ANDl September 11, 2001 It had all the makings of a very hectic day in terms of news. And it was — perhaps the busiest in recent history — but for completely different reasons than I had planned.
According to the criteria of
The day before, in the afternoon of September 10, the State Department had announced that it had just included the following in its list of terrorist organizations: United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), where the FARC and ELN had already been present for some years. It was a huge development for the country.
The paramilitary group, which had been strengthening its presence throughout the country for years, was mutating into a political organization. Carlos Castaño, its leader, had just resigned from his military leadership and announced a project that even had electoral aspirations.
The designation, which includes the freezing of all economic assets of both the group and its collaborators, fell like a bomb in a country where its cause was, to a certain extent, normalized in the name of the fight against the guerrillas.
The next morning, Colin Powellthe then “chancellor” of President George W. Bush, boarded a plane to Colombia with that news under his arm.
But before that he had agreed to an interview with EL TIEMPO to talk about that decision and how it fit into Plan Colombia, which had been approved in June 2000 to combat drug trafficking and the role of the guerrillas in this illicit activity.
It was Powell’s first interview with a Latin American media outlet since taking office and a great opportunity for my young career as a correspondent in Washington.
I remember getting up early to prepare my questions. I was somewhat anxious, of course, given the caliber of the character I would face a few hours later. Powell, in addition to being secretary, was one of the most decorated generals in the United States Army, with a long career that included the invasion of Panama to overthrow the Panamanian dictator. Manuel Noriega in 1989 and the first Iraq war in 1990, when Bush Sr. was president.
Two decisions that he led while at that time being the head of the Joint Armed Forces, the highest position in the military structure of this country.
Shortly before leaving for the State Department, around 8:30 in the morning, I turned on the television and left it tuned to CNN while I went to make some coffee.
At that time I was living in Arlington, a city bordering the US capital and where the Pentagon is located.
When I got back up, I briefly lost my breath. CNN transmitted images of the Twin Towersin New York, where a thick column of smoke could be seen coming out of one of them, the north tower. It was 8:47 am and the initial information was confusing. The reporters were talking about a possible fire or perhaps a bomb.
But no one imagined the magnitude of what was really happening.
Within minutes, confirmation came that a plane had crashed into the building, which until then had been a symbol of American economic power. Although the initial theory was that it was an accident, many were already stressing how strange it was that a plane, even if it was out of control, could not avoid the tallest building in the entire city and, until recently, in the world.
A second plane crashes into the other tower
That thesis fell apart moments later. At 9:03 a.m., just 16 minutes later, a second plane crashed into the South Tower, at the height of the 80th floor. I saw that image, like millions of people around the world, live and in person. And it confirmed the worst fear: that the United States had just been the victim of a terrorist attack without precedent in history.
For a few brief moments, I completely forgot that Powell was waiting for me at the State Department. But a call to my cell phone immediately reminded me. It was one of the Secretary’s press advisers who reported that not only was the interview cancelled, but that the official would no longer travel to Colombia, as he had to deal with the crisis that had just unfolded.
The information, at that time of the morning, was even more delicate. The aeronautical authorities had lost contact with two other planes that had apparently been hijacked and were heading towards the US capital.
My first reaction was to call the newspaper. After several attempts—the phone lines were jammed—I finally managed to get through to the editorial office, which was still half deserted, since in Colombia it was an hour earlier and at that time few people arrived before 9 a.m. The plan was to publish a special edition of the paper that would be published in the afternoon.
A resource that was only used for extreme events like the one we were experiencing. While still on the line, I heard an explosion that shook the house to its foundations and cut off the call. “That was close,” I said to my wife in a broken voice. At that point, it was not clear whether we ourselves were at risk and we considered several options, including going outside or locking ourselves in the basement.
An explosion at the Pentagon
In CNNmeanwhile, They confirmed an explosion at the Pentagon, which was located about 3 kilometers from my residence. It was later learned that a third plane had crashed on its western facade.
I still remember as if it were yesterday the mental debate that followed. I was in the middle of the biggest news of my life and just minutes away from one of its epicenters. But I lacked information to determine how dangerous the situation at the Pentagon was or whether another attack was imminent.
In retrospect, it was an irresponsible act, but curiosity and journalistic duty prevailed. I got in the car and took Washington Boulevard, a route that runs through the Pentagon, right on the side where the plane had just crashed.
Sirens were already wailing all around, while fire trucks and patrol cars were heading to the scene. From the road, a thick column of smoke could already be seen on the horizon, which kept rising. About a mile and a half away, I got out of the car, aware that it would be impossible to get out any further, and began walking towards the military complex.
Access to the western facade was already closed and I decided to go around the building to its eastern door, which ends at the slopes of the Potomac River. On that side there were already hundreds of people who had just evacuated and dozens of ambulances taking away the wounded.
Uniformed soldiers and civilians walked in the opposite direction of the building with faces of horror, fear and indignation. Some were crying. Most had their hands on their heads in a gesture of incomprehension.
In total, I was among them for an hour, until the police cordoned off the area and asked us to leave. During that time, I took several testimonies. All very similar. But I remember one in particular, because it would mark what these last 20 years have been like. “We are at war; the world is going to change,” said a uniformed man, still numb from the impact of the explosion.
At that point I decided to go back. It had been two hours since I had left the house and I had not been able to contact the newspaper again, as the lines were still down. Also, since cell phones at the time did not have internet, I had no idea what else had happened.
In the days that followed, despite the chaos, the story gained a little more context. Intelligence agencies identified Al Qaeda as the mastermind of the attacks and it was confirmed that 19 of his men, who had been living in the country for months, had hijacked four planes to use as missiles against emblematic US targets. Three weeks later, Washington was already invading Afghanistan to overthrow the Taliban government, which had sheltered the terrorists, and pursue those responsible. The rest is a novel that the world already knows and that this Saturday completes 20 years.
The interview with Powell finally took place, but it was 15 months later when the Secretary of State was able to reschedule the postponed trip to Colombia.
With the recorder still off, I asked him if he remembered that our last meeting had been cancelled because of the 9/11 attacks. He looked me in the eyes and said: “Of course, it was you. How could I forget it? That was the worst day of my life.”
And, all things considered, one of the worst for me.
*This article was originally published on September 11, 2021, 20 years after the attack on the Twin Towers. EL TIEMPO is publishing it again due to its journalistic content just 23 years after the attacks.
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