1 00:00:12,221 --> 00:00:14,348 [woman] It was a beautiful fall morning, 2 00:00:14,432 --> 00:00:18,978 and I knew I had a staff meeting to get to in the Pentagon. 3 00:00:20,313 --> 00:00:23,441 The Pentagon's a very big building. It's enormous. 4 00:00:23,524 --> 00:00:27,028 So we know it's one of the largest office buildings in the world. 5 00:00:27,945 --> 00:00:30,573 It has five sides, five rings, five floors. 6 00:00:30,656 --> 00:00:35,828 I worked, at the time, on the second floor on the E-ring, 7 00:00:35,912 --> 00:00:38,831 the most exterior ring in the Pentagon. 8 00:00:38,915 --> 00:00:42,043 I told my husband, "I'm late. I have got to get out of here 9 00:00:42,126 --> 00:00:44,003 because I have a meeting at 9:00." 10 00:00:44,087 --> 00:00:47,632 And I just gave everybody a kiss, and said, "I'll see you when I get home." 11 00:00:50,134 --> 00:00:55,348 So there were approximately 16 of us in this staff meeting. 12 00:00:56,015 --> 00:00:57,433 And when it got to me, 13 00:00:57,517 --> 00:01:01,896 there was the loudest noise I had ever heard, 14 00:01:01,979 --> 00:01:03,231 and it got dark. 15 00:01:09,946 --> 00:01:11,739 [indistinct radio chatter] 16 00:01:15,368 --> 00:01:17,370 It was so dark in the room… 17 00:01:18,538 --> 00:01:21,082 you could not see your hand in front of your face. 18 00:01:21,707 --> 00:01:24,836 I knew I was on the right-hand side of the table. 19 00:01:25,336 --> 00:01:28,881 When I came to, I was on the left-hand side of the table. 20 00:01:28,965 --> 00:01:33,344 I don't know if I was blown to the other side of the table, 21 00:01:33,427 --> 00:01:36,055 but I know that's not where I sat. 22 00:01:36,139 --> 00:01:38,266 I sat on the right-hand side of the table. 23 00:01:39,433 --> 00:01:42,061 [reporter 1] Oh my goodness. Oh my goodness. 24 00:01:42,145 --> 00:01:45,022 We're looking at a live picture from Washington, 25 00:01:45,106 --> 00:01:47,942 and there is smoke pouring out of the Pentagon. 26 00:01:49,360 --> 00:01:51,654 So at that point, my mind took over and said, 27 00:01:51,737 --> 00:01:53,239 "I need to get out of this building." 28 00:01:53,322 --> 00:01:54,365 [sirens wailing] 29 00:01:54,448 --> 00:01:55,867 [reporter 2] The fire just erupted 30 00:01:55,950 --> 00:01:59,412 as far away as we've seen now, from the center, where the crash occurred. 31 00:01:59,495 --> 00:02:00,955 [Wills] I started to crawl. 32 00:02:01,455 --> 00:02:05,293 As I crawled out of the door, someone grabbed the back of my pants, 33 00:02:05,376 --> 00:02:08,045 and I said, "Who is it?" And she said, "It's Lois." 34 00:02:08,129 --> 00:02:11,048 I said, "Come on, Lois. I got you. Stay with me. I got you." 35 00:02:11,132 --> 00:02:14,218 Not knowing there were people behind Lois. 36 00:02:14,719 --> 00:02:17,263 So as I crawl through the Pentagon, 37 00:02:17,346 --> 00:02:18,598 there were cubicles. 38 00:02:19,223 --> 00:02:22,602 And so I'd crawl under a cubicle, and I'd say, "We have to back up." 39 00:02:23,144 --> 00:02:26,272 And as we crawl, she'd stop and say, "I can't go any further." 40 00:02:26,898 --> 00:02:30,234 And I'm like, "Lois, you have to. I have to get you out of this building." 41 00:02:31,152 --> 00:02:32,153 [emotionally] Um… 42 00:02:33,571 --> 00:02:34,405 Sorry. 43 00:02:38,075 --> 00:02:38,951 Sorry. 44 00:02:41,245 --> 00:02:42,788 I said, "I can't leave you here." 45 00:02:42,872 --> 00:02:45,750 "I can't tell your children that I left you in this building." 46 00:02:46,667 --> 00:02:47,501 Um… 47 00:02:47,960 --> 00:02:49,712 So she said, "I can't go any further." 48 00:02:49,795 --> 00:02:52,673 She said her nylons were sticking to her legs 49 00:02:52,757 --> 00:02:54,508 because the floor was so hot. 50 00:02:55,092 --> 00:02:57,595 And so I told her, I said, "Just get on my back. I'll carry you." 51 00:02:58,930 --> 00:03:01,724 At that point, I just wanted to give up. 52 00:03:03,684 --> 00:03:07,230 But I knew I couldn't, because I had these people with me. 53 00:03:08,356 --> 00:03:11,525 And I just thought, "God, please. You gotta get us out of here." 54 00:03:11,609 --> 00:03:13,653 The only thing going through my mind is, 55 00:03:13,736 --> 00:03:16,405 "I brought these people here. We're gonna die." 56 00:03:17,949 --> 00:03:19,951 [dramatic music plays] 57 00:03:22,912 --> 00:03:25,498 So it was a soldier who was there, myself, and my colonel. 58 00:03:25,581 --> 00:03:28,042 And we were just beating on this window. 59 00:03:28,918 --> 00:03:30,711 The window popped open… 60 00:03:31,837 --> 00:03:34,548 and I could see down that these guys were down there. 61 00:03:34,632 --> 00:03:36,550 They were saying, "Jump! Jump! We got you!" 62 00:03:39,011 --> 00:03:40,930 So, the young soldier who was there, 63 00:03:41,013 --> 00:03:42,932 my colonel and I lowered him out the window 64 00:03:43,015 --> 00:03:45,101 because he had been burned pretty bad. 65 00:03:45,184 --> 00:03:47,603 So, he was the first one we lowered down. 66 00:03:48,396 --> 00:03:52,316 The lady, Lois, uh, we lowered her out of the window next. 67 00:03:52,400 --> 00:03:55,111 And there was another lady behind her. 68 00:03:55,194 --> 00:03:56,862 She got to the window and she was-- 69 00:03:56,946 --> 00:03:59,949 She looked me dead in my eyes, she said, "Colonel, I'm scared." 70 00:04:00,032 --> 00:04:02,576 I said, "But I got to get you out of here." 71 00:04:02,660 --> 00:04:04,912 She's like, "But I can't." I'm like, "Yes. You can." 72 00:04:04,996 --> 00:04:10,293 So, I mean, I literally peeled her fingers off the ledge and just let her drop. 73 00:04:12,169 --> 00:04:13,546 The guys caught her, 74 00:04:13,629 --> 00:04:16,299 so that leaves my colonel and I in the window. 75 00:04:16,924 --> 00:04:19,635 And he said, "Okay. It's time to go." 76 00:04:20,219 --> 00:04:22,513 So I told him, "Sir, if we're quiet, 77 00:04:22,596 --> 00:04:26,392 maybe we could hear people, and we can go back and get them." 78 00:04:26,475 --> 00:04:28,853 So he and I sat in that window, 79 00:04:28,936 --> 00:04:32,481 and it was just as quiet-- You couldn't hear anything. 80 00:04:32,565 --> 00:04:34,567 [distant sirens] 81 00:04:38,112 --> 00:04:40,406 He and I started yelling and screaming 82 00:04:40,489 --> 00:04:44,160 and banging on the window, and nobody came. 83 00:04:44,243 --> 00:04:46,245 [dramatic music plays] 84 00:04:47,246 --> 00:04:50,166 So, at this point he gives me an order. 85 00:04:50,666 --> 00:04:55,004 He said, "Colonel, you will get out of this window, right now." 86 00:04:55,504 --> 00:05:00,384 The only order ever in my military career that I did not want to obey. 87 00:05:01,052 --> 00:05:03,095 I knew people were still in there. 88 00:05:05,056 --> 00:05:06,432 But I knew I had to. 89 00:05:09,268 --> 00:05:12,980 And as I proceeded out of the window, 90 00:05:13,064 --> 00:05:14,982 eventually I fell. 91 00:05:15,483 --> 00:05:19,153 And from there, I don't know what happened. 92 00:05:20,279 --> 00:05:22,073 I had severe smoke inhalation. 93 00:05:22,156 --> 00:05:26,035 I had burns on my back, and on my arms, and on my legs. 94 00:05:26,535 --> 00:05:30,414 The nurses and others tell me the rest of the story. 95 00:05:32,291 --> 00:05:35,878 This one nurse, she said, "We didn't think you were gonna make it," 96 00:05:35,961 --> 00:05:38,547 and that I had just gone unconscious. 97 00:05:38,631 --> 00:05:42,093 She said, "We then took you to a triage area 98 00:05:42,176 --> 00:05:44,303 that was outside of the Pentagon," 99 00:05:44,387 --> 00:05:46,472 and she said, 100 00:05:46,555 --> 00:05:49,725 "This person is not gonna make it. We gotta get her to the hospital." 101 00:05:51,936 --> 00:05:55,022 I was put in a truck that was passing by. 102 00:05:55,106 --> 00:05:58,401 They flagged the truck down and they put me in the back of this truck. 103 00:05:58,484 --> 00:05:59,610 [man] Just a passenger truck? 104 00:05:59,693 --> 00:06:03,447 A pass-- Just a passenger truck that was passing by the Pentagon, 105 00:06:03,531 --> 00:06:06,117 and they flagged it down and put me in this truck, 106 00:06:06,200 --> 00:06:08,577 and the nurse got in the truck with me. 107 00:06:08,661 --> 00:06:12,456 They continued to do CPR  and CPR on me. 108 00:06:13,165 --> 00:06:15,501 I remember opening my eyes, 109 00:06:15,584 --> 00:06:17,503 and then that was the end of it. 110 00:06:19,255 --> 00:06:21,549 [dramatic music plays] 111 00:07:09,430 --> 00:07:11,849 [helicopter propellers beating] 112 00:07:15,227 --> 00:07:17,855 [reporter] Still have conflicting reports over what size plane hit. 113 00:07:17,938 --> 00:07:20,232 We heard one eyewitness tell us that it was a small plane 114 00:07:20,316 --> 00:07:23,903 that he seemed to see as he was coming across the 14th Street Bridge… 115 00:07:23,986 --> 00:07:25,905 [dramatic music plays] 116 00:07:27,656 --> 00:07:28,532 [man] United 93, 117 00:07:28,616 --> 00:07:31,577 that traffic for you is one o'clock, 12 miles eastbound, three-seven-zero. 118 00:07:31,660 --> 00:07:33,746 [man 2] Negative contact. We're looking, United 93. 