November 15, 2001 Diary: America Strikes Back

Kansas to host new terrorist response team
Thursday, November 15, 2001
(Web Posted Thursday at 10:12 a.m.) The Defense Department is setting up a specialized military team in Kansas to respond to terrorist attacks, Rep. Todd Tiahrt said Thursday.

Monday's crash renews feeling of fear
Thursday, November 15, 2001
By David Shribman
The Boston Globe

America's heart stopped again. Monday's tragic American Airlines crash in Queens came at a time of unusual upheaval:

Foreign aid workers freed
Thursday, November 15, 2001
U.S. commandos carried two American women and six other relief workers to safety early Thursday, flying them to freedom in Pakistan after months of imprisonment by Afghanistan's Taliban regime, U.S. officials said.

British present evidence linking bin Laden to attacks
Thursday, November 15, 2001
Prime Minister Tony Blair on Wednesday released new evidence linking Osama bin Laden to the Sept. 11 attacks, including a statement in which the Saudi exile comes close to admitting his group's responsibility.

U.S. general rewrites war plan
Thursday, November 15, 2001
U.S. military planes bombed and destroyed a building where top al-Qaida terrorist leaders were believed to have gathered, a U.S. official said Wednesday. The strike on Tuesday also included a remote-control Predator spy aircraft armed with missiles, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Rumsfeld promises to hunt down bin Laden
Thursday, November 15, 2001
(Updated Thursday at 12:33 p.m.) The United States will find Osama bin Laden even if he leaves Afghanistan, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Thursday.

U.S. warplanes zero in on pockets of Taliban resistance
Thursday, November 15, 2001
(Web Posted Thursday at 3:10 p.m.) U.S. warplanes bombed targets Thursday near the city of Kunduz, where Taliban fighters and followers of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network were apparently set to make a stand at one of their last pockets of resistance in northern Afghanistan.

Aviation security deal: Screeners to be federal workers
Thursday, November 15, 2001
(Web Posted Thursday at 12:39 p.m.) House and Senate negotiators tentatively agreed Thursday to put all airport baggage screeners on the federal payroll, clearing the way for passage as early as this week of a major aviation security bill.

Osama bin Laden running out of places to hide
Thursday, November 15, 2001
(Web Posted Thursday at 6:41 a.m.) With the Taliban on the run and a U.S.-led coalition determined to hunt him down, Osama bin Laden is running out of places to hide.

Drive needed against speed
Thursday, November 15, 2001
By Jack Anderson and Douglas Cohn
United Feature Syndicate

Speed kills, and companies that encourage and glamorize speed are accessories to tragedy. We have all seen the TV commercials: The one that goes "zoom, zoom"; the one that has a man driving a substantial distance to a New England inn, not for the weekend, but for lunch.

Overreactions feed panic
Thursday, November 15, 2001
By Philip Terzian
Providence Journal

Americans like to imagine themselves in the image of John Wayne, but under duress, they sometimes resemble Don Knotts. I mean the Don Knotts who, as Barney Fife, would disguise his nervousness as deputy sheriff by brandishing his pistol with shaking hand, throwing the confused or innocent in jail, and threatening life imprisonment for parking violations.

Experts fear new attack from desperate bin Laden
Thursday, November 15, 2001
With the Taliban retreating and in seeming disarray, Osama bin Laden may be more dangerous and unpredictable than ever. U.S. officials and terrorism experts say there is reason to believe the fugitive terror mastermind and his al-Qaida network will depart from a pattern of well-spaced, meticulously planned assaults and launch a more hastily conceived attack on the United States to rally followers.

Bush seeks military tribunal
Thursday, November 15, 2001
President Bush gave emergency approval for a military tribunal this week, should terrorism suspects be caught and charged in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks. The White House says no American citizens would be brought before such a court. Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida terror network is the target.

Boeing exec thinks cuts over
Thursday, November 15, 2001
Aircraft manufacturer Boeing Co. doesn't expect further production cuts beyond what it's already announced since the September terrorist attacks, the head of its commercial division says.

Alliance sets sight on northern Taliban resistance
Thursday, November 15, 2001
(Web Posted Thursday at 6:47 a.m.) Zeroing in on the only real pocket of Taliban resistance remaining in northern Afghanistan, U.S. warplanes pounded targets Thursday near the town of Kunduz, repeatedly hammering at tank and troop positions.

Briefly
Thursday, November 15, 2001
• Washington, D.C.: Red Cross reverses on fund distribution
• New York: Security panel seeking national identity card
• WASHINGTON, D.C: INS overhaul announced

Accidental victims
Thursday, November 15, 2001