TEKMUN
​  

TED EGE COLLEGE MODEL UNITED NATIONS ‘19 

STUDY GUIDE
 GEORGE W. BUSH’S CABINET: 9/11 STUDY GUIDE

Letter From The Under-Secretary General

Dear Participants,

I have the utmost pleasure to welcome you all to this year’s annual session of TEKMUN. I am
Azra Kaya, a sophomore in Gelisim College. It will be an honor for me to serve as the Under
Secretary General responsible for the Special Committee: 9/11. I have been a part of a various
amount of Model United Nations platforms globally ever since my first year of middle school.
MUN has become a vital part of my life that has made me grow as a person and surrounded me
with an incredible set of skills. It is truly exciting for me to be able to share such a special
experience with you all.

By simulating the US Cabinet at times of 9/11 which can safely be classified as one of the main
events in the world history of terror attacks, our Cabinet will recreate the incident and try to
solve the crises during, and afterwards the attacks. I trust all of you from the bottom of my heart
to carry our cabinet to great success in establishing peace and security in the United States of
America. It is essential for you to read this study guide in order to access proper knowledge for
us to work more effectively together while solving the crises. In case of any questions, do not
hesitate to contact me at ​kaya.azra@outlook.com.tr

As a proud member of the secretariat, I can safely say that we have all worked very hard to
provide you with a remarkable experience which will challenge you and broaden your
knowledge on diplomacy and international politics. Good luck and good wishes.

Sincerely Yours,

Azra KAYA
 COMMITTEE OVERVIEW

On the morning of September 11, 2001, The United States of America had no idea that in the
following few hours that what they are about to experience would immensely affect and define
the world leading nation’s acts of homeland and international security, with operations waiting to
be crafted in foreign lands that will be game changers in world politics, unfortunately alongside a
loss of nearly 3,000 civilians that the whole country grieved over for long periods of time.

The responses of the 43rd president of the United States of America, George W. Bush and his
cabinet are significant times in the history of combating terrorism. At the time of this extremely
alarming crisis, the White House kept their cool and took very strategic measures in the
aftermath of the attacks.

The committee, George W. Bush’s Cabinet, will operate with the same time stamps as the White
House did during the events and all presidents must work in union to stabilise the civil unrest and
establish safety in the United States once Again.

TIMELINE OF EVENTS ON 9.11.2001

7:59 AM American Airlines Flight 11, a boeing 767

with 92 passengers takes off from Boston
Logan International Airport, heading to Los
Angeles.

8:14 AM United Airlines Flight 175, a boeing 767 with

65 people aboard takes off from Boston
Logan International Airport to Los Angeles.

8:19 AM Flight attendants on Flight 11 alert ground

personnel that the plane had been hijacked.

8:20 AM American Airlines Flight 77, a boeing 757

with 64 passengers takes off from Dulles
International Airport in Washington D.C.,
headed to Los Angeles.

8:24 AM Hijacker Mohammed Atta makes the first two

accidental transmissions from the flight to
ground control, which turns out to be an
attempt to communicate with the plane’s
cabin.
8:40 AM The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
alerts North American Aerospace Defense
Command (NORAD)’s Northeast Air Defense
Sector (NEADS) about the suspected
hijacking of Flight 11. In response, NEADS
scrambles two fighter planes located at Cape
Cod’s Otis Air National Guard Base to locate
and tail Flight 11; they are not yet in the air
when Flight 11 crashes into the North Tower.

8:41 AMe United Airlines Flight 93, a boeing with 44

passengers, takes off from Newark
International Airport heading to San
Francisco. It was scheduled to depart at 8:00
am, around the time of the other hijacked
flights.

8:46 AM Mohammed Atta and the other hijackers

flying on American Airlines Flight 11 crash
the plane between floors 93-99 of the North
Tower of the World Trade Center, killing all
passengers on board and hundreds in the
building.

8:47 AM NYPD and FDNY forces arrive at the World

Trade Center in Minutes while Port Authority
Police Department officers on site begin
evacuation of the North Tower.

