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Timeline for September following the September 11 attacks

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The September 11 attacks of 2001 were a major event that had a significant long-lasting impact even beyond the day of the attacks itself. This article summarizes events which relate to the attacks in the remaining days of September 2001. News coverage was significant in the period after the attacks which meant that many of these events were reported on quickly by news agencies at the time.

All times, except where otherwise noted, are in Eastern Daylight Time (EDT), or UTC−04:00.

September 2001

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Tuesday, September 11

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CBS and CNN report that a van filled with explosives has been stopped on the George Washington Bridge.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> According to the report, the New Jersey police claimed there were enough explosives to destroy the entire bridge.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The FBI denied the report. Template:Main

Wednesday, September 12

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Thursday, September 13

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  • Some commercial flights resume, and several airports are reopened, but under strict security protocols from the FAA.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
  • Before 1:00 a.m.: German police raid an apartment in Hamburg, apparently at the behest of the FBI, believed to have been used by suspect passengers on the airline flight list.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> It is believed to be the first police action outside the U.S. connected with the attack.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Two people are taken into provisional custody, one is an airport worker. Both are later released, but re-arrested in late 2002.Template:Citation needed
  • The United States National Transportation Safety Board, which usually investigates air disasters, issued a press release stating that the NTSB would assist the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and that the FBI would be "the lead investigative agency".
  • Between 4:15 p.m. and 5:00 p.m.: 10 people are detained at New York airports, reportedly including people who had boarded planes under false pretenses, people who had been trained to fly aircraft at the same schools as the previous terrorists, and people who had attempted to bring knives and other weapons past airport security.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Some of these people had already been identified by the FBI as potential suspects. Three are removed from planes ready for departure by police SWAT teams, one resists arrest. It is later found that none of them were planning a hijacking.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
  • 4:20 p.m.: The flight data recorder from United Airlines Flight 93 is recovered, fifteen feet below the surface of the ground.<ref name="Sources and Detailed Information">Template:Cite web</ref>
  • It is announced that Ahmed Shah Massoud, a military leader of the Northern Alliance, died on September 9 from wounds received during a Taliban suicide attack. His death was widely reported in the following days.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
  • On the orders of Queen Elizabeth II, the 'Star-Spangled Banner' is played during the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, marking the first time that the national anthem of a foreign nation was played at Buckingham Palace outside of an official state visit. This unprecedented act was witnessed by a huge crowd, many singing along.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
  • At the orders of Vladimir Putin, Russia observes a moment's silence at noontime (Moscow time) with flags placed at half-staff throughout Russia "in memory of terrorist acts' victims".
  • At 8:00 p.m., the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) holds a special live broadcast of WWF SmackDown! from the Compaq Center in Houston, Texas, dedicated to the victims and heroes of the attacks. This live broadcast made UPN the first major television network to resume regular programs after the attacks. Not only was this the first major sporting event since the events of September 11, but it was also the first public assembly of its size.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> All storylines are put on hold for this tribute show, as various wrestlers and other individuals give their best wishes to the families of the victims and congratulate all of the workers and firefighters in New York.

Friday, September 14

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The National Day of Prayer and Remembrance<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Saturday, September 15

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Sunday, September 16

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Monday, September 17

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Tuesday, September 18

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  • 12:30 PM Rudy Giuliani press briefing: 49,553 tons removed to Fresh Kills Landfill in 3,788 trucks. 218 confirmed dead, 152 identified. 37 uniformed officers, 32 firefighters, 2 E.M.T.'s, 2 Port Authority Police officers and one New Jersey Fire Department firefighter.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
  • 2:30 PM Ari Fleischer press briefing. The U.S. intends to go after terrorism whenever it threatens the United States, not all terrorism.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
  • 2:50 PM US Attorney General John Ashcroft press briefing: 96,000 tips. There may have been more than four planes targeted for hijacking. INS will have 48 hours (or unlimited time under emergencies) instead of the previous 24 in which to decide whether to charge detained individuals. This will allow them to detain the 75 individuals held in connection with the investigation indefinitely. Permanent anti-terrorism task forces under the US Attorney General and FBI will be established to blur the lines between local and federal law enforcement and the federal intelligence agencies.
  • In Karachi, Pakistan more than 5,000 radical Islamist students mount the largest demonstration yet against possible US military action against Afghanistan. By the standards of Karachi politics, where rallies of over fifty thousand people are common, this is regarded as unexpectedly small. Hundreds of police and paramilitary troops prevent the protesters from marching on the US consulate. An effigy of George W. Bush is lit.
  • A mass candle vigil is held in Tehran, Iran to mourn the loss of life in the United States.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Wednesday, September 19

