Legalities
Life, Politics and the Law From ABC News Correspondent Jan Crawford Greenburg
Jan Crawford Greenburg is a correspondent for ABC News' bureau in Washington DC. She covers politics, the Supreme Court and provides legal analysis for ABC News. She is a graduate of the University of Chicago's law school and is a member of the New York bar.
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Facing Evil
December 08, 2008 7:57 AM
Seven years ago on the morning of September 11th, the phone rang for Alice Hoagland.
"Mom, this is Mark Bingham," said the young man, giving his mother his full name. "I'm on a flight from Newark to San Francisco. There are three guys who've taken over the plane, and they say they have a bomb.
"You believe me, don't you, Mom?"
Bingham, a 31-year-old entrepreneur with a zest for rugby and adventure, was on United Flight 93, headed back home to a friend's wedding in California.
The phone went quiet. And then Alice Hoagland said what would be among her last words to her only son: "Yes, Mark, I believe you."
Sunday, Hoagland arrived here, at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to finally see the man who orchestrated that murderous day of horror and carnage. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is facing charges of murdering 2,973 people, and Hoagland is among a group of victims and families chosen by a lottery to watch his military commission hearings.
"You'd have to be a very bloodthirsty and inhuman person to hatch such a plot," Hoagland, a warm and open woman, told ABC News. "That's one reason why I'm glad I'm going to sit in the same room with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and sort of take measure of that man, because he claims responsibility. He takes credit, if you will, for hatching that ugly plot."
The deadly impact of that plot shattered Hoagland's life.
"I still wake up nights startled by the fact that my only child is dead," she said. "They've taken the most precious thing out of my life. I'll never be the same."
Hoagland has made another life, as an advocate for the victims' families and for reform. In a way, she has moved on.
But she also remains very much back in that day, when she got that phone call from Mark. She and other victims' family members have listened to the cockpit tapes, and she describes them in graphic detail -- the shouting and thunderous noises as Bingham and other passengers stormed the cockpit, the wind screaming over the plane's wings as it hurled to the ground.
And when she talks about that day, she relieves it.
After Mark's call to her the morning of Sept. 11th was cut off, Hoagland, desperate for information, began frantically calling "everybody we could think of." The FBI, United Airlines, the police.
She turned on the television, and she saw the horrific scene of the World Trade Center in flames. And then she saw the second plane hit.
"It was… it was the most horrible…," she said, her voice trailing off, as she remembers what went through her mind. "I thought, 'Is that Mark's plane?' And it turned out that it wasn't.
"Then we heard about the Pentagon being hit. Was that Mark's plane? And then they started announcing what flight numbers they were. United Airlines 175 into the South Tower. American Airlines Flight 11 into the North Tower. American flight 77 into the Pentagon.
And then her sister-in-law frantically called her to the television: "Guys, they just mentioned Flight 93."
This is what Hoagland saw on the television screen: "They showed a panorama of the scene there outside of Shanksville, Pennsylvania, with hemlock trees afire and a huge, gaping hole covered over with some debris and emergency crews standing around, already."
"Seeing that," she said, "I knew that, of course, there were no survivors."
On that day, she had never heard of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the self-confessed mastermind of the plot that took her son and 2,972 others. Monday, she will be in the same courtroom, watching.
On the flight down to Guantanamo Sunday, she told me she feels "dread" at seeing him.
But she also said she wishes KSM and the other terrorists could see more of the victims' families, "and to look into the faces of all the thousands of people whose lives they changed so bitterly that day."
She is only one.
December 8, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (29)
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I have to agree with Steve - Also who calls their mother and says their first and last name and then asks do you believe me ?? especially when you are in such a position.... this whole thing sounds made up.. WHAT REALLY HAPPENED we will never know...
Our Government Needs to Come Clean and Tell us the Truth of what really happened.
Posted by: Adam | Dec 8, 2008 11:04:53 AM
"I have to agree with Steve - Also who calls their mother and says their first and last name and then asks do you believe me ?? especially when you are in such a position.... this whole thing sounds made up.."
Please explain how this call happening or not happening, or the verbiage in it, plays into this idea that something big is being hidden?
Posted by: Silky | Dec 8, 2008 11:17:52 AM
We didn't "drop the ball" or get "distracted" by removing Saddam Hussein, in an effort to begin the long struggle of breaking the stranglehold that radical muslims have over the Middle East. Southwest Asia is ruled by Monarch's, Dictator's, etc, who censor the news and only allow state-sponsored information to be disseminate to the masses. The war on terrorism isn't confined to Osama Bin Laden, especially since Al-Qaeda isn't about one man, but a world-wide organization that is decentralized and able to strike anytime, anywhere. Saddam had nothing to do with 9/11, but he supported terrorism and was not above launching his own attacks against his enemies...or at least hiring others to do it. Saddam was more than just a bad person...he was a threat to the region and had he been allowed to remain in power, he probably would have exhausted the inspectors (UNMOVIC) several years ago, gotten the sanctions/embargo lifted and reconstituted his nuclear weapons program to keep pace with Iran and create a deterent. How anyone could see that as a better option, is beyond logical comprehension. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (KSM) is the mastermind behind 9/11, not Osama Bin Laden. Bin Laden is a "spritual leader" with very limited influence over global terrorism. Had we not removed Saddam and just stayed focused on Afghanistan, what would have been accomplished? We can't enter Pakistan without violating their sovereignty and we can only guess that Bin Laden is there...at best. This is a Global threat and we must see beyond one country or one individual. By taking a giant step back and seeing the big picture, we can look at the root causes and not just the affects. That is the only way to resolve this crisis.