119 00:07:33,829 --> 00:07:35,998 [men] Hey! Hey! 120 00:07:36,790 --> 00:07:39,084 -[man 3] Hey! -[man 4] Somebody! 121 00:07:39,168 --> 00:07:41,378 [air traffic controller] Somebody call Cleveland? 122 00:07:44,507 --> 00:07:47,885 [Bouchat] United 93, it too was fully fueled. 123 00:07:47,968 --> 00:07:49,678 It was bound for San Francisco. 124 00:07:49,762 --> 00:07:53,057 It was delayed, and only took off minutes before 125 00:07:53,140 --> 00:07:55,976 American Flight 11 crashed into the North Tower. 126 00:07:56,810 --> 00:07:59,271 [Homer] Mayday! Get out of here! 127 00:07:59,355 --> 00:08:01,941 We're all going to die here! 128 00:08:03,817 --> 00:08:05,236 [man 1] You got United 93? 129 00:08:05,319 --> 00:08:07,821 [man 2] United 93, south of Chardon? Descended. 130 00:08:07,905 --> 00:08:09,990 - [man 1] What? - [man 2] Looks like he descended. 131 00:08:10,074 --> 00:08:12,409 [man 1] I don't think so. United 93, verify three-five-zero. 132 00:08:12,493 --> 00:08:13,994 [man 2] United 93, Cleveland. 133 00:08:15,329 --> 00:08:18,040 United 93, Cleveland. If you hear the center, ident. 134 00:08:19,625 --> 00:08:24,713 The pilot hijackers had actually transmitted audio communications, 135 00:08:24,797 --> 00:08:27,007 and we think they believed that they were transmitting 136 00:08:27,091 --> 00:08:29,969 those communications back to the cabin of the airline, 137 00:08:30,052 --> 00:08:33,222 but they actually were transmitting them to air traffic control. 138 00:08:34,223 --> 00:08:36,433 [hijacker speaking indistinctly over radio] 139 00:08:36,684 --> 00:08:39,103 …please sit down and keep remaining sitting. 140 00:08:39,186 --> 00:08:41,897 We have a bomb on board, so… 141 00:08:46,777 --> 00:08:51,031 [reporter 1] We're getting reports now that the White House is being evacuated. 142 00:08:51,115 --> 00:08:55,369 We don't know precisely what caused that decision to be made. 143 00:08:55,452 --> 00:08:57,580 [reporter 2] This comes less than an hour 144 00:08:57,663 --> 00:09:01,542 after the double explosions in New York at the World Trade Center. 145 00:09:03,085 --> 00:09:05,004 [reporter 3] We have this as a major development. 146 00:09:05,087 --> 00:09:10,467 The Federal Aviation Administration has shut down all air traffic nationwide. 147 00:09:10,551 --> 00:09:13,846 This country has been immobilized by these terrorist attacks 148 00:09:13,929 --> 00:09:15,639 in terms of air travel today. 149 00:09:15,723 --> 00:09:18,350 [man] The airport's being evacuated. They need to go home. 150 00:09:19,560 --> 00:09:22,104 [reporter 4] There could be terrorists hijacking aircraft 151 00:09:22,187 --> 00:09:24,857 and heading toward buildings that are well-known. 152 00:09:24,940 --> 00:09:26,775 Who knows? Perhaps in other cities. 153 00:09:28,068 --> 00:09:30,362 [reporter 5] We're also getting reports at the Capitol, 154 00:09:30,446 --> 00:09:32,948 the treasury building also being evacuated. 155 00:09:33,449 --> 00:09:35,701 [woman] Later, we learned that Flight 93 156 00:09:35,784 --> 00:09:38,454 was either coming into the White House or the Capitol, 157 00:09:38,537 --> 00:09:40,706 and I think most believe it was the Capitol. 158 00:09:42,791 --> 00:09:46,420 The Capitol Police started yelling, "Evacuate! Evacuate!" 159 00:09:47,004 --> 00:09:48,631 We ran out of the Capitol, 160 00:09:48,714 --> 00:09:52,134 and I asked the security where to go, 161 00:09:52,217 --> 00:09:54,261 and they said, "Just run, run, run." 162 00:09:55,804 --> 00:10:01,644 And I looked back, and all of this smoke was coming from the Pentagon. 163 00:10:01,727 --> 00:10:03,729 [distant police sirens] 164 00:10:10,986 --> 00:10:12,237 [answering machine beeps] 165 00:10:13,322 --> 00:10:14,531 [woman] Honey, are you there? 166 00:10:16,116 --> 00:10:18,035 Jack, pick up sweetie. 167 00:10:19,870 --> 00:10:22,206 Okay. Well, I just wanted to tell you I love you. 168 00:10:22,289 --> 00:10:24,416 We're having a little problem on the plane. 169 00:10:27,252 --> 00:10:31,757 I want to tell you I love you. Please tell my children that I love them very much. 170 00:10:31,840 --> 00:10:33,759 And I'm so sorry, babe. 171 00:10:33,842 --> 00:10:36,720 I hope to be able to see your face again, baby. 172 00:10:38,222 --> 00:10:39,598 [Maguire] On Flight 93, 173 00:10:39,682 --> 00:10:42,768 the passengers who were able to make phone calls 174 00:10:42,851 --> 00:10:44,978 to their loved ones on the ground 175 00:10:45,062 --> 00:10:48,357 learned what had happened on some of the other flights. 176 00:10:50,859 --> 00:10:56,323 And a brave group of those passengers made the decision to storm the cockpit. 177 00:10:58,867 --> 00:11:02,037 And that plane went down in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, 178 00:11:02,121 --> 00:11:03,163 near Shanksville. 179 00:11:05,040 --> 00:11:06,709 Killing all 40 on board. 180 00:11:08,752 --> 00:11:11,088 United 9-3. Have you got information on that yet? 181 00:11:11,171 --> 00:11:12,381 [man] Yeah. He's down. 182 00:11:12,464 --> 00:11:13,924 -[technician] He's down? -[man] Yes. 183 00:11:14,007 --> 00:11:17,010 -[technician] When did he land? -[man] He did not land. 184 00:11:17,511 --> 00:11:20,764 -[technician] He's down, down? -[man] Somewhere northeast of Camp David. 185 00:11:21,432 --> 00:11:24,184 -[technician] Northeast of Camp David. -[man] That's the last report. 186 00:11:24,268 --> 00:11:25,602 They don't know exactly where. 187 00:11:30,190 --> 00:11:34,445 [Lee] I always have to memorialize and think about those on Flight 93, 188 00:11:34,528 --> 00:11:38,073 because, in many ways, they took that plane down and saved many lives, 189 00:11:38,157 --> 00:11:39,450 including my own. 190 00:11:40,576 --> 00:11:43,287 On Flight 93 was Wanda Green, 191 00:11:43,370 --> 00:11:46,540 who was the cousin of my chief of staff, Sandré Swanson. 192 00:11:47,833 --> 00:11:49,376 And so this hit personally, 193 00:11:49,460 --> 00:11:52,963 because Wanda was one of the flight attendants who took over 194 00:11:53,046 --> 00:11:56,425 and made sure that that plane did not come into the Capitol. 195 00:11:57,843 --> 00:12:02,139 It was the most personal and most tragic moment. 196 00:12:03,474 --> 00:12:04,975 They're heroes, they're sheroes, 197 00:12:05,058 --> 00:12:09,438 they're people whose legacy and whose life I honor each and every day. 198 00:12:11,732 --> 00:12:13,734 [distant sirens wailing] 199 00:12:18,405 --> 00:12:23,577 [reporter 1] So, the pieces of this story  continue to come together. 200 00:12:24,161 --> 00:12:27,372 Uh, I have to say, in my 30 years as a journalist, 201 00:12:27,456 --> 00:12:30,709 I have never seen anything like this. 202 00:12:30,793 --> 00:12:33,837 Never covered a story of the dimensions of this. 203 00:12:35,214 --> 00:12:39,009 [reporter 2] Here's what we know. Just before 9:00 Eastern time this morning, 204 00:12:39,092 --> 00:12:41,762 a plane crashed into one of the Twin Towers 205 00:12:41,845 --> 00:12:43,180 of the World Trade Center. 206 00:12:43,263 --> 00:12:44,389 A few minutes later, 207 00:12:44,473 --> 00:12:47,935 a second plane crashed into the other tower. 208 00:12:48,018 --> 00:12:50,854 Both skyscrapers are on fire. 209 00:12:53,357 --> 00:12:54,858 -[man 1] No way. -[man 2] Come on. 210 00:12:55,359 --> 00:12:56,819 [man 3] I think we gotta keep going. 211 00:12:56,902 --> 00:12:58,779 [firefighter 1] All right, we're in Stairway "B," 212 00:12:58,862 --> 00:13:00,864 Tower Two on the four-eighth floor. 213 00:13:02,199 --> 00:13:04,284 [firefighter 2] Mayday! Mayday! 214 00:13:06,286 --> 00:13:07,788 [firefighter 3] Who's calling that? 215 00:13:09,248 --> 00:13:10,916 [man] Over the radio comes, 216 00:13:10,999 --> 00:13:13,168 "Mayday! Mayday! Mayday! Get out of the building." 217 00:13:13,836 --> 00:13:16,588 All of a sudden, the North Tower started to shake violently. 218 00:13:18,590 --> 00:13:20,133 [Kern] There's suddenly a loud roar. 219 00:13:20,217 --> 00:13:21,718 Where we were was shaking. 220 00:13:21,802 --> 00:13:24,263 It sounded like rolling thunder times 20. 221 00:13:25,347 --> 00:13:28,559 It was just a weird, horrible, scary sound. 222 00:13:31,937 --> 00:13:34,898 I remember the ceiling tiles falling that were above us. 223 00:13:34,982 --> 00:13:37,943 Smoke started pouring into where we were. 224 00:13:39,862 --> 00:13:43,407 We had no idea what was happening, but we ran as fast as we could. 225 00:13:43,907 --> 00:13:45,951 The smoke, now, was pouring in from everywhere 226 00:13:46,034 --> 00:13:47,661 and was just about so thick 227 00:13:47,744 --> 00:13:50,247 that I probably couldn't see from me to you. 228 00:13:53,208 --> 00:13:57,004 We didn't know it, but what was happening was the South Tower was collapsing. 229 00:13:57,838 --> 00:14:00,424 [man shouting indistinctly through megaphone] 230 00:14:06,013 --> 00:14:07,097 [man] Oh my God! 231 00:14:07,180 --> 00:14:09,182 [people screaming] 232 00:14:13,437 --> 00:14:14,271 [woman] Shit! 233 00:14:15,355 --> 00:14:16,899 -We should run! -[man] Oh shit! 234 00:14:17,441 --> 00:14:18,442 [woman] Oh shit! 235 00:14:28,702 --> 00:14:31,538 [reporter] There has just been a huge explosion. 