The September 11 attack
'Destruction' awaits terrorists, Bush says
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — President Bush is asking Americans to go about their business this week and maybe take in a baseball game, even as he prepares the nation for war.
Associated Press/The Journal News
Bush met with top advisers at Camp David on yesterday in a virtual council of war, warning that life in the nation would be different even as it nudges closer to normal.
Anna Jager tries to comfort her grandson, 8-year-old Kevin Villa, as he cries over his mother's casket during her funeral at Mr. Hope Cemetery in Yonkers, N.Y., Friday. Yamel Jager Merino, a rescue worker, was killed at the World Trade Center while trying to save others.
Americans flew flags from their cars and their homes and grimly went on with their mourning following Tuesday's attacks, when terrorists crashed jetliners into the World Trade Center twin towers and the Pentagon. Exhausted rescue workers dug through rubble without finding survivors.
Law enforcement officials advanced in their attempt to track down associates of the terrorists. With one man in custody in New York, authorities issued a second arrest warrant for a material witness and detained 25 people for possible immigration violations.
"We are beginning to understand the ways in which this terrible crime was committed," Attorney General John Ashcroft said.
The president said he hoped Americans "make no sacrifice whatsoever" as life resumes with the new work week. But he made clear that "normal" will have a different meaning now.
"People may not be able to board flights as quickly," Bush said. "Our borders are tighter than they've ever been before. We're taking a variety of measures to make sure that the American people are safe."
In contrast, Bush — a former baseball team owner — said, "I understand Major League Baseball is going to start playing again. It is important for America to get on about its life."
Baseball games resume tomorrow, the day the stock markets are scheduled to reopen. Bush said he hoped "the measures we take will allow the American economy to continue on."
Associated Press/The Journal News
Despite the president's attempt to reassure the markets, there was immediate economic fallout from the attacks. A drastic drop in air travel and bookings caused Continental Airlines to cut its flight schedule by 20 percent and furlough 12,000 employees — more than one-fifth of its payroll.
President Bush meets with his Cabinet at Camp David, Md. Insiders say Bush's battle plan may include multiple targets in several nations, using everything from Special Forces teams to large-scale ground attacks.
For America's armed forces, including reservists being called to duty, the president had a different message: "Get ready. The United States will do what it takes to win this war."
Diplomatically, the United States gained support around the world and Secretary of State Colin Powell said the Pakistani government agreed to specific requests sought by the United States.
Powell would not provide details, but Pakistan's cooperation would be important to any attack on Osama bin Laden — who lives next-door in Afghanistan and has been identified by U.S. officials as the prime suspect in the attacks.
By last night, 159 bodies were recovered from World Trade Center ruins, with 92 identified; the number of missing stood at 4,972. The Pentagon death toll is at 188.
Associated Press/The Journal News
As the leaders met, an emergency communications team had a much different task: collecting cell phone and pager information that could help locate survivors in the World Trade Center rubble.
Aircraft carrier crew members signal that a F-14C Tomcat is cleared to launch from the deck of the USS Enterprise. The crew of the aircraft carrier is conducting flight operations in the northern Arabian Sea.
Anyone knowing a potential victim's cell phone or pager was asked to call the response team's toll-free line: 877-348-8579.
If a live call is received from the rubble, experts have sophisticated radio frequency equipment that could provide an approximate location of the signal in the debris. The Federal Emergency Management Agency would decide whether it was safe to dig in a particular area.
Relatives and friends of those killed at the Pentagon held hands and each other at a makeshift memorial near the site of the destruction.
"There were intense emotions out there," said Peggy Neff, of Hyattsville, Md. Neff, who lost her partner of 17 years, Sheila Hein, a civilian employee of the Army, described the memorial as "a vigil, a journey, a catharses."
