Bush vows to hunt down perpetrators

FLORIDA, SEPT. 11. The United States President, Mr. George W. Bush, today vowed an all-out hunt for the authors of ``an apparent terrorist attack'' after two planes smashed into the twin towers of New York's landmark World Trade Center.

Mr. Bush said he had ``ordered that the full resources of the Federal Government go to help the victims and their families and to conduct a full-scale investigation to hunt down and to find those folks that committed this act. Terrorism against our nation will not stand.''

``Today, we have had a national tragedy. Two airplanes have crashed into the World Trade Center in an apparent terrorist attack on our country. I have spoken to the Vice-President, to the Governor of New York, to the Director of the FBI,'' he said.

Saying that it was a ``difficult moment for America.'' he called for a moment of silence. ``May God bless the victims, their families and America,'' he said, his voice breaking with emotion. The President then cancelled an appearance at an elementary school here and raced to the airport to head back to Washington.

Terrible tragedy: Powell

The U.S. Secretary of State, Mr. Colin Powell, cut short his first official visit to South America to return home.

Before leaving, he urged the Foreign Ministers from the Organization of American States to quickly pass a Democracy Pact as a clear collective message against terrorism. The Charter was adopted unanimously. ``A terrible, terrible tragedy has befallen my nation, but it has befallen all those who believe in democracy,'' he told the OAS assembly. ``I hope we can move the order of business to the adoption of the Charter,'' he said, ``because I very much want to be here to express the United States' commitment to democracy in this hemisphere.'' The session opened with a moment of silence before representatives of Venezuela, Colombia, El Salvador and Canada all made statements condemning the terrorist action. ``I will bring to President Bush your expressions of sorrow and your words of support,'' Gen. Powell said. ``You can be sure that America will deal with this tragedy in a way that brings those responsible to justice.''

- AFP, AP

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Front Page
Previous : Israel, India next?
Next     : Did terrorists have their own pilots?