A worse 9/11

The 9/11 attack was a partial failure due to the actions of the passengers and crew of Flight 93. But what if they'd failed, and the third jet had been successfully flown into the Capitol Building? We don't know what the target was, but the Capitol Building and the White House are the highest probability by a huge margin. So, if the Capitol does get hit, what effect would this actually have on the functioning of the US? Clearly, the country won't be more outraged; the attacks that did succeed IOTL pretty much pegged the needle on that one.
 
I'm not sure if the American people couldn't be more outraged. 9/11, as horrendous and tragic as it was, hit the base of U.S. financial and military power, but not government power.

If the hijackers on Flight 93 were successfulin hitting either the White House or the Capitol (assuming that the it wasn't shot down first), then the American people would be baying for blood even more that OTL. It would be the first time since the War of 1812 that Washington D.C. had been directly attacked. Now add to that the fact that you would potentially be killing government officials, and all bets are off.

The government would continue to function as President Bush was in Florida at the time. I guarantee that he won't be returning to Washington for a few days; though with modern technology, he can govern from nearly anywhere. If the Capitol is hit, Congress will conduct its business elsewhere until the damage can be repaired; if the White House is hit, the President will stay in Blair House. Concerning the former: elections (in the case of Congressmen) or appointments (in the case of Senators) would quickly happen to replace those killed.

World opinion would definitely be more resolute for the U.S. (Saddam may not be so stupid as to gleefully boast of the success of the attacks). You might see an even more draconian (opinion based) PATRIOT ACT. Commitment to the War on Terror would probably be stronger amongst the public for somewhat longer. There would definitely be huge butterflies depending on what lawmakers were killed.
 
If the Capitol Building were hit, I'd wager that jokes about the attacks would have SLIGHTLY more respectability than they did in OTL. Jokes templated along the lines of "Guy Fawkes: The only man who entered parliament with honourable intentions."

And you can probably double or triple the respectability of said jokes if the WTC and the Pentagon don't get hit. At the very least, a lot of people will be thinking, even if they don't vocalize it, "Ah, buncha tax-wasting politicians, glad they're gone."
 
I would almost venture to say that a better 9/11 would happen if George Bush and Dick Cheney are at the White House when Flight 93 strikes there instead. There would be no Iraq War after this at least.
 
Would they have died? I'm asking seriously. Were Congress or the Senate in session that day? I don't know.

Yes, congress was in session, but was not meeting at the time. The Capitol was evacuated well before Flt 93 was anywhere near it. At worst, a few congress members would have been killed by debris.

I would almost venture to say that a better 9/11 would happen if George Bush and Dick Cheney are at the White House when Flight 93 strikes there instead.

Cheney was there and was in the PEOC (the White House "bomb shelter"). Bush would likely have been as well. Considering it's supposed to to withstand a direct hit on the WH with nuke, they'd likely survive.

There would be no Iraq War after this at least.

Dubious prospect at best. Remember that the ground work had already been lain during the Clinton administration.
 
If the hijackers on Flight 93 were successfulin hitting either the White House or the Capitol....all bets are off. .
I bet the focus is still an invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan, instead of attacking the wahhabists in Saudi Arabia who funded and politically supported the attacks.
 
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