236 00:14:31,622 --> 00:14:35,667 We can see billowing smoke rising. 237 00:14:36,793 --> 00:14:39,713 And I can't-- I'll tell you, I can't see that second tower. 238 00:14:41,632 --> 00:14:43,675 [man] I hope I live. I hope I live. 239 00:14:43,759 --> 00:14:45,135 It's coming down on me. 240 00:14:46,470 --> 00:14:48,931 Here it comes. I'm getting behind a car. 241 00:14:50,849 --> 00:14:53,018 [ominous music plays] 242 00:14:54,853 --> 00:14:57,940 [Kern] It was the first to collapse, even though it was the second one hit. 243 00:14:59,942 --> 00:15:02,361 [Frederick] I started to run, and all of a sudden 244 00:15:02,444 --> 00:15:06,990 this huge ball of white smoke just came like locusts over me. 245 00:15:07,074 --> 00:15:09,076 [panicked shouting] 246 00:15:21,338 --> 00:15:24,049 I couldn't see. So I fell. 247 00:15:25,384 --> 00:15:26,802 And I just laid there. 248 00:15:28,679 --> 00:15:30,973 So I couldn't hear nothing. I couldn't see nothing. 249 00:15:35,143 --> 00:15:37,270 [man] And I remember people running up Liberty Street. 250 00:15:37,354 --> 00:15:40,857 Liberty Street turns into Maiden Lane, which is where our offices were. 251 00:15:40,941 --> 00:15:43,026 And they're running up Liberty Street. 252 00:15:46,029 --> 00:15:48,824 And this mud cloud was chasing them up the street. 253 00:15:49,366 --> 00:15:51,034 And it looked like it had a mouth. 254 00:15:51,118 --> 00:15:55,205 And the cloud just engulfed them. Like, it swallowed them. 255 00:15:57,708 --> 00:15:58,583 [man 1] Keep moving! 256 00:16:01,461 --> 00:16:03,714 [man 2] Oh shit! Oh shit! Okay, not yet. 257 00:16:08,051 --> 00:16:10,053 -Anthony! You okay? -Yeah. 258 00:16:10,554 --> 00:16:13,306 Will you let me in. Please? Oh my God! 259 00:16:14,057 --> 00:16:16,059 Oh my God! 260 00:16:16,643 --> 00:16:17,477 Watch out. 261 00:16:19,396 --> 00:16:21,440 [Green] You see this crowd coming at you, 262 00:16:21,523 --> 00:16:24,109 and all you're really thinking is,  "Oh shit." 263 00:16:27,070 --> 00:16:30,866 I step back, and as I step back to the doorway to the office, 264 00:16:30,949 --> 00:16:33,618 the cloud hits the building and the whole building shakes. 265 00:16:34,119 --> 00:16:35,537 You could hear glass breaking. 266 00:16:35,620 --> 00:16:36,580 [man] Oh shit. 267 00:16:36,663 --> 00:16:38,373 [emergency sirens blaring] 268 00:16:43,795 --> 00:16:47,299 [Green] Everybody's screaming, and it's just chaos at that point. 269 00:16:50,552 --> 00:16:53,138 And I realized that I don't know where my undercover team is. 270 00:16:54,639 --> 00:16:56,892 I hadn't heard from them since the buildings got hit. 271 00:16:58,018 --> 00:17:00,854 And I'm standing looking out the window, and I'm saying, 272 00:17:00,937 --> 00:17:03,940 "I don't know where they are. Somebody's gotta be dead." 273 00:17:04,649 --> 00:17:09,404 What am I going to tell their mother, wife, daughter, child 274 00:17:09,488 --> 00:17:12,574 about how I allowed them to go into this situation 275 00:17:12,657 --> 00:17:13,992 and now they're dead? 276 00:17:14,076 --> 00:17:17,746 These are the same people who I could've been at their barbecue last weekend. 277 00:17:17,829 --> 00:17:19,581 [wind gusting] 278 00:17:21,750 --> 00:17:22,834 [Frederick] As I laid there, 279 00:17:22,918 --> 00:17:26,421 it seemed like a beam of light came straight through the cloud. 280 00:17:27,047 --> 00:17:31,510 So I said to myself, "Maybe I'm dead, and maybe God came to get me." 281 00:17:34,471 --> 00:17:37,307 And then all of a sudden, it just opened up like the Red Sea. 282 00:17:37,390 --> 00:17:42,771 And that's when I heard people screaming and yelling, "Help! Help!" 283 00:17:43,605 --> 00:17:47,275 [man] Yo, Mike! Mike! Mike, I'm over here! 284 00:17:47,359 --> 00:17:48,985 [indistinct chatter] 285 00:17:52,114 --> 00:17:54,116 [two-way radios squawking] 286 00:17:55,325 --> 00:17:58,537 [Frederick] I finally cleared my face. I was dazed. 287 00:17:59,329 --> 00:18:01,331 [dramatic music plays] 288 00:18:02,999 --> 00:18:04,709 [alarm blaring] 289 00:18:04,793 --> 00:18:06,253 [crying] 290 00:18:09,214 --> 00:18:11,383 [Kern] Two people who seemed to be in shock, 291 00:18:11,466 --> 00:18:13,426 that we grabbed and made come with us, 292 00:18:13,510 --> 00:18:17,889 they were covered from head to toe with… with tan soot. 293 00:18:20,600 --> 00:18:22,811 Finally got to the Borders bookstore. 294 00:18:22,894 --> 00:18:27,566 We used the ax to get into the store and got out to Church Street. 295 00:18:27,649 --> 00:18:29,651 [dramatic music plays] 296 00:18:34,990 --> 00:18:36,783 [Kern] When I could see the sky, 297 00:18:36,867 --> 00:18:38,618 I turned around to look… 298 00:18:39,619 --> 00:18:42,873 and did not see the South Tower. 299 00:18:43,999 --> 00:18:45,750 And for the first time, 300 00:18:45,834 --> 00:18:48,795 I started to realize what must have happened 301 00:18:48,879 --> 00:18:52,299 just 15 minutes or ten minutes earlier. 302 00:18:54,301 --> 00:18:57,429 I knew that people were lost. 303 00:18:58,263 --> 00:19:02,058 I was praying that the nine people in my care… 304 00:19:03,185 --> 00:19:05,061 [clears throat] …were not lost. 305 00:19:07,105 --> 00:19:09,524 My tower was still standing, the North Tower… 306 00:19:10,150 --> 00:19:13,153 with a giant multi-story hole… 307 00:19:13,653 --> 00:19:16,156 with hot flames and smoke pouring out. 308 00:19:19,993 --> 00:19:22,746 [Hansson] I heard the mayday to get out of the building. 309 00:19:22,829 --> 00:19:26,625 So I knew that inside the tower was a place of danger. 310 00:19:27,751 --> 00:19:31,213 I didn't know what that danger was, but I knew we had to get out, 311 00:19:31,296 --> 00:19:33,757 and I knew no one was answering the radio anymore. 312 00:19:35,133 --> 00:19:38,553 And at the 19th floor, we got stopped by a firefighter, 313 00:19:38,637 --> 00:19:40,805 um, who came out of the hallway and said, 314 00:19:40,889 --> 00:19:43,934 "I have a bunch of civilians down at the end of the hall." 315 00:19:44,017 --> 00:19:46,186 "They're not leaving. I need help getting them to leave." 316 00:19:46,269 --> 00:19:48,021 [firefighter 1] Tommy, listen carefully. 317 00:19:48,104 --> 00:19:51,191 I'm sending all the injured down to you on 40. 318 00:19:51,274 --> 00:19:53,777 You're gonna have to get them down to the elevators. 319 00:19:53,860 --> 00:19:56,529 There's about 10 to 15 people coming down to you. 320 00:19:56,613 --> 00:19:57,822 [firefighter 2] Yes. Okay. 321 00:19:58,782 --> 00:20:00,784 [firefighter 1] Ten civilians coming down. 322 00:20:02,244 --> 00:20:04,246 [Hansson] Some guys were doing some 323 00:20:04,329 --> 00:20:07,874 extraordinarily unselfish things, and saying, 324 00:20:07,958 --> 00:20:12,045 "I'm going to stay behind and make sure everyone starts to get out themselves." 325 00:20:12,128 --> 00:20:14,130 [emotional music plays] 326 00:20:16,049 --> 00:20:19,010 I took an oath, and I believe in my oath. 327 00:20:19,094 --> 00:20:24,182 My oath is to help people even if it is gonna cost me my own life. 328 00:20:25,809 --> 00:20:27,686 It was quite new to all of us. 329 00:20:28,311 --> 00:20:29,646 There was no playbook. 330 00:20:31,064 --> 00:20:32,607 We went into the hallway, 331 00:20:32,691 --> 00:20:35,026 and, at this point, all the lights were now out, 332 00:20:35,110 --> 00:20:38,905 but the emergency lighting was working, so you had some visibility. 333 00:20:39,531 --> 00:20:41,533 Saw this large man on the floor. 334 00:20:42,367 --> 00:20:45,370 I told the officers, you know, just grab his legs, 335 00:20:45,453 --> 00:20:47,706 we'll grab his arms and we'll just drag him. 336 00:20:47,789 --> 00:20:50,709 And that's what we did, dragged him down the three flights of stairs 337 00:20:50,792 --> 00:20:52,168 and got into the lobby. 338 00:20:53,128 --> 00:20:55,463 When we got there, some of them said to hold up, 339 00:20:55,547 --> 00:20:56,923 there was people jumping. 340 00:20:57,007 --> 00:20:59,009 [wistful music plays] 341 00:21:09,978 --> 00:21:12,439 [woman] There's a person falling-- There's people falling out. 342 00:21:13,148 --> 00:21:15,275 -[man] Oh my God! -[woman] Oh my God! 343 00:21:16,901 --> 00:21:18,028 [man] Oh! 344 00:21:26,328 --> 00:21:28,580 [Frederick] The people who were stuck at the top, 345 00:21:28,663 --> 00:21:30,081 who had no choice… 346 00:21:32,000 --> 00:21:36,171 but to either jump or burn to death, because they had no way of getting out. 347 00:21:42,260 --> 00:21:45,972 That bothers me. That sticks to me like-- You have no idea. 348 00:21:46,056 --> 00:21:48,058 [indistinct police radio chatter] 349 00:21:52,228 --> 00:21:55,106 [Hansson] When we got into the courtyard, it was a complete whiteout. 350 00:21:55,190 --> 00:21:58,068 You could see maybe about ten or 15 feet in front of you. 351 00:21:59,694 --> 00:22:02,864 I can only compare this to walking in a blizzard. 