WEBVTT - PENTAGON 0:00:01.160 --> 0:00:04.120 Good morning, sixty degree is at eight o'clock. It's Tuesday, 0:00:04.160 --> 0:00:06.960 September eleven. Here's what's happening against primary day and the 0:00:07.000 --> 0:00:10.200 polls are open. In New York City, September eleven, two thousand, 0:00:11.640 --> 0:00:13.760 a m s the beginning of another day along the 0:00:13.800 --> 0:00:16.720 eastern seaboard Yark Stock Exchange, where we could be in 0:00:16.840 --> 0:00:19.880 for a solid open to the trading day stock into future. 0:00:20.280 --> 0:00:24.120 Then one minute later am New York City. This justin. 0:00:24.239 --> 0:00:27.360 You were looking at obviously a very disturbing live shot 0:00:27.400 --> 0:00:29.400 there that is the World Trade Center. And we have 0:00:29.560 --> 0:00:33.400 unconfirmed reports this morning that a plane has crashed into 0:00:33.440 --> 0:00:36.800 one of the towers of the World Trade Center. American 0:00:36.840 --> 0:00:40.360 Airlines Flight eleven crashes into the World Trade Center's North Tower. 0:00:40.680 --> 0:00:44.440 Minutes later, United Airlines Flight one slams into the Trade 0:00:44.440 --> 0:00:47.280 Centers South Tower. We're gonna take a look at videotape 0:00:47.320 --> 0:00:51.200 just moments ago of the second plane hitting the World 0:00:51.320 --> 0:00:55.640 Trade Center. That is spectacular pictures. Met two was a 0:00:55.720 --> 0:01:00.840 passenger plane. Perhaps some type of navigating sister M or 0:01:00.960 --> 0:01:06.040 some type of electronics would have put two planes into 0:01:06.040 --> 0:01:10.440 the World Trade Center within it looks like about eighteen 0:01:10.480 --> 0:01:14.560 minutes of each other. Meanwhile, here in Los Angeles, a 0:01:14.680 --> 0:01:18.200 plane crash into a New York landmark. Good morning, this 0:01:18.360 --> 0:01:21.200 is the six o'clock news Here on k f I, 0:01:21.200 --> 0:01:23.800 I'm Ken Gallagher. Smoke is pouring from the upper floors 0:01:23.800 --> 0:01:25.800 of the north building of the Twin Towers of the 0:01:25.840 --> 0:01:28.800 World Trade Center in New York. Right now. C NBC 0:01:28.959 --> 0:01:31.440 is reporting a witnesses a plane hit the building and 0:01:31.440 --> 0:01:34.200 that evacuations have been ordered. CNN is reporting the plane 0:01:34.240 --> 0:01:36.600 appears to be a commercial jet, perhaps a seven thirty. 0:01:36.840 --> 0:01:38.960 The Build Handle show on k if I AM six 0:01:39.000 --> 0:01:42.000 forty was already into its second hour. The popular morning 0:01:42.000 --> 0:01:44.280 host had learned of the attacks during a commercial break. 0:01:44.319 --> 0:01:47.000 Good morning, everybody, six o nine caf I AM six forty. 0:01:47.000 --> 0:01:49.640 More stimulating talk radio, Bill Handle, and a pleasure to 0:01:49.680 --> 0:01:51.440 have you with this if you have not yet heard. 0:01:51.640 --> 0:01:55.720 A few minutes ago, a airplane crashed into one of 0:01:55.760 --> 0:01:59.840 the World Trade Centers, followed by a second plane that 0:02:00.080 --> 0:02:04.280 crashed into the second World Trade Center. We now have 0:02:04.400 --> 0:02:07.920 both buildings on fire, and it it's hard to say 0:02:07.960 --> 0:02:10.240 at this point but that that cannot be an accident. 0:02:15.360 --> 0:02:18.480 This is out of a movie. The airplane was aimed 0:02:18.480 --> 0:02:22.840 for and was timed to do the maximum amount of 0:02:22.919 --> 0:02:26.079 damage and to hurt and kill and maim the most 0:02:26.280 --> 0:02:28.800 number of people. Bill, we do have a bulletin from 0:02:28.800 --> 0:02:31.560 Associated Press that says a plane has now crashed into 0:02:31.600 --> 0:02:36.960 the Pentagon. This is the worst nightmare for American security 0:02:37.000 --> 0:02:39.400 forces and the people of the United States. We it's 0:02:39.440 --> 0:02:43.000 this is war. Uh. It appears some group or another 0:02:43.040 --> 0:02:45.799 has declared full scale war in the United States. At 0:02:45.800 --> 0:02:48.120 this point, we're just sitting back and wondering when the 0:02:48.200 --> 0:02:50.960 next one is going to happen. One of the World 0:02:51.040 --> 0:02:57.399 Trade Center buildings just collapsed. The entire building collapsed. There 0:02:57.520 --> 0:03:00.360 is nothing left of it. The whole thing just came down. 0:03:00.720 --> 0:03:06.519 The whole building is now down. The second building now collapsing. 