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PIX: Unseen photos reveal George W Bush's response to 9/11 attacks

May 12, 2016 08:15 IST

Previously unseen photographs of then-US President George W. Bush during 9/11 have been released.

The photos, published by the Presidential Library, were captured before and after the 2001 terrorist attacks, and show Bush in a scheduled visit to a Florida primary school and then having to address the nation.

Rediff.com takes a look at the image clicked by then White House photographer Eric Draper that reveal the immediate reaction and response of the United States' then Commander-in-Chief.

IMAGE: Shock is seen on the president’s face as he confers with staff aboard Air Force One during the flight from Sarasota to Barksdale air force base. Photograph: Eric Draper/Courtesy of the George W Bush Presidential Library and Museum 


IMAGE: President George W Bush watches television coverage of the attack on the World Trade Center, in a classroom at the Emma E Booker elementary school in Florida. Photograph: Eric Draper/Courtesy of the George W Bush Presidential Library and Museum 


IMAGE: Director of Communications Dan Bartlett points to news footage of the World Trade Center Towers burning, September 11, 2001, as President George W. Bush gathers information about the attack from Emma E. Booker Elementary School in Sarasota, Florida. Photograph: Eric Draper/Courtesy of the George W Bush Presidential Library and Museum


IMAGE: After departing Offutt air force base in Nebraska for Washington DC, Bush talks on the phone with Vice-President Dick Cheney from Air Force One. Photograph: Eric Draper/Courtesy of the George W Bush Presidential Library and Museum 


IMAGE: Tapping on the desk hewn from the timbers of the HMS Resolute, President George W Bush makes the stand in the Oval Office, "Make no mistake about it, my resolve is steady and strong about winning this war that has been declared on America." Photograph: Eric Draper/Courtesy of the George W Bush Presidential Library and Museum 


IMAGE: Lt Col Cindy Wright talks with Bush en route to Washington on 11 September 2001 aboard Air Force One. Photograph: Eric Draper/Courtesy of the George W Bush Presidential Library and Museum 


IMAGE: Led in prayer by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, right, President George W Bush joins his Cabinet as they bow their heads, September 14, 2001, before beginning their meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House. Photograph: Eric Draper/Courtesy of the George W Bush Presidential Library and Museum 


IMAGE: Newly released images show president George W Bush in the moments before and after hearing of the 9/11 attacks in 2001. Here the president is seen with his Chief of Staff Andrew Card. Photograph: Eric Draper/Courtesy of the George W Bush Presidential Library and Museum 


IMAGE: President George W. Bush talks on the telephone with Vice President Dick Cheney and others, September 11, 2001, during the flight from Sarasota, Florida to Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana. Photograph: Eric Draper/Courtesy George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum.  


IMAGE: Bush prepares a speech to the nation at the Florida school. Photograph: Eric Draper/Courtesy of the George W Bush Presidential Library and Museum 


IMAGE: Bush reviews his speech before addressing the nation from the Oval Office. Photograph: Eric Draper/Courtesy of the George W Bush Presidential Library and Museum 


IMAGE: President George W. Bush surveys the damage to the Pentagon from the presidential helicopter, Marine One, September 14, 2001, as he travels to New York City. Photograph: Eric Draper/Courtesy of the George W Bush Presidential Library and Museum 


IMAGE: Pledging support for New York, President George Bush talks with Governor George Pataki and New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, September 13, 2001, in a televised telephone conversation from the Oval Office. "Mr. President, you would be proud of the leadership and the cooperation we've seen here," said the governor. Photograph: Eric Draper/Courtesy of the George W Bush Presidential Library and Museum 


IMAGE: "...I will carry this," said President Bush during a joint session of Congress, September 20, 2001. "It is the police shield of a man named George Howard, who died at the World Trade Center trying to save others. ...This is my reminder of lives that ended, and a task that does not end." Photograph: Eric Draper/Courtesy of the George W Bush Presidential Library and Museum