352 00:22:04,991 --> 00:22:08,078 And then we heard another loud noise. 353 00:22:14,834 --> 00:22:16,169 The roar was so loud 354 00:22:16,252 --> 00:22:20,131 that my first interpretation was that it was another plane coming in. 355 00:22:21,591 --> 00:22:24,511 I ran about two steps and then it went pitch-black… 356 00:22:25,303 --> 00:22:28,848 and just engulfed in thick black smoke. 357 00:22:29,724 --> 00:22:31,684 [people screaming] 358 00:22:42,028 --> 00:22:43,154 [reporter] Good Lord. 359 00:22:48,535 --> 00:22:49,786 There are no words. 360 00:22:53,373 --> 00:22:57,043 [Hansson] I ran another two steps and then just got into the fetal position. 361 00:22:57,127 --> 00:22:58,711 And at that point, 362 00:22:58,795 --> 00:23:01,297 I thought there'd be a fireball behind the smoke… 363 00:23:01,798 --> 00:23:04,384 and resigned to the end of my life. 364 00:23:04,467 --> 00:23:06,010 I thought it was gonna be over. 365 00:23:07,470 --> 00:23:10,849 I had just some quick thoughts, saying goodbye to my family. 366 00:23:11,766 --> 00:23:14,894 I think I mouthed the words, you know, "goodbye" to my wife. 367 00:23:15,353 --> 00:23:16,438 And, um… 368 00:23:17,730 --> 00:23:20,650 and then I had a prayer, and that prayer was just, 369 00:23:20,733 --> 00:23:22,527 make this quick and make it painless. 370 00:23:24,863 --> 00:23:27,782 [reporter] A catastrophe on the tip of Manhattan. 371 00:23:28,533 --> 00:23:30,243 [police siren wailing] 372 00:23:37,292 --> 00:23:38,626 [Kern] And then it became, 373 00:23:38,710 --> 00:23:41,171 "Find a phone. Find a phone. Gotta find a phone." 374 00:23:41,254 --> 00:23:43,798 I finally found a phone that worked 375 00:23:43,882 --> 00:23:47,135 in an abandoned subway station at Canal Street 376 00:23:47,218 --> 00:23:48,761 and got a hold of my wife. 377 00:23:53,016 --> 00:23:54,392 I remember breaking down. 378 00:23:57,270 --> 00:23:59,606 And I think the same was true on the other end. 379 00:24:00,773 --> 00:24:04,277 And so we probably didn't say anything to each other for quite a while. 380 00:24:04,777 --> 00:24:07,614 It was just to know we were connected again. 381 00:24:07,697 --> 00:24:09,365 It was just very important. 382 00:24:14,579 --> 00:24:17,081 [wistful music plays] 383 00:24:29,969 --> 00:24:32,722 [Green] We had all this ash falling down to the ground. 384 00:24:32,805 --> 00:24:34,599 And it almost seemed like snow, 385 00:24:34,682 --> 00:24:36,935 because that's how soft it was hitting the ground. 386 00:24:37,018 --> 00:24:39,979 And there were people there who were just walking around in a daze. 387 00:24:44,817 --> 00:24:47,237 If I had to compare them to anything that's happening now 388 00:24:47,320 --> 00:24:49,697 it's like that TV show The Walking Dead. 389 00:24:50,573 --> 00:24:53,993 Because I'd walk up to people and ask who they were and where they're going, 390 00:24:54,077 --> 00:24:55,620 and most of them couldn't tell me. 391 00:24:56,579 --> 00:24:58,581 [dramatic music plays] 392 00:25:02,126 --> 00:25:04,671 [Hansson] I was having a lot of difficulty breathing. 393 00:25:05,463 --> 00:25:08,633 All that debris had been sucked into my throat. 394 00:25:09,759 --> 00:25:13,096 It was like someone stuck a sock into my throat. 395 00:25:15,098 --> 00:25:18,851 We eventually ran into a chief from the Division of Safety, 396 00:25:18,935 --> 00:25:21,688 who indicated that there's nothing you can do anymore. 397 00:25:21,771 --> 00:25:26,442 He says, "The two towers had collapsed." He says, "You made it out alive." 398 00:25:30,446 --> 00:25:33,199 The customs building, at World Trade Center Number Six, 399 00:25:33,283 --> 00:25:35,994 there's an overhang, and I was in that overhang. 400 00:25:36,077 --> 00:25:40,456 So the middle of the building was crushed, but the two ends had held up, 401 00:25:40,540 --> 00:25:42,375 and I was under one of those ends. 402 00:25:43,751 --> 00:25:47,380 I know a couple of the police officers were killed that were right behind us. 403 00:25:47,463 --> 00:25:49,465 [ominous music plays] 404 00:25:58,224 --> 00:26:02,145 [reporter]The scope of this disaster is impossible to comprehend. 405 00:26:07,483 --> 00:26:10,236 [Frederick] There was a bar where a lot of people were there, 406 00:26:10,320 --> 00:26:12,363 sitting in there looking at the news. 407 00:26:12,447 --> 00:26:14,282 So we try to ease our way in there, 408 00:26:14,365 --> 00:26:17,327 and then we saw George Bush, the president, talking. 409 00:26:17,410 --> 00:26:19,746 And that's when they showed us the pictures of what happened. 410 00:26:19,829 --> 00:26:22,206 That the planes hit the World Trade. 411 00:26:24,667 --> 00:26:27,462 [interviewer] Is that really the first time you knew it was a plane? 412 00:26:27,545 --> 00:26:28,546 First time. 413 00:26:29,255 --> 00:26:31,007 Did not know. Did not see. 414 00:26:32,175 --> 00:26:33,593 Didn't know what it was. 415 00:26:39,974 --> 00:26:41,976 [siren blurts] 416 00:26:44,562 --> 00:26:48,691 [man] We went to go over to the Emma E. Booker Elementary School, 417 00:26:48,775 --> 00:26:51,653 where the president was going to meet with some second graders 418 00:26:51,736 --> 00:26:54,322 and read a book with them, and then give a speech 419 00:26:54,405 --> 00:26:56,616 about leaving no child behind in education. 420 00:26:57,241 --> 00:26:59,285 I'm standing at the door to the classroom 421 00:26:59,369 --> 00:27:02,872 where the president and the principal would go. 422 00:27:02,955 --> 00:27:05,583 And I'm standing with the president and the principal of the school 423 00:27:05,667 --> 00:27:08,086 when Deb Loewer, who was a Navy Captain, 424 00:27:08,169 --> 00:27:10,463 and the director of the White House Situation Room, 425 00:27:10,546 --> 00:27:13,216 and the acting National Security Advisor of the trip, 426 00:27:13,299 --> 00:27:14,717 came to the president and said, 427 00:27:14,801 --> 00:27:18,471 "Sir, it appears a small twin-engine prop plane 428 00:27:18,554 --> 00:27:21,683 crashed into one of the towers at the World Trade Center in New York." 429 00:27:21,766 --> 00:27:25,228 The president, the principal, and I all had exactly the same reaction. 430 00:27:25,311 --> 00:27:26,729 "Oh what a horrible accident." 431 00:27:26,813 --> 00:27:29,273 "The pilot must have had a heart attack or something." 432 00:27:29,357 --> 00:27:30,191 Good morning. 433 00:27:31,818 --> 00:27:35,988 After that, the principal of the school then opened the door to the classroom, 434 00:27:36,072 --> 00:27:38,825 and she and the president walked into the classroom. 435 00:27:39,826 --> 00:27:41,744 And that was only a nanosecond, 436 00:27:41,828 --> 00:27:44,455 because Captain Loewer then came back up to me and said, 437 00:27:44,539 --> 00:27:45,415 "Oh my God." 438 00:27:45,498 --> 00:27:49,335 "Another plane hit the other tower at the World Trade Center." 439 00:27:49,419 --> 00:27:51,421 …the whole word says, get ready. 440 00:27:51,504 --> 00:27:53,005 -[children] Running! -Yes. "Running." 441 00:27:53,089 --> 00:27:55,633 [Card] I really did think about what I was going to say. 442 00:27:55,717 --> 00:27:59,178 I then opened the door to the classroom, I stepped into the classroom. 443 00:28:00,722 --> 00:28:04,142 As the students were reaching down under their desks to pick up their books 444 00:28:04,225 --> 00:28:08,312 is when I walked forward and walked up to the president. 445 00:28:08,980 --> 00:28:10,273 He did not see me coming. 446 00:28:10,356 --> 00:28:12,984 I leaned over and I whispered into his right ear, 447 00:28:13,067 --> 00:28:17,655 "A second plane hit the second tower." 448 00:28:17,739 --> 00:28:20,324 "America is under attack." 449 00:28:20,408 --> 00:28:22,034 [camera shutters clicking] 450 00:28:31,878 --> 00:28:34,630 [suspenseful music plays] 451 00:28:37,341 --> 00:28:39,927 We arrived at Sarasota Airfield, 452 00:28:40,011 --> 00:28:42,472 and the doors open up, and we get out of the limousine, 453 00:28:42,555 --> 00:28:46,726 and I was struck by something that is a protocol no-no. 454 00:28:46,809 --> 00:28:50,271 The engines for Air Force One were already turned on. 455 00:28:50,897 --> 00:28:53,691 The protocol normally is, you don't start the engines 456 00:28:53,775 --> 00:28:56,110 until the president is safely on the plane. 457 00:28:56,611 --> 00:28:59,197 This plane started rolling down the runway 458 00:28:59,280 --> 00:29:03,701 even before the door was shut and the president had taken his seat. 459 00:29:11,125 --> 00:29:16,798 [reporter]That's either US Air Force or Navy aircraft, fighter aircraft, 460 00:29:16,881 --> 00:29:21,511 now on patrol in what we've described as the "no-fly zone." 461 00:29:21,594 --> 00:29:24,180 [Card] Every plane was told they had to land. 462 00:29:25,765 --> 00:29:28,851 And the president received a call from Vice President Cheney 463 00:29:28,935 --> 00:29:32,355 asking if the president would authorize our fighter pilots 464 00:29:32,438 --> 00:29:34,565 to shoot down commercial jetliners 465 00:29:34,649 --> 00:29:37,985 if they were not complying with what was supposed to happen. 