0:03:06.960 --> 0:03:12.400 This is unbelievable. We do know that Somerset County Airport 0:03:12.400 --> 0:03:15.400 outside of Pittsburgh, a plane did go down just north 0:03:15.440 --> 0:03:17.480 of the airport. We are in it together. We have 0:03:17.520 --> 0:03:19.919 been attacked. As a people. All we know, we can 0:03:19.960 --> 0:03:24.520 safely say that today war has been declared on the 0:03:24.560 --> 0:03:29.000 United States of America. You can't even imagine the number 0:03:29.000 --> 0:03:32.919 of people that have died. Probably the worst day, one 0:03:32.919 --> 0:03:35.640 of the worst days in our collective history. This will 0:03:35.680 --> 0:03:37.119 be one of the days you remember for the rest 0:03:37.160 --> 0:03:40.080 of your life. One thing I promise you, it will 0:03:40.120 --> 0:03:42.360 never be the same in this country again. Within the hour, 0:03:42.400 --> 0:03:45.280 in American Airlines flight would also strike the Pentagon. A 0:03:45.400 --> 0:03:49.040 United Airlines slight would also crash near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, and 0:03:49.120 --> 0:03:51.800 both World Trade Center towers would collapse to the ground. 0:03:52.080 --> 0:03:56.000 In just under two hours, two thousand nine nine people 0:03:56.040 --> 0:03:59.440 were killed, in some twenty five thousand more injured. President 0:03:59.480 --> 0:04:02.920 George dub You Bush was at an elementary school in Sarasota, Florida. 0:04:03.000 --> 0:04:05.480 When he heard the news. He meet his first public 0:04:05.520 --> 0:04:08.880 comments from a classroom. Today, We've had a national tragedy. 0:04:10.640 --> 0:04:16.200 Two airplanes have crashed into the World Trade Center in 0:04:16.279 --> 0:04:21.560 an apparent terrorist attack on our country. I have spoken 0:04:21.600 --> 0:04:24.520 to the Vice President, to the Governor of New York, 0:04:25.480 --> 0:04:29.160 to the director of the FBI, and I've ordered that 0:04:29.240 --> 0:04:32.880 the full resources of the federal government go to help 0:04:32.920 --> 0:04:37.000 the victims and their families, and and to conduct a 0:04:37.080 --> 0:04:42.880 full scale investigation to hunt down and to find those 0:04:42.920 --> 0:04:48.599 folks who committed this act terrorism against our nation. Will 0:04:48.600 --> 0:04:57.960 not stand it. I'm Steve Gregory in Los Angeles, and 0:04:58.080 --> 0:05:02.279 this is nine eleven, two decades later. The attacks of 0:05:02.360 --> 0:05:06.000 nine eleven forever changed America. It also marked the beginning 0:05:06.000 --> 0:05:08.880 of the War on Terror, with it the creation of 0:05:08.880 --> 0:05:11.640 new agencies like the Department of Homeland Security and the 0:05:11.680 --> 0:05:16.440 Transportation Security Administration, which implemented sweeping changes to how Americans 0:05:16.440 --> 0:05:20.520 would travel nine eleven, two decades later, we'll go behind 0:05:20.560 --> 0:05:22.760 the scenes with those who were in the inner sanctum 0:05:22.760 --> 0:05:26.360 of agencies that made life changing decisions on our behalf, 0:05:26.839 --> 0:05:30.280 and we asked the question, is America safer today than 0:05:30.360 --> 0:05:39.200 twenty years ago? Thanks very much you all. Um, it's 0:05:39.240 --> 0:05:41.839 got a brief statement and then a few people who've 0:05:41.839 --> 0:05:44.640 got some important information we want to get out today. 0:05:44.680 --> 0:05:47.080 I'd just like to say a couple of things. Um. 0:05:47.200 --> 0:05:50.080 First and foremost, the Department of Defense is open for business. 