A newly published book, "Ash and Honor: The Untold 368 Minutes of 9/11," details a little-known threat that emerged aboard Air Force One on September 11, 2001, causing significant alarm among the Secret Service protecting President George W. Bush. Investigative journalist Jeffrey Robinson's work recounts that a warning, received via a secure phone in the Presidential Emergency Operations Center (PEOC), stated, "Angel is next." The code word "Angel" was the classified designation for Air Force One.
The cryptic message, relayed by a Secret Service agent from the Situation Room, suggested the threat might originate from within the security cordon surrounding the president or even from someone aboard the aircraft itself. This possibility led to a lockdown of Air Force One, with all passengers ordered to remain in their seats, cell phones confiscated, and agents vigilant for suspicious activity. The pilot, Col. Mark Tillman, also ordered radio silence for the aircraft.
Robinson's research, which involved reviewing numerous documents and interviewing over 65 eyewitnesses, suggests that the threat caused panic because the source of the warning knew the codename for the presidential plane. This intelligence reportedly came from Sarasota, Florida, where President Bush was visiting an elementary school when the attacks began.
Despite the presidential brief issued in August titled "Bin Laden Determined to Strike in US," which had warned of potential attacks, including hijacked airliners, some officials were reportedly skeptical. National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, for instance, is described as having accused the CIA and Richard Clarke, a counterterrorism expert who had repeatedly warned of al-Qaeda's threat, of sensationalizing the danger.
As the attacks unfolded, Secret Service agents Eddie Marinzel and Dave Wilkinson made the decision to get President Bush airborne on Air Force One. Initially, Bush insisted on returning to Washington, D.C., but his security detail opted for a detour to Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana due to concerns that the White House might still be a target. The flight to Barksdale was further complicated by a misunderstanding regarding the base's status, as it was involved in a war game with B-52 bombers on the runways.
During the flight, efforts to contact the president's family were hampered by jammed commercial phone systems. Meanwhile, Lt. Col. Steve Usher at Tyndall Air Force Base initiated a scramble of F-16 fighter jets to escort Air Force One, a response that was delayed but eventually materialized. President Bush eventually returned to Washington, D.C., on the morning of September 12.
Robinson posits that while the exact origin and nature of the "Angel is next" threat remain unclear, the incident underscores the chaos and fear of that day. The book aims to tell the story of the "ashes and the honor" of September 11th through the collected experiences of those who were there.