Former Secretary of State Dr. Condoleezza Rice expressed "deep personal remorse" for not recognizing the danger in time to prevent the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Rice, who served as White House national security adviser on that day, acknowledged that officials in positions of authority did not fully grasp the nature of the threat quickly enough. "Those of us in authority on that day did not see the nature of the danger in time to prevent the attack of 9/11. We did what we knew to do, but by definition, it was not enough," she said. Rice recalled the moments immediately after learning that a plane had struck the first World Trade Center tower. "The attack came quite literally out of the blue, an assault on our cities that we have not experienced since the War of 1812," she said. She described being at her desk in the White House when her executive assistant, a young Army officer, informed her that a plane had hit the World Trade Center. "What a strange accident," she thought at the time. She called President George W. Bush, who was reading to children at an education event in Florida, and both initially believed it might just be an accident. However, within 17 minutes, a second plane struck the World Trade Center, confirming the attack was intentional and coordinated. Rice expressed deep sympathy for the families of the victims, stating she would always carry the weight of the nation's trauma and the ongoing pain of those affected. She acknowledged the emotional toll the event had on her personally and the country as a whole. Despite the failure to prevent the initial attack, Rice praised the military and intelligence community for their efforts in preventing further attacks. She described the absence of a follow-up assault as a "miracle," highlighting the effectiveness of the measures taken afterward to enhance security and prevent additional tragedies.