| July 27, 1947 | National Security Act
In the wake of World War II,
President Truman signs the National Security Act of 1947, establishing the Central Intelligence Agency, National Security Council
and Department of Defense.
Read the complete
act |
| Aug. 12, 1949 |
Third Geneva Convention
The United Nations adopts
the third Geneva Convention, outlining humane treatment for prisoners of wars.
Read the Third Geneva Convention |
| Oct. 25, 1978 |
Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act
President
Carter signs the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which recognized clandestine foreign intelligence-gathering as a legitimate
function of the government in the national security interest, but required the government to obtain warrants electronic
surveillance in which American communications might be intercepted. Mr. Carter said the act "sacrifices neither our security nor
our civil liberties."
Background Report
Read the complete act
|
| Feb. 26, 1993 |
First World Trade Center Attack
A car bomb explodes at the World Trade Center in New York
City, killing six and injuring about 1,000 others. |
| Aug. 7, 1998 |
African Embassy Bombings
Nearly simultaneous bomb
attacks rock U.S. embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, killing hundreds. The United States blames Osama bin
Laden's al-Qaida network for the bombings.
Special Report: African Embassy Bombings |
| June 7, 1999 | Bin Laden 'Most Wanted'
Osama bin Laden is added to the
FBI's "Most Wanted Fugitives" list.
See the FBI's
Most Wanted Terrorists list |
| Oct. 12, 2000 |
USS Cole Bombing
An explosives-laden boat detonates
next to the Navy destroyer the USS Cole as it was anchored in the Yemeni port of Aden. The attack kills 17 American sailors and is
blamed on supporters of Osama bin Laden.
Coverage from the NewsHour |
| Sept. 11, 2001 |
Sept. 11 Attacks
In an unprecedented attack on
American soil, hijacked commercial airliners crash into the Pentagon in Arlington, Va., and the twin towers of the World Trade
Center in New York City. A fourth plane crashes near Shanksville, Pa. Nearly 3,000 people are killed. U.S. officials blame the
attacks on Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaida network.
Timeline of the morning of
Sept. 11, 2001
President Bush's statement and
U.S. reaction
|
| Sept. 11, 2001 |
Wall Street Shuts Down
The New York Stock
Exchange, NASDAQ and American Stock Exchange close. They reopen six days later.
A look at the markets before their
reopening |
| Sept. 11, 2001 |
FAA Halts Airline Traffic
The Federal Aviation
Administration grounds all non-military flights. Commercial planes return to the air two days later.
Analysis of the airline
industry soon after Sept. 11 |
| Sept. 12, 2001 |
U.N. Reacts to Sept. 11
U.N. Security Council
adopts Resolution 1368, expressing readiness to respond to Sept. 11 attacks and reaffirms U.N. determination to combat terrorist
threats.
Read
the complete resolution |
| Sept. 17, 2001 |
Dow Reopens with Largest Single-day Decline
The
Dow Jones industrial average closes with its biggest point drop ever, 684 points, to 8,920, leading to fears of a new
recession.
Analysis of the
financial market's reopening |
| Sept. 18, 2001 |
Authorization of Military Force
Congress adopts a
joint resolution entitled "Authorization for Use of Military Force," allowing the president to pursue those responsible for the
Sept. 11 attacks.
Senators debate congressional
actions
Read the complete resolution
|
| Sept. 19, 2001 |
Airline Layoffs
American and United Airlines each
lay off at least 20,000 workers in the wake of the Sept. 11 hijackings.
Coverage from the NewsHour |
| Sept. 24, 2001 |
Terrorist Assets Frozen
President Bush issues an
executive order freezing the assets of groups with suspected terrorist links.
Coverage from the NewsHour |
| Oct. 7, 2001 |
War on Terror in Afghanistan
The United States
launches air strikes against al-Qaida training camps and the Taliban in Afghanistan.
In-depth Coverage: Rebuilding
Afghanistan |
| Oct. 26, 2001 |
USA Patriot Act
President Bush signs into law the
USA Patriot Act, a sweeping expansion of government authority to surveil suspected terrorists.
Background Report: The USA
Patriot Act |
| Nov. 2, 2001 |
Unemployment Woes
The Labor Department reports the
nation's unemployment rate has jumped to a five-year high of 5.4 percent.
