Never-Before-Seen Photos Show The White House's Reaction Immediately After The 9/11 Attacks

The pictures were released on Friday by the U.S. National Archives in response to a Freedom of Information Act request filed by documentary producer Colette Neirouz Hanna.

These were the scenes at the White House on September 11, 2001, after senior administration officials learned of the terror attacks on New York City's World Trade Center.

The pictures were released on Friday by the U.S. National Archives under a Freedom of Information Act request filed by Colette Neirouz Hanna, a coordinating producer for Kirk Documentary Group, which makes films for PBS’s Frontline.

In the pictures, Vice President Dick Cheney can be seen sitting in his office watching the tragedy unfold live on TV.

National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice can also be seen coordinating efforts with senior staff.

When the planes struck the Twin Towers, President George W. Bush was in Florida, so it was left to Cheney to coordinate the government's immediate response from Washington.

Soon after senior staff learned of the attack they were taken to a secure bunker buried under the east wing of the White House, from where developments were monitored during the first hours. President Bush is pictured here after returning from Florida.

Nearly 3,000 people were killed when 19 men hijacked four commercial airliners bound to west coast destinations. In addition to striking the World Trade Center in New York, planes hit the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and a field in Pennsylvania.

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