December 4, 2001 Diary: America Strikes Back

Nation's alert status
Tuesday, December 4, 2001
President Bush put America on high alert Monday for possible terrorist strikes during the holiday season after U.S. intelligence officials reported an increase in credible threats.
Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge, standing in for Bush to announce the third government alert since the Sept. 11 suicide hijackings, said the information does not point to a specific target or type of attack, either in the United States or abroad.

Israel declares own war on terror
Tuesday, December 4, 2001
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon declared his nation at war Monday as warplanes and helicopters blasted Palestinian targets in the West Bank and near Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's headquarters in Gaza City.
Early Tuesday, Israeli tanks reportedly rumbled into Gaza and toward the West Bank cities of Ramallah and Nablus. Palestinian officials said Israeli bulldozers dug up the runway at Gaza International Airport, which opened in 1998. Israeli officials had no immediate comment on the reports.

Israel should adopt new anti-terrorism plan
Tuesday, December 4, 2001
By George Will
Washington Post Writers Group

Coming from the territory for which Yasser Arafat is responsible, terrorists last weekend killed 26 Israelis, a portion of Israel's population that is equal to 1,240 Americans. America is projecting power halfway around the world to collapse the Taliban regime because it harbors terrorists. It would be disgusting for America to call for Israeli "restraint" and to disapprove if Israel cleanses its back yard of Arafat's Palestinian Authority regime that welcomes terrorists except when, to distract America, it yet again promises to pass a few through the revolving doors of PA jails.

Enemy has familiar face
Tuesday, December 4, 2001
Three people who claim to be American citizens and who fought on the side of the Taliban militia are now under the control of U.S. forces or allied opposition forces in northern Afghanistan, senior defense officials said Monday.
A man identified as John Walker is receiving medical care from U.S. forces after being discovered among captured Taliban troops and al-Qaida fighters who had holed up in a fortress in Mazar-e-Sharif. CNN reported that Walker, a convert to Islam, had suffered grenade and bullet wounds.

Israel must go after terrorists
Tuesday, December 4, 2001
By Cal Thomas
Tribune Media Services

Speaking of the murder of more than two dozen Israeli civilians last weekend by what one wire service called "Islamic militants," Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld correctly and unequivocally said on NBC's "Meet the Press": "The only way to defend against terrorists is to go after the terrorists."

FBI director proposes to revamp agency
Tuesday, December 4, 2001
FBI Director Robert Mueller announced Monday that he will restructure the agency to increase its ability to fight terrorism and cyber crime and improve intelligence-gathering and internal security.

Moderate Muslim speaks out
Tuesday, December 4, 2001
By Jack Anderson and Douglas Cohn
United Feature Syndicate

Karim Raslan is a moderate Muslim with great powers of articulation. He is not afraid to speak out even though he feels sometimes that his "days are numbered." A Malaysian lawyer and columnist, he currently is at Columbia University in New York on a Fulbright grant.

Egyptian-American denies terror charges
Tuesday, December 4, 2001
An Egyptian-American who received flight training in New Jersey and worked for an American Airlines affiliate denied stepped-up charges on Monday that he recruited fighters for an Islamic holy war.

Israel unleashes air strikes, hitting Arafat's compound
Tuesday, December 4, 2001
(Updated Tuesday at 12:31 p.m.) Israel unleashed airstrikes Tuesday in retaliation for Palestinian suicide bombings, and three missiles hit 50 yards from Yasser Arafat's office as the Palestinian leader worked inside. Arafat was not injured, and Israel said he was not the target of the strike.

Bush freezes assets of U.S. groups accused of helping Hamas
Tuesday, December 4, 2001
Broadening the war against terrorism, the Bush administration Tuesday froze the financial assets of organizations allegedly linked to Hamas, the group that claimed responsibility for last weekend's deadly suicide attacks in Israel.

Taliban put up resistance around Kandahar
Tuesday, December 4, 2001
(Updated Tuesday at 12:20 p.m.) Taliban fighters and members of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida militia were putting up fierce resistance against opposition Afghan forces outside Kandahar on Tuesday as a relentless U.S. bombing campaign continued, tribal leaders said.

I.D. cards favored
Tuesday, December 4, 2001

Fighting rages around Kandahar
Tuesday, December 4, 2001
Tribal fighters battled the Taliban at Kandahar airport Monday, and U.S. warplanes pounded the city and suspected terrorist hideouts along the Pakistan border. Afghan factions meeting in Germany adopted a framework for ruling the country.

Secret Service working Super Bowl
Tuesday, December 4, 2001
The Secret Service will be in charge of security for the Super Bowl at the Louisiana Superdome on Feb. 3.

Powell says pressure building on Arafat to control Palestinians terrorists
Tuesday, December 4, 2001
(Web Posted Tuesday at 12:17 p.m.) International pressure is building on Yasser Arafat to deal more forcefully to control Palestinian terrorist groups after a rash of suicide bombings in Israel, Secretary of State Colin Powell said Tuesday.