I recognize much of it as being the Associated Press breaking-news "wire" for September 11th, 2001, filed out of New York City and Washington D.C., in real time. Many details are familiar to me from watching the television coverage of that day---as they were offered, often with conflicting or erroneous information, and publically vetted. Much is unfamiliar of course, as a behind-the-scenes hashing filtered out the narrative first. When the anchor for the FOX affiliate in D.C., Luke McCarthy, asked on-air of her co-host that morning, "Should we mention this? The Sear's Tower in Chicago is being evacuated," we saw the clear demarcation between public and private.
If it is said that journalism is the first draft of history, then this line represents the sharpening of journalism's Number Two pencil. It is an essential document for establishing the historical record, retracing to the moments information is entering the public consciousness.
Unavoidable mistakes go with the territory. However, the narrative of September 11th, as it is presently being developed, has become about--been overtaken by a need for--critical self examination, The filtering and manipulation of reports that once might contain feints and false alarms, superseded by evidence of criminally fabricated bullet points.
An example of the later is the Barbara Olsen story, which entered the public record shockingly early--at 5:05pm on the afternoon of September 11th, before even Building 7 fell. That lawman Ted Olsen would show no restraint before going public means this narrative blow (the only introduction of celebrity in the entire production,) was meant to trauma bond box-cutter-wielding Arab hi-jackers with the emotional reality of mushroom clouds.
(Inexplicably, the local CBS affiliate in Washington D.C. first reported Barbara Olsen's death at 3:35pm on September 11th, attributing the news to an AP report. See: The AP First Reports Barbara Olsen Killed at 3:35pm)
But it is this secondary information--"the facts, which failed as facts"--that is of value to us now. They have been given added weight by an apparent effort to suppress them for the past seven years, as there are no links to, analysis of, or discussion about them in the record. Odd, because there is truth in this timeline.
(Times changed to EDT)
6:58pm - Northern Alliance responsible for Kabul attack
6:54pm - Bush arrives back at White House
6:36pm - Casualty figures available as soon as possible
6:26pm - Explosions in Kabul not US strike
6:01pm - All flights grounded until noon Wednesday
5:41pm - Explosions rock Kabul
5:35pm - They will never kill democracy - Powell
5:29pm - World Trade Centre building number seven collapses
5:11pm - Sharon offers condolences
5:05pm - Hijack passenger rang husband from plane
5:00pm - Muslims worry about backlash
4:52pm - US on coast-to-coast alert
4:12pm - US forces on alert around the world
3:59pm - World Trade Centre building ablaze
3:57pm - Spectre of 'World War Three' raised
3:44pm - Team of rescue experts on standby in Britain
3:23pm - Cowen cuts short Middle East trip
3:20pm - Japan backs US anti-terrorist drive
3:15pm - Taliban protests bin Laden’s innocence
3:12pm - Terrorists ‘flew the planes themselves’
2:44pm - Blood Centre issues plea for donations
2:41pm - World Trade Disaster: Chronology of terror
2:37pm - Trade Centre Victims Stream to Hospitals
2:28pm - All planes now landed
2:27pm - America reeling in horror and shock
2:26pm - Russia puts troops on alert
1:49pm - New Yorkers speak of horror and loss
1:46pm - Taliban rulers condemn attacks on US
1:42pm - Location of second United Airlines plane unknown
1:41pm - Ireland reacts to US terrorist attack
1:40pm - Fighter jets patrolling skies after Pentagon attack
1:35pm - Pentagon security to be improved
1:33pm - Markets lose £67bn in one day
1:27pm - Third building on verge of collapse
1:23pm - McAleese expresses horror at US attacks
1:23pm - Shares plummet after US attacks
1:07pm - Bush resolves to 'hunt down' terrorists
12:59pm - Ahern calls for 'global solidarity' in face of terrorism
12:49pm - Bin Laden warned three weeks ago of attacks
12:45pm - 50 aircraft still in American skies
12:42pm - Trimble: Terrorist attack "utterly appaling"
12:35pm - Taliban ambassador sympathises
12:27pm - 110 people on two United Airlines flights
12:27pm - Appeal for calm as phone lines jam
12:02pm - US closes border with Mexico
11:59am - United Airlines concerned about fourth plane
11:55 am - Palestinians celebrate in the streets
11:52am - United Airlines confirms plane lost
11:45am - World watches in horror as terror unfolds United States
11:43am - Islamic Jihad may be responsible
11:42am - Taoiseach and Tanaiste condemn attacks on US
11:35am - Pennsylvania plane was headed for Camp David
11:33am - Second attack plane took off at Newark
11:30am - Airlines across the world cancel flights
11:28am - Pittsburgh plane may have been shot down
11:24am - Aircraft can carry up to 300
11:20am - Government issues helpline number
11:19am - Chicago buildings closed
11:17am - Pentagon in state of collapse
11:15am - Witnesses tell of horror at New York carnage
11:11am - Thousands feared dead in US terror strikes
11:10am - Palestinian Leader condemns US terrorist attacks
11:07am - US closes germ warfare defense laboratory
11:05am - Second aircraft hits Pentagon
11:03am - Car bombing outside of State Department
