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September
2002
September
1, 2002
The United States should first seek a return of
U.N. weapons inspectors to Iraq before taking any
further steps. Powell's comments highlighted
sharp differences within the Bush administration
over how to deal with the Iraq crisis. Last week,
Vice President Cheney, making his case for a
pre-emptive strike to topple Iraqi leader Saddam
Hussein, said resuming inspections could be
counterproductive.
Federal authorities have amassed evidence for the
first time that an illegal drug operation in the
United States was funneling proceeds to Middle
East terrorist groups like Hezbollah
Israeli soldiers, saying they had been warned of
an attack, shot and killed four Palestinians near
a Jewish settlement's vineyard in the West Bank on
Sunday. The shootings brought the weekend
Palestinian death toll to 13, including two
children and several other civilians.
The to-do list awaiting President Bush's return to
the White House on Sunday is as long as time is
short. He wants a big new Pentagon budget,
energy bill, legislation guaranteeing pension
security and terrorism insurance and a new
Homeland Security Department — all on his desk
in the next five weeks.
Federal officials defended the response of an air
marshal who trained his gun on a passenger-filled
jet cabin for 30 minutes after detaining a man,
prompting protests by a judge who was on the
flight. Two armed marshals detained the man
on Delta Flight 442, which was flying from Atlanta
to Philadelphia with 183 people on board, because
he allegedly was rummaging through other people's
luggage. One marshal then held his gun on
the coach cabin passengers because some of them
ignored orders to remain seated with their seat
belts on
Americans are divided about whether Sept. 11
should be a national holiday like Veterans Day or
Memorial Day, according to a new poll.
Support for a national holiday on the date that
terrorists attacked the World Trade Center in New
York and the Pentagon outside Washington has
slipped a bit since March, according to a CNN-Time
poll released Sunday. While 44 percent favor the
idea, 51 percent opposed it, down from a 48-48
split in March.
A leading Republican lawmaker urged President Bush
on Sunday to underpin any military action against
Iraq with resolutions from the United Nations,
demanding that weapons inspectors be allowed to
return, and from Congress, giving its approval for
action.
Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., said it's clear that
Saddam Hussein is a threat to the region and to
the United States, but he said that's not the only
issue. He told ABC today the administration
needs to think about the consequences — whether
the region would be destabilized, and who would
replace Saddam, as well as how long America would
need to stay there.
Back to Top
September
2, 2002
Nelson Mandela said Monday that he is
"appalled" by U.S. threats to attack
Iraq and warned that Washington is
"introducing chaos in international
affairs." He said he had spoken with
President Bush's father and Secretary of State
Colin Powell.
Israel will not allow Palestinian leader Yasser
Arafat to return to the West Bank if he leaves the
area. The Palestinians have approached
Israeli authorities about the possibility of
Arafat attending international conferences.
"He's free to leave, but he's not free to
come back,"
A Swedish man suspected of planning to hijack an
airliner was ordered Monday to remain in custody
while prosecutors prepare formal charges in a case
that has heightened fears of terrorism ahead of
the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.
Time and money are short and an election to
determine who controls Congress is straight ahead
as lawmakers return from their summer break to
deal with Iraq, homeland security, the budget and
a host of other pressing issues.
Baghdad's push for international support against a
possible U.S. attack came to Moscow on Monday,
with Russia urging Iraq to admit U.N. weapons
inspectors to avoid a war that could jeopardize
multibillion-dollar economic deals between the
trading partners
Nearly 200 al-Qaida operatives, including several
senior commanders, have settled in Lebanon with
Syria's permission, taking refuge in a large
Palestinian refugee camp there.
Back to Top
September
3, 2002
The Bush administration has secret information
supporting its claims that Saddam Hussein poses an
unacceptable threat to the world and is close to
developing nuclear weapons, Secretary of Defense
Donald H. Rumsfeld said Tuesday.
The Senate kicked off a contentious debate Tuesday
on President Bush's blueprint for a Homeland
Security Department, with Democrats flatly
rejecting White House demands for greater
management flexibility over its estimated 170,000
employees.
Israel's Supreme Court gave the army a new tool in
its two-year struggle against Palestinian violence
Tuesday, allowing it to expel Palestinians from
the West Bank to Gaza for aiding terrorist
suspects.
