October 23, 2001 Diary: America Strikes Back

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U.S. bombs front line, denies hospital hit
Tuesday, October 23, 2001
U.S. jets struck Taliban front-line positions Monday as the United States tried to pave the way for the opposition to advance on Kabul and other major cities. In an appeal for Muslim support worldwide, the Taliban accused America of waging a campaign of "genocide."

More deaths tied to anthrax
Tuesday, October 23, 2001
Anthrax probably killed two postal workers from a facility that delivers mail to the nation's capital and left two more hospitalized, officials said Monday as the country suffered fresh casualties in the bioterrorism war. "The mail and our employees have become the target of terrorists," Postmaster General John Potter said.

Water plants examine security
Tuesday, October 23, 2001
By Dave Ranney

Hoping to reduce its exposure to terrorist attack, Water District No. 1 of Johnson County has posted armed guards at its treatment and distribution facilities. The city of Topeka has, too. Lawrence, so far, has not. "We have been reviewing plant security and operations since back when preparations for Y2K began. The current atmosphere within our facilities is an intensification of those efforts," said Debbie Van Saun, assistant city manager for Lawrence.

Aviation business struggles to return to normal
Tuesday, October 23, 2001
By Chad Lawhorn

Pilots flying in and out of the Lawrence Municipal Airport are back to business as usual after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks — except for Hugh Forrest. Forrest is co-owner of an Olathe firm that does airplane banner advertising for major sporting events, including many at Kansas University's Memorial Stadium. His business is one of the few still affected by tougher aviation standards for small aircraft.

E-mail request brings response from Saddam
Tuesday, October 23, 2001
You've got mail. From Saddam Hussein. That's what Christopher Love found when he checked his e-mail at work over the weekend. The 43-year-old software engineer received an e-mail from the Iraqi president that contained his personal condolences for the Sept. 11 attacks that killed thousands in New York and Pennsylvania and at the Pentagon.

Kansas farmers on the lookout for indications of bioterrorist attack
Tuesday, October 23, 2001
Kansas farmers accustomed to keeping a close eye on the weather and prices at the local grain elevator are now on the lookout for anything that could indicate a terrorist attack on their crops.

Celebrities shunning fan mail in wake of anthrax attacks
Tuesday, October 23, 2001
Fan mail — that old barometer of an entertainer's popularity — has become off-limits for many in Hollywood since the anthrax mail attacks in New York City, Washington and Florida.

Islam not necessarily peaceful
Tuesday, October 23, 2001
By Cal Thomas
Tribune Media Services

One sees many white, Anglo-Saxon, mostly Protestant members of Congress and others on television today vouching for the "peaceful" nature and intent of Islam.

Fragile stability, radical nuclear power
Tuesday, October 23, 2001
By Jack Anderson and Douglas Cohn

A coalition to defeat terrorism is a delicate diplomatic dance. Two of the Bush administration's most critical partners, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, risk the stability of their own governments when they link too closely with the United States.

Kansas delegation returns to work
Tuesday, October 23, 2001
E-mail him, fax him or telephone him, Rep. Dennis Moore said Monday, but don't mail him a letter. Mail delivery remained shut down on Capitol Hill as lawmakers and their aides learned their offices would not reopen as planned today, after postal workers died apparently of anthrax exposure and the disease was discovered in another Capitol building.

Suspect pleads innocent in terrorist investigation
Tuesday, October 23, 2001
A Saudi man who apparently holds a student pilot's license was arrested in Missouri on a bank fraud charge, and a fellow Saudi who once took flight lessons in Missouri and Alabama pleaded innocent to lying on his visa application as the nationwide terror investigation rolled ahead Monday.

Postal Service to seek assistance
Tuesday, October 23, 2001
Grappling with the threat of bioterrorism, the head of the Postal Service vowed Monday the mail would be delivered just as it has been for the last two centuries. "We're not going to be defeated," Postmaster General John E. Potter said.

Bulk e-mail use expected to accelerate
Tuesday, October 23, 2001
Hundreds of unused bulk-mail pitches sit in a box under Joanne Urbanik's desk at Ultimate Software. The anthrax scare forced the Weston, Fla., company that specializes in payroll and personnel programs to cancel a long-planned marketing campaign.

Anthrax found at offsite White House mail facility
Tuesday, October 23, 2001
(Updated Tuesday at 3:37 p.m.) Anthrax was discovered in an offsite mail screening facility for the White House on Tuesday and separately confirmed as the cause of death for two postal workers in the nation's capital, the latest bioterrorism victims.

Hollywood draws own battle lines
Tuesday, October 23, 2001
In World War II, James Stewart and Clark Gable flew bombing missions, John Ford, Frank Capra and John Huston made military documentaries, and studios churned out morale-boosting films for the home front.

Gay hero emerges from attacks
Tuesday, October 23, 2001
Mark Bingham was a strapping 220-pound, 6-foot-5 rugby player who had fought off muggers on the street and run with the bulls in Spain before taking on the terrorists on United Flight 93.

U.S. forces blast al-Qaida stronghold
Tuesday, October 23, 2001
(Updated Tuesday at 3:34 p.m.) U.S. jets struck Taliban front lines and an Osama bin Laden stronghold north of Kabul on Tuesday — attacks the opposition hopes will open the way for an advance on Kabul. But Taliban troops held their ground, launching rockets and mortars toward positions held by the northern alliance.

Ashcroft: Germany-based terrorists planned Sept. 11 attack
Tuesday, October 23, 2001
(Updated Tuesday at 3:36 p.m.) A terrorist cell operating out of Hamburg, Germany, since at least 1999 included three of the hijackers and three accomplices who are being sought in connection with the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States, Attorney General John Ashcroft said Tuesday.

Briefly
Tuesday, October 23, 2001
• Virginia: First soldier to die buried
• New York City: New firefighter class sworn in
• New York City: Concerts raise millions
• New York : Web site coordinates relief

6News video report: Around the world
Tuesday, October 23, 2001
Kim Hall reports on news from around the world.

6News video report: Anthrax-conscious letter carriers
Tuesday, October 23, 2001
Kim Hall reports on local letter carriers who are taking precautions due to the growing number of anthrax cases.