466 00:29:42,615 --> 00:29:44,033 [man] Vice president has cleared. 467 00:29:44,116 --> 00:29:46,702 Vice president has cleared us to intercept tracking 468 00:29:46,786 --> 00:29:50,456 and shoot them down if they do not respond, per CONR CC. 469 00:29:52,458 --> 00:29:57,672 [Card] When we learned that Flight 93 crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, 470 00:29:57,755 --> 00:30:01,008 that was soon after the president had given the authorization. 471 00:30:01,092 --> 00:30:04,595 I will admit, some of us wondered, "Did we shoot it down?" 472 00:30:04,679 --> 00:30:06,013 Obviously, we did not. 473 00:30:07,014 --> 00:30:11,185 You could hear the fog of war, not just have your vision clouded. 474 00:30:11,269 --> 00:30:13,229 The fog of war was in the voices. 475 00:30:13,813 --> 00:30:17,024 The president was very agitated with me on Air Force One, 476 00:30:17,108 --> 00:30:19,151 because he wanted to go to Washington, D.C. 477 00:30:19,235 --> 00:30:20,570 And I said, "Mr. President, 478 00:30:20,653 --> 00:30:22,697 you don't wanna make that decision right now." 479 00:30:22,780 --> 00:30:25,783 I would talk to the pilot. I would talk to the Secret Service agents. 480 00:30:25,867 --> 00:30:27,994 They were not prepared to go back to Washington, D.C. 481 00:30:28,911 --> 00:30:31,581 And we were fortunate to have two military aides on the trip. 482 00:30:31,664 --> 00:30:35,293 I said, "I want options. I want to take the president to a safe place 483 00:30:35,376 --> 00:30:37,962 where we can decide what goes on next." 484 00:30:38,045 --> 00:30:41,090 We ended up landing in Barksdale Air Force Base. 485 00:30:41,591 --> 00:30:45,595 We were struck by how the fighter jets were so close to us, 486 00:30:45,678 --> 00:30:47,263 escorting us down to land, 487 00:30:47,346 --> 00:30:50,850 that you could actually see the faces of the pilots in the planes. 488 00:30:52,018 --> 00:30:54,395 [Bush] I ask the American people to join me… 489 00:30:54,896 --> 00:30:56,022 [camera shutters clicking] 490 00:30:56,105 --> 00:30:57,481 …in saying a thanks… 491 00:30:58,232 --> 00:31:01,903 for all the folks who have been fighting hard 492 00:31:01,986 --> 00:31:04,280 to rescue our fellow citizens… 493 00:31:05,239 --> 00:31:09,869 and to join me in saying a prayer for the victims and their families. 494 00:31:10,620 --> 00:31:12,622 [Card] Then we went from Barksdale Air Force Base 495 00:31:12,705 --> 00:31:15,291 to Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska. 496 00:31:16,459 --> 00:31:18,210 And when we got to Nebraska, 497 00:31:18,294 --> 00:31:21,964 we went down to a deep tunnel underground to the Strategic Air Command. 498 00:31:22,048 --> 00:31:24,675 And all of these flat-screen TVs are in the room, 499 00:31:24,759 --> 00:31:27,803 and you have admirals and generals in there and they're talking, 500 00:31:27,887 --> 00:31:31,265 and you could hear the communication of the FAA and the military. 501 00:31:31,349 --> 00:31:33,684 The president was clearly disruptive to that group, 502 00:31:33,768 --> 00:31:36,938 because the officers didn't know whether to stand or sit. 503 00:31:38,940 --> 00:31:41,192 We went to another room and had a secure video conference 504 00:31:41,275 --> 00:31:42,693 back to Washington, D.C. 505 00:31:42,777 --> 00:31:46,989 and heard from George Tenet, Don Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney. 506 00:31:47,823 --> 00:31:49,784 We were able to have a better understanding 507 00:31:49,867 --> 00:31:53,829 what was happening in Washington, D.C. with regard to Andrews Air Force Base. 508 00:31:55,915 --> 00:32:00,795 Later, we piled on Air Force One and then flew back to Washington, D.C. 509 00:32:01,796 --> 00:32:06,884 And as we're leaning on the couch, looking out the window on Air Force One 510 00:32:06,968 --> 00:32:09,095 as we're coming into Andrews Air Force Base, 511 00:32:09,178 --> 00:32:12,473 you could see the smoke billowing out of the Pentagon. 512 00:32:13,474 --> 00:32:15,226 And the president was right beside me. 513 00:32:15,309 --> 00:32:17,937 He said, "That's the face of war in the 21st century." 514 00:32:18,020 --> 00:32:20,022 [helicopter propellers beating] 515 00:32:24,652 --> 00:32:27,321 I really felt an urgency to be at my post 516 00:32:27,405 --> 00:32:29,657 when the commander in chief returned that evening. 517 00:32:34,829 --> 00:32:36,580 Bush gets off the helicopter… 518 00:32:37,081 --> 00:32:40,334 comes over to Karen and I, we greet him and he doesn't say a word. 519 00:32:40,418 --> 00:32:44,130 He just nods and walks right by us into the Oval Office, 520 00:32:44,213 --> 00:32:48,134 which was being prepared for a television address to the nation that night. 521 00:32:49,301 --> 00:32:53,055 [Bush] Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, 522 00:32:53,931 --> 00:32:56,517 but they cannot touch the foundation of America. 523 00:32:57,560 --> 00:32:59,061 These acts shatter steel… 524 00:32:59,687 --> 00:33:02,648 but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve. 525 00:33:04,734 --> 00:33:07,236 [Card] He made it pretty clear that we were going to respond. 526 00:33:07,319 --> 00:33:08,904 This would not stand. 527 00:33:08,988 --> 00:33:11,699 And there was no doubt in the president's mind 528 00:33:11,782 --> 00:33:13,868 that that would mean military action. 529 00:33:16,203 --> 00:33:18,497 Alberto Gonzales, the White House counsel, 530 00:33:18,581 --> 00:33:21,584 had already started looking at, what are all of the issues 531 00:33:21,667 --> 00:33:24,670 that have to be considered on going to war. 532 00:33:25,880 --> 00:33:29,425 We knew it was a terrorist attack, and we knew mainly it was al-Qaeda. 533 00:33:29,508 --> 00:33:31,510 [ominous music plays] 534 00:33:37,641 --> 00:33:40,811 In the National Security Council meetings, I'd get to sit in as White House counsel 535 00:33:40,895 --> 00:33:42,521 in every National Security Council meeting. 536 00:33:42,605 --> 00:33:46,692 And there was chatter about al-Qaeda interested in doing something spectacular. 537 00:33:50,780 --> 00:33:53,949 We knew immediately that this was a war. 538 00:33:55,534 --> 00:33:57,703 This was not gonna be a law enforcement matter. 539 00:33:57,787 --> 00:34:01,415 We weren't just going to use the police, the FBI to respond to this, 540 00:34:01,499 --> 00:34:02,958 to investigate this. 541 00:34:03,042 --> 00:34:06,837 We were gonna use our military, of course, the FBI, and law enforcement. 542 00:34:08,798 --> 00:34:11,008 We were gonna pull all levers of power. 543 00:34:11,092 --> 00:34:13,886 We were gonna exercise our economic might, we were gonna take advantage 544 00:34:13,969 --> 00:34:15,763 of our foreign relationships across the world. 545 00:34:15,846 --> 00:34:17,139 That's how we were gonna respond. 546 00:34:21,310 --> 00:34:25,106 [all] ♪ God bless America ♪ 547 00:34:25,189 --> 00:34:29,610 ♪ My home sweet home ♪ 548 00:34:29,693 --> 00:34:32,238 [Lee] We all went to the Capitol steps, 549 00:34:32,321 --> 00:34:35,407 stood together, and sang "God Bless America." 550 00:34:35,491 --> 00:34:40,329 And, you know, people felt this sense of unity and wanted to be there. 551 00:34:43,082 --> 00:34:48,671 The mood in the country was fear, sorrow, grief, and anger. 552 00:34:49,463 --> 00:34:54,176 And it was a moment where there were so many complex emotions 553 00:34:54,260 --> 00:34:55,803 coming together at once. 554 00:34:55,886 --> 00:34:58,806 You know, a roller coaster ride in many respects. 555 00:34:59,473 --> 00:35:02,935 Of course, the families and communities that lost loved ones, 556 00:35:03,018 --> 00:35:05,646 the mourning and the grieving was great. 557 00:35:06,147 --> 00:35:10,734 And the fear, not knowing what was next, was very pronounced. 558 00:35:11,527 --> 00:35:14,780 I know at the Capitol, we weren't sure what was going on 559 00:35:14,864 --> 00:35:16,282 and what came next. 560 00:35:16,365 --> 00:35:18,659 And so that fear was there with everyone. 561 00:35:19,994 --> 00:35:23,664 Then the anger, not knowing who or what, but angry. 562 00:35:23,747 --> 00:35:27,751 Everyone was angry, myself included, about whoever did this. 563 00:35:27,835 --> 00:35:31,005 They deserved to come to justice. 564 00:35:32,298 --> 00:35:36,427 We were mourning, we were grieving, we were angry, we were in a lot of pain. 565 00:35:49,148 --> 00:35:53,152 [Bush] America today is on bended knee… 566 00:35:53,944 --> 00:35:57,364 in prayer for the people whose lives were lost here. 567 00:35:57,448 --> 00:35:58,657 [man] We can't hear you! 568 00:35:59,450 --> 00:36:00,868 I can hear you! 569 00:36:00,951 --> 00:36:02,953 [crowd cheers] 570 00:36:06,999 --> 00:36:10,711 I can hear you, the rest of the world hears you, 571 00:36:10,794 --> 00:36:12,087 and the people-- 572 00:36:12,171 --> 00:36:14,173 [crowd cheering] 573 00:36:15,591 --> 00:36:18,385 And the people who knocked these buildings down 574 00:36:18,886 --> 00:36:20,554 will hear all of us soon. 575 00:36:22,014 --> 00:36:24,016 [dramatic music plays] 576 00:36:27,436 --> 00:36:30,272 [Gonzales] The best word to describe his mood was "determination." 