President George W. Bush called the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington ``the first war of the 21st century'' and his administration labeled fugitive Osama bin Laden a prime suspect.
The United States promised Thursday to wage all-out retaliation against those responsible and any regime that protects them. Action could take weeks or months rather than days, a senior administration official indicated.
As part of the effort, the United States urged Pakistan to close its border with neighboring Afghanistan, where bin Laden operates, and to cut off funding for terrorist groups.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the United States also asked Pakistan for peas evacuated in the middle of a Senate vote Thursday evening because of a bomb threat. Members were allowed to return when bomb-sniffing dogs did not find explosives.
Tears welling in his eyes, Bush spoke earlier of a need to win the battle against terrorism.
``I'm a loving guy. And I am also someone, however, who's got a job to do and I intend to do it. And this is a terrible moment,'' Bush said, talking to reporters in the Oval Office.
Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz said the administration's retaliation would be ``sustained and broad and effective'' and that the United States ``will use all our resources.''
``It's not just simply a matter of capturing people and holding them accountable, but removing the sad thousands of leads'' in the investigation of the attacks
Ashcroft said a total of 18 hijackers were on the four planes _ five on two and four on the other was an important U.S. ally during the Cold War, although relations more recently have been strained.
Bush announced he would visit New York to get a firsthand look at the devastation in lower Manhattan, where Washington Hospital Center with the first lady to visit victims of the plane crash at the Pentagon.
About 190 people perished in the terrorist attack on the Pentagon, including 64 aboard the plane.
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)
EYE ON STRAIT: The US spending bill ‘doubles security cooperation funding for Taiwan,’ while also seeking to counter the influence of China US President Joe Biden on Saturday signed into law a US$1.2 trillion spending package that includes US$300 million in foreign military financing to Taiwan, as well as funding for Taipei-Washington cooperative projects. The US Congress early on Saturday overwhelmingly passed the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act 2024 to avoid a partial shutdown and fund the government through September for a fiscal year that began six months ago. Under the package, the Defense Appropriations Act would provide a US$27 billion increase from the previous fiscal year to fund “critical national defense efforts, including countering the PRC [People’s Republic of China],” according to a summary