November 6, 2001 Diary: America Strikes Back

click for more

Support for Afghan opposition seen as key
Tuesday, November 6, 2001
The Pentagon's push for access to more military bases in and near Afghanistan reflects a hope that expanding support for the northern alliance of Afghan opposition forces will give them the means to topple the Taliban regime, defense officials said Monday.

Anthrax found at Pentagon; Capitol Hill cleanup stalls
Tuesday, November 6, 2001
Anthrax was detected inside the Pentagon and promptly removed, officials said Monday. Cleanup in the Senate office building where an anthrax-packed letter was opened proved more complicated.

Taliban government historically dysfunctional
Tuesday, November 6, 2001
It was almost noon but a clock on the wall at the Telecommunications Ministry reads 8:35 a.m. and a guard said it's been that way for years. U.S. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld told reporters in Pakistan on Sunday that after four weeks of bombing, the ruling Taliban are "not really functioning as a government," and are limited to "using their power in enclaves."

Agroterrorism a real threat to Kansas, researchers say
Tuesday, November 6, 2001
It is not a question of if but when Kansas will become a target for agroterrorism, some state lawmakers were told Monday. That's why a leading researcher from Kansas State University is encouraging legislators to take the steps now to protect the state and its top economic engine.

Red Cross maneuvering
Tuesday, November 6, 2001
Journal-World Editorial

Funding for the Sept. 11 victims has been diverted in wrong directions, and the Red Cross needs to answer serious questions. Something is amiss with the American Red Cross. For all the outstanding ways it has helped people and nations through the years, the ARC does not seem to be handling the current effort to aid the Sept. 11 terrorist victims the way it should.

Bush promises to keep pressure on bin Laden
Tuesday, November 6, 2001
(Updated Tuesday at 3:05 p.m.) President Bush pledged Tuesday "to keep relentless military pressure" on Osama bin Laden and his Taliban protectors in Afghanistan, saying it is essential to keep terrorists from acquiring nuclear, chemical and biological weapons.

Guns a matter of public safety
Tuesday, November 6, 2001
By George Will
Washington Post Writers Group

Attempts to use Sept. 11 events to impart momentum to pre-Sept. 11 agendas are mostly comic, such as the Farm Security Act, the title of which suggests what a supporter of the bill proclaims — that the bill's agricultural subsidies and other stuff will strengthen "national security."

Afghan opposition captures several villages
Tuesday, November 6, 2001
(Updated Tuesday at 1:33 p.m.) Afghan opposition forces claimed the capture of several villages Tuesday near the strategic northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif, after U.S. warplanes cleared the way with intensive bombing.

U.S. wary as anthrax cleanups continue
Tuesday, November 6, 2001
(Updated Tuesday at 2:47 p.m.) Post offices and government buildings reopened as the anthrax threat edged into cleanup mode. "This has been one of the most difficult and sad times in postal history," Postmaster General John Potter said Tuesday.

Search for terrorists yields illegal drugs
Tuesday, November 6, 2001
At the Santa Fe International Bridge in El Paso, customs inspectors looking for terrorists are flinging open hoods and trunks, knocking on body panels and getting down on their hands and knees to peek under vehicles.

Airport security workers suspended after weapons taken past checkpoint
Tuesday, November 6, 2001
Private security workers at O'Hare International Airport have been suspended for allowing a man to pass through a checkpoint with several knives and a stun gun in his carry-on luggage.

Slow response hard to explain
Tuesday, November 6, 2001
By Robert Reno
Newsday

If Congress were responding to a swarm of gnats or a plague of garden slugs, there would be every reason for the hesitation with which it has approached its duties since Sept. 11.

Media leaks go both ways
Tuesday, November 6, 2001
By Philip Terzian
Providence Journal

It seems as though every time Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld opens a press conference, he admonishes the assembled reporters about leaks. Publishing secret information is a violation of federal law, he reminds them, and puts soldiers' lives at risk.

U.S. doubles commando presence in Afghanistan
Tuesday, November 6, 2001
The Pentagon more than doubled the number of its commandos operating in Afghanistan over the weekend, fanning them out to locations around the country, U.S. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Monday.

Stocks rise on Fed rate cut
Tuesday, November 6, 2001
(Web Posted Tuesday at 4:45 p.m.) The 10th interest rate cut of the year sparked a solid rally on Wall Street Tuesday as investors bet that the Federal Reserve's latest attempt to stimulate growth would eventually work. The Dow Jones industrial average shot up 150 points, leaving it just 14 points below its close of Sept. 10, the day before the terrorist attacks.

Briefly
Tuesday, November 6, 2001
• Washington, D.C.: Anti-Taliban envoy appointed
• United Nations: Diamond sales investigated as al-Qaida money source
• Jordan: Taliban say spy suspect who died was American
• Washington, D.C.: Input sought on victims fund

6News Video: Auction raises money for Red Cross
Tuesday, November 6, 2001
The benefit auction raised nearly 5,000 dollars for victims of the Sept. 11 attacks.

Without mercy
Tuesday, November 6, 2001