577 00:36:30,356 --> 00:36:32,066 He had a job to do. 578 00:36:32,149 --> 00:36:35,611 He knew why he had been elected president, for this moment. 579 00:36:38,489 --> 00:36:42,243 [Bush] This is an enemy who preys on innocent and unsuspecting people, 580 00:36:42,326 --> 00:36:43,661 then runs for cover. 581 00:36:46,080 --> 00:36:48,207 But they won't be able to run for cover forever. 582 00:36:51,669 --> 00:36:54,880 [Gonzales] The president understood that this could not have been possible, 583 00:36:54,964 --> 00:36:56,382 except for the fact that, 584 00:36:56,465 --> 00:37:00,135 in Afghanistan, the Taliban had provided a safe haven 585 00:37:00,219 --> 00:37:04,348 for al-Qaeda to plan, successfully, this attack. 586 00:37:05,474 --> 00:37:08,060 And the president made the decision very quickly 587 00:37:08,143 --> 00:37:10,938 that not only would we go after those responsible for the attacks, 588 00:37:11,021 --> 00:37:15,276 but we would also go after those who harbored and helped plan, 589 00:37:15,359 --> 00:37:18,237 gave people an opportunity to carry out these attacks. 590 00:37:19,113 --> 00:37:20,990 We believed that in order to rid, 591 00:37:21,073 --> 00:37:24,076 or at least diminish the capabilities of al-Qaeda, 592 00:37:24,159 --> 00:37:27,329 it would be important to hurt the Taliban. 593 00:37:31,834 --> 00:37:34,420 [Lee] In many respects, what I was hearing was revenge. 594 00:37:34,503 --> 00:37:36,005 It was anger and revenge. 595 00:37:40,134 --> 00:37:42,720 Revenge. I want to get even. 596 00:37:42,803 --> 00:37:44,305 They know who's behind all this. 597 00:37:44,388 --> 00:37:47,391 They know what country is supporting all these people. 598 00:37:47,474 --> 00:37:51,645 They need to clean their clock, I mean, into the Stone Age. This is ridiculous. 599 00:37:51,729 --> 00:37:53,480 I think we should bomb them back. 600 00:37:53,981 --> 00:37:54,898 I really do. 601 00:37:54,982 --> 00:37:59,320 The enemy's got to be eradicated, and you cannot talk with the enemy. 602 00:37:59,403 --> 00:38:00,654 They can't push us around. 603 00:38:00,738 --> 00:38:02,990 We're the number one nation. Let's do something about it. 604 00:38:03,073 --> 00:38:06,869 We want to respond. You don't attack America like this and get away with it. 605 00:38:06,952 --> 00:38:09,496 Not only those who harbor terrorists, 606 00:38:09,580 --> 00:38:11,707 but those who in any way, 607 00:38:11,790 --> 00:38:15,878 any aid or comfort whatsoever… 608 00:38:17,296 --> 00:38:20,716 will now face the wrath of our country. 609 00:38:20,799 --> 00:38:23,385 You think this is the start of a war against terrorism? 610 00:38:23,469 --> 00:38:26,388 I believe it is, and God willing, it will be. 611 00:38:26,472 --> 00:38:30,225 Now the time for talking is over, and it's time for action to start. 612 00:38:35,773 --> 00:38:37,608 [Gonzales] As the lawyers in the White House, 613 00:38:37,691 --> 00:38:41,236 working with John Ashcroft and the lawyers of the Department of Justice, 614 00:38:41,320 --> 00:38:43,197 we would be asked by the president, 615 00:38:43,280 --> 00:38:45,699 "Is there something that I can do to protect America?" 616 00:38:45,783 --> 00:38:48,202 "Is there something that I can do in self-defense?" 617 00:38:48,285 --> 00:38:50,829 "Is there something I can do in response to this attack?" 618 00:38:50,913 --> 00:38:53,082 "Is there something I can do to attack those, 619 00:38:53,165 --> 00:38:56,293 to punish those responsible for these attacks?" 620 00:38:56,877 --> 00:38:59,838 And so we quickly looked at the president's emergency powers, 621 00:38:59,922 --> 00:39:03,258 both by statute and, of course, looking at his constitutional authority 622 00:39:03,342 --> 00:39:04,718 as commander in chief, 623 00:39:04,802 --> 00:39:07,596 which gives the president very expansive authority, 624 00:39:07,679 --> 00:39:09,723 but generally when acting in self-defense, 625 00:39:09,807 --> 00:39:12,142 following an attack on the nation we experienced that day. 626 00:39:13,769 --> 00:39:17,231 [Card] The president knew that he was going to have a military response. 627 00:39:17,815 --> 00:39:20,984 The question is, do you need to have congressional authority? 628 00:39:22,194 --> 00:39:26,365 This was outside of the normal structure of a war. 629 00:39:27,074 --> 00:39:29,993 Can you declare war on a terrorist group? 630 00:39:30,077 --> 00:39:34,039 Does Washington have the institutional understanding 631 00:39:34,123 --> 00:39:35,624 of what that means? 632 00:39:35,707 --> 00:39:40,170 Do we have to go to Congress to declare war against a terrorist group? 633 00:39:41,296 --> 00:39:44,383 The president wanted to get Congress's buy-in. 634 00:39:44,466 --> 00:39:47,094 And there was a debate about "What does that mean?" 635 00:39:47,177 --> 00:39:50,764 And he could've probably argued that he didn't need their buy-in, 636 00:39:50,848 --> 00:39:54,393 but he wanted to get their buy-in, so we were looking to craft something 637 00:39:54,476 --> 00:39:56,937 that Congress would have a chance to respond to, 638 00:39:57,020 --> 00:39:58,647 both the House and the Senate. 639 00:39:58,730 --> 00:40:01,650 And so that was the use of force. 640 00:40:03,277 --> 00:40:06,280 [Gonzales] The general feeling was that an authorization to use military force 641 00:40:06,363 --> 00:40:11,618 would signify congressional support, both politically and monetarily. 642 00:40:12,744 --> 00:40:16,331 And it would buttress, it would support the president's constitutional authority 643 00:40:16,415 --> 00:40:17,416 as commander in chief. 644 00:40:20,169 --> 00:40:23,046 I made a decision that I would have Tim Flanagan, my deputy, 645 00:40:23,130 --> 00:40:25,382 take the lead in terms of drafting the AUMF 646 00:40:25,466 --> 00:40:27,718 and working with aides at Congress. 647 00:40:28,385 --> 00:40:31,221 The recognition the president has the constitutional authority 648 00:40:31,305 --> 00:40:35,017 to use force as commander in chief, so we felt that that was important. 649 00:40:35,809 --> 00:40:38,729 And so it was broad enough that it would allow us to go after al-Qaeda 650 00:40:38,812 --> 00:40:41,523 and those who assisted or harbored al-Qaeda 651 00:40:41,607 --> 00:40:43,192 in carrying out these attacks. 652 00:40:44,651 --> 00:40:47,154 So, it's a pretty broad grant of authority. 653 00:40:48,197 --> 00:40:51,200 [reporter] Today, congressional leaders toured the wreckage at the Pentagon, 654 00:40:51,283 --> 00:40:54,453 and vowed the president will get whatever he wants. 655 00:40:54,536 --> 00:40:57,414 But behind closed doors, some democrats and republicans 656 00:40:57,498 --> 00:40:59,583 balk at what some see as the president's request 657 00:40:59,666 --> 00:41:01,251 for sweeping powers. 658 00:41:01,335 --> 00:41:03,504 [reporter] This draft resolution from the White House 659 00:41:03,587 --> 00:41:05,631 authorizes use of armed forces 660 00:41:05,714 --> 00:41:08,675 against all those who planned, authorized, harbored, 661 00:41:08,759 --> 00:41:10,802 committed or aided in the attacks, 662 00:41:10,886 --> 00:41:14,264 and to deter and preempt any future acts of terrorism. 663 00:41:16,475 --> 00:41:18,560 [Lee] A lot of members of Congress were feeling, 664 00:41:18,644 --> 00:41:22,356 "What do we do? How do we do it? What's the appropriate response?" 665 00:41:22,439 --> 00:41:27,694 We did receive, from the administration, a draft authorization to use force. 666 00:41:27,778 --> 00:41:32,991 And so much of the discussion after 9/11 was around that authorization. 667 00:41:34,701 --> 00:41:38,872 The AUMF is the Authorization to Use Military Force. 668 00:41:38,956 --> 00:41:41,333 In this instance, it was 60 words. 669 00:41:41,416 --> 00:41:45,420 And it says, "The president is authorized to use force." 670 00:41:46,129 --> 00:41:48,257 It did not name where, when, and how. 671 00:41:48,340 --> 00:41:53,720 It just said, "Against any nation, organization, associated forces, 672 00:41:53,804 --> 00:41:57,015 or individuals connected to 9/11." 673 00:41:58,809 --> 00:42:00,936 If the president thinks we should go to war, 674 00:42:01,019 --> 00:42:04,565 bring that authorization to Congress, let us debate it, let us work on it, 675 00:42:04,648 --> 00:42:08,151 and if we decide that it's reasonable and that that's what we should do, 676 00:42:08,235 --> 00:42:12,114 it's in the United States' national security interest to go to war, 677 00:42:12,197 --> 00:42:13,448 then Congress will vote for it. 678 00:42:13,532 --> 00:42:16,159 But the AUMF was so broad. 679 00:42:17,077 --> 00:42:19,538 It did not mention al-Qaeda at all. 680 00:42:20,497 --> 00:42:24,126 I kept speaking out in our meetings saying, "No, no, no, it's too broad." 