secret Service was able to receive real-time information about other hijacked aircraft. We were tracking two hijacked aircraft as they approached Washington, DC, and our assumption was that the White House was a target. While the White House was evacuated, the Secret Service prepared to defend the facility.” 

Correspondingly, Vice President Cheney stated on NBC’s Meet the Press:

“Flight 77… turned back and headed back towards Washington. As best we can tell, they came initially at the White house… Didn't circle it, but was headed on a track into it. The secret service has an arrangement with the FAA, they had open lines after the World Trade Center was [hit].”

Likewise, the Secret Service agent in charge of presidential movements, Nelson Garabito, contacted his FAA counterpart, Terry Van Steenbergen, at FAA headquarters where the hijack net was being conducted just after the second WTC impact. The publicly available notes of his 9/11 Commission staff interview with him (contained in a July 28, 2003 document entitled, “USSS Statement and Interview Reports”) state:

“In EOC for 9am meeting; second plane struck… Immediately called Terry Van Steenbergen at FAA - he said there were 4 planes believed to be hijacked and 2 outstanding – believed to be traveling to DC.”

Additionally, in his 2004 book, “Against All Enemies,” perennial (since the 1980s) White House Terrorism Advisor Richard Clarke, who led the White House teleconference, stated:

“As I entered the Video Center… I could see people rushing into studios around the city: Donald Rumsfeld at Defense… General Dick Myers was filling in for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs… [FAA Administrator Jane] Garvey read from a list… ‘Here’s what we have as potential hijacks… United 93 over Pennsylvania… [Secret Service Director Brian] Stafford slipped me a note. ‘Radar shows aircraft [Flight 77] headed this way.’ Secret Service had a system that allowed them to see what FAA’s radar was seeing.”

At 9:30, in accordance with his publicly announced advance schedule, Bush gave a brief speech in from of about 200 students, plus teachers, reporters, and staffers. He said: “Today we’ve had a national tragedy. Two airplanes have crashed into the World Trade Center in an apparent terrorist attack on our country.” He finally left the school at 9:35.

Sources:
Cornell University, Spring 2006 Alumni Newsletter, “President’s Council of Cornell Women: Spotlight On: [Deputy Director of the Secret Service] Barbara Riggs”
NBC News, 9/11/2002, “Karl Rove: 9/11 Interview” with Campbell Brown
New York Times, 9/16/2001, “Text of Vice President Cheney's Remarks on ‘Meet the Press’”
Richard Clarke, March 2004, “Against All Enemies,” (pgs. 1-7)
Washington Post, 9/12/2001, “Timeline in Terrorist Attacks of Sept. 11, 2001”
White House, 9/11/2001, “Remarks by the President After Two Planes Crash into World Trade Center”
White House, 8/6/2002, “Interview of Ari Fleischer by Scott Pelley”
White House, 8/8/2002, “Interview of Ari Fleischer by Terry Moran of ABC”
9/11 Commission, 9/28/2003, “USSS Statement and Interview Reports” (contains Nelson Garabito interview notes)
9/11 Commission, 3/30/2004, “Memorandum for the Record: Interview with Terry Van Steenbergen”
9/11 Commission Report, 7/24/2004, pg. 35, 38-39

Inaction by Bush and the Secret Service is Criticized
When the second WTC impact occurred at 9:03, Bush’s Secret Service agents and other members of his entourage instantly thought that the President might be the next target and that terrorists might fly a plane into the school, especially since Bush’s visit to the school had been public knowledge for days. Per Politico, Bush’s CIA briefer Mike Morell, who was present at the school, stated:

“I was really worried that someone was going to fly a plane into that school. This event had been on the schedule for weeks, anyone could have known about it. Eddie [Marinzel, the lead Secret Service agent] wanted to get the hell out of there as fast as possible.”

Per the local NBC News affiliate WFLA-TV, Colonel Steve Burns of the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office stated,

“The [president's] itinerary was known at least for several days prior to his visit to Sarasota, so it was a real concern that maybe there was additional targets, even being the school or something.”

Per Politico, senior White House Advisor Karl Rove stated:

“Eddie Marinzel [from the Secret Service] came up to the president… [and] said, ‘We need to get you to Air Force One and get you airborne.’ They’d determined this might be an effort to decapitate the government.”

Rove also thought “somebody is going to be flying an airplane into the school,” per the Austin American-Statesman

Per the Saint Petersburg Times, a uniformed marine who held President Bush’s phone turned to Sarasota County Sheriff Bill Balkwill and said:

“Can you get everybody ready? We’re out of here.”

