President Bush and Advisors Respond to September 11 Terrorist Attacks

In this photograph, President George W. Bush speaks with White House press secretary Ari Fleischer (left), and senior advisor to the president Karl Rove (center) aboard Air Force One following the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York city on September 11, 2001. Bush received news of the suspected terrorist attacks while visiting Emma E. Brooker Elementary School in Sarasota, Florida, to take part in a reading demonstration. After delivering brief remarks at the school, Bush boarded Air Force One for his own protection, accompanied by roughly 65 advisors, security agents, and staff members. President Bush worked from his office aboard Air Force One, where he monitored the crisis using the secure phone lines and televisions installed in the aircraft. This photograph was taken by White House photographer Eric Draper during the flight from Offutt Air Force Base near Bellevue, Nebraska to Andrews Air Force Base near Prince George's County, Maryland.