Gathering in Killian Court, 3p.m:

The WeatherToday: Sunny, 73°F (23°C)Tonight: Clear, 51°F (12°C)

Tomorrow: unny, 75°F (24°C)

Cambridge,

nited States Rocked by TerroristHijacked AirlinersCrash into Pentagon,World Trade CenterBy Michael GrunwaldTHE WASHINGTON POST

Terrorists unleashed an astonish-ing air assault on America's militaryand financial power centers Tuesdaymorning, hijacking four commercialjets and then crashing them into theWorld Trade Center in New York,the Pentagon, and the Pennsylvaniacountryside.

It was by far the most devastat-ing terrorist operation in Americanhistory, killing at least hundreds and

. possibly thousands of people. It wasalso the most dramatic attack onAmerican soil since Pearl Harbor.The attacks created indelible scenesof carnage and chaos, obliteratingthe World Trade Center's twin 110-story towers from their familiarperch above Manhattan's skyline,grounding the domestic air trafficsystem for the first time, and plung-ing the entire nation into an unparal-leled state of anxiety.

U.S. military forces at home andaround the world were put on a "goto war" footing, the highest state ofalert next to actual military action.The Pentagon deployed a loose airdefense network of warships alongthe west and east coasts, as well asan unspecified number of intercep-tor and reconnaissance aircraft tohunt for unauthorized planes andmissiles.

Flights from Logan used in attackThe terrorists hijacked four Cali-

fornia-bound flights from three air-ports on the Eastern Seaboard, sug-gesting a well-financed,

ROBIN WEINER-WIREPIX

The World Trade Center collapsed Tuesday morning after two air-craft originating from Logan Airport in Boston crashed into its twintowers.

well-coordinated plot.First, two jets slammed into the

World Trade Center. Then an Amer-ican Airlines flight out of DullesInternational Airport ripped through

rl~~l M ..Lewin SM'98" a men1ber~f the Laboratory for Com.- .puter Science and co-founder of Akamai Technologies, was among,those.killed in yesterday's attack-on the World Trade- Center. Lewinwas on board .American :A.irlinesFlight 11 from Boston to Los Ange-

~ les when it crashed yesterday in New York city.~ Hewas 31 years old.~ Professor of Electrical Engineering and Com-~ puter Science David R. Karger, who co-authored ag paper with Lewin, said of him: "J have neverv encountered anyone with the combination of bril-

liance and drive that he had." ------"In a statement, Akamai chairman and CEO

George H. Conrades said, "Danny was a wonder-Daniel M. lewin ful human being. He will be deeply missed by hismany friends at Akamai. Our thoughts and prayers are with Danny'sfamily, friends and colleagues during this time of national tragedyand personal loss."

Interim Director of LCS Victor W. Zue called on the LCS com-munity yesterday to join in a moment of silence.

Lewin was a graduate student at LCS when he developed technolo-gy that enabled content on the world wide web to be delivered morequickly. That technology formed the basis for Akamai Technologies,which was one of the early stars of the Internet economy. Lewinfounded Akamai along with Professor of Electrical Engineering andComputer Science F.Thomson Leighton; many MIT students andfac-ulty were among the :first employees of Akamai. It was, in large' part,Lewin's research into speeding the delivery of web content whichenabled popular web sites to deliver news of yesterday's events,despite overwhelming demand Lewin was able to tum his research,into reality in a way that made an impact on the world, Karger said

In the two years before he left MIT to found Akamai, Lewinauthored a number of papers in the area of theoretical computer sci-ence. Karger said that it was "already clear he was going to be of thefirst caliber as an academic." While emphasizing the loss to Lewin'sfamily, be said that "the amount of lost accomplishment in that oneperson was tremendous."

Lewin is.survived by his wife and two sons.

the newly renovated walls of thePentagon, probably the world'smost secure office building. Afourth plane crashed 80 miles south-east of Pittsburgh shortly after it

was commandeered and turned inthe direction of Washington.

one of the 266 people aboardthe four planes survived. There wereeven more horrific but still uncount-ed casualtie in the World TradeCenter and the Pentagon, whichtogether provided office space formore than 60,000 people. The spec-tacular collapse of the Trade Cen-ter's twin towers, as well as a thirdkyscraper while the rescue opera-

tions were going on, caused evenmore bloodshed; about 200 ewYork firefighters and at least 78police officers are presumed dead.

Terrori t remain unidentifiedo one claimed re ponsibility

for the attacks, but federal officialsaid they suspect the involvement of

Islamic extremist with links tofugitive terrorist Osama bin Laden,who was implicated in the 1998bombings of two U.S. emba sies inAfrica and several other attacks.Law enforcement sources aid thereis already evidence implicating BinLaden's militant network in theattack, and politicians from bothparties predicted a major and imme-diate escalation in America's world-wide war against terrori m.

In a grim address to the nationTuesday night, President Bush said"thousands" had died in the attacks,and promi ed to hunt down thoseresponsible. ''We will make no dis-tinction," he said, "between the ter-rorists who committed these actsand those who harbor them.'

The president said the attackswere intended "to frighten ournation" but had failed. He vowedthat the government would continueto function uninterrupted and that

Attack, Page 4

IT elpsCampusHandleTragedyBy Jennifer KrishnanNEWSEDlTOR

As MIT watched yesterday'shorrors in ew York and Washing-ton, D.C. unfold on televisionsacross campus, administrators andsupport staff mobilized to help stu-dents cope with the disaster.