0:05:50.440 --> 0:05:54.680 We're here, we're operating, and we're functioning very well. Our 0:05:54.720 --> 0:05:58.359 priorities this morning today are to care for the injured 0:05:58.400 --> 0:06:01.760 and the dead and their family lease, to work closely 0:06:01.800 --> 0:06:04.640 with the President and the National Security team, to ensure 0:06:04.640 --> 0:06:06.919 the safety of the American people and our men and 0:06:06.960 --> 0:06:11.000 women in uniform around the world, and to determine who 0:06:11.040 --> 0:06:13.640 was responsible and what the course of action will be 0:06:14.800 --> 0:06:16.440 a couple of things I want to say up front. 0:06:16.600 --> 0:06:19.440 Victoria Clark was the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public 0:06:19.480 --> 0:06:22.159 Affairs at the Pentagon on nine eleven. She worked for 0:06:22.240 --> 0:06:26.600 Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and says she remembers the davividly. 0:06:26.720 --> 0:06:28.520 The first thing in the morning, the thing that struck 0:06:28.560 --> 0:06:30.839 all of us before anything had happened, was what a 0:06:30.839 --> 0:06:34.040 beautiful day it was. September in the DC area can 0:06:34.080 --> 0:06:38.479 be really muggy and hot and cloudy and just terrible, 0:06:38.600 --> 0:06:44.000 and it was a stunningly beautiful, crystal clear blue sky morning. 0:06:44.160 --> 0:06:46.800 And that's what everybody was talking about when we first 0:06:46.800 --> 0:06:48.760 came to work, and most people would show up at 0:06:48.800 --> 0:06:51.760 six maybe six thirty in the morning. And prior to 0:06:51.800 --> 0:06:55.360 the first plane hitting the World Trade Tower in New York, 0:06:55.800 --> 0:06:58.279 we were getting ready for a regular briefing later that morning, 0:06:58.279 --> 0:07:01.000 which was going to be on a weapons collection program 0:07:01.040 --> 0:07:04.280 and the Balkans uh some missile defense tests that will 0:07:04.279 --> 0:07:08.040 becoming up pretty standard stuff, and it was not expected 0:07:08.080 --> 0:07:11.840 to be an extraordinary day in any way. So then 0:07:12.000 --> 0:07:15.280 when did you know something was wrong? When something something 0:07:15.320 --> 0:07:18.120 wasn't right and there was an emergency. The first plane 0:07:18.200 --> 0:07:20.480 hit the World trade towers and and most offices in 0:07:20.520 --> 0:07:22.800 the Pentagon, like a lot of places in d C, 0:07:23.000 --> 0:07:28.120 have multiple televisions. In my office, big briefing table, multiple TVs, 0:07:28.240 --> 0:07:31.240 and we were we could see the news and the 0:07:31.360 --> 0:07:34.200 when the first plane hit the first tower, and if 0:07:34.240 --> 0:07:36.600 some people thought something was up, but most of us thought, oh, 0:07:36.640 --> 0:07:39.200 it was a traffic plane or maybe a commuter plane 0:07:39.200 --> 0:07:42.400 that accidentally had hit the building. When this and I 0:07:42.440 --> 0:07:45.280 got up on my phone and called the Secretary of 0:07:45.320 --> 0:07:48.080 Defense as chief of staff kind named Larry Grita, and said, hey, 0:07:48.120 --> 0:07:50.400 you guys watching this, and he goes, yeah, we are. 0:07:50.440 --> 0:07:53.120 We're checking in. And then as we're both talking and 0:07:53.160 --> 0:07:56.440 we're watching the TVs and respective offices, the second plane 0:07:56.520 --> 0:07:59.320 hits the second tower, and then you instantly knew it 0:07:59.440 --> 0:08:01.840 was not an accident. You instantly knew it was a 0:08:01.920 --> 0:08:06.400 terrorist attack. And equally instantly, the apparatus in the building 0:08:06.640 --> 0:08:10.120 that spins up around crises started to spin up, so 0:08:10.280 --> 0:08:13.080 key people went to what they call the Executive Support 0:08:13.120 --> 0:08:15.440 Center in the middle of the building. The Secretary of 0:08:15.480 --> 0:08:18.400 Defense was at the time getting his regular CIA briefing 0:08:18.760 --> 0:08:22.240 that morning, and he wanted to get some more information 0:08:22.280 --> 0:08:25.120 from her before he came into the support center where 0:08:25.160 --> 0:08:27.680 some of us were, and so he was in his office. 