Decision Points Part 8

Press Secretary Ari Fleischer Ari Fleischer positioned himself between the reporters and me. He held up a sign that read "Don't say anything yet." I didn't plan to. I had settled on a plan of action: When the lesson ended, I would leave the cla.s.sroom calmly, gather the facts, and speak to the nation. positioned himself between the reporters and me. He held up a sign that read "Don't say anything yet." I didn't plan to. I had settled on a plan of action: When the lesson ended, I would leave the cla.s.sroom calmly, gather the facts, and speak to the nation.

About seven minutes after Andy entered the cla.s.sroom, I returned to the hold room, into which someone had wheeled a television. I watched in horror as the footage of the second plane hitting the south tower replayed in slow motion. The huge fireball and explosion of smoke were worse than I had imagined. The country would be shaken, and I needed to get on TV right away. I scribbled out my statement longhand. I wanted to a.s.sure the American people that the government was responding and that we would bring the perpetrators to justice. Then I wanted to get back to Was.h.i.+ngton as quickly as possible.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is a difficult moment for America," I began. "...Two airplanes have crashed into the World Trade Center in an apparent terrorist attack on our country." There was an audible gasp from the audience of parents and community members, who were expecting a speech on education. "Terrorism against our nation will not stand," I said. I closed by asking for a moment of silence for the victims.

Later, I learned that my words had echoed Dad's promise that "this aggression will not stand" after Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait. The repet.i.tion was not intentional. In my notes, I had written, "Terrorism against America will not succeed." Dad's words must have been buried in my subconscious, waiting to surface during another moment of crisis.

The Secret Service wanted to get me to Air Force One, and fast. As the motorcade charged down Florida Route 41, I called Condi from the secure phone in the limo. She told me there had been a third plane crash, this one into the Pentagon. I sat back in my seat and absorbed her words. My thoughts clarified: The first plane could have been an accident. The second was definitely an attack. The third was a declaration of war.

My blood was boiling. We were going to find out who did this, and kick their a.s.s.

The s.h.i.+ft to wartime was visible at the airport. Agents carrying a.s.sault rifles surrounded Air Force One. Two of the flight attendants stood at the top of the stairs. Their faces betrayed their fear and sadness. I knew millions of Americans would be feeling the same way. I hugged the flight attendants and told them it would be okay.

I stepped into the presidential cabin and asked to be alone. I thought about the fear that must have seized the pa.s.sengers on those planes and the grief that would grip the families of the dead. So many people had lost their loved ones with no warning. I prayed that G.o.d would comfort the suffering and guide the country through this trial. I thought of the lyrics from one of my favorite hymns, "G.o.d of Grace and G.o.d of Glory": "Grant us wisdom, grant us courage, for the facing of this hour."

While my emotions might have been similar to those of most Americans, my duties were not. There would be time later to mourn. There would be an opportunity to seek justice. But first I had to manage the crisis. We had suffered the most devastating surprise attack since Pearl Harbor. An enemy had struck our capital for the first time since the War of 1812. In a single morning, the purpose of my presidency had grown clear: to protect our people and defend our freedom that had come under attack.

The first step of any successful crisis response is to project calm. That was what I had tried to do in Florida. Next, we needed to sort out the facts, take action to secure the nation, and help the affected areas recover. Over time, we had to devise a strategy to bring the terrorists to justice so they would not strike again.

I called d.i.c.k Cheney as Air Force One climbed rapidly to forty-five thousand feet, well above our typical cruising alt.i.tude. He had been taken to the underground Presidential Emergency Operations Center-the PEOC-when the Secret Service thought a plane might be coming at the White House. I told him that I would make decisions from the air and count on him to implement them on the ground.