Nevertheless, Bush did not leave the school until after he completed his speech at 9:35, more than 30 minutes after virtually all senior government officials knew America was under attack. Per the Daily Mail, “panic begins to grip aides grouped around Bush” while he is preparing his speech. Is it possible that the 9/11 Commission’s claim that no one in Bush’s vicinity knew about the additional hijacked aircraft was a cover for Bush’s choice to stay onsite and work on a speech instead of getting to safety and/or attempting to coordinate a military response?

Both the Secret Service and President Bush later came under criticism for their collective inaction. The Saint Petersburg Times stated:

“…questions quickly arose about the president's actions that morning, along with those of the Secret Service, the agency charged with protecting him.”

“One of the many unanswered questions about that day is why the Secret Service did not immediately hustle Bush to a secure location…”

The article then quoted Philip Melanson, author of “The Secret Service: The Hidden History of an Enigmatic Agency,” as stating:

“As soon as the second plane hit, the Secret Service should have whisked Bush out of the school… With an unfolding terrorist attack, the procedure should have been to get the president to the closest secure location as quickly as possible, which clearly is not a school. You're safer in that presidential limo, which is bombproof and blastproof and bulletproof… [plus] the communications system is almost duplicative of the White House – he can do almost anything from there but he can't do much sitting in a school.”

Huffington Post contributor Kristen Breitweiser was one of the “Jersey Girls” – a group of four 9/11 widows who were largely responsible for galvanizing political pressure which led to the creation of the 9/11 Commission, according to the New York Times (12/22/2002). In a televised August 2002 interview on MSNBC’s Phil Donahue Show, she stated:

“It was clear that we were under attack. Why didn’t the Secret Service whisk him out of that school? He was on live local television in Florida… he is the commander-in-chief of the United States of America, our country was clearly under attack… I want to know why he sat there for 25 minutes.”

Similarly, New York Times (10/10/2008) best-selling political author, journalist, and producer of ABC’s World News Tonight, James Bamford, wrote in his 2002 book, “Body of Secrets”:

“…having just been told that the country was under attack, the commander in chief appeared uninterested in further details. He never asked if there had been any additional threats, where the attacks were coming from, how to best protect the country from further attacks, or what was the current status of NORAD or the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Nor did he call for an immediate return to Washington. Instead, in the middle of a modern-day Pearl Harbor, he simply turned back to the matter at hand: the day’s photo op.”

In response to such criticism, Bush explained in his 2010 book, “Decision Points”:

“I knew my reaction would be recorded and beamed throughout the world. The nation would be in shock; the president could not be. If I stormed out hastily, it would scare the children and send ripples of panic throughout the country.”

However, scaring the over 200 children present (per the Daily Mail) was a trivial matter compared to the risk of death posed to them when Bush and all others remained onsite at his publicly known location for more than a half-hour after it was clear the nation was under attack, and even broadcasting a live speech to the nation before leaving. Likewise, sending out “ripples of panic” was trivial compared to the risk of the military losing its Commander-In-Chief (one of only two individuals with National Command Authority) in the middle of a massive terrorist attack.

The Saint Petersburg Times reported that the Secret Service refused to “comment on security measures that day until the 9/11 Commission completes its work.” When the 9/11 Commission released its Report, it stated on page 39:

“The Secret Service told us they were anxious to move the President to a safe location, but did not think it imperative for him to run out the door.”

However, this statement contradicted the aforementioned reports that the Secret Service and other members of Bush’s entourage immediately considered that the attacks may be an effort to decapitate the government and that other hijacked airliners may target the school.

Some accused Bush and the Secret Service of not evacuating because they had inside information that the hijackers posed no threat to the president. For example, the previously discussed Consensus 9/11 Panel argued on its website:

“This break in protocol indicates that the Secret Service, at some level, knew that the President was not in danger.”

Sources:
Austin American-Statesman, 5/18/2013, “Famous Photos and a Man in One of Them”
Consensus 9/11 website, 2020, “Point MC-1: Why Was President Bush Not Hustled Away from the Florida School?”
Daily Mail, 9/8/2002, “The Day the President Went Missing”
George Bush, 2010, “Decision Points” pg. 127
Huffington Post, “Contributor: Kristen Breitweiser, 9/11 widow and activist”
James Bamford, 2002, “Body of Secrets: Anatomy of the Ultra-Secret National Security Agency” pg. 633
MSNBC (Phil Donahue Show), 8/13/2002, “911 Debate Opened Wide On Donahue,” interview with Kristen Breitweiser
New York Times, 12/22/2002, “Our Towns; Despite First Impressions, Kean May Be a Good Second Choice”
New York Times, 10/10/2008, “Decades on the Trail of a Shadowy Agency”
Politico Magazine, 9/9/2016, “We’re the Only Plane in the Sky”
Saint Petersburg Times (now Tampa Bay Times), 7/4/2004, “Of Fact, Fiction: Bush on 9/11”
WFLA-TV (NBC News affiliate), 9/11/2013, “Sarasota County Played a Pivotal Role in 9/11.”
9/11 Commission Report, 7/24/2004, pg. 39 

