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© St. Petersburg Times, published June 11, 2002
Bush vows to use 'all our power'
WASHINGTON -- President Bush made a case Monday for pre-emptive strikes against terrorists that seek weapons of mass destruction for use against the United States and other nations, saying "we will oppose the new totalitarians with all our power."
"With the spread of chemical and biological and nuclear weapons, along with ballistic missile technology, freedom's enemies could attain catastrophic power," Bush told about 100 world conservatives gathered for a White House dinner.
In an earlier speech before the group, the International Democrat Union, Vice President Dick Cheney said the United States will not shy away from first strikes when it acts against terrorists.
Cheney said a strike-first military policy is necessary because past approaches to world security -- Cold War deterrence, summit meetings and treaties -- will not work against terrorists who have no single base of operation and "nothing to defend."
NEW YORK -- Nine months after the destruction of the World Trade Center, New Yorkers say they are struggling with the psychological fallout from the attack, with many avoiding visits to skyscrapers, landmarks and stadiums, and reporting persistent anxiety and sleeplessness, a New York Times/CBS News Poll shows.
One in three said that attacks made them less likely to attend crowded events. More than one-third of subway riders said they were uneasy while riding, while one-quarter who visit or work in skyscrapers said the experience left them on edge.
The telephone poll, which began Tuesday and was completed Sunday, involved 940 adults in New York City. The margin of error is 3 percentage points.
RABAT, Morocco -- Moroccan police arrested three Saudi nationals who were allegedly planning attacks against U.S. and British war ships in the Strait of Gibraltar, key government officials said Monday.
The men were arrested last month and claimed to belong to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network, the Moroccan officials told the Associated Press. The officials said the suspects planned to sail a dinghy loaded with explosives from Morocco into the strait to attack the vessels, a plan similar to the October 2000 on the USS Cole.
NEW YORK -- A rabbi says civilians armed with shotguns will begin patrolling heavily Jewish neighborhoods this month because a suspected terrorist said Muslim extremists once planned attacks on New York Jews.
The patrols, to begin June 16, are in response to the comments that Abdul Rahman Yasin made on CBS's 60 Minutes June 2, said Rabbi Yakove Lloyd of the Jewish Defense Group.
Lloyd said the nightly patrols would include 50 to 200 people of different religious faiths, mainly Jews, carrying shotguns in bags. It is illegal to carry an exposed shotgun on city streets, Police Department spokeswoman Valerie St. Rose said. She said it was unclear whether carrying one in a bag is illegal.
MANAMA, Bahrain -- Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is a "world-class liar" who is trying to fool the world into thinking he has no interest in weapons of mass destruction, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told U.S. troops Monday.
In emphatic tones, the defense secretary noted a public assertion by Hussein's government that it has no weapons of mass destruction and is making no effort to acquire them. "He's lying. It's not complicated," Rumsfeld said.
MEETINGS HELD WITH OPPOSITION: Bush administration officials have met with Iraqi opposition leaders on how best to mobilize against President Saddam Hussein and to prepare for governing Iraq after Hussein, the State Department said Monday. Spokesman Richard Boucher said the administration offered the group $8-million.
SECURITY COUNCIL TO MEET WEDNESDAY: President Bush is to hold the first meeting of a new domestic security advisory council on Wednesday. The White House is expected to release the 21 members of the panel today, tapping Democrats and Republicans, at least one governor and local officials, according to the office of homeland security.
DEATH PENALTY STALLS SHARING: German authorities are balking at handing over evidence to assist in the prosecution of the alleged 20th hijacker, Zacarias Moussaoui, because he could face the death penalty if convicted of conspiring in the Sept. 11 attacks. The death penalty "does not correspond to the ideals of our legal system," said Thomas Weber, a spokesman for the German Justice Ministry.
PORTS ON ALERT: U.S. ports and ships are operating under heightened security after the Coast Guard warned of a possible terrorist attack by swimmers or divers.
Coast Guard Cmdr. Jim McPherson asked anyone noticing suspicious maritime activity to call 1-800-424-8802.