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Pentagon: Reconstruction Continues Six Months After Terror Attacks
Aired March 11, 2002 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Wolf Blitzer reporting from just outside the Pentagon where six months after the September 11 attacks, there's no let up in the pace of reconstruction. And for the U.S. military, it appears there's no let up in the mission against terrorism. That's our focus tonight on LIVE FROM THE PENTAGON.
ANNOUNCER: Target, Pentagon.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LT. KEVIN SCHAEFER: Even as we were watching what was unfolding up in New York City, never thought that we were in any kind of danger, any kind of risk.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: Lieutenant Kevin Schaefer was the only person in his office space to survive the attack.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCHAEFER: There were people in front of me, behind me, to the left of me, to the right of me, and they didn't make it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: From the ashes, hope springs. With the coming of spring, the Pentagon building is rising.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: Six months after the attack, a rising phoenix at the Pentagon.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The job is basically the same. The feeling is what's different. They destroyed something, but we're going to come back again.
(END VIDEO CLIP) ANNOUNCER: For America's military, a changed world, and a new mission.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Every nation should know that for America the war on terror is not just a policy, it's a pledge.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: LIVE FROM THE PENTAGON, Wolf Blitzer.
BLITZER: Just behind me stands the Pentagon, where six months ago today along with the World Trade Center, America came under attack. What was then a sight of devastation is now seen as a sight of triumph. Reconstruction of the Pentagon is ahead of schedule. In the next half hour, we'll look at that recovery, both of the building and of those who survived that horrible day and we'll focus on the military's new mission.
First to the day's events. The United States paused today to pay tribute to victims of September 11. President Bush led the solemn tributes with a memorial on the White House lawn, saying the world marks a terrible day, but also affirms a just and viable cause.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: September 11 was not the beginning of global terror, but it was the beginning of the world's concerted response. History will know that day not only as a day of tragedy but as a day of decision, when the civilized world was stirred to anger and to action. And the terrorists will remember September 11 as the day many their reckoning began.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: It's no understatement to say that the world changed September 11, and that change was palpable here at the Pentagon headquarters of the U.S. military. In many ways, the tragedy energized the building and made Donald Rumsfeld one of the most recognizable and perhaps one of the most popular defense secretaries ever. CNN military affairs correspondent Jamie McIntyre reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GEN. RICHARD MYERS, JOINT CHIEFS CHAIRMAN: Our Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN MILITARY AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This was Donald Rumsfeld at the Pentagon September 10, the day before the attacks.
RUMSFELD: So today we declare war on bureaucracy, not people.
MCINTYRE: Less than 24 hours later, as Rumsfeld was helping to carry the wounded out of the collapsing building, battling red tape was the last thing on his mind. Suddenly the enemy was terror.
RUMSFELD: We'll use overt and covert military efforts as well as every economic, diplomatic, financial and law enforcement resource at our command. We will not stop until the terrorist networks are destroyed.
MCINTYRE: The pre-September 11 Pentagon was a hotbed of inter- service rivalries, as generals and admirals jockeyed to save pet projects on the chopping block. Big ticket programs, like the Marine Corps troubled V-22 tilt rotor aircraft, the Army's overweight crusader, Howitzer, and the Air Force's pricey F-22 stealth bomber were facing an uncertain future. But in the aftermath of the attacks, the only debate within the administration has been how many more billions to pour into defense.
BUSH: Whatever it takes, whatever it costs, this patient, this resolved nation will win the first war of the 21st century.
MCINTYRE: In a town home meeting last week, Rumsfeld returned to his pre-September 11 theme.
RUMSFELD: I said then and I believe now that the modernization of the department is an imperative.
MCINTYRE: But critics argue he has abandoned the radical reform he once seemed to be pushing.
REP. JANE HARMAN (D-CA), INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: He has much more support now than he did then, and the opportunity is to take money saved and make certain that the war-fighting capabilities of the Pentagon and the procurement accounts are fully funded, but the bureaucracy is reduced.
MCINTYRE: The changes since September 11 extend well beyond the Pentagon's internal workings. In his travels, Rumsfeld has cemented new friendships with such unlikely allies, as the former Soviet Republicans of Uzbekistan, Georgia and Kurdistan. That's the upside of September's tragedy, say Pentagon officials.
