Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (320061)	11/16/2002 1:08:10 PM
From: jlallen	Respond to of 769670

Bush Brushes Aside Criticism of War on Terror By Adam Entous WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Despite the apparent survival of Osama bin Laden (news - web sites), President Bush (news - web sites) claimed great progress in the war on terrorism on Saturday, touting thousands of arrests by the United States and its allies and vowing that "no terrorist will escape" the global manhunt. "Our war against terrorists and their supporters is advancing on all fronts," Bush said, a day after U.S. government sources reported the capture of a high-ranking al Qaeda leader, who was not immediately identified. The White House's aggressive defense of its anti-terror campaign followed Democratic charges that Bush had little to show for his efforts to dismantle al Qaeda and an ominous FBI (news - web sites) warning that bin Laden's militant network may be plotting "spectacular" new attacks against American targets. Bush also used his weekly radio address as a send-off for weapons inspectors returning to Iraq under a tough new U.N. resolution, warning that any defiance by President Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) could result in war. "This week the dictator of Iraq told the U.N. he would give weapons inspectors unrestricted access to his country. We've heard such pledges before and they have been uniformly betrayed," Bush said. "America and the world are now watching Saddam Hussein closely. Any act of defiance or delay will indicate that he is taking the path of deception once again, and this time the consequences would be severe," he added. DEMOCRATIC CRITICISM Following the release of an audiotaped message apparently by bin Laden, Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle and other Democrats questioned whether Bush was making progress breaking up al Qaeda and findings its leaders. The voice on the tape praised recent attacks against Western interests around the world and threatened further attacks against the United States and its allies if Washington took military action against Iraq. "I'm troubled that we haven't found bin Laden in all this time," Daschle said. "It causes many of us to be concerned about whether or not we're winning the war on terror." The White House responded by releasing a three-page listing of Bush's achievements to date in the war on terrorism, from the freezing of $113.5 million in so-called "terrorist assets" to 2,290 terrorism-related arrests in 99 countries. Roughly half of the top two-dozen al Qaeda leaders have either been killed or captured since the United States started hunting them down after the Sept. 11 attacks, though the whereabouts of bin Laden and other senior leaders remain unknown. The United States says al Qaeda orchestrated the attacks, which killed about 3,000 people. Earlier this month an unmanned CIA (news - web sites) drone fired a missile at a car in Yemen and killed six suspected al Qaeda members. Al Qaeda leaders Abu Zubaydah and Ramzi Binalshibh were caught in separate operations in Pakistan earlier this year. They are being interrogated at an undisclosed location. "The best way to keep America safe from terrorism is to go after terrorists where they plan and hide. And that work goes on around the world," Bush said. He also touted a congressional compromise to set up a new Department of Homeland Security. The biggest government reorganization in a half century, the new department will include all or part of 22 existing federal agencies, including the Coast Guard, Border Patrol and Secret Service. Bush plans to nominate Tom Ridge, who now serves as director of the White House Office of Homeland Security, to head the new agency, according to sources. "With Congress' vote on the final legislation, America will have a single agency with the full-time duty of protecting our people against attack," Bush said. "The threat of terror will be with us for years to come, and we remain resolved to see this conflict through to its end."