8:50 AM White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card

alerts president George W. Bush about the
attacks while he had been in Florida, visitig
an elementary school

9:02 AM After instructing tenants of the WTC’s South

Tower to remain in the building, Port Authority
officials broadcast orders to evacuate both towers;
10,000 to 14,000 people are already in the process
of evacuating.

9:03 AM Hijackers crash United Airlines Flight 175 into

floors 75-85 of the WTC’s South Tower, killing
everyone on board and hundreds inside the
building.
9:08 AM The FAA bans all takeoffs of flights headed to
New York

9:21 AM The Port Authority closes all bridges and tunnels

in the New York City area.

9:31 AM From Florida, President Bush calls the events in

New York City an “apparent terrorist attack on
our country.”

9: 37 AM Hijackers aboard Flight 77 crash the plane into the

western façade of the Pentagon in Washington,
D.C., killing 59 aboard the plane and 125 military
and civilian personnel inside the building.

9:42 AM For once in history the FAA commands all flights

heading to the U.S. to change route and land in
Canada. Around 3,300 commercial and 1,200
private flights land in Canadian Airports.

9:45 AM The U.S. Capitol and The White House among

many other buildings with american government

9:59 AM WTC’s South Tower collapses.

10:07 AM After contacting family and friends, the

passengers aboard on flight 93 make an attempt to
rescue the plane; in response the hijackers crash
the plane on a field in Somerset City,
Pennysylvania.

10:28 AM 102 minutes after the crash, the North Tower of

WTC collapses.
1 PM From a U.S. Air Force base in ​Louisiana​
,
President Bush announces that U.S. military
forces are on high alert worldwide

2:51 PM The US Navy dispatches missile destroyers to

Washington D.C. and New York City.

5:20 PM The 47-story long WTC collapses after burning

for hours, there were no casualties as the building
had been evacuated long ago.

6: 58 PM George W. Bush returns to the White House after

stopping by Louisiana and Nebraska military
bases.

8:00 PM Mr. Bush addresses the public on national TV,

calling all attacks ‘’ evil, despicable acts of
terror’’ and declaring that America, its friends and
allies would “stand together to win the war against
terrorism.

PRESIDENT’S CABINET’S PORTFOLIO

Secretary of State
Colin Powell
(2001 to 2005). The ultimate Washington insider, Powell, who has served four
presidents, himself considered a run for the presidency in 1996. He boasts a
long and formidable résumé, and a G.I. Joe action figure bears his likeness.
Powell did a four-year stint as the ​chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff​,
serving under both President Bush and ​President Clinton​. He retired in 1993,
and in 1997 he established ​America's Promise—the Alliance for Youth​, a
charitable organization formed to help needy and at-risk U.S. children.
Secretary of Treasury
Paul O'Neill

Served as the 72nd ​United States Secretary of the Treasury​for part of ​President
George W. Bush​ 's first term. He was fired in December 2002 for his public
disagreement with the administration. Prior to his term as Secretary of the
Treasury, O'Neill was ​chairman​and ​CEO​of ​Pittsburgh​-based industrial giant
Alcoa​and chairman of the ​RAND Corporation​.

Secretary of Agriculture
Ann Veneman

(2001 to 2005). Veneman brings vast experience to Bush's cabinet, having

served as President Bush's deputy secretary of agriculture for international
affairs and commodities. She is the first woman to head the department. She was
California's secretary of food and agriculture from 1995 to 1999.

Secretary of Commerce
Donald Evans

(2001 to 2005). President Bush's best friend, Evans is about to undertake his
first position in government. The Commerce Department has traditionally been
the area in which presidents position close friends and party stalwarts. Evans
headed up the Bush-Cheney campaign and served as national finance chairman
for Gov. George W. Bush's gubernatorial campaigns. He has been the chairman
and chief executive of Tom Brown, Inc., an oil company, since 1975.
Secretary of Defense

