October 12, 2001 Diary: America Strikes Back

FBI puts nation on alert
Friday, October 12, 2001
In a stark warning, the FBI said Thursday that it has received information there may be additional terrorist attacks inside the United States or abroad in the next several days.
The bureau said its information does not identify specific targets, but it has asked local police to be on the highest alert and for all Americans to be wary of suspicious activity.

KU flags patriotic theme for homecoming (6News video)
Friday, October 12, 2001
By Mindie Paget

As the first note of "God Bless the USA" rings out Saturday at halftime of Kansas University's homecoming game, an American flag the size of the football field will unfurl.
"It's going to be a very emotional scene," said Marc Gibson, assistant marketing director for the Kansas University athletics department. "This is our first home game since the tragedy. We're really trying to show our respect for the people involved."

No need for panic, health expert says
Friday, October 12, 2001
By Mike Belt

Anthrax. Bioterror.
Both have many Kansans wondering and fretting.

Economy also will demand attention
Friday, October 12, 2001
By Carl P. Leubsdorf
Dallas Morning News

Following the Sept. 11 attacks, President Bush proclaimed the war on terrorism the new focus of his administration. Scholars and analysts said his handling of the crisis would define his role in history. His public approval soared to record heights.

Taliban, al-Qaida leaders targeted
Friday, October 12, 2001
U.S. airstrikes are targeting leaders of the al-Qaida terrorist network and the Taliban government that is harboring them in Afghanistan, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Thursday.
"They represent a significant part" of the military command and control facilities that U.S. bombs and missiles are striking, he told reporters.

'We've got them on the run'
Friday, October 12, 2001
President Bush said Thursday night "it may take a year or two" to track down Osama bin Laden and his terrorist network in Afghanistan, but asserted that after a five-day aerial bombardment, "we've got them on the run."
At a prime-time news conference at the White House, Bush said he did not know whether bin Laden was dead or alive. "I want him brought to justice," Bush said of the shadowy figure believed behind the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington that killed 5,000 people one month ago.

Officials warn of intelligence gap
Friday, October 12, 2001
The CIA has assigned so many staff members and other resources to chasing Osama bin Laden's global network that the nation's intelligence services may be missing other threats to America around the world, according to senior intelligence officials.
The issue was the focus of a high-level meeting Thursday at CIA headquarters in Langley, Va., the officials said. CIA Director George Tenet has yet to brief President Bush in their daily morning meetings or to advise members of Congress of the problem.

Bush: U.S. 'still in danger' of future terrorist attacks
Friday, October 12, 2001
(Updated Friday at 4:44 p.m.) President Bush said Friday the nation "is still in danger" from future attacks by terrorists, but vowed that "they will not take this country down." The administration stepped up efforts to choke off funds that nurture Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaida network.

One month after attacks, Americans grapple with 'great sorrow'
Friday, October 12, 2001
At a still-smoking ruin, before a still-ravaged military headquarters, in far-flung places still reeling from unthinkable acts, they stopped to mark a milestone Thursday: A month had passed since terrorists made their indelible mark.

NBC employee tests positive for anthrax
Friday, October 12, 2001
(Updated Friday at 3:35 p.m.) An NBC News employee was infected with the skin form of anthrax after the network received mail containing a suspicious powder, authorities said Friday. A network source said the envelope was addressed to anchorman Tom Brokaw.

Arizona man charged with giving false statements to FBI
Friday, October 12, 2001
(Updated Friday at 4:42 p.m.) An Arizona man has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of giving false statements to the FBI in the terror attacks investigation, Attorney General John Ashcroft announced Friday.

6News Video: President Bush reflects on the month since the Sept. 11 attacks
Friday, October 12, 2001
President Bush discusses the general alert issued by the FBI as well as the progress of the United States' war on terrorism.

Senate votes to broaden police, airport authority
Friday, October 12, 2001
The Senate voted Thursday to give police broad new wiretapping authority and other tools to pursue suspected terrorists and to increase and federalize security on airliners and at airports.

U.S. food drops criticized
Friday, October 12, 2001
The U.S. policy of dropping food rations at the same time that it drops bombs on Afghanistan is drawing sharp criticism from humanitarian aid officials, who warn that the program could wind up killing people it is intended to help.

Financial institutions check for terrorist transactions
Friday, October 12, 2001
By Joel Mathis

Lawrence banks and credit unions are among those checking their records for connections to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on America.

Tabloid employee back to work after exposure
Friday, October 12, 2001
One of the three supermarket tabloid employees who were exposed to anthrax returned to work Thursday as investigators waited for test results that might help them find the source of the bacteria that killed one of her co-workers.

Powell to 'probe' India, Pakistan
Friday, October 12, 2001
Secretary of State Colin Powell leaves this weekend for India and Pakistan, where he will try to keep tensions between the two nuclear-armed rivals in check as they warily eye one another and the U.S.-led military campaign against terrorism in nearby Afghanistan.