President Bush, who will mark the remembrance of
Sept. 11 by visiting three terrorist attack sites,
plans to start the observances in prayer and close
them with a prime-time address to the nation.
Dr. Steven J. Hatfill, who says the federal
government has ruined his life by linking him to
the anthrax investigation, was fired Tuesday from
his job as a researcher at Louisiana State
University.
Saddam Hussein poses a grave threat to the world
and must be stopped, Prime Minister Tony Blair
said Tuesday, bucking the tide of public sentiment
and trying to rally international support for
U.S.-led action against Iraq. Russia,
however, insisted it would veto any measure for
military action against Baghdad that is put before
the U.N. Security Council. It urged Saddam to
readmit U.N. weapons inspectors to avert the
threat of war. Iraq said Tuesday it's ready
to discuss the return of inspectors, but only in
the context of ending sanctions and restoring
Iraqi sovereignty over all its territory, in
defiance of U.N. demands that any return of
inspectors be "unconditional."
The governing body of the International Criminal
Court held its first meeting Tuesday, ignoring a
U.S. campaign to undermine its jurisdiction and
exempt Americans from prosecution. There was
loud applause when U.N. Undersecretary-General for
legal affairs Hans Corell pounded the gavel to
launch the Assembly of States Parties, made up of
the 76 nations that ratified the treaty creating
the world's first permanent war crimes tribunal.
It plans to be fully operational by next year.
Back to Top
September
4, 2002
President Bush promised Wednesday to seek
Congress' approval for "whatever is
necessary" to oust Saddam Hussein including
using military force, as the White House
considered giving Iraq a last-ditch ultimatum over
weapons inspectors.
The economic impact of the World Trade Center
attack could reach $95 billion and cost 83,000
jobs in New York, according to a report by the
city's financial manager. "While this
devastating event can never be reduced to numbers,
it is clear that New York City and the nation will
continue to suffer its economic ramifications for
years to come," Thompson wrote in the 58-page
report that provides the fullest picture to date
on the economic shock felt in the city.
Pakistan President Gen. Pervez Musharraf said
Wednesday it's too early for the U.S. military to
consider scaling down military operations in
Afghanistan. Musharraf also said in an
interview with The Associated Press that there's
no need to extend U.S. military operations into
Pakistan, even though he acknowledges "some
al-Qaida elements" have taken refuge in his
country.
Israel expelled two Palestinians from the West
Bank, driving them blindfolded into the Gaza Strip
and leaving them at a deserted fig orchard
Wednesday — the first time Israel has forced
relatives of militants to leave their home areas.
At 8:46 a.m. Sept. 11, bells will ring in
firehouses and churches across the country. The
strains of Mozart's Requiem will be heard in time
zones worldwide, sung by symphonies and school
choirs.
Against steadfast Democratic opposition, Senate
Republicans prepared Wednesday for an all-out
effort to give President Bush the management
flexibility he seeks for the proposed Homeland
Security Department
Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder rebuffed calls by
Britain for Europe to help the United States
against Iraq, saying Wednesday that Germany won't
tone down its opposition to military action and
won't "submit" to Washington.
Hoping to find a way out of the Iraq crisis, Arab
ministers urged Baghdad on Wednesday to negotiate
a return of weapons inspectors and warned
Washington that an attack to oust Saddam Hussein
would spark unrest across the Middle East.
In Baghdad, the Iraqi leader vowed his country
would put up a tough fight if the United States
attacked.
The European Union told the United States on
Wednesday that while there is "no doubt"
that Saddam Hussein is dangerous, Washington
should not try to deal with the Iraqi leader
alone. The EU and United States agree that
"here and now, we should concentrate our
efforts on ensuring that international weapons
inspectors can get free and unhindered
access" to Iraq
Back to Top
September
5, 2002
President Hamid Karzai survived an assassination
attempt Thursday by an Afghan security guard who
fired on his convoy, and a large explosion in the
capital killed at least 10 people. Afghan
officials blamed Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida
network for both attacks.
