Rumsfeld and 9-11-2001 Part one: the attack

In 2001 Rumsfeld gave a speech about the nation's number one adversary: the Pentagon! He wanted to transform our nation's defense to enable us to be more agile, more able to deal with unpredictable threats, but the bureaucracy was entrenched. He warned in 2001 that a shocking event may soon remind the people of America of the importance of a strong and effective national defense.

On September 11, 2001, Rumsfeld says, "the world passed from one period of history to another." He was in his office in the Pentagon, watching televison reports of the planes flying into the World Trade Center, when a "tremor" shook his building. He left his office and soon found himself in heavy smoke. The chaos intensified. He headed down the stairs out into the fresh air, which soon filled with smoke. He got to the scene before the official first responders. He turned back to his office to see what information was available. On the way he picked up a piece of metal from "whatever hit the Pentagon." He spoke briefly with the President, who was in the air. The smoke in his office became heavy. He went down to a communications hub in the basement. General Dick Myers joined Rumsfeld in the Command Center, and they discussed raising the threat level. Later they moved again to a room that had less smoke. Combat jet fighters were in the air over Washington D.C. The Secret Service recommended President Bush stay away until they could get a clearer picture of the threat. Rumsfeld got on the phone with Dick Cheney, who told him Bush had given orders that jet pilots were to take down planes that appeared to be ignoring warnings not to descend into the D.C. area, if necessary.

from Known and Unknown