November 30, 2001 Diary: America Strikes Back

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Troops push toward Taliban
Friday, November 30, 2001
Opposition troops claimed to be fighting the Taliban on the outskirts of Kandahar, the militant regime's last stronghold and — based on a new report Thursday night — the possible refuge of terrorist leader Osama bin Laden.
A senior official of the opposition northern alliance said that bin Laden and his protector, Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar, were hiding together in or near Kandahar, the southern city that is Omar's home and the Taliban's spiritual center.

U.S. citizenship used as lure for terrorist information
Friday, November 30, 2001
The Justice Department on Thursday offered the prospect of American citizenship, including a promise to ignore visa problems, to entice foreigners to come forward with information about terrorists.
"The people who have the courage to make the right choice deserve to be welcomed as guests into our country and perhaps to one day become fellow citizens," Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft said.

New strategy needed against Saddam
Friday, November 30, 2001
By Trudy Rubin
The Philadelphia Inquirer

With Phase One of the war on terrorism going so well in Afghanistan, the administration is planning for Phase Two.
That means going after Saddam Hussein.

Capitol Federal gives $2 million
Friday, November 30, 2001
By Mindie Paget

When terrorists attacked the World Trade Center towers on Sept. 11, they thought America's financial system would crumble with the buildings.
But it wasn't so.

Tribal fighters said to capture 80 Taliban
Friday, November 30, 2001
(Updated Friday at 1:17 p.m.) Tribal fighters said they captured 80 Taliban soldiers Friday near the airport at Kandahar as anti-Taliban forces closed in on the Islamic militia stronghold. U.S. warplanes bombed Taliban defenses near the airport.

Talks on Afghanistan's future stalled at a critical phase
Friday, November 30, 2001
(Updated Friday at 1:20 p.m.) Talks on Afghanistan's future stalled at a critical phase Friday after the northern alliance leader in Kabul rejected key elements of a proposed interim administration.

Professors revise textbook to include public relations after Sept. 11 attacks
Friday, November 30, 2001
By Terry Rombeck

People say everything changed after Sept. 11.
That certainly was the case for a textbook written by two Kansas University journalism professors.

Bush defends military tribunals
Friday, November 30, 2001
Brushing aside criticism, President Bush defended his authorization of military tribunals and the questioning of Middle Easterners in the United States. "We're an open society, but we're at war," the president said Thursday.
"We will act with fairness and we will deliver justice, which is far more than terrorists ever grant to their innocent victims," the president told federal prosecutors visiting the White House.

Sept. 11 a popular excuse
Friday, November 30, 2001
By George Will
Washington Post Writers Group

A New Yorker cartoon depicts two men at a bar, one holding a martini glass and saying to the other, "I figure if I don't have that third martini, then the terrorists win." It was a deft joke about using the events of Sept. 11 as an excuse for doing whatever one wants.
The following is no joke: The Democratic National Committee is asking the Federal Election Commission to suspend certain campaign finance regulations because, well, you see, the events of Sept. 11 ...

Officials request billions more for bioterrorism defense
Friday, November 30, 2001
Administration health officials told Congress Thursday that $3 billion is needed to prepare for bioterrorism, twice as much as President Bush is requesting. Some lawmakers suggested the president was shortchanging the problem.

Construction at World Trade Center site won't begin anytime soon, official says
Friday, November 30, 2001
(Web Posted Friday at 8:12 a.m.) Construction at the World Trade Center site will be a giant endeavor that is unlikely to begin within the next year, the chief rebuilder said.

Vice president's wife decries ignorance of Americans
Friday, November 30, 2001
Lynne Cheney said Thursday that Americans know too little about their country and the ideals on which it was founded, even as they fight in Afghanistan to defend both from foreign threats.

House passes bill to help insurers in future attacks
Friday, November 30, 2001
The House passed legislation Thursday to help the insurance industry cover the cost of claims from any future terrorist attacks. Passage came amid a partisan dispute about restrictions on personal lawsuits seeking damages.

Nation briefs
Friday, November 30, 2001
• Immigrant deported to Jordan
• Death toll higher for reporters than for troops in Afghanistan
• Soldier's death likely suicide
• Trade center redevelopment likely to begin in 2003

Leaders to blame
Friday, November 30, 2001

Rights are for all
Friday, November 30, 2001

Taste of freedom
Friday, November 30, 2001