On the phone with d.i.c.k Cheney aboard Air Force One on 9/11. White House/Eric Draper White House/Eric Draper Two big decisions came quickly. The military had dispatched Combat Air Patrols-teams of fighter aircraft a.s.signed to intercept unresponsive airplanes-over Was.h.i.+ngton and New York. Air-to-air intercepting was what I had trained to do as an F-102 pilot in the Texas Air National Guard thirty years earlier. In that era, we a.s.sumed the targeted aircraft would be a Soviet bomber. Now it would be a commercial airliner full of innocent people.

We needed to clarify the rules of engagement. I told d.i.c.k that our pilots should contact suspicious planes and try to get them to land peacefully. If that failed, they had my authority to shoot them down. Hijacked planes were weapons of war. Despite the agonizing costs, taking one out could save countless lives on the ground. I had just made my first decision as a wartime commander in chief.

d.i.c.k called back a few minutes later. Condi, Josh Bolten Josh Bolten, and senior members of the national security team had joined him in the PEOC. They had been informed that an unresponsive plane was headed toward Was.h.i.+ngton. d.i.c.k asked me to confirm the shootdown order I had given. I did. I later learned that Josh Bolten Josh Bolten had pushed for clarification to ensure that the chain of command was respected. I thought back to my days as a pilot. "I cannot imagine what it would be like to receive this order," I told had pushed for clarification to ensure that the chain of command was respected. I thought back to my days as a pilot. "I cannot imagine what it would be like to receive this order," I told Andy Card Andy Card. I sure hoped no one would have to execute it.

The second decision was where to land Air Force One Air Force One. I felt strongly that we should return to Was.h.i.+ngton. I wanted to be in the White House to lead the response. It would rea.s.sure the nation to see the president in the capital that had been attacked.

Shortly after we took off from Sarasota, Andy and Eddie Marinzel Eddie Marinzel, the wiry athletic Secret Service agent from Pittsburgh who led my detail on 9/11, started to throw cold water on the idea. They said conditions in Was.h.i.+ngton were too volatile, the danger of attack too high. The FAA believed six planes had been hijacked, meaning three more could be in the air. I told them I was not going to let terrorists scare me away. "I'm the president," I said firmly. "And we're going to Was.h.i.+ngton."

They stood their ground. I hated the image of terrorists putting me on the run. But as much as I wanted to get back, I recognized that part of my responsibility was to ensure the continuity of government. It would be an enormous propaganda victory for the enemy if they took out the president. The military aide and Secret Service agents recommended that we divert the plane to Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana, where we could refuel. I relented. A few minutes later, I felt Air Force One bank hard to the west.

One of my greatest frustrations on September 11 was the woeful communications technology on Air Force One. The plane had no satellite television. We were dependent on whatever local feeds we could pick up. After a few minutes on a given station, the screen would dissolve into static.

I caught enough fleeting glimpses of the coverage to understand the horror of what the American people were watching. Stranded people were jumping to their deaths from the top floors of the World Trade Center towers. Others hung out of windows, hoping to be rescued. I felt their agony and despair. I had the most powerful job in the world, yet I felt powerless to help them.

At one point, the television signal held steady long enough for me to see the south tower of the World Trade Center collapse. The north tower fell less than thirty minutes later. I had held out hope that the desperate souls trapped on the upper floors would have time to escape. Now there was no chance.

The collapse of the towers magnified the catastrophe. Fifty thousand people worked in the buildings on a typical business day. Some had been evacuated, but I wondered how many were left. Thousands? Tens of thousands? I had no idea. But I was certain that I had just watched more Americans die than any president in history.

I kept up-to-date on the latest developments by calling d.i.c.k and Condi in the PEOC. We tried to establish an open line, but it kept dropping. In the years ahead, Deputy Chief of Staff Joe Hagin Joe Hagin oversaw major upgrades to the communications systems of the PEOC, Situation Room, and oversaw major upgrades to the communications systems of the PEOC, Situation Room, and Air Force One Air Force One.

