November 12, 2001 Diary: America Strikes Back

Hard-to-measure war costs adding up
Monday, November 12, 2001
A U.S. helicopter lost in Afghanistan a week ago cost up to twice as much as the government spends yearly on scenic byways. Each cruise missile is worth several American homes.
The total expense of the Afghan war may be nearly as hard to find as people hiding in Afghan caves. By one estimate, the military assault is costing $500 million to $1 billion a month — and above the $1 billion in promised U.S. economic assistance to Pakistan, and debt relief for the country.'

FAA: Security lapses frequent for KCI in 1990s
Monday, November 12, 2001
Federal security tests at Kansas City International Airport in the 1990s showed hundreds of security lapses and even more violations leading to fines of $418,000, a newspaper reported Sunday.
Undercover federal agents got fake weapons past security screeners and were able to sneak into off-limits areas at the airport, according to The Kansas City Star's analysis of Federal Aviation Administration records from that decade.

Alliance: Taliban in full retreat
Monday, November 12, 2001
Opposition forces claimed to have the Taliban on the run across much of northern Afghanistan on Sunday, as the ruling Islamic militia abandoned stronghold after stronghold in a withdrawal south toward the capital, Kabul.
The foreign minister of the northern alliance, Abdullah, claimed the opposition had seized half the country in the past two days and dealt the Taliban a severe blow as a fighting force. U.S. officials warned that a counterattack was possible.

White House officials doubt terrorism involve in crash
Monday, November 12, 2001
(Updated Monday at 3:59 p.m.) White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said there were no unusual communications from the cockpit of an American Airlines plane that crashed Monday in New York. The head of the U.S. safety board said, "All information we have currently is that this is an accident."

Bin Laden denies responsibility for anthrax
Monday, November 12, 2001
Osama bin Laden was quoted Sunday as saying he is not responsible for the anthrax attacks in the United States, and most U.S. investigators won't argue with him on that.

Rumsfeld says U.S. has bombed suspected weapons sites
Monday, November 12, 2001
Osama bin Laden likely has some chemical or biological weapons, and U.S. forces have bombed some sites in Afghanistan that could have been involved in producing them, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Sunday.

Briefly
Monday, November 12, 2001
• Central post office relocated
• Cross-country flag run ends
• Firefighters start bike tour
• Supremacists key off terror

Northern alliance claims capture of key Afghan city
Monday, November 12, 2001
(Updated Monday at 10:55 a.m.) Taliban fighters were fleeing positions north of the capital Monday as truckloads of opposition troops advanced, shouting "God is great." Anti-Taliban fighters also seized western Afghanistan's biggest city, the opposition said.

Taliban positions falling, battle begins for Kabul
Monday, November 12, 2001
(Web Posted Monday at 4:03 p.m.) "Shoot them! Shoot them! Move quickly," an anti-Taliban commander shouted into a radio Monday as positions of the ruling Islamic militia fell one by one.