The South Tower begins to collapse, after United Airlines Flight 175 hits the building just after 9 a.m. on September 11, 2001 • 9/11 panel focuses on rescue efforts • Giuliani describes 9/11 rescue efforts

Officials raise estimate of death toll on lower WTC floors Believe more people died below impact site Wednesday, July 21, 2004 WASHINGTON (AP) -- Federal investigators analyzing evacuation patterns at the World Trade Center estimate more people than previously thought died below the areas hit by the hijacked planes. The National Institute of Standards and Technology is conducting an extensive review of the collapse of the towers. Between 567 and 610 people died below the impact floors, "somewhat higher than previously thought," lead investigator Shyam Sunder said Tuesday. The NIST has tried to determine where people died to better understand evacuation responses and craft recommendations that would make skyscrapers safer. The agency's interim figures estimate 1,466 building occupants died in World Trade Center Tower 1, the vast majority, 1,356 people, at or above the impact site. In Tower 2, the second to be struck, 624 office workers were killed, and only six of those were below the impact site. More than 400 emergency responders were killed in the twin towers below the impact floors. NIST also has determined 30 other people were killed in the towers below the impact sites, without being able to say which building they were in. Sunder said between 1,974 and 2,017 people died at or above the areas of impact, a figure slightly below previous estimates. He said the shift may be explained by the lowering death toll since the first calculations were made in 2002. NIST said it still had no information on where 17 people died. Tallying information The main source of information for the analysis came from 300 in-person interviews conducted by the NIST and about 800 phone interviews. In many cases, the agency was able to use employees' building identification information to determine on which floors they worked. That information was cross-checked against survivor accounts of their evacuations. The investigators also tallied information gleaned from press accounts and a Web site dedicated to victims of the September 11, 2001, attacks. The agency had previously estimated that between 16,200 and 18,600 people were in the buildings. It also determined 18 bystanders or occupants of nearby buildings were killed. The institute's investigation began two years ago in an effort to determine why the towers collapsed and use those lessons to recommend improvements in building codes, evacuation procedures and other standards. Its final report is due in December. Copyright 2004 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

  9/11 Commission Hears Flight Attendant's Phone Call

'I Don't Know, but I Think We're Getting Hijacked'

By HOPE YEN, AP

WASHINGTON (Jan. 28, 2004) - The calm voice calling from American Airlines Flight 11 belied the mayhem unfolding on the jetliner: a hijacking was under way, three people were stabbed, the cockpit was silent.

''The cockpit is not answering their phone,'' flight attendant Betty Ong told the American Airlines operations center shortly before the plane slammed into the World Trade Center. ''There's somebody stabbed in business class, and we can't breathe in business. Um, I think there is some Mace or something. We can't breathe.

''I don't know, but I think we're getting hijacked.''

Ong, 45, known as ''Bee,'' of Andover, Mass., was working coach class on the American Airlines Boeing 767 flying from Boston to Los Angeles on Sept. 11, 2001, before suspected 9-11 ringleader Mohammed Atta and four others took over the plane and crashed it into the North Tower of the Trade Center.

Nydia Gonzalez, on duty at the operations center that morning, told the panel how she received Ong's call at about 8:20 a.m.

Several media accounts of what occurred on Flight 11 claimed that Betty was 'hysterical with fear,' 'shrieking' and 'gasping for air,''' Gonzalez said. ''Those accounts were wrong.''

''In a very calm, professional and poised demeanor, Betty Ong relayed to us detailed information of the events unfolding on Flight 11,'' Gonzalez added.

The Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States heard portions of Ong's 23-minute conversation with the operations center on the second of a two-day hearing Tuesday.

In it, Ong tells the operations center her flight and seat number and describes the scene on board.

''I'm sitting in the back. Somebody's coming back from business. If you can hold on for one second here, they're coming back.

''Our No. 1 (flight attendant) got stabbed. Our purser is stabbed. Nobody knows who stabbed who. We can't even get up to business class right now, because nobody can breathe. Uh, our No. 1 is stabbed right now.

''Our No. 5, our first class passenger, er, our first class galley flight attendant and our purser have been stabbed. And we can't get into the cockpit. The door won't open.''

''We can't even get into the cockpit. We don't know who's there,'' Ong says, before the call ends in a dial tone.

The Boeing 767 rammed into the World Trade Center's north tower at 8:46 a.m.

AP-NY-01-28-04 0057EST

911 Commission's Web Page
Hijackers conducted surveillance flights ahead of 9/11

Friday, September 27, 2002

FBI Director Robert Mueller

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The hijackers who took over four airplanes on September 11, 2001, and carried out the worst-ever terror attacks on U.S. soil conducted several surveillance flights prior to that day, according to newly-declassified information released Thursday.

One of those flights was on the same route as the plane that was crashed into the Pentagon.

The information was made public during a hearing conducted by the House and Senate intelligence committees. It came from a statement by FBI Director Robert Mueller -- made at a closed-door hearing in June -- about how the hijackers entered the United States and prepared their attack without arousing any suspicion.

"Meetings and communications between the hijackers were done without detection, apparent surveillance flights were taken, and nothing illegal was detected through airport security screening," Mueller's statement said.

"In short, the terrorists had managed very effectively to exploit loopholes and vulnerabilities in our systems. To this day, we have found no one in the United States except the actual hijackers who knew of the plot and we have found nothing they did while in the United States that triggered a specific response about them," he added.

Mueller said his remarks could not include a discussion of Zacarias Moussaoui because of the case pending against him. Moussaoui faces six conspiracy charges and a possible death penalty for his involvement with al Qaeda, the Islamic terrorist group behind the attacks.

Each of the return flights taken on the preparatory missions included a one-to-two day layover in Las Vegas, but Mueller said the purpose of the stops in that city is not known.

The FBI chief also disclosed for the first time that hijackers including Nawaf al Hazmi and ringleader Mohammed Atta had monthly, face-to-face meetings to discuss their deadly plan. More than 3,000 people were killed in the September 11 attacks.

Mueller: Terrorists 'were not supermen'

Mostly, the hijackers blended in to American society, Mueller said.

"They dressed and acted like Americans, shopping and eating at places like Wal-Mart and Pizza Hut," he said.

Aside from minor traffic violations, they committed no crimes, and al Hazmi even reported an attempted street robbery on May 1, 2001, to Fairfax, Virginia, police, although he later declined to press charges.

Mueller said the September 11 attack plan was conceived and carried out using simple means.

"Clearly, these 19 terrorists were not supermen using extraordinarily sophisticated techniques. They came armed with simple box cutters," he said.

"But they also came armed with sophisticated knowledge about how to plan these attacks abroad without discovery, how to finance their activities from overseas without alarm, how to communicate both here and abroad without detection, and how to exploit the vulnerabilities inherent in our free society.

"There were no slip-ups. Discipline never broke down. They gave no hint to those around them what they were about," Mueller's statement continued. "They came lawfully. They lived lawfully. They trained lawfully. They boarded the aircraft lawfully. They simply relied upon everything from the vastness of the Internet to the openness of our society to do what they wanted to do without detection."

His remarks were released as top counter-terrorism officials defended their various agencies to lawmakers. Both CIA and FBI officials said they did the best job they could given the resources they had to work with.

Responding to criticism that the FBI missed clues about the use of aircraft by terrorists, the FBI's counter-terrorism chief said those clues came amid a torrent of other intelligence information.

"We had threats to malls, threats to power plants, threats to assassinations, across the board we had threats coming in every day," said Dale Watson, executive assistant director of the FBI.

In his statement, Mueller praised the work of his agency, especially after September 11, but admitted "there were clearly things we should have done better or differently."

And he warned that the threat from terrorists has not subsided.

"Those who masterminded and financed these attacks are still capable of doing so. Capturing a number of important operatives has been a huge victory but there are others, still loosely connected and still a potent threat," Mueller said.

"Nor should we forget that thousands of 'foot soldiers' -- those who trained in the camps -- remain disbursed. And there are those who, without direction or control, are compelled for ideological reasons to pursue jihad and kill Americans."

Mueller said the FBI needs new structures, new training and new technologies, which are now being put in to place.

"Nothing can be paramount to preventing the next attack," he said.

