Speech and Communication: Primary Sources about 9/11

From The 9/11 Encyclopedia
The events of September 11 are almost impossible to comprehend, but the best testimony to the horrors of that day comes from the survivors. These survivors witnessed acts of heroism and selflessness along with panic and desperation.

From The 9/11 Encyclopedia
The attack on the Pentagon has received much less attention than that on the World Trade Center or the crash of United Airlines Flight 93, but it was still a major attack. Casualties were high, with many of the survivors suffering bad burns. Lieutenant Colonel Ted Anderson's account gives an idea of what happened on September 11 at the Pentagon.

From The 9/11 Encyclopedia
Of all the events on September 11, the hijacking of United Airlines Flight 93 was the most dramatic because of the heroic reaction of its passengers. Realizing that the hijackers were on a suicide mission, the passengers attempted to regain control of the aircraft. The fact that they failed to save their own lives does not diminish their effort. Here is the account of Tom Burnett's role in the effort to regain control of the airliner.

From The 9/11 Encyclopedia
Finding survivors in the wreckage of the World Trade Center was a daunting task. Dog teams were indispensable to that effort. As days passed, the searchers could only hope to find bodies and body parts so that the victims could be identified and their families could have closure. The dog teams were even more critical to these later efforts. It was hard on the dogs, but they performed admirably.

From The 9/11 Encyclopedia
Americans were in a state of shock on September 11, 2001. The unthinkable had happened: a terrorist attack on the United States had killed thousands of Americans. President George W. Bush had been as startled as anybody else in the United States. In this speech, which he gave on the evening of September 11, 2001, he tried to reassure Americans that their government was going to help in the recovery and deal with the terrorists.

From The 9/11 Encyclopedia
Less than seven weeks after the September 11 attacks, Congress voted on the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (USA PATRIOT) Act (PL 107-56), a major legislative package designed to enhance the ability of the United States to oppose terrorism at home and abroad.

From The 9/11 Encyclopedia
The U.S. Homeland Security Act (Public Law No. 107-296), passed a little more than a year after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, was a sweeping piece of antiterrorist legislation. The act established the Department of Homeland Security that was mandated to coordinate and facilitate all internal antiterrorist efforts and handle domestic emergencies within the United States.

From Encyclopedia of Intelligence & Counterintelligence
The 9/11 Commission was formed in late 2002 by Congressional legislation and presidential signature to investigate the events leading to September 11. The independent bipartisan panel was comprised of five Democrats and five Republicans and was chaired by former New Jersey Governor Thomas H. Keane.

From The 9/11 Encyclopedia
Osama bin Laden had been disturbed by the Saudi government's granting of permission for American troops to be stationed on the holy soil of Saudi Arabia. He had gone to the Saudi government and volunteered his services, as well as those of Arabs who had fought in Afghanistan, to repulse Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait.

From The 9/11 Encyclopedia
Mohamed Atta allegedly wrote a five-page document in Arabic to prepare the members of his Al Qaeda team for their mission on September 11, 2001. This letter was found in Atta's suitcase, which was left behind at Logan Airport with other papers because Atta was late in boarding American Airlines Flight 11.

From The 9/11 Encyclopedia
In several public statements, including the “Letter to the American People” published in Arabic on the Internet in November 2002 and later translated into English, Osama bin Laden enumerated what he viewed as American threats and enmity toward Islam.