It was great.
Seventeen years ago today, former President George W. Bush stood atop the rubble of the World Trade Center and astride a nation shaken to its core. There, Bush unleashed the American spirit. Still, the great moment unveiled itself slowly. With cursory, somber words of comfort, Bush told rescuers “America today is on bended knees for the people who lost their lives here, for the workers who work here, for the families who mourn.” The crowd listened politely but seeming to want something more. Bush continued, “This nation stands with the good people of New York City, and New Jersey, and Connecticut, as we mourn the loss of thousands of our citizens.”
Then it happened.
“George! We can’t hear you!” The workers, exhausted and running on pure adrenaline, didn’t want any more quiet reflections. They wanted a rallying cry.
They got it.
It was instinctive leadership. Simple language, yes, but an almost perfect lightning bolt of camaraderie and courage. Bush started to keep talking but realized the crowd needed to respond. And they did: “USA! USA! USA!” I remember watching the scene live on Sky News after returning from school to my then-home in London. Until that moment, I had felt separated from my fellow U.S. citizens across the pond. But Bush changed that: I was filled with immense pride at being a citizen of the most exceptional nation.
Bush’s brilliance that day wasn’t simply for the words he spoke, but in the context of which he spoke them. After all, on that September day, the smoke had not yet cleared and the death toll was not yet clear. As many as 5,000 were feared dead. And from the intelligence services, warnings were flooding into the White House that this was just the start: that a second wave of equally deadly, perhaps deadlier attacks was coming. The Secret Service attitude reflected as much. They were exceptionally uncomfortable with Bush visiting New York City just three days after another Pearl Harbor: running multiple decoy limousines in the motorcade, they were ready to be attacked. As president, Bush knew all this. But he also knew his instinctive duty: to rally the troops to the flag and the fight. And he did.
It worked. The memories were immortalized but the tears were swept aside. The nation had its mojo back.
Six days later, Bush doubled down. Addressing a united Congress, he referenced his Sept. 14 meeting with Arlene Howard, the mother of a police officer who had died in the service of his city and country. Bush told us what it meant.
The terrorists of al Qaeda had misjudged the former governor.
And by October, Bush showed the nation how to get back to a semblance of normality. Before throwing out the first pitch at game 3 of the World Series, Bush was told by the Yankees’ Derek Jeter, “You better throw from the mound otherwise you’re going to get booed. This is Yankee stadium.” Bush recalled Jeter then saying, “Don’t bounce it, they’ll boo you!”
Bush didn’t bounce it.
Neither did Bush bounce when it came to defeating al Qaeda’s second wave and other major attacks. Because what we saw on Sept. 14, 2001 would define Bush’s counter-terrorism leadership for the next seven years. And thanks to that leadership and the military and intelligence community’s actions, America has yet to suffer another major terrorist attack on the same scope as Sept. 11.