Coverage from the NewsHour |
| Nov. 6, 2001 |
Interest Rates Cut
The Federal Reserve cuts a key
interest rate in an attempt to halt the post-Sept. 11 economic slide.
Coverage from the NewsHour |
| Dec. 10, 2001 |
Moussaoui Indicted
Al-Qaida conspirator Zacarias
Moussaoui is indicted for having a role in the Sept. 11 attacks.
Read the complete indictment |
| Jan. 11, 2002 |
Guantanamo Detainees
The first al-Qaida and Taliban
detainees arrive at the Guantanamo Bay naval base in Cuba. The Bush administration decides the detainees, held as "enemy
combatants," will not qualify for the protections of prisoners of war under the Geneva Conventions.
Background Report: Detainee
Tribunals
A report on denying detainees
prisoner of war status
The debate over detainees's legal
status
|
| March 12, 2002 | Homeland Security Advisory System
The color-coded
threat assessment system launches at yellow, indicating a significant risk of terrorist attacks.
Background Report: Homeland
Security Advisory System
|
| May 29, 2002 | FBI Announces Counterterrorism Focus
FBI Director
Robert Mueller announces his intention to restructure the FBI and its counterterrorism division.
Coverage from the NewsHour |
| Aug. 23, 2002 |
FISA Court Denies Surveillance Expansion
The FISA
court denies the Justice Department's request for expanded surveillance authority.
Coverage from the NewsHour |
| Sept. 11, 2002 |
First Anniversary of Sept. 11 Attacks
Americans
reflect on the Sept. 11 attacks on its one-year anniversary.
Reflection and analysis from the
NewsHour |
| Sept. 20, 2002 |
'Bush Doctrine' of Preemptive Action
President
Bush lays out a new security strategy of "preemptive action" against terrorists and hostile states.
Coverage from the
NewsHour
Download the complete document
|
| Nov. 18, 2002 |
D.C. Circuit Court Allows Surveillance Expansion
A
panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit overturns the FISA court's decision, allowing the Justice Department to
expand surveillance operations under the USA Patriot Act.
Coverage from the NewsHour |
| Nov. 18, 2002 |
Total Information Awareness
The Pentagon launches
plans to mine data through a computer surveillance system.
Coverage from the
NewsHour |
| Nov. 25, 2002 |
Homeland Security Act
Congress passes the Homeland
Security Act of 2002, the largest overhaul of the federal government in more than 50 years. The act consolidates 22 agencies of
the Transportation, Treasury and Justice departments, placing them under the control of a new Department of Homeland Security. The
new department also encompasses the Federal Emergency Management Agency, a formerly independent agency.
Background Report: The
Homeland Security Act
Background Report: Immigration
and the act
|
| Nov. 27, 2002 |
9/11 Commission
President Bush creates the
National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States, or the 9/11 commission, announcing former Secretary of State Henry
Kissinger as the chairman. After Kissinger steps down from the position on Dec. 13, 2002, citing conflicts of interest, Mr. Bush
appoints former N.J. Gov. Thomas Kean to the role.
Analysis with experts and
lawmakers |
| Feb. 27, 2003 |
Freedom Tower
"With the traces of Sept. 11 in the
design of all the spaces," architect Daniel Libeskind's "Memory Foundations" design with its signature 1,776-foot Freedom Tower
wins the World Trade Center site redevelopment competition.
Slideshow: Memory Foundations |
| March 1, 2003 | Capture of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed
U.S. and Pakistani
forces arrest Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the alleged architect of the Sept. 11 attacks.
Coverage from the
NewsHour |
| March 19, 2003 | Operation Iraqi Freedom
On the basis of the "Bush
Doctrine," the United States launches a preemptive invasion of Iraq without U.N. approval.
Strategists discuss scenarios for early
military action. |
| May 1, 2003 | Major Combat in Iraq Ends
President Bush announces the
end of major combat in Iraq after 42 days and 139 troop deaths. More than 2,400 military personnel are killed in post-combat
operations between May 2003 and August 2006 as a bloody insurgency takes hold in post-Saddam Hussein Iraq.