9/11 Commission, Bush, Cheney Say Bush Authorized Shoot Down After Flight 93 Crashed; Numerous Other Sources Say Much Earlier
According to page 39 of the 9/11 Commission Report, President Bush left Emma E. Booker Elementary School at 9:35, boarded Air Force One between 9:42 and 9:45, and immediately asked to speak to Vice President Cheney. Citing notes by Press Secretary Ari Fleischer, the Report quoted Bush as stating:

“Sounds like we have a minor war going on here, I heard about the Pentagon. We’re at war… somebody’s going to pay.”

As discussed in previous chapters, the 9/11 Commission on pages 40-41 said Bush did not give Cheney shoot down authorization until between 10:10 and 10:15 via a phone call for which there is no documentary evidence that it ever took place. The contents of this call (per footnote 214 on page 464) were based on the 9/11 Commission’s private, off-the-record, not-under-oath meeting with Bush and Cheney. However, as we have also seen previously, numerous sources indicated the passing of shoot-down authorization from Bush to Cheney occurred earlier, such as during their 9:45 phone call from Air Force One or during a call before Flight 77 hit the Pentagon.

First, White House Terrorism Advisor Richard Clarke, who led the 9/11 White House teleconference said in his book that he received presidential shoot down authorization from Major Michael Fenzel, who was with Cheney in the PEOC, as Air Force One was getting ready to take off in Florida.

Second, the Air Force’s official 9/11 record quoted both NEADS Commander Colonel Robert Marr and his superior NORAD Continental Commander Major General Larry Arnold as stating that they received shoot down authority while tracking Flight 93. Marr repeatedly and in fine detail described this as happening Flight 93 began turning back toward Washington D.C. shortly after 9:30. However, neither Arnold nor Marr stated specifically from whence this authorization originated. Therefore, it theoretically could have originated from Secretary Rumsfeld since both he and Bush had National Command Authority.

Third, both Brigadier General Montague Winfield and Acting Chairmen of Joint Chiefs of Staff General Myers likewise shared public firsthand accounts of having received shoot-down authority from Cheney in the NMCC before Flight 93 crashed. Parts of their accounts were corroborated by Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz.

Finally, reports by CNN and U.S. News and World Report stated that Cheney had received shoot down authorization from Bush by shortly after the 9:37 Pentagon impact and reports by the Associated Press, CBS News, and Washington Post stated that Flight 93 was nearly shot down by a nearby fighter jet.

Sources:
ABC News, 9/11/2002, “9/11: Interviews by Peter Jennings” (Interviews of Army Brigadier General Montague Winfield, NEADS Commander Colonel Marr)
ABC News, 11/29/2003, “Cheney Wields Unprecedented V.P. Power” (includes excerpts of Richard Clarke interview by Ted Koppel)
Associated Press, 9/13/2001, “Passengers May Have Thwarted Hijackers”
CBS News, 9/12/2001, “Feds Would Have Shot Down Pa. Jet”
CNN, 9/4/2002, “‘The Pentagon Goes to War’: National Military Command Center”
Drs. Alfred Goldberg and Rebecca Cameron, 4/19/2001, “Pentagon Attack Interview with Paul Wolfowitz” (transcript)
Leslie Filson, 2003, “Air War Over America: Sept. 11 Alters Face of Air Defense Mission,” pgs. 59, 63, 68, 71-73, published by Tyndall Air Force Base Public Affairs Office
Newhouse News Service, 3/31/2005, “Commander of 9/11 Air Defenses Retires”
PBS News, 9/14/2001, “Deputy Secretary Wolfowitz Interview with PBS NewsHour”
Richard Clarke, March 2004, “Against All Enemies,” (pgs. 1-8)
Richard Myers, 2009, “Eyes on the Horizon: Serving on the Front Lines of National Security,” pgs. 151-152
U.S. Congress; Senate Armed Services Committee, 9/13/2001, “U.S. Senator Carl Levin (D-MI) Holds Hearing On Nomination of General Richard Myers to be Chairman of The Joint Chiefs of Staff”
U.S. News and World Report, 8/31/2003, “Pieces of the Puzzle – A Top-Secret Conference Call on September 11 Could Shed New Light on the Terrorist Attacks”
Washington Post, 1/27/2002, “America's Chaotic Road to War”
9/11 Commission, July 2004, “9/11 Commission Report,” pgs. 39-41