The Army recently moved weaponry and war supplies
from Qatar to a base in Kuwait near the Iraqi
border to check their condition and test
procedures that would be used in the event
President Bush orders preparations for war
Police detonated a 1,300 pound car bomb Thursday,
one of the largest ever discovered, and Israel's
foreign minister said Israel averted a catastrophe
that could have changed the face of the Middle
East
Arab states declared their allegiance to Iraq on
Thursday, with a gathering of foreign ministers
saying U.S. threats against Baghdad were threats
against the whole Arab world.
The Bush administration is planning a small-scale
test program of arming commercial pilots,
reversing its previous opposition to guns in the
cockpit. The proposal is expected to be
modeled on ideas that circulated in Congress this
summer, such as one that would have armed as many
as 1,400 pilots, or about 2 percent of those
flying commercially.
A new lawsuit tries to link Iraq to terrorism
targeting the United States, alleging that Iraqi
officials were aware, before Sept. 11, of plans by
Osama bin Laden to attack New York and the
Pentagon. The suit, filed Wednesday on
behalf of 1,400 victims of the Sept. 11 attacks
and their families, also claims Iraq sponsored
terrorists for a decade to avenge its defeat in
the Gulf War
Back to Top
September
6, 2002
Congress paid homage Friday to the victims and
heroes of last Sept. 11, convening blocks from
where the World Trade Center towers once loomed
and pledging the nation's determination to
vanquish terrorism.
Firmly opposed to a military strike against Iraq,
the leaders of Russia, France and China agreed
Friday to President Bush's personal appeal to hear
the U.S. case against Saddam Hussein but gave no
sign they would bend to it.
Tipped by U.S. authorities, German police arrested
a Turkish man and his American fiancee for
allegedly plotting to attack U.S. military bases
in Heidelberg on the anniversary of the Sept. 11
terror attacks, German authorities said Friday.
President Hamid Karzai asserted Friday that
Afghanistan is not descending into chaos and
lawlessness even as police rounded up 17 people
for questioning in the assassination attempt on
his life.
Foreign-owned airlines, noting that many countries
don't allow handguns, criticized a U.S. plan to
let commercial airline pilots carry weapons in the
cockpit.
Iraq on Friday accused U.S. and British planes of
striking civilian targets during an air raid
southwest of Baghdad, and it claimed its
anti-aircraft batteries chased off the attacking
jets.
The federal government on Thursday announced less
stringent flight restrictions coinciding with
ceremonies at the three Sept. 11 crash
sites. The temporary rules are less rigorous
than those presented to the aviation industry last
week. The earlier proposed restrictions would have
been the most severe curtailment of air travel
since the government shut down the aviation system
on Sept. 11.
Back to Top
September
7, 2002
President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony
Blair said Saturday the world must act against
Saddam Hussein, arguing that the Iraqi leader has
defied the United Nations and reneged on promises
to destroy weapons of mass destruction.
After praying at the grave of a legendary anti-Taliban
commander slain by a suicide bomber last year,
President Hamid Karzai vowed Saturday to fight
terrorism despite an attempt on his own life two
days ago.
Departing U.N. human rights chief Mary Robinson,
in a bleak assessment of the state of human
rights, accused governments of hiding behind the
ongoing war on terrorism to trample civil
liberties and crush troublesome opponents.
In a rare note of optimism, Israeli Prime Minister
Ariel Sharon said preparations for a new
Palestinian security apparatus — a key demand of
the United States and Israel — should begin this
month.
Despite its denials, Iraq probably possesses large
stockpiles of nerve agents, mustard gas and
anthrax, former U.N. inspectors say
Military jets have resumed round-the-clock patrols
over New York and Washington as the anniversary of
the Sept. 11 attacks approaches. The Defense
Department started the round-the-clock patrols
after the Sept. 11 attacks and began phasing them
out in April, Pentagon officials have said. The
patrols had continued sporadically when officials
received threats.
There is a "strong possibility" U.N.
weapons inspectors will be allowed to return to
Iraq unconditionally in a move to avoid a U.S.
military strike, the leader of the Arab League
said Saturday. U.N. weapons inspectors are
stepping up preparations for a possible return to
Iraq, seeking new sources for satellite photos,
scouting laboratories to test samples, and
pressing friendly governments for more
intelligence reports.
