September 19, 2001 Diary: America Responds

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U.S. focuses on fight
Wednesday, September 19, 2001
The United States will fight terrorists at all costs, determined to defend itself and "drain the swamp they live in," Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld vowed Tuesday. As the Pentagon intensified preparations for a possible overseas deployment of troops that could begin within weeks, U.S. and Pakistani officials drafted plans for using bases in Pakistan as staging grounds for raids into neighboring Afghanistan, according to sources in Washington and Islamabad, Pakistan.

Wall Street starts to stabilize
Wednesday, September 19, 2001
Wall Street found some stability Tuesday, as investors curtailed their selling and even did some buying. A mini-rally brought some optimism in the afternoon, then faded. At the end of the day, the Dow Jones industrials hadn't recovered from Monday's nosedive, but they hadn't lost much more, either.

Germans point finger at technical school student
Wednesday, September 19, 2001
Hamburg police say they think a 26-year-old German-born student who reportedly left Germany for Pakistan on Sept. 2 was a key figure in the conspiracy behind last week's terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

Afghans told to prepare for holy war
Wednesday, September 19, 2001
The hard-line Taliban said God would protect it if the world tried to "set fire" to Afghanistan for sheltering terrorist suspect Osama bin Laden, and in comments broadcast Tuesday also called on all Muslims to wage holy war on America if it attacks.

Boeing expected to lay off 31,000
Wednesday, September 19, 2001
Boeing is planning to lay off 20 percent to 30 percent of its commercial airline work force — roughly 31,000 people — as a result of the terrorists attacks, a congressional source said Tuesday.

Businesses bankroll top suspect
Wednesday, September 19, 2001
Ostrich raising in Kenya. Forestry interests in Turkey. Diamond trading in Africa. Bridge construction in Sudan. Agricultural holdings in Tajikistan. Those are some of the businesses Osama bin Laden, the world's most wanted terrorist, is said to own and which may have helped finance the most lethal terrorist attacks ever on U.S. soil, experts say.

Bush orders planes to Gulf region
Wednesday, September 19, 2001
(Updated Wednesday at 4:34 p.m.) The Pentagon ordered dozens of advanced aircraft to the Persian Gulf region on Wednesday as the hour of military retaliation for deadly terrorist attacks drew closer. President Bush announced he would address Congress and the nation Thursday night.

Pentagon begins 'Operation Infinite Justice'
Wednesday, September 19, 2001
(Updated Wednesday at 4:27 p.m.) The Pentagon on Wednesday ordered fighter and bombers to begin moving to the Persian Gulf area, the first concrete sign of preparations to retaliate for last week's terrorist attacks, a senior defense official said.

Response overwhelms local family
Wednesday, September 19, 2001
By Dave Ranney

Lawrence residents reached out Tuesday with generosity for a young family whose main wage-earner took off for New York to volunteer in the aftermath of the World Trade Center tragedy.

First charges filed in investigation
Wednesday, September 19, 2001
Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft expanded the terrorism investigation Tuesday to include U.S. attorneys in every city as authorities filed the first criminal charges after finding three men in a house with false immigrations papers and airport diagrams.

Americans snap up gas masks
Wednesday, September 19, 2001
Some Americans aren't taking any chances. With last week's attacks seared into their memories and the war drums from Washington growing louder, they're buying firearms, installing security systems and taking Amtrak instead of U.S. Airways.

Aviation industry in crisis following attacks
Wednesday, September 19, 2001
(Updated Wednesday at 4:01 p.m.) Barely a week after terrorists hijacked four commercial airplanes in a terrifying and deadly attack on the United States, the nation's already weakened aviation industry is facing a crisis that includes tens of thousands of lost jobs and billions of dollars in vanished business.

Stocks fall amid economic fears
Wednesday, September 19, 2001
(Updated Wednesday at 5:06 p.m.) The economic fallout from last week's terrorist attacks sent stocks spiraling again Wednesday, but a late burst of buying pulled the Dow back from a 423-point loss.The index fell 144.27, or 1.6 percent, to 8,759.13, according to preliminary calculations. For the week, the Dow is down 746.81, or 8.8 percent.

