Bush Vows "Monumental Struggle" Against Terrorism

Firefighters, rescue workers next to remains of the World Trade Center towers. Photo: © Reuters 2001

Sept. 13, 2001 -- The grim search for victims was on Wednesday in New York and Washington, D.C., as President Bush pledged a "monumental struggle" against those behind the "acts of war" against the United States.

Rescue workers plowed through rubble to find the thousands feared dead in Tuesday's attacks. In the carefully orchestrated terrorist assault, highjacked jetliners demolished the World Trade Center and smashed into the Pentagon. The White House and Air Force One were also likely targets, officials said.

Mr. Bush, who had been traveling on the presidential jet Tuesday, toured the devastation at the Pentagon Wednesday. Earlier he said the administration would do "whatever it takes" to punish the terrorists and to rally other nations to join the fight.

"This will be a monumental struggle of good versus evil. But good will prevail," the president said. Secretary of State Colin Powell predicted in an NPR interview that those responsible will be identified in the "very near future."

And aide for that fight will be forthcoming. Congress is poised to pass an emergency spending bill Thursday that will help wage a "war to eradicate terrorism."

More than 700 tips have flooded into the FBI, which has deployed agents from Canada to Florida. Investigators talked to a Florida couple who housed two men linked to the attacks. In Boston, agents raided a hotel in what appeared to be a search following the attacks. But no arrests were made.

No more survivors were expected to emerge from the Pentagon, according to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who put the number of dead between 100 and 150.

The toll in New York, now bereft of its skyline's prized pinnacle, was expected to reach stupefying proportions. It was not known how many were in the World Trade Center at the time of the rush-hour attack. Some 50,000 people work in the twin towers and another 10-20,000 visit daily. The confirmed death toll at the Trade Center rose to 82 Wednesday night, but New York officials requested 6,000 body bags.

U.S. airspace, shut down Tuesday, was partially opened Wednesday to allow diverted flights to travel to their intended destinations. But most restrictions were to remain in effect indefinitely. U.S. financial markets will remained closed until at least Friday.

Attorney General John Ashcroft said between three and six knife-wielding highjackers carried out each of the attacks and that some were trained as pilots in the United States. Authorities had "numerous credible leads," according to Ashcroft. "The Department of Justice is undertaking perhaps the most massive and intensive investigation ever conducted in America," he said.

Condolences and condemnations poured in from around the globe, and Mr. Bush conferred with several world leaders. NATO allies vowed support for a possible military response. Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat said the "terrible act" was unbelievable and donated blood in sympathy for the victims.

No group has yet been linked to the devastation, according to U.S. officials. But speculation has centered on alleged terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden, who has been given asylum in Afghanistan. Tuesday in a national address Mr. Bush warned: "We will make no distinction between the terrorists ... and those who harbor them."

The Taliban, the fundamentalist Islamic group which controls Afghanistan, has denounced the attacks and denied any involvement by bin Laden. The U.S. has blamed the exiled Saudi billionaire for coordinating the 1998 attacks on U.S. embassies in Africa.

States of emergency remained in effect in cities around the nation. The terrorist attacks sent shockwaves through the world's financial system and investors were anxiously awaiting the re-opening of U.S. markets.

Mr. Bush insisted that the economy will be resilient but the damages were expected to further strain the shrinking U.S. surplus. Insurance losses from the attacks could reach $15 billion.