0:08:27.760 --> 0:08:30.320 We were in that center when we felt the plane 0:08:30.360 --> 0:08:33.840 hit the Pentagon, and that the Pentagon is a very 0:08:33.920 --> 0:08:36.200 large building, but even in the center of the building, 0:08:36.240 --> 0:08:40.160 on the third floor, you could feel this enormous thump 0:08:40.240 --> 0:08:43.120 in the building actually moved a little and it was 0:08:43.200 --> 0:08:48.600 muffled but incredibly loud noise. Did you know something was wrong? Yes, absolutely, 0:08:48.840 --> 0:08:50.760 you knew something was wrong. We knew the building had 0:08:50.760 --> 0:08:55.439 been attacked. Despite the fact is this still strikes me 0:08:55.480 --> 0:08:58.200 as crazy, even twenty years later, despite the fact that 0:08:58.240 --> 0:09:00.800 we were there working on the crisis management, if you will, 0:09:01.360 --> 0:09:04.960 of two commercial airliners hitting the World Trade Towers and 0:09:05.000 --> 0:09:08.360 we felt this enormous thump and heard that noise. My 0:09:08.480 --> 0:09:10.880 first thought was not that it was a plane, because 0:09:11.080 --> 0:09:13.520 prior to nine eleven you just don't think of large 0:09:13.520 --> 0:09:16.040 planes slide into buildings. My first thought was that must 0:09:16.080 --> 0:09:18.040 have been a car bonb because there had been rumors 0:09:18.080 --> 0:09:21.080 of different things going on around Washington, d C. At 0:09:21.080 --> 0:09:23.440 the time. After the two planes hit the World Trade Towers, 0:09:23.559 --> 0:09:25.360 so my first thought was it must have been a 0:09:25.360 --> 0:09:28.680 car bomb or something like that, and it actually was 0:09:28.800 --> 0:09:32.520 the Secretary of Defense himself, who was our first eyewitness 0:09:32.520 --> 0:09:35.720 outside when it happened, when it hit, when the building 0:09:35.720 --> 0:09:37.640 was hit, he asked people didn't know what had happened. 0:09:37.840 --> 0:09:41.920 He went outside the building himself and he was on 0:09:41.960 --> 0:09:44.680 the scene very early, helped some injured people get away 0:09:44.679 --> 0:09:47.200 from the wreckage, helped get some of them to ambulances, 0:09:47.240 --> 0:09:49.360 and then he came back in and joined us. And 0:09:49.440 --> 0:09:51.720 he was the first one who was our eyewitness of 0:09:51.720 --> 0:09:53.199 the fact that it was a plane. And we're talking 0:09:53.240 --> 0:09:58.120 about Donald Use. Was that typical for someone like him 0:09:58.160 --> 0:10:00.920 to I mean, when you got someone in that Yes, 0:10:01.360 --> 0:10:04.040 very typical of him, not typical of most people at 0:10:04.080 --> 0:10:06.559 that level. And uh, I talked about this the other 0:10:06.640 --> 0:10:09.880 day at his service um over at Arlington. We're in 0:10:09.960 --> 0:10:12.160 the building and we're trying to figure out what happened, 0:10:12.200 --> 0:10:16.000 and all the communications apparatus are are spinning up, and 0:10:16.559 --> 0:10:18.480 he couldn't get an answer from anyone, so he went 0:10:18.480 --> 0:10:21.720 outside the building to find out for himself. Very common sense. 0:10:22.120 --> 0:10:24.640 So what happens to Nixon? How on earth? Because this 0:10:24.720 --> 0:10:27.120 was this was new for modern day America, this was 0:10:27.160 --> 0:10:29.360 new for us. It was They like to say that 0:10:29.400 --> 0:10:33.319 America for two hundred years plus was blessed by unique 0:10:33.360 --> 0:10:38.400 geography and really good neighbors, and in conventional warfare, we 0:10:38.400 --> 0:10:42.520 were pretty well positioned. Um asymmetrical warfare, which is something 0:10:42.559 --> 0:10:44.400 that the Secretary and the rest of us have been 0:10:44.400 --> 0:10:46.199 talking about for months and months and months, is a 0:10:46.320 --> 0:10:48.600 very different thing. And this was the first real life 0:10:48.600 --> 0:10:53.160 example of asymmetrical warfare on our on our turf. How 0:10:53.360 --> 0:10:56.120 on earth do you take a message of what had 0:10:56.160 --> 0:10:58.040 just happened, And you said yourself you were you were 0:10:58.080 --> 0:11:00.400 working on a response to what had happened in York. 0:11:00.760 --> 0:11:03.760 Now it's in your backyard, per se. Where do you 0:11:03.800 --> 0:11:06.840 even begin to craft a message like that? Well, the 0:11:07.880 --> 0:11:09.240 I was about to say the good news, and I 0:11:09.400 --> 0:11:11.080 was trying to be careful