In the aftermath of the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and elsewhere, U.S. President George W. Bush said that the terrorists responsible were cowards. (Included in the September 11 attacks was the crash of American Airlines Flight 77, which included the death of frequent guest Barbara Olson, and Maher left a panel chair empty for a week afterwards.) On Politically Incorrect's September 17 show, Maher's guest Dinesh D'Souza disputed Bush's label, saying the terrorists were warriors.[3] Maher agreed, and according to a transcript replied "We have been the cowards, lobbing cruise missiles from 2,000 miles away. That's cowardly. Staying in the airplane when it hits the building, say what you want about it, it's not cowardly".[3]