Back to Top
September
8, 2002
Saddam Hussein is aggressively seeking nuclear and
biological weapons and "the United States may
well become the target" of an attack, Vice
President Dick Cheney said Sunday as the Bush
administration pressed its case for toppling the
Iraqi leader.
Iraq denied reports it is trying to collect
material for nuclear weapons and building up sites
once targeted by U.N. inspectors, saying Sunday
the claims were lies spread by the United States
and Britain to justify an attack.
Yasser Arafat will ask a key meeting of the
Palestinian parliament on Monday to outlaw suicide
bombing and reaffirm the Palestinian commitment to
peace with Israel, according to a draft copy of
the Palestinian leader's speech.
Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf reiterated his
support Sunday for an international anti-terrorism
effort and said Islamic radicals must be held in
check in his nation and elsewhere.
Clergy nationwide sought to draw moral lessons
from tragedy and comfort churchgoers during the
Sunday services before Sept. 11
German authorities had suspicions nearly two
months ago about a Turkish man suspected of
plotting to bomb U.S. military bases in Germany,
but bureaucratic procedures delayed his arrest
until last week, a prosecutor said Sunday
Back to Top
September
9, 2002
The FBI is warning local police and the U.S.
utility, banking and transportation industries of
a steady stream of threats mentioning New York,
Washington and the anniversary of the Sept. 11
attacks.
The White House said international opposition to
military action against Iraq — at least as a
last resort — is softening as more world leaders
have said Saddam Hussein cannot be allowed to snub
U.N. weapons inspectors.
Yasser Arafat condemned terror attacks and
promised to hold general elections in January, but
in a rambling speech to the Palestinian parliament
Monday he fell short of outlining clear steps
against terror or agreeing to share some power
with a prime minister.
The Arab satellite station Al-Jazeera said Osama
bin Laden can be heard naming four of the Sept. 11
hijackers on a new videotape the station partially
aired on Monday.
Iraq could build a nuclear bomb in a few months if
it obtained radioactive material, and its arsenal
contains powerful chemical and biological weapons
that can be quickly mass produced, according to a
report Monday
The names of the 23 New York Police Department
officers who lost their lives at the World Trade
Center were unveiled on a memorial wall during a
ceremony Monday
Back to Top
September
10, 2002
The Bush administration raised the nationwide
terror alert to its second-highest level, closed
nine U.S. embassies overseas and heightened
security at federal buildings and landmarks in
America as new intelligence warned of car
bombings, suicide attacks and other strikes linked
to the Sept. 11 anniversary.
President Bush said Tuesday he will ask the United
Nations "to deal with the problem" of
Iraq and dispatched top members of his national
security team to Capitol Hill to talk to skeptical
lawmakers.
The nation will remember last Sept. 11 mostly in
silence, with few sounds other than bells tolling,
military jets roaring in tribute and the reading
of victims' names
Israeli troops and armored vehicles moved into
northern Gaza early Wednesday, residents said,
taking control of one town and part of another
U.S. and Afghan officials believe the
assassination attempt against Afghan President
Hamid Karzai was probably the work of fugitive
members of the country's ousted Taliban regime,
rather than al-Qaida terrorists, defense officials
said Tuesday.
Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement pledged for the
first time Tuesday to try to stop attacks on
Israeli civilians by its militiamen, creating a
small opening for a truce. Other militant groups
said attacks would continue.
Nine U.S. embassies in Asia, Africa and the Middle
East were closed, and U.S. military bases and
embassies in Europe enforced tightened security
Tuesday, the eve of the anniversary of the Sept.
11 terror attacks.
The U.N. chief weapons inspector said Tuesday
there is no evidence from aerial photos or other
sources that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction
or is trying to build them. But Hans Blix
said there are still "many open
questions" about Iraq's weapons programs that
need to be answered.
On the eve of the Sept. 11 anniversary, the Bush
administration decided Tuesday to raise the terror
alert level for the first time to code orange,
signaling a high danger of attack, a government
official told The Associated Press.
As part of the heightened state of alert in the
United States, every federal air marshal will be
deployed Wednesday, armed missile launchers will
be situated around the nation's capital, and
airport security workers will conduct extensive
searches of bags and passengers.
In the last funeral before the anniversary of the
Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the Fire Department of
New York remembered another of its lost 343
firefighters in a Bronx church near the
stationhouse that Bielfeld loved so well.
