A Selected Chronology of Key Events,
September 11, 2001-- Present

Compiled by the Office of International Information Programs
U.S. Department of State

September 11: Two hijacked airliners were crashed into the World Trade Center (WTC) Towers in New York City. Thousands were feared dead when the towers collapsed more than an hour after the impacts. A third hijacked airliner was crashed into the Pentagon. A fourth, possibly bound for another target in Washington, D.C., crashed in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, apparently after passengers attempted to overpower the hijackers.

8:46 a.m. (EDT)	American Airlines Flight 11 struck the WTC North Tower.
9:03	United Airlines Flt. 175 struck the South Tower.
9:38	American Airlines Flt. 77 struck the Pentagon.
9:59	The South Tower of the WTC collapsed; the North Tower fell at 10:28.
10:00	United Airlines Flt. 93 crashed in Pennsylvania. The Federal Aviation Administration suspended all air traffic in the United States and diverted international flights to Canada. Federal offices and public buildings in Washington, New York, and other major cities were closed.
4:10 p.m.	Building 7 of the World Trade Center collapsed.
8:30	President Bush addressed the nation: "Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America."

Thousands of people were killed. Authorities in New York City initially estimated the casualties at the WTC and surrounding areas to be more than 5,000 persons. As the lists have been refined, names verified, and some victims' remains identified, the number of victims has been reduced.

Authorities now say that 2,829 died at the World Trade Center, including airline passengers from AA Flt. 11 and UA Flt. 175, and 453 public safety workers who responded to the emergency. The dead came from more than 90 countries around the world. Bodily remains of fewer than half the victims have been identified. (Source: New York City Medical Examiner's Office as of August 19, 2002.)

At the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., 189 persons died, including the 64 people on board American Airlines Flt. 77. When United Airlines Flt. 93 crashed in Western Pennsylvania, 44 people died. (Source: National Transportation Safety Board.)

The more than 3,000 people killed in the September 11 attacks included 19 hijackers on board the four civilian airline flights.

Sept. 12: The North Atlantic Council invoked Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, thereby considering the terrorist attacks on the United States to be an attack on all member states, and pledged any necessary assistance.

Both the U.N. General Assembly and Security Council approved by acclamation resolutions condemning the terrorist attacks on the United States and calling on member states to cooperate to bring the "perpetrators, organizers, and sponsors of the outrages" to justice.

Sept. 13: President Bush and Attorney General John Ashcroft urged the American people not to hold Arab-Americans and Muslims responsible for the terrorist attacks and pledged a swift response to violence against them.

Sept. 15: President Bush met with his national security advisers at Camp David, Maryland. He confirmed to reporters that Osama bin Laden was a "prime suspect." Secretary of State Colin Powell expressed gratification at worldwide expressions of support. "Dozens of countries lost lives [at the World Trade Center] and they realize that this was an attack against them, as well."

Sept. 18: The U.N. Security Council called on the Taliban to hand over Osama bin Laden in accord with UNSCR 1333, passed by the council on Dec. 19, 2000. That resolution demanded that the Taliban cease providing sanctuary and support for terrorism, and turn over bin Laden to authorities investigating his suspected involvement in other terrorist acts.

Sept. 20: President Bush addressed a joint session of Congress and the American people, outlining a comprehensive U.S. and international effort to end global terrorism. He named al Qaeda and a loose network of terrorist groups as prime suspects in the September 11 attacks.

Sept. 24: President Bush signed an executive order freezing the assets of 27 organizations and persons suspected of funding terrorism and supporting al Qaeda.

Sept. 28: The U. N. Security Council unanimously adopted UNSCR 1373, which established wide-ranging measures to combat terrorism, especially focusing on the financial support terrorists need to carry out their acts.

October 4: President Bush pledged $320 million in additional humanitarian aid to Afghanistan. He also announced a further call-up of Army reservists and Army National Guard members. By this date, some 7,765 military reservists and National Guard members had been called up since the attacks.

Oct. 5: The U. N. General Assembly's week-long debate on international terrorism closed with countries expressing their horror over the September 11 attacks against the United States and their hope that governments could work together to eradicate terrorism everywhere in the world.

As the U.S. government discovered additional evidence tying the attacks to Osama bin Laden and the al Qaeda terrorist movement, it used its resources and the resources of an international coalition to move against al Qaeda. The Taliban government of Afghanistan was identified as providing refuge for, and support to, al Qaeda. When the Taliban continued to refuse to take action against al Qaeda, the U.S.-led coalition decided to attack the Taliban and al Qaeda in Afghanistan.

Oct. 7: President Bush announced that in response to the September 11 attacks and in accordance with the inherent right of individual and collective self-defense, the U.S. military had launched strikes against al Qaeda terrorist camps and Taliban military installations in Afghanistan.

