Anxious, angry America mourns its losses

5.00 pm

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK - An anxious and angry nation gathered in grief today as US President George W. Bush vowed to rid the world of evil and strike back at America's enemies "at an hour of our choosing."

On the third day after Tuesday's shattering aerial attacks on New York's World Trade Centre and the Pentagon, the country mobilised thousands of reservists and girded for a battle that many Americans support but few understand.

Rescue workers fought on through driving rain at the twisted wreckage of New York's famous 110-story twin towers, their flagging energies bolstered by a visit from Bush, who was greeted by raucous cheers of "USA! USA!"

In Washington's National Cathedral, and in churches, mosques, synagogues and public squares around the country, ordinary people stood quietly or sobbed, marking an official day of mourning and remembrance for the hundreds confirmed dead and thousands still missing from Tuesday's assault.

As evening fell, candlelight vigils were called around the country.

Federal officials, deep into what has become the biggest criminal investigation in the nation's history, released more information about the shadowy hijackers blamed for the attacks and tracked international connections many believe may lead to exiled Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden, who helms one of the world's most feared terror networks.

Bush, facing the greatest challenge of his young presidency, led a who's who of America's political leaders in a memorial service at Washington's National Cathedral, pledging "to rid the world of evil" behind Tuesday's assaults.

Before a congregation that included former President Bill Clinton, his father George Bush, Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford as well as his election rival of last year, Al Gore, an emotional Bush vowed that America would seek its revenge.

"This nation is peaceful, but fierce when stirred to anger. This conflict was begun on the timing and terms of others; it will end in a way and at an hour of our choosing," Bush said.

He then flew to New York for a first-hand look at the devastation wrought when two passenger jets slammed into the World Trade Centre towers, now a mountain of crushed concrete, twisted steel and broken glass.

Clambering atop a twisted piece of rubble and greeted by cheers of "USA! USA!" from exhausted rescue workers, Bush stood at what has been called "ground zero" of the attack and declared that those responsible for the carnage will be brought to justice.

"America this day is on bended knee in prayer for the people whose lives were lost here, the workers who work here, for the families," he yelled through a bullhorn, as rescuers on heavy machinery cheered.

A stench emanated from the piles of steel and rock, and thick smoke still billowed from the rubble of what used to be New York's tallest buildings.

The scope of the tragedy continued to unfold in Washington, where the Defense Department said 126 people were still missing from the Pentagon, and in New York, where 4,763 people were missing from the World Trade Centre.

Officials said 266 people were aboard the four doomed planes and though New York officials did not have an update of the number of missing on Friday, they said some 4,300 people had been treated, 184 bodies recovered and 35 victims identified.

With anger growing over the deadly attack, the US Senate unanimously approved a resolution authorising Bush to "use all necessary and appropriate force" against the perpetrators. The US House of Representatives also was expected to back the bipartisan measure requested by the president.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld activated 35,000 reservists of 50,000 authorised by Bush to provide "strike-alert" jet fighter protection and perform other duties at domestic military bases.

A new poll by Time magazine and CNN showed two out of three Americans wanted a declaration of war after the attacks but were not sure who to target.

That uncertainty was apparent at the highest levels of government as well. While officials have singled out Saudi-born extremist Osama bin Laden, who has been given refuge by the Taleban government in Afghanistan, as the chief suspect behind the attacks, they have also cautioned that the United States could be facing an array of different foes.

In Afghanistan, as people fled the capital Kabul in fear of possible US retribution, Taleban leaders on Friday called on the Muslim world to unite against the United States to seek revenge "by other means" if the country is attacked.

Officials released more information about the 19 knife-wielding hijackers who took over four commercial planes and turned them into guided missiles, two that destroyed the twin towers and one that set the Pentagon on fire. A fourth airliner crashed in western Pennsylvania.

US officials said the attacks took great skill and careful planning, and released the names of the suspected hijackers, including seven pilots, who were believed to have several associates still at large.

Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz said the US Air Force was tracking the fourth hijacked plane that crashed in Pennsylvania on Tuesday and could have brought it down. Officials say that plane apparently crashed after passengers struggled with the hijackers.

"There's been so many great Americans doing great things and the people on that plane were clearly among them," Wolfowitz said.

US stock markets remained closed on Friday while officials readied for Monday's scheduled resumption of trading only blocks from the wreckage of the World Trade Centre.

With fears of a possible global recession on the rise, signs of economic unease abounded. One financial analyst said the Boeing Co., the world-leading commercial jet company, could see orders drop to zero in coming quarters. MetLife Inc., the US No. 2 life insurer by assets, said it expected $US250 million to $US300 million in claims from the attack on New York alone, more than halving expected third-quarter profits.

The dollar tumbled to its lowest levels in more than six months against European currencies and the yen. European shares tumbled 5 per cent and oil prices soared on Friday as concerns mounted that the attacks could spark escalating violence.

Air passengers, stranded for three days after US aviation authorities halted commercial traffic, began slowly heading toward their destinations, although progress remained slow as airports and airlines struggled with stringent new security precautions.

And those precautions were only the beginning as Congress began moving on a crush of additional security proposals that could curb civil liberties and alter the American way of life.

Measures under consideration would make it easier for the FBI to track individuals, tighten airport check-in policy, funnel more money into intelligence gathering, even allow Americans to contribute to the war on terror and to relief for the victims by buying new "Unity Bonds."

With war jitters spreading, many people found themselves fighting both fear and anger as the nation assessed its wounds.

"We're facing a new kind of enemy, we're involved in a new kind of warfare and we need the help of the spirit of God," the Rev. Billy Graham said in a sermon at the National Cathedral service, a rare appearance for the 83-year-old evangelist often referred to as "the nation's pastor."

But there were also signs of hope, and of faith. From leather gloves to teddy bears, Americans across the country donated what they could to help the victims cope.

In Michigan, Arab Americans conducted a blood drive. In Connecticut, groups of Greenwich school children prepared lunches for volunteers working around the clock to search for survivors.

- REUTERS

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