Just the Phax
Last Updated: 1850 Hours Eastern Standard Time, September 12, 2001 C.E.
A website devoted to presenting all reputable evidence regarding the
World Trade Center bombing.
Quote of the day:
"A day that shall live in infamy"
-President Roosevelt, addressing the nation after Pearl Harbor.
This is our Pearl Harbor. This is our Kennedy Assassination. Only this time there are no markings on the planes, there is no grassy knoll, there is no gun sticking out of a window. This is the beginning of what will be a long, arduous conflict and it will likely shape the twenty-first century. Just as our grandfathers did on that fateful day in 1941, we must stand in the face of "A day that will live in infamy" and defeat the newest threat to freedom.
Greetings. I am Sky. Outraged by the travesty that has taken place today, September 11, 2001, in New York City, I have begun a search for all reputable information regarding possible suspects for the carnage that occurred in Downtown Manhattan this morning. Every day I will update this site with whatever relevant information is posted. Essentially I scour the internet and filter the junk so you don't have to, and so you stay informed.
Articles - 9/12/2001
A close friend of mine has compiled photos of the disaster yesterday.
They are available for download here. Some may be inappropriate for younger viewers.
Attack on U.S. Soil:No Easy Retaliation
World
Trade Center, Pentagon Attacked
In an unprecedented dilemma, the United States has no choice but to declare war,
but it cannot yet identify its enemy. Launching a campaign against militant
Islam -- an amorphous, transnational movement -- will hurt crucial geostrategic
relations.
Moderate
Arab Leaders in Tough Spot
U.S.
reprisals would likely inflame anti-American sentiments among radical Arab
citizens, making it hard for some Arab leaders to remain moderate.
Attacks
on U.S.: Redefining the Response
The U.S.
government will need to use a new approach, one that involves redefining the
entity it holds responsible, as it plans a response to yesterday's attacks.
The
Global Financial Fallout
The World
Trade Center attacks have rippled worldwide, disrupting commodities trading,
banking and manufacturing and causing stock markets in Europe and Asia to
plunge.
The
Sophistication of the Attackers
The U.S.
government will need to use a new approach in responding to yesterday's
terrorist attacks, which point to highly sophisticated perpetrators.
Today's Events - 9/12/2001
(most recent listed first)
Armed sky marshalls and/or company security officials will accompany flights in the United States for at least a short period of time, possibly indefinitely, according to airline industry officials and the Department of Transportation. 2240 GMT, 091201
Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage told Pakistani Ambassador Maleeha Lodhi Sept. 12 that the United States expects full Pakistani cooperation on the search for perpetrators of Sept. 11 attacks on the United States, AFP reported. Secretary of State Colin Powell told reporters, "We thought … it would be useful to point out to the Pakistani leadership at every level that we are looking for and expecting their fullest cooperation and their help and support." Washington is concerned about Pakistan's relationship with Afghanistan's Taliban, which is suspected of harboring Osama bin Laden. Pakistan is one of only three countries worldwide that officially recognize the Taliban. 2355 GMT, 091201
Israeli intelligence officials briefing the Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's cabinet Sept. 12 reported that a Middle East government likely sponsored the attack on the United States. They also identified Iraq as the most likely candidate, according to the Middle East News Line (MENL). The news report speculates that Iraq may have financed the operation and recruited Osama bin Laden, stating that Iraq maintains an alliance with bin Laden and radical Islamic groups. 2207 GMT, 091201
NATO's emergency council declared in a statement Sept. 12 that the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States fall under the alliance's mutual defense arrangements. This is the first-ever invocation of Article V of the North Atlantic Treaty, which calls for joint action in response to an attack on one alliance member. 2152 GMT, 091201
United Arab Emirates state TV reported Sept. 12 that two men identified by U.S. authorities as possible suspects in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks were carrying Saudi passports, AFP reports. The two suspects, Wa'el Mohammad al-Shihri and Ahmad Ibrahim Ali al-Hazzouni, reportedly carried international drivers licenses issued by the UAE and had rented a car which was later seized at Boston's Logan airport. 2150 GMT, 091201
The FAA announced late Wednesday afternoon that passenger air travel will resume temporarily to allow stranded travelers who were diverted Sept. 11 to reach their destinations. The partial opening will occur under heavily-intensified security precautions. The FAA said that it is not yet resuming normal operations due to continued security concerns. 2115 GMT, 091201
The Russian Foreign Ministry said Sept. 12 that Moscow and the European Union plan to step up cooperation to fight international terrorism follow the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States, AFP reported. 1935 GMT, 091201
U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan has asked central banks to limit the trading in dollars to prevent shocks to the global currency markets, CNNfn reported. The Fed is concerned that a large dollar transaction could create dangerous ripples and harm liquidity. As of Wednesday afternoon, the dollar was bouncing back from earlier losses, stabilizing at 119.38 yen to the dollar and .9067 dollars to the Euro, while trading was thin, AFP reported. Greenspan is due to return from Europe later today. 1935 GMT, 091201
Reacting to the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, Lebanese Information Minister Ghazi Aridi cautioned against "impulsive" accusations and suggested that the United States should reconsider some international policies that have earned it enemies, the Lebanese Daily Star reported. "There's a need for re-examining the 'New World Order' and the proposed globalization. There's a need for more cooperation and for building relations based on the respect for the rights of people and a just distribution of wealth, not the logic of force," Aridi said. 1935 GMT, 091201
In a national television address, Russian President Vladimir Putin called Sept. 12. for coordinated international action to combat terrorism, which he called the "plague of the 21st century," Agence France-Presse reported. He cited the 1999 bombings of apartment buildings in Moscow in condemning the attacks on New York and Washington. National news agency Interfax quoted Putin in a telegram to Bush as saying, "There is no doubt that such inhuman acts must be punished." Interfax also reported that Russia placed its national air defenses on full alert and that "anti- terrorism measures" were being enforced nationwide. 1935 GMT, 091201
A spokesman for British Prime Minister Tony Blair said Sept. 12 that the number of Britons who died in the Sept. 11 terrorist attack in the United States "could run into hundreds," AFP reported. 1930 GMT, 091201
In a statement Sept. 12 Taliban authorities offered to negotiate about the future of Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden if the United States could provide proof of his involvement in the recent terrorist attack on the United States, Kyodo News Service reported, although the group has made similar statements in the past. Reuters reports that the Taliban has beefed up security at government offices and closed the main airport in Kabul after it endured a rocket attack by anti-Taliban forces overnight. 1927 GMT, 091201
Kyodo News Service reports that the United Nations evacuation from Afghanistan will be completed Sept. 14, and will include a large number of foreign aid workers. CNN reported that U.N. staff were taking unusual measures such as taking key documents and computer discs with them. 1852 GMT, 091201
European stock markets strengthened somewhat despite the terrorist attacks on the United States Sept. 11, MSNBC reported. London's FTSE 100 INDEX closed 134.80 points higher at 4,880.80, or up about 2.8 percent, late Sept. 12. The Paris CAC 40 index closed 54.51 points higher at 4,114.26, up 1.34 percent. Frankfurt's DAX was up around 85 points, or 2 percent higher, at 4,358 in late-afternoon trading. 1850 GMT, 091201
Iraqi President Saddam Hussein said Sept. 12 that the United States was "reaping the thorns" of its foreign policy, in a commentary quoted by the official INA news agency on the terrorist attacks the previous day in New York and Washington. 1810 GMT, 091201
A plan to hijack commercial planes and fly them into U.S. targets was reportedly incorporated into a terror strategy by Ramzi Zhmed Yousef, who was sentenced to life imprisonment for masterminding the bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993, Inquirer News Service reported. The plan was first uncovered in Manila in 1995 after police arrested four suspects in a plot to assassinate Pope John Paul II, and was passed on to U.S. officials by the Philippine government. At least four of Yousef's partners in the 1993 bombing have remained at large, increasing suspicions that they could be involved in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, D.C. 1758 GMT, 091201
The European Union is ramping up its own internal security measures for public transportation, airlines and around public buildings, Reuters reports, while Europol has set up a special task force for police agencies to exchange terrorism information. 1755 GMT, 091201
NATO ambassadors opened a debate Sept. 12 into whether terrorist attacks in New York and Washington represented an "armed attack" against the entire 19-nation alliance, AFP reported. If NATO nations agree on such a stance, the alliance could take "such action as it deems necessary, including the use of armed force, to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic area." 1735 GMT, 091201
Citing its already fragile financial situation, as well as the impact of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Midway Air has suspended its operations and laid off 1,700 workers, AP reported. In a statement the company said "demand for air transportation is expected to decline sharply." 1734 GMT, 091201
CNN reports that FBI agents have taken several people in Boston and southern Florida into custody for questioning about the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on The World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The FBI is not calling them "suspects", but it does say they may provide material information on the case. Activity in Boston is centered around the Westin Copley Hotel and includes Boston police and SWAT teams. CNN reports that investigations in Florida are focusing their attention on several flight schools. 1720 GMT, 091201
CNN reports that the FBI has identified several suspects in the Boston area thought to be involved in the Sept. 11 hijackings and terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, D.C. The report was attributed to a "usually reliable" Boston television station but has not been confirmed by the FBI. 1708 GMT, 091201
The Jerusalem
Post reports that Israel has put its air force and anti-aircraft batteries on
increased alert and increased the number of its airborne patrols over Israeli
airspace. The measures were taken to prevent any unwanted infiltration, air
force sources said. Defense forces say no further significant security measures
are being taken, as the country was already on a high alert status due to recent
terrorist attacks. 1706 GMT, 091201\
The Federal Aviation Authority said today that the ban on all U.S. air travel, originally set to end at noon Sept. 12, has been extended indefinitely, National Public Radio reported. The Pentagon is also reportedly being evacuated for a second day in a row. Parts of the Pentagon near the initial impact by a commercial airliner Sept. 11 are becoming increasingly insecure and there are concerns of further collapse, CNN reported. The secretaries of the U.S. Army and Navy have been moved to the building's basement. 1620 GMT, 091201
Ha'aretz reports that Israel reopened its airspace to foreign airline traffic today, though foreign flights must still gain special security clearance before landing. Israeli airspace was closed Sept. 12 due to concerns that the country could be targeted for attacks like those in New York and Washington, D.C. 1631 GMT, 091201
Israeli Defense Forces have ramped up attacks in the territories, The Jerusalem Post reported, saying 10 Palestinians were killed and over 30 wounded in overnight and morning attacks in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, following the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, D.C. Israeli tanks moved into the West Bank city of Jenin early on Sept. 12 and reportedly destroyed a Palestinian security headquarters and two suspected terrorist hideouts before withdrawing. 1635 GMT, 091201
The Taliban said Sept. 12 that any retaliatory strikes by the United States on Afghanistan and on Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden, the prime suspect in the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, would fail and that Washington would not be able to find any person it targets, AFP reported, citing a Taliban spokesman. Bin Laden is living in Afghanistan under the Taliban militia's protection. The United Nations has ordered all 80 of its employees out of Afghanistan. 1553 GMT, 091101
Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden Sept. 12 congratulated the people who carried out the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, D.C., but denied that he was involved, AP reported, citing Abu Dhabi Television's bureau chief in Islamabad. U.S. Embassies in Yemen, Kuwait and Oman and the United Arab Emirates announced that they are closing indefinitely. 1333 GMT, 091201
The FBI has reportedly identified five suspects in connection with the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, ABC news reported, citing Boston Herald report. Investigators are searching Boston’s Logan’s airport, where two of the hijacked planes used in the assault originated, and reportedly believe two of the suspects flew from Portland, Maine, to Logan before the attack. 1328 GMT, 091201
Fox News, citing the Boston Herald, reported that two of the suspects so far identified in the search of Logan airport were brothers, one of whom was a trained pilot, and had passports traced to the United Arab Emirates. Reuters though quoted a UAE government source who said there is no evidence that any emirate nationals were aboard the hijacked planes. The Boston Globe reported that one of the five suspects’ bags did not make the connection to the plane that was hijacked, and the luggage contained a copy of the Koran, an instructional video on flying commercial airliners and a fuel consumption calculator. The FBI also towed from the airport’s parking garage a rental car with a Virginia license plate that contained Arabic-language flight training manuals, ABC reported. 1325 GMT, 091201
Federal agents are planning to serve search warrants on a home or homes in south Florida of a passengers believed to be on one of the hijacked commercial planes used in the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, Reuters reported, citing a local television channel report. The station gave no further details of the planned search other than saying it would focus on Davie, a city about 20 miles northwest of Miami, while the FBI was not available to confirm or deny. Fox News reported that at least one Middle Eastern student at flight school Embry-Riddle University in Daytona Beach, Fla., is missing, and that authorities are looking into reports he may have been on one of the hijacked planes. 1320 GMT, 091201
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