with words I use because 0:11:11.120 --> 0:11:14.120 they sounding disrespectful. But if you're work in a place 0:11:14.160 --> 0:11:18.120 like the Pentagon, you always are working on crisis plans, 0:11:18.160 --> 0:11:21.080 You're working on contingency plans. You work in a place 0:11:21.120 --> 0:11:23.839 like the Pentagon, you know bad things can happen, and 0:11:23.920 --> 0:11:26.200 so you can't always predict exactly what they will be. 0:11:26.600 --> 0:11:28.760 But you want to have plans in place for how 0:11:28.800 --> 0:11:31.400 will we make sure we perform the functions were tasked 0:11:31.400 --> 0:11:34.960 with performing. So to your point, my department, the Department 0:11:34.960 --> 0:11:38.440 of Public Affairs, was tasked with helping to craft the messages, 0:11:38.520 --> 0:11:40.880 make sure they get communicated and as timely a fashion 0:11:40.920 --> 0:11:43.959 as possible. Make sure the media covering the Pentagon have 0:11:44.040 --> 0:11:47.120 as much access as possible. Make sure we're coordinating with 0:11:47.200 --> 0:11:50.440 other key agencies in the administration, So the White House, 0:11:50.480 --> 0:11:54.440 State Department, Cia, etcetera. And I had a wonderful My 0:11:54.520 --> 0:11:57.640 senior military assistant was a wonderful Army colonel named George 0:11:57.679 --> 0:11:59.800 Ryan Dance, and weeks and weeks and weeks before and 0:11:59.840 --> 0:12:02.800 I eleven, he had developed a crisis management plan for us. 0:12:02.840 --> 0:12:06.680 He had had us exercise it and practice it. And 0:12:07.040 --> 0:12:09.360 one of the many things he focused on was we 0:12:09.400 --> 0:12:12.040 had all, even twenty years ago, had gotten very reliant 0:12:12.160 --> 0:12:14.880 on our computers and our and our phones and things 0:12:14.920 --> 0:12:17.800 like that, and doing everything electronically, and he was worried 0:12:17.880 --> 0:12:20.040 that there might something might happen where we might not 0:12:20.120 --> 0:12:22.040 have access to our cell phones, it might be harder 0:12:22.040 --> 0:12:24.959 to communicate. He made us all carry around with us 0:12:25.120 --> 0:12:28.240 hard copies, paper copies of all the key people we 0:12:28.240 --> 0:12:30.640 would want to reach in case of emergency. People, we 0:12:30.760 --> 0:12:34.079 worked with, people of the other agencies, the media, and 0:12:34.120 --> 0:12:36.040 we carry them on us when we walked around. We 0:12:36.040 --> 0:12:37.680 had them in our cars and we had them at home. 0:12:38.320 --> 0:12:41.120 So sure enough, when it happened, and there was so 0:12:41.200 --> 0:12:44.360 much going on everywhere, of course, including Washington, cell phones 0:12:44.400 --> 0:12:47.600 weren't working, some commns lines were down, but we had 0:12:47.640 --> 0:12:49.920 those pieces of paper with key numbers on it, so 0:12:50.000 --> 0:12:52.200 we were able to coordinate with the people with whom 0:12:52.240 --> 0:12:55.800 we really needed to be coordinating. And there's the same 0:12:55.880 --> 0:12:58.880 in the military. First reports are always wrong, So in 0:12:59.000 --> 0:13:02.120 terms of what we talked about and when we communicated 0:13:02.679 --> 0:13:05.360 via the media, we tried very very hard to say, 0:13:05.400 --> 0:13:08.000 this is what we know right now. Things can change, 0:13:08.080 --> 0:13:10.880 but this is what we know now. Here's what we're 0:13:10.880 --> 0:13:13.679 thinking in terms of where these attacks may have come from. 0:13:13.720 --> 0:13:16.160 Here's what we're doing right now, to try to get 0:13:16.320 --> 0:13:18.200 all the planes that are in the air at the 0:13:18.200 --> 0:13:21.040 time on the ground, those kinds of things. We kept 0:13:21.080 --> 0:13:25.520 it as factual as possible. But the thing that was 0:13:25.640 --> 0:13:28.319 so so important to us, it's important to the Secretary 0:13:28.360 --> 0:13:30.760 and all of us, was making sure everybody knew the 0:13:30.760 --> 0:13:34.360 American people, publics around the world, and the terrorists knew 0:13:34.600 --> 0:13:37.920 they weren't successful. They never stopped the Department of Defense 0:13:38.280 --> 0:13:41.800 that key people in the building continue to operate NonStop. 