Posted by: Gary | Dec 8, 2008 11:23:15 AM
You have all fallen into a trap. Taking the time to discuss what you all think happened in 9/11 or if it might have been a conspiracy. The fact of this matter is Alice Hoagland will face what would be my biggest fear in seeing the "mastermind" that took my childs'life face to face. If you would like to voice your opinion about 9/11, take a class in journalism and start a column in a national paper. If you would like to find "the truth" behind the attacks of 9/11, Pick a side (for financial reasons) and run for an office. You are gaining nothing but anger by posting your opinions on this page. If you please, do me this favor and read all of your comments starting at the top. I'm no psycologist, but for most of you, pride is a hard thing to swallow. Finally, If reading mine or any of the above post makes you angry, you are not alone. Use that anger to sign the dotted line and I assure you that you will have head of the line privlage straight to the sand box...
Posted by: JP | Dec 8, 2008 1:25:45 PM
"Power to the brotha's"...hmmm...he doesn't act like a "brotha" and if he did, he wouldn't get any support for his policies from the overwhelming majority of Congress. I am curious to find out how much support he loses from the African-American community over the next 4 years, as those who live in the inner city believe he will better their lives are still in the same situation of crime and poverty as they are today. Will they continue to be politically enslaved by a party that uses them for personal or political gain? With Obama in the White House and Democrats having overwhelming control of both the House and Senate, excuses are no longer available going forward. Opportunity has been available for some time now, but only a small percentage, like the President-elect, have taken advantage of it. This is a tough reality for most Americans to accept, but sometimes, the truth hurts. What is it going to take to get our juvenile delinquents off the street and in the classroom? That is the biggest question Barack Obama needs to answer, if he is to be successful for millions of Americans to re-elect him in 2012.
Posted by: Gary | Dec 8, 2008 5:25:49 PM
"But she also said she wishes KSM and the other terrorists could see more of the victims' families, "and to look into the faces of all the thousands of people whose lives they changed so bitterly that day." What do you think, that would make any difference?
Posted by: W P L | Dec 8, 2008 7:12:08 PM
I think it makes a huge difference. I had no loved ones lost and I still feel that day. Justice means looking into the eyes of the perpetrator and him looking into yours. Then hang him.
Posted by: Bonzai55 | Dec 8, 2008 8:14:55 PM
sorry but there is no comparison between our soldiers in Iraq and these gutless pukes who plan on killing the innocent. Yes innocents in Iraq are killed by our soldiers but there is no intent to go after soft targets to get a lot of CNN coverage. If you guys can't see the difference I feel sorry for you. these guys are requesting death. If found guilty, give it to them
Posted by: richard warren | Dec 8, 2008 8:25:44 PM
Hate is the mastermind, of which Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and Al Qaeda are devout followers of. They even see it as their god Allah, however, hate is hate and is surely never God. Many followers of Islam, post 9/11 have developed programs to ensure their communities do not fall into similar traps of hate and terror. This also a focus of the U.S. work in Iraq, Afghanistan as well as other nations struggling to educate their Islamic communities.
Looking into the eyes of the victims of 9/11 will only well up feelings of hate in the confused mind of the terrorist. They do not see any of them as victims, unless of course they see them as a victim of the "Great Satan".
The terrorist minds would need to be disconnected from hate and deprogrammed, for them to see a victim as a victim. Such deprogramming (rehab) is a rarity today, although it has found some success in Saudi Arabia. However, at that point we wonder to what extent the rehab goes, for Saudi Arabia isn’t the best for human rights. State sponsored terrorism(hate) under the guise of governmental law can be in itself more dangerous then renegade terrorism, for governments that rule with an element of hate actually are an impetus for the pattern of behavior that spawns terrorism. Thus the pattern of behavior stays dormant with governmental legitimacy of organized terror until an opportunity arises for renegade terrorism once again. We have experienced many such episodes over the past forty years or so. The acceptance of hate(terrorism) at any level is absolutely unacceptable.
It is still a noble gesture for the family members to attend the proceedings and try to make sense of a senseless act. Those types of analysis help us all, especially given the perspective and connection of the victim families. They are truly part of each and every one of us, and are integral in deciding what has occurred, what is occurring and what should occur in reference to 9/11. My thoughts and prayers have been with them, is with them and will always be with them in their work to rebuild and reconstruct their lives and our nation.
E Pluribus Unum....
Posted by: Larry | Dec 21, 2008 11:53:12 PM
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