10:56am - UK and Israel evacuate prominent buildings
10:50am - Hijacked plane had 168 passengers
10:45am - Speculation Osama Bin-Laden responsible for attack
10:44am - Hijacked plane heading for Washington
10:42am - Car bomb explodes in Washington
10:39am - Pentagon collapses
10:38am - 747 down in Pennsylvania
10:35am - Car bomb explodes at State Department
10:32am - Both towers down after plane crashes
10:30am - Second tower collapses
10:27am - Straw offers US help to catch terrorists
10:11am - Large airliner crashes into the Pentagon
10:05am - Conflicting reports over those responsible for crashes
10:02am - Part of second tower collapses
9:59am - Third explosion at World Trade Centre
9:52am - Terrorist threats made against the White House
9:47am - Reports of helicopter crashing into Pentagon
9:41am - Pentagon evacuated due to fire
9:36am - Bush to meet with security chiefs
9:29am - Bush: Disaster is 'an apparent terrorist attack'
9:27am - Fears plane crashes were acts of terrorism
9:14am - Plane crashes may have been on purpose
9:08am - Second plane crashes into World Trade Centre
8:55am - Explosion at World Trade Centre
8:48am - Plane crashes into World Trade Centre
8:48am Plane crashes into World Trade Centre
There are unconfirmed reports that a jet plane has crashed into the World Trade Centre Tower in New York.
There is a large plume of black smoke coming from the tower.
It is not yet clear if there are any casualties.
9:08am - Second plane crashes into World Trade Center
A second plane has crashed into the second tower at World Trade Center just minutes after another passenger plane had already crashed into the tower.
An explosion occurred as the plane crashed into the tower.
9:14am Plane crashes may have been on purpose
There are reports that the FBI may be investigating the possibility that the two plane crashes may have happened on purpose.
The second plane ploughed through the second tower of the World Trade Center.
President Bush has been told of the accidents at the World Trade Center.
It is said a few planes would be clearing the World Trade Center by a few miles but ordinarily there would be no planes close to the twin towers.
There is no way of physically closing down the airspace around the twin towers.
On eye-witness said It seemed that the first plane "lined itself up to hit the building directly".
9:27am - Fears plane crashes were acts of terrorism
FBI investigating reports of plane hijacking before World Trade Center crashes.
The FBI told CNN that they have not yet established if it was a terrorist act.
A US Official has said that the crashes " appear to be acts of terrorism".
Two jet airliners crashed into the World Trade Center in New York within minutes of each other today.
Witnesses were just describing the horror of the first impact when another passenger plane crashed into building, on the other side and below the first impact.
An eyewitness said the first plane appeared to hit one of the skyscraper’s twin towers about 20 floors from the top.
He said he thought the plane was still embedded in the smashed and burning building.
Another he said it appeared that the first plane lined up on the tower before crashing.
Jeanne Yurman, told CNN she was watching TV when she heard what she thought was a sonic boom. ‘‘I thought it was Concorde,’’ she said.
There was no immediate word on injuries or fatalities in the twin disasters, which happened shortly before 9 am (1300 BST) and then right around 9 am
The towers were struck by bombers in February 1993.
The plane was coming in low and it looked like it hit at a slight angle,’’ said Sean Murtagh, a CNN vice president.
Large holes were visible in sides of the 110-story buildings, landmark twin towers.
The tops of the twin towers were obscured by the smoke.
Thousands of pieces of what appeared to be office paper came drifting over Brooklyn, about three miles from the tower, one witness said.
The center bombing in February 1993, killing six people and injured more than 1,000 others.
In 1945, an Army Air Corps B-25, a twin-engine bomber, crashed into the 79th floor of the Empire State Building in dense fog.
9:29am Bush: Disaster is 'an apparent terrorist attack'
President Bush has just spoken about the World Trade Center disaster.
"We have had a national tragedy. Two airplanes have crashed into the World Trade Center in an apparent terrorist attack on our country"
"I have ordered the full resources of our country go into this investigation to hunt down and find those folks who committed this act."
"Terrorism against our country we will not stand", he continued.
9:36am Bush to meet with security chiefs
President Bush will convene a national meeting of US security chiefs as soon as he gets into New York.
It is believed one of the planes was an American Airlines 767 and the other plane was believed to have originated in Boston.
All bridges and tunnels have been ordered closed in the New York area. There is chaos on the streets around the twin towers.
9:41am - Pentagon evacuated due to fire
The Pentagon is being evacuated in expectation of a terrorist attack.
It is believed a fire has broken out in the building.
The White House has also been evacuated.
It is believed six people have died in the two crashes at the World Trade Center and that the number will rise. Thousands of pieces of office paper was drifting over Brooklyn, three miles from the twin towers.
9:47am - Reports of helicopter crashing into Pentagon
There are reports that a helicopter has crashed into the Pentagon.
An eyewitness said that they saw the helicopter circle the building and after it disappeared behind it, an explosion occurred.
9:52am - Terrorist threats made against the White House
The FBI has evacuated the White House after they received what they said were "creditable threats" against the White House.
All airports across the US have been shut down. Paul Begala, a Democratic consultant, said he witnessed a explosion near the Pentagon shortly after two planes crashed into World Trade Center. ‘‘It was a huge fireball, a huge, orange fireball,’’ Begala said.
He said another witness told him a helicopter exploded.
Later a DFLP official denied responsibility for the attack.
The Chicago Stock Exchange has been evacuated.
Office paper from the damaged buildings has been found drifting over three miles away in Brooklyn.
Last terrorism attack on Feb. 26, 1993, killing six people and injured more than 1,000 others.
In 1945, an Army Air Corps B-25, a twin-engine bomber, crashed into the 79th floor of the Empire State Building in dense fog.
In Sarasota, Fla., President Bush was reading to children in a classroom at 9:05 a.m. when his chief of staff, Andrew Card, whispered into his ear.
The president briefly turned somber before he resumed reading.
Asked what he knew about the planes, Bush replied, "I'll talk about it later."
There was no immediate word on injuries or fatalities in the twin disasters, which happened shortly before 9 a.m. and then right around 9 a.m.
9:59am Third explosion at World Trade Centre
A huge explosion has occurred at the second of the two twin towers hit by planes in New York.
The tower is now covered in smoke.
10:02am Part of second tower collapses
There are reports that a part of the second tower has collapsed after the new explosion.
Earliest reports say that both passenger planes that crashed into the World Trade Center had been hijacked by terrorists in Boston this morning.
Earliest reports indicate that at least six people have been killed and that thousands are injured.
The first crash happened just before 9am New York time and the second just ten minutes later.
It is understood that the US Government had issued a vague warning that US citizens were in danger all over the world less than a week ago.
Six people died in a bombing on the World Trade Center by an extremist group in 1993.
10:05am - Conflicting reports over those responsible for crashes
Abu Dhabi television reported it had received a call from the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine claiming responsibility for crashing two planes into the WTC buildings.
But a DFLP spokesman denied it carried out the acts.
Terrorists on suicide missions crashed two hijacked jet airliners into the 110-story World Trade Center in New York within minutes of each other today, killing at least six people and injuring 1,000.
Then an aircraft crashed into the Pentagon, the US Defense Department’s HQ in Washington, and the White House was evacuated after the Security Service received a ‘‘credible threat’’ against the president’s official home.
The State Department was also evacuated.
All airports in the US were closed and Wall Street shut down.
One of the planes that crashed into the Trade Center was an American Airlines Boeing 767 that was hijacked after taking off from Boston.
President George Bush, in Florida, said: ‘‘We have had a national tragedy. Two airplanes have crashed into the World Trade Center in an apparent terrorist attack on our country.’’
Witnesses were just describing the horror of the first impact when, 18 minutes later, another passenger plane crashed into one of the twin towers that dominate the New York business quarter’s skyline. CNN had video footage of the second crash.
The towers were struck by bombers in February 1993.
‘‘The plane was coming in low and it looked like it hit at a slight angle,’’ said Sean Murtagh, a CNN vice president.
Large holes were visible in sides of the 110-story buildings, landmark twin towers.
The tops of the twin towers were obscured by the smoke.
Thousands of pieces of what appeared to be office paper came drifting over Brooklyn, about three miles from the tower, one witness said.
An eyewitness said the first plane appeared to hit one of the skyscraper’s twin towers about 20 floors from the top. He said he thought the plane was still embedded in the smashed and burning building.
Another he said it appeared that the first plane lined up on the tower before crashing.
Jeanne Yurman, told CNN she was watching TV when she heard what she thought was a sonic boom. ‘‘I thought it was Concorde,’’ she said.
The center bombing in February 1993, killing six people and injured more than 1,000 others.
In 1945, an Army Air Corps B-25, a twin-engine bomber, crashed into the 79th floor of the Empire State Building in dense fog.
Both planes, twin engined small jet liners, remained embedded in one of the twin towers with smoke and flames pouring out of the gaping holes.
TV reported that at least six people were killed- CNBC television said there were at least a thousand injured.
President Bush was in Sarasota, Florida, reading to children in a classroom full of children, when his chief of staff, Andrew Card, whispered into his ear. The president briefly turned somber before he resumed reading.
Before flying back to Washington for an emergency meeting of the National Security Council he ordered all resources go to help the victims and ‘‘hunt down and find those folks who committed this act.
‘‘Terrorism against this nation will not stand.’’
10:11am - Large airliner crashes into the Pentagon
Paul Begala, a Democratic consultant, said he witnessed an explosion near the Pentagon. "It was a huge fireball, a huge, orange fireball," Begala said in an interview on his cell phone.