681 00:42:24,209 --> 00:42:27,212 Many members saying, "Yes, yes, yes, but we got to do it." 682 00:42:28,297 --> 00:42:31,091 Then I said, "This is about our Constitution, 683 00:42:31,174 --> 00:42:34,052 and we can't give any authority away to any president." 684 00:42:35,053 --> 00:42:37,514 Those discussions were taking place at the same time 685 00:42:37,598 --> 00:42:40,684 that the memorial was being planned at the National Cathedral. 686 00:42:42,144 --> 00:42:44,354 I'll never forget it. It was a rainy day. 687 00:42:47,816 --> 00:42:49,568 I went to the cathedral, 688 00:42:49,651 --> 00:42:53,989 and the head of the cathedral, his name was Reverend Nathan Baxter. 689 00:42:54,573 --> 00:42:55,949 During his eulogy, he said, 690 00:42:56,033 --> 00:42:59,119 "As we act, let us not become the evil who we deplore." 691 00:42:59,995 --> 00:43:03,540 It was at that moment I was settled. 692 00:43:04,958 --> 00:43:08,253 I could not give any president the authority to use force 693 00:43:08,337 --> 00:43:09,921 that was so open-ended. 694 00:43:17,304 --> 00:43:20,098 [Cantor] I rise today in support of this resolution. 695 00:43:20,599 --> 00:43:24,436 Civilized society has long sought to end the use of violence, 696 00:43:24,519 --> 00:43:28,148 but the perpetrators of terrorism and states that harbor them 697 00:43:28,231 --> 00:43:30,984 are the enemies of civilized society. 698 00:43:31,068 --> 00:43:33,945 They only understand the use of force, 699 00:43:34,029 --> 00:43:37,491 and the time has come to speak to them on their terms. 700 00:43:37,991 --> 00:43:42,037 The resolution before us empowers the president… 701 00:43:42,788 --> 00:43:46,917 to bring to bear the full force of American power abroad. 702 00:43:47,000 --> 00:43:48,669 We are coming after you… 703 00:43:49,544 --> 00:43:52,005 and the fury of hell is coming with us. 704 00:43:54,675 --> 00:43:58,011 [Lee] I was the only one in the House or the Senate that voted "no" 705 00:43:58,095 --> 00:44:00,722 on the Authorization to Use Military Force 706 00:44:00,806 --> 00:44:02,516 as it relates to 9/11. 707 00:44:03,016 --> 00:44:06,144 -[interviewer] Nobody in the Senate? -Nobody in the Senate. 708 00:44:07,062 --> 00:44:10,899 [Hastert] Gentlewoman from California is recognized for a minute and a half. 709 00:44:11,400 --> 00:44:15,862 Mr. Speaker, members, I rise today, really, with a very heavy heart… 710 00:44:16,571 --> 00:44:19,658 one that is filled with sorrow for the families and the loved ones 711 00:44:19,741 --> 00:44:21,535 who were killed and injured this week. 712 00:44:22,619 --> 00:44:27,165 Only the most foolish and the most callous would not understand the grief 713 00:44:27,249 --> 00:44:31,044 that has really gripped our people and millions across the world. 714 00:44:32,921 --> 00:44:35,298 September 11th changed the world. 715 00:44:36,007 --> 00:44:38,176 Our deepest fears now haunt us. 716 00:44:39,010 --> 00:44:40,512 Yet, I am convinced… 717 00:44:41,179 --> 00:44:47,018 that military action will not prevent further acts of international terrorism 718 00:44:47,102 --> 00:44:48,645 against the United States. 719 00:44:52,065 --> 00:44:55,193 By the time I got back to my office, the death threats and the-- 720 00:44:55,277 --> 00:44:57,612 You do not wanna know what all happened. 721 00:44:57,696 --> 00:44:59,239 But bottom line is, 722 00:44:59,322 --> 00:45:02,743 there were over 60,000 emails, phone calls, letters. 723 00:45:02,826 --> 00:45:07,664 About 50% were literally death threats, 724 00:45:07,748 --> 00:45:11,001 hostile remarks, people calling me all kinds of names, 725 00:45:11,084 --> 00:45:15,255 a traitor, committed acts of treason. You-- You should be hung. 726 00:45:15,338 --> 00:45:17,007 [dramatic music plays] 727 00:45:27,100 --> 00:45:30,937 Emotions are normal to feel. That's part of human nature. 728 00:45:31,730 --> 00:45:35,484 But we also have to balance that with our rational thinking. 729 00:45:36,735 --> 00:45:41,281 We have to make sure that we don't make irrational decisions 730 00:45:41,364 --> 00:45:43,867 when our emotions are so high. 731 00:45:47,829 --> 00:45:50,916 So many people think by saying you disagree, 732 00:45:50,999 --> 00:45:55,629 you're committing an act of treason, and in times of national security threats. 733 00:45:55,712 --> 00:46:00,175 And I'm saying, "Wait a minute. That's when you want someone to say no." 734 00:46:00,258 --> 00:46:02,427 That's when you want your elected officials 735 00:46:02,511 --> 00:46:05,013 to rise above the anger, 736 00:46:05,096 --> 00:46:07,682 to have some rational thinking and response. 737 00:46:08,391 --> 00:46:11,645 And you could not send these troops in harm's way forever. 738 00:46:15,524 --> 00:46:17,150 [reporter] The military scenarios 739 00:46:17,234 --> 00:46:19,486 that the president has before him are extensive. 740 00:46:21,238 --> 00:46:26,368 A senior military official tells ABC News they even include ground troops. 741 00:46:30,205 --> 00:46:33,917 [Card] On September 14th, when I was in the Oval Office early in the morning, 742 00:46:34,000 --> 00:46:37,587 the president walks up to me and he said, when everybody is leaving the room, 743 00:46:37,671 --> 00:46:42,300 he said, "Andy, I want to convene the war council tomorrow at Camp David." 744 00:46:42,384 --> 00:46:44,386 [dramatic music plays] 745 00:46:48,515 --> 00:46:52,018 The principles were there, and it included lawyers… 746 00:46:53,228 --> 00:46:55,939 the FBI director, the defense department, obviously, 747 00:46:56,022 --> 00:46:58,441 the State Department, the vice president. 748 00:46:59,776 --> 00:47:03,446 And there was no doubt that we were getting ready to go to war. 749 00:47:05,156 --> 00:47:06,950 What does it mean to do that? 750 00:47:07,033 --> 00:47:09,911 The president said, "I don't want to send a million-dollar cruise missile, 751 00:47:09,995 --> 00:47:11,621 and hit a five-dollar tent." 752 00:47:11,705 --> 00:47:14,374 "That's not the kind of response that we want to have." 753 00:47:14,457 --> 00:47:17,669 And so it was a very robust discussion about what it meant. 754 00:47:20,046 --> 00:47:22,591 The president was actually inviting every leader in the world. 755 00:47:22,674 --> 00:47:26,219 He said, "This is your chance to be with us or against us." 756 00:47:26,887 --> 00:47:29,306 "If you're not with us, you're against us." 757 00:47:30,181 --> 00:47:32,642 Underneath our tears is the… 758 00:47:34,352 --> 00:47:36,396 strong determination of America… 759 00:47:37,564 --> 00:47:38,690 to win this war. 760 00:47:39,691 --> 00:47:40,817 And we will win it. 761 00:47:44,821 --> 00:47:48,283 Americans are asking, "Who attacked our country?" 762 00:47:49,034 --> 00:47:50,952 The evidence we have gathered 763 00:47:51,036 --> 00:47:54,956 all points to a collection of loosely affiliated terrorist organizations… 764 00:47:55,874 --> 00:47:57,292 known as al-Qaeda. 765 00:47:59,711 --> 00:48:02,714 The leadership of al-Qaeda has great influence in Afghanistan 766 00:48:03,465 --> 00:48:08,094 and supports the Taliban regime in controlling most of that country. 767 00:48:09,346 --> 00:48:12,182 In Afghanistan, we see al-Qaeda's vision for the world. 768 00:48:15,185 --> 00:48:18,647 [Gonzales] Everyone had confidence we were gonna be successful in this war. 769 00:48:18,730 --> 00:48:20,315 There was no question about that. 770 00:48:20,398 --> 00:48:22,525 Um, it was a question of how long it would take. 771 00:48:30,700 --> 00:48:32,452 [Chandrasekaran] Afghanistan was an incredibly 772 00:48:32,535 --> 00:48:34,454 complex challenge for the US military. 773 00:48:35,038 --> 00:48:39,000 It's a landlocked country halfway around the world. 774 00:48:39,834 --> 00:48:41,795 It's geographically very challenging. 775 00:48:41,878 --> 00:48:45,173 There's steep mountain ranges that ring half the country. 776 00:48:46,341 --> 00:48:49,886 It's bordered by countries that have a strained relation 777 00:48:49,970 --> 00:48:52,555 to the United States, if they have a relationship at all. 778 00:48:53,306 --> 00:48:55,809 Pakistan, Iran, 779 00:48:55,892 --> 00:48:59,938 former Soviet republics like Tajikistan, China. 780 00:49:00,855 --> 00:49:04,275 And so, how do you even get the troops in? 781 00:49:05,610 --> 00:49:08,571 [Rumsfeld] The only defense against terrorism is offense. 782 00:49:09,656 --> 00:49:12,242 You have to simply take the battle to them. 783 00:49:13,326 --> 00:49:14,744 How do you do that? 784 00:49:14,828 --> 00:49:18,415 You don't do it with conventional capabilities. 785 00:49:18,498 --> 00:49:20,583 You do it with unconventional capabilities. 786 00:49:29,300 --> 00:49:32,637 And there are clearly forces on the ground 787 00:49:32,721 --> 00:49:36,391 that are anxious to rid the country of al-Qaeda 788 00:49:36,474 --> 00:49:38,476 and to rid the country of Taliban. 789 00:49:40,186 --> 00:49:45,233 [Chandrasekaran] What eventually starts to take hold at the Pentagon, the CIA, 790 00:49:45,316 --> 00:49:50,113 is a plan to try to make use of Afghan resistance fighters… 791 00:49:52,157 --> 00:49:53,575 called the Northern Alliance. 