Bush rejects Afghan clerics’ proposal, prepares to address Congress

Associated Press

WASHINGTON – The White House rejected a proposal by Islamic clerics on Thursday that Osama bin Laden be allowed to leave Afghanistan voluntarily. As President Bush prepared to address Congress, the Army’s civilian leader said the military was bracing for “sustained land combat operations.”

The clerics’ suggestion that bin Laden be allowed to leave on his own volition “does not meet America’s requirements,” said White House spokesman Ari Fleischer. “It’s time for action and not words.”

Nine days after the suicide hijacking attacks that left more than an estimated 5,000 dead or missing in New York and Washington, Bush planned a 9 p.m. EDT address to Congress and the nation to unite Americans for a long battle.

With U.S. military forces on the move, Army Secretary Thomas E. White told reporters a deployment order signed by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld includes Army as well as Air Force troops.

“We are ready to deliver it across the whole array of force structure – heavy, light, airmobile, airborne, special operations,” White said.

Stocks fell sharply yet again on fears of adverse economic fallout. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan acknowledged that economic activity virtually ground to a halt after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

But, he told a congressional panel that the country’s long-term prospects remained strong.

“An enormous effort will be required on the part of many to cope with the human and physical destruction,” Greenspan said in testimony to the Senate Banking Committee.

In his speech, Bush will make the case against No. 1 suspect bin Laden and his al-Qaida network, officials said.

With the speech in the Capitol taking place under exceptionally tight security, Fleischer said that Vice President Dick Cheney will not attend but will remain in a secret, secure location in recognition of “the continuation of important government issues” should terrorists strike again. British Prime Minister Tony Blair will attend.

In the Afghan capital of Kabul, Islamic clerics Thursday urged bin Laden to leave Afghanistan voluntarily, but set no deadline for him to decide, according to the news agency of the ruling Taliban militia.

The clerics said they are prepared to call for a holy war against the United States if U.S. troops attack Afghanistan in an attempt to capture him and members of his al-Qaida terrorist organization.

Conveying Bush’s rejection, Fleischer said, “This is about much more than any one man being allowed to leave – presumably from one safe harbor to another safe harbor, if what he’s doing is voluntary.”

“The president has demanded that the key figures of the al-Qaida terrorist organization, including Osama bin Laden, be turned over to responsible authorities and that the Taliban close terrorist camps in Afghanistan. The United States stands behind those demands,” Fleischer said.

Previewing the speech to Congress, the second of Bush’s presidency, Fleischer said Bush would say the nation is engaged in a “battle between freedom and fear and freedom will prevail.” The speech will last at least 30 minutes, he said.

Also Thursday:

_New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani said searchers will keep looking for survivors in the ruins of the World Trade Center even though the remains of some victims likely will never be found. It is likely “that given the nature of this implosion and the temperatures – 1,000, 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit – that we will not be able to recover every single person,” Giuliani said on NBC’s “Today” show.

_Transporation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta told Congress that steps are under way to increase airline security beyond the measures initially announced after the terrorist attacks.

_An administration package to provide $5 billion immediately to help struggling airlines would also give them “temporary terrorism risk insurance” on all domestic flights for 180 days. Currently, only international routes have such coverage.

_Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld declined to rule out Iraq as a target of the anti-terrorism campaign. “There are a number of nations that are on the official, public list of terrorist nations,” he said on NBC’s “Today.”

In his address to Congress, Bush will not seek a declaration of war or announce that a military strike is under way, officials said. Instead, he will ask imploring Americans to have patience for a long, painful hunt for terrorists.

The words are meant to build resolve as soldiers, ships and aircraft head across the sea for conflict. Bush is also expected to warn that some of those heading out may not return.

Meantime, the pursuit of bin Laden and his elusive, loose-knit group of terrorists continued on several fronts.

The FBI enlisted banks to follow the money trail in last week’s terrorist attacks, in which two hijacked planes were crashed into the World Trade Center, another into the Pentagon and a fourth into the southwestern Pennsylvania countryside. More than 5,400 people were believed killed.

With the number of people detained on immigration charges for questioning rising to 115, the FBI sent a list of the alleged hijackers to banks asking them to search for any transactions involving 21 people wanted in connection with the attacks.

Agents also were investigating the possibility that some of the suspected suicide hijackers used fake identities of people who may still be alive.

Ashcroft said Wednesday that evidence shows the terrorists suspected “are harbored, supported, sustained and protected by a variety of foreign governments.”

The economic fallout from the terrorist attacks sent stocks plummeting Wednesday and Thursday.

The president also was mindful of the impact on the economy of last week’s attacks, promising that the government would respond, pledging to help the hard-hit airline industry in particular.

The Pentagon has given the coming struggle a name – “Operation Infinite Justice.” The military action began in earnest Wednesday as the Air Force dispatched dozens of warplanes to the Persian Gulf area.

The aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt also was sent toward the Mediterranean to join two aircraft carriers already in the region near Afghanistan. Bin Laden is believed to be hiding there.

The terrorist attacks and a two-day, federally ordered shutdown of the air travel system set in motion a crisis for airline companies – American and United airlines announced 40,000 layoffs Wednesday.

The parent company of American, the world’s largest airline, said it will lay off at least 20,000 of its 138,350 workers. The cuts by AMR Corp. will affect American, TWA and American Eagle.

United matched the bad news, saying it would lay off 20,000 of its 100,000 workers. Just a day earlier, Boeing said it planned to cut as many as 30,000 jobs by the end of next year.

“This is not a ripple effect,” said Rep. Jennifer Dunn, whose suburban Seattle district includes thousands of Boeing workers. “This is a tsunami.”