Fears of a cyberattack inspired by the Sept. 11
attacks faded on Tuesday, a day ahead of the
anniversary, with the only threat to emerge a
year-old virus hoax called "World Trade
Center Survivor." Experts predicted
that Wednesday is likely to be just another day on
the Internet, and if anything a quiet day for
cybercriminals.
Back to Top
September
11, 2002
A cascade of memorial events around the globe
marked a moment whose echoes still resound from
New York to Afghanistan, and everywhere in between
— a moment that even a year later left many
transfixed by the horror, burdened by sadness,
plagued by fears. "A day of
tears," said President Bush, "and a day
of prayer, and a day of national resolve. It also
needs to be a day in which we confirm the values
which make us unique and great."
With words of comfort and resolve, President Bush
joined the nation Wednesday in remembering "a
year of sorrow, of empty places" since the
terrorist attacks that drew America into war.
However resourceful the enemy, he said, a greater
force is facing them down.
President Bush will use a U.N. speech Thursday to
demand that Iraq admit weapons inspectors and to
urge world leaders to insist on Saddam Hussein's
compliance
Defiant Palestinian legislators forced the
resignation of Yasser Arafat's 21-member Cabinet
Wednesday, delivering the biggest political blow
to the Palestinian leader since he returned from
exile eight years ago and underscoring the
mounting discontent among ordinary Palestinians.
A bugler playing taps in Afghanistan. A twisted
metal cross in Rome symbolizing the carnage of a
year ago. An Arab man in Jordan hoping America
receives another terrorist blow.
At ground zero, the names took precedence, 2,801
of them read aloud, from Gordon Aamoth Jr. to Igor
Zukelman. Patriotic resolve held sway at the
Pentagon. And in a field near Shanksville, Pa.,
grief was partially offset by pride.
The 40
victims who died aboard United Flight 93 after an
apparent struggle to retake the hijacked airliner
were saluted Wednesday as
"citizen-soldiers" in the war against
terrorism.
President Bush and about 5,000 others —
including more than 500 relatives and friends of
the victims — took part in memorial observances
at the grassy field in rural western Pennsylvania
where the plane went down Sept. 11.
A bugler
playing taps in Afghanistan. A twisted metal cross
in Rome symbolizing the carnage of a year ago. An
Arab man in Jordan hoping America receives another
terrorist blow.
On
the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, the world
became a vast stage Wednesday to revisit and
contemplate what was once unimaginable.
"No situation of hurt, no philosophy or
religion can ever justify such a grave offense on
human life," said Pope John Paul II.
Back to Top
September
12, 2002
Raising the specter of war, President Bush told
skeptical world leaders Thursday to confront the
"grave and gathering danger" of Saddam
Hussein's Iraq — or stand aside as the United
States acts. Hesitant allies asked him not to go
it alone.
Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan told
Congress on Thursday that "depressing
effects" on the American economy still linger
from the terror attacks and the stock market's
steep plunge
Israel sent
tanks into the West Bank town of Tulkarem
Thursday, reimposing a curfew that has been on and
off for nearly three months.
Residents said that about 10 tanks entered the
town, on the line between the West Bank and
Israeli. The Israeli military said only that some
forces has been sent into Tulkarem.
U.N.
Secretary-General Kofi Annan, addressing the
world's leaders Thursday, called for urgent action
to address ongoing conflicts in the Middle East
and South Asia and urged the United States not to
act alone against Iraq.
In a single
casket, remains that symbolically represent all
184 victims of the attack on the Pentagon
were buried with full military honors Thursday at
Arlington National Cemetery, the resting place of
the nation's unknown soldiers.
More than
memorials, America owes the nearly 3,000 people
killed on Sept. 11 a steadfast commitment to
spreading liberty and security worldwide —
"the most enduring monument we can
build," President Bush told a healing
nation.
Iraq's U.N.
ambassador criticized President Bush's speech to
the General Assembly on Thursday, saying it lacked
credibility and was motivated by revenge and
political ambition.
It was the first Iraqi reaction to Bush's speech,
in which the president warned Baghdad to comply
with U.N. resolutions or face the consequences.
Back to Top
September
13, 2002
A suspected
organizer of the Sept. 11 attacks was captured in
Pakistan and in custody, U.S. officials said
Friday.
Ramzi Binalshibh, one of the so-called "20th
hijackers" who attempted to take part in the
Sept. 11 attacks, worked closely with Mohamed
Atta's cell in Hamburg, Germany.
Secretary of State Colin Powell gained diplomatic
support for the strong U.S. stand against Saddam
Hussein, winning approval Friday from all members
of the U.N. Security Council for President Bush's
assertion that the Iraqi leader poses a threat to
international security.
Three men reportedly overheard talking about a
terrorist plot were pulled over and detained for
17 hours Friday before authorities said the men
were apparently kidding around and released them.
The Air Force charged two Illinois Air National
Guard pilots with involuntary manslaughter,
aggravated assault and dereliction of duty in the
mistaken bombing of a Canadian training exercise
in Afghanistan that killed four soldiers and
wounded eight.
A federal judge on Friday dismissed a perjury
indictment against an Islamic charity accused of
lying about its ties to Osama bin Laden, saying
the alleged conduct didn't violate the law.
A top Iraqi official said Baghdad opposes the
return of U.N. weapons inspectors and President
Bush's speech to the United Nations was "full
of lies."
Four
Palestinians were killed in Gaza on Friday,
including three in an explosion at a home believed
to harbor a bomb workshop. Elsewhere, a
Palestinian gunman died in a firefight with
Israeli soldiers.
President
George W. Bush has opened a door for settling the
Iraqi dispute, and the Iraqi government should go
through it, Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak said
in remarks published Friday.
In an interview with his country's semi-official
Middle East News Agency, Mubarak praised the
speech Bush made to the U.N. General Assembly on
Thursday when he warned Iraq that it must comply
with U.N. Security Council resolutions or face
confrontation.
An Air
Force pararescuer killed in Afghanistan while
attending to wounded comrades was awarded the Air
Force Cross and remembered Friday for his heroism.
The medal, the second highest military honor, was
presented to Theresa Cunningham, the widow of
Senior Airman Jason Cunningham, who died in
March. "On behalf of the United States
Air Force and a grateful nation, we present this
award as a recognition of his extraordinary
heroism, as a symbol of our deep gratitude for his
loyal and honorable service,"
Back to Top
September
14, 2002
Five American men charged Saturday with supporting
terrorism trained to use assault rifles and other
weapons at an al-Qaida camp in Afghanistan where
Osama bin Laden spoke about his anti-American
beliefs. The
men, all in their 20s and of Yemeni descent,
appeared in court Saturday and were charged with
unlawfully providing material support and
resources to foreign terrorist organizations.
President Bush made plain Saturday that the United
States is willing take Iraq on alone if the United
Nations fails to "show some backbone" by
confronting Saddam Hussein. "Enough is
enough," Bush said.
Pakistan confirmed Saturday it was holding about a
dozen foreigners arrested this week on suspicion
they were al-Qaida members, including one who U.S.
authorities say was a key planner of the Sept. 11
attacks in the United States.
In his first-ever discussion with a Palestinian
Authority official, President Bush said statehood
is a prerequisite for ending Palestinian
suffering, the official said Saturday.
The Bush administration Saturday hailed
anti-terrorism arrests from suburban Buffalo,
N.Y., to Karachi, Pakistan, and promised to
tighten the noose on al-Qaida and the terrorism
cells it supports. The
capture in Pakistan of a suspected Sept. 11
operative, Ramzi Binalshibh, demonstrated that
"We are relentless, we are strong, and we're
not going to stop," said
President
Bush
Security
Council members echoed President Bush's demand for
Iraq to admit U.N. weapons inspectors, and key
nations indicated they would support giving Saddam
Hussein a deadline to comply.
But after Bush told the council to confront the
"grave and gathering danger" posed by
Iraq or stand aside as the United States acts, no
council nation backed the use of force if Saddam
continues to say no.
Back to Top
September
15, 2002
Arabs sought on Sunday to head off a war between
Iraq and the United States, but also pressed the
United Nations for action on another destabilizing
dispute in their region, the Palestinian-Israeli
conflict.
