Then-President George W. Bush recalled addressing a crowd at Ground Zero on September 14, 2001. “People shouted, ‘We can’t hear you.’ I shot back, ‘I can hear you!’ It got a cheer. I had been hoping to rally the workers and express the resolve of the country. Suddenly I knew how. ‘I can hear you. […]
Category: quotes
9/14/2001
“Immediately after the catastrophic events of 9/11 [September 14, 2001], the influential British intelligence review, Jane’s, traced the al Qaeda attack back to its ‘origins’ in this 1979 decision [to send aid to the Islamic militants in Afghanistan] by [President Jimmy] Carter and [National Security Advisor Zbigniew] Brzezinski…” – Peter Dale Scott, The Road to […]
9/14/2001
In a Washington Post article on September 14, 2001, “Paul Wolfowitz, then U.S. deputy secretary of defense, warned about ending states [that sponsored terrorism]. ‘It’s not just simply a matter of capturing people and holding them accountable but removing the sanctuaries, removing the support systems, ending states who sponsor terrorism,’ he said…” – Ahmed Rashid, […]
9/14/2001
“Chastened by their failure to predict the [9/11] attacks, United States officials have begun the task of sifting through previous intelligence reports to determine whether they missed any indications that an assault was imminent. Officials said that in hindsight, some strands of intelligence now appeared far more significant than they did at the time they […]
9/14/2001
From the March/April 2002 issue of Foreign Affairs: “Right after September 11 [September 14, 2001], Congress authorized $40 billion in emergency spending–and that was just a down payment in the struggle against terrorism. The estimated cost to the U.S. economy ranges from $100 billion to $300 billion.” – Foreign Affairs, The U.S. vs. al Qaeda, […]
9/14/2001
Summing up America’s defenses following 9/11: “For the last decade, the use of American might has been shaped by several principles: emphasizing air power and long-range precision arms, avoiding ground combat whenever possible and using overwhelming ground forces when it is not. The use of American military force has also been reactive. Pre-emptive action was […]
9/14/2001
“Secretary of State Colin Powell encapsulated widely held views of how the [Bush] administration would respond [to the 9/11 attacks] when he said of al Qaeda [on September 14, 2001], ‘We will go after that group, that network, and those who have harbored, supported and aided that network.’ Representing the scope of the administration’s ambitions, […]
9/14/2001
“Security officials estimate that about 3,500 Arab militants live in Germany and raise significant sums of money for Mr. bin Laden and other Middle East radicals. There is a network to provide fake documents and shelter for militants, the security officials said.” – Steven Erlanger, “German Officials Link 3 Arab Men to Attack,” The New […]
9/14/2001
In an address at the Washington National Cathedral on September 14, 2001, President Bush said: ” ‘Just three days removed from these events [9/11], Americans do not yet have the distance of history… But our responsibility to history is already clear–to answer these attacks and rid the world of evil. War has been waged against […]
9/14/2001
“The [Bush] administration had asked Congress for an immediate $20 billion to begin building the military and intelligence force required to start the antiterror campaign. ‘Twenty billion dollars is a lot of money,’ [Deputy Secretary of Defense] Mr. [Paul] Wolfowitz said, ‘but for this country, it is a down payment on what we’re going to […]