When we did receive information, it was often contradictory and sometimes downright wrong. I was experiencing the fog of war. There were reports of a bomb at the State Department, a fire on the National Mall, a hijacked Korean airliner bound for the United States, and a call-in threat to Air Force One. The caller had used the plane's code name, Angel, which few people knew. The most bizarre report came when I was informed of a high-speed object flying toward our ranch in Crawford. All of this information later proved to be false. But given the circ.u.mstances, we took every report seriously.

One report I received proved true. A fourth plane had gone down somewhere in Pennsylvania. "Did we shoot it down, or did it crash?" I asked d.i.c.k Cheney. n.o.body knew. I felt sick to my stomach. Had I ordered the death of those innocent Americans?

When the fog lifted, I learned about the heroism aboard Flight 93. After hearing about the earlier attacks in phone calls to loved ones on the ground, the pa.s.sengers had decided to storm the c.o.c.kpit. In some of the last words recorded from the doomed flight, a man named Todd Beamer Todd Beamer can be heard rallying the pa.s.sengers into action by saying, "Let's roll." The 9/11 Commission later concluded that the revolt of the pa.s.sengers aboard Flight 93 may have spared either the Capitol or the White House from destruction. Their act of courage ranks among the greatest in American history. can be heard rallying the pa.s.sengers into action by saying, "Let's roll." The 9/11 Commission later concluded that the revolt of the pa.s.sengers aboard Flight 93 may have spared either the Capitol or the White House from destruction. Their act of courage ranks among the greatest in American history.

I had been trying to reach Laura all morning. She had been scheduled to testify before a Senate committee in support of our education initiative around the same time the planes struck the World Trade Center towers. I placed several calls, but the line kept dropping. I couldn't believe that the president of the United States couldn't reach his wife in the Capitol Building. "What the h.e.l.l is going on?" I snapped at Andy Card Andy Card.

Venting my frustrations to Andy Card. White House/Eric Draper White House/Eric Draper I finally connected with Laura as Air Force One descended into Barksdale. Laura's voice is always soothing, but it was especially comforting to hear that day. She told me she had been taken to a safe location by the Secret Service. I was very relieved when she told me she had spoken to Barbara and Jenna, both of whom were fine. Laura asked when I was coming back to Was.h.i.+ngton. I told her that everyone was urging me not to return, but that I would be there soon. I had no idea whether that was true, but I sure hoped so.

Landing at Barksdale felt like dropping onto a movie set. F-16s from my old unit at Ellington Air Force Base in Houston had escorted us in. The taxiway was lined with bombers. It made for a striking scene, the power of our mighty Air Force on display. I knew it was only a matter of time before I put that power to use against whoever had ordered this attack.

There was no presidential motorcade a.s.sembled at Barksdale, so the commanding officer, General Tom Keck, had to improvise. The agents hustled me down the stairs of the plane and into a vehicle, which blasted off down the runway at what felt like eighty miles an hour. When the man behind the wheel started taking turns at that speed, I yelled, "Slow down, son, there are no terrorists on this base!" It was probably the closest I came to death that day.

I connected with Don Rumsfeld on a secure phone in General Keck's office at Barksdale. Don had been hard to track down because he had become a first responder at the Pentagon. After the plane hit, he ran outside and helped emergency workers lift victims onto stretchers.

I told Don that I considered the attacks an act of war and approved his decision to raise the military readiness level to DefCon Three for the first time since the Arab-Israeli War of 1973. American military installations around the world heightened security precautions and prepared to respond immediately to further orders. I told Don our first priority was to make it through the immediate crisis. After that, I planned to mount a serious military response. "The ball will be in your court and [Joint Chiefs Chairman] d.i.c.k Myers's court to respond," I told him.

By 11:30 Louisiana time, it had been almost three hours since I had spoken to the country. I was worried people would get the impression that the government was disengaged. Laura had expressed the same concern. I taped a brief message explaining that the government was responding and that the nation would meet the test. The sentiment was right, but the setting-a sterile conference room at a military base in Louisiana-did not inspire much confidence. The American people needed to see their president in Was.h.i.+ngton.

