Template:(12:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m.) September 11, 2001: Secretary of State Powell

(12:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m.) September 11, 2001: Secretary of State Powell Unable to Communicate with Colleagues in Washington
Secretary of State Colin Powell learned of the attacks on the US while away in Peru, Lima. During his seven-hour flight back to Washington, he is frustrated at being unable to communicate with other senior government leaders.

In a March 2002 speech at the State Department, Powell will recall, "“I never felt more useless in my life than on the morning of the 11th of September. Phones [were] gone because of what happened here and what happened to the [communications] system here in Washington. They couldn’t get a phone line through. I was able to get some radio communications—two radio spots on the way back—but for most of that seven-hour period, I could not tell what was going on here in my capital, and I’m the secretary of state!”"

Powell is able to talk by radio with Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage. But, according to journalist Bob Woodward, any “real talk” between them “was hopeless.” [WOODWARD, 2002, PP. 10] Yet, in a 7:40 p.m. press briefing, State Department Deputy Spokesman Philip Reeker will claim that Powell “has been kept in the loop and informed all day.” [US DEPARTMENT OF STATE, 9/11/2001]