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How Government Has Changed
On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, hijackers flew commercial airliners into the World Trade Center towers, the Pentagon and crashed in a field in Somerset County, Pa. The attacks, attributed to Saudi terrorist Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda group, left 3,021 dead and radically changed American life and government.
- Oct. 5, 2001:
- Bob Stevens of Lantana, Fla., photo editor of the Sun, dies of inhalation anthrax. Ultimately, five people, including two postal workers, die after handling contaminated letters. The CDC is thrust into a new security role-bioterrorism response.
- Oct. 7, 2001:
- The United States and Great Britain launch air strikes in Afghanistan against the Taliban. Allied forces and Afghan rebel groups take control of the capital, Kabul, Nov. 13; Taliban stronghold Kandahar falls on Dec. 7. About 20,000 U.S. troops remain in Afghanistan, hunting bin Laden.
- Oct. 26, 2001:
- President Bush signs the USA Patriot Act, which allows agencies to detain or deport suspects without charges.
- Nov. 19, 2001:
- Bush signs the law creating the Transportation Security Administration, which hires 55,000 airport security screeners to replace private sector workers.
- Feb. 4, 2002:
- Bush's 2003 budget proposal includes $3.5 billion-later slashed to $1.3 billion by Congress- to be divvied up by FEMA for state and local first responders.
- Oct. 1, 2002:
- The Defense Department launches Northern Command, responsible for homeland security missions.
- Nov. 25, 2002:
- Bush signs legislation creating the Homeland Security Department, which merges 180,000 employees from 22 agencies. Former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge is named to head the new department.
- Jan. 28, 2003:
- Bush proposes a Terrorist Threat Integration Center under the CIA to review all terror intelligence and analyze it for the president. In March, CIA Director George Tenet names John Brennan, then CIA deputy executive director, to head the new center.
- March 1, 2003:
- The Homeland Security Department opens its doors and begins to negotiate with unions on the design for a new personnel system. Preliminary regulations for a pay-for-performance system issued in February 2004 spark union opposition.
- March 12, 2003:
- Ridge announces a five-color terrorist threat alert system, ranging from green for low risk to red for the highest. The code rises to orange, or high, five times nationwide, and in early August 2004, just for Newark, N.J., New York and Washington after threats to their financial institutions.
- March 20, 2003:
- U.S. warplanes bombard Iraq's capital, Baghdad, two days after Bush told then-Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to leave or face war. The Bush administration argues that Hussein has ties to al Qaeda, and possesses weapons of mass destruction.
- April 9, 2003:
- Baghdad falls to U.S. forces. The Bush administration pledges to bring democratic government to Iraq, but opposition slows the rebuilding campaign. The U.S. death toll has grown to 1,000, and more than 100,000 U.S. soldiers remain there.
- Nov. 24, 2003:
- Bush signs legislation exempting the Defense Department from civil service rules. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says a more flexible civilian personnel system is necessary to fight the war on terrorism.
- April 28, 2004:
- CBS' 60 Minutes II televises photos of U.S. military guards abusing Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison outside Baghdad. The scandal leads to courts-martial, and investigations have found widespread leadership failures.
- June 3, 2004:
- CIA Director Tenet resigns amid charges that prewar intelligence about Iraq's weaponry was incorrect. In July, a commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks advocates a national intelligence director to oversee intelligence gathering at the CIA and other agencies.
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