792 00:49:53,658 --> 00:49:54,868 [machine-gun fire] 793 00:49:56,036 --> 00:49:57,787 [drill sergeant shouting] 794 00:49:57,871 --> 00:49:59,247 [soldiers respond] 795 00:50:03,334 --> 00:50:05,086 The leader of that whole movement 796 00:50:05,170 --> 00:50:08,882 was a brave fighter against the Soviet occupation 797 00:50:08,965 --> 00:50:10,675 named Ahmed Shah Massoud. 798 00:50:11,885 --> 00:50:15,805 Massoud was lionized by his followers, but with good reason. 799 00:50:16,431 --> 00:50:19,225 He was a fearsome commander on the battlefield. 800 00:50:20,435 --> 00:50:25,190 He was able to keep the Taliban at bay for many parts of Northern Afghanistan. 801 00:50:26,107 --> 00:50:28,109 [dramatic music plays] 802 00:50:32,822 --> 00:50:38,536 [man, in Arabic] What was it like to work with your brother? 803 00:50:39,412 --> 00:50:43,041 [Massoud, in Arabic] I felt that my brother was a real hero. 804 00:50:43,792 --> 00:50:49,380 He always acted honorably, and gave people a lot of confidence. 805 00:50:49,464 --> 00:50:55,136 It felt like we had a champion who would never be defeated. 806 00:50:56,721 --> 00:51:01,768 My brother had a strong moral compass. 807 00:51:02,644 --> 00:51:05,396 And was a very religious man. 808 00:51:06,356 --> 00:51:09,567 He was always thinking about freedom for Afghanistan. 809 00:51:12,112 --> 00:51:16,407 By the time of the Taliban, poverty had become widespread, 810 00:51:16,491 --> 00:51:18,409 and there was no education. 811 00:51:18,493 --> 00:51:22,455 There was no healthcare for people, no economy, 812 00:51:22,539 --> 00:51:24,374 there was no governance at all. 813 00:51:27,252 --> 00:51:29,504 All they would do was repress people. 814 00:51:30,338 --> 00:51:32,882 They had a total misconception of religion. 815 00:51:35,176 --> 00:51:38,555 The only thing they talked about was to suppress women 816 00:51:38,638 --> 00:51:41,141 and not let anyone speak up. 817 00:51:41,641 --> 00:51:44,269 It was a dictatorial religious system. 818 00:51:45,186 --> 00:51:49,607 Because of this, Afghanistan was heading for a crisis 819 00:51:49,691 --> 00:51:52,193 and had become a center of international terrorism. 820 00:51:53,319 --> 00:51:55,905 And especially of drug trafficking. 821 00:51:58,158 --> 00:52:00,618 My brother, along with some people in the North, 822 00:52:00,702 --> 00:52:06,166 decided to form a coalition to fight against the Taliban. 823 00:52:07,750 --> 00:52:09,752 [no audible dialogue] 824 00:52:19,971 --> 00:52:22,765 [Chandrasekaran] A few days before the 9/11 attacks, 825 00:52:22,849 --> 00:52:27,103 two al-Qaeda suicide fighters, disguised as Western journalists, 826 00:52:27,187 --> 00:52:29,272 went to go interview Massoud. 827 00:52:29,355 --> 00:52:31,691 [crowd shouting angrily] 828 00:52:32,358 --> 00:52:35,820 And in their video camera was concealed a massive bomb. 829 00:52:36,529 --> 00:52:38,531 And Massoud was assassinated. 830 00:52:41,201 --> 00:52:44,162 It was a tactically brilliant move by Osama bin Laden 831 00:52:44,245 --> 00:52:48,416 and the al-Qaeda leadership to take out the principal rival… 832 00:52:49,083 --> 00:52:52,253 and the principal threat on the battlefield to the Taliban 833 00:52:52,337 --> 00:52:54,130 and to Mullah Omar's government, 834 00:52:54,214 --> 00:52:58,551 recognizing that if the Americans were to attack Afghanistan, 835 00:52:58,635 --> 00:53:02,972 somebody like Massoud would be a vital ally to them. 836 00:53:07,936 --> 00:53:10,730 [Massoud, in Arabic] Al-Qaeda along with the Taliban 837 00:53:10,813 --> 00:53:13,274 believed that the biggest obstacle 838 00:53:13,358 --> 00:53:16,694 to turning Afghanistan into a center of international terrorism 839 00:53:16,778 --> 00:53:19,697 was my brother, Amir Sahib Ahmad Shah Massoud. 840 00:53:19,781 --> 00:53:23,076 Therefore, they decided to remove him from their path. 841 00:53:23,952 --> 00:53:27,622 [somber funeral music plays] 842 00:53:28,915 --> 00:53:31,167 [Filkins] In 2001 at 9/11, 843 00:53:31,251 --> 00:53:34,504 about 90% of Afghanistan was controlled by the Taliban, 844 00:53:34,587 --> 00:53:38,007 which left 10% of it, this tiny little piece of territory 845 00:53:38,091 --> 00:53:39,801 in the far north of Afghanistan. 846 00:53:41,135 --> 00:53:43,179 And so, when the attacks happened, 847 00:53:43,263 --> 00:53:45,807 my editor at The New York Times said to me, 848 00:53:45,890 --> 00:53:48,643 "Get yourself to Northern Afghanistan with the rebels." 849 00:53:48,726 --> 00:53:50,728 "I don't know how to get there. Do it." 850 00:53:50,812 --> 00:53:53,022 I flew to Tajikistan… 851 00:53:53,690 --> 00:53:58,194 and crossed into this tiny little area controlled by the Northern Alliance. 852 00:53:58,945 --> 00:54:03,074 And there was a front line that was like something out of the first World War. 853 00:54:04,409 --> 00:54:07,787 You could look across the front line, 300 yards away, you could see the Taliban. 854 00:54:08,496 --> 00:54:10,290 And they were just sitting in the trenches. 855 00:54:14,377 --> 00:54:15,837 And then the B-52s came. 856 00:54:18,214 --> 00:54:21,509 And I had rented this mud hut 857 00:54:21,592 --> 00:54:24,512 that was one of the nicer huts in town, because it had windows. 858 00:54:24,595 --> 00:54:27,640 I remember it was probably five o'clock in the morning, 859 00:54:27,724 --> 00:54:32,186 and I was awakened by the rattling of the windows. 860 00:54:32,270 --> 00:54:34,689 And they were just shaking. It felt like an earthquake. 861 00:54:34,772 --> 00:54:39,110 I thought it was an earthquake, actually. It's a very active earthquake zone. 862 00:54:39,193 --> 00:54:40,403 It was the bombs. 863 00:54:40,486 --> 00:54:42,322 [ominous music plays] 864 00:54:43,197 --> 00:54:44,741 [explosions] 865 00:54:44,824 --> 00:54:47,452 I looked out across the Taliban trenches, 866 00:54:47,535 --> 00:54:52,665 and the B-52s bombed the trenches all up and down the whole horizon. 867 00:54:52,749 --> 00:54:56,711 You could see these gigantic kind of black circles. 868 00:54:57,920 --> 00:55:03,343 The whole sky was kind of crisscrossed with the contrails of the B-52s. 869 00:55:03,426 --> 00:55:05,428 It looked like a piece of modern art. 870 00:55:06,554 --> 00:55:09,974 They would circle for the longest time and drop a 2,000-pound bomb. 871 00:55:10,058 --> 00:55:11,601 [bomb exploding] 872 00:55:13,394 --> 00:55:15,772 They bombed every day like that for several days, 873 00:55:15,855 --> 00:55:18,358 and then finally the Taliban line cracked. 874 00:55:18,441 --> 00:55:21,235 [dramatic music plays] 875 00:55:26,908 --> 00:55:30,286 [reporter] The Taliban got in their pickup trucks, loaded their small arms, 876 00:55:30,370 --> 00:55:33,164 and headed south to their spiritual base in Kandahar. 877 00:55:37,502 --> 00:55:41,672 [Chandrasekaran] The Taliban regime was hunkered down in Kandahar. 878 00:55:41,839 --> 00:55:44,050 That's where they're gonna make their last stand. 879 00:55:45,009 --> 00:55:47,011 [ominous music playing] 880 00:55:48,262 --> 00:55:49,806 December, 2001, 881 00:55:49,889 --> 00:55:52,517 the United States thought it had bin Laden cornered 882 00:55:52,600 --> 00:55:53,976 in the Tora Bora Mountains. 883 00:55:55,436 --> 00:55:59,732 [Chandrasekaran] Intelligence gets to US forces and Afghan forces, 884 00:55:59,816 --> 00:56:03,069 but inexplicably, the US doesn't send 885 00:56:03,152 --> 00:56:06,322 a huge contingent of special ops soldiers 886 00:56:06,406 --> 00:56:09,534 to try to capture or kill bin Laden. 887 00:56:10,201 --> 00:56:13,621 It's left to a ragtag group of Afghan fighters 888 00:56:13,704 --> 00:56:15,957 with a small number of American advisors. 889 00:56:16,874 --> 00:56:18,918 It's a puzzling decision. 890 00:56:19,627 --> 00:56:25,133 It's inexplicable in many ways, when the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, 891 00:56:25,216 --> 00:56:31,514 the leader of al-Qaeda, are all within the grasp of US forces, 892 00:56:31,597 --> 00:56:35,852 that we don't mount a much bigger effort to go after them. 893 00:56:39,689 --> 00:56:41,566 [Graff] There was no higher mission, 894 00:56:41,649 --> 00:56:47,029 no more important hunt in the world than finding Osama bin Laden. 895 00:56:47,738 --> 00:56:51,868 He was the number-one target, the most hunted man in the world. 896 00:56:52,994 --> 00:56:56,414 [man] We lived in a constant state of awareness that it could happen again, 897 00:56:56,497 --> 00:56:59,542 that we could find ourselves facing another similar attack. 898 00:57:01,878 --> 00:57:03,880 You got people saying he's in a cave. 899 00:57:04,714 --> 00:57:06,132 People saying he's dead. 900 00:57:07,008 --> 00:57:09,051 People saying he's in Pakistan. 901 00:57:09,135 --> 00:57:12,805 All I know is that he's running. 902 00:57:14,932 --> 00:57:16,934 [ominous music plays] 903 00:58:18,621 --> 00:58:22,208 Subtitle translation by: