Timeline

(2 of 7)

Nov. 2, 2001 New York Governor George Pataki and New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani establish the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation to oversee the rebuilding of the Trade Center site

Dec. 3, 2001 With the Taliban having been routed in Afghanistan, the U.S. focuses on hunting bin Laden, who according to intelligence reports is hiding in a fortified maze of tunnels and caves in Tora Bora

Dec. 13, 2001 Officials in Washington release a videotape of bin Laden speaking to a Saudi guest and incriminating himself in the 9/11 attacks, saying, "We calculated in advance the number of casualties." A Washington Post headline: "For Families of Victims, a Decision: 'Do I Really Want to Watch This?'"

Dec. 20, 2001 New York Post: "Twin Towering Inferno Finally Out," one day after Pataki announces that the fires at the World Trade Center site have been extinguished

Dec. 22, 2001 Richard Reid attempts to detonate a bomb inside his shoe aboard American Airlines Flight 63 bound for Miami from Paris; he is subdued by flight attendants and passengers

Dec. 23, 2001 TIME names Giuliani its 2001 Person of the Year

Jan. 11, 2002 The first 20 detainees arrive at Guantánamo Bay detention center; a week later Bush decides detainees' standing as terrorists disqualifies them from prisoner-of-war protection under the Geneva Conventions

Jan. 29, 2002 In his State of the Union address, Bush labels Iran, Iraq and North Korea the "axis of evil"

Feb. 1, 2002 Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl is beheaded by al-Qaeda after being kidnapped in Pakistan on Jan. 23

March 11, 2002 Marking the six-month anniversary of the attacks, the Tribute in Light, an installation projecting two shafts of light upward from lower Manhattan, is unveiled. New York Post: "The Light Fantastic: Glowing Tribute 'Shows World We Aren't Giving Up.'" USA Today: "Eyes, Hearts Turn to Heavens over NYC"

April 11, 2002 Al-Qaeda claims responsibility for a truck explosion on the Tunisian island of Djerba that kills 19 people

May 21, 2002 Coleen Rowley, an FBI agent in Minnesota, submits a 13-page letter to FBI Director Robert Mueller detailing how the agency mishandled and failed to take action on information provided by the Minneapolis field office about suspected terrorist Zacarias Moussaoui. In failing to take action, the FBI may have left the U.S. vulnerable to the 9/11 attacks, she writes. Along with two other whistle-blowers, she is later named TIME's 2002 Person of the Year

May 28, 2002 Construction workers cut down the final standing column of the World Trade Center

June 25, 2002 The last truckload of debris is carried off the Ground Zero site. In all, more than 1.8 million tons of debris are removed from the site and 19,435 body parts are recovered. New York Times: "Last 4 Firefighters Leave Ground Zero: 'Our Work Is Done'"

July 16, 2002 Chicago Tribune: "Another Sad Chapter of Sept. 11 Closes; Search of Landfill Debris for WTC Victims Is Ended"

Aug. 14, 2002 Following the public rejection of a first round of design proposals for the Trade Center site, the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation announces a competition for a second round. It will attract some 2,000 entries