Real Audio: The
president's address
Coverage from the NewsHour
|
| July 24, 2003 | Congressional Inquiry of Sept. 11
A House-Senate
inquiry finds no "smoking gun" that indicates the United States should have known of the Sept. 11 attacks before they happened, but
does blast U.S. intelligence agencies and the FBI for missing numerous clues that may have helped thwart the attacks.
Coverage from the NewsHour |
| Aug. 19, 2003 |
Baghdad U.N. Building Bombing
The Brigades of the
Martyr Abu Hafz al-Masri, a branch of al-Qaida, claims responsibility for the bombing of a U.N. building in Baghdad, Iraq, which
kills the top international envoy to the region.
Coverage from the NewsHour |
| Sept. 11, 2003 |
Second Anniversary of Sept. 11 Attacks
Americans
reflect on the Sept. 11 attacks on its two year anniversary.
Coverage from the NewsHour |
| Jan. 14, 2004 |
'Reflecting Absence'
Officials in New York unveil
the final plan for a World Trade Center site memorial after a nine-month international competition.
A discussion with the chair of the
selection jury |
| Feb. 6, 2004 |
Pre-Iraq War Intelligence Commission
President Bush
appoints Republican Judge Laurence Silberman and former Democratic Sen. Charles Robb to head a commission charged with
investigating pre-Iraq war intelligence and recommending changes.
Coverage from the
NewsHour |
| March 11, 2004 | Madrid Train Bombing
Three days before Spanish
legislative elections, about 200 people are killed when trains in Madrid, Spain, are bombed.
Coverage from the
NewsHour |
| March 22, 2004 | 'Against All Enemies'
As the 9/11 commission
continues hearings, former White House counterterrorism coordinator Richard Clarke accuses President Bush of doing a "terrible job"
fighting terrorism in his book "Against All Enemies: Inside America's War on Terror."
Coverage from the
NewsHour |
| June 28, 2004 | Detainee Issues Reach Supreme Court
The Supreme Court
says the Bush administration has the authority to hold "enemy combatants" indefinitely, but the terror suspects have the basic
right to a day in court.
Coverage
from the NewsHour |
| July 22, 2004 | 9/11 Commission Report
The 9/11 commission releases
its final report.
Reaction from the Bush
administration
Download the entire report
|
| Sept. 11, 2004 |
Third Anniversary of Sept. 11 Attacks
Ray Suarez
visits Ground Zero on the third anniversary of the Sept.11 attacks.
Coverage from the
NewsHour |
| Nov. 4, 2004 |
Guantanamo Military Trials Ruled Invalid
A federal
district judge rules that the first Guantanamo detainee military trial, under way in Guantanamo, is invalid under U.S. and
international law. The ruling affects all of the nearly 500 Afghan war detainees at the Guantanamo naval station.
Coverage from the
NewsHour |
| Dec. 17, 2004 |
Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention
Act
Drafted in response to the 9/11 commission, the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 establishes a
National Counterterrorism Center and a director of national intelligence to which the CIA director reports.
9/11 commission members discuss the
act.
Download the act
|
| March 31, 2005 | Silberman-Robb Commission Report
Silberman-Robb
commission releases report calling pre-Iraq war intelligence "dead wrong." The report outlines 74 recommendations for improving
intelligence operations.
Discussion with Judge
Silberman and Senator Robb
Download the complete
report
|
| May 4, 2005 | Freedom Tower Redesign
Security concerns raised by New
York City officials delay construction of Freedom Tower.
Coverage from the NewsHour |
| June 30, 2005 | Intelligence Changes
President Bush announces a new
set of changes to the intelligence community, including the creation of a domestic intelligence unit within the FBI that reports to
the directory of national intelligence and a national weapons counterproliferation center in response to recommendations from the
Silberman-Robb commission.
Coverage from the NewsHour |
| July 7, 2005 | London Subway Attack
A series of nearly simultaneous
bombings on London's subway system and a public bus kill 52.
Coverage from the
NewsHour |
| July 21, 2005 | Second London Attack Thwarted
Two weeks after a
coordinated attack, a second London public transportation bomb plot is reportedly thwarted.
Coverage from the NewsHour |
| Aug. 29, 2005 |
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina makes landfall
in United States. The ensuing flooding of New Orleans prompts many to question the nation's preparedness and emergency
management.
