9/11

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
September 10, 2021

LITTLE ROCK – On September 11, 2001, Governor Asa Hutchinson’s job as administrator of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration changed dramatically from directing the war on drugs to leading his agency to join the United States war on terrorism.

President George W. Bush had appointed Governor Hutchinson to lead the DEA just a month before the attack. When President Bush create the Department of Homeland Security two years later, he appointed Mr. Hutchinson as Undersecretary for Transportation and Border Security for DHS.

Today, for the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attack, Governor Hutchinson is releasing A Thousand Deep: Governor Hutchinson Reflects on the 20th Anniversary of 9.11, a video in which he shares his recollections of that day and honors the memory of Arkansans who died in the attacks on September 11, 2001.

“The terrorists and their sponsors hoped to destroy the United States,” Governor Hutchinson says in his recollection. “Although they killed nearly 3,000 people, our enemies learned that they had mistaken America’s kindness, generosity, and compassion for weakness. … The attackers mistakenly believed that they could deliver a sharp blow, and America would falter. The terrorists did, indeed, strike a grievous blow. But as the world knows, their mission failed – utterly and completely.”

The video can be viewed on the Governor's YouTube Channel.