Donald Rumsfeld
(2001 to 2006). The role as secretary of defense is not a new one for Rumsfeld.
He held the same position under President Ford. The role of the U.S. military,
however, has changed dramatically since 1975. Rumsfeld has indicated that he
favors building an impenetrable national missile defense system. He and Vice
President ​Dick Cheney​have strong ties that date back to the Nixon
administration, when Cheney served as Rumsfeld's assistant in the ​Office of
Economic Opportunity​. In 1974, Rumsfeld led ​President Ford's​transition team,
and he brought Cheney, his protégé, to the executive office. When Rumsfeld was
named secretary of defense in 1975, Cheney was appointed Ford's chief of staff.
Rumsfeld served in Congress from 1962 to 1969 as a representative from Illinois.
When President Carter was elected in 1976, Rumsfeld entered the private sector.
He recently headed a panel that concluded countries such as ​North Korea​and ​Iran​could eventually have
the capacity to launch ballistic missiles at the United States. The commission's report helped to
reinvigorate the debate over the need for a ​national missile defense​.

Secretary of Labor
Elaine Chao

(​2001 to 2009). Chao has a distinguished career in public service, having served
as President Bush's deputy secretary of transportation from 1989 to 1991. She
was the director of the ​Peace Corps​from 1991 to 1992 and then led the ​United
Way​from 1992 to 1996. She's currently a distinguished fellow at the ​Heritage
Foundation​, a conservative research organization. She's married to Kentucky
senator ​Mitch McConnell​. A Chinese immigrant, Chao has said she opposes
affirmative action but favors equal opportunity for all. She was appointed two
days after Linda Chavez, Bush's first pick for labor secretary, withdrew her
name.

Secretary of Health and Human Services

Tommy Thompson

(2001 to 2005). Thompson was the governor of Wisconsin for an

unprecedented 14 years. During his tenure, he was an activist leader and
ushered in the nation's most stringent—and innovative—​welfare-to-work
program​. Thompson is pro-life, and as secretary of health and human services,
he'll oversee how federal funds are used to fund abortions and
family-planning clinics. He served a 20-year stint in the Wisconsin State
Assembly.

Secretary of Housing and Urban Development

Melquiades Rafael Martínez​.

(2001). Cuban-born Martinez came to the United States in 1962, as a

participant in an ​airlift operation​in which about ​14,000 Cuban children
entered the country in the early 1960s. Martinez was elected ​chairman of
Orange County, Fla.​, in 1998. Prior to that, he served as president of the
Orlando Utilities Commission from 1994 to 1997, while maintaining a
private law practice. In early 2000, he proposed placing a moratorium on
new construction in cities in Orlando County where overcrowding was
compromising the quality of life for residents. Builders were outraged and
are fighting the proposal.

Attorney General
John Ashcroft
(2001 to 2005). Arguably the most controversial and conservative of all
Bush appointees, Ashcroft faced harsh questioning by Democrats at his
confirmation hearings. He was widely criticized for blocking the nomination
of Ronnie White to a judgeship on the federal district court. Ashcroft
opposed White, who was the first black judge on the Missouri Supreme
Court, saying he was "pro-criminal" and "anti-death penalty." However,
records indicate that White voted for the death penalty in 41 out of 59 cases.
Democrats fear that Ashcroft will use his position to help to overturn ​
Roe v.
Wade​. Republicans have praised him as a highly ethical and fair-minded
politician.
Ashcroft, a Republican senator from Missouri, lost his reelection bid in November to Gov. ​Mel Carnahan​ ,
who died in a plane crash in October, a few weeks before the election. Carnahan's widow, Jean, took her
late husband's senate seat. Ashcroft was elected to the Senate in 1995 and served as Missouri's governor
from 1984 to 1992.

Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff

Hugh Shelton(9/30)
President George W. Bush took office in January 2001, installing Donald
H. Rumsfeld as his Secretary of Defense. The new secretary championed a
rapid transformation of the military to meet 21st Century challenges, using
the 2001 Quadrennial Defense Review to shift toward a force structure
defined by joint capabilities, rather than regional requirements. General
Shelton supported this OSD initiative, but cautioned against compromising
current readiness to accomplish future modernization and maintained that
existing regional threats warranted a significant overseas presence.
Consistent with his earlier efforts to improve the quality of life for service
personnel and their families, he reiterated that people remained the nation’s
most critical strategic asset.

