At 8:30 in the evening on September 11, 2001, President George W. Bush addressed the nation on television and radio. His five-minute address was delivered in response to terrorist attacks on the nation that had taken place some twelve hours earlier. The attacks would become a defining moment in the Bush presidency and for the nation, leading ultimately to changes in American foreign policy, military interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq, and years of controversy about appropriate and legal ways to combat terrorism at home and abroad. In his address, the president attempted to rally the nation to fight terrorism, to reassure people that the U.S. government was still functioning, to enlist the support of other nations in opposing terrorism, and to vow to bring to justice those responsible for the attacks.