He said another witness told him a helicopter exploded.
AP reporter Dave Winslow also saw the crash. He said, "I saw the tail of a large airliner..... It plowed right into the Pentagon."
Another eyewitness has said that it was a low-flying commercial airliner, which crashed into the Pentagon.
An eyewitness to the World Trade Center crash has said that they saw the first plane twenty blocks away from the Center and that it seemed to veer towards the twin towers.
Other major government institutions, including Treasury and the State Department, were also evacuated.
10:30am - Second tower collapses
Portions of both towers have now collapsed at the World Trade Center in New York.
10:32am - Both towers down after plane crashes
Both the 1,360-ft towers have now collapsed.
More than 50,000 people work in the complex.
Witness 'Dr Jim' described the second kamikaze attack: "A small plane – it looked like a propeller plane - came in from the west and at about the 20 to 25 story level, it disappeared - and then came the explosion."
Mr. Winter, from Darlington, Co Durham, who works in one of the World Trade Center towers, said: "Everybody is saying that this is a terrorist attack and everyone around here is panicking.
"It will have been really busy with people arrive in for work in the financial district. It is just unbelievable that this is happening. Both towers have been taken out. I just can't believe this is happening."
A person who answered the phone on the trading floor at interdealer-broker Cantor Fitzgerald, located near the top of the World Trade Center, said: "We're f***ing dying," then hung up. There was screaming and yelling in the background.
A follow up call was not answered.
"This has got to be one of the most horrendous terrorist attacks perhaps ever perpetrated," terrorism expert Chris Yates told Sky News.
At least 1,000 people have been reported injured.
The 110-story 1,360ft tower is in lower Manhattan.
10:35am - Car bomb explodes at State Department
There are reports that a car bomb has exploded outside the US State Department in Washington.
This is the fifth explosion in an hour and a half in a spate of major terrorist attacks on the United States. Tony Blair postponed his TUC speech in Brighton and spoke of the mass terrorism, saying it is “the greatest evil in our midst today”.
He also expressed sympathy for President Bush and the American people.
Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip have phoned news headquarters in Jerusalem, strenuously denying responsibility for the attack.
10:38am - 747 down in Pennsylvania
There are unconfirmed reports that a 747 has come down in Pennsylvania.
10:39am - Pentagon collapses
Parts of the Pentagon have collapsed after a plane crashed into it.
10:42am - Car bomb explodes at State Department
There are reports that a car bomb has exploded outside the US State Department in Washington.
This is the fifth explosion in an hour and a half in a spate of major terrorist attacks on the United States.
Tony Blair postponed his TUC speech in Brighton and spoke of the mass terrorism, saying it is “the greatest evil in our midst today”. He also expressed sympathy for President Bush and the American people.
Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip have phoned news headquarters in Jerusalem, strenuously denying responsibility for the attack.
10:44am - Hijacked plane heading for Washington
Another hijacked aircraft is on its way to Washington.
The White House, US Treasury and the Capitol as well as other major buildings in Washington and Chicago have all been evacuated.
10:45am - Speculation Osama Bin-Laden responsible for attack
The Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine has claimed responsibility for the attacks on the World Trade Center, according to the BBC and Abu Dhabi television.
However, DFLP sources have denied any involvement.
It is unclear who is responsible for today's apparent terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York, but it is unlikely that Palestinian groups are involved, said an expert on international terrorism.
"They have a lot to lose because America would react very harshly against the Palestinians, however it is not impossible that a radical group was involved," said Eli Carmon, of the Herzliya Interdisciplinary Center's counter-terrorism department.
Carmon noted that the World Trade Center has been targeted once before in 1993, when a bombing killed six people and injured more than 1,000.
Carmon said that there have been threats by unidentified Islamic groups to target the World Trade Center again if Sheikh Omar Abdul Rahman, the militant Egyptian cleric, who is serving a life sentence in the US after his conviction in a plot to bomb the United Nations and New York landmarks, was not released.
He added that it is possible that terrorist mastermind Osama Bin-Laden is also involved.
Carmon said that the alleged terrorist attack amounts to a "declaration of war" on the US, and that the US will have to "react in an extremely harsh manner."
10:50am - Hijacked plane had 168 passengers
One of the planes that slammed into the World Trade Center is believed to have been carrying 168 passengers and crew when it was hijacked.
The plane had been chartered to fly from Boston to Los Angeles when it was hijacked and used as part of a major terrorist attack on the United States.
10:56am - UK and Israel evacuate prominent buildings
The London stock exchange has now been evacuated in response to terrorist attacks in the US.
Israel has also evacuated its entire diplomatic staff from Israeli premises all across the United States.
The Sears Tower in Chicago, one of America’s tallest buildings, has also been evacuated, although there have so far been no attacks on that city.
11:03am - Car bombing outside of State Department
The State Department was evacuated Tuesday due to a possible explosion or fire amid a rash of explosions in New York and Washington.
A senior government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the incident appeared connected with the two plane crashes at the World Trade Center, an explosion at the Pentagon and the evacuation of the White House.
