October 24, 2001 Diary: America Strikes Back

U.S. attacks kill 22 in Kabul strike
Wednesday, October 24, 2001
(Updated Wednesday at 9:15 a.m.) A Pakistani militant group said Wednesday that 22 of its fighters were killed in a U.S. attack on Kabul — the deadliest known strike against a group linked to Osama bin Laden since the air campaign began Oct. 7.

Taliban hold line despite fierce attacks
Wednesday, October 24, 2001
U.S. jets Tuesday struck Taliban front lines and an Osama bin Laden stronghold north of Kabul — 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.

Scare empties postal facility
Wednesday, October 24, 2001
Officials sent 175 people home Tuesday from a U.S. Postal Service repair facility that received equipment from East Coast mail centers involved in anthrax cases. Some of the machinery came from the Brentwood mail center in Washington, D.C., and from facilities in New Jersey and Florida where letters containing anthrax spores had been handled, said Dr. Larry Rumans, the Shawnee County health officer.

D.C. anthrax scare grows
Wednesday, October 24, 2001
The nation's anthrax scare hit the White House on Tuesday with the discovery of a small concentration of spores at an offsite mail processing center. "We're working hard at finding out who's doing this," President Bush said as bioterrorism claimed fresh victims along the East Coast.

Multiculturalism
Wednesday, October 24, 2001
Journal-World Editorial

Turning a blind eye to evil will solve absolutely no problems for America, no matter how glib the pacifiers may be. Columnist John Leo of U.S. News and World Report has been offering intelligent and penetrating views of our society and its foibles for a long time.

Bombing might deter aid efforts
Wednesday, October 24, 2001
By Jim Hoagland
Washington Post Writers Group

Each U.S. bomb that hits an Afghan airfield is counted a military success at the Pentagon. But in the 38th-floor office of U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, that bomb is marked down as a future problem.

Local court office evacuated after powdery substance found
Wednesday, October 24, 2001
(Updated Wednesday at 5:47 p.m.) A court records room in Lawrence's Judicial and Law Enforcement Center was evacuated for a brief time Wednesday morning while a powdery substance was examined.

White House struggles to make mail safe from anthrax
Wednesday, October 24, 2001
(Updated Wednesday at 5:45 p.m.) The Bush administration struggled Wednesday to make the nation's vast postal system and its 800,000 employees safe from anthrax. Surgeon General David Satcher bluntly admitted "we were wrong" not to respond more aggressively to tainted mail in the nation's capital.

Bush declares White House safe
Wednesday, October 24, 2001
(Web Posted Wednesday at 6:57 a.m.) Even as White House mail sorters are being tested for anthrax exposure, President George W. Bush says he's confident that the people inside the gates at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue are not in danger.

Civil defense preparation updated for new threats
Wednesday, October 24, 2001
In the 1960s, the drill was "duck and cover." Now it's "don't open, shake or sniff." At the height of the Cold War, 20 cents bought the latest Life magazine, with headlines like "How you can survive fallout" and "Detailed plans for building shelters."

Taliban stronghold becomes ghost town
Wednesday, October 24, 2001
When darkness falls, it is absolute: there's no electricity, and those who light lamps or candles risk Taliban punishment. Many people don't have money for food — but even if they do, shop after shop is shuttered tight.

'Ramadan factor' may figure into military campaign
Wednesday, October 24, 2001
Muslim allies, whose support is considered essential to the U.S. anti-terrorism campaign, are pressuring the United States to score a major victory on the ground before the Islamic holy month Ramadan begins around Nov. 17, or agree to a lengthy delay in the Afghan operation.

Pentagon says Taliban hiding among civilians
Wednesday, October 24, 2001
Taliban forces in Afghanistan may be hiding in residential areas to shield themselves from airstrikes, a senior military officer said Tuesday as the Pentagon acknowledged that an errant 1,000-pound bomb damaged an Afghan senior citizens' center.

New York still trying to set reliable death toll
Wednesday, October 24, 2001
After more than a month of cross-checking and detective work, police and city officials believe they are closing in on a reliable figure for the number of people missing and dead in the attack on the World Trade Center.

Investigators note similiarities in letters
Wednesday, October 24, 2001
Three letters contaminated with anthrax all were dated the same day as the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington and contained anti-American and anti-Israel messages, officials said Tuesday.

Germans arrest Turk with holy war manual
Wednesday, October 24, 2001
A Turkish man trying to board a flight to Iran was arrested after authorities found a holy war CD-ROM and a protective suit against biological and chemical weapons in his bag, German prosecutors said Tuesday.

Media face new challenges
Wednesday, October 24, 2001
By Michael Hoeflich
Kansas University School of Law

Many aspects of American life have changed since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11. The United States and the world as a whole now face a series of challenges that have impacted and will impact virtually every aspect of life from the economy to health.

Israel rejects U.S. demand to pull troops out of towns
Wednesday, October 24, 2001
Israel defied the United States by refusing to pull its troops out of six Palestinian towns Tuesday, but President Bush later appeared to defuse the confrontation in urging the Jewish state to do it "as quickly as possible."

War game played out bioterror
Wednesday, October 24, 2001
On the off chance you don't have enough to obsess about these days, here are two words: Dark Winter. That's the name of a war game conducted in June in which terrorists release smallpox in three American cities.

Legislative panel to study state's security issues
Wednesday, October 24, 2001
Six legislators have been appointed to a new committee that will review statewide security issues in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Senate President Dave Kerr and Rep. Carl Krehbiel are co-chairmen of the Special Committee on Kansas Security.

Postmaster general says no guarantee mail is safe
Wednesday, October 24, 2001
(Web Posted Wednesday at 9:31 a.m.) With cases of anthrax growing, the nation's postmaster general warned Americans Wednesday there are no guarantees the mail delivered to their homes is safe but he stressed that the risks to them are slim. The anthrax scare widened to include the White House.

Briefly
Wednesday, October 24, 2001
• Washington, D.C.: House approves war bonds
• Iraq : Official denies involvement in Sept. 11 attacks on U.S.
• Libya: Moammar Gadhafi calls for conference on terrorism

6News video report: Around the world
Wednesday, October 24, 2001
Josh Garber reports on news from around the world.

Atheism
Wednesday, October 24, 2001