Donald Rumsfeld
The United States was attacked on September 11, 2001 by al Qaeda terrorists who hijacked commercial airliners and crashed them in coordinated strikes into both towers of the World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan, New York City and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. The fourth plane crashed into a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, and its target was likely a prominent building in Washington, D.C., most probably either the Capitol Building or the White House. Within three hours of the start of the first hijacking and two hours after American Airlines Flight 11 struck the World Trade Center, Rumsfeld raised the defense condition signaling of the United States offensive readiness to DEFCON 3, the highest it had been since the Arab-Israeli war in 1973.
2001 world oil market chronology
September 11 The largest terrorist attack in world history occurs as 2 hijacked airplanes crash into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, one hijacked plane crashes into the U.S. Department of Defense's Pentagon headquarters, and another hijacked plane crashes into a rural part of Pennsylvania. The World Trade Center is destroyed, and the Pentagon is heavily damaged. Thousands of people die and economic damage is estimated to be in the billions. Aviation is halted in the United States and all major trading markets (including energy) are closed for the remainder of the week. In Europe, October Brent prices briefly touch $31.05, up from $27.59 the day before. A one-hour trading suspension follows, after which prices start to fall back. The U.S. government blames the attack on Osama Bin Laden's terrorist network (NYT)