In-depth Coverage: Rebuilding the Gulf
Coast |
| Dec. 5, 2005 |
9/11 Commission Says U.S. Unprepared
A report
released by the former Sept. 11 commission gives the federal government "more F's than A's" in an assessment of 41 security
recommendations it issued in July 2004. The report calls overall progress "disappointing."
Coverage from the
NewsHour |
| Dec. 12, 2005 |
Detainees Granted Access to Lawyers
A federal
appeals court rules that Guantanamo prisoners should have access to lawyers and the American court system.
Coverage from the
NewsHour |
| Dec. 16, 2005 |
Warrantless Surveillance
The Bush administration
comes under scrutiny when The New York Times reveals that the National Security Agency has been engaging in a wiretapping program
without seeking court-ordered warrants, circumventing the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
Background Report: Wiretap
Revelations
The NSA and Domestic Surveillance
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales
defends the program
Vice President Dick Cheney
defends the program
|
| Feb. 6, 2006 |
NSA Surveillance Hearings
The Senate Judiciary
Committee holds first hearing on the National Security Agency's warrantless surveillance program.
Alberto Gonzales appears before the
committee. |
| March 6, 2006 | Port Deal Resolution
Under pressure from Congress and
others over questions of security, Dubai-based DP World announces it will hand over control of U.S. ports to an American firm after
it received approval to purchase the firm that operates the ports in February 2006.
Coverage from the
NewsHour |
| March 10, 2006 | Patriot Act Reaffirmed
Major portions of the USA
Patriot Act are extended by Congress after nearly nine months of debate.
Background Report: The
renewal of USA Patriot Act |
| May 4, 2006 | Moussaoui Sentenced to Life in Prison
Al-Qaida
conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui, the only person charged in the United States in connection with the Sept. 11 attacks, is sentenced
to life in prison.
Coverage from
the NewsHour |
| May 11, 2006 | NSA Phone Records
USA Today reports that the National
Security Agency has secretly collected tens of millions of phone call records since Sept. 11, 2001 from three of the nation's
largest telephone companies, Verizon, AT&T and BellSouth. Editors acknowledge on June 30 they cannot confirm that BellSouth or
Verizon contracted with the NSA to hand over records.
Senators discuss legal and security issues. |
| May 18, 2006 | Hayden Hearing
Senators press CIA nominee Michael
Hayden on the legality of NSA surveillance programs. He is later confirmed.
Coverage from the
NewsHour |
| June 7, 2006 | Al-Zarqawi Killed
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, leader of
al-Qaida in Iraq, is killed in a U.S.-led airstrike.
Coverage from the
NewsHour |
| June 29, 2006 | Detainee Tribunals Ruled Illegal
The Supreme Court
rules against military tribunals for detainees, saying the proposed trials are illegal under U.S. law and the Geneva
Conventions.
Coverage from the
NewsHour |
| July 11, 2006 | U.S. to Comply with Geneva Treaty on Detainees
In a
policy shift outlined in a Pentagon memo, the Bush administration decides to treat all detainees in compliance with the minimum
standard spelled out by the Geneva Conventions.
Senators discuss the
change. |
| Aug. 10, 2006 |
UK Airline Bomb Plot Thwarted
British authorities
foil a plot to bomb airlines using "liquid bombs." The Department of Homeland Security raises its Homeland Security Advisory System
threat level to red for the first time for UK flights bound for the United States.
Homeland chief says plot
'comparable to 9/11'
Experts analyze the terror plot.
|
| Sept. 11, 2006 |
Fifth Anniversary of Sept. 11 Attacks
A look at
the state of rebuilding at the terror sites and more, five years after the Sept. 11 attacks.
Sept. 11: Five Years Later
Rebuilding at the terror
sites
Health concerns from
attack site exposure
|
| Sept. 11, 2006 |
Homeland Security
Continue reading about homeland
security beyond the five year anniversary.
In-depth Coverage: Homeland Security |
| Sept. 11, 2006 |
Investigating Sept. 11
Continue reading about the
investigation of the Sept. 11 attacks beyond the five year anniversary.
In-depth Coverage: Investigating Sept.
11 |
