Meanwhile, the mood on board Air Force One could not have been more tense. Bush was in his office in the front of the plane, on the phone with Cheney, National Security Adviser Rice, FBI director Robert Mueller and the First Lady. Cheney told him that law-enforcement and security agencies believed the White House and Air Force One were both targets. Bush, the Vice President insisted, should head to a safe military base as soon as possible. White House staff members, Air Force flight attendants and Secret Service agents all were subdued and shaken. One agent sadly reported that the Secret Service field office in New York City, with its 200 agents, was located in the World Trade Center. The plane's TV monitors were tuned in to local news broadcasts; Bush was watching as the second tower collapsed. About 45 minutes after takeoff, a decision was made to fly to Offut Air Force Base in Nebraska, site of the nation's nuclear command and one of the most secure military installations in the country. But Bush and his aides didn't want to wait that long before the President could make a public statement. Secret Service officials and military advisers in Washington consulted a map and chose a spot for Bush to make a brief touchdown: Barksdale Air Force Base, outside of Shreveport, La. In Bush's airborne office, aides milled about while Bush spoke on the phone. "That's what we're paid for, boys," he said. "We're gonna take care of this. We're going to find out who did this. They're not going to like me as President." The handful of reporters aboard were told not to use their cell phones--and not even to turn them on--because the signals might allow someone to identify the plane's location.
这时，空军一号上的气氛空前紧张。布什在飞机前部的办公室里和切尼、国家安全顾问赖斯、联邦调查局局长罗伯特·米勒以及第一夫人通电话。切尼告诉他司法部和安全机构认为白宫和空军一号也是攻击目标。副总统坚持让布什尽快进入一个安全的军事基地。白宫的成员们，空军乘务员和秘密特工们都震惊了。一位特工悲伤的报告说纽约的特工部门，有200名特工，就在世贸中心里。飞机的电视监视器被调到当地新闻；布什一直看着第二个双子塔倒塌。飞机在起飞大约45分钟后，决定飞往内布拉斯加州奥福特空军基地，这是下达核攻击命令的地方，也是国家军事设施最完善的地方。不过布什和他的助手们并不打算在全国演讲之前等得太久。华盛顿的特工长官和军事顾问们查阅了一张地图为布什选择了一个临时着陆点——路易斯安那的什里夫波特附近的巴斯克代尔空军基地。在布什的空中办公室里，布什打电话的时候他的助手们在身边绕来绕去。他说“国家养我们就是要我们去解决这样的问题，弟兄们，我们必须解决这件事，我们必须查清楚这是谁干的，我要让他们吃不了兜着走。”办公室外面的记者被告知不能使用手机——甚至不能开机，因为手机信号可能让人锁定飞机的位置。
Air Force One landed at Barksdale at 11:45 a.m., with fighter jets hovering beside each wing throughout the descent. The perimeter was surrounded by Air Force personnel in full combat gear: green fatigues, flak jackets, helmets, M-16s at the ready. The small motorcade traveled to Building 245. A sign on the glass windows of several doors, in large black type, read DEFCON DELTA. That is the highest possible state of military alert. Bush made his second remarks at 12:36 from a windowless conference room, in front of two American flags dragged together by Air Force privates. "Freedom itself was attacked this morning by a faceless coward," he began, then spoke for two minutes before leaving the room.
空军一号于上午11：45分降落在巴斯克代尔基地。在降落过程中始终有战斗机盘旋在飞机的两翼，飞机周围是全副武装的空军一号全体人员：绿色军装、避弹衣、钢盔、M-16步枪严阵以待。一小列汽车开进245号大楼。一些门上的玻璃窗上用大大的黑体字写着DEFCON四级，这是国家军事戒备的最高级别。布什于12：36分在一个无窗的会议室，在空军士兵们展开的两面美国国旗前发表了第二次讲话。“今天早晨，自由被一个无名懦夫袭击了。”以此作为开始，他做了两分钟的讲话，随后离开了会议室。
译者注：DEFCON的意思是Defense Readiness Condition，DEFCON DELTA意思是四级戒备。网上很多说法都说DEFCON的衡量是1-5级，和平时期为5级，1级需要动用核武器，而THREATCON才是用Alpha到Delta来衡量的，Delta是最高级别的。THREATCON的意思是Force Protection Condition，所以此处疑为THREATCON。
In New York, the chaos was only beginning. Convoys of police vehicles raced downtown toward the cloud of smoke at the end of the avenues. The streets and parks filled with people, heads turned like sunflowers, all gazing south, at the clouds that were on the ground instead of in the sky, at the fighter jets streaking down the Hudson River. The aircraft carriers U.S.S. John F. Kennedy and U.S.S. George Washington, along with seven other warships, took up positions off the East Coast.
在纽约，混乱才刚刚开始。街上和停车场里挤满了人，他们的头都像向日葵一样注视着南方，注视着不在天空却在地上的云，注视着战斗机降落在哈德逊河。航空母舰约翰·肯尼迪号、乔治·华盛顿号和其他七艘战舰已经离开东海岸就位。