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  • The Department of Defense orders over 100 combat aircraft, including fighters, bombers, and support aircraft to military bases in the Persian Gulf. Three aircraft carrier groups will soon be within operational distance of west Asia.
  • 2:20 PM approx. Rudy Giuliani and George Pataki press briefing: two lanes of Brooklyn Bridge into city to open Thursday. The government is opening up 5.5 million ft2 (511,000 m2) of real estate for business. Individual family grants of up to $14,000 are available from the Dept. of Labor. The State Dept. of Health is giving $60 million to NYC hospitals. The business assistance center at 633 Third Ave. has received 5000 calls and 700 visitors. The city is hoping to get Battery Park North and South open in the next two days. The prayer service Sunday 9/23 at Yankee Stadium will be by ticket for families and the uniformed services (fire, police, etc.), and simulcast at Jumbotrons at Staten Island and Brooklyn baseball stadiums. The city has determined it would be too early for the Central Park memorial service originally planned.
  • 4:00 PM, Dow Jones Industrial Average closes down 144.27 (1.62%) to 8759.13. Other indexes are down similarly. At its lowest point, the Dow Jones was down over 420 points.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Thursday, September 20

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  • Stock markets continue dramatic slide.
  • Pakistani general/President Pervez Musharraf gives a speech asking the country to go along with government decision to support the United States—allowing flights over airspace, supplying intelligence, etc. He warns of "very grave consequences" if Pakistan did not cooperate with the United States.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
  • Forty Senators visit New York City to see the rescue and recovery effort firsthand.
  • The official number of missing persons at the WTC rises dramatically to 6333, due to reports coming in from foreign countries.
  • President Bush gives speech to joint session of Congress, with British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Rudy Giuliani, and Governor Pataki in attendance. He thanks the world for its support of the United States, and announces that the United States is at war with terrorism and demands countries choose to be "with us or with the terrorists." He limits the enemy to terrorist groups with "global reach." Five unconditional demands are imposed on the Taliban, including the immediate closedown of all terrorist training camps and the delivery of all al-Qaeda leaders to US authorities. He creates a new cabinet-level office, the Department of Homeland Security and names Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge as its head. His speech is interrupted with applause on many occasions.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
  • Conference of Afghan Islamic clerics advise Taliban leader Mohammad Shah to invite Osama bin Laden to leave Afghanistan by his own choice.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
  • New York Philharmonic memorial concert of Brahms' Ein Deutsches Requiem in Avery Fisher Hall. The concert is led off by the national anthem, and on the stage is a flag which appeared on stage during all Philharmonic World War II concerts. All proceeds go to disaster relief. At the request of the Philharmonic director, all applause is held, and the audience filed out in silence.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Friday, September 21

