Summary

This "ABC News Special Report" presents coverage of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and their aftermath, as aired on ABC affiliate KABC-TV (Los Angeles). This coverage begins at 12:00 midnight EDT on Saturday, September 15, during a segment on the rescue work in downtown Manhattan, after which anchor Ted Koppel is joined by emergency services specialist Jerry Hauer. Hauer declares that what happened on September 11 "was really beyond the imagination." He also commends the hard work of the rescue workers. Next, correspondent Chris Bury presents a segment on the slow recovery of air traffic in the United States. Koppel then checks in with reporters Pierre Thomas, John Miller, and Brian Ross. Thomas provides an update on the FBI investigation. Miller speculates about what would happen to Osama bin Laden's terrorist group if bin Laden were killed; he also details the training bin Laden's recruits undergo. Ross discusses the importance of investigating the finances of the hijackers. Thomas goes on to describe the underestimation by officials of what terrorists were capable of accomplishing in the United States. Chris Bury then touches on the beginnings of the U.S. government's coalition against terrorism and narrates a segment on the preparations for retaliation. The next segment is a montage of clips from memorial gatherings around the world on Friday. After this segment, Koppel interviews authors Bebe Moore Campbell and Haynes Johnson. Campbell argues that Americans must slow down and "make a personality change as a nation." Johnson differentiates between terrorism and other types of war. He closes the discussion by suggesting that the attacks have disillusioned America. A prerecorded segment by ABC News producer Eddie Pinder features New York governor George Pataki's thoughts and actions following the attacks. Koppel then speaks with poet Maya Angelou, historian David Halberstam, and novelist Jonathan Franzen. Angelou describes her feelings about the attacks, making a distinction between "justice" and "revenge." The tape ends as Halberstam contrasts the intelligence community in the United States with the nation's political leadership.