Rumsfeld Says Flight 93 Was Shot Down

[y2krog2000]

"Well, I discussed it with the president. Are we prepared to order our aircraft to shoot down these airliners that have been hijacked? He said yes... I--it was my advice. It was his decision."(Vice President Dick Cheney, September 11, 2001, source CBS News Archives)

"That's a sobering moment, to order your own combat aircraft to shoot down your own civilian aircraft. But it was an easy decision to make, given the--given the fact that we had learned that a commercial aircraft was being used as a weapon. I say easy decision. It was--I didn't hesitate; let me put it to you that way. I knew what had to be done."(President George W. Bush, September 11, 2001, source CBS News Archives)

"The airplace rolled onto its back, and one of the hijackers began shouting, 'Allah is the Greatest'. With the sounds of the passenger counterattack continuing, the aircraft plowed into an empty field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, at 580 miles per hour...." (National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States, July 2004, Chapter 1)


Rumsfeld stated in a speech to US troops in Iraq (24 December 2004) that United Airlines Flight 93 was "shot down" on 9/11:

And I think all of us have a sense if we imagine the kind of world we would face if the people who bombed the mess hall in Mosul, or the people who did the bombing in Spain, or the people who attacked the United States in New York, shot down the plane over Pennsylvania and attacked the Pentagon

(Donald Rumsfeld, speech to US troops in Mosul, Iraq, December 24, 2004. The speech was broadcast by CNN. For complete transcript of Rumsfeld's speech see below)

Was it a slip of the tongue on the part of the former Secretary of Defense? Or was he simply corroborating the statements of the President and Vice-President on September 11, 2001? These statements confirm unequivocally that the President and Commander in Chief had ordered the shooting down of a commercial aircraft on the morning of 9/11. (see quote above)
There was virtually no commentary by the mainstream media at the time of Rumsfeld's Mosul 12/24/2004 Christmas speech to US troops. Nor was there discussion regarding the coverup of the President's decision on the morning of 9/11 to shoot down a commercial aircraft. The "official truth" contradicts the official statement of the President and Commander in Chief.

With regard to Rumsfeld's slip of the tongue, a National Public Radio broadcast on December 24, 2004 acknowledged Rumsfeld's words, while casually dismissing their significance:

SIEGEL: One other thing that Secretary Rumsfeld said in Baghdad today was in all likelihood a slip of the tongue, but one that may prove fodder for conspiracy theorists. The Defense secretary said this while speaking about a number of terrorist acts and the people who've committed them.

[excerpt of Rumsfeld's speech in Mosul, see above]

SIEGEL: `The people who shot down the plane over Pennsylvania.' He was presumably speaking of United Airlines Flight 93, which crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, on 9/11. No US official has ever credited theories that the plane was shot down. We've been unable to get clarification from the Pentagon.

(National Public Radio (NPR), All Things Considered 8:00 PM EST NPR, Donald Rumsfeld's surprise visits to US troops in Iraq, December 24, 2004, Anchor: Robert Siegel)

Contradictory Statements

The "official" version of what happened to United Airlines "Flight 93", which blatantly contradicts the equally "official" statement of President Bush, is contained in the 9/11 Commission Report, chaired by former Jersey Governor Thomas Kean:

"The airplace rolled onto its back, and one of the hijackers began shouting, 'Allah is the Greatest'. With the sounds of the passenger counterattack continuing, the aircraft plowed into an empty field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, at 580 miles per hour...."

(National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States, July 2004, Chapter 1,
http://www.9-11commission.gov/report/911Report_Ch1.pdf)

While the words of the former Secretary of Defense (12/24/2004) contradict the official story as contained in the 9/11 Commission report, they are consistent with the statements by President George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice (who at the time was National Security adviser) to the effect that orders had indeed been given by the President and Commander in Chief to shoot down a civilian aircraft over Pennsylvania. Below are excerpts of the 9/11 statements of Bush, Cheney and Rice recorded by CBS News:

PELLEY: (Voiceover) Down in the bunker, Mr. Cheney was trying to figure out how many planes were hijacked. At the time they feared there could be as many as 11.

As the planes are tracking toward Washington, a discussion begins about whether we should shoot them down. How did that happen?

Vice Pres. CHENEY: Well, I discussed it with the president. Are we prepared to order our aircraft to shoot down these airliners that have been hijacked? He said yes.

PELLEY: That was your advice to the president?

Vice Pres. CHENEY: I--it was my advice. It was his decision.

Pres. BUSH: That's a sobering moment, to order your own combat aircraft to shoot down your own civilian aircraft. But it was an easy decision to make, given the--given the fact that we had learned that a commercial aircraft was being used as a weapon. I say easy decision. It was--I didn't hesitate; let me put it to you that way. I knew what had to be done.

(Footage of Pennsylvania crash site)

PELLEY: (Voiceover) And the passengers on United Flight 93 also knew what had to be done. They fought for control, and sacrificed themselves in a Pennsylvania meadow. The flight was 15 minutes from Washington.

Dr. RICE: There was that horrible time when we wondered if Flight 93 had, indeed, been shot down by an American pilot.

PELLEY: On the orders of the president.

Dr. RICE: Yes.

PELLEY: It is quite possible that those people gave their lives for you.

Dr. RICE: Its entirely possible. In fact, I think it's probable. Clearly, the terrorists were trying to take out as many symbols of government as they could. The Pentagon, perhaps the Capitol, perhaps the White House. These people saved us not only physically, but they saved us psychologically and symbolically in a very important way, too.

(CBS, 60 Minutes, 8:00 PM ET, The president's story; behind the scenes with President Bush and his staff on 9/11, Anchor: Scott Pelley, September 11, 2002. emphasis added)

These statements acknowledging that flight 93 had been shot down on the orders of the President on the advice of the Vice President were re-broadcast one year later on the first anniversary of the tragic events of 9/11.

While the official story had in the meantime been changed, the September 11, 2002 broadcast of CBS' 60 Minutes, reveals the truth: the President and Commander in Chief gave the orders to shoot down a civilian aircraft.

While Rumsfeld made no public statement regarding the shooting down of flight 93, he was fully informed regarding President Bush's decision.

ShoutWire - Rumsfeld Says That Flight 93 Was Shot Down!