Bush seeks world leaders' support in war on terrorism
Wednesday, September 19, 2001
(Updated Wednesday at 3:31 p.m.) President Bush urged world leaders Wednesday to aid the United States openly or even secretly in a campaign against terrorism and those responsible for last week's attacks in New York and Washington.

Giants meet children of missing firefighters
Wednesday, September 19, 2001
The New York Giants already had one emotional trip to Manhattan when they visited the rescue workers at Ground Zero. Tuesday they made a trip that was even more emotional. About 20 players visited firehouses and police stations in Manhattan, including one firehouse that lost 12 members in last Tuesday's terrorist attack.

Washington players visit victims of Pentagon attack
Wednesday, September 19, 2001
Five members of the Washington Redskins visited Tuesday with eight victims of the terrorist attack on the Pentagon, and called them the "real heroes." "We're pulling for the victims, pulling for the families, they're definitely in our thoughts and prayers," quarterback Jeff George said after visiting Washington Hospital Center.

Airlines to receive financial assistance
Wednesday, September 19, 2001
Congress and the Bush administration told the nation's airlines Tuesday that they could expect quick, multibillion-dollar relief to help them recover from last week's terrorist attacks.

Merchants do brisk business in Trade Center souvenirs
Wednesday, September 19, 2001
With the World Trade Center gone, it seems people are anxious — almost desperate — to buy anything to help them remember. One result: A run on the city's many souvenir stands for knickknacks reflecting the twin towers, from postcards to pewter paperweights, snow globes to refrigerator magnets.

Urban legends spread in wake of attacks
Wednesday, September 19, 2001
Did you hear about the police officer who miraculously "surfed" debris down a collapsing World Trade Center tower? How about Satan's face revealed in smoke billowing from the doomed buildings?

Israel, Palestinians take steps toward cease-fire
Wednesday, September 19, 2001
In a move toward a truce, Israel promised Tuesday not to launch strikes on the Palestinians after Yasser Arafat said he ordered his forces to prevent attacks on Israelis and to hold back even from responding to fire.

State funds brace for financial fallout
Wednesday, September 19, 2001
By Scott Rothschild

The state employees' pension fund lost more than $100 million during Monday's stock market dive. But the Kansas Public Employee Retirement System remains sound despite the drop in stock valuations, said KPERS Executive Director Glenn Deck.

Foreign leaders call on Washington to offer support
Wednesday, September 19, 2001
The Bush administration has been in contact with Sudan and Cuba — both on the U.S. terrorist list — in search of cooperation in last week's terrorist attacks, the State Department said Tuesday.

Beneath WTC, no one to rescue
Wednesday, September 19, 2001
One floor beneath the World Trade Center, in what used to be a shopping concourse, a clock on a jewelry store wall remained frozen at 9:10. A ghostly Bugs Bunny statue stood coated in gray dust outside a Warner Brothers gift shop nearby.

Reservist call-up means absences for businesses
Wednesday, September 19, 2001
For the first time since the Gulf War, military reservists and National Guard members are being called to active duty, forcing employers to review leave policies and prepare for long-term employee absences.

U.S. should take history lesson on warfare in Afghanistan
Wednesday, September 19, 2001
Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev called Afghanistan a "bleeding wound." For a British viceroy more than a 100 years earlier, it was a "poisoned chalice." The reason? The Soviets and the British were both dealt bloody and humiliating defeats by the warrior clans of the poor country, where the brutal, mountainous terrain poses a challenge for any would-be invader.

Response requires deft touch
Wednesday, September 19, 2001
By Larry Eichel
Knight Ridder Newspapers

As Week Two of the rest of our lives begins, the shock and the sadness are starting to take on manageable proportions, at least for some. Not so the sense of vulnerability. That is the big change post-Sept. 11: the knowledge that we are no longer secure within our own borders. We are at a place in our national life that we've never been before.

Patience may benefit America
Wednesday, September 19, 2001
By Jim Hoagland
Washington Post Writers Group

Nations respond in character to terror campaigns. So too will the United States. A unique combination of American national strengths, and weaknesses, will dictate U.S. responses as surely and strongly as will the immediate strategy being drawn up by the country's political and military leadership.

Republicans reassess race
Wednesday, September 19, 2001
Top Kansas Republicans are reassessing their political futures in the aftermath of U.S. Rep. Jerry Moran's decision to not seek the governor's office in 2002. Moran dropped out Monday, and his departure switched attention to Atty. Gen. Carla Stovall and others.

First criminal charges filed in attack
Wednesday, September 19, 2001
(Web Posted Wednesday at 12:13 p.m.) Attorney General John Ashcroft said Wednesday the terrorists behind the attacks on the United States attacks likely received support from foreign governments and that it was too early to tell if surprise arrests in Michigan were a major break in the case.

Newsmen keep U.S. anchored
Wednesday, September 19, 2001
Dan Rather couldn't go on. Tears welled, and his voice was strangled with emotion as he described the World Trade Center rescue site to David Letterman, who then grasped Rather's hand and quickly cut to a commercial.

False alarm strands passengers at airport
Wednesday, September 19, 2001
More than 200 passengers aboard a Northwest Airlines flight bound for Amsterdam, Netherlands, were stranded briefly Tuesday night on a taxiway at Washington Dulles International Airport after the flight's two pilots abruptly got off the plane.

Trade Center debris removal daunting
Wednesday, September 19, 2001
By Mindie Paget

It's hard to imagine the enormity of the rubble pile being sifted through and hauled out by the dump-truck load from the site of last week's World Trade Center attack. Can we fathom 2.1 million of the 30-gallon waste baskets many of us use to dispose of household trash? Or 100,000 large cement trucks?

Kidnapped missionaries' family: U.S. Bush's focus
Wednesday, September 19, 2001
The family of two Kansas missionaries held hostage by Muslim extremists in the Philippines said Tuesday that President Bush should focus on the terrorists who attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

Afghan clerics talk of possible holy war, bin Laden's fate
Wednesday, September 19, 2001
(Updated Wednesday at 12:49 p.m.) As hundreds of Islamic clerics gathered Wednesday to discuss the fate of Osama bin Laden, the leader of the Taliban criticized Washington for unfairly vilifying the terrorist suspect, but said Afghanistan was willing to meet with U.S. officials to discuss the matter.

Mayor holds little hope of unearthing survivors
Wednesday, September 19, 2001
(Updated Wednesday at 12:41 p.m.) A Central Park memorial this weekend to the police and firefighters who died heroically at the World Trade Center _ a gathering that was expected to draw as many as a million people _ will not take place, city officials said.

Nation Briefs
Wednesday, September 19, 2001
• Washington, D.C.: White House says Bush sorry for using term 'crusade'
• Kansas: Former lawmaker withdraws as pick for U.S. attorney
• United Nations: High-level debate postponed
• Chicago: First lady on 'Oprah'

6News report: Exchange program postponed
Wednesday, September 19, 2001
Josh Garber reports on the postponement of a student exchange program with a sister city of Eutin, Germany.

6News report: Another border closing
Wednesday, September 19, 2001
Kim Hall reports on the closing of borders between Tajikistan and Afghanistan.

6News report: Rescuers haven't given up hope yet
Wednesday, September 19, 2001
Kim Hall reports on the continuing efforts of rescuers at the site of the World Trade Center.

6News report: Local law enforcement trying to help
Wednesday, September 19, 2001
Josh Garber reports on local law enforcement officials efforts to help.

6News report: Tragedy affects local residents
Wednesday, September 19, 2001
Tina Terry reports on two local women who were in New York during the terrorist attacks.

6News report: KU students camping out to help
Wednesday, September 19, 2001
Kim Hall reports on KU's student government efforts to aid victims of the terrorist attacks.

6News report: FBI questions more
Wednesday, September 19, 2001
Kim Hall reports on the FBI's questioning of two men in an East Texas jail that may be connected to the terrorist attacks.

Different God
Wednesday, September 19, 2001

Attack reaction
Wednesday, September 19, 2001

Someone to hate
Wednesday, September 19, 2001

Hateful prejudice
Wednesday, September 19, 2001

Artistic reminder
Wednesday, September 19, 2001

Puzzling rationale
Wednesday, September 19, 2001

True patriotism
Wednesday, September 19, 2001