We want Osama dead or alive: Bush

WASHINGTON, SEPT. 17. Invoking the rough justice of the American frontier, the U.S. President, Mr. George W. Bush, said today that the United States wanted Osama Bin laden, the suspected mastermind of the September 11 terror attacks on New York and Washington, brought to justice, ``dead or alive''.

Mr. Bush made the comment at the Pentagon after an hour-long meeting with the U.S. Defence Secretary, Mr. Donald Rumsfeld, to discuss the military's plans for mobilising reservists to beef up domestic defences against terrorism.

Asked whether he wanted Osama dead, Mr. Bush told presspersons, ``I want justice. There's an old poster out west that as I recall said, `Wanted: dead or alive'.'' Cheers erupted in the hallways as the President emerged from the meeting, which also was attended by the National Security Adviser, Ms. Condoleezza Rice, and the Vice-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mr. Richard Myers.

His voice at times rising with anger, Mr. Bush said the U.S. was embarking on a long struggle against terrorism, and the immediate focus was on Osama, his network and those providing him a safe haven in the Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. ``We're going to find those evildoers, those barbaric people who attacked our country and we're going to hold them accountable, and we're going to hold the people who housed them accountable.

``The people who think they can provide them safe havens will be held accountable, the people who feed them will be held accountable. The Taliban must take my statement seriously.''

Mr. Bush acknowledged the likelihood of casualties, saying, ``There will be costs. But the military folks understand that, so does the Secretary of Defence.'' He said he had faith that the economy would shake off the blow from the attacks.

``I understand it's tough right now,'' he said. ``The transportation business is hurting. Obviously the market was correcting prior to this crisis, but the underpinning for growth is there. But there is a challenge ahead of us, and I'm confident that the business community will rise to the challenge.''

His administration would work with Congress to come up with an economic stimulus package if necessary, Mr. Bush said, adding that his $ 1.3-trillion tax cut was still working through the economy and that the reconstruction of lower Manhattan would provide an addition boost. In New York, workers returned today to the city's financial district with a mix of pain and can-do spirit. Thick smoke and dust lingered in the air and rescue crews waded into a sea of rubble and body parts. The New York Stock Exchange and the Mercantile Exchange - as well as the City Hall, other Government buildings and courthouses - reopened.

Police checking identification greeted Wall Street workers, some carrying American flags, in downtown Manhattan. National Guardsmen in camouflage uniforms stood silently on some street corners, holding semi-automatic rifles. The missing haunted the streets: posters with smiling faces stared from telephone poles and restaurant windows.

Dow Jones drops

Selling swept Wall Street as the stock market reopened today, sending the Dow Jones Industrials down as much as 600 points and below 9,000 for the first time in two-and-a-half years.

The Nasdaq and other major indexes also posted big declines in selling that was widely expected as the market traded for the first time since the terrorist attacks.

``To buy stocks you need some kind of clarity and confidence, and right now you've got neither,'' said Mr. Bill Barker, investment consultant at Dain Rauscher in Dallas. ``The buying public is sitting on its hands. The sellers are obviously in control now, but it's difficult to tell how long that will last.'' - AFP, AP

U.S. warships leave Japan

TOKYO, SEPT. 17. Two U.S. Navy ships left their home port in Japan today as the U.S. military reportedly prepared for retaliation for the attacks.

The guided missile cruiser, USS Vincennes, and the guided missile destroyer, USS Curtis Wilbur, left the Yokosuka base at the mouth of Tokyo Bay, the U.S. Navy spokesman, Lt. Chuck Bell, said. Another guided missile cruiser, USS Cowpens, had already left Yokosuka on Saturday.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Front Page
Previous : Taliban threats resented
Next     : 'Reports on Pak. conditions false'