"Something has happened at the State Department," the source said. "We don't know what yet. We hear it might have been a plane."
11:05am - Second aircraft hits Pentagon
A second aircraft has crashed into the Pentagon building.
It is not known whether this plane was that which was hijacked from Boston airport a short time ago, the fourth such plane to be used in this major attack on the US.
Earlier, a small plane had slammed into the building and set it ablaze. It is not yet possible to ascertain the number of dead or injured in the various attacks in America’s biggest cities.
All flights to and from the US have been grounded, as have all transatlantic flights to and from Canada.
11:07am - US closes germ warfare defense laboratory
Authorities went on alert from coast to coast Tuesday, halting all air traffic, evacuating high-profile buildings and tightening security at strategic facilities following the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
Evacuations were ordered at the United Nations building in New York and at the Sears Tower in Chicago.
"Usually the building is so full of activity, and now there's no one in the hallways. It's creepy," said Cathy Grable, a 31-year-old interior designer who was leaving the Sears Tower.
Security was increased at Fort Detrick in Frederick, Maryland, home to the Army's main germ warfare defense laboratory. Spokesman Charles Dasey said police at the gates were stopping cars without identification stickers and might search even those with stickers. In Los Angeles, the police went on tactical alert, and mobilized an anti-terrorist division. A tactical alert means officers are held over from the earlier shift to bolster the day shift and police only respond to priority calls.
In Virginia, authorities ordered intensified security at the port complex in Hampton Roads and imposed a lockdown of offices at the Capitol.
Under orders from the Federal Aviation Administration, airports nationwide halted all outbound flights, while keeping their runways open for incoming plans.
"We're like everyone else, in shock," said Carol Windham, spokesman at Birmingham International Airport in Alabama.
11:10am - Palestinian Leader condemns US terrorist attacks
Yasser Arafat, leader of the Palestinian Fatah movement, today condemned the attack on the US, saying the Palestinian people were outraged by what had happened.
“I send my condolences to American President Bush and his government and to the American people for this terrible act” he told reporters in Gaza.
Earlier, Palestinian terrorists were accused of carrying out the carnage, which they have since vigorously denied.
11:11am - Thousands feared dead in US terror strikes
Thousands were feared dead today after terrorists launched an astonishing and brutal attack on the American nation, demolishing the twin towers of New York’s World Trade Center and striking at the heart of the US military machine.
Suicide bombers seized three airliners and crashed them into the WTC and the Pentagon in Washington, a car bomb blew up outside the State Department in the US capital. There were reports that a fourth plane had also been hijacked.
The first strike was against the WTC. A jet smashed high up into one of 110 story towers where tens of thousands of people work every day.
As horrified witnesses described the terrifying scenes, a second jet was filmed by CNN slamming into the second tower lower down, bursting into flames and leaving another gash in the landmark building.
Smoked poured from the two towers. Eyewitnesses reported seeing bodies plunging from the buildings as the flames spread out of control.
Within hours, both towers had collapsed, sending clouds of dust billowing down the streets of Manhattan and across the harbor, altering the most famous skyline in the world forever.
A stunned US president George Bush promised a ‘‘full-scale investigation to hunt down and find those folks who committed this act.
‘‘Terrorism against our nation will not stand,’’ he said.
The scenes of unbelievable destruction, beamed live around the world on TV, were thought to have been caused by Middle Eastern terrorists.
Abu Dhabi television reported it had received a call from the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine claiming responsibility for crashing two planes into the twin WTC towers, which were the target of Islamic extremist bombers in February 1993.
The claim was later denied.
The West Wing of White House was evacuated after the attack on the Pentagon in Washington.
President Bush was in Sarasota, Florida, reading to a classroom full of children when his chief-of-staff Andrew Card whispered into his ear.
The president briefly turned somber before he resumed reading.
He then flew back to Washington for an emergency meeting of the National Security Council.
CNN reported that one of the planes was an American Airlines Boeing 767 that took off from Boston. The plane can carry up to 300 passengers.
Joe Trachtenberg told CNN that he was watching the scene from a high point on his building when the second crash took place about 18 minutes later.
"The first tower was smoking hard. Then there was another plane, and before we knew, it just kamikaze went straight into the other tower. There was a mass explosion and windows flying. It was horrible."
A senior government official said the FBI is pursuing reports that all of the planes were hijacked and that the crashes were the result of suicide missions.
An eyewitness said the first plane appeared to hit one of the skyscraper’s twin towers about 20 floors from the top.
Another he said it appeared that the first plane lined up on the tower before crashing.
Jeanne Yurman, told CNN she was watching TV when she heard what she thought was a sonic boom. ‘‘I thought it was Concorde,’’ she said.
James Winter, 30, a British worker living in an apartment close to the center, said he had been woken by a huge bang at around 8.50am local time.
‘‘I was in bed and there was a huge explosion. The whole building rattled and shook.