Al-Qaeda operatives launched multiple terrorist attacks against the United States on 11 September 2001,
striking the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington, DC. Already
scheduled to retire in October, General Shelton spent his remaining weeks in office coordinating military
plans to destroy al-Qaeda and Taliban forces in Afghanistan and helping to develop an interagency
strategy to defeat, disrupt, and degrade terrorist activities around the world; these endeavors would
become known as Operation ENDURING FREEDOM and the Global War on Terrorism.

Richard B. Myers
Richard Bowman Myers was born on 1 March 1942 in Kansas City,
Missouri. He grew up in a middle class suburban neighborhood, the son of a
regional manufacturing representative and former primary school teacher.
While attending Shawnee Mission North High School he played the
saxophone and piano in a small band and competed in football, basketball,
and track. After graduating from high school in 1960, Myers entered Kansas
State University-Manhattan. Enamored with airplanes—jet fighters in
particular—since his first ride on a commercial airliner he enrolled in the Air
Force Reserve Officer Training Course and acquired his private pilot’s
license while participating in the program. In January 1965 he graduated
with a bachelor of science in mechanical engineering and was subsequently
commissioned a second lieutenant on 3 February 1965.
That June Second Lieutenant Myers began flight training at Vance Air Force Base, Oklahoma, learning to
fly the Cessna T-37 Tweet and Northrop T-38 Talon aircraft. After earning his wings a year later, he
transferred to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, and completed back-seat pilot training in the
MacDonald F-4 Phantom fighter-bomber. First Lieutenant Myers then joined the 417th Tactical Fighter
Squadron, stationed at Ramstein Air Base, Germany; the squadron would redeploy to Mountain Home Air
Force Base, Idaho, in August 1968​.

Chief of Staff
Andrew Card

Mr. Card, appointed in November 2000, served as Chief of Staff to President

George W. Bush from January 2001 to April 2006. In this capacity, he
coordinated the priorities of the Administration’s agenda, the development of
policies, and appointments of Cabinet Secretaries and senior officials
throughout the government. On September 11, 2001, Card is the one who
whispered in President Bush’s ear while the President was sitting in a
classroom in Florida, that terrorists had attacked the United States. Card then
led a government-wide reorganization to best allocate resources to deal with
the aftermath of 9-11 and the new terrorist environment.
Prior to his tenure as White House Chief of Staff, Card managed and ran the
Republican National Convention in Philadelphia at the request of nominee
Texas Governor George W. Bush. Before that, Card was Vice President-Government Relations for
General Motors Corporation, one of the world’s largest automobile manufacturers. In this role Card
directed the company’s international, national, state and local government affairs activities and
represented GM on matters of public policy before the U.S. Congress and the Administration. From 1993
to 1998, Card was President and Chief Executive Officer of the American Automobile Manufacturers
Association, the trade association whose members were Chrysler Corporation, Ford Motor Company, and
General Motors Corporation. When Chrysler became part of Daimler Corporation, Card oversaw the
dissolution of the nearly 100 year old trade association.

Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy

John P. Walters
John P. Walters is the Director of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP)—sworn
in on December 7, 2001. As the Nation’s “Drug Czar,” Director Walters
coordinates all aspects of Federal drug control programs and spending.
Under Director Walters’ leadership, youth drug use has dropped to its lowest levels
since the early 1990s. The latest ​Monitoring the Future​Study, released in
December, 2006, indicated that 840,000 fewer young people are using drugs today
than in 2001—a 23 percent reduction. Teen marijuana use has dropped 25 percent,
and teen methamphetamine, ecstasy, and LSD use have declined 50 percent or more over the past five
years.