The Bush administration insisted Sunday that the
U.S. military can simultaneously fight terrorism
and confront Iraq, as White House officials said
Congress and the United Nations must act quickly
to show resolve against Saddam Hussein.
Germany dropped its request for the extradition of
Ramzi Binalshibh on Sunday, opening the way for
the suspected Sept. 11 plotter to be handed over
to the United States after his arrest last week by
U.S. and Pakistani intelligence.
The Pentagon is stepping up the hunt for al-Qaida
fighters in Yemen, ancestral home of Osama bin
Laden, which remains a terrorist hornets' nest
despite efforts of U.S. and Yemeni authorities
over the past two years.
Government agents have recently uncovered numerous
calls from difficult-to-track prepaid cell phones,
Internet-based phone service, prepaid phone cards
and public pay phones in the United States to
known al-Qaida locations overseas
The Saudi foreign minister said Sunday the kingdom
would be "obliged to follow through" if
the United States needed bases in the kingdom to
attack Iraq under U.N. authority.
The United
States wants custody of Ramzi Binalshibh and will
work with Pakistani authorities to have them hand
over the suspected Sept. 11 plotter captured last
week in Karachi
Three
subway stations closed after debris from the
collapsed World Trade Center towers filled their
tunnels last Sept. 11 reopened Sunday, a month
ahead of schedule.
In addition to the South Ferry station, the Rector
Street station on the No. 1 and No. 9 lines and
the Cortlandt Street stop on the N and R lines
opened for the first time since last year.
The Cortlandt Street station on the No. 1 and No.
9 lines, which lies directly below the World Trade
Center site, will remain closed until lower
Manhattan redevelopment plans are finalized, said
Larry Reuter, president of New York City Transit.
Back to Top
September
16, 2002
Iraq agreed Monday to allow the return of weapons
inspectors to "remove any doubts" it
still has weapons of mass destruction, Iraq's
foriegn minister said. "The
government of the republic of Iraq has based its
decision concerning the return of inspectors on
its desire to complete the implementation of
relevant security council resolutions and to
remove any doubts that Iraq still possesses
weapons of mass destruction,"
An alleged organizer of the Sept. 11 attacks was
handed over to U.S. authorities Monday along with
four other al-Qaida suspects who were arrested
here last week in a major blow to the terrorist
network.
A sixth alleged member of an al-Qaida terrorist
cell based in suburban Buffalo was arrested in the
Middle East and brought into court here Monday to
face federal charges.
U.S. pilots patrolling the skies over Iraq are
taking a new approach to defending themselves, and
the switch may be chipping away at Iraq's ability
to resist a full-scale U.S.-led invasion. Defense
Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld disclosed Monday that
more than a month ago he personally ordered that
pilots attack command and communications links in
Iraqi's air defense network rather than the guns
and radars that are frequently used to target or
shoot at U.S. and British pilots.
An American
of Yemeni descent was arrested in Bahrain and
transferred to U.S. authorities investigating an
alleged terror cell in upstate New York
Singapore
authorities have arrested 21 people on suspicion
most of them belong to an al-Qaida-linked militant
group that was plotting to blow up the U.S.
Embassy
All the suspects were Singaporean citizens, the
Ministry of Home Affairs said without releasing
details of their arrests last month. None of them
have been charged with any crimes, although they
remain detained as allowed by the Internal
Security Act.
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September
17, 2002
As U.N. weapons inspectors moved ahead with plans
to return to Iraq, the United States and Russia
clashed on Tuesday over whether to take Baghdad at
its word or impose a new ultimatum. "We have
seen this game before," said a skeptical
Colin Powell.
The Bush administration stepped up pressure
Tuesday for a new U.N. Security Council
disarmament resolution for Iraq and disclosed
plans for moving B-2 bombers closer to Baghdad,
preparing for possible war to remove President
Saddam Hussein.
An al-Qaida suspect arrested along with alleged
Sept. 11 organizer Ramzi Binalshibh has been
identified as one of the killers of Wall Street
Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, a senior police
official said Tuesday
Israeli police and Palestinian officials in the
West Bank said they believe extremist Jewish
settlers planted two bombs in a Palestinian school
yard Tuesday. One device exploded, injuring five
children.