0:13:41.920 --> 0:13:45.600 We were able to function and prevent further attacks and 0:13:45.640 --> 0:13:49.920 plan a response despite their best efforts. So going forward, 0:13:49.920 --> 0:13:52.440 and it sound like you, guys, whether it's fortuitous or not, 0:13:53.080 --> 0:13:56.280 you already had your your template in place, and you've 0:13:56.320 --> 0:13:58.839 already gone through this rehearsal. So do you think that 0:13:59.040 --> 0:14:01.319 was probably a big help for you, then you could 0:14:01.360 --> 0:14:06.640 imagine tremendously helpful, tremendously helpful. And again George Ryan Dance, 0:14:06.880 --> 0:14:11.480 former Army colonel, brilliant guy, such so well organized. The 0:14:11.520 --> 0:14:13.920 thing he really emphasized to all of us was, I 0:14:14.120 --> 0:14:17.640 know what your core responsibility is. So we had a 0:14:17.679 --> 0:14:19.680 couple of deputies who did most of the day to 0:14:19.760 --> 0:14:23.560 day liaison and logistics with the Pentagon Press Corps. Pentagon 0:14:23.600 --> 0:14:26.480 Presscore was a hundred people or so whose offices were 0:14:26.480 --> 0:14:29.560 literally in the Pentagon building itself. Uh, And they got 0:14:29.560 --> 0:14:32.320 evacuated like most people did, from the building. And so 0:14:32.360 --> 0:14:35.680 the two deputies, Tim and Brian Whitman got about a 0:14:35.720 --> 0:14:38.760 quarter mile away from the building and essentially took over 0:14:38.800 --> 0:14:41.360 a gas station and set up a briefing area there 0:14:41.440 --> 0:14:44.440 set up a media center, if you will. It was outdoors, 0:14:45.000 --> 0:14:47.520 and that's this place from which the media could operate. 0:14:47.840 --> 0:14:49.320 That was the place where I went at least once 0:14:49.440 --> 0:14:51.920 or twice during the day just to do very brief 0:14:52.200 --> 0:14:54.880 readouts to them about what we knew at the time 0:14:54.920 --> 0:14:57.720 and what we were planning on. And my core function 0:14:57.840 --> 0:15:01.080 very much was staying close to the Secretary offense, working 0:15:01.120 --> 0:15:03.200 with him and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, the 0:15:03.280 --> 0:15:05.400 Vice Chairman at the time on what is it we 0:15:05.400 --> 0:15:07.360 want to say, how do we want to say it, 0:15:07.480 --> 0:15:09.520 Who's going to be saying it? I did some of 0:15:09.560 --> 0:15:12.640 the preliminary briefings during the day, and then we decided 0:15:12.640 --> 0:15:15.680 that we wanted the Secretary and the Vice Chairman and 0:15:16.400 --> 0:15:20.000 Senator Warner and Senator Levin to brief the media. We 0:15:20.080 --> 0:15:22.520 got them back into the building, and my other main 0:15:22.560 --> 0:15:25.760 responsibility was coordinating with my counterparts at the White House, 0:15:25.800 --> 0:15:28.680 State and c I, A and so, and then there 0:15:28.680 --> 0:15:31.640 were others who were focused on ascertaining who on our 0:15:31.680 --> 0:15:35.440 staff might have been injured or missing. So everybody in 0:15:35.480 --> 0:15:38.280 the department had a key function. It was made very 0:15:38.320 --> 0:15:40.840 clear to them that they understood it, and so because 0:15:40.880 --> 0:15:43.360 of that planning on nine eleven, when that happened, they 0:15:43.360 --> 0:15:46.280 were able to execute really well. And here's the thing, though, 0:15:46.440 --> 0:15:48.640 you didn't know if this was the beginning of something 0:15:48.680 --> 0:15:50.800 bigger or if this was it. I think that's also 0:15:50.840 --> 0:15:53.040 got to be very daunting, is that. I mean, are 0:15:53.040 --> 0:15:55.720 the attackers done or is this going to keep going 0:15:55.720 --> 0:15:58.200 on all day long or all night long? Yeah, And 0:15:58.640 --> 0:16:01.200 it was maybe halfway through the day, and we were 0:16:01.280 --> 0:16:04.000 working in a we we had to move a couple 0:16:04.080 --> 0:16:07.920 times during the day because despite how huge that building 0:16:08.000 --> 0:16:11.360 is and despite where we were was relatively