Part 19 (1/2)
An Evil Plot.
Armed with box cutters and a deep-rooted hatred for America, fifteen men from Saudi Arabia, two from the United Arab Emirates, one from Egypt, and one from Lebanon bordered four civil airliners on the morning of September 11, 2001, with the intention of meeting Mohammad and the seventy-two virgins promised to each of them for their cowardly homicidal actions that were to follow.
The nineteen terrorists were the chosen foot soldiers, following years of planning to strike at the heart of the American community. The masterminds of the attacks were safely tucked away in less-than-luxurious caves in the mountain region of Afghanistan, watching the horrific events unfold on satellite television. Unable to acquire the weapons necessary to cause enormous destruction in the United States, the Al Qaida think tank opted for commercial aircrafts full of aviation fuel to act as the missiles they desperately desired. With their irrational dislike for the United States as their motivation, the Islamist terrorists hijacked four cross-country flights, taking over their c.o.c.kpits and turning the aircrafts into weapons of war.
American Airlines Flight 11.
American Airlines flight 11 left Boston, Ma.s.sachusetts, en route to Los Angeles, California, carrying eighty-one pa.s.sengers and eleven crew members. Fifteen minutes into the flight, five of those pa.s.sengers ignored the ”stay seated with your seat belt securely fastened signs” and instead went from fare paying pa.s.sengers to hijackers as they took over the plane.
Mohamed Atta, one of the hijackers, put the flight-training skills he had recently acquired from a Venice, Florida, aviation school to work as he turned the plane away from its scheduled flight plan and instead headed toward New York City, the financial capital of the United States. Traveling at approximately 466 miles per hour, at 8:46 a.m., Atta navigated the plane into his desired destination, the north tower of the World Trade Center. Flight 11 made impact between floors ninety-three and ninety-nine, killing all on board instantly. Immediately, media speculation was that pilot error must be to blame for the tragedy.
United Flight 175.
That same morning, United flight 175 left Logan International airport with a planned arrival for LAX in Los Angeles, California. Carrying fifty-six pa.s.sengers and nine crew members, the plane was fortunately far from being filled to capacity. Playing the role of Mohamed Atta on this flight was United Arab Emirates non-Christian Marwan al-Shehhi, one of Atta's flight school companions and a member of his T-Mobile ”myFaves.” At 8:52 a.m., a ”the sky's the limit when you put your mind to it” male flight attendant contacted United Airlines' San Francisco office to report the hijacking.
Eleven minutes later, at approximately 9:03 a.m., flight 175, traveling at a speed of 545 miles per hour, struck the neighboring south tower of the World Trade Center, instantly killing all on board along with hundreds of ”must get to work on time” Trade Center employees. Immediately, speculation of pilot error for flight 11 ceased as the media began to report that the United States was under attack.
American Flight 77.
American Airlines flight 77 left Was.h.i.+ngton Dulles airport on a direct, nonstop flight to sunny Los Angeles, California, with five American-hating terrorists on board. Thirty minutes into the flight, with a belief that they were doing Allah's work, the five terrorists took control of the aircraft.
Receiving his flight training in the comfort of the Middle East - like heat of Scottsdale, Arizona, Atta and al-Shehhi's counterpart Hani Hanjour took over the piloting of the plane. Ignoring the star power of Los Angeles and its famous residents, Hanjour abandoned the Was.h.i.+ngton to Los Angeles American Airlines itinerary in favor of his own Was.h.i.+ngton to Pentagon itinerary. Before he had a chance to change his mind about taking a Hollywood stars bus tour, at approximately 9:37 a.m., he slammed the plane into the western portion of the Pentagon at a speed of 540 miles per hour, killing all sixty-four pa.s.sengers, crew, and terrorists along with another 125 employees and visitors inside the Pentagon.
United Flight 93.
United Airlines flight 93 left Newark, New Jersey, on a scheduled flight to the rainbow-flag-appreciating city of San Francisco, California. Onboard were thirty-seven pa.s.sengers and seven crew members. Approximately forty minutes into the flight, the terrorists mobilized and secured control of the plane.
Once in control, Lebanese-born Ziad Jarrah entered the c.o.c.kpit, taking on the duties of pilot despite not being on the United Airlines payroll. The hijackers herded the pa.s.sengers to the back of the plane, where several of them began to make calls to family and friends to inform them of their situation. During these conversations, the pa.s.sengers of flight 93 learned the sobering news that other planes had been hijacked earlier in the morning and used as missiles.
Realizing that the terrorists were on a suicide mission, the pa.s.sengers revolted and attempted to take back control of the plane. As the confrontation became more intense, the hijackers abandoned their plans to crash the plane into the speculated target of either the White House or United States Capitol building and instead brought the plane down in a rural area of Stonycreek Towns.h.i.+p in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. With the impact measured at 563 miles per hour, all on board died instantly.
Meet Osama Bin Laden.
With the country under attack with pa.s.senger airliners as the weapon of choice, all flights throughout the United States were grounded and those currently in the air were ordered to land immediately at the nearest airport so government officials could get a handle on the developing situation. Speculation of who was behind these acts of terrorism immediately turned to Osama Bin Laden. The Saudi Arabian national quickly became public enemy number one.
As rescue efforts continued in Manhattan at the World Trade Center, both the North and South towers crumbled to the ground under the intense heat from the raging fires. With four pa.s.senger planes crashed, two towers down, and the Pentagon severely damaged, the death toll rose to a chilling 2,976 people. With the world on our side, the American people demanded that President George W. Bush prepare an immediate and unmeasured response to the most devastating acts of terrorism ever experienced on American soil.
2003 - SECOND GULF WAR/IRAQ WAR.
A desert vacation gone wrong.
Viva Iraq.
When it comes time to get away from it all and really let loose, Las Vegas has been the preferred vacation destination for adult men for years. The bright lights, the gambling, the alcohol, and the disproportionate number of insanely hot girls has pulled men into this desert oasis for decades.
Despite the fact that Vegas off ers every vice anyone could ever want, in 2003, the Middle East - obsessed triad of Republican leaders.h.i.+p, Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld, began making plans for hundreds of thousands of their closest military friends to visit their preferred sand pit in the sun, Iraq. The thoughts of women all veiled up and covered from head to toe along with the lure of oil-driven riches proved to be irresistible for the three fun-loving pals with an infection of neocondral disease.
Prelude to a Military Kiss.
Much like a gambler with a propensity for addiction, the Bush family had been to Iraq once before and couldn't wait to get back. The First Gulf War ended in 1991 when former president George Bush Sr. negotiated the end of the conflict with a cease-fire. Bush the elder got most of what he wanted from his excursion to the desert, but like that one casino where you suffered from Reginald Denny - like luck, Bush didn't have a perfect trip either. In this case, Saddam Hussein was left in power because when Iraqi troops fled Kuwait, Bush had no mandate from the United Nations to order the United States military to march into Baghdad and forcibly remove the America-hating dictator. Disappointed but not completely deterred, Bush ordered coalition forces to pack up and come home.
DURING THE CLINTON PRESIDENCY, BUSH, THE STORY-TELLING SENIOR, WOULD RELAY ACCOUNTS OF HIS FANTASTIC TRIP TO THE IRAQI DESERT OASIS. Between AA meetings, George Jr. heard fantastic tales of easy wars and surging political popularity and thought if he was ever in a position to go, he would do just that.