The Event

Abstract

This chapter retraces the events of September 11, 2001, beginning with American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175 crashing into World Trade Center 1 and 2, respectively, one after the other. American Airlines Flight 77 then crashed into the Pentagon and United Airlines Flight 93 crashed in a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. New York City burned for the next 100 days. World Trade Center 7 also collapsed. Less than three hours later, President George W. Bush spoke to the nation from the Oval Office. On September 25, letters sent to a number of media outfits sparked fears of biological warfare in the wake of 9/11. On October 7, the war in Afghanistan, dubbed Operation Enduring Freedom, began. On November 16, Osama Bin Laden and his key followers escaped from their hideout as the United States began to bomb Tora Bora. On December 20, 100 days after 9/11, Robert Calise, a spokesman for the New York Fire Department, announced that the fires at Ground Zero were officially considered extinguished.