Director of FBI:

Robert Mueller
Robert Mueller is an American attorney currently heading the Special
Counsel appointed by the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate Russian
involvement in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Previously, he served as
the sixth Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation appointed by the
then President George W. Bush. Impressed by his good work, former
President Barack Obama suggested a two-year extension to his original
ten-year service period. He won the Senate’s approval for the same and
became the longest-serving FBI Director. He has worked as a United States
Attorney for the Northern District of California and as United States
Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division. He has also served
as the Acting U.S. Deputy Attorney General. He had joined the U.S. Navy
as an officer immediately after completing his graduation from the
Princeton University and was engaged in the Vietnam War. His exemplary courage and bravery earned
him the Bronze Star Medal with Combat "V" for heroism and the Purple Heart Medal. For a couple of
years, he worked as an attorney for private firms but his dedication to serve the country kept bringing him
back in the public sector.

Director of Central Intelligence:

George J. Tenet

Former Central Intelligence Agency director. Born George John Tenet on

January 5, 1953 in Queens, New York. The son of Greek and Albanian
immigrants, Tenet grew up working in his family's diner and attending
public school in Little Neck, Queens. He received his bachelor's degree
from Georgetown University and his master's in international affairs from
Columbia University Before working for the CIA, George Tenet served as
research director for the American Hellenic Institute and legislative
director to Pennsylvania Senator H. John Heinz III. He served on the
Senate Select Committee on Intelligence from 1985-1993 before President
Clinton appointed him senior director for Intelligence Programs at the
National Security Council. Tenet served as deputy director of the CIA from
1995-1997 and as director from 1997-2004. During his tenure as CIA
director, Tenet and the intelligence community were criticized for their failure to prevent the September
11 terrorist attacks. In 2002, Tenet lent his personal authority to intelligence reports verifying weapons of
mass destruction in Iraq, a key factor in the decision to go to war. Subsequent searches yielded no such
stockpiles. In 2004, George Tenet resigned his post as CIA director citing personal reasons. The Deputy
Director, James Pavitt, resigned the following day. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom
later that year.In 2007, Tenet published a controversial memoir titled At the Center of the Storm: My
Years at the CIA. He is married to Stephanie Glakas-Tenet; they have one son.

Assistant to the President for Homeland Security:

Tom Ridge
Tom Ridge, byname of Thomas Joseph Ridge, (born Aug. 26, 1945, ​Erie​, Pa.,
U.S.), American politician who was governor of Pennsylvania (1995–2001) and
who later served as the first director of the Office of Homeland Security
(2001–03) and the first secretary of the Department of Homeland Security
(2003–05).

Ridge earned a scholarship to Harvard University (B.S., 1967). In 1969, after his
first year at Dickinson School of Law, Carlisle, Pa., he was drafted to serve in the
Vietnam War. He became a staff sergeant in the army and won the Bronze Star
for ​Valor​, among other decorations. After returning to Dickinson to complete his
J.D. (1972), he practiced law in Erie and in 1982 narrowly won election to the
U.S. House of Representatives as a Republican. Ridge solidified his hold on his congressional seat,
winning reelection five times.

In response to the ​September 11 attacks​in 2001, Pres. ​George W. Bush​created by ​executive order​a new
department to counter future domestic threats—the ​Office of Homeland Security​—and on Sept. 20, 2001,
selected Ridge, a longtime friend, to head it. Taking the post required Ridge to step down as governor of
Pennsylvania. No sooner had he been sworn in (Oct. 8, 2001) than he found himself reacting to
widespread public fear and outrage over bioterrorism in the form of anonymous letters mailed to public
figures carrying lethal amounts of ​anthrax​, an ​infectious disease​, that resulted in several deaths. Ridge
developed a program of anti terrorist training, preventive technologies, and emergency responses. In
addition, he was tasked with coordinating the ​myriad​activities of some 46 different state and federal
agencies related to his chain of command. In 2002 he unveiled a new colour-coded system for assessing
the risk of a terrorist attack. The system was often criticized, and some later charged that threat levels
were raised for political purposes.
Overview of the Cabinet’s Duties

The cabinet is expected to establish a number of legislative acts which are listed as:
- Transportation Security Administration
- The USA Patriot Act
- The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act
- Material Support Laws

The cabinet is also anticipated to create the 9/11 commission, office for homeland security and
intelligence reform, and complete it’s initial works.