VICTORIA CLARK, PENTAGON SPOKESWOMAN: And so perhaps as tragic as it is that those people lost their lives on September 11th, perhaps more people's lives will be saved as a result of them.
MCINTYRE (on-camera): The Bush administration continues to look for ways to curtail U.S. involvement in open-ended peacekeeping missions, but no longer is there any illusion that will lessen demands on the U.S. military. In fact, with the war on terrorism expected to last as long as the Cold War, the U.S. will likely be involved in more countries, not less.
Jamie McIntyre, CNN, the Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: The drive to reconstruct the damaged Pentagon building is moving at lightening speed, fueled by a strong resolve to defy the terrorist plans to destroy the symbol of America's military might. Today, Defense Secretary Rumsfeld toured the construction site to mark the rapid progress being made, and to praise the military's spirit of determination.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUMSFELD: From the ashes, hope springs. With the coming of spring, the Pentagon building is rising and thanks to the truly outstanding effort of the workers, repairs are ahead of schedule. Indeed, from the outside the building looks like it's almost new.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr looks back at the day tragedy struck the Pentagon and the resolve to rise from the ashes.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): American Airlines Flight 77 came in low over the Pentagon helipad, slamming into the west front, killing 189 people, including the five hijackers. The building would burn for days but Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was determined to keep things running right from the start.
RUMSFELD: The Pentagon's functioning; it will be in business tomorrow.
STARR: Plans began almost immediately to overcome the devastation. By mid-November, 400,000 square feet had been demolished and Project Phoenix was under way. The Pentagon was rising from the ashes. Now, it is a construction site of triumph rebuilding the spirit as well as the limestone and steel.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The job is basically the same. The feeling is what's different. They destroyed something, but we're going to come back again.
STARR: Lee Evy is in charge of the $700 million project.
LEE EVY, PROGRAM MANAGER, PENTAGON RENOVATION PROGRAM: When we went to them at Christmas and New Year's, and we said we want to give you two days off, each of those days, two days at Christmas, two days at New Year's, and the workers came back and said, "No, we don't want to take any time off. We want to work straight through."
STARR: A clock now marks the countdown to the one-year anniversary. The motto, "Let's roll," the worker's testament to the heroism of the hijacked passengers.
(on-camera): For the military personnel inside the Pentagon, the last six months have seen them deal with the challenge of the war while remembering their comrades.
(voice-over): Everyone inside the Navy Operations Center was killed. It is only in the last few weeks it is back up and fully running. Manned by friends of those who did not make it out that day.
Captain Robert Bougher replaced his friend, who was director of the operations center on September 11.
CAPTAIN ROBERT BOUGHER, DIRECTOR, U.S. NAVY OPERATIONS CENTER: It gives me some consolation in the thought that I am his successor and maybe an imperfect successor to the job that he was doing, but at least in my own mind I feel like my sense of purpose here is vindication.
STARR: Six months from now on September 11, the exterior of the Pentagon is expected to be finished. For the construction workers and the military, a huge milestone on the road from tragedy to triumph.
Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: The task of repairing the Pentagon building is mammoth, but it's easier than repairing the lives of survivors deeply scarred by the September 11 attacks. CNN medical correspondent Rea Blakey has the story of one man who barely escaped the attack with his life and is now enduring a personal struggle to recover.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
REA BLAKEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Lieutenant Kevin Schaefer was standing in the Naval Command Center when Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon.
SCHAEFER: I thought that was the safest place in the world.
BLAKEY: He was the only person in his office space to survive.
SCHAEFER: Even as we were watching what was unfolding up in New York City, never thought that we were in any kind of danger, any kind of risk.
AARON BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: The Associated Press is reporting that a plane -- it was a plane that crashed at the Pentagon.
BLAKEY: Within seconds, his illusion shattered.
SCHAEFER: There were people in front of me, behind me, to the left of me, to the right of me, and they didn't make it.
BLAKEY: He's home now, after three months in the hospital, more than a dozen operations. Kevin says his biggest adjustment was getting comfortable with his altered appearance. His wife, Blanca, has also faced major adjustments, including finding a new definition for normal life.
