On the morning of September 11, 2001, White House Chief of Staff Andrew Carter was given a task he had never imagined since his career: how to pay tribute to President George W. Bush, who was surrounded by a group of schoolchildren. W. Bush went to report on what was happening in the United States at this moment.
Just as two planes full of passengers crashed into the World Trade Center building, the United States was under attack. In order not to let Bush overreact in the live news broadcast, the chief of staff conveyed the state of the United States at this time in the shortest language, and he bowed to Bush and whispered: "Two planes have crashed into two buildings of the World Trade Center, and the United States is under attack."
Carter then launched one of the most hidden programs of the federal government created by Eisenhower, the Federal Government Continuation Program (COOP).
The plan was re-established during Bush's last presidency, Bill Clinton, under the code name of Presidential Decision Directive 67, also known as the "Continuity of Government Program."
The plan sets out what the executive branch of the federal government should do to respond to a national emergency, and September 11 was launched for the first time since its creation.
According to COOP, the Secret Service will protect the president, vice president, and other government officials as soon as the program is launched. At this time, the head of the Secret Service had the power to mobilize any asset in the United States, even the Department of Defense had to listen to him, and such a large power was mainly for his ability to smoothly send senior government officials to Air Force One or other safe places to avoid "beheading".
In Washington, Vice President Dick Cheney and other dignitaries are directing everything inside the White House in a building that is seen as a target by "opponents." The White House's air defense early warning system alerted that a high-speed airliner was flying toward Washington when Jimmy Scott, a Secret Service agent in charge of Cheney's safety, rushed into his office and said, "Mr. Vice President, we have to get out of here now." ”
Before Cheney could respond, Scott came to Cheney's side, put one hand around the vice president's waist and the other on his shoulder and pushed him directly from behind his desk into the bunker under the White House.
Also known as the Presidential Emergency Operations Center (PEOC) or Bunker, the site was built during World War II, when its main function was to respond to possible air attacks by the "Axis Powers" on the United States, and was a refuge for the President of the United States and other senior government officials in times of emergency.
It was here that Cheney was authorized by Bush to issue orders to the military (although not in accordance with the U.S. state of emergency procedures at the time) that, in order to prevent possible further attacks and to ensure continuity in the U.S. government, the military could shoot down any aircraft that tried to launch another attack.
In Cheney's autobiography he describes it this way:
At about 10:15, a uniformed military chief came into the room and told me that a passenger plane confirmed to have been hijacked was coming toward Washington 80 miles away. Then he asked me if the fighters patrolling the air had the right to engage the hijacked plane. In other words, whether the fighter can shoot it down directly, "Yes," I said without hesitation, and a moment later the officer came back to report to me, "Mr. Vice President, at this time the aircraft is 60 miles away, can the fighter really be authorized?" The answer I give is still "yes."
However, in the chaotic situation at that time, some of Cheney's orders were not issued to the fighter pilots through the command system, and although some pilots were ready to launch a suicide attack on the hijacked airliner without weapons, this did not happen in the end. Flight 93 crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, despite the desperate resistance of random passengers.
In addition to evacuating the vice president, Secret Service personnel are also evacuating all those in the White House to ensure that the aircraft hit the White House to minimize the loss of personnel, after all, the World Trade Center and the Pentagon have been attacked just a few hours ago.
Turning to Air Force One, President Bush had boarded the plane surrounded by Secret Service agents, but he did not know much about the outside world, including the President of the United States and secret service personnel, who only knew that the United States had been attacked, but the specific details could not be known. At this time, Air Force One was not equipped with cable TV and e-mail, and during this time, there was a major blockage in the US national network, and communication lines were very tight.
In order to immediately understand what was happening, Bush asked Air Force One to fly directly to Washington, but the Secret Service did not think so, and despite the president's own proposal, no one had the right to interfere in the Secret Service's actions at this time. As Wilkerson, a Secret Service agent in charge of presidential security at the time, said, "The Secret Service must keep the president safe, and keeping him alive is much more important than the law." ”
Eventually Air Force One flew to Overt Air Force Base in Nebugualas, where Bush issued a statement declaring the United States in a "state of war." Bush then returned to Washington immediately, and although the Secret Service still opposed the action, bush returned to the White House after confirming the relevant information from many parties.
After arriving at the White House, Bush met with Vice President Cheney, Card, National Security Adviser Rice, and Secret Service Chief Scott at the "Presidential Emergency Operations Center" to discuss the attack on the United States and countermeasures.