"It's the same stunned disbeliefas the disbelief at Kennedy's assas-sination," said Dean for GraduateStudents Isaac M. Colbert.

As the news filtered through thehalls of the In titute, MIT's Emer-gency Response Team, compri edof senior MIT leadership, met todiscuss what actions the administra-tion hould take.

Institute carries on with cia sesThe team, led by Executive Vice

President John R. Curry, decidednot to cancel classes yesterday. Sev-eral other local colleges, includingHarvard University, were closed.

Admini trators decided to keepthe Institute open yesterday andagain today in order to help bringstudents, faculty, and staff togetherto cope with the attacks.

"We want to give people thechance to be together and to talk,"said Dean for Undergraduate Educa-tion Robert P. Redwine. "Facultyand staff, to the extent possible,should be available" to students dur-

Reaction, Page 4

Community Gathers for Evemng 19i1Campus Religious Leaders, Administrators Offer Help DirectionBy Eun J. LeeASSOClA TE NEWS EDITOR

The MIT community cametogether on the teps of the trattonStudent Center for a vigil yesterdayevening, after news of terroristattacks in ew York and Wa hing-ton, D.C. spread acTOS campus.

"There are no ords that cancapture the adness and pain we allfeel about the attacks in Washingtonand ew York this morning," saidChancellor Phillip L. Clay PhD '75as he began the vigil.

Clay read a statement from Pres-ident Charles M. Vest, who was outof the country. As a result of thecancellation of all airline travel inthe U.S, Vest is unable to return toMIT.

"My prayers are with all who aretouched by this tragedy," Vest saidin his statement. "I am confidentthat we will be able to sustain eachother through this heart-wrenchingtime."

Vest's message al 0 asserted thata a community and individuals,'we are not powerless before thisadness. '

tudents urged to give bloodVest's peech encouraged mem-

bers of the MIT community to helpvictim of the attack by giving

STANLEY HU-THE TECH

Erin N. Sweeney SM '01 and son, Ian, drop a written prayer into abasket at yesterday's Student Center vigil, held to reflect on therecent terrorist attacks.

blood reaching out to other at MITwho are new to the area or from for-eign countrie , and reaching out tofriends who are frightened discour-aged, or ad.

Following Clay's speech studentmembers of various campus reli-gious group each took turns read-ing scriptures and prayers. Thesetudents represented Christian

Hindu, Jewish, and uslim faiths.

The prayers were followed withan address by Dean for tudent LifeLarry G. Benedict, who urged tu-dents. to share emotions and not bealone.

"Each person has a respon ibilityto come together to show each otherhow important we are to each otherin this community," Benedict said.

Vigii, Page 4

Page 2 eptember 12,2001

OPINION

ChairmanJordan Rubin 02Editor in ChiefDana Levine '02

Busine anagerHuanne T. Thomas 02

anaging EditorEric J. Cholankeril '02

EWSIFEATURES STAFF

Director: Rima maout '02; e Editor:Kevin R. Lang '02, Jennifer Krishnan '04; 0-

ci te e Editors: Eun J. Lee 04, Brian Loux'04; tate: Frank Dabek G, Daniel C. teven-on G, aveen unkavaJly G, anjay Basu '02,onali ukherjee '03, Alice . ang '03,

Diana . Cheng 04, Jeffrey Greenbaum '04,icky H u '04, Pey-Hua Hwang '04, ancy L.

Keuss '04, hankar ukherji'O, Pallaviaresh '04, Rubi Rajbanshi '04, aria ang

'04, ang '0; ereorote it:Veronique Bugnion G, Rob orty G, PeterHuybers G, Greg Lawson G, Bill Ramstrom G,Efren Gutierrez '03.

PRODUCTTO STAFF

Editors: Gayani Tille eratne '03, Joel Corbo '04,Joy Forsythe '04' oiate Editor: ndrew

. aIDO '04, HefaJi Oza 'G4' taff: Obel-nicki '9 , IanLai 02 nju Kanumalta '.03,

imal Bhalodia '04; Andy Lei' erson :04, EricTung '04, Tao Yu '04.

OPlNlON STAFF

Editor: Kris chnee 02 Jyoti Tibrewala '04'ociate Editors: Veena Thomas '02; Colom-

ni ts: Philip Burrowe '04, Roy Esaki 04, Kenesmith '04, k hay Patil '04' taff: Ba il

Engwegbara G, ichael Borucke '01 Ke inChoi '01, Chri topher D. mith '01, Jason H.Wasfy '01 Matt Craighead '02, Daniel L. Tor-torice '02, Gretchen Alek '04, Chri ten M.Gray'04.

ARTS STAFF

Editor : Devdoot Majumdar '04, Annie . Choi;ociate Editor: Fred Choi '02, andra M.

Chung '04; taff: Erik Blankinship G, Lanceathan G, Bence P. Olveczky G, onja Sharpe

G, Vladimir V. Zelevinsky '95, Bogdan Fede-le '03, Jumaane Jeffrie '02, Jacob Beniflah'03, Daniel J. Katz '03, Jane Maduram '03,Amy eadow '03, Jeremy Baskin '04, ChaitraChandrasekhar '04, Izzat Jarudi '04, Chad er-rant '04, Joseph Graham.