BLANCA SCHAEFER, WIFE OF KEVIN SCHAEFER: When we got home, trying to get back to a normal life that we had before, that was the really difficult part. I wasn't running on adrenaline anymore. BLAKEY: Kevin spends his days in medical rehab either at Washington Hospital Center or at home on this equipment donated by the American Red Cross.
SCHAEFER: I am still in quite a bit of pain. It's a day-to-day struggle.
BLAKEY: The public show of support has been tremendous, flags and cards, an eagle, even a football, a president from President Bush to play golf is what motivates Kevin now to keep getting stronger. No date has been set for their game.
(on-camera): Kevin Schaefer is medically retired from the Navy. He has no plans to return to work in that building, but he would like to work for the office of Homeland Security. You see, Kevin believes his life was spared for a reason, and he'd like to spend the rest of his life working toward making sure that no one else ever has to go through what he went through on September 11 at that building ever again.
Rea Blakey, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: Remembering why they're there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED SOLDIER: I've got a sister at that worked at the Pentagon, so it really hit close to home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: For some American troops on the front lines, this mission is personal. A live report from Afghanistan is next. And later...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRIS CLAN (ph), CNN PRODUCER: There was a huge plume of smoke, which continues to rise from the west side of the Pentagon. The building is being evacuated.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: ... a look back at a day that lives in infamy. We're back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED SOLDIER: Since September 11, we've all come together as a tight group. And we've been very patriotic, and we're all ready to come over here and just do our job and do what it takes to justify everything that's happened. UNIDENTIFIED SOLDIER: It really changed my life because I'm from Washington, D.C. and I got a sister that works at the Pentagon, so it really hit close to home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: The September 11 attacks on the United States were remembered today around the world, including in Afghanistan's capitol. U.S. Marines and workers at the U.S. embassy gathered at the compound in Kabul for a simple ceremony. The U.S. flag was lowered to half- staff to mark the occasion.
After a lull in the action, Operation Anaconda resumed with a fury today in eastern Afghanistan. Our senior international correspondent Nic Robertson joins us now live from the city of Gardez, near the battlefront -- Nic.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, it's already Tuesday morning here in Afghanistan. We've seen coalition aircraft flying overhead through the night. We've heard intense activity by reconnaissance drone aircraft flying over the plains, just south of here. And during the day Monday, yesterday Afghan time, we saw intense bombard bombardment of the area around Shah-e-Kot, that is -- that was by B-1 bombers and also A-10 bunker buster aircraft.
We also saw reinforcements, about 300 Afghan fighters, moving towards the front lines, along with tanks and armored artillery pieces, reinforcing those front line positions that will block off any al Qaeda and Taliban retreat by the Shah-e-Kot area, the focus of Operation Anaconda -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Nic, you were in Afghanistan, one of the few western journalists, if any others, on September 11. Reflect on what has changed on the ground there since that day.
ROBERTSON: The biggest change has to be to the liberty of the people of Afghanistan. They have much freer lives now. And certainly, people here tell us they see the international involvement and the focus on their country as an opportunity to bring peace after 23 years of war, and they hope that all the international effort will also bring an international relief funds that will aid in rebuilding the country. The biggest thing people here would like to see is the demise of warlords and a return to a peaceful country with a strong central government -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Nic Robertson reporting live from Gardez in Afghanistan. Thank you very much.
And up next, symbols of the fallen towers, an update from Ground Zero six months after the attack on the World Trade Center.
ANNOUNCER: Also ahead...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just before 10:00, parts of the building began peeling away, people started screaming, the police began yelling, "Run, run."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: ... scenes from September 11, the horror and the heroes. We're back in two minutes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: A tribute of light is now shining where the Twin Towers once stood, an update from ground zero, and a look at a day that will never be forgotten when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: Time for you to get involved. Do you feel safer today than you did before September 11? To take the quick vote, head to CNN.com. The AOL keyword is CNN. A reminder, this poll is not scientific.
BLITZER: Just as we've seen here, this day has been one of tearful memorials in New York. A short while ago, two powerful beams of light were turned on, aimed skywards to symbolize the fallen twin towers of the World Trade Center. The lights are scheduled to shine each night until April 13.
