The Inaugural Attacks (01/20/2001)

Sabot Cat

Banned
THE INAUGURAL ATTACKS

HIJACKED JETS KILL PRESIDENT, CONGRESS, AND THOUSANDS MORE
CAPITOL AND TWIN TOWERS DESTROYED

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From the New York Times
Published: January 21, 2001



Hundreds of thousands of Americans huddled around the platform built along the West Front outside the United Capitol building, against chill winds and under cloudy skies, to see the inauguration of the 43rd president of the United States, George Walker Bush. They would be the first victims of the worst and most audacious terror attack in our nation's history. At 12:02pm, a hijacked jetliner struck the proceedings, and trapped almost everyone present in a hellish storm of ash, smoke and fire before a national television audience. No official count has been made, but it's known that the President and his wife, nearly all former living Presidents, all the members of the Congress, all nine justices of the Supreme Court, most living Medal of Honor recipients, and thousands of civilians perished.

The coordinated strikes continued when each of the World Trade Center towers in New York City were hit, the first of which was struck nineteen minutes after the attack in the Capital, while the second hit an hour later. Many casualties were averted because it was the weekend, allowing what few remained to evacuate before the towers came toppling down. The last hijacked plane crashed in Virginia before it could hit whatever target it was destined for. All together, 312 people are confirmed to have lost their lives aboard these four planes.

"The enemies of liberty and our country should make no mistake: America remains engaged in the world by history and by choice, shaping a balance of power that favors freedom," said acting Secretary of Defense Rudolph deLeon reading from the late President's prepared address. "We will defend our allies and our interests. We will show purpose without arrogance. We will meet aggression and bad faith with resolve and strength. And to all nations, we will speak for the values that gave our nation birth."

Rudolph deLeon was the Deputy Secretary of Defense, and as the incoming cabinet had not been confirmed by the Senate while the outgoing cabinet has resigned (including the Deputy Secretary of State), he had become the acting Secretary of Defense. This is why he has assumed the powers of the presidency pursuant to the Presidential Succession Act of 1947 until a Congressional leader is confirmed. Although there are no constitutional procedures to instantly restore the members of the House of Representatives, vacant Senatorial seats are filled either by Governor appointment or special election in most states. President Bush's cabinet nominees, although uncontroversial, cannot be confirmed until a new Senate can be assembled.

“I want to assure the American public that the search for those responsible for these unforgivable attacks is underway, and we look to our partners abroad for assistance in this time of unparalleled tragedy,” said deLeon in his televised address to the nation from the White House lawn.

No individual or organized has claimed responsibility for the attacks, but the sophistication and scale required for such a coordinated attack, along with the recent history of major attacks on American targets in the previous years, has led many officials and experts to point to Osama bin Laden, an Islamic militant operating from Afghanistan. The Taliban, the hard-liner rulers of Afghanistan, have rejected these suggestions in what is most likely to be a defensive measure.

[...]

PHASE ONE: REASSEMBLY

PART I: www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showpost.php?p=8933079&postcount=1
PART II: https://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showpost.php?p=8952253&postcount=28
PART III: https://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showpost.php?p=8963049&postcount=42
PART IV: https://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showpost.php?p=8976719&postcount=59
PART V: https://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showpost.php?p=8988015&postcount=76

PHASE TWO: RECONSTRUCTION

PART I: https://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showpost.php?p=8995900&postcount=85
PART II: https://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showpost.php?p=9014408&postcount=97
PART III: https://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showpost.php?p=9030444&postcount=121

COMPLETE, PICTURE FREE: https://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showpost.php?p=9017347&postcount=102
 
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Although I suspect that this would require almost ASB-level timing this is very interesting. And throws everything in the air in regards to the succession.
 

Sabot Cat

Banned
The timing was made possible by the close proximity of airports to the United States Capitol, which were not all shut down during the proceedings to the best of my knowledge, nor were there defensive measures put on D.C. airspace during the Inauguration (until after 9/11) that would prevent a passenger airliner from crashing into them. Ronald Reagan Airport is eight minutes away driving distance, and Dulles International Airport is thirty-six minutes away driving distance. Further, all four planes came from D.C. airports to account for any delays while allowing all targets to be hit on the correct timetable (which is even more likely because it was a rainy Saturday). There was no mutual supervisory board to check multiple suspicious passengers in the same area, either. We're actually very fortunate this was not OTL.
 
I doubt this is possible. A jetliner is very hard to steer towards a target on the ground. The Pentagon and WTC were massive targets that could be hit rather easily, this would be much more likely to go wrong.
 

Sabot Cat

Banned
I doubt this is possible. A jetliner is very hard to steer towards a target on the ground. The Pentagon and WTC were massive targets that could be hit rather easily, this would be much more likely to go wrong.

The United States Capitol building is a big, obvious target as well. (Although the West Front is the target, but one could discern that from seeing the Capitol.) Difficult? Sure. Impossible? Certainly not.
 
The United States Capitol building is a big, obvious target as well. Difficult? Sure. Impossible? Certainly not.

I guess so? Alright I'll accept these extremely lucky terrorists. What happens now? One question though the plane that went down, was that also brought down by the passengers?
 
The United States Capitol building is a big, obvious target as well. (Although the West Front is the target, but one could discern that from seeing the Capitol.) Difficult? Sure. Impossible? Certainly not.

It would be very difficult, almost to the point of not being worth the effort as opposed to a easier target. Jets go fast so even a degree off course would miss it completely.

But you're right it wouldn't be impossible.
 
So, this is going to be your version of alt 9/11 based off the Tom Clancy novel Executive Orders but based in RL. Interesting. I look forward to reading this TL.