PHOTOGRAPHY STAFF

Editor: athan Collin G, Wendy Gu '03;taff: Erika Brown G, Krzysztof Gajos G,

Garry Ma kaly G, Karlene R. askaly G,ichelle Povinelli G, Bob umner G, amudra

Vijay G Gregory F. Kuhnen '00, Wan YusofWan orshidi '00, ephir Hamilton M '01Charles Boatin '01., ii Dodoo '01, Kailas

arendran '01, James Snyder '01 Yi Xie '02,Ro han Baliga '03, Leonid Drozhinin'03, Eka-terina Ossikine '03, Matt T. Yours! '03, Pedro L.

rrechea '04, Brian Hemond '04, Max Planck'04, Jacqueline T. Yen '04, Si ir Botta '04.

CARTOONISTS

Aaron lsak en G, Solar Olugebefola G, Jen-nifer Dima e '01, Xixi D'Moon '01, Bao-YiChang '02 David go '02, Lara Kirkham '03,Ii on Wong '03.

EDITORS AT LARGE

enior Editor: Michael J. Ring G, Eric J.Plo ky'99; Contriboting Editor: JamesCamp G. Ming-Tai Huh '02.

ADVISORY BOARD

Paul E. Schindler Jr. '74. V. Michael Bove '83,Barry urman '84, Diana ben-Aaron "85,Robert E. Malchman '85, imson Garfinkel '87,Jonathan Richmond PhD '91, Reuven M. Lern-er '92, Josh Hartmann '93, Jeremy Hylton '94,Anders Hove '96, Saul Blumenthal '98, Indranath

eogy '98, Joel Rosenberg '99. B. D. Colen.

PRODUCTION STAFF FOR THlS lSSU£

i ht Editors: Eric J. Cholankeril '02. JordanRubin '02, Joy Forsythe '04; taff: Tao Yue'04.

The T.ech (IS 0148-9607) IS publ hed on Tuesday' and Fridaydunng the academic year (except durmg MIT vacanons), Wedne -day during January and monthly dunng the summer for S45.00 peryear Third Class by The Tech. Room W20-483. 84 Massachusetts

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Community in the Wake of Tragedye terda ' terrori t attacks on the orld Trade Center and Witp President Charles . est trapped abroad due to

the Pentagon re ulted in terrible 10 se of human life and America's grounded airlines, Chancellor Phillip L. Clay PhDirreparable damage to America', en e of ecurity. Our condo- '75 led MIT's administrators to action. They should be congrat-

lences go out to the victims of this ulated for making themselves accessible to students during anEditorial . terrible tragedy, as well as to their exceptionally distressful day. Many made significant personalfriends and family. sacrifices to remain available until late at night.

The Tech commends MIl s administration for its immedi- The number of casualties will only grow in the comingate and ell coordinated efforts to provide upport for a con- days and we will not know the full extent of the damage forfu ed and de astated campus community. Almost immediate- weeks or even months to come. The support networks estab-ly faculty and taff throughout the Institute came together to lished in the past twenty-four hOUTSmust be maintained as newshelp students to cope with this tragedy. Signs advertising sup- of family, friends, and alumni reaches the Institute.portervices were posted across campus almost immediately The best support network lies within our own communities.after news of the attacks first broke, and MIT's chaplains It can be surprisingly helpful to talk to a roommate, a friend, oropened their doors to anyone who needed to talk. The chapel even an acquaintance from class. Tuesday's vigil provided anwas open for quiet reflection and prayer and the chaplaincy opportunity for community members to reach out to one anoth-organized a vigil yesterday evening which allowed community er, and today's gathering in Killian Court should do the same.mem er to come together and share their grief. At the sugges- Those who are grieving will be searching for someone ortion of Dean for tudent Life Larry G. Benedict, Campus Din- something to blame, and it is easy to hypothesize on who coulding ervices e en agreed to significantly extend campus din- be responsible for this attack. As speculation regarding respon-ing hours. sibility runs rampant in the media MIT students, faculty, and

Other individuals on campus such as the organizers and staff must be careful not to alienate members of our own com-upporters of the blood drive, have acted quickly to give stu- munity.

dent ,faculty and staff a channel for supporting the victims of MIT must join the rest of the nation in mourning thisthis tragedy at a time when blood upplies in ew York and tragedy, but at the same time we must press on, supported by

ashington, D.C. are dangerously low. the strength of our country and our community.

Letters 10 The EditorIt feel callous and almost cruelly indiffer-

ent to look beyond today's horrific events.What hould be uppermost in our thoughts isthe death and 10 s and destruction.

But when the President of the U.S. andothers declare that ''we will not let this stand,"my heart inks even lower and I get evenmore scared.

I'm afraid that will mean more draconianmeasures in the Mideast against the Palestini-ans. Didn't American politicians learn any-thing from Vietnam and from terrorist activi-tie since then? Don't they know that forcedoesn't stop people who are fighting out ofdesperation? Don't they understand that it isthe oppre ion of the Palestinians and the dis-'regard of their tights that has created genera-tions of young people who have little hope ofa reasonable life and who see terrorism astheir only chance?

I'm Jewish and I believe strongly in theneed for Israel to exist. Jews have too oftenbeen in the situation Palestinians are now in.

o one should expect them to give up theirland of sanctuary. But Palestinians have simi-lar rights and needs. The answer to terrorismis not more oppression or retaliation, no mat-ter how justified we think it is or how muchwe might think it will make us feel better.Somehow, no matter what is done to the per-petrators of today's awful crimes, the U.S.needs to work urgently toward a long-termpeace in the Mideast, with a settlement that isfair to both Jews and Palestinians.