Oct. 10: State Department spokesman Richard A. Boucher said that terrorist suspects had been arrested or detained in 23 countries: 10 in Europe, 7 in the Middle East, 4 in Africa, and 1 each in Latin America and East Asia. Steps had been taken against terrorist financial assets Authorities targeted terrorist financial assets in 112 countries.

Oct. 11: President Bush held his first prime-time news conference since the attacks. He told journalists the Taliban still had a second chance; if they gave up bin Laden and his followers, "We'll reconsider what we're doing to your country." He also said that the United States was prepared to help the United Nations establish a stable and representative Afghan government that would be involved in neither terrorism nor the drug trade.

Oct. 25: In London, Prime Minister Tony Blair briefed Conservative Party leaders on plans to commit British ground troops to Afghanistan. President Bush designated Bahrain a "major non-NATO ally."

Oct. 31: The Defense Department announced that reserve call-ups would exceed 50,000. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced that it would supply the United Nations and other humanitarian agencies with $11.2 million to buy up to 30,000 tons of wheat from Central Asian countries for relief in Afghanistan.

November 27: The World Bank and Asian Development Bank held a meeting in Islamabad to discuss reconstruction aid to Afghanistan.

December 3: The United Nations announced that the World Food Program would employ more than 2,400 women in its emergency food distribution efforts in Kabul. The recruitment of women in the operation of the relief program was intended to reverse the effect of the five-year-old Taliban policy barring women from the workplace.

Dec. 4: Afghan representatives meeting in Bonn, Germany, signed an interim agreement aimed at establishing a broad-based, multiethnic, stable, representative post-Taliban government in Afghanistan after 23 years of war. The interim administration in Afghanistan would be led by Hamid Karzai, a Pashtun leader from Kandahar.

Dec. 13: The Defense Department released a videotape of Osama bin Laden discussing the September 11 terrorist attacks. The tape shows bin Laden saying that the devastation caused by fuel-laden jetliners crashing into the twin towers of the trade center far exceeded his expectations.

Dec. 22: The Afghan Interim Authority (AIA), a multiethnic body reflecting the geographic and religious composition of Afghanistan, was created to administer the nation.

January 17, 2002: Secretary of State Powell officially reopened the U.S. embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, which had been closed since 1989.

Jan. 21-22: The International Conference on Afghan Aid was held in Tokyo. The United States pledged $296 million for Afghan reconstruction efforts.

Jan. 29: President Bush, in the annual State of the Union speech, said America's enemies "believed America was weak and materialistic, that we would splinter in fear and selfishness. They were as wrong as they are evil." The president said Americans will "extend the compassion of our country to every part of the world." He promised especially "to encourage development and education and opportunity in the Islamic world."

The United States has made it clear that its attacks in Afghanistan, and antiterrorist actions around the world, are directed only toward al Qaeda, nations and individuals providing support to them, and to other terrorists.

Some 5 million Muslims live in the United States. They are guaranteed the same religious, political, and individual freedoms as any other citizens or residents. In the wake of the September 11 attacks, Muslims and other American citizens have intensified their contacts, reflecting a widespread interest in knowing more about Islam and the way in which its practitioners form part of the overall American nation. Popular media has provided extensive special articles or programs, schools are actively seeking to include more information on Islam and Arab issues in their curricula, and enrollment in formal study programs has increased substantially. (For more extensive information see http://www.usinfo.state.gov/usa/islam/)

March 11: Twin columns of blue light beamed into the sky above New York City, capping a day of religious and other memorial services.

March 23: Schools opened in Afghanistan, allowing attendance of both boys and girls for the first time in years. U.S. support included $10 million for supplies and texts in both Dari and Pashto languages.

April 17: Former King Zahir Shah returned to Afghanistan, making no claim to the throne.

May 30: A ceremony at the site of the former World Trade Center marked the end of efforts to recover remains of the 2,829 people killed in the attacks. Working around the clock, work crews had removed 1.8 million tons of debris from the site.

June 11: At a Pentagon ceremony, a dedication capsule was sealed into the reconstructed west wall of the building. The final block of limestone used to seal the wall bore the blackened scars of the attack and the date, September 11, 2001.

June 12: President Bush held the first Homeland Security Council meeting.

June 13: The newly constituted Afghan Loya Jirga elected Hamid Karzai president of the new Islamic Transitional Government of Afghanistan.

June 18: President Bush sent the Congress his proposal to create a new cabinet-level Department of Homeland Security to develop and coordinate a national strategy against terrorist threats and attacks.

July 6: Afghanistan Vice President Haji Abdul Qadir and his driver were assassinated in Kabul.

July 12: The Fire Department of New York was awarded the Gold Medal of Courage and Devotion in Paris. Members of the fire and police departments have been honored around the world for their work and heroism following the terrorist attacks.

July 15: Twenty-one-year-old American John Walker Lindh pleaded guilty in federal court to having supplied help to the Taliban. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison.