On the morning of
Sept. 11, 2001, the presidency of George W. Bush changed instantly. In a new
collection of never-before-seen photographs from that day, the president can be
seen responding to the worst terrorist attack in United States history — an
event that would redefine his time in office and propel the nation into
two wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The images, which
were given to FRONTLINE through a Freedom of Information Act request, provide a
new window into President Bush’s actions on 9/11 — from the initial
scramble for information upon learning of the attack at an elementary school in
Florida, to his meetings with senior staff throughout the day, and his return
to the White House that evening, where in an address to the nation he vowed to
“find those responsible and bring them to justice.”
The images were
released Friday in response to a FOIA request by Colette Neirouz Hanna,
coordinating producer for the Kirk Documentary Group, which has covered the
legacy of 9/11 in multiple films for FRONTLINE, including Bush’s War, Cheney’s Law, and the
forthcoming investigationThe Secret History
of ISIS.
They were taken by
Eric Draper, who was the president’s personal photographer.
“Capturing that
story was difficult,” Draper told the website Storybench in a 2015 interview. “I had to focus on being in the right place
at the right time and push back the emotions that I was feeling to truly
capture the story. Everyone did their job that day and I knew my job was to
have a crystal clear focus to document what was in front of me, for others to
place it into history.”
The collection of
photos from the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum is now the third
to be released in response to FOIA requests from Neirouz Hanna. One batch,
released by the National Archives in July 2015, contained more than 350
behind-the-scenes images of 9/11 by Vice President Dick Cheney’s personal
photographer. A set of 2,664 images released one month earlier provided a rare glimpse of
Cheney’s tenure in office.
Here is a selection
of photographs from the latest release.
On the morning of
Sept. 11, 2001, the president was visiting Emma E. Brooker Elementary School in
Sarasota, Fla. when news of the attack on the World Trade Center broke.
The president and
his staff, including Press Secretary Ari Fleischer, pictured left, were then
brought to a holding room at the school, where he prepared to address the
nation. “I have spoken to the vice president, to the governor of New York, to
the director of the FBI, and have ordered that the full resources of the
federal government go to help the victims and their families — and to conduct a
full-scale investigation to hunt down and to find those folks who committed
this act,” he said. “Terrorism against our nation will not stand.”
The president was
whisked onto Air Force One and was flown to Barksdale Air Force Base in
Louisiana. Here he is shown watching television coverage of the attacks from
his office on the plane.
President George W.
Bush talks on the telephone at the General Dougherty Conference Center at
Barksdale Air Force Base.
The president with
senior adviser Karl Rove at Barksdale Air Force Base.
The president with
White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card at Barksdale Air Force Base. Before
leaving the base, the president held a press conference at which he said, “Make
no mistake: The United States will hunt down and punish those responsible for
these cowardly acts.”
The president is
consoled by Lt. Col. Cindy Wright of the White House Military Office aboard Air
Force One. After leaving Louisiana, the president was flown to Offutt Air Force
Base in Nebraska before he headed back to Washington D.C.
President Bush
arrived at the White House Presidential Emergency Operations Center around 7
p.m. Here he is shown with his wife, First Lady Laura Bush, Vice President
Cheney and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice.
At 8:30 p.m., the
president addressed the nation from the White House. In his speech, he set the
tone for the wars to come in Afghanistan and Iraq.
“I’ve directed the
full resources for our intelligence and law enforcement communities to find
those responsible and bring them to justice,” the president said. “We will make
no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who
harbor them.”
The president’s
speech on the teleprompter.
Immediately
following the speech, the president has a national security meeting with
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, Vice President Dick Cheney, National
Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card and
others.
All photos by Eric
Draper Courtesy of the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum/NARA
Source: http://www.pbs.org
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