Weapons inspectors and Iraqi officials agreed
Tuesday to meet in Vienna in 10 days to complete
arrangements for the inspectors' return, former
Iraqi ambassador Saeed Hasan said.
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September
18, 2002
The Bush administration pressed Congress to take
the lead in authorizing force against Iraq
Wednesday after the U.S. campaign for a tough new
U.N. resolution was undercut by Saddam Hussein's
offer on inspections. As the White House talked
tough, United Nations weapons inspectors began
planning their return to Baghdad.
Intelligence agencies failed to anticipate
terrorists flying planes into buildings despite a
dozen clues in the years before the Sept. 11
attacks that Osama bin Laden or others might use
aircraft as bombs, a congressional investigator
told lawmakers Wednesday as they began public
hearings into the attacks.
Bucking an anti-war mood among their U.N. Security
Council partners, the United States and Britain
began crafting a toughly worded resolution
Wednesday that would narrow the timetable for
Iraqi compliance with weapons inspections and
authorize force if Iraq fails to cooperate,
Six suspected members of an al-Qaida-trained
terror cell in western New York are a danger to
the community and should be held without bail, a
prosecutor argued Wednesday
Palestinians ended a six-week lull in attacks on
Israelis Wednesday when a policeman died after
challenging a suicide bomber and Palestinian
militants killed a motorist and a settler in the
West Bank.
A panel of
architects and planners will help the Lower
Manhattan Development Corp. sift through hundreds
of design proposals for the World Trade Center
site, the agency announced Tuesday.
Alexander Garvin, vice president of planning,
design and development for the corporation, said
more than 300 firms from every continent except
Antarctica have sent in proposals. The
development corporation said last month that it
would choose up to five design teams to prepare
plans for the trade center site. The teams will be
selected by Sept. 30.
Back to Top
September
19, 2002
A Palestinian suicide bomber blew himself up on a
crowded Tel Aviv bus killing five other people
Thursday and Israeli tanks roared back into Yasser
Arafat's West Bank compound. The violence snuffed
out hopes that after a six-week lull the conflict
was winding down.
President Bush asked Congress Thursday for
authority to "use all means," including
military force if necessary, to disarm and
overthrow Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein if he does
not quickly meet United Nations demands that he
abandon all weapons of mass destruction.
Two Bush administration officials told lawmakers
Thursday they knew before the Sept. 11 attacks
that Osama bin Laden might attack Americans, but
don't remember being warned that terrorists could
fly passenger jets into buildings on U.S. soil.
Iraq is
free of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons,
Saddam Hussein told the United Nations in a
speech read Thursday by his foreign minister. The
White House dismissed the speech as a
"disappointing failure."
"Our country is ready to receive any
scientific experts, accompanied by politicians you
choose to represent any one of your countries, to
tell us which places and scientific installations
they would wish to see, particularly those about
which the American officials have been fabricating
false stories, alleging that they contain
prohibited materials or activities," Foreign
Minister Naji Sabri told the world body, quoting
the Iraqi president.
A Senate
committee on Thursday passed additional measures
to tighten aviation security while also extending
the year-end deadline for some airports to screen
all passenger bags for explosives.
But the security steps might not become law
because Congress could run out of time to act this
year.
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September
20, 2002
Yasser Arafat, caught in the tightest Israeli
chokehold yet, pleaded for the world's help after
troops blew up buildings in his compound Friday
and started digging a deep trench and running
coils of barbed wire around his office.
Thirteen days before the Sept. 11 attacks, a
frustrated FBI agent warned headquarters that
"someday, someone will die" after he was
denied permission to pursue a man who would become
one of the hijackers, a congressional panel was
told Friday.
President Bush appealed Friday to a reluctant
Russian President Vladimir Putin to back a new
U.N. Security Council resolution threatening Iraq
with war if it does not destroy its weapons
stockpiles.
Heading into a critical week, the White House is
magnifying its lobbying efforts on a handful of
senators who hold the key to creating President
Bush's Department of Homeland Security.
President Bush declared in an aggressive new
national security strategy Friday that the United
States will stop any adversary challenging
America's military superiority and adopt a
strike-first policy against terrorist threats
"before they're fully formed."
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September
21 - 30, 2002
Chronology Pages are completed as of September 11,
2002. They will no longer be updated.
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