Inspired Blog #1

George W. Bush: 9/11 Interview

                           

President Bush observing the damages of 9/11 from Air Force One

I decided to base my extra credit blog of off George W. Bush’s 9/11 Interview released by National Geographic about a week or so ago. First, I’m going to give my opinion about the idea of 9/11 being a government conspiracy. I’ll also blog about the communication flaws on that tragic day.

The “Conspiracy” 

Following the attacks on 9/11 there were rumors floating around blaming the government for the attacks. Videos, commentaries, and articles made their way around the internet providing (probably false) evidence that the government was to blame for the attacks and that the disaster was a government conspiracy. This was probably the most ridiculous idea I have ever heard in my life. This was clearly an act of terrorism. I don’t have the time or space to get into that debate; however, I think anyone who saw President Bush’s facial expression and emotions when he was notified about the attacks would have to agree- this was no conspiracy. Below you can see a picture of Bush in a classroom full of kids being notified about the initial attacks. Videos can also be found on the internet of George W. in the Florida classroom when the attacks were unfolding. 

Communication Flaws

President Bush was rushed onto Air Force One by the C.I.A. soon after the attacks on the twin-towers has occurred. The head of the C.I.A. kept President Bush in the air until he felt it was safe for him to return back to Washington. While in the air for several hours, they discovered three major communication flaws associated with air force one.

1.       President Bush had difficulties locating and communicating with government officials and his family. When the attacks went down, government officials and his family took cover in secret bunkers around the nation. There was no way for the president to communicate with essential personnel while America was being attacked. Eventually he was able to communicate with his family.

2.       He was concerned because he wasn’t able to address the nation about the attacks. He wanted to inform America that the government was functional, operating, and taking action. Except there wasn’t the proper technology onboard the aircraft to allow the president to address the nation. He had to land at a secured Air Force base in Nebraska and make a video addressing the nation in an underground bunker, then air the video to the nation later.

3.       It was difficult for officials on Air force One to understand what was going on as the country was being attacked. They had to watch news channels on the plane, but as they were flying, they were constantly going through “TV zones.” So, the signals were going in and out and they constantly had to adjust to televisions to see what was going on. It seems crazy that the government was being updated by news channels on the TV- which kept losing signals.  

Since then, the government has stated that they have updated technologies on-board Air Force One to accommodate these flaws, to avoid these communication problems in the future. I’ve searched the web for the modifications they made, I am assuming it is top—secret, because they are impossible to find.

I do wonder how the government never thought of having these technologies on-board the plane? Clearly there was no mitigation.  If the C.I.A. flies the president around as a mean of protection, It is mind boggling that they never thought of these communication situations. Hopefully they learned their lesson, and they did in fact upgrade the communication technologies on Air Force One. 

Side Note: My favorite quote from the tragic day is from President Bush when he went to group zero, he yelled to one of the human-aid  workers who couldn't hear him speak "...i can hear you, the world can hear you, and the people that did this, will hear from us."