Richard Clarke, a member of the National Security Council, warned Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice about the risk of an imminent major terrorist attack in June 2001, but she expressed skepticism and accused him of sensationalizing Osama bin Laden. Little more than a month later, on 9/11, Rice informed President Bush that the World Trade Center had been hit by hijacked airliners, prompting Bush to leave the Emma E. Booker Elementary School in Sarasota, Florida, and board Air Force One. The plane was then targeted by terrorists, according to investigative journalist Jeffrey Robinson's book "Ash and Honor: The Untold 368 Minutes of 9/11". The article does not report on the specifics of what happened next, but notes that the situation worsened when word arrived that the plane carrying Bush was also a target.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-06,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
In 2001, Richard Clarke was perhaps the most experienced person working in the White House.
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Clarke → work → House
A member of the National Security Council, Clarke had spent 23 years in the executive branch and repeatedly warned about the risk of an attack on US soil by Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda.
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Clarke → spend → Qaeda
In June of that year, Clarke sent a memo to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on the subject.
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Clarke → send → subject
He warned her of the very strong possibility of an imminent major terrorist attack and of serious gaps in the nation’s emergency protocols.
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He → warn → protocols
In July, they met in person to discuss the threat further.
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they → meet → threat
That day, he expressed his worry about the continuity of government in the wake of such an attack and presidential succession.
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he → express → attack
At some point in these conversations Clarke even presciently predicted that such an attack could include an unthinkable horror: the hijacking and weaponization of passenger-filled commercial airliners.
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attack → predict → airliners
But as the investigative journalist Jeffrey Robinson describes in his revelatory “Ash and Honor: The Untold 368 Minutes of 9/11 (St. Martin’s Press), Rice expressed skepticism and “accused the CIA and Clarke of sensationalizing Osama bin Laden, just trying to scare everybody.”
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Rice → describe → everybody
Little more than a month later, Rice used a secure phone to tell the president that the World Trade Center had just been hit by the first of four hijacked airliners on a kamikaze mission, the worst attack on America since Pearl Harbor.
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Center → use → Harbor
In “Ash and Honor,” Robinson skillfully weaves together underreported stories of that day from around the world.
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Robinson → weave → world
He reviewed scores of documents (and some reports he believes are still classified) and interviewed over 65 eyewitnesses to the day’s events.
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he → review → events
Pilots, soldiers, civilians, spies — all their recollections come together to create a new portrait of the chaos and the brave souls who weathered it.
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who → come → it
When the nation came under attack, the president was in Sarasota, Fla., visiting the Emma E. Booker Elementary School for what the author calls “a media stunt before sixteen second graders, designed to highlight a new education initiative.”
By the time Rice’s ominous call came through, Eddie Marinzel and Dave Wilkinson, the two men leading Bush’s Presidential Protective Division that day, had already decided to get Bush on Air Force One and off the ground.
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Marinzel → come → ground
Bush demanded to be taken back to Washington, DC, eager to reassure the nation that he was in control.
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he → demand → control
But returning to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. was not an option.
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returning → return → .
Then things got worse: Word arrived that the plane carrying the commander in chief was itself a bull’s-eye on the terrorists’ list of targets, writes Robinson.
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Robinson → get → targets
That became clear at 10:22 a.m.
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That → become → ?
A phone rang in the Presidential Emergency Operations Center (PEOC), a concrete bunker located five stories beneath the East Wing of the White House.
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phone → ring → House
Marine Corps Maj. Bob Darling answered.
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Darling → answer → ?
On the other end of the line was a Secret Service agent calling from the Situation Room.
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agent → call → Room
The agent “said that a reliable source had called the White House with a warning.”
“Angel is next.”
Shocked, Darling looked across the table to Rice and repeated what he just heard.
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he → say → what
“Who the hell is Angel?” Rice asked.
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Rice → ask → ?
“Air Force One,” Darling responded.
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Darling → respond → ?
News of the threat “freaked out everyone.”
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News → freak → everyone
That someone had made a threat against the president was not surprising.
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made → make → president
But this one was different, because whoever made it knew about the codename Angel — “the classified code for Air Force One.”
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made → make → One
The threat could be coming from someone either inside the security bubble that surrounded the president or close enough to that bubble to know how to get inside.”
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that → come → bubble
Marinzel and Wilkinson “assumed the worst”: that the threat might have come from someone aboard Angel itself.
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threat → assume → Angel
They considered whether it could be a “rogue Secret Service agent,” a steward, a guest, or a member of the press corps.
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it → consider → corps
“No one could be trusted,” writes Robinson.
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Robinson → trust → ?
Col. Mark Tillman, the pilot, decided to make Air Force One invisible.
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One → decide → ?
“He called down to the FAA and ordered total radio silence.
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He → call → silence
The plane still did not have fighter escorts, despite having called for them multiple times since takeoff.
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plane → have → takeoff
So spooked were Marinzel and Wilkinson that they locked down the plane.
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locked → lock → plane
Everyone onboard was ordered to remain in their assigned seats.
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Everyone → order → seats
Agents stood at the front of every cabin, eyeing everyone for suspicious activity.
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Agents → stand → activity
All cellphones were confiscated.
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cellphones → confiscate → ?
No one was allowed to come forward without authorization.
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one → allow → authorization
While Marinzel’s team searched the plane for bombs and drugs, the words ” ‘Angel is next’ continued to echo in everyone’s mind.”
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Angel → search → mind
Locked away in a secure cabin, Bush was trying to get a hold of his family.
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Bush → lock → family
…and 39 more, not listed.
