Bush told “America is under attack.” He continues listening to The Pet Goat.
October 18, 2010
By Craig McKee
“America is under attack.”
These were the words spoken by White House chief of staff Andrew Card to President George W. Bush as he sat in a Florida classroom just after 9 a.m. on Sept. 11, 2001. Bush had been listening as the students read a story called The Pet Goat.
The moment was immortalized for comedic effect in Michael Moore’s documentary Fahrenheit 911. Bush looked stunned and confused: like he had no idea what to do. After a few agonizing seconds, he reached for the book and began following along. He sat there for approximately eight minutes reading while all hell was breaking loose in the skies.
But to focus on how incompetent he looked is to risk missing the real point. He may have been in over his head, but there are more serious implications of his behaviour than just incompetence.
Let’s look at Bush’s reaction in context: by the time he received the news from Card, it was known to his top advisors that two hijacked airliners had been flown into the two towers of the World Trade Center. They also knew that a third plane was off course, out of contact, and presumed to be hijacked. It could have been heading to the White House, the Capital Building, or even to Booker Elementary School in Sarasota, Florida where Bush and the kids were reading.
Bush’s schedule had been public for several days, so there was no way to know whether terrorists intended to target him at the school. His life could have been in danger, to say nothing of the lives of the children.
Did he then move swiftly to a waiting car so that he could take charge of the response to this catastrophic attack? No, he remained at the school for another 20 minutes, making a brief scheduled speech before leaving the school. The time now was 9:30 a.m.
Incredibly, he seemed to feel no need to respond to the crisis. And neither did his staff. When Card informed Bush that the second tower had been hit, he didn’t wait for a response or for instructions. He didn’t suggest the president leave immediately. He moved away.
Did the Secret Service leap into action to get him to safety without delay? No, they let him continue listening to The Pet Goat.
The real question is whether his reaction – or non reaction – to news of the supposed unfolding of terrorist attacks meant that he knew what was going to happen before it did. He didn’t have to rush out of the school because he knew there was no further danger.
Let’s look at the most curious thing Bush has said about that morning. When asked by a young person at a town hall meeting in December 2001 how he felt when he heard the towers had been hit, he responded this way:
“…actually I was in a classroom talking about a reading program that works. And I was sitting outside the classroom waiting to go in, and I saw an airplane hit the tower – the TV was obviously on, and I use to fly myself, and I said, “There’s one terrible pilot.” And I said, “It must have been a horrible accident.”
Bush could not have seen the first plane hit because the first plane hitting the tower was not broadcast on TV until later that day.
Was he lying or just mistaken? I find the “the TV was obviously on” comment to sound like the kind of thing you’d say when you were lying and trying to sound casual, but that’s just a personal impression.
Also, Bush says: “I was whisked off there – I didn’t have much time to think…”
We know this isn’t true. He stayed in the school for another half hour. At no time was he in a hurry to leave. There were numerous accounts that later supported the story that he left immediately, including those of Andrew Card and the teacher in the classroom. But we know he didn’t.
What’s even more odd is that Bush repeated his claim to have seen the first crash a month later in another town hall meeting.
“…well, first of all, when we walked into the classroom, I had seen this plane fly into the first building. There was a TV set on.”
It might be possible to get confused about the order that things happened, or who told you what, but to say TWICE that you saw the first impact on TV is incredible. It suggests one of two things: he lied about seeing the impact on the TV, or he did see a private feed of the impact. This of course could only have happened if he and his handlers knew it would happen in advance.
Could he have been referring to seeing the second impact? No, because he was already with the children when that happened at 9:03. We know that because it was the second crash that Card leaned over to tell him about.
There are several other versions of how Bush found out about the first plane hitting the North Tower at 8:46 a.m. Some have him getting word in the limousine as he approached Booker Elementary School in Sarasota, Florida; he would have been in the car when it happened. Other reports indicate that he didn’t find out until he arrived at the school just before 9 a.m.