protected, there 0:16:11.440 --> 0:16:13.480 was a lot of smoke in the building. The plane 0:16:13.480 --> 0:16:15.880 itself from the wreckage continued to burn for a few days, 0:16:15.880 --> 0:16:17.200 and there was a lot of smoke in the building, 0:16:17.760 --> 0:16:19.360 and we would try to move from one place or 0:16:19.360 --> 0:16:22.400 another to get to a place with better ventilation. And 0:16:22.440 --> 0:16:25.240 at one point Secretary of Defense frum Spelled and the 0:16:25.240 --> 0:16:29.080 then vice chairman then became later became chairman, Dick Myers, 0:16:29.120 --> 0:16:32.120 were working on a few things and there were maybe 0:16:32.120 --> 0:16:33.920 a couple of dozen people in that room who had 0:16:33.960 --> 0:16:37.120 stayed with them throughout the day, and the Secretary looks 0:16:37.200 --> 0:16:39.720 up to General Meyers, to your point, we didn't know 0:16:39.760 --> 0:16:41.600 if they were going to be more attacks. We didn't 0:16:41.600 --> 0:16:44.680 know what else might happen. The Secretary looked up and 0:16:44.680 --> 0:16:46.640 he says, there are a lot of people here and 0:16:46.840 --> 0:16:49.120 they should they should all get out if they want to. 0:16:50.040 --> 0:16:52.160 And General Myers looked at him and said, sir, they're 0:16:52.160 --> 0:16:54.280 gonna stay here as long as you're here, and if 0:16:54.280 --> 0:16:56.920 the building goes down, they'll go down with you. When 0:16:56.920 --> 0:17:00.400 did you get a sense that the attacks we're going 0:17:00.440 --> 0:17:03.680 to change policy and that things moving forward we're going 0:17:03.720 --> 0:17:08.600 to forever be different. Oh? Immediately, absolutely, immediately, And by 0:17:08.640 --> 0:17:12.920 that I mean constant communication with policymakers on Capitol Hill, 0:17:13.800 --> 0:17:16.920 other people in Washington, d C. And the National Security apparatus, 0:17:16.960 --> 0:17:20.000 and again for months and months and months prior to 0:17:20.280 --> 0:17:24.520 nine eleven, even before became secretary Secretary of Defense, Rumsfeld 0:17:24.560 --> 0:17:26.679 and others and those of us who worked with them 0:17:26.680 --> 0:17:29.320 were saying, Hey, we know it doesn't seem like there's 0:17:29.400 --> 0:17:31.440 much going on out there in the world, but things 0:17:31.480 --> 0:17:35.199 are changing, and we're not facing conventional threats like the 0:17:35.240 --> 0:17:39.120 Soviet Union. We're facing these unconventional threats and they are growing, 0:17:39.240 --> 0:17:42.679 They are growing in capacity, they are growing in desire 0:17:42.760 --> 0:17:45.040 to do something back to the United States, and so 0:17:45.119 --> 0:17:48.080 we need to transform this military, which was set up 0:17:48.119 --> 0:17:51.280 for twenties twi century warfare. We need to change it 0:17:51.320 --> 0:17:53.919 and transform it to face these twenty one century threats. 0:17:54.680 --> 0:17:56.720 And prior to nine eleven, not a lot of people 0:17:56.760 --> 0:18:00.720 wanted to hear that and was understandable. Nineties were relatively 0:18:01.560 --> 0:18:05.160 quiet and relatively safe for us, So it was hard 0:18:05.200 --> 0:18:07.159 to imagine unless you really knew what was going on. 0:18:07.560 --> 0:18:09.760 It was hard to imagine something terrible could happened. It 0:18:09.800 --> 0:18:14.520 was hard to imagine asymmetrical warfare terrorism on our shores 0:18:14.640 --> 0:18:16.840 because it was something that we had just never experienced 0:18:16.880 --> 0:18:20.720 before in a big way. So I've been talking about 0:18:20.720 --> 0:18:23.040 it for months. Nine eleven really drove home the point. 0:18:23.240 --> 0:18:27.480 And so immediately, for instance, conversations with Congress, Okay, here's 0:18:27.480 --> 0:18:29.960 what we have to do in terms of modernizing the army, 0:18:30.040 --> 0:18:35.000 the Navy, giving special forces, give special forces more of them, 0:18:35.320 --> 0:18:38.439 more actually in special forces, special operators, give them the 0:18:38.480 --> 0:18:41.160 resources and the time and the support they need. Things 0:18:41.200 --> 0:18:43.439 like that started to be put in place pretty quickly. 