Vice president maintaining low profile
Friday, October 12, 2001
George Bush chose Dick Cheney to be his vice president because he was a solid, experienced guy with his feet on the ground.

Anthrax rules tighter in U.S. than abroad
Friday, October 12, 2001
Deadly microbes, including the bacterium that causes anthrax, aren't especially difficult to obtain in today's global microbiological marketplace. Some can be ordered by phone, fax or e-mail and arrive in the mail a few days later.

Flight attendants: Airports, planes not safer
Friday, October 12, 2001
The nation's aircraft and airports are no safer today than they were before the terrorist attacks a month ago, the president of the Association of Flight Attendants and several members of the union said Thursday.

Coast Guard warns it can't sustain heightened security
Friday, October 12, 2001
The extraordinary security around U.S. ports since Sept. 11 — including armed escort boats for fuel tankers and boardings of suspect vessels on the high seas — "is not sustainable" on the Coast Guard's already-thin budget, the commandant of the maritime service said Thursday.

Nation briefs
Friday, October 12, 2001
• Race to replace Giuliani down to two contenders
• Government agencies remove information from Web sites
• New York governor pitches $54 billion recovery proposal
• City authorities reject Saudi prince's $10 million

Nobel laureate backs U.S. attacks
Friday, October 12, 2001
By Terry Rombeck

Jose Ramos-Horta won the Nobel Prize for Peace, but he says military attacks are the only way to retaliate against the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. "Not taking action would be tantamount to surrendering, and that would only encourage more violence from terrorists around the world," he said.

Interim Afghan leadership sought
Friday, October 12, 2001
Bush administration officials said Thursday they are concerned that the Taliban movement that rules most of Afghanistan could collapse before an interim government can be established, creating a power vacuum that would raise the specter of chaotic strife among the country's rival ethnic groups.

Taliban claims large civilian casualties
Friday, October 12, 2001
Seeking solidarity in the Islamic world and beyond, Afghanistan's beleaguered Taliban rulers said Thursday that large numbers of civilians were killed overnight in the heaviest U.S. air raids to date against cities and towns across their battered country.

Military boasts varied arsenal
Friday, October 12, 2001
Pick a target, and the military has something to blow it up.

Anthrax hard to use as weapon, Army expert tells Congress
Friday, October 12, 2001
Anthrax generally is fatal if inhaled and not treated promptly, but it isn't particularly easy to use effectively as a weapon, the commander of the Army's lead biological defense lab told Congress on Thursday.

Skin form of anthrax is easy to treat and rarely kills
Friday, October 12, 2001
Despite the germ's terrifying reputation, anthrax infections on the skin are rarely fatal, and most people get better even without treatment.

Rumsfeld: Air defense threat remains in Afghanistan
Friday, October 12, 2001
(Updated Friday at 2:33 p.m.) In the sixth day of air strikes in Afghanistan, the bombing by U.S.-led forces tapered off Friday because it was the Muslim day of prayer. A senior defense official said Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida organization probably possesses crude chemical weapons and possibly biological ones, yet lacks any easy way to use them.

6News Video: Local mental health workers talk about depression
Friday, October 12, 2001
National Depression Screening day has more significance this year, in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks.

6News Video: T-shirts honoring fallen firefighters and police selling quickly
Friday, October 12, 2001
Nearly 5,000 of the t-shirts have been sold, with proceeds being used to help the New York City Fire Department's Union and New York police.

6News Video: Bioterrorism threat discussed with local emergency personnel
Friday, October 12, 2001
A bioterrorism expert from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment spoke with Douglas County emergency personnel about dealing with a terrorist attack.

Russian investigator says missile downed plane
Friday, October 12, 2001
(Web Posted Friday at 7:25 a.m.) The chief investigator in the crash of a Russian airliner said Friday the plane was hit by an anti-aircraft missile, and a Ukrainian official said his nation's forces could have been responsible.

Bin Laden top aid raised funds in U.S. for terrorists in 1990s
Friday, October 12, 2001
(Web Posted Friday at 7:54 a.m.) A top aide to terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden was in the United States on at least two occasions in the 1990s to raise money for his terrorism organization, court records show.

Bush sets up children's fund for Afghans
Friday, October 12, 2001
(Web Posted Friday at 11:50 a.m.) The Postal Service has established a special ZIP code for youngsters to use in sending in contributions to assist the children of Afghanistan.

Pakistani protesters clash with police
Friday, October 12, 2001
(Updated Friday at 12:52 p.m.) Thousands of Islamic militants clashed Friday with police, hurling stones, burning cars and setting a fast-food restaurant on fire. Security forces fought them back with batons, gunfire in the air and volleys of tear gas.

Support from France
Friday, October 12, 2001