Earlier in New York's Battery Park, officials dedicated a 45,000 pound steel and bronze sculpture as a temporary memorial to the victims of the attack. This sphere, as it's called, stood in the World Trade Center plaza and was partially crushed by falling debris.
For CNN's domestic viewers, Aaron Brown will have a full report tonight, 10:00 p.m. Eastern on "NEWSNIGHT" about the lives forever changed by September 11.
In moments of crisis, confusion eventually gives way to clarity. We saw that on September 11th. The first plane crash looked like an accident to many people, but the second, third and fourth crashes defined acts of terror. Here's a look back at the anatomy of a breaking story that changed the world forever.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: This just in, you are looking at obviously a very disturbing live shot there. That is the World Trade Center, and we have unconfirmed reports this morning that a plane has crashed into one of the towers of the World Trade Center.
SEAN MURTAGH, CNN, VICE PRESIDENT: The jet, looked like a two- engine jet.
ZAHN: You're talking about a large passenger commercial jet.
MURTAGH: Large passenger commercial jet.
JEANNE YURMAN, WITNESS: And the side of the World Trade Center exploded right when I looked up, and debris started falling. I couldn't believe what I was watching.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We saw six, seven floors were taken out, and there's more...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, there's -- oh...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hold up, people are running. Hold on.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lisa, hold on just a moment, we've got an explosion inside.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The building is exploding right now. You've got people running up the street.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know what the hell is going on. OK, hold on. The people here are -- everybody is panicking.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Here is the tape. You see the plane coming in, and it blows into the building with the flames and the smoke billowing out. We have -- I am referred by the former NTSB spokesman. You're watching these pictures as well with us, are you not?
IRA FURMAN, FORMER NTSB SPOKESMAN: Yeah, I'm with you on CNN. There shouldn't be any aircraft in that area.
HARRIS: There is a report of a possible plane hijacking.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Before you know it, just kamikaze, boom, right into the other tower and mass explosion, windows flying. It was horrible.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There was just pandemonium. There was no warning, no alarms, no anything. Everyone just raced from their desks.
BUSH: Today, we've had a national tragedy. Two airplanes have crashed into the World Trade Center in an apparent terrorist attack on our country.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: CNN has learned at least one of the planes involved in this hit on the World Trade Center was an American Airlines 767 that took off from Boston.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There have been no claims of responsibility, and U.S. intelligence officials say they had no warning of anything like this coming along.
KAGAN: Now, Aaron, we can see over your left shoulder there, the building still smoldering of the World Trade Center.
BROWN: Well, it is a grotesque site to look at from about 30 blocks away from where we are. Chris Clan (ph), a CNN producer is at the Pentagon where there is a significant fire. Tell me what you know.
CLAN (ph): Well, there was a huge plume of smoke, which continues to rise from the west side of the Pentagon. The building is being evacuated.
BROWN: The Associated Press is reporting that a plane -- it was a plane that crashed at the Pentagon. Bridges and tunnels coming into New York have been closed. We are also being told that the FAA has suspended take-offs and landings.
JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: The initial assumption, this official said, was that this had something to do, or at least they were looking into any possible connections with Osama bin Laden.
BROWN: There has just been a huge explosion. We can see a billowing smoke rising. I'll tell you, that I can't see that second tower, but there was a cascade of sparks and fire, and now, this -- it looks almost like a mushroom cloud explosion. That is about as frightening a scene as you will ever seen, one of the most recognizable buildings in the country is gone.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's the kind of moment you hope will never come.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just before 10:00, parts of the building began peeling away. People started screaming, the police began yelling, "Run, run." And thousands of people started running away from the buildings as they were falling.
UNIDENTIFIED WITNESS: We heard a big bang, and then we saw smoke coming out and everybody started running out. And we saw the plane on the other side of the building and there was smoke everywhere, and people were jumping out the windows.
BROWN: And there, as you can see the second tower, the front tower, the top portion of which is collapsing. Good Lord. There are no words.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: And this final thought from a former Pentagon reporter, "I suspect that anyone whoever worked in the building right behind me has the same thought whenever he or she visits this site, but for the grace of God, this could have been any of us. It's a haunting thought that keeps us focused on what this war against terrorism is all about."
And that's it for LIVE FROM THE PENTAGON. I'm Wolf Blitzer. Thanks for joining us.
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