‘‘I ran to the window and there was smoke billowing from the south side of one of the towers. Everyone in my building was panicking and running around.’’
Mr. Winter, from Darlington, Co Durham, who works in one of the towers, added that shortly afterwards there was a second explosion which also shook his building.
‘‘Everybody is saying that this a terrorist attack and everyone around here is panicking.
‘‘It will have been really busy with people arriving for work in the financial district. It is just unbelievable that this is happening. Both towers have been taken out. I just can’t believe this is happening.’’
British Prime Minister Tony Blair described the attacks as ‘‘the most terrible shocking event’’.
Mr. Blair offered his ‘‘deepest condolences’’ to President Bush and the American people and said the attacks were acts of ‘‘fanatics who are utterly indifferent to the sanctity of life’’.
World travel was thrown into chaos. Many US-bound flights had already left the UK when American officials decided to close all US airports.
Officials at other America-serving UK airports, including Heathrow and Gatwick, were trying to cope with the travel backlog.
These airports, too, would have had passengers already in the air and heading for America, with hundreds of others due to travel later today.
The US has been the target of several terrorist attacks in recent years.
In August 1998, two of its embassies in Tanzania and Kenya were bombed, killing 224 people.
The US blamed the attack on Osama Bin Laden, the son of a Saudi oil baron who has a £3 million price on his head.
As a teenager, he fought in Afghanistan’s ‘‘holy war’’ against the Soviet army.
Ironically, it was America’s CIA who provided him with missiles and arms.
But he then turned his anger on America, and in recent years he has been linked to the 1993 bomb attack on the World Trade Center.
In desperation at the embassy attacks, America fired missiles into suspected Bin Laden camps in Afghanistan. But Osama still appeared at the wedding of his son Mohamed, one of his 13 children.
Middle East extremists were also blamed for a suicide attack in October 2000 on a US warship in the Yemen port of Aden, which killed 17 US servicemen.
In 1996, at a US barracks in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, 19 Americans were left dead and 500 people were injured in another bombing.
Some of Bin Laden’s cohorts were jailed for the 1993 WTC attack.
General Richard Myers, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that prior to the crash into the Pentagon, military officials had been notified that another hijacked plane had been heading from the New York area to Washington.
He said he assumed that hijacked plane was the one that hit the Pentagon, though he could not be sure.
A woman eyewitness told CNN of the plane crashing into the Pentagon: ‘‘A commercial plane came in. It was coming too fast, too low and then I saw the fire that came up after that.’’
11:15am - Witnesses tell of horror at New York carnage
Eyewitnesses today spoke of their horror as they saw terrorist attacks reduce parts of New York to crumbling, smoking ruins.
‘‘I just saw the building I work in come down,’’ said businessman Gabriel Ioan, shaking in shock outside City Hall with a cloud of smoke and ash from the World Trade Center behind him.
‘‘I just saw the top of Trade Two come down.’’
Nearby a crowd mobbed a man on a pay-phone, screaming at him to get off the phone so that they could call relatives.
Dust and dirt flew everywhere. Ash was two to three inches deep in places. People wandered dazed and terrified.
‘‘I was in the World Financial Center looking out the window,’’ said one woman. ‘‘I saw the first plane and then 15 minutes later saw the other plane just slam into the World Trade Center.’’
Another eyewitness, Associated Press newsman Dunstan Prial, described a strange sucking sound from the Trade Center buildings after the first building collapsed.
‘‘Windows shattered. People were screaming and diving for cover. People walked around like ghosts, covered in dirt, weeping and wandering dazed.’’
‘‘It sounded like a jet or rocket,’’ said Eddie Gonzalez, a postal worker at a post office on West Broadway.
‘‘I looked up and saw a huge explosion. I didn’t see the impact. I just saw the explosion.’’
Morning commuters heading into Manhattan were stranded as the Lincoln Tunnel was shut to incoming traffic. Many left their cars and stood on the ramp leading to the tunnel, staring in disbelief at the thick cloud of smoke pouring from the top of the two buildings.
On the streets of Manhattan, people stood in groups talking quietly or watching on television at ground-level network studios.
Joan Goldstein, communications project leader for AP, was on a bus from New Jersey when she saw ‘‘smoke pouring out of the World Trade Center building. We said, ‘Oh, my God! The World Trade Center’s on fire!’’
Perhaps 10 minutes later, ‘‘All of a sudden, there was an orange plume, a huge explosion. It shot out the back of the building. Everybody on the bus was just moaning and gasping,’’ said Goldstein, who wept and trembled as she spoke.
The plume was from the second plane, but she didn’t see the plane because of the thick smoke.
She tried to call friends who work there, but couldn’t get through.
"It was the most horrible thing I’ve ever seen in my life," said Goldstein.
11:17am - Pentagon in state of collapse
Part of the Pentagon building outside Washington has collapsed.
It had been hit by two planes apparently hijacked by terrorists in Boston earlier today.
It is understood the building is evacuated.
11:19am - Chicago buildings closed
In Chicago the Sears Tower, Dirkson Federal Building, Field Museum, MERC, CBOT, Merchandise Mart, O'Hare Airport, Thompson Federal and Bank One have all been closed.
The National Guard was on a state of heightened alert in Illinois, but no units had been called into service, said Lt. Col. Larry Andrews, a spokesman for the Illinois National Guard.
All federal buildings are closed.
New York City primary elections have been canceled.
11:20am- Government issues helpline number
A special Government phone line for those seeking information about family members living or working in the US has been set up by the Department of Foreign Affairs.
The number to ring from Ireland is (01) 408 2000.
Irish people in the US should ring the consulate in New York (212) 3192 555.
Aer Lingus has canceled all eight of its transatlantic flights today.
Two of those flights, to New York and to Los Angeles, are in the air now but will be returning to Dublin airport as soon as possible.
11:24am - Aircraft can carry up to 300
The Boeing 767 - one of the types of plane believed to be involved in today’s American hijackings - is the most-widely used aircraft on transatlantic routes.
First introduced to passenger service in 1981, the 767 is a twin-engined, twin-aisled jet capable of carrying up to 300 passengers.
British Airways and Britannia Airways are among UK carriers who have 767s in their fleets.
The 767 has three passenger models. The 767-200 can carry 224 passengers in a two-class configuration and 181 passengers if carriers choose to operate three classes of travel. This plane has a range of 6,615 miles.
The 767-300 has a range of 6,115 miles and can carry 269 passengers in a two-class configuration and 218 in three classes.
The 767-400 can take 304 passengers in a two-class configuration and 245 in three classes. This model has a range of 5,645 miles. There is also a fourth, freighter, version of the plane.
A total of 845 of the 767s have been delivered to airlines worldwide.
11:28am - Pittsburgh plane may have been shot down
A Boeing 767 has crashed near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
It is not known if this air crash is related to the three other jets used in today’s spate of terrorist attacks on the US.
The plane came down just north of the Somerset county airport, about 80 miles south east of Pittsburgh.
US anti-aircraft fighters are in place - unconfirmed reports say this plane was shot out of the sky by US defense.
It remains unclear whether this aircraft was the fourth to be hijacked in Boston earlier today.
11:33am - Second attack plane took off at Newark
It is reported that the second plane that hit the World Trade Centre earlier today had taken off at Newark.
The first had been hijacked at Boston although it had been chartered for Los Angeles.
Newark airport, New Jersey, is just a few miles from lower Manhattan where the towers were situated.
A plane at full-speed would have reached the towers less than two minutes after take-off.
11:35am - Pennsylvania plane was headed for Camp David
It has been reported that the plane which crashed in Pennsylvania was headed to Camp David.
The Anniversary of Camp David Accord, the Middle East settlement brokered by the US, is Sept 5-17, 1978
11:43am - Islamic Jihad may be responsible
There are unconfirmed reports that a spokesman of the radical Islamic Jihad movement said that the "attacks were a consequence of US policy in the Middle East."
It has been reported that the plane which crashed in Pennsylvania was headed to Camp David.
The Anniversary of Camp David Accord, the Middle East settlement brokered by the US, is Sept 5-17, 1978.
11:45am - World watches in horror as terror unfolds United States
Astonishing terrorist strikes in the United States quickly reached a global
audience Tuesday, with many around the world watching live coverage of an
aircraft hitting the World Trade Center.
Audiences were transfixed by the awful images from New York, where both
World Trade Center towers collapsed.
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 the "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," Arafat said. "We are completely shocked. It's unbelievable."
In Berlin, Foreign Ministry officials huddled in a crisis meeting, and Parliament's vice speaker vice speaker Anke Fuchs told lawmakers a "terrible catastrophe" had happened.
Virtually all German TV channels switched to live coverage. "This is pure mass murder," one commentator said.
Scandinavian Airlines System, SAS, rerouted three airplanes bound for New
York and one for Washington from Norway, Denmark and Sweden.
Flights to the United States were suspended from Portugal, and the Belgian
airline recalled two flights on the way to the United States, diverted others to Canada and canceled all planned flights to the United States.
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.
11:52am - United Airlines confirms plane lost
A United Airlines plane crashed Tuesday morning just north of the Somerset
County Airport, the airline said.
The Boeing 757 was enroute from Newark, N.J. to San Francisco.
The plane crashed about 10 a.m. about 8 miles east of Jennerstown, according
to county 911 dispatchers, WPXI-TV in Pittsburgh reported.
"It shook the whole station," said Bruce Grine, owner of Grine's Service
Center in Shanksville, about two and one-half miles from the crash.
"Everybody ran outside, and by that time the fire whistle was blowing."
11:55 am - Palestinians celebrate in the streets
It has been reported that Palestinians are celebrating in the streets.
Thousands of Palestinians celebrated the 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.
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.
This is the first attack in history on the Pentagon.