Can you imagine being mistaken about seeing the first plane hit? It’s not the kind of thing you forget or imagine.
What can explain Bush’s bizarre behaviour? Why didn’t his handlers get him out of a potentially very dangerous situation – for him and everyone else in the school? And why has no journalist held him to account for his actions that morning?
Awesome!
I have been making this same argument since this horrible day happened. I don’t understand how there has not been more investigations done about it.
Glad to be able to read your thoughts and opinions again Craig. Keep up the great work 🙂
Kathy
Thanks Kathy. Great to hear from you. And I’m glad to hear that you’re among those who are looking for answers about this. The reason there haven’t been more investigations (official, anyway) of this is that the majority of people don’t want to take the trouble to inform themselves about what happened. And without pressure, the powers that be will remain smug about how untouchable they are. But it’s also understandable that people are thinking about this because the mainstream media has REFUSED in most cases to ask the important questions. If anything happens, it’ll come from the grassroots level. That means people like us. Thanks a lot for reading. There’s a lot more coming.
Ita all about money and greed its ashame they will be judged by higher power
I couldn’t agree with you more, Cindy.
The answer is very obvious to those of us who know information that the general public is lacking. No, neither Pres Bush, Ms Rice, nor any other American were in collusion with Bin Laden, Saudi Arabia, or the 9/11 attackers.
However they could have easily prevented the entire disaster IF they had taken seriously and reacted appropriately to the very specific details they were told. Warnings of impending threats from terrorists came from more than one source, including military officers some of whom had contacts in the Mid East. Note that there were Israelis living in New York who took heed of the same exact words.
Sure. Keep telling yourself that lie. It’s much easier to swallow.
Let me recap very basic questions. In the middle of reading a children’s story then Pres Bush was interrupted. He was told an airplane had hit the 1st tower. He did not stop to ask ANY detailed questions. Wouldn’t that have been the sensible response from ANY nations’ leader no matter how “dense” or “distracted?”
How did he know the US wasn’t under a massive nationwide terrorist attack? Another nation hadn’t started an all out war? Any other extreme emergency situation hadn’t occurred, and that an immediate response was required?
For what possible reason would he continue to read the story book, except he already knew there was now absolutely nothing he could do to prevent the inevitable. That PROVES advance knowledge. It does NOT verify in any way intentional planning or direct culpability. Only extreme and 100% total NEGLIGENCE. How many times can the POTUS “put his head in the sand?”
DavidaRochelle said:
“In the middle of reading a children’s story then Pres Bush was interrupted. He was told an airplane had hit the 1st tower”
He was told that an airplane had struck the SECOND Tower; he already saw the first plane strike on a closed circuit monitor in his Limousine before he went into the classroom…..(“Obviously, the TV was on”); which makes the rest of your comment even more convincing of foreknowledge.
“For what possible reason would he continue to read the story book, except he already knew there was now absolutely nothing he could do to prevent the inevitable”
He would continue to read the story book, not because there was nothing he could do to stop the inevitable, but because he knew for an absolute fact that he was not a target; in other words, he knew at least the basic plan.
It is my opinion that Bush was sent to the classroom just to get him out of the way, because he’s a brainless idiot, and if he was in the White House when the plan went down, he would not have enough time to compose himself, and he might have said something real stupid…..as if he didn’t anyway.
The speech he made later that day was written for him beforehand by his Handlers.
The fact that the Secret Service didn’t whisk him away is proof that they also knew the basic plan, and that the President was not a target.
Andrew Card would not have told the President about the “attack”, he would have told the Secret Service, and they wouldn’t give a rat’s ass about “upsetting the children or the teacher”…..they would have bodily removed the president and taken him to a place of safety, IMMEDIATELY!
The whole Schoolroom episode screams…..FOREKNOWLEDGE!
Agree with your minor corrections of my previous statement, especially the bottom line. That is if NO ONE in the Bush Adm knew of the specific details of the attacks well in advance the Secret Service would have then proceeded with their specialized training and whisked Bush out of the way ASAP. Note how Reagan was “grabbed” and removed when Hinckley attempted to assassinate him in front of a crowd. The goal was to get Reagan out of danger any way feasible.
Then Bush would have been debriefed and the questions I raised in my earlier statement addressed. Did the media ever ask when Bush learned of the specific details of the attack? What was he told, and how did he respond? Something is way, way off in this narrative.
There are details which will prove that members of the Bush Adm at the highest levels could easily have prevented the entire scenario of 9/11. I have more than one source of info. What valid press source would like to hear my entire story? it is quite lengthy.
You need to continue the lies for your own consumption.
Huh?
What kills me is how the public has ingested this BS story hook,line & sinker.
What about NIST.?
Where the fuck is Any investigative reporting?
I mean wtf ???
Really? Hind sight is 20/20. Did anyone really think in those first moments after the first plane hit the tower that we were under attack? Wasn’t the general thought by EVERYONE after the first plane hit….What the H**l just happened? Not..” OMG, we’re under attack….!!”
He’s a fucking noodnik and how he stole that election ,I mean Jeb and that twat Harris boggles the mind.
Why do you think it’s a lie? Where’s your evidence to support it? How about we both take a lie detector test to determine who’d honest and who is telling the truth?
Swallow this: there are several experts demolishing and explosions architects saying based on the damage, it was an implosion, an inside job, which would explain those trucks at the location at weird hours of the night. WAKE UP! See YouTube for more details. Or remain an uninformed bias idiot. The choice is yours.
Why do you say the answer is obvious to those who know info that the public is lacking and then say that neither pres Bush, Condy Rice nor any other American were in collusion… you’re not as aware as you say you are. Ms Rice knew enough to warn her friend S.F. mayor Willie Brown to stay out of the sky on the 11th and let’s say Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld all looked the other way.
Ms. McKenney, you are postulating the “Let It Happen On Purpose” hypothesis, which does not fit the facts. The WTC buildings, 1, 2, and 7, could not have been destroyed in the manner that we observed without the use of pre-planted explosives. Obviously, Bin Laden and his cave-dweller associates could not have arranged for these explosives to have been planted in the buildings and then set off at the precise time that they were. The aircraft impacts (which did not occur to WTC 7) were only a crude cover to confuse and distract the public from the real cause of the buildings’ destructions. Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld didn’t look the other way; they planned and carried out the whole operation.
Did not know that’s what Ms. Rice told Willie Brown. Do know she knew in advance and chose not to warn the American public. Ditto the others.
However I’m saying while they could have prevented it or at least taken steps to savedmany, many more lives they weren’t the original planners nor is the USA the country 100% responsible.
Anonymous is gravely mistaken. He or she needs to do some more research.
Amazingly neglected here is Dubya’s previous warning and his response, “OK, you’ve covered your ass…” Whitewater, Benghazi, and anything that could possibly reflect on the Clintons has been eating up our taxpayer dollars for years. Meanwhile, the worst attack on the U.S.A. since Pearl Harbor somehow gets a pass for “Dim Son.”
There’s nothing I can add to that.
This is not an accurate article. Bush did respond to the attacks while still at the school. In the speech you mentioned he addressed it. Also, he stayed at the school a bit to get a briefing of the current situation as it was known.
I’m afraid you’re incorrect. I stated that he made a scheduled speech. While he certainly commented on the World Trade Center in the speech, it was still scheduled. And I wrote that he did not respond to the attacks. I didn’t mean he didn’t mention them, I mean that he didn’t take action. He should have taken command immediately. He should have been whisked out of the school immediately. He should not have sat around reading with the kiddies while the country was allegedly under attack. Even the briefing you referred to should not have taken place at the school where his presence was endangering the children and staff.
When you wrote this article did you stop to think that maybe he didnt want to scare those kids . SERIOUSLY!
I considered this “official” explanation, but it fails to stand up even a little bit. First, do you really think they care, or should care, about kids being alarmed when the country is supposedly under attack? If this had been a real threat, then Bush would have been a potential target. Leaving him in a place known to the public for another half an hour is ludicrous. It would never happen. He would actually be putting the kids’ lives in danger by staying.
And don’t you find it strange that Andrew Card tells him America is under attack and he doesn’t ask, “By who?” He just hears the ambiguous news and sits there. He even gives a speech from the school before being whisked away.
And to top it off, he tells a story later of seeing the first plane hit on TV even though he couldn’t have seen either of them hit live.
Response “What could be more important for a President of the United States to do than to react at that moment when he hears the words ‘The country is under attack’?”
1) uh remain calm, collected, and in control.
2) don’t cause any more panic and fear to others than what you already feel yourself.
3) seriously what can you really do at that point? you’ve already been attacked = 1 step behind. you’re security agents are already on the case. so lets give the image that everything’s fine.
you think just because he’d left 7 minutes earlier, rush to a save location and begin giving out commands on what to do would change anything? he doesn’t even know the extent of the situation. the agents are engaged out on the field dealing with the attack. the president is a puppet, the ‘face’ of america. the face of freedom, liberty, security, power, goodness, etc. he doesn’t really have a say on the battle field. the general does, and the general is already out there dealing with the problem. he’s the executive, he’s the brain, he’s the one to remain calm, keep everyone around him calm and not cause any additional internal turmoil.
i say he sat there in the classroom was a very natural human reaction. you people are just paranoid for nit picking everything humans do.
You sir are an idiot
I was going to say it, but i see you already did. Thanks..
I disagree. I think it would be natural to react with a sense of astonishment unless you had prior knowledge.
Now, I believe that goat stories can enrich the lives of children, but I think there would be more important things for a president to do at that moment, like read Cat in the Hat, or Green Eggs and Ham, of maybe even set up communication with the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
look, as the president aka the information decision brain of america, he knows who’s behind the attack. you’d know that if you just got informed that your wife got fucked by some guy, you’d know to some extent, you’d have an idea who that might be… he was probably shocked that america wasn’t prepared enough for such an attack and probably didn’t believe the bluffs or prepare for the inevitable, but regardless of how he felt, leaving early 7 minutes and reacting ‘right away’ isn’t going to do much except cause suspicion and panic. you say he could’ve reacted when he heard, because this is all in hindsight. at the moment, you’d do the same to remain the fuck calm. plus the footage of him remaining calm shows the image of ‘in control’ and that image is waaay more important to the world that America’s got its shit under control than having the president, aka the face, the image, the puppet of america, rush out the door in a panic, that shows instability, and the world would look down and find america to be not as hyped up as it is. look the reality is grim. america isn’t all that powerful. but it is necessary to project such an image of #1, for this vagueness and secrecy is what protects the country. just like how you would conduct yourself in a calm cool manner in public. you don’t wanna look like an insecure freak. you’d get taken advantage of. people this is all common sense.
Common Sense? Lol
You don’ have the slightest idea what you are talking about.
The “president” {Lol} was in a public place, and known to be there. His Secret Service detail, charged with protecting the President of the United States, broke every rule in the book by not physically removing the President from that open and obvious danger to his person.
Looking at this from a smug colloquial position of an uninformed individual may be “common sense” – but it is preposterous. Your argument is ludicrous.
This is a message from the future [2014] – so I doubt if our silly commentator will ever see this answer to his goofball soliloquy – but this is for any readers who come upon this later.
\\][//
Readers of the following won’t believe me. I’ve always stated that i would never reveal what I know to be true, unless I first had a lie detector test. I would prefer it to occur on TV, for a permanent record. I trusted an A-list internationally famous celeb to assist me in telling my story publicly. He knew who I was before we formally met, in part because of my shocking story. I have waited long enough. I live in Las Vegas. I’m open to serious inquiries.
Former President Bush was given the very specific details of the well-planned 9/11 attack, almost one month in advance. He chose to ignore the info, and the warnings, because he didn’t believe the source. No one in America had anything to do with the tragedy. However the powers that be could easily have prevented it with the facts that were provided.
What was Bush’s immediate reaction when he heard about the first plane crash? He looked at his watch.
Why was it so important for him to know the exact time at that moment? He had been told the exact time that the crash would occur. It was within 5 min of the prediction.
Why didn’t he ask who the attackers were? He had also been told that answer, as well as all other pertinent details.
It was Very Obviously a controlled demolition. That is a fact an indisputable fact. Get over it!!! You have been played like a fiddle to support more loss of freedom and the corporation of America’s financial gain. Plain and simple for anyone with eyes to see.
Plain and simple how it can be seen any other way is beyond me
I know I am late on this..but this comment “Bush could not have seen the first plane hit because the first plane hitting the tower was not broadcast on TV until later that day.’ is grossly false. “The first television report of an incident at the World Trade Center is broadcast locally in New York by WNYW less than two minutes after the plane crashed into the North Tower”. He could have easily seen the first plane hit on his way into the classroom. And I, like many, saw the video on TV just minutes after the first plane hit. This entire story is full of BS mistakes like this.
This is FALSE! You’re telling me that a local station had footage of the first crash within two minutes??? How would they get that? But the networks didn’t show it for hours afterwards???? Just pointing at the tower from the right side at the right time? Please provide a source for this. You are either wildly mistaken or you are being dishonest. Also, Bush was in Florida; you’re saying he could see a local NY news story from there? Please tell me the other “mistakes” this article is supposedly full of.
There was no footage of the first tower being hit broadcast on American TV that day.
It was the Naudet ( excuse if it’s the wrong name) brothers video which was, for years the only footage of the first strike, but not broadcast until the following day
Kev G said:
“There was no footage of the first tower being hit broadcast on American TV that day.
It was the Naudet ( excuse if it’s the wrong name) brothers video which was, for years the only footage of the first strike, but not broadcast until the following day”
You’re right, Kev G.
How old are you Craig? Were you old enough to watch this, or were you watching Sesame Street? I like everyone who had the news on that morning, watched in total confusion and disbelief the aftermath of when the first plane hit the first tower/crash, thinking what the heck just happened!! Then we all did see the second plane hit LIVE!!! People had video cameras, cell phones, all sorts of cameras were shooting after the first tower was hit.
You think insulting me is the way to go, Tracy? That might work is what you were saying made any sense, but it doesn’t.
I said in my article that the FIRST PLANE IMPACT was not broadcast on TV until later in the day. This is a fact. I’m well aware that the SECOND PLANE IMPACT, which was the South Tower, was captured live and recorded by many cameras. So you can apologize now.
Rob, I see you are quoting from 8:48:08 here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_for_the_day_of_the_September_11_attacks
But it doesn’t mention any broadcast of the plane hitting the tower.
Maybe this is supposed to be a joke?
“And I was sitting outside the classroom waiting to go in, and I saw an airplane hit the tower – the TV was obviously on, and I use to fly myself, and I said, “There’s one terrible pilot.”
“And I was sitting outside the classroom waiting to go in, and I saw an airplane hit the tower – the TV was obviously on, and I use to fly myself, and I said, “There’s one terrible pilot.”
At the time of this statement (Dec 4, 2001), he had already had three months to be coached and get his story straight, so that he can go in front of the whole world and answer a pre-prepared question, the posing of which was delegated to a third grader to soften the setup:
“One thing, Mr. President, is that you have no idea how much you’ve done for this country, and another thing is that how did you feel when you heard about the terrorist attack?” said the third grader…
One thing dubya was not good at, among many other things, was lying. He certainly was shameless about it, but he did not do a good job at it. I tend to think it was because he was not smart enough to do pro-level lying (unlike his father or Bill or Hillary), but that is a whole other discussion.
In the above quoted statement, there is a single word that gives him away more than anything else. And that word is: OBVIOUSLY
The only and only explanation for the insertion of “obviously” into that statement, especially if you listen to how it was delivered as opposed to just reading it, was that there was no TV that was on, if there was a TV there at all.
If he were actually stating the truth, he would have said:
I saw an airplane hit the tower on TV, and I use to fly myself, and I said…
OR
I saw an airplane hit the tower, and I use to fly myself, and I said…
Words do matter. And the way they are put together and delivered, facial ticks and expressions and eye movements are very telling.
For those who would like to hear pinocchio deliver those lines, here is the link to the video… The pertinent part starts around the 5:30 mark.
https://youtu.be/_srLDRXj_5U
By the way, it’s also interesting to note that, even though one can find every speech he made and every town hall meeting he held over 8 years, a video of the above mentioned town hall meeting is almost impossible to find on the internet, except within truth and conspiracy related videos that use the clip to expose his lie.
Another element that doesn’t ring true is what he said about the ‘terrible pilot’. Who would think that a plane flying into a skyscraper in broad daylight was down to bad piloting, and not some damage that made the plane uncontrollable, or the pilot having a heart attack or something? This and the ‘television’ aspect smack of ‘the lady doth protest too much’. He could be paraphrased thus: ‘I saw it on TV – it was definitely a TV, and it was definitely switched on. Oh and I thought it must be bad piloting, definitely NOT someone deliberately flying a plane into a skyscraper, because I wouldn’t think such a thing, definitely definitely not having any prior knowledge it was going to happen and all’. Liar.
I’ve been registering objections on some of these articles. This one, on the face of it, makes some sense.
My own opinion is that the man was in shock; more, that after the first impact he was unaware that it was an attack of some sort, but was instead convinced that it was a horrible accident. Viewed in that light, the later events of the day make some sense; the eventual nonsensical and conflicting orders reported from within high command certainly suggest panic.
But this does provide a great deal of food for thought. The biggest question it raises in my mind? Where were the advisers on whom George W. relied so very heavily? The legendary “Vulcans” — where were they?
To my mind, W. seems far more likely to be a dupe than a conspirator.
There is a truth behind the simple version we’re fed on television. There always is; even were it practicable to give us the complete story, there’s deliberate spin, sponsor and corporate filters, relative “newsworthiness” — and that’s all there every day without even a hint of cover-up. In an event of this nature we can safely presume a great deal more than we’ve seen.
I’m not entirely sure we’re going to discover it here, to be frank.
But I do urge you to continue questioning. We’ll never find the truth if we don’t look for it.
Bush could not have seen the first plane hit because the first plane hitting the tower was not broadcast on TV until later that day.
THIS IS TOTALLY FALSE. I PERSONALLY SAW NEWS COVERAGE ON TV AS I LAY IN BED IN ARIZONA AT APPROXIMATLEY 6AM THAT VERY MORNING, JUST MOMENTS AFTER THE FIRST PLANE HIT THE TOWER, WATCHING THE AFTERMATH OF THAT CRASH, WONDERING JUST LIKE EVERYONE ELSE WHAT JUST HAPPENED, AND THEN ACTUALLY SAW LIVE THE SECOND PLANE HIT THE OTHER TOWER. SO THIS AUTHOR LOST CREDIBILITY WITH ME THERE, AND SHOULD HAVE WITH EVERYONE ELSE WHO READ THIS……AND IF I MAY ASK, WHAT DID YOUR FACE LOOK LIKE WHEN YOU SAW THIS HAPPEN, AND HOW DID YOU FEEL. LET’S NOT FORGET THAT THE PRESEIDENT IS HUMAN. BUT LET’S TAKE A MOMENT TO COMPARE BEHAVIORS AND ACTIONS OF PRESIDENTS….WHEN THE FIRST BEHEADING TOOK PLACE ON TV NO LESS, MOMENTS AFTER THIS, AFTER MAKING A VERY LACKLUSTER SPEECH (CAN ANYONE EVEN REMEMBER WHAT INSPIRING WORDS HE SPOKE TO HIS SHOCKED NATION AND THE WORLD?) OUR PRESIDENT PLAYED A ROUND OF GOLF…ANYONE WHO PLAYS GOLF KNOWS THAT THIS IS TOTALLY A ‘MENTAL” GAME, AND THAT SOMETHING OCURRING LIKE THIS SHOULD HAVE/WOULD HAVE RUINED ANY GOLF OUTING – ESPECIALLY IF YOU HAPPENED TO BE THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITD STATES. AND THEN WE MOVE ON TO THE CUBA SITUATION, WHERE AFTER THE PARIS BOMBINGS AND KILLINGS, THE PRESIDENT ‘SHOWED A LACK OF CONCERN”, WHICH HE “SPINNED” THAT HE WAS NOT GOING TO LET TERRORISTS CHANGE HIS WAY OF LIFE – WHICH IS FINE FOR THE GENERAL POPULATION, BUT WHAT SORT OF MESSAGE DID THAT SEND OUR COUNTRYMEN, NOT TO MENTION THE FRENCH PEOPLE AND THE WORLD….HE SHOULD HAVE BEEN PACKING HIS BAGS AND HEADING BACK TO HIS COUNTRY…HE IS NOT AN EVERY DAY CITIZEN, BUT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE SECURITY AND SUPPORT, NOT TO MENTION THE MORALE OF OUR COUNTRY. I PERSONALLY FELT EMBARRASSED AND ASHAMED OF OUR PRESIDENT…PRETTY SELFISH BEHAVIOUR.
The impact of the first plane WAS NOT broadcast on television on the morning of 9/11. You seem confused about what you are saying. My statement is not false.
Tracy said:
“THIS IS TOTALLY FALSE. I PERSONALLY SAW NEWS COVERAGE ON TV AS I LAY IN BED IN ARIZONA AT APPROXIMATLEY 6AM THAT VERY MORNING, JUST MOMENTS AFTER THE FIRST PLANE HIT THE TOWER, WATCHING THE AFTERMATH OF THAT CRASH”
That’s right, Tracy…..you were “WATCHING THE AFTERMATH OF THAT CRASH”.
You didn’t se the first plane strike on 911, and neither did George Bush…..unless he saw it in his Limousine on closed circuit tv.
Tracy appears confused. And writing in all CAPS doesn’t help. Nobody saw the first plane impact on television until the Naudet brothers’ video was shown later that day. They were not on any network broadcasting live when they shot the famous footage of the first plane impact.
“On the morning of September 11, Jules accompanied several firefighters as they headed out to investigate reports of a gas leak in Lower Manhattan, leaving Gédéon in the firehouse to continue filming with Benetatos. On the way to Lower Manhattan, Jules and the firefighters had stopped at the corner of Lispenard and Church Streets when American Airlines Flight 11 flew right over them. Jules filmed its impact as it flew directly into the North Tower. (Although the plane is not seen in the footage until the impact is about to happen, the distinct sound of the jet’s engines and the firefighters’ reactions can be heard clearly beforehand.)
Jules went with the FDNY into the North Tower as they responded to the incident. He entered the lobby of the North Tower with the FDNY and filmed the fire chiefs as they set up a command post and sent firefighters up the stairs. While inside, Jules filmed the evacuating civilians and the firefighters’ reactions to subsequent events, including the second plane hitting the South Tower, the debris and “jumpers” falling from the upper floors, and obstructed communications. When the South Tower began to collapse, he took shelter with Battalion 1 Chief Joseph Pfiefer and the remaining firefighters, using his camera’s floodlight to help them gather the wounded, lost, and deceased as they evacuated the North Tower. He followed the firefighters as they headed north and tried to establish another command post…
The Naudets’ video footage became some of the most comprehensive on-site coverage of the 9/11 attacks in New York. Their film was one of only two sources of video footage of Flight 11 striking the World Trade Center, the other being a video shot by Pavel Hlava (an immigrant worker from the Czech Republic); additionally, a series of web camera images from Wolfgang Staehle show the approach of Flight 11 and the after-impact.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jules_and_Gedeon_Naudet
I have been bothered greatly by the 911 attack. Bush was reading a story about “a goat”. Strange. Maybe he was the judas goat in this whole sad affair. I think he knew in advance but his acting was very bad. Being told that America is under attack is different than a plane just crashed into the WTC. Big difference that would have elicited a completely different response kids or no kids. I don’t buy these arguments. He knew but he could not do anything about it. That’s the difference and it shown through clearly.
Did W know about the situation at the WTC in advance? Watch the video of Andrew Card giving the news … watch W’s reaction… Now try this … walk up to a friend, or associate, or whatever, while he/she is just sitting, relaxed, and whisper in his/her ear some horrific piece of unexpected news, like “I’m sorry, but your father just suddenly died.” That person will turn and look you in the eyes – that’s the instinctive human reaction. EVERY time. Contrast that with a person sitting in a hospital visitors’ room awaiting news of a terminally ill father who they expect to die … the reaction in that scenario is much more likely to be what we saw in the Florida classroom – calm acceptance, perhaps even relief.
That’s a very accurate observation, Terry. If you are fond of nuances, you might enjoy this one, too:
It had taken us 27 days after 9/11 to invade Afghanistan. But George Bush’s first public appearance in the form of a town hall meeting happened a little less than 3 months after 9/11, in Orlando FL. At the time, W’s My Pet Goat performance had already attracted the attention of people with any common sense, who simply could not give any meaning to his behavior. The reason I am mentioning the timeline is just to remind ourselves how fresh the issue was at a time when both the rubble at Ground Zero and the aching hearts of the traumatized public were still smoldering.
About 10 minutes before the end of the town hall meeting, someone (Jordan) finally asks him this pre-packaged question:
And our dear leader Dubya finds it in his heart to answer with a one liner from a Catskills comedy routine that almost calls for a rimshot at the end. I would recommend watching the video to observe his demeanor, his nervous snickering and the timing in his delivery when he says:
When the question is framed as “how did you feel…”, one expects the “state” he was in to be “devastated”, “angry”, “sad”, “alert” or whatever appropriate “state” in which a sincere an innocent president would find himself in a situation like that… But, this one, was in “Florida”!!! With his brother!!!
The rest of his answer immediately following his opener is actually more well known, and a lot more damning:
Even though this statement of his has received a lot of attention from a lot of people at the time, as well as since then, it has never been explained, denied, or retracted to this day.
And a small footnote about another nuance in the same answer… When dubya finally gets asked about that day, while most of the public is looking for healing, explanations, but most importantly a shared pain from their president, he pauses to say “that works” about a reading program that no one would give a rat’s ass about in a situation like that.. I tend to think that his whole answer was rehearsed and memorized without these two words, but dubya being dubya, he went off script and inserted this nonsensical side comment… Whch also shows me that he had no remorse, no sadness, and zero empathy in him for what had happened, the people who perished, or the war they had started that would last for decades to come.
I could not find the actual recording of the town hall meeting, but his full answer to Jordan is featured in this video at 5:40 mark. Link to video
My link didn’t work. Here is the video
https://youtu.be/_srLDRXj_5U
Well, this is somewhat embarrassing, but I just noticed that I had posted a very similar comment back in January on this same page, and included the same video… I apologize.
“that works”
That reading program doesn’t sound very good.
And earlier than “W” reading from “My Pet Goat,” the Teacher’s “call & response” lesson with the students is presciently chilling as the vocabulary words they’re made to repeat included “Plane,” “Must,” “Hit,” and “Steel.” You couldn’t invent this stuff; Sick F***s!