I pressed Andy on when we could head back to the White House. The Secret Service agents felt it was still too uncertain. d.i.c.k and Condi agreed. They recommended that I go to the Strategic Command at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska. It had secure housing s.p.a.ce and reliable communications. I resigned myself to delaying my return once again. As we boarded the plane at Barksdale, the Air Force loaded pallets of extra food and water into the belly. We had to be ready for any possibility.

After we arrived at Offutt, I was taken to the command center, which was filled with military officers who had been taking part in a planned exercise. Suddenly, a voice crackled over the sound system. "Mr. President, a nonresponsive plane is coming in from Madrid. Do we have authority to shoot it down?"

My first reaction was When is this going to end? When is this going to end? Then I outlined the rules of engagement I had approved earlier. My mind ran through the worst-case scenarios. What were the diplomatic ramifications of shooting down a foreign plane? Or what if we were too late and the terrorists had already hit their target? Then I outlined the rules of engagement I had approved earlier. My mind ran through the worst-case scenarios. What were the diplomatic ramifications of shooting down a foreign plane? Or what if we were too late and the terrorists had already hit their target?

The voice on the loudspeaker returned. "The flight from Madrid," he intoned, "has landed in Lisbon, Portugal."

Thank G.o.d, I thought. It was another example of the fog of war.

We moved to the communications center, where I had called a national security meeting by videoconference. I had thought carefully about what I wanted to say. I started with a clear declaration. "We are at war against terror. From this day forward, this is the new priority of our administration." I received an update on the emergency response. Then I turned to George Tenet. "Who did this?" I asked.

George answered with two words: al Qaeda al Qaeda.

Before 9/11, most Americans had never heard of al Qaeda. I had received my first briefing on the terrorist network as a presidential candidate. Arabic for "the base," al Qaeda was a fundamentalist Islamic terror network hosted and supported by the Taliban Taliban government in Afghanistan. Its leader was government in Afghanistan. Its leader was Osama bin Laden Osama bin Laden, a radical Saudi from a wealthy family who had been expelled from the kingdom when he opposed the government's decision to allow American troops to be there during the Gulf War. The group held extremist views and considered it their duty to kill anyone who stood in their way.

Al Qaeda had a penchant for high-profile attacks. Three years earlier, the terrorists had carried out simultaneous bombings of two American emba.s.sies in East Africa that killed more than two hundred and wounded more than five thousand. They were also behind the attack on the USS Cole Cole that claimed the lives of seventeen American sailors off the coast of Yemen in October 2000. By the afternoon of 9/11, the intelligence community had discovered known al Qaeda operatives on the pa.s.senger manifests of the hijacked planes. that claimed the lives of seventeen American sailors off the coast of Yemen in October 2000. By the afternoon of 9/11, the intelligence community had discovered known al Qaeda operatives on the pa.s.senger manifests of the hijacked planes.

The CIA had been worried about al Qaeda before 9/11, but their intelligence pointed to an attack overseas. During the late spring and early summer of 2001, we had hardened security at emba.s.sies abroad, increased cooperation with foreign intelligence services, and issued warnings through the FAA about possible hijackings on international flights. In the first nine months of my presidency, we had helped disrupt terrorist threats to Paris, Rome, Turkey, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and other places.

During the summer, I had asked the CIA to reexamine al Qaeda's capabilities to attack inside the United States. In early August, the Agency delivered a Presidential Daily Briefing that reiterated bin Laden's long-standing intent to strike America, but could not confirm any concrete plans. "We have not been able to corroborate some of the more sensational threat reporting, such as that...bin Laden wanted to hijack a U.S. aircraft," the PDB read.*

On 9/11, it was obvious the intelligence community had missed something big. I was alarmed by the lapse, and I expected an explanation. But I did not think it was appropriate to point fingers or fix blame in the middle of the crisis. My immediate concern was that there could be more al Qaeda operatives in the United States.

I looked into the video screen in the Offutt bunker and told George Tenet to get his ears up, a term for listening to all the intelligence and running down every lead.

I also made clear that I planned to use the military in this war when the time was right. Our response would not be a pinp.r.i.c.k cruise missile strike. As I later put it, we would do more than put "a million-dollar missile on a five-dollar tent." When America responded to these attacks, it would be deliberate, forceful, and effective.

There was one more issue to cover on the videoconference: when to return to Was.h.i.+ngton? Secret Service Director Brian Stafford Brian Stafford told me the capital was still not safe. This time, I put my foot down. I had decided to speak to the nation, and there was no way I was going to do it from an underground bunker in Nebraska. told me the capital was still not safe. This time, I put my foot down. I had decided to speak to the nation, and there was no way I was going to do it from an underground bunker in Nebraska.

On the flight back, Andy and CIA briefer Mike Morell Mike Morell came to see me in the conference room. Mike told me that the French intelligence service had provided reports of other operatives-so called sleeper cells-in the United States planning a second wave of attacks. It was a chilling phrase, "second wave." I believed America could overcome the September 11 attacks without further panic. But a follow-on strike would be very difficult to bear. It was one of the darkest moments of the day. came to see me in the conference room. Mike told me that the French intelligence service had provided reports of other operatives-so called sleeper cells-in the United States planning a second wave of attacks. It was a chilling phrase, "second wave." I believed America could overcome the September 11 attacks without further panic. But a follow-on strike would be very difficult to bear. It was one of the darkest moments of the day.

As I was watching TV coverage on the flight home, I saw a photo of Barbara Olson Barbara Olson. Barbara was a talented TV commentator and the wife of Solicitor General Ted Olson Ted Olson, who argued my side in the Florida recount case before the Supreme Court. She had been aboard American Airlines Flight 77, the plane that hit the Pentagon. She was my first personal connection to the tragedy. I reached Ted on the phone. He was calm, but I could sense the shock and devastation in his voice. I told him how sorry I felt. He told me how Barbara had called him from the hijacked flight and calmly relayed information. She was a patriot to the end. I vowed to Ted that we would find those responsible for her death.

The flight home also gave me a chance to check in with my parents. Mother and Dad had spent the night of September 10 at the White House and then left early on the morning of the eleventh. They had been in the air when news of the attacks came. The operator connected me with Dad. I could tell he was anxious. He wasn't worried about my safety-he trusted the Secret Service to protect me-but he was concerned about the stress I would be feeling. I tried to put his mind at ease. "I'm just fine," I said.

Dad put Mother on the phone. "Where are you?" I asked.

"We're at a motel in Brookfield, Wisconsin," she replied.

"What in the world are you doing there?"

"Son," she retorted, "you grounded our plane!"

In an extraordinary feat, Transportation Secretary Norm Mineta Norm Mineta and the FAA had overseen the safe landing of four thousand flights in just over two hours. I was hopeful that the terror from the skies was over. and the FAA had overseen the safe landing of four thousand flights in just over two hours. I was hopeful that the terror from the skies was over.

I started thinking about what I should say to the country when I spoke from the Oval Office that night. My first instinct was to tell the American people that we were a nation at war. But as I watched the carnage on TV, I realized that the country was still in shock. Declaring war could further contribute to the anxiety. I decided to wait one day.

I did want to announce a major decision I had made: The United States would consider any nation that harbored terrorists to be responsible for the acts of those terrorists. This new doctrine overturned the approach of the past, which treated terrorist groups as distinct from their sponsors. We had to force nations to choose whether they would fight the terrorists or share in their fate. And we had to wage this war on the offense, by attacking the terrorists overseas before they could attack us again at home.

I also wanted the speech to convey my sense of moral outrage. The deliberate murder of innocent people is an act of pure evil. Above all, I wanted to express comfort and resolve-comfort that we would recover from this blow, and resolve that we would bring the terrorists to justice.

Air Force One touched down at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland just after 6:30 p.m. I moved quickly to Marine One, which lifted off for the ten-minute helicopter flight to the South Lawn. The chopper banked left and right in an evasive pattern. I felt no fear. I knew the Marine pilots of HMX-1 would get me home.

I looked out on an abandoned, locked-down Was.h.i.+ngton. In the distance I saw smoke rising from the Pentagon. The symbol of our military might was smoldering. I was struck by how skilled and ruthless the al Qaeda pilot must have been to fly directly into the low-lying building. My mind drifted back over history. I was looking at a modern-day Pearl Harbor. Just as Franklin Roosevelt Franklin Roosevelt had rallied the nation to defend freedom, it would be my responsibility to lead a new generation to protect America. I turned to Andy and said, "You're looking at the first war of the twenty-first century." had rallied the nation to defend freedom, it would be my responsibility to lead a new generation to protect America. I turned to Andy and said, "You're looking at the first war of the twenty-first century."

My first stop after landing on the South Lawn was the Oval Office. I read over a draft of my speech and modified a few lines. Then I went down to the PEOC, part of a hardened underground structure built during the early Cold War to withstand a substantial attack. The bunker is manned by military personnel around the clock and contains enough food, water, and electric power to sustain the president and his family for long periods of time. At the center of the facility is a conference room with a large wood table-a subterranean Situation Room. Laura was waiting for me there. We didn't have a lot of time to talk, but we didn't need to. Her hug was more powerful than any words.

Back at the White House on 9/11, editing my address to the nation with (from left) Al Gonzales, Condi Rice, Karen Hughes, Ari Fleischer, and Andy Card. White House/Paul Morse White House/Paul Morse I went back upstairs, practiced my speech, and then headed to the Oval Office.

"Today, our fellow citizens, our way of life, our very freedom, came under attack in a series of deliberate and deadly terrorist acts," I began. I described the brutality of the attack and the heroism of those who had responded. I continued: "I've directed the full resources of our intelligence and law enforcement communities to find those responsible and to bring them to justice. We will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbor them."

I closed with Psalm 23: "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me." I felt the speech was much better than the statements I made in Florida and Louisiana. Still, I knew I would have to do more to rally the nation in the days ahead.

After the speech, I returned to the PEOC to meet with my national security team. I wanted to catch up on the latest developments and plan the next day's response. I told them we had been given a mission that none of us had sought or expected, but the country would rise to meet it. "Freedom and justice will prevail," I said.

The meeting ended around 10:00 p.m. I had been up since before dawn and going full speed all day. Carl Truscott Carl Truscott, the head of the Presidential Protective Division, told us we would be sleeping in a small room off the PEOC conference room. Against the wall was an old couch with a fold-out bed inside. It looked like Harry Truman himself had put it there. I could envision a restless night battling the cramped mattress and the steel supporting rods. The next day would bring important decisions, and I needed sleep to think clearly. "There is no way I'm sleeping there," I told Carl.

He knew I was not budging. "Sleep in the residence," he said. "We will come get you if there are any problems."

Sleep did not come easily. My mind replayed the images of the day: the planes. .h.i.tting the buildings, the towers crumbling, the Pentagon in flames. I thought of the grief so many families must be feeling. I also thought about the heroism-the flight attendants on the hijacked planes who calmly called supervisors to report their status and the first responders who raced toward the flames at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

Just as I was about to doze off, I saw a figure silhouetted at the bedroom door. He was breathing heavily and shouting: "Mr. President, Mr. President, the White House is under attack! Let's go!"

I told Laura we needed to move fast. She didn't have time to put in her contact lenses, so she held on to me. I grabbed her robe and guided her with one arm while I scooped up Barney, our Scottish terrier, with the other. I called Spot, our English springer spaniel, to follow. I was barefoot and wearing running shorts and a T-s.h.i.+rt. We must have made quite a sight.

The Secret Service hustled us out of the residence and down to the underground shelter. I heard the slam of a heavy door and the sound of a pressurized lock as we entered the tunnel. The agents rushed us through another door. Bang, hiss. Bang, hiss. We hustled down the final corridor, past the staff seated outside, and into the PEOC. We hustled down the final corridor, past the staff seated outside, and into the PEOC.

After a few minutes, an enlisted man walked into the conference room. "Mr. President," he said matter-of-factly, "it was one of ours." An F-16 fighter had flown down the Potomac squawking the wrong transponder signal. A day that started with a run on a golf course had ended with a scramble to the bunker to escape a possible attack on the White House.

When I woke up on September 12, America was a different place. Commercial aircraft were grounded. Armed vehicles patrolled the streets of Was.h.i.+ngton. A wing of the Pentagon had been reduced to rubble. The New York Stock Exchange was closed. New York's Twin Towers were gone. The focus of my presidency, which I had expected to be domestic policy, was now war. The transformation showed how quickly fate can s.h.i.+ft, and how sometimes the most demanding tasks a president faces are unexpected.

The psyche of the nation had been shaken. Families stocked up on gas masks and bottled water. Some fled cities for the countryside, fearing that downtown buildings could be targets. Others who worked in skysc.r.a.pers couldn't bring themselves to go back to work. Many refused to board a plane for weeks or months. It seemed almost certain that there would be another attack.

There is no textbook on how to steady a nation rattled by a faceless enemy. I relied on instincts and background. My West Texas optimism helped me project confidence. Occasionally, I spoke a little too bluntly, such as when I said I wanted bin Laden "dead or alive." The people around me helped a lot during those trying days. The team at the White House was steady and a source of inspiration. Laura was a rock of stability and love. My brother Marvin and sister Doro, both of whom lived in the Was.h.i.+ngton area, stopped by frequently for meals. Mother and Dad offered constant support. My family gave me comfort and helped me clear my mind.

I also drew strength from my faith, and from history. I found solace in reading the Bible, which Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln called "the best gift G.o.d has given to man." I admired Lincoln's moral clarity and resolve. The clash between freedom and tyranny, he said, was "an issue which can only be tried by war, and decided by victory." The war on terror would be the same. called "the best gift G.o.d has given to man." I admired Lincoln's moral clarity and resolve. The clash between freedom and tyranny, he said, was "an issue which can only be tried by war, and decided by victory." The war on terror would be the same.

I set three goals for the days immediately following the attacks. First, keep the terrorists from striking again. Second, make clear to the country and the world that we had embarked on a new kind of war. Third, help the affected areas recover and make sure the terrorists did not succeed in shutting down our economy or dividing our society.

I went to the Oval Office on September 12 at my usual time, around 7:00 a.m. The first order of the day was to return phone calls from the many world leaders who had offered their sympathy. My first call was with Prime Minister Tony Blair Tony Blair of Great Britain. Tony began by saying he was "in a state of shock" and that he would stand with America "one hundred percent" in fighting terror. There was no equivocation in his voice. The conversation helped cement the closest friends.h.i.+p I would form with any foreign leader. As the years pa.s.sed and the wartime decisions grew tougher, some of our allies wavered. Tony Blair never did. of Great Britain. Tony began by saying he was "in a state of shock" and that he would stand with America "one hundred percent" in fighting terror. There was no equivocation in his voice. The conversation helped cement the closest friends.h.i.+p I would form with any foreign leader. As the years pa.s.sed and the wartime decisions grew tougher, some of our allies wavered. Tony Blair never did.

Every leader who called expressed support. Jean Chretien Jean Chretien of Canada said simply, "We are there," a promise that had been upheld by Canadian citizens who welcomed thousands of stranded Americans after their flights were diverted. of Canada said simply, "We are there," a promise that had been upheld by Canadian citizens who welcomed thousands of stranded Americans after their flights were diverted. Silvio Berlusconi Silvio Berlusconi of Italy told me he had "cried like a little boy and could not stop," and pledged his cooperation. of Italy told me he had "cried like a little boy and could not stop," and pledged his cooperation. Jiang Zemin Jiang Zemin of China, of China, Gerhard Schroeder Gerhard Schroeder of Germany, and of Germany, and Jacques Chirac Jacques Chirac of France promised to help in any way they could. of France promised to help in any way they could. Junichiro Koizumi Junichiro Koizumi, prime minister of the nation that struck America at Pearl Harbor, called the events of September 11 "not an attack against just the United States but an attack against freedom and democracy." For the first time in NATO's fifty-two-year history, the members of the alliance voted to invoke Article 5 of the charter: An attack on one is an attack on all.

The coalition of the willing in the war against terror was forming, and-for the time being-everyone wanted to join.

After my calls, I had a CIA briefing and convened an NSC meeting in the Cabinet Room. George Tenet confirmed that bin Laden was responsible for the attacks. Intelligence intercepts had revealed al Qaeda al Qaeda members congratulating one another in eastern Afghanistan. I made clear this would be a different kind of war. We faced an enemy that had no capital to call home and no armies to track on the battlefield. Defeating them would require the full resources of our national power, from gathering intelligence to freezing terrorists' bank accounts to deploying troops. members congratulating one another in eastern Afghanistan. I made clear this would be a different kind of war. We faced an enemy that had no capital to call home and no armies to track on the battlefield. Defeating them would require the full resources of our national power, from gathering intelligence to freezing terrorists' bank accounts to deploying troops.

The meeting gave me an opportunity to speak to the press. I was ready to make the declaration I had postponed the night before. "The deliberate and deadly attacks which were carried out yesterday against our country were more than acts of terror," I said. "They were acts of war."

A half hour later, I met with the congressional leaders.h.i.+p from both parties. I laid out two concerns. The first was complacency. It seemed hard to imagine at the time, when the pain of 9/11 was so fresh, but I knew the public would eventually move on. As elected leaders, we had a responsibility to stay focused on the threat and fight the war until we had prevailed.

My second concern was about backlash against Arab and Muslim Americans. I had heard reports of verbal hara.s.sment against people who appeared to be Middle Eastern. I was mindful of the ugly aspects of America's history during war. In World War I, German Americans were shunned, and in some extreme cases jailed. In World War II, President Roosevelt supported placing huge numbers of j.a.panese Americans in internment camps. One was Norm Mineta Norm Mineta, who had been interned as a ten-year-old boy. Seeing him in the Cabinet Room that morning was a powerful reminder of the government's responsibility to guard against hysteria and speak out against discrimination. I made plans to convey that message by visiting a mosque.

With Norm Mineta. White House/Eric Draper White House/Eric Draper Members of Congress were united in their determination to protect the country. Senator Tom Daschle Tom Daschle, the Democratic majority leader, issued one cautionary note. He said I should be careful about the word war war because it had such powerful implications. I listened to his concerns, but I disagreed. If four coordinated attacks by a terrorist network that had pledged to kill as many Americans as possible was not an act of war, then what was it? A breach of diplomatic protocol? because it had such powerful implications. I listened to his concerns, but I disagreed. If four coordinated attacks by a terrorist network that had pledged to kill as many Americans as possible was not an act of war, then what was it? A breach of diplomatic protocol?

One of the last people to speak was Robert Byrd Robert Byrd, the eighty-three-year-old Democratic senator from West Virginia. He had served through the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Vietnam War, the end of the Cold War, and countless other challenges. His eloquent words inspired the room. "Despite Hollywood and TV," he said, "there is an army of people who believe in divine guidance and the Creator....Mighty forces will come to your aid."