9/11 Inside the President's War Room

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Great programme, gripping.

I know he seemed like a hold on rationality when T was president, but my main feeling watching this is how inadequate George W Bush really was as President.

This is absolutely outstanding- the real-time element alongside the photography is genuinely leaving me in awe. Terrifying.

It's fabulous.
I recently read The only plane in the sky - it's an oral history of 9/11 and features a lot of people on this programme. I'd highly recommend it.

It is gripping.

Thanks skinnymirror, I've heard about it but I'm definitely more keen on reading it now.

What channel. We’ve just watched the 9/11 program on iPlayer.
We were silent all the way through.
The trauma these people are carrying was so sad.

Totally gripped by this, what a totally terrifying day

I found it on iplayer too.

It was an excellant program, very well made. I'd never seen the footage of the rescue workers chanting USA after Bushs speech.
The BBC news on after, heading with the withdawal of the US from Afganistan, was like an epilogue.

Excellent programme. Still as terrifying as the day it happened.

Gripping programme agree, but I feel differently about Bush to you after watching it. I agree he was inadequate but actually came across better than I expected.

I do believe any US president would have made much the same decisions, it seems to be the default position of the nation to become bullish and gung ho under pressure. The footage with the firefighters was very telling, they wanted the response to be fast and aggressive and he delivered what the mood of the nation demanded.

Excellent programme - well made and terrifyingly gripping. I've read lots of books and watched lots of programmes about 9/11 and the thing that always strikes me is how unprepared everyone seemed to be. I suppose it's easy to see things clearly with hindsight.

Can't believe it happened 20 years ago - seems like yesterday.

One thing that did take me back although not at the time was him maki g his first speech at the school infront of the children saying American is under attack.

Those kids must have been terrified and confused.

Fascinating programme.

DH and I were wondering why these programmes (last nights and the one on Monday as well) are being shown now instead of on the actually anniversary. Especially in light of the current events in Afghanistan.

@EnglishGirlApproximately

Gripping programme agree, but I feel differently about Bush to you after watching it. I agree he was inadequate but actually came across better than I expected.

I do believe any US president would have made much the same decisions, it seems to be the default position of the nation to become bullish and gung ho under pressure. The footage with the firefighters was very telling, they wanted the response to be fast and aggressive and he delivered what the mood of the nation demanded.

Same here. He did look a bit gormless after hearing the news while he was in the classroom but I understand what was going through his mind now. He was right not to do anything dramatic in front of the children.

Sorry I've kind of answered my own question there. But I still think the anniversary of the event would make more sense.

Strong implication by the end of the programme that he rushed into decisions based on quite a shallow take on events and overrode any voice of caution at all. Agreed that making an announcement of effectively war in a classroom was damaging. I remember him disappearing for a day and understand that more now. Nothing on the programme about talking to political opponents or internationally, which suggests that either the administration or the programme are securely within the modern Republican mindset and propaganda machine. But still fascinating.

I think Bush did a pretty good job based on the scant bits & pieces of information that he received through the day.

Can you imagine if Trump or Biden were President then?

If you ever get chance to go to New York, the 9/11 museum is a must.

He couldn’t have been in a much worse place to have to take in that news while also very aware of the fact he was in a room of small children. His response to the journalist as he left who mentioned New York showed he didn’t want to expose the children to it in that way.

I found it a fascinating watch.

I’d always thought GWB was a bit of a muppet, struck me as a weak and ineffectual president but my god I wouldn’t have wanted to be in his shoes that day.

I think that programme actually changed my perception of him slightly, in that he appeared more proactive and dynamic than I’d thought at the time.

I think he made some correct decisions in the light of the information they had available at the time - USA was/is a world superpower, they couldn’t just lie down and take a massive coordinated terrorist attack like that without some sort of aggressive response. I’m sure we would have done the same here in the UK.

Fascinating programme. Some of the photos really showed an insight into how tense things were - especially when they had no clue what was happening with other threats. I think Bush was dammed whichever way he went - this was a totally unprecedented situation.

It was a fascinating, desperately sad programme. Photos can tell a story better than video footage sometimes.

One thing that struck me was what the impact would have been on those school children that day. Bush stood in front of them and told the world what had happened. How terrifying must that have been for them? Watching CNN later last night, they ran a trailer for a documentary featuring those children now. That will be worth watching.

@TobysGreatAunt

One thing that did take me back although not at the time was him maki g his first speech at the school infront of the children saying American is under attack.

Those kids must have been terrified and confused.

Just seen this, had cross posted. Interesting that in such a long and full documentary, the same single moment stood out.

I still can’t watch any footage or hear sound bites of that horrible day, it’s still too firmly etched in my head.
So I didn’t watch the program, but I definitely wouldn’t have liked to have been in his shoes that day. Thinking about it, I truly think that had it been Trump, he would’ve used “the football”, I really think he would. Obama would’ve been like GWB but more articulate and involved. Biden….I don’t know, I don’t know what to make of him yet.

God love them.

It was fantastic
The feeling of panic and paranoia - I remember on the day all of the hysteria about potential other planes being unaccounted for and being a threat.

I had never realised that when he went into that classroom he already knew about the first plane.

I’d never heard of Ted Olson or Barbara Olson I think that was what affected me the most in this program last night. Anyone regardless of background or stature were/could be affected that day

I wonder what Bush thinks of the current situation

Haven’t watched the presidents war room yet but watched surviving 9/11, such a harrowing programme but excellently done. The stories those people had to tell were so devastating!