Bush explains slow reaction to September 11 attacks

Bush explains slow reaction to September 11 attacks
LOS ANGELES | Fri Jul 29, 2011 1:13pm EDT

(Reuters) - Former President George W. Bush says his apparent lack of reaction to the first news of the September 11 2001 attacks was a conscious decision to project an aura of calm in a crisis.

In a rare interview with the National Geographic Channel, Bush reflects on what was going through his mind at the most dramatic moment of his presidency when he was informed that a second passenger jet had hit New York's World Trade Center.

Bush was visiting a Florida classroom and the incident, which was caught on TV film, and has often been used by critics to ridicule his apparently blank face.

"My first reaction was anger. Who the hell would do that to America? Then I immediately focused on the children, and the contrast between the attack and the innocence of children," Bush says in an excerpt of the interview shown to television writers on Thursday.

Bush said he could see the news media at the back of the classroom getting the news on their own cellphones "and it was like watching a silent movie."

Bush said he quickly realized that a lot of people beyond the classroom would be watching for his reaction.

"So I made the decision not to jump up immediately and leave the classroom. I didn't want to rattle the kids. I wanted to project a sense of calm," he said of his decision to remain seated and silent.

"I had been in enough crises to know that the first thing a leader has to do is to project calm," he added.

The National Geographic Channel will broadcast the hour-long interview on August 28 as part of a week of programs on the cable network called "Remembering 9/11" that mark the 10th anniversary of the attacks.

The interview was recorded over two days in May, without any questions being submitted in advance, the channel said.

National Geographic said Bush gives "intimate details" of his thoughts and feelings in a way never seen before. Most of the interview is about the first minutes and hours of the day that Islamic militants hijacked four planes and crashed into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

Executive producer and director Peter Schnall said Bush, who has adopted a low public profile since leaving office in January 2009, brought no notes to the interview.

"What you hear is the personal story of a man who also happened to be our president. Listening to him describe how he grappled with a sense of anger and frustration coupled with his personal mandate to lead our country through this devastating attack was incredibly powerful," Schnall said.

U.S. television networks are planning a slew of specials to mark the 10th anniversary of Sept. 11 attacks. Those on National Geographic also include a documentary on the continuing U.S. war on terror, and stories of ordinary people on Sept, 11 2001 called "Where Were You?"

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant, editing by Anthony Boadle)

Forgiveness Man wrote:Are people STILL talking about this? lol He's STILL having to explain why he didn't run around and rip his clothes and scream in the streets? Must be a slow news day. Frankly, I never understood people harping on this. To me, it was proof of how phony most of the attacks against him were, and still are. God knows the guy had his faults but not scaring a group of children by running out like a bull, that wasn't one of them. His leadership that day was fine and everyone knows it too. They just like hating on the guy. Must make them feel better.

Tony Marino wrote:If you lived through the whole 9/11 horror you would understand more. Bush is a piece of dirt under my feet. Him and his father should go down in history as the worst President's this country has ever had. Mayor Giuliani is the one that showed his excellent leadership in that crisis, what did Bush do? Debate closed.

JM130ELM wrote:He reacted to 9/11 faster than he did Katrina...

Forgiveness Man wrote:^^^^I don't think we should be attacking BUSH'S language skills anymore.



The idea that Bush should be the worst president ever isn't supported by anything. That argument just doesn't work. Bush did the mature thing. Bush lead through that crisis just fine and whatever many mistakes he made later on, that was one moment when he was president of the United States. And frankly, it's upsetting to hear people still judging him for doing what he had to in a tough situation, which was probably a calmer decision than most presidents would've made. I'll be the first to admit the man's flawed leadership but the hatred so many have of him is really based in anything but truth or reality. In this situation, attacking him for keeping a level head just seems to be throwing mud for the sake of throwing mud. People don't bother to think before hating on him. It's just hate, hate, and more hate.

JM130ELM wrote:He reacted to 9/11 faster than he did Katrina...

wants2laugh wrote:Oh I get it, he's a Bush lover cause he is too young to remember the Clinton years when everyone was working, had money, the economy was booming, and people were happy. We weren't being searched in the airports like we are now, weren't walking barefoot through the airport, or being told to drink our drink or throw them out. We weren't being padded down or had our bags searched at sporting events and concerts--- there was no fear! This fear of "terrorism, terrorism, 9/11, terrorism, 9/11" wasn't drilled into our heads like it was with bush.

sorry forgiveness man that you did not get to live in the good world without fear and during the good economy

wants2laugh wrote:Oh I get it, he's a Bush lover cause he is too young to remember the Clinton years when everyone was working, had money, the economy was booming, and people were happy. We weren't being searched in the airports like we are now, weren't walking barefoot through the airport, or being told to drink our drink or throw them out. We weren't being padded down or had our bags searched at sporting events and concerts--- there was no fear! This fear of "terrorism, terrorism, 9/11, terrorism, 9/11" wasn't drilled into our heads like it was with bush.

sorry forgiveness man that you did not get to live in the good world without fear and during the good economy

Nhaiyel wrote:His presidency was just a really dark cloud on American politics over the past 50 years, or so. My guess is that his slow reaction time was because he was waiting on somebody more competent to tell him how to handle the situation.