US president vows to 'hunt down the terrorists'
AFP White House correspondent Olivier Knox tracked the then US president, George W. Bush, throughout the fateful day of September 11, 2001.
Here are extracts from his stories.
OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE, US, September 11, 2001 (AFP) - President George W. Bush put US military forces worldwide on high alert Tuesday, vowing to "hunt down and punish" authors of a terrorist campaign that tore a hole in the Pentagon and felled the two tallest skyscrapers in New York.
"Freedom itself was attacked this morning by a faceless coward. And freedom will be defended," said Bush. "Make no mistake: The United States will hunt down and punish those responsible for these cowardly acts."
Bush, stopping at this secluded base "as a security precaution," called a teleconference with his national security council to discuss the attacks.
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"The resolve of our great nation is being tested. But make no mistake, we will show the world that we will pass this test," said the US president, whom a top aide said was in "a secure location" here.
"We have been in touch with the leaders of Congress and with world leaders to assure them that we will do whatever is necessary to protect America and Americans," said Bush, who put off plans to return to Washington.
Bush said that he had been in constant contact with his vice president, secretary of defence and national security team. "We have taken all appropriate security precautions to protect the American people," he said.
- 'High alert' -
"Our military at home and around the world is on high alert status, and we have taken the necessary security precautions to continue the functions of your government," the stone-faced president said in a brief statement.
It was unclear when Bush would return to Washington, where all federal buildings -- including the White House and State Department -- were evacuated, sending thousands of workers frantically seeking to escape the city's normally quiet downtown area.
"I want to reassure the American people that the full resources of the federal government are working to assist local authorities to save lives and to help the victims of these attacks," said Bush.
"I ask the American people to join me in saying a thanks for all the folks who have been fighting hard to rescue our fellow citizens and to join me in saying a prayer for the victims and their families," he said.
Bush said he had "ordered that the full resources of the federal government to help the victims and their families and to conduct a full-scale investigation to hunt down and to find those folks that committed this act. Terrorism against our nation will not stand."
A second story recounts how Bush learned of the attacks.
- Bush's day went from routine to catastrophic -
SARASOTA, US, September 11, 2001 (AFP) - President George W. Bush knew, when he walked into a classroom here Tuesday to tout his education agenda, that something was terribly wrong in New York: a plane had crashed into one of the World Trade Center towers.
"He obviously was struck by what took place," Bush spokesman Ari Fleischer said late in the day, fleshing out how a day that began with a routine pre-dawn jog ended with him facing the darkest crisis of his young presidency.
Before beginning his chat with schoolchildren, Bush learned from national security advisor Condoleezza Rice that an aircraft had slammed into the landmark building.
But he did not know until later that it was merely the opening shot of the worst terrorist attack on US soil, one that could post a death toll in the thousands.
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- News whispered -
Mid-way through schoolchildren's pronunciation exercises, White House chief of staff Andy Card whispered the grim news of the second plane crash in New York. The president's face clouded, but he said nothing.
Bush cut short a similar event later with news of "a national tragedy," vowing to a stunned crowd of educators and students that he would do his utmost to "hunt down" the authors of "an apparent terrorist attack on our country."
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Bush said he was leaving for Washington, but security concerns prompted him to stop at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana and then at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska, where he conferred with top national security aides.
Media and mid-level aides were not told of either destination and were even asked to keep cell phones turned off so as not to give away the location of Air Force One, which had fighter jet escorts.
"We are in the process of maintaining the secure environment that the president has been and will continue to travel in," Fleischer told reporters as heavily armed troops greeted the plane.