Mark BreibartMIT Iriformation Technology

We, the Muslim students at MIT, stronglycondemn the cowardly, terrorist acts commit-ted in ew York City and elsewhere in theUnited States. We are deeply saddened andoutraged by the loss of innocent lives result-ing from these gratuitous displays of violence,and we offer our condolences to all the folkswho will no longer see their loved ones comehome. We pray to the Ahnighty for a speedyrecovery of those who have been injured,physically and emotionally, and we urge alllaw enforcement agencies to bring the perpe-trators of these heinous crimes to justice.

Executive CommitteeMuslim Students' Association (MITMSA)

We have all been through a lot lately withthe attacks in NYC and DC. God comfort andbe with us all through this ordeal. However, to .the MIT administration: why did you refuse toclose the school and insist that classes shouldcontinue on Tuesday? This was a nationaltragedy never to be fo~gotten. The best youcould come up with was that those with fami-ly and friends who are concerned should beexcused from class. What kind of stupid poli-cy is that?

Everyone who is an American or who livesin America has lost family and friendsbecause those killed were Americans; thatmakes them family. An attack was made onpublic enterprises and establishments. Thatconcerns us all. Are the professors and admin-istrators who had to teach and run things nothumans too?

I am sorry if I am out of line, but I do notget it. Why won't we allow a nation and peo-ple to mourn its loss because of classes? MITneeds to reconsider its priorities and decisionmaking methods. Pride goeth before a big fall.

Olubukola Afolayan-Jejeloye G

Terrorism, that is what struck America andthe MIT Campus today. Today' was one ofthose surreal days that one doesn't quite knowhow to respond to. And yet we must go on.

Today began for me as I blearily walkeddown the stairs in search of an open shower. Ipaid little attention to the group of housematescrowded around the television and proceededon my way until I noticed that everyone wasstaring at the television with frozen expres-sions. I go in, I sit, and I see the WorId TradeCenter fall down on a screen with the title:"Attack on America." No, it's not a movie.Pop, there goes my little comfy bubble of iso-lation.

It is all too easy to get so caught up inevents at MIT that events in the world aroundus seem to fade in comparison. Yet my con-cerns with starting that problem set due soon,figuring out what do this weekend, and gettingaround to a million little details seemed sud-denly not to matter quite as much. Thousandsof people lost their lives this morning. Thesymbols of our country's financial and mili-tary might were damaged and destroyed. Theworld has turned upside-down, and yet today Imust continue as I did yesterday.

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As I walked across the bridge, a Russianfriend commented on how the World TradeCenter symbolizes America. As I stopped bythe student center, I passed a hurried LarryBenedict, who managed a hello despite theworry on his face. On the way to class, I sawsomber crowds gathered around televisions oncampus, as a friend anxiously whispered meto ask what was going on. As I went to meetmy advisor, he was just finishing an e-mailpostponing the upcoming problem set for hisclass. Worry and anxiety pervaded every-whereI went.

On the surface everything looked normaltoday, everyone did the normal things they didyesterday. And yet, today everything is cast ina new light. Everyone is just a little more seri-ous and a little less comfortable. One couldsay it's like someone bombed the Pentagon;only it actually happened. Today is a day inhistory for world-shattering events. And yet,today I am still where I was yesterday, doingwhat I did yesterday. Terrorism struck today,and I still don't know what to do.

Brad Ito '01

It's hard to imagine what goes through aperson's mind when he or she is faced with anunpredictable situation. But today's events gobeyond walking into the wrong class or find-ing out that you don't have enough money towash your clothes this week. An unexpectedoccurrence has given every student here adeeper test than those found in 8.01: faith.

The plane hijackings today gave everyonehere an in-your-face view of mortality and thedarker side of the human psyche. No one herewould wake up, walk into an airport andhijack a plane in order to break apart a mod-ern monument. Possibly no one at MITwould, because we'd still be asleep fromstudying until 1 AM. All kidding aside, theseevents were extremely random and complete-ly shocking.

Through the shock comes unhappy ques-tions. Why didn't anyone know? Why did thishappen? Why can't we do anything but waitfor more carnage? All of this anger that I feelright now i just that: raging questions thatcan never be fully answered. When I see peo-ple standing outside of classes waiting fornews of survivors, all I can do is hope for thebest.

My uselessness makes me feel despair. Iknow that many people believe in the sanctityof life, which makes me question these eventseven more. Is this a government conspiracy toaid military spending? Who is behind thisafter all?

In the face of all this tragedy, I can't eventell a good joke. I can't even laugh because ofthe heavy heart that I am carrying. Despite allof the anger and despair, I tin cling to what I'was born knowing.

People are basically good. This tragedymust be a deeper part of the grand scheme ofthings. Someday, I can move on and helpchange the world so that things like this willnever happen again. Trying to believe in all ofmy moral tenets takes all the faith I havetoday.

However, I know that without that kind offaith, thi school wouldn't be here. That'swhy I came here in the first place.

Noelani Kamelamela '05

2001 THE TECH Page3OPINION

Another Loss Of InnocenceAnders Hove

As I write this the event, however itcomes to be named is still unfolding here inManhattan. Indeed, the magnitude of the dis-aster makes it obvious that it will continue tounfold for years as we as individuals and asmembers of society respond, each accordingto our needs, hopes, and fears.

