We now know exactly what George W. Bush and Dick Cheney were doing in the hours immediately after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
The U.S. National Archives recently released 365 never-before-seen photos from that fateful day. Included in the photos are then-National Security Advisor Condoleeza Rice, former Secretary of State Colin Powell, former President Bush, and other top administration officials.
The pictures, taken by the former vice president’s staff photographer, were released in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. Most of the photos were taken in the President’s Emergency Operations Center (PEOC) or during Cheney’s trip to Camp David.
Now, nearly 14 years later, you can still feel the tension in the room as America’s leaders struggled to respond to this violent change in history.
1) Vice President Cheney in the President’s Emergency Operations Center
2) President Bush, Cheney, and National Security Advisor Rice in the PEOC
3) Cheney, Rice and senior staff
4) Cheney and his wife, Lynn, in the PEOC
5) Secretary of State Colin Powell in the PEOC
6) Bush with Cheney in the PEOC
7) Cheney in the PEOC
8) Bush and Cheney talk in the PEOC
9) Cheney and Rice
10) Cheney with Rice, White House advisor Karen Hughes, and couselor to Cheney, Mary Matalin
11) CIA Director George Tenet listens to Bush address the nation
12) Bush meets with his national security team
Photo via U.S. National Archives (PD)
