National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice presented a paper to President Bush dealing with directives for setting the retaliation for the 9/11 attacks in motion. “President Bush then considered [this paper] with principals on Monday morning, September 17 [2001]. ‘The purpose of this meeting,’ he recalled saying, ‘is to assign tasks for the first wave of the war against terrorism. It starts today.’ ”
– 9/11 Commission, The 9/11 Commission Report, Page 333