CNN Justice Department Correspondent Kelli Arena contributed to this report.

..

IT IS NOT OVER YET - 3 MEN ARRESTED AT 11:00 P.M. EDT
ON GEORGE WASHINGTON BRIDGE WITH TRUCK FULL OF EXPLOSIVES
NEW YORK MAYOR GULIANI DENYING THIS ALLEGATION

CELL PHONE CALLS HAVE BEEN RECEIVED FROM UNDER THE WTC
PEOPLE MAY STILL BE ALIVE

2100 PEOPLE HOSPITALIZED - DEATHS MAY RUN FROM 10,000 TO 50,000
MAYOR GULIANI REPORTS THAT THE NUMBERS WILL BE HORRENDOUS

PLANES HELD 233 PASSENGERS - 25 CREW AND 8 PILOTS - ALL DEAD

POSSIBLE OVER 300 FIREFIGHTERS DECEASED
WAITING FOR FINAL NUMBERS

78 POLICE OFFICERS MISSING

PENTAGON - DEATHS EST. TO BE 188

AFGHANISTAN BEING BOMBED
WE ARE NOT TAKING RESPONSIBILITY FOR THIS BOMBING OF THE AMMUNITION DUMP
BLAMING IT ON THE CIVIL WAR THERE

*Situation Reports* The Louisiana air force base named Barksdale where U.S. President George W. Bush is currently secured has full strategic command capability and was the closest secure facility to Bush’s location earlier today in Florida. The base also supplied the B-52s that were used at the start of the U.S.-Iraqi war in 1991. A spokesman for Afghanistan's ruling Taliban also said Sept. 11 that Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden could not be responsible for a spate of terror attacks in the United States. 1702 GMT, 091101 Fox news is reporting that two international flights coming in from Europe are unable to be contacted. ABC is reporting that F-16 fighters are patrolling New York and Washington airspace, and have orders to shoot down any aircraft, commercial or other, that try to enter the airspace. U.S. President George W. Bush, currently residing in a Louisiana air force base, will not return to Washington, CNN reported. 1645 GMT, 091101 CBS is reporting that today, Sept. 11, is the one-year anniversary of the Camp David accord. CBS also reported that the Federal Aviation Authority has received a "brief" message from terrorists aboard the first plane that struck the World Trade Center, and that a second plane has been forced down near Camp David that was "targeting" the Pentagon. 1636 GMT, 091101 Sources with the Federal Aviation Authority say that as far as they know there are no more unaccounted aircraft in the air, and that some that were in the air when the grid was shut down were rerouted or landed at alternative sites. This is the first time ever that the entire grid has been shut down. 1635 GMT, 091101 CNN reports that a building near the World Trade Center was hit by debris is now on the verge of collapse. There are also suspicions of a gas leak in the area, and police are evacuating all of lower Manhattan. Power may be shut down in the city, and the gas lines may be opened to let out some pressure. 1620 GMT, 091101 The Federal Aviation Authority is denying reports from Pittsburgh radio and television that U.S. fighters shot down the commercial airliner which crashed 80 miles outside of Pittsburgh. 1610 GMT, 091101 Reports have been confirmed that U.S. President George W. Bush, the First Lady, Vice President Dick Cheney and his wife are safe. The Secret Service will not disclose their current locations. The vice president is currently in a position to direct the U.S. response, while the president wants to get back the White House for further operations, CNN reported. 1606 GMT, 091101 Jerusalem Post Radio is reporting that members of Democratic Liberation Front of Palestine in the West Bank and Gaza categorically deny their involvement in today’s terrorist attacks. In New York, scene of the first attacks, 911 and all police – including retired officers – have been called to duty. It is reported that 164 passengers on both airlines which hit the World Trade Center were killed. Security has been increased at the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa. 1600 GMT, 091101 The airliner which hit the Pentagon this morning is believed to have been a hijacked United Airlines flight, according to Fox news. No reports have been given on the number of dead passengers, or where the flight originated. However, all in-country commercial flights are now accounted for, so aircraft that hit the Pentagon is believed to have been and international flight, Fox reported. 1601 GMT, 091101 CNN reported that a senior official from Islamic Jihad, though not claiming responsibility for the attack, said the attack was a consequence of U.S. policy in the Middle East. Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat earlier expressed shock and expressed condolences over the attack. Israeli daily Haaratz also reported that Saudi dissident Osama Bin Laden warned three weeks ago that he would carry out unprecedented attacks against U.S. for supporting Israel. 1550 GMT, 091101 Local Pittsburgh radio and television are citing eyewitnesses as saying that the United Airlines 747, which originated from Newasrk and crashed 80 miles outside of Pittsburgh, was shot down by U.S. fighters before it could reach Washington, D.C. An airliner which took off from the Dallas-Fort Worth airport en route to Los Angeles is reportedly unaccounted for, Dallas radio reported. Nearly 4,00 aircraft – military and general aviation – are in the sky right now. Fox News is also reporting that the second plane which hit the World Trade Center originated from Washington’s Dulles airport. 1545 GMT, 091101 Sources report about 70 confirmed dead at the Pentagon following an explosion caused by a crashed airplane this morning. Another airplane that may have been hijacked and heading to Washington, D.C. was reportedly downed near Camp David. Palestinians denied responsibility for an attack on the World Trade Center, AP reported, after the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine said it was responsible. The plane which crashed near Pittsburgh was identified as a 747, and is believed to have originated from either Cleveland or Pittsburgh. 1522 GMT, 091101 Israel has evacuated all diplomatic missions around the world following today’s terrorist attacks, credit for which have been claimed by the militant Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Meanwhile Britain and Germany’s government’s have both condemned the attacks, and Russian air defenses are now at full alert, WABC reported. 1502 GMT, 091101  Reports are surfacing questioning whether the 767 aircraft that earlier crashed in western Pennsylvania in Somerset County was related to today’s attacks in New York and Washington D.C. U.S. officials have also denied reports of a car bomb at the State Department, but the building has still been evacuated. The aircraft that struck Pentagon this morning was reported to have missed the main building and hit the heliport right outside, while the second aircraft to hit the second World Trade Center tower was identified as a 737. 1501 GMT, 091101 Airspace over the Washington metro area has been declared a no-fly zone. Any unidentified, unauthorized aircraft entering area will be shot down immediately, Fox New reported. Police and fire department officials now put initial casualty estimates at the World Trade Center at 10,000 dead and rising. 1459 GMT, 091101 A second hijacked aircraft was reported at 9:50 eastern time to be heading to the Pentagon, more than an hour after the building was hit by an earlier aircraft, CNN. An F-16 fighter from the Washington, D.C. or Maryland Air National Guard was scrambled and heading west in the direction of the second aircraft. The Taliban also denied involvement in today’s attacks. Fox News quoted defense experts in the United States as stating that the U.S. government can be expected to retaliate almost immediately. 1452 GMT, 091101 Part of the Pentagon, which was reportedly hit by a commercial airplane this morning, has collapsed, CNN reported. Another airliner heading to Washington, D.C. reportedly crashed near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, while a fourth explosion was seen at the World Trade Center. Canadian military forces have also stepped up security following the attacks. 1445 GMT, 091101 Approximately an hour and a half after the attack both towers of the World Trade Center completely collapsed. Eyewitnesses reported that U.S. combat aircraft are now patrolling over Washington D.C. The fire at the State Department was later attributed to a car bomb. Fox News also reported that a flight south of Washington was hijacked and is inbound for D.C.14:30 GMT 091101 An eyewitness at the scene at the Pentagon, which was earlier hit by an explosion, said a commercial airline hit the building or close to it. Reports which also circulated of an explosion on Capitol Hill were later denied, CNN reported. All international flights to Washington, D.C. and New York have been diverted to Canadian airports, CNN reported. 1430 GMT, 091101 An explosion and fire at the Pentagon at approximately 9:30 a.m., earlier attributed to a crashed helicopter, was later reported to have been caused by an airplane. A fire also reportedly broke out at the State Department. In addition, every major building in Washington, D.C. has been evacuated as well, AP reported. 1415 GMT, 091101 At approximately 8:30, plane circled the Pentagon, disappeared behind the Pentagon, and an explosion ensued. Around 8:30, the Whitehouse began a slow evacuation. Twenty minutes later, a jet was seen flying over the Whitehouse, five minutes later, people began running from the Whitehouse, including the oval office. At a press conference today U.S. President George W. Bush said that the U.S. military is on high-alert status. The entire United States has reportedly been put on Defcon Delta, and reports are that ballistic missile submarines have seen out to sea CONFIRMED: Highway in Washington DC collapsed -- unknown reason -- possible terrorist attack ABC is reporting that F-16 fighters are patrolling New York and Washington airspace, and have orders to shoot down any aircraft, commercial or other, that try to enter the airspace CNN just announced a plane crashed into a military center MSNBC reports AmEx (American Express) building on fire and likely to collapse TWO PLANES COMING IN FROM LONDON CANNOT BE CONTACTED - WERE DIVERTED TO CANADA

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Bush: U.S. Will Find Attackers By Sonya Ross Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001; 1:15 p.m. EDT BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. –– As chaos unhinged New York and Washington, President Bush commanded the full force of the United States government to "hunt down and to find" the terrorists responsible. "Terrorism against our nation will not stand," he declared Tuesday. In Florida for a pair of education speeches, the president scrapped his schedule and said, at the first reports of attacks on New York's World Trade Center, that he was hastening back to Washington. But, with the White House evacuated under threat of attack and his wife hunkered down in an unidentified secure location, the president and Air Force One were rerouted – under escort by military fighter jets – to this Louisiana air base. In a conference room dotted by portraits of decorated Air Force officers, the commander in chief announced that the U.S. military was on "high-alert status." "Freedom itself was attacked this morning and I assure you freedom will be defended. Make no mistake. The United States will hunt down and pursue those responsible for these cowardly actions," Bush said. First lady Laura Bush spoke with her husband by a secure military phone line before he took off from Sarasota, Fla. Mrs. Bush and a handful of aides were whisked by motorcade from Capitol Hill, where she was to have testified to a Senate committee on education, to a hide-out away from the White House. There, the sequestered group huddled around a single TV in their hide-out and channel-surfed for the latest news, according to one person in the group. Mrs. Bush also checked with her twin daughters at college to make sure they were safe.

Date: Tue Sep 11, 2001 9:42 am Subject: URGENT PAT MUNDORF TOLD FBI 3 WEEKS AGO ABOUT WORLD TRADE CENTER Pat Mundorf just call me and said The FBI was advised three weeks ago by Herthat something would Happen in World Trade Center in New York between the10th and 12th in September. And that it could not be stopped. And thatsomething was going to happen in Chicago by the 16th. She asked Please, Prayhard maybe we can mitigate it. She says it is just the beginning.

WASHINGTON, SEATTLE - SPACE NEEDLE CLOSED DOWN

Chronology of terror Posted: September 11, 2001 All times are EDT. 1:04 p.m.: President Bush, speaking from an undisclosed location, says that all appropriate security measures are being taken, including putting the U.S. military on high alert worldwide. He asks for prayers for those killed or wounded in the attacks and says: "Make no mistake, the United States will hunt down and punish those responsible for these cowardly acts." 12:30 p.m.: The FAA says 50 flights are in U.S. airspace, but none are reporting any problems. 12:15 p.m.: The Immigration and Naturalization Service says U.S. borders with Canada and Mexico are on the highest state of alert, but no decision has been made about closing borders. 12:15 p.m: San Francisco International Airport is evacuated and shut down. The airport was the destination of American Airlines Flight 77, which was one of the aircraft to strike the World Trade Center. 12:04 p.m.: Los Angeles International Airport, the destination of two of the hijacked American Airlines flights, is evacuated. 11:59 a.m.: United Airlines confirms that Flight 175, from Boston to Los Angeles, has crashed with 56 passengers and nine crew members aboard. Emergency personnel at the scene say there are no survivors. 11:26 a.m.: United Airlines reports that United Flight 93, en route from Newark, New Jersey, to San Francisco, has crashed in Pennsylvania, southeast of Pittsburgh. The airline also says that it is "deeply concerned" about United Flight 175. 11:18 a.m.: American Airlines reports it has lost two aircraft. American Flight 11, a Boeing 767 flying from Boston to Los Angeles, had 81 passengers and 11 crew aboard. Flight 77, a Boeing 757 en route from Dulles Airport near Washington to Los Angeles, had 58 passengers and six crew members aboard. Flight 11 is believed to be one of the planes that crashed into the World Trade Center. 11:16 a.m.: CNN reports that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is preparing bioterrorism teams to respond to the incidents in a precautionary move. The preparation is not based on any known bioterrorism threat. 11:02 a.m.: New York Mayor Rudy Guiliani urges citizens to stay at home and orders an evacuation of the area south of Canal Street. 10:57 a.m.: New York Gov. George Pataki says all state government offices are closed. 10:54 a.m.: Israel evacuates all diplomatic missions. 10:53 a.m.: New York's primary elections scheduled for today are postponed. 10.48 a.m.: Police confirm the crash of a large plane in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. 10.46 a.m.: U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell cuts short his trip to Latin America to return to the United States. 10:45 a.m.: All federal office buildings in Washington are evacuated. 10:28 a.m.: The World Trade Center's north tower collapses from the top down as if it were being peeled apart, releasing a tremendous cloud of debris and smoke. 10:24 a.m.: The FAA reports that all inbound transatlantic aircraft flying into the United States are being diverted to Canada. 10:22 a.m.: In Washington, the State and Justice departments are evacuated, along with the World Bank. 10:13 a.m.: The United Nations building evacuates, including 4,700 people from the headquarters building and 7,000 total from UNICEF and U.N. development programs. 10:10 a.m.: United Airlines Flight 93 crashes in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, southeast of Pittsburgh. 10:10 a.m.: A portion of the Pentagon collapses. 10:08 a.m.: Secret Service agents armed with automatic rifles are deployed into Lafayette Park across from the White House. 10:05 a.m.: The south tower of the World Trade Center collapses, plummeting into the streets below. A massive cloud of dust and debris forms and slowly drifts away from the building. 9:57 a.m.: Bush departs from Florida. 9:45 a.m.: The White House evacuates. 9:43 a.m.: An aircraft crashes into the Pentagon, sending up a huge plume of smoke. Evacuation begins immediately. 9:40 a.m.: The FAA halts all flight operations at U.S. airports, the first time in U.S. history that air traffic nationwide has been halted. 9:30 a.m.: Bush, speaking in Florida, says the country has suffered an "apparent terrorist attack." 9:21 a.m.: New York City Port Authority orders all bridges and tunnels in the New York City area closed 9:17 a.m.: The FAA shuts down all New York City area airports. 9:03 a.m.: A second plane, apparently a passenger jet, crashes into the second World Trade Center tower and explodes. Both buildings are burning. 8:45 a.m.: A large plane, possibly a hijacked airliner, crashes into one of the World Trade Center towers, tearing a gaping hole in the building and setting it afire.

Subj: WTC Towers' Collapse Due to Explosives on Lower Levels, NOT Jet Crashes Date: 9/11/2001 2:48:50 PM Pacific Daylight Time From: top_viewer@yahoo.com (TOP_VIEW) 9.11.01 Further proof has surfaced that there is far more to military assault which led to the destruction of the World Trade Center towers in New York City than we are being led to believe. Analysis of film and video footage of the collapse of the two World Trade Center towers subsequent to the buildings being struck by hijacked jetliners, along with eyewitness accounts, lead to the inescapable and provable conclusion that the collapse of the towers was NOT caused by the jet crashes. Massive explosions at lower levels of the towers that took place well AFTER the jets crashed into the upper levels of the towers were POSITIVELY responsible for the total collapse of the two buildings. These explosions has NOTHING to do with the plane crashes. This aspect of the hideous disaster shows clearly the tremendously extensive coordination, organization and planning which went into the military attacks today in New York City and Washington D.C., providing even more proof that what occurred today was an INSIDE JOB in every way imaginable. WAY inside, and all the way to the very top. Right to the Oval Office, and the global power elite of the Bush International Crime Family.

Arafat Horrified by Attacks By Mohammed Daraghmeh Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001; 11:49 a.m. EDT NABLUS, West Bank –– Thousands of Palestinians celebrated Tuesday's terror attacks in the United States, chanting "God is Great" and distributing candy to passers-by, even as their leader, Yasser Arafat, said he was horrified. NOTE: Which version is true? Which one is disinformation???? http://www.rense.com/general13/camera.htm http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RMNEWS_DAILY_EMAILS/message/18395 The U.S. government has become increasingly unpopular in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in the past year of Israeli-Palestinian fighting, with many Palestinians accusing Washington of siding with Israel. In the West Bank town of Nablus, about 3,000 people poured into the street shortly after the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and government targets in Washington. Demonstrators distributed candy in a traditional gesture of celebration. Several Palestinian gunmen shot in the air, while other marchers carried Palestinian flags. Nawal Abdel Fatah, 48, wearing a long, black dress, threw sweets in the air, saying she was happy because "America is the head of the snake, America always stands by Israel in its war against us." Her daughter Maysoon, 22, said she hoped the next attack would be launched against Tel Aviv. In traditionally Arab east Jerusalem, there was a smaller gathering of about two dozen people, many of them young children led in chants by adults. Some drivers passing the scene honked their horns and flashed victory signs from their windows. Arafat and his top advisers huddled at his seaside office in Gaza City, watching the events unfold on television. Arafat later emerged to speak to reporters. "We are completely shocked. It's unbelievable," he said. "We completely condemn this very dangerous attack, and I convey my condolences to the American people, to the American president and to the American administration, not only in my name but on behalf of the Palestinian people." In the West Bank, meanwhile, the leader the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine denied his group was involved in the attacks. Qais Abdel Rahim was reacting to reports that two Arab satellite stations in the Gulf had received anonymous claims of responsibility on behalf of the DFLP, a radical PLO faction. Abdel Rahim said his group condemned the attacks. © Copyright 2001 The Associated Press

Tuesday September 11, 10:10 PM Palestinians in Lebanon fire with joy at anti-US attacks AIN AL-HELWEH, Lebanon, Sept 11 (AFP) - Dozens of Palestinian refugees fired into the air with joy Tuesday at news of apparent anti-US terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, AFP correspondents witnessed. Guerrillas in military fatigues from various factions fired assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades into the air in the Ain al-Helweh refugee camp at the outskirts of the southern port city of Sidon, one correspondent said. Camp residents, some still in pyjamas, interrupted afternoon rests to rush down to the streets and fire assault rifles into the air, they said. At the Shatila refugee camp in Beirut, Palestinian fighters also went out to the streets as soon as they heard the news from their television sets to fire into the air with joy, an AFP correspondent said.

Taliban diplomat condemns attacks September 11, 2001 Posted: 2:04 PM EDT (1804 GMT) ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Afghanistan's Taliban ambassador to Pakistan has condemned the string of astonishing terrorist attacks on the United States. "We want to tell the American children that Afghanistan feels your pain. We hope the courts find justice," ambassador Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef said in a statement in Pakistan after America was hit by a series of attacks that have been called the worst since Pearl Harbor. U.S. President George W. Bush has said they were "terrorist attacks" and American officials say their "working assumption" is that the attacks in New York and Washington are acts of "overseas terrorism." They have added they cannot rule out additional attacks. Officials say they had no intelligence beforehand that a massive terrorist plot was under way. There have been a number of denials of responsibility by Palestinian groups and by the Al Quaida group headed by fugitive Saudi accused terrorist Osama bin Laden. U.S. officials say they have no credible claim of responsibility. Angered U.S. The Taliban has in the past angered the U.S. for giving sanctuary to wanted Saudi dissident bin laden, described by Washington as "the world's most wanted terrorist." Apart from the embassy bombings, U.S. officials also link bin Laden to last year's bombing of a U.S. navy ship in Yemen and with foiled plots in the United States and Jordan at the turn of the millennium. The Taliban sprang from religious schools in Pakistan near the Afghan border and, with almost no military experience, swept from obscurity to their 1996 capture of the capital in only two years. Beyond Pakistan, the Taliban have few friends. Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates are the only other countries to recognize the Taliban as the legal government, but they have not joined Pakistan in maintaining embassies in Kabul.

World Watches U.S. Attacks By Beth Gardiner Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001; 11:39 a.m. EDT LONDON –– Astonishing terrorist strikes in the United States quickly reached a global audience Tuesday, with many around the world watching live coverage as both World Trade Center towers collapsed. Audiences were transfixed by the awful images from New York and Washington. Key indexes sank on world stock markets and some European airlines canceled flights to the United States and recalled planes already in the air. Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his condolences to the American people over the terrorist attacks, calling them "terrible tragedies," the Kremlin press service said. "This mass terrorism is the new evil in our world today," said Prime Minister Tony Blair, who canceled a speech at a trade union conference. "It is perpetrated by fanatics who are utterly indifferent to the sanctity of human life, and we the democracies of this world are going to have to come together and fight it together." President Jacques Chirac of France, in a nationally televised statement, called the attacks in the United States "monstrous" and expressed his solidarity with the American people. "France has just learned of these monstrous attacks, there is no other word for it, that have hit America," Chirac said from Rennes, in the western region of Brittany. Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and his top aides followed the events at his seaside office in Gaza City, gathered around a TV set. "I send my condolences to the president, the government and the people for this terrible incident," said Arafat said. "We are completely shocked. It's unbelievable." In Berlin, Foreign Ministry officials huddled in a crisis meeting. Virtually all German TV channels switched to live coverage. "This is pure mass murder," one commentator said. "My government condemns these terrorist attacks to the utmost," said German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. "Italy is at the side of the United States," Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi told Bush in a telegram. "The international community must respond together to this abhorrent act." Czech president Vaclav Havel said in a statement that he was shocked by the attacks and was closely watching news from the United States. Airlines including British Airways, Scandinavia's SAS and Belgium's Sabena canceled flights across the Atlantic and recalled planes that were already in the air. In Puerto Rico, people scrambled for news of relatives and friends in New York, where an estimated 2 million Puerto Ricans live. Group, making the sign of the cross as he watched the second tower explode on TV. In Thailand, Suranand Vejjajiva, a spokesman for the office of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said they were watching the news in disbelief. A spokesman for Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said: "The president has been monitoring the events since an hour ago and she condemns what is obviously the worst terrorist attack on a leader of civilized society." Broadcasters around the world broke into programming to show images of the disaster. "It's incredible. I thought I was watching a Hollywood movie," said Hong Kong school teacher Doris Tang. London's Evening Standard, already out of date when it hit the streets, carried a front-page photo of the burning World Trade Center and the headline "Planes Hit Skyscraper." © Copyright 2001 The Associated Press

Wednesday, September 12 1:46 AM SGT Russia goes into high alert, Putin supports tough response MOSCOW, Sept 11 (AFP) - Russia put troops on alert Tuesday after a spate of unprecedented attacks rocked Washington and New York as President Vladimir Putin told his US counterpart he supported a tough response to the strikes. "The series of barbaric acts directed against innocent people fills us with indignation and revolt," said Putin in a telegram to US President George W. Bush. "Such inhuman acts must not go unpunished," he said, according to the Interfax news agency. Putin later telephoned US national security advisor Condoleezza Rice to ask her to convey his condolences to Bush. Two planes crashed into the World Trade Center in New York, destroying it entirely, and another ploughed into the Pentagon in Washington, in the worst wave of terrorism to hit the United States. Putin convened an emergency meeting with his "power ministries," including foreign, interior and defence ministers and head of the domestic intelligence agency to give them special instructions, the RIA-Novosti news agency said. The country's air force meanwhile announced a series of emergency anti-terrorist measures to protect Russian air space. "The Russian anti-aircraft defenses are constantly on a state of war readiness. In connection with the events in the United States, a series of anti-terrorist measures are being put into action," the air force said, as quoted by Interfax. Interior ministry forces were placed on a state of alert and security reinforced around key sites across the country while Russia halted all plane departures to the United States. Putin later said in a televised address that the world should unite to combat the threat of terrorism, "the plague of the 21st century," These strikes are "an unprecedented aggression by international terrorism" which "go beyond the borders of the United States," the Russian president said. "This is a challenge to the whole of humanity," he added, saying the unprecedented terrorist acts underlined "the relevance of the Russian proposal to unite efforts to fight terrorism." Russia is waging a military crackdown in the separatist republic of Chechnya, which it describes as an "anti-terrorist" operation. Former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev said the attacks were a catastrophe for mankind. They represent "not only a national tragedy (for the United States), but a tragedy for the whole of mankind," he said in a message of condolence to the US administration, as quoted by Interfax. "In my opinion, countries and nations must unite against this folly, and do everything to stop the escalation of terror," Gorbachev added. The US embassy in Moscow meanwhile sent Americans in Russia Tuesday an e-mail advising them to exercise caution. And at least three money exchanges offices in the Russian capital refused to accept dollars. Cashiers said they had been given instructions not to accept the US currency, universally used as a safe haven by Russians.

Tuesday, 11 September, 2001, 17:50 GMT 18:50 UK Blair condemns terrorist 'evil' Blair offered sympathy to Americans UK Prime Minister Tony Blair has spoken of his "shock and outrage" at the terrorist attacks in the US. Britain has also offered the United States "whatever help" necessary to track down the perpetrators. As evacuations were carried out across the City of London - including the stock exchange where the FTSE 100 shares index plunged nearly 6% - states of alert were raised at UK government and state buildings in Britain and abroad. An emergency number for Britons worried about friends and relatives has also been issued: 020 7008 0000. The Queen, sending a message of sympathy to President Bush, expressed her "growing disbelief and total shock". Travel problems There were widespread travel problems as American airspace was effectively closed, forcing widespread cancellations and some trans-Atlantic flights to turn back to the UK. Mr Blair cancelled his planned speech to the TUC conference and instead made a sombre statement condemning the "terrible, shocking" events. The prime minister headed back to London to chair a meeting of the Cabinet's emergency "Cobra" committee. Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, Home Secretary David Blunkett and Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon were also at the security discussions in Downing Street which ended shortly before 1800. His voice cracking with emotion, a clearly shocked Mr Blair had earlier told TUC delegates: "I'm afraid we can only imagine the terror and the carnage there, and the many, many innocent people that will have lost their lives. "I know that you would want to join me in sending the deepest condolences to President Bush and to the American people on behalf of the British people at these terrible events." He went on: "This mass terrorism is the new evil in our world today. "It is perpetuated by fanatics who are utterly indifferent to the sanctity of human life and we, the democracies of this world, are going to have to come together to fight it together and eradicate this evil completely from our world." 'Acts of evil' He went on to tell delegates he hoped they would understand he would not be delivering his planned speech and would be returning to London immediately. Speaking at the Foreign Office on Tuesday afternoon Mr Straw said the scenes from America were "acts of evil and horror beyond the imagination of any of us". He said he had passed condolences onto Colin Powell, the US Secretary of State. "I have also told the US government that we stand ready to give whatever help we can to assist in tracking down the perpetrators behind this evil and ensuring that they are brought to justice." British citizens are being advised to take great care if they are living abroad in sensitive areas, to stay in their compounds, to avoid obvious areas of potential risk and to have great care for their safety. 'Sickening outrages' Outgoing Conservative leader William Hague, comparing the attacks to the Second World War strike on Pearl Harbor, said: "Whoever has committed these atrocities has committed a monstrous act of war against the civilised world. "Britain must, and I am sure will, stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the United States of America and peaceful nations across the world in deploying every possible resource to bring to justice the people responsible, and make sure terrorism never prevails." He announced that in the contest to find his successor as Tory leader the counting of votes and result, due on Wednesday, would be postponed 24 hours as a mark of respect. Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy said: "We offer our profound sympathies to the US public and to the families of the countless numbers that must have been killed and injured in this blatant set of attacks. "The international democratic community must come together as never before to see down the forces of sheer evil that perpetrate such crimes."

Tuesday, 11 September, 2001, 18:47 GMT 19:47 UK Who might have done it? Some in the Middle East have welcomed the attacks Within minutes of the horrific chain of events unfolding at the World Trade Center, information began emerging suggesting it was not a terrible accident but a terrorist attack. It did not take long for suspicions to begin falling on the US's most wanted terrorism suspect: Saudi dissident Osama Bin Laden. "There is reason to believe people with links to him may have been responsible for this," an unnamed US official told the Reuters news agency in Washington. Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak also said his guess was that "a Bin Laden organisation" was responsible. Meanwhile in London the editor of the London Arab daily newspaper Al-Quds, Abdul Bari Atwan, said Mr Bin Laden had warned three weeks ago of "a big attack" against the US. "Maybe this is the outcome of it," he said. However Afghanistan's ruling Taleban - on whose territory Mr Bin Laden lives - rejected the idea that he could have been involved. "We are not supporting terrorism. Osama does not have the capability. We condemn this," said Taleban spokesman Abdul Hai Mutmaen. In the immediate aftermath of the tragic events there were few other leads. In remarks from Gaza City reported by the French news agency AFP a senior official with the radical Islamic Jihad movement said the attacks were a consequence of United States policy in the Middle East. The first group to claim responsibility for the attack was the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine. However, the claim was subsequently denied by a senior official from the group. Mr Atwan said false claims of responsibility for terrorist attacks were a frequent occurrence, and more could be expected. This is not the first time the World Trade Center has been the target of a terrorist attack. In February 1993, a bomb went off in the basement car park, killing six people and injuring hundreds of others. Blind Muslim cleric Sheikh Omar Abdul-Rahman was jailed for in 1995 for plotting the attack on the centre and on the United Nations, also in New York. But the man blamed for ultimately being behind that campaign was none other than Mr Bin Laden. His followers were also blamed for lethal bomb attacks on US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania were blown up in 1998, and he himself has been indicted in the US on charges of complicity in the attacks. In October 2000, an attack on the USS Cole warship in Yemen was also attributed to Bin Laden supporters. No link has been found, but the dissident has been quoted as praising the attack. His organisation openly seeks "to kill Americans and the allies, both civil and military," and declares that this is the responsibility of every Muslim. However, Americans have frequently been hit by foreign terrorism from other sources. Gadaffi When Pan-Am flight 103 was blown up over Lockerbie, in the UK, the trail led back to Colonel Gadaffi's Libya. In October 1983 the US Marine barracks in Beirut was hit by a suicide bomber in a car, killing more than 240 US servicemen. A Lebanese Shia was held responsible. Investigators may also look closer to home. When the Oklahoma City bomb went off, Mr Bin Laden was everyone's prime suspect. But it became clear that attack was the work not of a Middle Eastern extremist, but a disaffected young American man, Timothy McVeigh. He was one of hundreds of Americans who see the federal government as an enemy of individual freedom, and have vowed to fight against it. Professor Paul Rogers, of Bradford University's Peace Department, warned against assuming Middle East extremists were behind the tragedy. He said: "We've been here before. With Oklahoma, everybody assumed it was Middle East, then it turned out to be home-grown Timothy McVeigh. Whoever is responsible for the latest attack, they clearly knew that they were attacking one of the highest profile buildings in the world. President George W Bush said there would be "a full-scale investigation to hunt down and to find those folks who committed this attack". He added: "Terrorism against this nation will not stand."

Subj: [RMNEWS2] Musings of a Patriot Spook in LA on WTC Tragedy Date: 9/11/2001 1:23:16 PM Pacific Daylight Time From: gmanspal@ziplip.com To: RMNEWS_DAILY_EMAILS@yahoogroups.com As I write this from an office in LA, most of downtown LA has been shut down. Disneyland, Knotts Berry Farm, City Hall, evacuated and closed. LAX closed. Short of martial law, everything is in place. Of course, Bush had full knowledge of what was about to take place, and so did most of his cabinent. For any competent FBI anti terrorist specialist to say "why, we had no idea they'd ever resort to such a sophisticated preplanned attack" is full of BS. Note how he and other top players are conveniently located somewhere else when the tragedy occurs. What will tell even more is once the rubble is sifted through and the bodies ID'd, is who - as in OKC - was NOT present when this happened... The war within the intel community got a kick in the ass today. Fellow patriot spooks, we cannot rest and we cannot let this divert us from our mission of exposing the faction within our government that has been corrupted and has fed our constitution to the dogs. FYI this was prefaced here in LA yesterday by a 4 point something earthquake, and odd weather afterwards. Also yesterday, military choppers over the 405 freeway and a blimp, monitoring what was a "traffic jam" on the 405 near Torrance. Read: control situation, and not at all what it appears to be... Too many of us are getting too close to truths the NWO wants kept shushed up. This is Psyops in it's most terrible form. Do not lose faith, do not lose sight of the goal and do not give up the fight. Our military/spook sources predicted this was coming last month.

Tuesday, 11 September, 2001, 23:11 GMT 00:11 UK Passengers face US flight chaos All US airports have been closed Passengers flying out of the UK to the United States are facing severe disruption to their journeys following the closure of all US airports. Many US-bound flights had already left the UK when American officials decided to shut its airports after two planes crashed into the World Trade Center in New York City. The collisions were followed by another attack, when a plane crash into the Pentagon in Washington. London's Heathrow and Gatwick airports and Manchester Airport are not expected to operate any flights to or from the US and Canada on Wednesday. Passengers to North America are urged to contact their airline or travel agent for updated information. Flights to Europe and other destinations are expected to operate normally on Wednesday, but airports are warning passengers to expect "substantial" delays. Turned back Passengers on flights which were turned around on their way to America said they were told nothing of the events in the US. Harriet Lyons, 27, who was flying to Florida with her parents, said: "We were four-and-a-half hours into our flight and we were told we were turning back because America had shut down. "There wasn't any panic because we had no idea what was happening. "Nobody knew anything. We assumed there was an air traffic control strike or something." As well as disruption to North American-bound flights, other  services were hit by security measures announced by Tony Blair on Tuesday evening. Private flights have been stopped, except where specifically authorised, and flight paths into London have been changed so there will be no civil flights over central London. Contact numbers British Airways (BA) confirmed that none of its aircraft was involved in the crashes in the US.   A BA spokesman said British Airways flights en route to the USA were diverted to their nearest airport while others returned to the UK. BA has released a telephone number for passengers who require further information. They should contact the airline on 0845 7799977. American Airlines passengers should contact 08457 789789 for more information. Another major UK-US carrier, Virgin Atlantic, said it had suspended all American flights until further notice. Underground service A Virgin spokesman added that flights that had already left the UK for America were returning to Britain. London Underground is running special shuttle services between Heathrow and central London to help travellers left stranded at the airport. The trains will run throughout the night at 30-minute intervals and stop at Hounslow Central and Acton and terminate at Hammersmith. Passengers at Gatwick airport are travelling to Brighton where they will be put up in hotels until their flights are given clearance to resume. Buses will run from Hammersmith into central London throughout the night. Another shuttle bus will run between Hammersmith and Liverpool Street, stopping at Paddington and Kings Cross, to serve travellers at Stansted Airport.

Subj: Bin Laden Warned of 'Unprecedented' Attack Date: 9/11/2001 5:05:06 PM Pacific Daylight Time Bin Laden Warned of 'Unprecedented' Attack By Karen Matusic 9-11-1 LONDON (Reuters) - Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden warned three weeks ago that he and his followers would carry out an unprecedented attack on U.S. interests for its support of Israel, an Arab journalist with access to him said Tuesday. Abdel-Bari Atwan, editor of the London-based al-Quds al-Arabi, an Arabic-language weekly news magazine, said Islamic fundamentalists led by bin Laden were ``almost certainly'' behind the attack of the World Trade Center in New York. ``It is most likely the work of Islamic fundamentalists. Osama bin Laden warned three weeks ago that he would attack American interests in an unprecedented attack, a very big one,'' Atwan told Reuters. ``Personally, we received information that he planned very, very big attacks against American interests. We received several warnings like this. We did not take it so seriously, preferring to see what would happen before reporting it.'' Atwan has interviewed bin Laden and maintains close contacts with his followers. Bin Laden is wanted in the United States for the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania, which killed 224 people and injured more than 4,000. Two planes crashed into the twin towers of the World Trade Center Tuesday morning as office workers began work, setting them on fire and causing both to collapse, live television coverage showed. Another plane crashed next to the Pentagon in Washington, a U.S. official said. Eyewitnesses said the building was being evacuated. The White House and State Department were also evacuated. An anonymous caller told Abu Dhabi television in the Gulf that the radical Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine was responsible for the two New York crashes, but a senior DFLP official in the Palestinian territories denied any involvement. ``I emphasize that the story released on Abu Dhabi TV by an anonymous person is totally incorrect,'' Tayseer Khaled, a senior official of the DFLP politburo in the Palestinian territories, told Reuters. ``The DFLP is against hijacking planes and against endangering the lives of civilians who are not connected with the struggle of this region,'' he said. President Bush called the crashes an ``apparent terrorist attack,'' and pledged the U.S. government would ``hunt down'' those responsible. Atwan said anti-American sentiment in the Middle East was at its peak and moderate Arab governments had been ''embarrassed'' by what they saw as Bush's reluctance to lead peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians. ``The more moderate Arab governments were pleading with the American administration to intervene and to resume its sponsorship to the peace talks and put an end to the Israeli aggression. The Bush administration let them down,'' Atwan said. He said the United States, if convinced that bin Laden was behind the attacks, would probably retaliate in Afghanistan where bin Laden is thought to be in hiding. ``I will not surprised that the Americans will send their cruise missiles to Afghanistan. There is no other country because bin Laden is in Afghanistan.''

Sent: Tuesday, September 11, 2001 3:53 PM Subject: WTC Bombing...Read Revelation Chapter 18 verse 16-19 Source: The Free Real Audio Bible--King James Version (72 hours total) http://www.audio-bible.com/ Revelation Chapter 18 verse 16-19 http://www.audio-bible.com/bible/revelation_18.html 16 And saying, Alas, alas, that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls! 17 For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off, 18 And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What [city is] like unto this great city! 19 And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.

Source: Canada.com Breaking News Experts: Terrorists must have had own pilots in scheme that defied planning http://www.canada.com/national/features/wtc/story.html?id={ED755EC4-4E4D-4651-B3DF-4D0076FCAC71} Tuesday, September 11, 2001 NEW YORK (AP) _ The terrorists who apparently hijacked four planes and attacked the World Trade Center and Pentagon could only have succeeded by using their own trained pilots in a scheme that defied all scenarios envisioned by national security officials, terrorism experts said. ``They flew the planes themselves,'' Gene Poteat, president of the Association of Former Intelligence Officers, said Tuesday. ``No pilot, even with a gun to his head, is going to fly into the World Towers,'' he said. The hijackers used the airplanes as weapons, Poteat said, adding that they may also have had the ability to disable communications systems used to alert authorities to trouble. ``This has been an enormously long-planned and obviously carefully planned operation,'' Poteat said. That massive planning effort was far beyond anything conceived by counterterrorism officials, who have focused on preventing individual attacks, said Steven Emerson of the Investigative Project, a research group focused on international terrorism. ``No one thought there was a capability of doing simultaneous attacks so none of the counterterrorism scenarios ever envisioned this,'' Emerson said. Authorities have examined the chances of individual attacks on high-profile targets such as the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, including an attack on a large building using a commandeered plane, he said. But most research examining the potential for attacks causing devastating loss of life has focused on chemical or biological means, he said.

WTC-Eyewitness Account 10AM, Wednesday, 12 September 2001 The Horror, The Horror My entire family is safe. We evacuated our lower-Manhattan residence at about noon yesterday and migrated north on foot to Grand Central Terminal (about three miles) where we took Metro North to the home of my parents in Westchester, from where I write this message. We live six blocks from the World Trade Center, in view of both Towers, City Hall, and City Hall Park. I happened to be working at home yesterday. My wife went to work at 8:20AM. I left at the same time to vote in NYC's Mayoral Primary. My 9-month old son was at home with our nanny. My 5-year old daughter was attending her second day of Kindergarten at PS-234, three blocks from World Trade Center. Lineup time in the yard was 8:40AM in full view of WTC 1. When the first plane hit at 8:50, they evacuated the school without incident. I noticed WTC 1 on fire in a high floor upon returning from voting, about 8:55AM. Large crowds of onlookers were gathering along the base of City Hall Park as countless fire engines, police cars, and ambulances screamed past. I went home, grabbed my camcorder, went out to the street and started filming. I consider myself to be emotionally strong. What I bore witness to, however, was especially upsetting, with indelible images of horror that will not soon leave my mind. 1) I first see WTC 1 on fire at a high floor. Not just flames coming out of some windows, but four or five entire floors on fire with smoke penetrating floors still higher. Upsetting enough, but then... 2) Among the papers and melted steel fragments fluttering to the ground, I notice that some debris was falling distinctly differently. These weren't parts of the building that were falling. These were people, jumping from the windows, their bodies tumbling in rapid descent from the eightieth floor. I noticed about ten such falls, morbidly capturing three of them on tape. Upsetting enough, but then... 3) A firey explosion burst forth from a corner of WTC 2 about two thirds of the way up, perhaps the 60th floor. The fireball created an intense radiative impulse of heat from which we all had to turn our heads. From my vantage point, I could not see the plane that caused it, which hit 180 degrees on the other side of the building. Nor did I know at the time that a plane caused it. I first thought it was a bomb, but the explosion was not accompanied by the tell-tale acoustic  Shockwave that rattles windows. This was simply a low frequency rumble. As it burst from the building's corner, the fireball was so large that it extended all the way across to WTC 1. The fact the building's corner exploded tells me that the ignited jet fuel got focused by the sides of the floor into which the second plane flew, meeting at the corner with increased explosive pressure. The flames were accompanied by countless thousands of sheets of paper that burst forth, fluttering to the ground as though every filing cabinet on multiple floors was emptied. The fact that the second tower was now on fire made it clear to us all on the street that the first fire was no accident and that the WTC complex was under terrorist attack. Morbidly, I have the explosion on tape and the sounds from the horrified crowd surrounding me. At this point I stopped filming, and went back inside my apartment. Upsetting enough, but then... 4) As more and more and more and more and more emergency vehicles descended on the World Trade Center, I hear a second explosion in WTC 2, then a loud, low-frequency rumble that precipitates the unthinkable -- a collapse of all the floors above the point of explosion. First the top surface, containing the helipad, tips sideways in full view. Then the upper floors fall straight down in a demolition-style implosion, taking all lower floors with it, even those below the point of the explosion. A dense, thick dust cloud rises up in its place, which rapidly pours through the warren of streets that cross lower Manhattan. I close all our windows and blinds. As the dust cloud engulfs my building, an eerie darkness surrounded us -- the kind of darkness you experience before a severe thunderstorm. I look out the window and can see no more than about 12 inches away. Upsetting enough, but then... 5) Outside my window, after about 15 minutes, visibility grows to about 100-yards, and I notice about an inch white dust everywhere outside my window. That's when I realize that every single rescue vehicle that had parked itself at the base off the World Trade Center must now be buried under 110 collapsed floors of tangled debris, and multiple feet of dust. This collapse took out the entire first round of rescue efforts including what were surely hundreds of police officers, firefighters, and medics. As visibility increased and I could now see the blue sky, there was blue sky where WTC 2 used to be. Upsetting enough, but then... 6) I decide it's time to get my daughter, who was taken by the parents of a friend of hers to a small office building, six blocks farther from the WTC than my apartment. As I dress for survival: boots, flashlight, wet towels, swimming goggles, bicycle helmet, gloves, I hear another explosion followed by a now all-too familiar rumble that signaled the collapse of WTC 1, the first of the two towers to have been hit. I saw the iconic antenna on this building descend straight down in an implosion twinning the first. This dust cloud was darker, thicker and faster-moving than the first. When this round of dust reached my apartment, fifteen seconds after collapse, the sky turned dark as night, with visibility of no more than about a centimeter. It was getting harder to breathe in the apartment, but we were stable. At this point I offer no hope of survival for any of the rescue personnel who were on the scene. Upsetting enough, but then... 7) The cloud settles once again, now leaving a total of about three inches of dust outside my window. Another dark cloud of smoke now occupies the area where two 110-story buildings once stood. This cloud, however, was not the settling kind. It was smoke from ground-level fires. At this time the air in the apartment is getting harder and harder to breathe and it becomes clear that we should evacuate -- especially with the likelihood of underground gas leaks. I load up my largest backpack with survival items, put my son in our most nimble stroller and leave with our nanny, who then walks across the Brooklyn Bridge toward her home. I go to where my daughter was held, which was upwind from all debris on a quiet street. She is in good spirits, but clearly upset. I have a crayon drawing of hers, sketched while waiting for me to arrive, which shows the Twin Towers with smoke and fire coming from them, as only a 5-year old could draw. "Daddy, why do you think the pilot drove his plane into the World Trade Center?" "Daddy, I wish this was all just a dream" "Daddy, if we can't return home tonight because of all the smoke, will my stuffed animals be okay?" Upsetting enough, but then... 8) From the calm of an upholstered couch in the office where my daughter was kept, with my son under one arm and my daughter under the other, I realize that, fully loaded, each tower off the WTC holds 10,000 people. From what I witnessed, I have no reason to believe that any of them survived. In fact, I would not be surprised if the death toll reached 25-30,000. Beneath the Towers is an entire universe of six subterraneous levels containing scores of subway platforms, plus a hundred or so shops and restaurants. The Towers simply collapsed into this hole -- a hole large enough to have supplied the landfill for the World Financial Center across the West Side highway from the World Trade Center. Upsetting enough, but then... 9) I realize that if the death toll is as high as I suspect, this incident is much, much worse than Pearl Harbor, where several thousand people died. It's more spectacularly tragic than the Titanic, the Hindenberg, Oklahoma City, car bombs, and airplane hijackings. The number of deaths in one four-hour period will be nearly half of the American death toll in all of Vietnam. I reconnected with my wife by 4PM, meeting her just north of Union Square Park, before we hiked another mile north to Grand Central Terminal for our ride to Westchester, above New York City. I will never be the same after yesterday, in ways that I cannot foresee. I suppose that my generation now joins the ranks of those who lived through unspeakable horrors and survived to tell about it. How naive I was to believe that the world is fundamentally different from that of our ancestors, whose lives were changed by bearing witness to the 20th century's vilest acts of war. Peace to you all Neil deGrasse Tyson New York City http://nsbp.org/nyaccount.html NSBP • Department of Physics • North Carolina A&T State University • Greensboro • NC • 27411-1086 • (336) 334-7646

THEN SEPT. 2001

Subj: Towers Withstood Impact, but Fell to Fire, Report Says  Date: 4/1/2002  http://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/29/nyregion/29TOWE.html March 29, 2002 Towers Withstood Impact, but Fell to Fire, Report Says By JAMES GLANZ and ERIC LIPTON Fireproofing, sprinkler systems and the water supply for hoses were all disabled in the twin towers on Sept. 11 in the face of a blaze so intense that it drove temperatures as high as 2,000 degrees and generated heat equivalent to the energy output of a nuclear power plant, a federal report on how the towers fell has concluded. The fire, combined with these failures, brought down the towers even after they had shown surprising and lifesaving resiliency to massive structural damage caused by the impact of two hijacked airliners, the report says. The report's findings detail for the first time the horrific series of events that led to the collapse of two of the world's tallest buildings. They are contained in a draft of a report commissioned by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the American Society of Civil Engineers. The draft describes a structure that showed both remarkable strength and critical weaknesses. As was obvious to television viewers worldwide, the towers sustained the initial impact of the planes. But the buildings were able to redistribute loads away from damaged columns so well that they could probably have remained standing indefinitely if not for the fires, an earthquake or a windstorm, the report said. Team members are still debating the delicate question of whether the tremendous fires could have brought the towers down on their own. "The ability of the two towers to withstand aircraft impact without immediate collapse was a direct function of their design and construction characteristics, as was the vulnerability of the two towers to collapse as a result of the combined effects of the impacts and ensuing fires," the report concludes. The report, a copy of which was obtained by The New York Times, is not due to be released officially until late April or early May. It provides documentary evidence that simultaneously supports and rejects many of the theories about what happened to the towers on Sept. 11. What is already clear is that the jet fuel played a role somewhat different, though still critical, than some experts had speculated. After the planes slammed into the towers, the fireballs that burst over Lower Manhattan consumed perhaps a third of the 10,000 gallons of fuel on board each plane, for example, but did little structural damage themselves, the report says. Like a giant well of lighter fluid, though, the remaining fuel burned within minutes, setting ablaze furniture, computers, paper files and the planes' cargo over multiple floors and igniting the catastrophic inferno that brought the towers down. Under normal circumstances, fire suppression systems are designed to allow a high-rise blaze to burn itself out before the building collapses. But the report concludes that there were across-the-board failures in the towers' fire suppression systems, raising disturbing questions about the safety and integrity of other tall buildings in out-of-control fires. But the ultimate significance of those failures is extremely difficult to gauge, the report says, because of the extraordinary circumstances of the attack. In fact, besides just setting the fires, the impact of the jets may have jarred loose the light, fluffy fireproofing that had been sprayed on steel columns, and flying debris almost certainly sliced through the vertical pipes that supplied water for the hoses and sprinklers.  Because of those uncertainties, the report says, building codes and engineering practices should be studied extensively to consider changes, a step the federal government is already planning, with a $16 million two-year inquiry by the National Institute of Standards and Technology now getting under way. The final version of the FEMA report may recommend specific changes in building codes and standards. The report is also significant for what it does not include. With the exception of a few contorted steel beams from 5 World Trade Center, a nine-story office building that also burned and had localized collapses because the beams failed where they were bolted together, little evidence collected from the piles of debris contributed in a meaningful way to the report's conclusions. That absence could intensify criticism of an early decision by the city to recycle steel from the trade center rather than make it immediately available for collection and analysis by the research team. About 60 pieces of trade center steel are being sent to the technology institute for the investigation, so future analysis could provide additional answers. The draft report also does not contain any discussion of what could become a contentious new issue in attempts to explain why the south tower, though struck after the north tower, fell first. That question involves a program, started after the 1993 bombing of the towers, to increase the thickness of the fireproofing on the lightweight steel joists that held up the floors. At the time of the attack, 18 floors on the north tower and 13 floors in the south tower had been upgraded, by increasing the thickness of the fireproofing from three-quarters of an inch to an inch and a half. As it happened, the planes hit floors in the north tower where fireproofing thickness had already been increased, and floors in the south that had not been upgraded - with one exception, the 78th floor. Team members are carefully debating what role that difference may have played in the length of time the towers stood after impact: 56 minutes, 10 seconds for the south tower and 102 minutes, 5 seconds for the north. But there are several other possible explanations. The plane that struck the south tower was moving at least 100 miles an hour faster than the other one, heightening the energy upon impact. And it hit 10 floors lower, resulting in far more weight from above bearing down on the damaged area. Whatever its thickness, much of the fireproofing was probably dislodged by the impact of the planes, the investigators concluded. One official knowledgeable about the fireproofing said the woolly, mineral-based material could be brushed away with the wipe of a finger. Stripped of its fireproofing, a steel column heats up much more quickly in a fire. The hotter the steel, the less it is able to support loads, as it eventually becomes as soft as licorice. Investigators believe that the structural steel was also greatly imperiled because the sprinklers and standpipes supplying water for firefighting were almost certainly disabled, their supply pipes cut by debris sent flying in the initial crash. The sprinklers were installed by about 1990 and tanks were stored as high as the 110th floor of the buildings. Witnesses below the areas of impact, and therefore below the primary fires, described water cascading down the stairwells where pipes from those tanks ran. The hoses that firefighters carried on their backs up the same stairwells would therefore have been largely useless, since the standpipes used the same supplies. The report cites the tight clustering of the exit stairways, three per tower, as a factor that may have made it easier to cause damage to all of them with one blow. These exit stairwells also had relatively lightweight gypsum board sheathing, providing little armor. Partly for these reasons, thousands of people above the floors of impact were trapped. Most of the tenants in the floors below impact, to the credit of the building and the emergency lighting in the stairwells, escaped. More than 400 firefighters, police officers and other rescue personnel and dozens of tenants who stayed behind during the evacuation were also killed when the buildings finally collapsed. An estimated 2,830 people are considered dead or missing in the collapse. Against the Manhattan skyline, the gleaming towers looked nearly identical, except for the television tower atop the north tower. But the inquiry found that the forces that toppled them had distinct differences. Their basic structures before the attacks were extremely similar, even if they were not quite perfect twins. Each tower was supported against the downward force of gravity by a tightly arranged matrix of columns at its core and another palisade of columns, spaced just 40 inches apart, around its exterior. The core and perimeter columns were connected by lightweight, weblike floor supports called trusses at each floor. The trusses held up corrugated metal decks on which the concrete floors were poured. The same trusses provided lateral support for all the vertical columns, preventing them from buckling under the tremendous force of gravity. Wide plates called spandrels tied the exterior steel columns together, creating a rigid surface that could resist hurricane-force winds. These structural elements would become fateful as the jets plowed into the north tower at 8:46 a.m. and the south tower at seconds before 9:03 a.m. The report - assembled with data collected at ground zero, in scrapyards, in laboratories, by analyzing more than 100 hours of videotape and by talking to witnesses - turned up the greatest amount of detail on the south tower attack. The United Airlines jet, its wings slightly canted, angled into the south facade of the south tower, slicing through about 30 of the 59 exterior columns on that face. The immediate damage, probably including unseen devastation to the steel core, stretched from the 78th to the 84th floors. The impact of the plane, which had been traveling as fast as 586 miles an hour, was so great that it gathered office material like a snowplow and apparently forced it toward the northeast corner of the building. Parts of the plane came to rest there and others punctured the far wall, soaring as far as six blocks to the north before hitting the ground near the intersection of Murray and Church Streets. A fuel-fed fireball emerged from three sides of the tower and consumed roughly one-third of the estimated 10,000 gallons on the plane. Some of the rest flowed down the face of the building and into elevator shafts and stairwells. What remained burned ferociously, setting acres of office space afire as well as the plane's cargo. The incredible energy generated by this blaze was estimated to be three to five gigawatts at its peak. A typical nuclear power plant generates about one gigawatt. All of that energy was converted to deadly heat that began weakening the steel. But the tower did not fall immediately. Preliminary calculations by the engineering team have revealed that the tight spandrel connections, built to resist the wind, gave the building a remarkable ability to redistribute loads from severed columns to those that remained intact. This rearrangement was so efficient, the calculations show, that stresses on columns no more than 20 feet from the hole punched in the tower's face were barely higher than what they were before the impact. Like a horse with a bum leg, the buildings, though wounded, still stood. But the fires continued to burn. Black smoke poured from shattered windows on floor after floor, fresh oxygen sucked in from the gaping holes caused by the impacts. In the northeast corner of the south tower's 80th floor, where office furniture had been shoved by the plane, the fire burned so hot that a stream of molten metal began to pour over the side like a flaming waterfall. The apparent source of this waterfall: molten aluminum from the jet's wings and fuselage, which had also piled up in that corner. Within minutes, portions of the 80th floor began to give way, as evidenced by horizontal lines of dust blowing out the side of the building. Seconds later, near the heavily damaged southeasterly portion of this same floor, close to where the aircraft had entered, exterior columns began to buckle. Fifty-six minutes and 10 seconds after it was hit, the top of the south tower tilted horribly, to the east and then to the south, and initiated the collapse of the entire tower, floor upon floor. Unfolding at a slower pace, the disaster at the north tower will require study before it can be explained in such detail. The plane entered the north tower between the 94th and 98th floors, the report says, destroying about 35 columns on its north face and wreaking indeterminate but probably substantial damage to the core. The building stood for more than an hour and a half. Videos of the north tower's collapse appear to show that its television antenna began to drop a fraction of a second before the rest of the building. The observations suggest that the building's steel core somehow gave way first, pulling down the rest of the tower with it. For a few unreal moments, after the north tower had plummeted to the ground, a giant spear-like fragment of the facade remained standing, as if defiantly, still looming above the lesser skyscrapers around it. Then the last shard of the tower fell, leaving behind only its arched, cathedral-like base and a narrow trail of smoke to trace its path to the ground.

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