Watching the faces of people on FifthAvenue as the second tower collapsed, I wasstruck by the diversity of our reactions.Screams. Gasps. Swearing. Blank looks.None of us knows how this will ultimatelyaffect us. Workers continued to rush foodcarts to mid-town lunch meetings as if any-one would care whether the catering arrivedon time. Cabs continued to stream downtownas of 11 AM, but no cab driver could knowwho would need a ride. Flocks of touristsand locals argued with one another about

. what they saw, about whether they could getwhere they needed to go, and about whetherthe US should respond by attacking some-one.

Times Square, where I wentafter hearing of the disaster, waspacked with people watchingthe television screens above theNasdaq Market Site. The newszipper seemed to be stuck onold news, zipping out the latestgossip on Michael Jordan, whilebehind, smoke and dust bil-lowed from the downtown area.Thousands of people weremilling in the street, while oth-ers weaved their way throughthe crowd as though it were anyother day in mid-town Manhat-tan. At a tourist shop, apanoramic poster showing theManhattan skyline faced thecrowd. The most prominent partof that skyline was now gone.

A part of us is now gone aswell. For people of our genera-tion, this event will likely be. adefining 'historical moment.Pearl Harbor has been men-tioned, but it's unclear-whetherany analogy is appropriate. NewYork's heart has been ripped outand put to flames.

The only thing more shock-ing than the images on thescreen is the thought that ourway of life may be unalterablychanged as a result of what hap-pened here today. In the past,our society has responded ablyto world wars and, during theCold War, to the threat of glob-al armageddon. How will we,how must' we, respond totoday's event? Will America go

to war? Will our jobs be secure? Will ourcivil liberties be safe? Perhaps these too arethe wrong questions. We may find ourselvesasking instead which of our liberties will besafe.

Perhaps the worst is behind us, perhapsthis commentary is premature. Maybe it willbe seen as a sign of the panic that gripped thicity, where right now doomsday talk is' oneveryone's lips.

But 1. know that from this day on, everyNew Yorker will know where he was thismorning. And I know that right now many ofus are afraid that even if we are not amongthose directly affected by the tragedy, ourlives wiU be changed. It is possible that agolden age in. our national life, in our world'shistory, has just passed.

Two months ago, when I moved to thiscity, I celebrated my new home by going withtourists up to the observation deck of thesouth tower of the World Trade Center. It wasa beautiful sunny day with perfect visibility .You could see out to JFK, and out to SandyHook, where the British fleet lay at anchorbefore the last successful attack on this city, in

1776. I watched the un et on the tatue ofLiberty, the shadow creeping up on her cap.Then I rode up to the 107th floor of the otherbuilding and splurged on a glass of wine at thetallest bar in the world. It was a wonderful andsecure evening.

When I lived in Washington, DC, myfriends and I often talked about terrorism. Ialways took the side of those who said wecould not view ou.rselves as targets, that weshouldn't go overboard' in protecting OUIl

national symbols. After the first attack on theWorld Trade Center in 1993, some said it wasthe end ofinnocence. They said the samething after Oklahoma City. What will we saynow?

When .Franklin Roosevelt spoke to Con-gress about Pearl Harbor, he expressed confi-dence that "we will win through to ultimatevictory." As -we decide how to respond towhat has happened, it will be important toremember our values and our humanity. Theseare the moments when we show who we areas individuals, and as a society.

Anders Hove '96 is a member of TheTech's Advisory Board.

LAOY .,.VSTI·,e I "MAII" GO, YOV ~£ 6LUIO •• •'(Ou C>ON'-r W~NT TO SEe ~tt,t.

Anything Is PossiblePhilip Burrowes

This nation needs a boogeyman. It wasbased on a conception of the British as anoppressor, expanded to conquer the westernexpanse, flourished with the righteous indigna-tion ofthe World Wars, and surfeited on ColdWar stockpiling. Each era in its history fea-tures such peaks, but it also exhibits valleys -the Civil War, the Great Depression, Okla-homa City - where elements of the nationseem to cannibalize themselves without anexternal target. Yet the country is not willingto admit that thi is the case, and places theblame on iconoclasts or exogenous factors.Reaction to what transpired Tuesday at thePentagon, Pennsylvania, and ew York City isonly one in a long line of such cases of denial.

Although nobody knew what prompted theairplane crashes, terrorists were almost imme-diately blamed. Even worse, both intelligenceofficers and security amateurs alike werepointing finger at specific parties. This wasall before any "credible' group laid claim tothe action and in the face of explicit denialfrom potentially culpable bodies. Palestinianand Afghani officials disavowed the acts, yetmedia implicated them by citing individualcitizens. Congressmen went as far as todeclare this a coordinated act of war.

Other explanations do in fact exist. Whilethe possibility of coincidence appears hard toswallow, probability becomes secondary insuch extraordinary circumstance as these.Mechanical failure could easily have beenresponsible for the overshadowed Shank villecrash. Given the military results of a Pentagonattack and the more psychological and finan-cial impact of the World Trade Center's

destruction, different groups could have tar-geted each. An inside job by the pilots them-selves seems too simple, but not impossible.

Nonetheless, a coordinated effort is indeedpossible, but possible for numerous factions.The idea of a "rogue state" being involved hasbeen dismissed because the hypothetical inter-national recrimination would be too great. Infact, any retaliation could be along similarlines, and as the backlash against Israel hasshown, the aegis of war may no longer beenough to fOfgive attacks upon state infrastruc-ture. Before that even becomes an issue, thesheer surrealism of suicide bombings on such agrand scale would shield foreign agents fromrapid discovery. More importantly, the appar-ently inexplicable nature of the actions does notlend itself to an ideologically supported war.

