U.S. government response to the September 11, 2001 attacks

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Sept. 11, 2001 attacks
Timeline
Planning
September 11, 2001
Rest of September
October
Beyond October
Victims
Survivors
Foreign casualties
Hijacked airliners
American Airlines Flight 11
United Airlines Flight 175
American Airlines Flight 77
United Airlines Flight 93
Sites of destruction
World Trade Center
The Pentagon
Shanksville, Pennsylvania
Effects and aftermath
World political effects
World economic effects
Detentions
Airport security
Closings and cancellations
Audiovisual entertainment
Local health
Response
Global Guardian
Government response
Rescue and recovery effort
Financial assistance
Operation Yellow Ribbon
Memorials and services
Perpetrators
Responsibility
Organizers
Conspiracy theories
Miscellaneous
Communication
Tower collapse
Slogans and terms
Opportunists
Inquiries
U.S. Congressional Inquiry
9/11 Commission Report
This box: view • talk • edit

1 Military response
2 Domestic response
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] Military response

The United States government has announced its intentions to engage in a protracted war against terrorists and states which aid terrorists in response to the attacks. The first target was the Taliban government in Afghanistan, because they did not turn over Osama bin Laden (prime suspect). The Taliban did not satisfy this request and demanded to examine the evidence with which the United States government supported its claims. This was denied by the United States government, which expressed its unwillingness to enter into any discussion with the Taliban regime. The United States has made it clear that this "War on Terrorism" will continue after dealing with whoever is responsible for the September 11 attack, but it is very unclear exactly what that means.

On September 19, 2001 the U.S. sent combat aircraft to Persian Gulf military bases.

There have been reports that U.S. and British special-forces soldiers were covertly landed in Afghanistan at some time after September 11, presumably for reconnaissance purposes, and that several of these troops were captured by the Taliban. As of October 1, all such reports had been officially denied by the U.S., British, and Afghani governments.

On October 7, at 12:30 p.m. EDT (9 p.m. local time), the United States, supported by Britain, began its attack on Afghanistan, launching bombs and cruise missiles against Taliban military and communications facilities and suspected terrorist training camps.

Osama bin Laden warned Bush via satellite courtesy of Al-Jazeera, that if the US uses nuclear weapons, he might also use biochemical/nuclear weapons in response.

In November of 2001, the Northern Alliance won Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan over the Taliban forcing them to flee in Kandahar.

[edit] Domestic response

The FAA cleared the skies over the US and the Executive Branch secretly (without the knowledge of the public or the US Congress) [1] invoked Continuity of Government status in the US:

For the first time in history, all nonemergency civilian aircraft in the United States were grounded, stranding tens of thousands of passengers across the country. Contingency plans for the continuity of government and the evacuation of leaders had been implemented
- 9/11 Commission

Investigations are going on through many branches of many governments, pursuing tens of thousands of tips. Hundreds of people have been detained, arrested, and/or questioned so far. The Justice Department wishes to interview 5,000 young men from the Middle East.

A $40 billion emergency bill has already been passed. A $20 billion bill to bail out the airline industry also passed. USA PATRIOT Act passed.

On October 10, the FBI released its "FBI Most Wanted Terrorists" list.