America responds notebook

Compiled from Times wires

© St. Petersburg Times,
published October 21, 2001

Report: CIA ordered to destroy bin Laden

WASHINGTON -- President Bush last month signed an intelligence order directing the CIA to undertake its most sweeping and lethal covert action since the founding of the agency in 1947, explicitly calling for the destruction of Osama bin Laden and his worldwide al-Qaida network, the Washington Post reported, citing unnamed senior government officials.

The president also added more than $1-billion to the agency's war on terrorism, most of it for the new covert action. The operation will include what the unnamed officials said is "unprecedented" coordination between the CIA and commando and other military units. The Washington Post quoted the unnamed officials as saying that the president, operating through his "war cabinet," has pledged to dispatch military units to take advantage of the CIA's latest and best intelligence.

Bush's order, called an intelligence "finding," instructs the agency to attack bin Laden's communications, security apparatus and infrastructure, the Washington Post reported, quoting unnamed senior government officials. U.S. intelligence has identified new and important specific weaknesses in the bin Laden organization that are not publicly known, and these vulnerabilities will be the focus of the lethal covert action, Post sources said.

Another attack could stop Olympics, official hints

SALT LAKE CITY -- Olympic officials could consider canceling the Winter Olympics in the event of another major terrorist attack on the U.S., one International Olympic Committee member says.

"If, God forbid, there is another awful disaster ... between now and then, it's going to require a reconsideration," Prince Albert of Monaco, a member of the International Olympic Committee, said Friday.

The committee has the power to cancel the event. But its president, Jacques Rogge, and the president of the Salt Lake City organizing committee, Mitt Romney, have repeatedly played down any possibility the games might have to be canceled and say they aren't discussing it.

"We are absolutely committed to holding the Games," Romney said Friday.

New York training more in hazardous materials

NEW YORK -- The New York City Fire Department, still reeling from the loss last month of so many firefighters it had taught to handle hazardous materials, is moving rapidly to train replacements so it can confront the surge in anthrax calls.

The first class of 21 firefighters completed their basic training in hazardous materials on Friday. Officials said they hoped to train another 130 by February so they would be able to restore, and perhaps even expand, the agency's ability to respond to bioterrorism and other hazards.

When the World Trade Center collapsed on Sept. 11, the department lost 93 of the 452 firefighters it had certified in the handling of hazardous materials.

City in N.Y. finally mourns for its mayor's husband

POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. -- The bells finally tolled Saturday for Juan Lafuente, more than a month after his disappearance on Sept. 11.

About 500 mourners passed through lines of police officers and firefighters into St. Mary's Church. They overflowed into the aisles to remember and pray for the 61-year-old computer analyst, father of four and husband of the city's mayor.

"We are here to celebrate life and love," said priest John Brinn. "The life and loves that were Juan Lafuente's."

The service came later than those of many others missing after the attacks on the World Trade Center.

Mayor Colette Lafuente explained that her husband had no reason to be in the disaster zone that morning, and should have been blocks away, near his office on Wall Street. She has continued looking.

"I've had no news," Colette Lafuente explained earlier last week, "and it's just ... we're going to have a memorial."

Search-and-rescue dogs to be studied for years

ST. LOUIS -- Veterinarians will monitor search-and-rescue dogs that worked during the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks to see if the animals experience changes in health or behavior.

Dr. Cynthia Otto, a University of Pennsylvania veterinarian, explained plans for the three-year study at the National Canine Health Conference in St. Louis.

U.S. planes use Azerbaijan airspace to deliver aid

BAKU, Azerbaijan -- U.S. planes carrying humanitarian aid and equipment for the antiterrorist operation in Afghanistan are using Azerbaijani airspace, a senior Azerbaijani official said Saturday.

It was the first official confirmation of Azerbaijani participation in the war. Immediately after the Sept. 11 terror attacks in the United States, the Caspian nation offered its help in tracking down the perpetrators but thus far had avoided formal mention of the use of its airspace.

U.S. transport planes, however, have been seen landing in Baku, the capital.

Solicitation via e-mail is just another scam

The subject line of the e-mail pleads, "Your support is needed."

When the message is opened, a window with the familiar logo of the Red Cross and photos of wide-eyed children pop up. It appears to be a donation request from the three largest fundraisers for the Sept. 11 terrorism relief effort: the American Red Cross, the United Way of New York City and the New York Community Trust.

Contributors are asked to type in their name, address, credit card number and other personal information and to send the form on to its digitized charitable destination.

It's easy. It's also a scam.

None of those charities is soliciting Sept. 11 funds via e-mail, officials confirmed Friday, nor are they receiving any money contributed in such a manner.

Rather, the e-mails sent in recent days are the latest Web scam.

The Internet Fraud Complaint Center recommends that donors obtain Web site addresses separately instead of linking to them from e-mail messages. Web sites such as give.org list nonprofit organizations that have been approved by the Internal Revenue Service. If in doubt, organizers suggest contacting the charity by telephone. If donors suspect fraud, they should contact their credit card company.

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