Instead terrorism's inherent uncouthnessmakes it more palatable to target; relativelyfew accept terrorism when it calls itself assuch. Osama bin Laden is all the more fantas-tic an enemy, given his supposed track recordand general foreignnes . By capturing himAmerica could conceivably wrap up a chapterof its history in which it showed vulnerabilityin a way not seen since the War of 1812.

ever mind that the weakness is largely aresult of the country s hubris' "Look at ourconspicuous military center ee our tall build-ings watch our news outlets divulge contin-gencies." Like the Titantic or the Hindenburg,the Twin Towers were doomed to eventualfailure.

What i most surprising is that this has nothappened more frequently. America s greatestdefense for the past half-century has beenmerely our image. Terrori ts avoided Ameri-can soil; not becau e they couldn't - thecountry has large rather open borders - but

because they would not want to. Should anorganization seek to attack from afar, the U.S.was backed by the specter of nuclear defense,allies, and sheer manpower. Truthfully, target-ed opponents of the nation - from Cuba toIraq - have never been quickly and efficientlysquelched.

Elsewhere, nations have long been submit-ted to more pernicious attacks. Germany'sReichstag in 1933, Chile's presidential palacein 1973, and Ayodhya's Babri Masjid in 1992were all destroyed with far more disastrousresults. Guerilla warfare has and will run ram-pant across the world. Domestic politicianshave coded such behavior as barbaric, cow-ardly and simply below the United tates, yethave consistently proven inefficient in curtail-ing it. Vietnam and the Sandanistas effective-ly defeated the U.S.

Selected officials and professionals haveclaimed an intelligence deficiency but to whatend? One proclaimed that national security isa higher priority than education, a statementwhich is dubious at best. Bush promised to, hunt down" the perpetrators, although we areled to believe he had no significant leads. Weare all scrambling to find an enemy todenounce.

Despite all the ambiguity and posturing,what has transpired is genuinely a tragedy.Whether it happened because of a riot, aplague, or accident, the permutations on casu-alties of such magnitude are unfathomable forthe mortal mind. Perhaps it is this elusivene sof the issue which prompt the fabrication of aguiding force. If people could be content withirrationality, with the unfairness of it all, thespecies would find itself under the sway ofdespots. As it is we are led by demagoguethrough rhetoric, not force: passion, not ego.

The Terrorof Not

KnowingGuest Column

Mike Hall

"Breaking News: Plane Crashes in West-ern Pennsylvania. " .

Western Pennsylvania. Pittsburgh. Myhometown.

I had been. watching C ' s live broad-casts from ew York and Washington, seeingthe replays of the second American Ai.rlinesjet crashing through the south World TradeCenter tower. I sat shocked, dismayed, butstill unbelieving.

"It was like a movie," a friend commented.I couldn't agree more, because that was theonly plausible explanation. The towers werefalling right before my eyes, but it seemed sodistant - like it was a shot from downtownBaghdad or Tel Aviv or another one of thosefaraway places I heard about in passing on thenews.

Then, in one split second, it came all tooclose.

The news alert flashed on the creen, theannouncers began mentioning "Pittsburgh"and "Western Pennsylvania" and "planecrash''jall: in the. same breath. Images flashed

. through my head. Pittsburgh. 'Big buildings inPittsburgh. The Federal Building.

The building where my mom works.And then it hits. The terror of not knowing.

Of seeing American icons crumble on thetelevision, of hearing that those terrorists -those nameless, faceless cowards - hadstruck your home.

I raced downstairs to the nearest phone,trying to call home, trying to reach someonesomewhere who might have answers. Can't

It's time tofind out the namesand jaces of those nameless)

faceless cowards. ow's the time, - I .. fit I 'Ji .)

to hit bade harder than we'veever hit before. ow's the time

for those nameless.facelesscowards to run in fear.

call Mom, phone lines might be out, want ananswer, call Dad, he's not in the city -hands race through pockets, no change! -race to Courses, go to register, get change-no dollar bills, just use a five, you'll need theextra change anyway, long-distance call.Race back to the pay phone, hands shaking,shove the quarters in, remember Dad's worknumber? 0 answer, but damn it! Used a 617area code instead of 412, told you you'd needthe extra change. Why the hell would thosebastards hit Pittsburgh, anyway? The city'sgot nothing anymore - call again, shovequarters in, remember 412 this time, handsshaking - phone rings and rings and stillrings! But no answer, but Dad always picksup this line, and they're not in the city, sowhy aren't they picking up ... unless they gothit, Michael?

And hang up the phone, pick it up andslam it down down down and just start cryingall over the extra quarters.

I headed to the 2nd floor lounge, next tothe TV, tapping people's shoulders, asking ifthey saw where the plane hit in Pennsylvania.

o one remembered the name. They wouldhave remembered Pittsburgh if it happened,right? But panic still. Then came relief: theplane hit in Somerset County, miles awayfrom my mom my dad, my brother, my fami-ly. Relief, finally, in the minutes of not know-ing.

Those cowards didn't hit my mother yes-terday, thank God. But they hit other mothersin Pittsburgh, ew York, DC. Other childrenare left now with the terror of not knowing -or of knowing that the worst is true.

ow is the time to strike back. Now is thetime to find out the names and faces of thosenameless, faceless cowards. ow is the timeto hit back harder than we've ever hit before.

ow is the time for those nameless, facelesscowards to run in fear, to tremble when dial-ing their loved ones, to wash their sparechange in their tears.

ow is the time for them to feel the terrorof not knowing.

Mike Hall is a member of the class of2003.

Page4 THE

MIT Extends Support ServicesReaction, from Page 1

ing thi tragic time.Chan ellor Phillip L. lay PhD

'7 notified tudents via e-mail thatall cJas e today will con lhde at 3p.m. Ab ences will be e cused andsome cIa se may be can eIledba ed on mdividual needs.

"Thr i an extraordinary eventand by not clo ing, the In titutedoes not mean to uggest that thingsare normal,' CI y aid.

or did operations run normallyye terday. Several instructors can-celled classes, and the Green Build-ing was closed at the di cretion ofthe Dean of the cience, Prof.Robert J. Silbey. 11 non-e entia!personnel were al 0 dismissed fromthe Lincoln Laboratorie ye terday.

pOD or communi e ntAt 3 p.m. today, IT tudents,

faculty, and staff are invited to Kil-lian Court "to hare our feelingsupport each other a members of

the community, and draw strengthfrom our common ense of purposeand caring,' Clay aid.

Today at 5 p.m., MIT's enterfor International tudie will host anopen forum on yesterday' events,in an effort to help student makesense of what happened. The forum

A ac from Page I

both federal offices and financialinstitution will be open today.

Bush started the day in Florida,but after the attacks flew to mili-tary ba es in Louisiana and then

ebraska for security reasonbefore returning to Washington

NA THA cow S-THE TECHIT students watch for news of Tuesday morning's terrorist attacks

on the television in lobby 10.

will be held in Building E3 .Curry aid the administration

was trying to fo ter "a heightenedense of awareness' and be watch-

ful and caring."A lot of people are concerned

about what they know - namely,there a a terrible tragedy - andwhat they don t know" Clay aid.

E t nded upport ervice offeredMIT offered extended ervi for

students eeking coon eling or help

in coping with ye terday s events.The IT Chapel wa open all

day ye terday, and chaplain wereavailable for di cu ion until 11p.m. Campu Dining provided bever-ag ,na , and a pla e to congregate1 t night until 1a.m.

Coun eling and Support erviceand T ental Health both heldextended hour ye terday.

dministrative offices remainopen today, and students can speakto deans as usual.

sses ation on AttacksTuesday evening. Vice Pre identDick Cheney and first lady LauraBu h were whi ked away to undi -closed location in the morning,and congressional leader weretemporarily moved to a ecurefacility 5 miles west of Washing-ton.

Federal Washington was virtual-

GRANT WERNICK-GEORGE WASHINGTO UNlVERSI1Y HATCHETIUTYlRE

The Pentagon sustained heavy damage after a plane hijacked inewark, J crashed into the building Tuesday morning.

haplainsigil, from Page 1

He urged students to talk tofriends, housemasters, GraduateResident Tutors, Residential LifeAssociates, and other campus sup-port channels.

"I am especially concerned todaytbat students reach out and talk toeach other," Benedict said. "Don'tisolate yourselves."

Benedict also announced thatthere will be a community forumtoday to continue the conversationtarted at the vigil and "to how

that we are one community, undi-vided, and that we face the futuretogether.'

Catholic Priest Paul Reynolds,Chair of the Board of Chaplains thathelped organize the vigil wa thela t to peak. He urged attendee towrite a prayer or wish on a piece ofpaper and drop it into a communalba ket. The basket will be placedin ide the MIT Chapel for any peo-ple who are till interested in addinga prayer.

Event bring tudents togethertudents attending the vigil

ly paralyzed throughout much of theday, and the rest of the nation cameto a near standstill as well. TheWhite Hou e, the Capitol, theSupreme Court the State Depart-ment and "the Treasury Departmentwere evacuated, along with federalbuildings across the country.

Bush calls for national unityIn his peech Tuesday night,

Bush emphasized the nation's har-mony. 'A great people have beenmoved to defend a great nation,"Bush said. He warned that "our mil-itary is powerful, and it's prepared. 'In closing, he proclaimed that evenamid suffering and death, Ameri-cans will remain committed to theirfreedom-loving way of life.

This is a day when all Ameri-cans from every walk of life unite inour re olve for justice and peace,'he said. "America has stood downenemies before, and we will do sothis time."

rganize Community VigilStudents turn shock into action

For the most part, it seems thatthe reactions of most students hasbeen constructive. Students haveconcentrated on supporting eachother and the victims of thetragedy.

" 0 t people here are more con-cerned about how to help than get-ting revenge," said Benazeer S.

oorani '04."I have heard a mall amount of

flying accusations against the Arabsand others, but the responses tothese have been mo tly blankstares,' said Jesse W. Cox '02.

Tanya Reza '04 said that herplans for the night and tomorrowinclude " upporting friends talkingabout the situation and makingsense of things."

"Hopefully there are lots of peo-ple taking blood donations tomor-row because I want to donate blood.I don't know what else to do," saidJohn S. Reed G.

Benedict summarized the situa-tion yesterday by saying, "We willget through this, but it will not bebusiness as usual over the next fewdays. '

thought the event greatly benefittedthe IT community. I'm reallyglad [this event] has bought 'theschool together as a community,"said Lei Lei '02. "The best way todeal with this is to have people talkabout it and show upport."