Although horrible to say, in the short to medium term, Democrats will be fucked- and without some serious moderation on the part of Republicans, it could lead to a very unfriendly America in the medium to long term...

In any case, I look forward to seeing how this TL plays out, and kinda makes me wanna re-read that TC novel.
 

Sabot Cat

Banned
I guess so? Alright I'll accept these extremely lucky terrorists.

It would be very difficult, almost to the point of not being worth the effort as opposed to a easier target. Jets go fast so even a degree off course would miss it completely.

But you're right it wouldn't be impossible.

I appreciate that, and I'm sorry that this doesn't seem plausible. ^^"

Nonetheless, I would also like to note that the U.S. Capitol building is almost four times taller than the Pentagon, the latter of which *was* hit on 9/11.

What happens now? One question though the plane that went down, was that also brought down by the passengers?

Yes, although there are is speculation that it was shot down as in our own timeline.

So, this is going to be your version of alt 9/11 based off the Tom Clancy novel Executive Orders but based in RL. Interesting. I look forward to reading this TL. [...] In any case, I look forward to seeing how this TL plays out, and kinda makes me wanna re-read that TC novel.

Thanks, and I hope I satisfy~

(Fun 'fact': In this timeline, Debt of Honor shoots up the sales charts in the United States, and Tom Clancy is seen almost as a prophet for his predictions (although many gloss-over the whole ASB "war with Japan" thing.)

Although horrible to say, in the short to medium term, Democrats will be fucked- and without some serious moderation on the part of Republicans, it could lead to a very unfriendly America in the medium to long term...

We will see...
 
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Unsure if this is in good taste.


If this is not in good taste, then every single TL on the site featuring death would not be in good taste, their is plenty of TL's with events like this on the site, it's fine, especially as the OP would never desire for something like this to happen, but it is a exercise of Alternate History.
 
The President and his family, all former living Presidents, all the members of the Congress, all nine justices of the Supreme Court, most living Medal of Honor recipients, and thousands of civilians perished.

Ronald Reagan's alzheimer's had advanced to the point he couldn't leave his home, so he's still alive.


Powell would have been the one to the assume the powers of the presidency pursuant to the Presidential Succession Act of 1947 if he would have been confirmed by the Senate earlier today. Although there are no constitutional procedures to restore the members of the House of Representatives, vacant Senatorial seats are filled either by Governor appointment or special election in most states. President Bush's cabinet nominees, although uncontroversial, cannot be confirmed until a new Senate can be assembled. Until then, the presidential office remains vacant, along with the Congress.

Then Housing and Urban Development Secretary Andrew Cuomo was the designated survivor for the 2001 inauguration, making him the President now, the office is not vacant. The designated survivor protocols have been in place since the cold war to prevent a decapitation strike like this. But obviously this is a much younger and inexperienced Andrew Cuomo than we know being thrust into taking command of a country now at war.
 

Sabot Cat

Banned
As far as questions of taste go, and although I wondered about this myself, I do not believe that I am disparaging the memory of any particular person or event or making light of 9/11. This is intended to somberly explore a horrific scenario, which as pointed out, is not alien to the alternate history genre. Again, I intend to satisfy my audience, but I intend to do so through realism and depth as opposed to cheap scares.

I am guessing that a State of the Union, inside the Capitol would be easier to hit

True, but they're much harder to plan around for a prospective terrorist group because they don't take place on the same day at the same time like the inauguration does.

Ronald Reagan's alzheimer's had advanced to the point he couldn't leave his home, so he's still alive.

Thank you for this detail, and it's been corrected.


Then Housing and Urban Development Secretary Andrew Cuomo was the designated survivor for the 2001 inauguration, making him the President now, the office is not vacant. The designated survivor protocols have been in place since the cold war to prevent a decapitation strike like this. But obviously this is a much younger and inexperienced Andrew Cuomo than we know being thrust into taking command of a country now at war.

I cannot find a source that suggests Andrew Cuomo was the designated survivor for this particular occasion, or that there were any. Attempts to Google these terms lead back to this very page, so if you can find a source to corroborate this I'll edit it into my timeline. :)

Also, I'm aware that cabinet members serve at the pleasure of the president and thus do not technically have term limits, but I don't know when their resignations are filed and accepted. If it occurs after the inaugural ceremony itself, I believe Secretary of Defense William Cohen would become President (as Secretary of State Madeleine Albright is not a natural born citizen). Nonetheless I was under the impression that this occurs during the presidential transition phase and becomes formally enacted on January 20th, 12pm.
 
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It is interesting to see that the perpetrators have not revealed themselves this time. Will take a bit of time to uncover the culprits, I assume?
 

Sabot Cat

Banned
It is interesting to see that the perpetrators have not revealed themselves this time. Will take a bit of time to uncover the culprits, I assume?

Mm, no organization in OTL claimed immediate responsibility either. Nonetheless, it doesn't take long for the culprits to be found, and none of the institutional resources available to investigators in our timeline are missing in this scenario. Thus the identities of the individual hijackers are uncovered and reported three days later by the FBI.
 
In terms of looking at the mechcanics of the hijackers hitting the POTUS and other dignitories, there apear to be two options;- A. attack from the west aiming to land short on the forecourt and slide the entire burning wreckage through into the capitol building or B, Come in from the East, aiming for the dome of the capitol building with the intention of dumping it and the burning wreckage down on to POTUS and the platform party. Attack mode A has a greater margin of error but also has a longer window of realization for someone to act and get POTUS out of there. Mode B, whilst having a much narrower margin of error (just a little to high and you only hit the crowd) at least conceals the approaching aircraft as it could/would be masked by the building.
 
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