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  • 1.15 AM BST Increased racial tensions in Peterborough, England, see seventeen-year-old boy Ross Parker murdered by a gang of up to ten Muslims of Pakistani background who had sought a white male to attack. In December 2002 Shaied Nazir, Ahmed Ali Awan, and Sarfraz Ali are sentenced to life imprisonment for the racist murder.<ref name=autogenerated8>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=HMCourts>Template:Citation</ref><ref name="Guardian">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
  • 4:00 AM Final version of airline assistance bill is written.Template:Importance inline
  • In the morning hours, the Congress approves a bill to prop up the airline industry and establish a federal fund for victims. The cost of the mostly open-ended fund may reach about $15 billion. Victims of earlier terrorist attacks, including those linked to al-Qaida, were not included in the fund.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
  • In Afghanistan, fighting begins between the Northern Alliance and the Taliban.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
  • Afghanistan press conference announces willingness to turn Osama bin Laden forcibly over only with evidence. The United States reiterates it will not negotiate on demands. The US never releases the evidence demanded.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
  • Tens of thousands demonstrate in Pakistan against the government's cooperation with United States. One person is shot dead while three others are injured.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
  • The official number of missing persons at the WTC continues to fluctuate, 6300s to 6500s. They come from over 60 countries.
  • Stock markets continue dramatic slide. (For the United States, worst week since 1930s).<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
  • A two-hour live telethon entitled America: A Tribute to Heroes, with musical performances and spoken tributes by top American performers, is simultaneously broadcast on nearly every network.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
  • Yemeni-American, Mr. Ali M. Al-Mansoob/Mr. Ali Al Mansouri, 44, is fatally shot 12 times in the back in Detroit, allegedly by a man angry about the terrorist attacks.
  • In the first major sporting event in New York City since the attack, a baseball game at Shea Stadium, the New York Mets' Mike Piazza hits a two-run, game-winning home run in the bottom of the eighth inning against the Atlanta Braves to defeat the Braves, 3–2.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Saturday, September 22

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  • The United Arab Emirates, one of the few countries that had recognized the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan, rescinds the recognition.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
  • Hundreds of millions of dollars of donations have been raised for American relief agencies.
  • The United States reschedules Pakistan's debt, and drops sanctions against Pakistan in return for its help with the "war on terror."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Sunday, September 23

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  • The official count of bodies found at the site of the World Trade Center is 261; 194 have been identified. The official missing count at the World Trade Center is 6,453.
  • The Taliban claim they cannot find Osama bin Laden to deliver request that he leave the country of his own will.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
  • The Taliban shoot down an unmanned United States spy plane.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Importance inline
  • NFL games recommence.
  • Interfaith memorial service, known as "Prayer for America," is held at Yankee Stadium.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
  • NASCAR's MBNA Cal Ripken Jr. 400 is hosted at Dover International Speedway, most drivers having special paint jobs with American flags for honor of the attacks. During "God Bless the USA", composed and performed at the race by Lee Greenwood, the aftermath of the World Trade Center was aired. For the first time ever, security measures prevent anyone who is not a track employee from working the race, with a nearby military base handling logistics. Dale Earnhardt Jr. wins the event and celebrates by driving around the track with an American flag out the window.<ref name=":1" />

Week of Monday, September 24

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  • U.S. stock markets rebound somewhat.
  • Over 100,000 tons of debris have been removed from the World Trade Center site. It is clear that no remains will be found for a significant number of people.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
  • The United States to present evidence of Osama bin Laden's connection secretly to some coalition governments.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
  • Saudi Arabia cuts diplomatic ties with the Taliban regime in Afghanistan.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
  • Hundreds of people, mostly in the United States and European Union, have been arrested or detained in the ongoing investigation.
  • Legislation (soon to become the Patriot Act) granting intelligence and law enforcement agencies more latitude in surveillance and inter-agency communication is debated in Washington, D.C. Many are concerned about the effects on civil liberties and the general atmosphere of openness in the United States.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
  • The United Nations warns of humanitarian disaster if 1.5 million expected Afghan refugees have nowhere to go, or in any case in two-three weeks when food relief supplies run out.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> All borders have been closed, Pakistan may accept more refugees although there are already 2 million from the previous 23 years of war.
  • The United States reveals that special forces are now, and/or have been recently, operating in Afghanistan already or in recent days.

Monday, September 24

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  • The official count of bodies found at the site of the World Trade Center is 276; 206 have been identified. The official missing count at the World Trade Center remains 6,453.
  • After losing upwards of 1,300 points in the previous week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average posts its eighth biggest net gain in its history. It gains 368.05 points to 8,603.86.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
  • 95% of United Airlines Flight 93 is recovered, 80% left in the crater by the crash, and 15% outside of it. The crater is refilled.
  • Significant fighting is going on between the Northern Alliance and the Taliban.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Russia pledges to increase aid to the Northern Alliance.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Tuesday, September 25

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Wednesday, September 26

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  • The official count of bodies found at the site of the World Trade Center is 300; 232 have been identified. The official missing count at the World Trade Center is 6,347.
  • Shimon Peres and Yasser Arafat meet in Lisbon, and agree to pursue a more permanent ceasefire.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
  • Jesse Jackson reports receiving an invitation from the Taliban to come to Afghanistan as part of a peace delegation. They deny making the invitation, but welcome him to come. The United States government frowns on it, but will not stand in the way.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Thursday, September 27

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Friday, September 28

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  • The official count of bodies found at the site of the World Trade Center is 306; no new identifications are made. The official missing count at the World Trade Center remains 5,960.
  • FBI Press Conference release of an untranslated handwritten 4-page hijackers' letter written in Arabic and found in three separate copies at Dulles, the Pennsylvania crash site, and in Mohamed Atta's suitcase. It includes Islamic prayers, instructions for a last night of life, and a practical checklist of final reminders for the mission.<ref>FBI Releases Copy of 4 Page Letter Linked to Hijackers Template:WebarchiveFBI, Press Conference national Press Release, September 28, 2001
    Translated: Instructions for the Last Night Template:Webarchive, PBS Frontline, "Inside the Terror Network, tracking their personal stories." The British newspaper The Observer published this translation, provided for The New York Times by Capital Communications Group, a Washington-based international consulting firm, and by Imad Musa, a translator. Some notable excerpts: ..."Make an oath to die and renew your intentions..."... "Check your weapon before you leave and long before you leave. (You must make your knife sharp and must not discomfort your animal during the slaughter). " ... "All of their equipment and gates and technology will not prevent, nor harm, except by God's will. The believers do not fear such things. ..." ... "When the confrontation begins, strike like champions who do not want to go back to this world. Shout, 'Allahu Akbar,' because this strikes fear in the hearts of the non-believers. God said: 'Strike above the neck, and strike at all of their extremities.' Know that the gardens of paradise are waiting for you in all their beauty, and the women of paradise are waiting, calling out, 'Come hither, friend of God.' They have dressed in their most beautiful clothing..." ... "If you slaughter, do not cause the discomfort of those you are killing, because this is one of the practices of the prophet, peace be upon him..." ... "Do not seek revenge for yourself. Strike for God's sake..." ... "Then implement the way of the prophet in taking prisoners. Take prisoners and kill them. As Almighty God said: 'No prophet should have prisoners until he has soaked the land with blood... " ... "How beautiful it is for one to read God's words, such as: 'And those who prefer the afterlife over this world should fight for the sake of God.' And His words: 'Do not suppose that those who are killed for the sake of God are dead; they are alive ... '." ... "Either end your life while praying, seconds before the target, or make your last words: 'There is no God but God, Muhammad is His messenger'."</ref>

Saturday, September 29

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  • The official count of bodies found at the site of the World Trade Center is 309; 248 have been identified. The official missing count at the World Trade Center is 5,641.
  • Al Gore makes his biggest speech since he lost his bid for the presidency, and strongly supports President Bush and the bipartisan atmosphere prevailing since the attack.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
  • Thousands take part in the first protest by the ANSWER Coalition.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The organisation will be one of the most influential in the post–September 11 anti-war movement, drawing millions to protest both the Invasion of Afghanistan and the Iraq War.

Sunday, September 30

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  • The official count of bodies found at the site of the World Trade Center is 314; 255 have been identified. The official missing count at the World Trade Center is 5,657.
  • Senator Chuck Schumer proposes holding the Super Bowl XXXVI at Giants Stadium.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
  • The Taliban ambassador to Pakistan, Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef, admits that the Taliban regime is protecting Osama bin Laden in an unknown location in Afghanistan, that he had been given the ulema recommendation 3 days prior, that he has turned down the option to leave the country voluntarily, and that the Taliban would be open to negotiations with the US given evidence of bin Laden's culpability in the 9/11 attacks.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> John Ashcroft expresses skepticism as well as anger at the Taliban's refusal to accept conditions.<ref name="AshcroftWaPoSep30">Template:Cite web</ref>
  • Tony Blair says that he has seen "incontrovertible evidence" linking Osama bin Laden to the attacks on the United States.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

See also

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References

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