AI Summary
5 min readThe Man Who Briefed the President on 9/11
Michael Morel was President George W. Bush's first daily intelligence briefer, and on the morning of September 11, 2001, he was in the president's hotel room at the Colony Resort in Florida, delivering the morning intelligence briefing. Hours later, he was on Air Force One, telling the president who he thought was responsible for the attacks, then later informing him that intelligence suggested a second wave might be coming. Morel, who spent 33 years at the CIA and served as both acting director and deputy director, is the only person who was with President Bush on 9/11 and with President Obama on May 1, 2011, when Osama bin Laden was killed.
How a Would-Be Economics Professor Ended Up at the CIA
Morel never intended to join the intelligence community. He was an economics major who wanted to get a PhD and teach. A professor he suspected worked for the CIA encouraged him to apply, and Morel accepted an invitation to Washington for interviews—with zero intention of taking a job if offered. He had already been accepted to graduate school.
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What you'll learn
- 1 (00:03) **Introduction and Guest Welcome** - David and Gordon introduce Michael Morel, former Acting Director of the CIA, to discuss his experience on 9/11.
- 2 (02:27) **The Emmy and Michael’s Origin Story** - Michael explains his Emmy win and describes how he ended up at the CIA.
- 3 (06:20) **Becoming President Bush’s Briefer** - Michael explains how he became President Bush’s first daily intelligence briefer and describes the morning of September 11th.
- 4 (08:26) **The Intensity of the Job: The “Who Did This?” Question** - Michael recounts the intense moment on Air Force One when the president directly asked who was responsible for the attacks.
- 5 (10:48) **The Second Wave Warning** - Michael describes the harrowing moment he had to brief the president on intelligence suggesting a second wave of attacks was coming.
- 6 (11:50) **The F-16s and the Surreal Return to Washington** - Michael shares a surreal moment on the final approach to Andrews Air Force Base, seeing the F-16s and the smoldering Pentagon.
- 7 (13:34) **The President’s Transformation** - Michael describes how he saw President Bush change in the hours after the attack, finding a clear sense of mission.
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Show Notes
*** TO LISTEN TO THE FULL INTERVIEW, SUBSCRIBE TO THE DECLASSIFIED CLUB ***
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What was the first thing the President said after the September 11th attacks? Was 9/11 really a strategic failure? And, would Osama Bin Laden be happy with the post-9/11 world?
Listen as David and Gordon are joined by former acting CIA Director, Michael Morrell, the man who briefed the President on two of the most consequential moments in modern US history: 9/11 and the killing of Bin Laden.
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