"Before at MIT, it seemed likepeople didn't care about anythingexcept their own classes," saidBrad . McCoy '02. "It's reallygreat to see that such a large show-ing of students came togethertoday."

"It's pretty important as uslimsto stand up for right and wrong,"said Mohammad B. Kaleem '02."We want to make it clear where wetand."

any students came to the vigilto obtain moral support and com-fort.

"MIT has so many alumni andconnections in ew York City;almost everyone here is affected bythis event" Lei said.

I don't know any people inew York City, but even ju t the

magnitude make the impersonallos very substantial," aid Vikram

ahe hri '03.

Tirneline of aTragedy8:45am: American AirlintS flight II, scheduled to fly from Boston to los Angeles,

cashes into the north tower of the World Trade (enter, tearing a gaping holein the building and setting it afire.

9:03am: A second plane, United Airlines flight 175, also en route from Boston to lA,crashes into the World Trade Center's south tower and explodes.

9:30am: ush, .speaing :om florida, sa s the country has suffered an "apparentterrenst attack.

9: Oam: The fAA halts all flight operations at U.S. airpern. This is the first time inU.S. history that air traffic nationwide has been halted.

9: Jam: American Airlines flight 17 crashes into the Pentagon, creating a huge plumeof smo e. Evacuation begins immediatel .

9:45am: The hite House is evacuated.I0:05am: The south tower of the World Trade (enter collapses.IO:IOam: A portion of the Pentagon known as the "Army Corridor" collapses.IO:IOam: United iriines Flight 93, travelling to San Francisco from ewark, crashes in

Shanksville, Pennsylvania, a town southeast of Pittsburgh.IO:13am:The United Nations building is evacuated.IO:24am: The FAA reports that all inbound transatlantic aircraft flying into the United

States are being diverted to Canada. .IO:28am: The World Trade Center's north tower collapses.lO:45am: All federal office buildings in Washington are evacuated.

IO:45am: MITadministrators meet to develop the Institute's "response toconcerns relating to the attacks on the World Trade Center andthe Pentagon."

IO:50am: Faculty, students, and staff are told to leave Building 54, thetallest building on campus. The decision to evacuate was notmade by the MITadministration.

IO:54am: Israel evacuates all diplomatic missions.II :45am: Citing no apparent threat to the campus, classes remain as

scheduled and administrative offices remain open. LincolnLaboratory dismisses all non-essential personnel.

1:27pm: The city of Washington, O.c. dedares a state of emergency.I :44pm: The Pentagon announces plans to send five wanhips and two aircraft carriers

from the naval port in Norfolk, Virginia to protect the East (oast from furtherattack and to reduce the number of ships in port.

2:30pm: The fAA announces there will be no U.S. commercial air traffic until noon onWednesday. .

4:25pm: The American Stock Exchange, the Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchangesay they will remain dosed Wednesday.

5:00pm: The MIT Board of Chaplains, Chancellor Phillip L. Clay PhD '75and Dean for Student life Larry G. Benedict lead a gathering to"reflect, mourn, and express words for peace."

5:20pm: A third bulding, the 41-story 7 World Trade (enter, collapses. The buildingwas damaged when the twin towm across the street collapsed earlier in theday. Other nearby buildings in the area remain ablaze.

6:00pm: Explosions are heard in Kabul, AfghaniStan at 2:30am local time. Americanofficials later say that the U.S. had no involvement in the incident. Afghanistanis believed to house Osama bin laden, who officials believe may be behind theattacks on the U.s. financial and military centers.

6:40pm: U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld holds a news conference in thePentagon, noting the building is operational. "It will be in businesstomorrow:' he says.

6:54pm: Bush arrives at the White House aboard Marine One. The president earlierlanded at Andrews Air force Base with a three-fighter jet escort.

8:30pm: President Bush addresses the nation.9: 19pm: Chancellor Clay announces that classes on Sept. 12 will end at 3

p.m, at which time the entire MIT community will gather inKillian court.

SOURCES: CNNCOMMIT NEWS OFFICE

Former GSC PresidentSoulaymane Kachani

.~G reflects at a vigilheld on the StudentCenter steps follow-ing the World TradeCenter and Pentagonattacks.

Statement IssuedBy MIT President

Charles ~stWe have been witness to a series of events of unprecedentedtragedy and horror in this nation's history. Everyone of us hasbeen affected in many ways. Even as we pray for and meditateabout the many victims of these unspeakable acts, we mustalso care for each other and assist each others' family andfriends through this troubled time. I want to thank all thosewho serve the needs of our MIT community and salute thosewho must deal directly with the death, injury and pain of thosein ew York, Washington, and Pennsylvania. Again, myprayers are with all who are touched by this tragedy and I amconfident that we will be able to sustain each other throughthis heart-wrenching time. cU ~

MFrs blood drive wiI resume today from 12p.m. to 6 p.m. and tomomJw from 10 a.m. to

4 p.m. in la $ala de Puerto Rico in the.... e.ter.

....... c-. ........ <weIa1lliL~w •• >

Walk-ins are also welcome at 25 StuartStreet in Boston.If yeu would like _ infor-JDaIion about blood donation or YOIunteedng,contact Boston's local Red en. c:IIapIer ••617) 375-0708 ... ~.redcraa.erI>