Musings of an American in Holland

On 11 September 2001, as 19 men hijacked four passenger planes and crashed them into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan, the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and a field near Shankstown, Pennsylvania, I was completely oblivious, cut off from news of the world aboard an American Airlines flight bound from Amsterdam to Washington, DC. I was going to Washington to be interviewed by CBS 60 Minutes II for a report on the US government’s reliance on polygraph screening. At the time, the top news story in the United States was the disappearance of Chandra Levy, 24-year-old intern with the Federal Bureau of Prisons in Washington, DC, who had been having an extra-marital affair with US Representative Gary Condit. There was open speculation that Condit was responsible for Levy’s disappearance, and Condit had taken a polygraph test administered by a former FBI agent in an attempt to clear his name.

The aircraft had just passed Iceland when the pilot came over the intercom with an announcement: the aircraft was leaking fuel, and the best option was to turn around and return to Amsterdam. I recall thinking two things: 1) if we’re leaking fuel, isn’t the best option to land at the nearest airfield (that is, in Iceland)? and 2) how am I going to make it to the interview in DC? I figured the fuel leak couldn’t be too serious if the plane was capable of reaching Amsterdam. After all, Amsterdam was almost as far away as Washington by that time. I passed the time watching part of the in-flight movie, Bridget Jones’ Diary, but it didn’t keep my interest.

Arriving back in Amsterdam, I and the other passengers exited the aircraft. The pilot requested that everyone remain near the gate, and that he would make an announcement. I expected that he would be announcing alternative flights to DC, and thus I waited with great anticipation. But what the pilot announced was that two passenger aircraft had been hijacked and flown into the towers of the World Trade Center, which had been destroyed. Another passenger aircraft had been hijacked and flown into the Pentagon, which was in flames. Another aircraft had been hijacked and crashed in Pennsylvania. United States airspace was indefinitely closed to all commercial aviation. Our luggage would be offloaded and we could collect it in the baggage hall.

It became clear that the story about the plane leaking fuel was an expedient lie. The airline must not have wanted to alert any potential hijackers who might yet be aboard flights in the air, or to unduly cause panic. Televisions in Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport were all tuned to CNN International, and I watched for a long time before proceeding to the baggage hall. The pilot had said that the World Trade Center was destroyed. Some of the people being interviewed also spoke of the towers having collapsed. But the only video CNN International was showing was of the towers on fire, yet still standing. I’m not certain, but I think CNN may have deliberately delayed international broadcasting of the collapse of the towers.

Upon collecting my luggage, I went to buy a train ticket for the ride back home to The Hague. But there was a problem: the trains were not running, allegedly due to mechanical problems. I suspected that the trains had been halted as a security measure. Alternative bus service had been made available, and I got on a bus for The Hague. A stranger lent me his cell phone (I did not own one at the time) to call home.

Arriving back home in The Hague, I spent the rest of the day glued to the television and the Internet (I had a dial-up connection then), following news of the attacks (and wondering whether any more attacks would be forthcoming). I contacted the producer at CBS 60 Minutes II, who informed me that the interview would be rescheduled. It eventually took place in early December 2001, in midtown Manhattan. After the interview, another interviewee and I took a taxi down to the site of the World Trade Center. It had a special meaning for me, because I had worked with the FBI’s counterterrorism task force during the investigation of the 1993 bombing that killed six and injured hundreds of people. We got as close as we could, and I recall that nearly three months after the collapse of the towers, the air still had an acrid smell. Standing on the steps of Federal Hall on Wall Street, I got an uncomfortable tickle in the back of my throat. I can only begin to imagine how unhealthful the air was for emergency workers and residents.

I’m among those who, before the 2 May 2011 raid that killed him, were convinced that Osama Bin Laden had most likely died several years ago. A purported Bin Laden video released in 2007, in which a freeze-frame image of the Al-Qaeda leader appeared during all references to current events, reinforced this belief.

On Saturday, 7 May 2011, the Pentagon released five video clips of Bin Laden (with the audio removed). Although there is no direct indication of the date of these videos, it can be inferred that one of the videos was recorded on or about 24 January 2010:

At right is a freeze-frame of what Bin Laden is shown watching. The title at the top of the screen reads, “From Osama to Obama” (من آسامة إلى آوباما). This is the title of an audio message from Bin Laden to President Barack Obama that was publicly released on 24 January 2010. Thus, it can be inferred that the video of Bin Laden watching a news story about that audio message was recorded either on or shortly after 24 January 2010. In any event, the video cannot have been recorded earlier than 24 January 2010.

Note also that Bin Laden’s attire in the video–a watch cap with a blanket around his shoulders–is consistent with winter weather in Abbotabad, Pakistan, where in January the average low temperature is 2° C (35° F) and the average high is 12° C (53° F).

UPDATE: Further indication that the “From Osama to Obama” audio release was new at the time Bin Laden is seen watching it is found in the scrolling news banner at the bottom of the television screen (at about 1:09). The headline reads: “New audio recording attributed to Osama Bin Laden in which he claims [responsibility] for the attempt to blow up an American airplane…” (…تسجيل صوتي جديد منسوب لآسامة بن لادن يتبنى فيه محاولة تفجير طائرة امريكية).

Every year in the days before the Thanksgiving holiday, conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh trots out his narrative, “The Real Story of Thanksgiving.” As Limbaugh tells it, the early Pilgrims were collectivists who held all property in common. But this arrangement didn’t work out, so they switched to private ownership, harvested a bumper crop, and then held The First Thanksgiving to celebrate their bounty.

It’s a nice “just-so” story that nicely dovetails with Limbaugh’s world view. But as New York Times reporter Kate Zernike documents, it just ain’t so.