At risk of contributing to the ongoing media noise about “terrorism”, I am intrigued by a 1-hour radio program titled Witness to Terror about the September 11 hijacking government 9/11 Commission.
The program includes recordings of audio transmissions from planes, recordings of air traffic controllers, military transmissions, and eye-witness accounts. It is chilling.
If you’d rather not relive the day of the hijackings, don’t listen to this. If, however, you share my morbid curiosity, this program is fascinating, but also sad and disturbing.
Listen to the 1-hour RealAudio stream.
The commission examined how air traffic controllers, emergency services, and the military dealt with the situation. While, of course, it makes sense to examine how our institutions dealt with the hijackings, it sounds like people did what they could.
Comments
Martin - September 12, 2004 8:24 PM
I haven't listened to the programme yet, but I will - and I'll comment on it further.
However, I want to comment on the notion that "it sounds like people did what they could."
I've written down a whole bunch of questions from David R. Griffin's 'The New Pearl Harbor: Disturbing Questions About the Bush Administration and 9/11' on The Copydesk, but one of the most convincing points Griffin makes in his book, is about this concept of all-round incompetence getting the blame on September 11 2001.
Based on all the reports and investigations, everyone from the CIA, to the FAA, to the FBI and the military, Air Traffic Control etc. - all make one big horrible goof, and lots of people died.
All we hear is "they didn't apply enough significance to intelligence warnings", "they failed to scramble jets on time", "mistakes were made", "people panicked" etc. etc.
What strikes me as odd about this 'explaination' of why things went wrong on 911, is that such a high-level of incompetence was never, ever, highlighted at any point previously.
Surely if there was such gross incompetence in the FAA or Air Traffic Control under emergency conditions, it would have come to light prior to 911? Emergency situations happen all the time, and the most telling fact is the scrambling of some 70 fighter jets to suspected hijackings in the preceding 6 months to 911 over US airspace. In all cases, the jets engaged the 'suspected' hijacked planes within minutes of the alarm being raised, and travelled at supersonic speeds to intercept their targets.
Yet no such scrambles were called on 911.
Martin - September 12, 2004 8:31 PM
Oh - and given that there was such a high level of incompetence, isn't it a bit odd that not one person in any of these official organisations have been fired or disciplined as a result of their failings?
Some have been promoted, in fact.
Joe - September 13, 2004 4:46 PM
It's "September", dude.
Steven Garrity - September 13, 2004 6:32 PM
Joe: Oops - fixed. Thanks.
Joe - September 14, 2004 12:58 PM
You should hire me.