Five Years Later... The Wound Has Not Healed
It should have been a quiet
morning... but a quick perusal of the morning news proved
otherwise. Just as our eyes were digesting the miasma of misery
that was unfolding as America started getting to work, a new flash
and explosion on television told us, in no uncertain terms, that
the one crash were trying to absorb on the television was being
joined by another... and signaling incontrovertible proof that we
were at war.
ANN went to work that morning not having the slightest idea of
how the day would end or how many of our countrymen would lose
their lives. By midnight, it was obvious that our work was far from
over -- and that we were in for a horrific experience while
documenting the harm coming our way. The following paragraphs are a
copy of the first tenuous paragraphs that attempted to explain the
inexplicable... the details changed throughout the day, and for
many days thereafter -- the horror, surprise and confusion still
feel real... and so, very, very raw -- still.
God bless and keep our fallen countrymen... and all those who
loved them. -- Jim Campbell, ANN Editor-In-Chief
ANN's Opening Report: 09.11.01
America Under Attack
You'd have to be blind, deaf and dumb not to see what is
happening to America at the moment. Obviously; TV reports will be
updating this matter second by second but at the moment it appears
that at least two air carrier class aircraft have been involved in
what certainly appears to be a deliberate attack on the World Trade
Center.
One of those aircraft has been reported to an American Airlines
767 out of Boston which impacted one of the WTC Towers.
The attacks have apparently lead to the collapse of both towers,
with what must be an incredible loss of life as the normal
population of both towers is reported to in the neighborhood of
50,000 people.
A Reuters report says that the aircraft was a hijacked American
Airlines' Flight 11 from Boston to Los Angeles, according to Lori
Bassani, the spokesperson for American's flight attendants union.
Bassani, who said she was in a meeting with American officials in
Fort Worth, Texas, American's headquarters, said if full, the
flight on the Boeing 767 would carry 158 passengers. That would
include two pilots and nine or 10 flight attendants, she said. She
reported she did not know how many people were on board (some
reports now put the POBs as 90 people). We have no idea what
aircraft made the first impact but various reports indicate that it
was on the order of a Boeing 737/757/767, with some reports now
indicating that this was a hijacked United Airlines aircraft out of
Dulles.
Additional reports
indicate that a large attack has taken place on the Pentagon, also
currently attributed to an aircraft (now reported as a Boeing). The
FAA has ordered the grounding of all commercial aircraft and
commercial airports all across the country are being shut down as
fast as they can get the aircraft landed. The White House and most
Federal Buildings in the District of Columbia (where a car bomb has
now been reported to have exploded outside the State Department)
have been ordered evacuated. Other reports of hijacked aircraft and
aircraft crashes are coming in as we write this. Our ability to get
data to the site, via the overloaded Internet has been slowed
considerably, and we will report what seems appropriate as we
can... but one thing is now assured, all of our lives have now
changed in ways that we can only begin to imagine. ...
Addendum(s): We have confirmed reports that
airports, small and large, all over the country are ordering
aircraft of all kinds to land. Even small aircraft announcing their
intention to head to uncontrolled airports for touch and goes are
being told to head to their home airports and land. Canada's
Transport Ministry has shut down all the airports in the country.
The spokesman for Transport Minister David Collenette said the
airports would allow planes diverted from the United States to land
in Canada, as well as any landings required for humanitarian
purposes. Earlier, the US Federal Aviation Administration said it
was diverting US-bound transatlantic flights to Canada.
American Airlines has confirmed today that it lost two aircraft
in these attacks. American said the flights were Flight 11, a
Boeing 767 en route from Boston to Los Angeles with 81 passengers,
nine flight attendants and two pilots; and Flight 77, a Boeing 757
operating from Washington Dulles to Los Angeles with 58 passengers,
four flight attendants and two pilots.
United Airlines confirmed that one of its passenger jets, Flight
93 from Newark to San Francisco, crashed near Pittsburgh. United
said the airplane was a Boeing 757. The airline said it had no
other details of how many people were on board. United also said it
was "deeply concerned" about another flight, No. 175, which
departed from Boston. The airline said it had no details of that
flight.
At this point, some FOUR aircraft have been reported to be
involved in these attacks and have crashed.
While there is rampant speculation as to who may have
masterminded this insanity, it behooves us to note that this is the
anniversary of the 1978 Camp David Peace Accord.