0:18:43.520 --> 0:18:46.800 When was the talk underway that the Department of Homeland 0:18:46.840 --> 0:18:50.240 Security was something that was needed. When did that come about? Well, 0:18:50.280 --> 0:18:53.720 I knew and this is just me speaking to personally, 0:18:53.840 --> 0:18:59.200 I knew that there would be increased procedures airports, TSA immediately. 0:18:59.320 --> 0:19:01.879 Knew that was great, happen immediately. And then when the 0:19:01.920 --> 0:19:06.280 country one of the when investigations were done there, if 0:19:06.320 --> 0:19:08.040 there was intel out there that said this was going 0:19:08.080 --> 0:19:11.560 to happen, why wasn't there further investigation? Could we have 0:19:11.640 --> 0:19:14.159 prevented it? Those sorts of things. People said there was 0:19:14.200 --> 0:19:16.680 a breakdown of communication and a lack of sharing of 0:19:16.760 --> 0:19:20.359 information around from some of the agencies and so, and 0:19:20.400 --> 0:19:23.399 I disagree with this. The answer to failures in some 0:19:23.480 --> 0:19:25.520 of these government agencies was to create a new one. 0:19:25.880 --> 0:19:29.240 And I, personally, this is Tory Clark, not anybody else personally, 0:19:29.240 --> 0:19:33.160 don't think that's necessarily a good idea. I seldom think 0:19:33.240 --> 0:19:37.160 that the answer to poorly executed government is more government. 0:19:37.520 --> 0:19:42.040 So but fairly quickly, the changes in safety procedures almost immediately, 0:19:42.320 --> 0:19:48.199 and then creating homeland Security, which intellectually makes sense, I 0:19:48.240 --> 0:19:51.119 get it. Probably within months. I was talking to somebody 0:19:51.119 --> 0:19:54.199 else to he's a military analyst, and his characterization was 0:19:54.240 --> 0:19:58.080 that homeland security wasn't necessarily something we needed, but that 0:19:58.160 --> 0:20:01.640 we as a country tend to create bureaucracy on top 0:20:01.680 --> 0:20:05.280 of bureaucracy, and sometimes too much is is too you know? 0:20:05.320 --> 0:20:08.040 Too much in this case. Um So, in terms of 0:20:08.040 --> 0:20:11.440 looking back now twenty years later, Homeland Security, was it 0:20:11.560 --> 0:20:15.440 the agency that we needed where there are people far 0:20:15.480 --> 0:20:19.680 smarter than I am, I don't think so. I don't 0:20:19.720 --> 0:20:22.119 think so. I think what we needed was better co 0:20:22.280 --> 0:20:25.399 ordination among the existing agencies, and I think that probably 0:20:25.440 --> 0:20:29.560 was going to happen anyhow. And I think you add 0:20:29.560 --> 0:20:32.080 another bureaucracy, you add more layers, you tend to slow 0:20:32.119 --> 0:20:35.359 things down, tend to water things down. So I don't 0:20:35.400 --> 0:20:38.240 think so, but I'm not an expert. Do you think 0:20:38.280 --> 0:20:40.960 the t s A was something that was necessary for 0:20:41.080 --> 0:20:45.080 us as opposed to adopting the Israeli security model? Yeah? 0:20:45.200 --> 0:20:47.800 I think it probably was because things had to be 0:20:47.840 --> 0:20:49.959 done quickly. It's always easy to look in the rear 0:20:50.040 --> 0:20:52.200 view mirror. Oh that happened, Let's make sure that doesn't 0:20:52.240 --> 0:20:55.840 happen again anymore. But I think it was necessary, and 0:20:56.560 --> 0:20:58.639 I think they had to stand it up fairly quickly, 0:20:58.680 --> 0:21:01.120 So I think so when you look back at this tory. 0:21:01.640 --> 0:21:03.879 Is there something in your head that you observed or 0:21:03.960 --> 0:21:06.480 thought or did yourself that you wish you could go 0:21:06.520 --> 0:21:11.040 back and have a do over. Yes, it's a little amorphous. 0:21:11.680 --> 0:21:14.359 And by that I mean, well, I'll just I'll just 0:21:14.400 --> 0:21:15.840 say it and then maybe you can help me figure 0:21:15.880 --> 0:21:19.600 out how to say it more articulately. But I wish 0:21:19.760 --> 0:21:22.480 I could have done a better job of helping people 0:21:23.160 --> 0:21:28.280 think outside the box and not be hampered by their 0:21:28.920 --> 0:21:32.520