11:59am - United Airlines concerned about fourth plane
American Airlines issued a statement saying it had "lost" two aircraft – Flight 11, with 92 people aboard, and Flight 77 from Washington to Los Angeles, carrying 64 people.
In Pennsylvania, United Airlines Flight 93, a Boeing 757 en route from Newark, N.J., to San Francisco, crashed about 80 miles southeast of Pittsburgh.
The fate of those aboard was not immediately known and it was not clear if the crash was related to the disasters elsewhere.
In a statement, the airline also said it was deeply concerned about another
plane, Flight 175, a Boeing 767 bound from Boston to Los Angeles.
12:02pm - US closes border with Mexico
The US border with Mexico has been sealed.
The US Federal Reserve reports it is prepared to provide additional money to nation's banking system as needed following terrorist attacks.
12:27pm - 110 people on two United Airlines flights
United Airlines has released information that 45 people were in the crashed airplane in Pittsburgh and a further 65 may have been in the missing plane.
United Flight 93, a Boeing 757, left Newark at 8:01 a.m. Eastern Time, headed for San Francisco with 38 passengers, two pilots and five flight attendants, the airline said.
That flight crashed near Pittsburgh.
United 175, a Boeing 767, left Boston at 7:58 a.m. Eastern Time, bound for Los Angeles.
That aircraft carried 56 passengers, two pilots and seven flight attendants, the airline said.
12:35pm - Taliban ambassador sympathises
Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef, the Taliban ambassador to Pakistan, said in reaction to the news of the terror attacks that "we want to tell the American children that Afghanistan feels your pain and we hope that the courts find justice."
•In New York, more than 10,000 rescue personnel rushed to the scene. The entire downtown area of Manhattan was evacuated as far north as Rockefeller Center, according to an official at an emergency command post.
Philadelphia landmarks were also evacuated.
NATO sent home all non-essential personnel from its Brussels, Belgium, headquarters.
• The Immigration and Naturalization Service has put the U.S. borders with Mexico and Canada on highest state of alert.
• Los Angeles International Airport has been evacuated.
• All Disney parks in Orlando, Florida, and Disneyland in Anaheim, California have been closed.
President Bush in the air and is not returning to Washington. The media has not been told where he will land.
12:45pm - 50 aircraft still in American skies
The Flight Association of America has said that there are still 50 aircraft in the skies over America.
12:49pm - Bin Laden warned three weeks ago of attacks
Followers of Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden warned three weeks ago that they would carry out a ‘‘huge and unprecedented attack’’ on US interests, a London-based Arab journalist said today.
Abdel-Bari Atwan, editor of the Al-Quds al-Arabi newspaper, said he received a warning from Islamic fundamentalists close to bin Laden, but did not take the threat seriously.
‘‘They said it would be a huge and unprecedented attack but they did not specify,’’ Atwan said.
‘‘We usually receive this kind of thing. At the time we did not take the warnings seriously as they had happened several times in the past and nothing happened.
‘‘This time it seems his people were accurate and meant every word they said.’’
Atwan, who interviewed renegade Saudi millionaire bin Laden in 1996 and has since maintained contacts with his followers, said he believed the attack on the World Trade Centre in New York was the work of ‘‘an Islamic fundamentalist group’’ very close to bin Laden.
The United States accuses the Saudi dissident of operating a terrorist network from his bases in Afghanistan and of blowing up two US embassies in East Africa in 1998. The Taliban, who have refused to hand him over, deny the charge.
Atwan said he was surprised by the scale of the attack, but said it was merely a continuation of bin Laden’s Fatwa religious edict against America. He said anti-American sentiment was running high in the Middle East because of perceived US support for Israel.
Tensions had increased further after the United States and Israel pulled out of the racism conference in Durban, South Africa due to anti-Israel language in the final declaration, he said.
‘‘People really are frustrated that here is a super power siding with the Israelis,’’ he said. ‘‘They made the hatred more by pulling out of the Durban conference.’’
5:59 PM - Ahern calls for 'global solidarity' in face of terrorism
Minister of State Liz O'Donnell has extended the sympathy of Ireland to the families of victims of the World Trade Centre bombings.
"It's very chaotic with a lot of phone lines jammed, so we don't yet have details on Irish casualties, if any. We are advising Irish people in the United States to phone home to reassure relatives who may be worried about them."
She added that the Department of Foreign Affairs was keeping in touch with Irish Missions in the US.
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern earlier called for "global solidarity" in the face of terrorism.
Foreign Affairs Minster Brian Cowen, who had been on a fact-finding mission to the Middle East, is cutting his visit short and will fly home from Tel Aviv tonight.
6:07 PM - Bush resolves to 'hunt down' terrorists
President George Bush has said that the United States will "hunt down those responsible for these cowardly attacks"
"I want to reassure the American people that the full resources of the Federal Government are working to assist local authorities to save lives and to help the victims of this horrible act. The resolve of the United States is being tested. Make no mistake - we will pass this test."
"The US will hunt down those reponsible for these cowardly acts."
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