Cincinnati had not seen such racial unrest since Martin Luther King’s assassination in 1968.. Two American Air Force officers have been given the right to order the shooting down of civilian airliners if they threaten American cities, the Pentagon announced yesterday. Two American Air Force officers have been given the right to order the shooting down of civilian airliners if they threaten American cities, the Pentagon announced yesterday.
President Bush gave authorisation for the revised rules of engagement as part of an overhaul of defence tactics in the wake of the 11 September terrorist attacks on America.General Ralph Eberhart, the head of the North American Aerospace Defence Command, Norad, said a two-star officer, Major General Larry Arnold – a decorated fighter pilot who served in Vietnam and oversees 48 American states – would now have authority as a “last resort” to order hijacked aircraft to be shot down over the United States.Joint responsibility for the new defence plan also rests with Lieutenant-General Norton Schwartz, a former command pilot who oversees Alaska. Previously, only the President, as the Commander-in-Chief of the US Armed Forces, could authorise the downing of commercial airliners.General Eberhart said: “If there’s time, we’d go all the way to the President.
Otherwise the standing orders have been pushed down to the regional level.”General Eberhart admitted that Norad, which was created during the Cold War, was prepared primarily for external threats. He told The New York Times: “If somebody had called us and said, we have a hijacking 100 miles out coming from Europe or South America, there are terrorists on board and they have taken over the plane, that’s a scenario we have practised. We do not practise – and I wish to God we had – a scenario where this takes off in Boston and minutes later crashes into New York City. This is a whole new ball game.”On 11 September, jet fighters were called in after the first airliner hit the World Trade Centre, but they were not allowed to shoot down the second and third aircraft because only the White House had the authority to give the order.Vice-President Dick Cheney said Mr Bush had ordered a fourth aircraft, Flight 93, to be “taken out” if necessary, but it crashed in Pennsylvania after passengers took matters into their own hands by storming the hijackers.In Britain, the Ministry of Defence said Tony Blair would have to order the downing of a hijacked airliner.. The first part of our analysis of the terrorist attacks on Americas and the ensuing war against terrorism, giving information on key issues together with the texts of important speeches and articles
Click here for more Background: 7 October – 6 NovemberKey issuesback to special report indexOsama bin Laden: The truth about the world’s most wanted man, and Robert Fisk asks, is this really the godfather of terror?What is Islam: Its name implies peace, but it preaches Holy War – so what kind of religion is it?What evidence does America have linking bin Laden to the attacks?The Taliban: How it was created by US foreign policySpeeches and addressesGeorge Bush’s Presidential address on 12 September 2001: A great people moved to defend a great nationGeorge Bush’s radio address on 16 September 2001: The course to victory may be longGeorge Bush’s speech to both houses of Congress on 22 September 2001: The Taliban must hand over the terrorists, or share in their fateKofi Annan on 22 September 2001: We must recognise our common enemiesHillary Clinton on 17 September 2001: We must reconstruct the American spiritColin Powell on 14 September 2001: It’s time for America to get back to workSaudi announcement on 27 September 2001: Severing ties with Afghanistan’s TalibanStatement attributed to Osama bin Laden on 25 September 2001: We ask God to make us defeat infidelsOpen letter from Saddam Hussein on 19 September 2001: The United States is settling old scoresA changed worldA moment that will define the 21st century by Timothy Garton AshAll-American Nightmare by Mary DejevskyThe end of innocence part 1 and part 2 by Andrew MarshallMedia coverageWhere have all the radio programmes gone? by Miles KingtonLike nothing else, those newspapers at the back of the wardrobe tell it all by Simon O’HaganEven TV shuddered from the impact by Tom Sutcliffeback to special report index. A collection of leading articles and commentary on the terrorist attacks in America and their aftermath, up until the start of Operation Enduring Freedom
More opinion: Air campaign | Taliban falls | Political aftermathLeading articlesback to special report index1 October: Fighting terrorism should not mean tearing up our new human rights law27 September: This is still a war that has few clear enemies and still fewer clear aims23 September: Bush has not yet earned the right to lead us to war22 September: This war will be won by diplomacy and intelligence, not just by armed might20 September: Pakistan might yet prove to be a weak link in Mr Bush’s grand coalition17 September: It is meaningless and dangerous to declare war against terrorism15 September: We will remember this week as a tragedy, not a turning point in history 13 September: Hold fire until we have seen Mr Bush’s response12 September: Acts of barbarism should be met with a civilised responseYasmin Alibhai-Brown1 October: The truth about Islam and women24 September: Don’t forget the families that have been blown to shreds17 September: The BBC should be proud of ‘Question Time’15 September: We share your grief. You must share our concerns14 September: This fireball of fear and loathingDavid Aaronovitch28 September: General Powell is neither a hawk nor a dove he’s an owl21 September: Help! There’s been an outbreak of Pinterism19 September: Fight against myths and legends14 September: Act rashly, and our children will suffer in years to come12 September: Anger is the first response, but understanding is betterDonald Macintyre2 October: At last, the rest of the world matters to politicians20 September: Ultimately, America will do what America wants to do15 September: Shoulder to shoulder with Mr Bush – but for how long?13 September: Mr Blair’s dilemma: should he take the risk CommentatorsRichard Goldstone: Terrorists can be brought to justice only by legal meansHugh Brogan: Why America the giant will always make enemiesFergal Keane: It is not terrorism we are fighting – it is hatredFergal Keane: There is only one way to defeat such hatredPhilip Hensher: Is there anyone I know trapped in the wreckage?Niall Ferguson: America should hit back and hit hardCharles Krauthammer: An act of war demands a military responseChris Buckley: To punish innocent Afghans would be immoralAnne McElvoy: Easy words can’t obscure the choice aheadJoan Smith: The terrible question that America must ask itselfChristopher Hitchens: American society can outlast or absorb practically anythingGeoffrey Robertson: America is wrong to shoot first, then ask questions about guilt laterBarbara Lee: I will not put more innocent lives at riskWilliam Dalrymple: Is Islamophobia the new racism?Harold Evans: Americans want action.
And they’re rightAdel Darwish: To many Arabs bitter about the West, this was a kind of justiceCharles Powell: Isolation will no longer be an option for Americaback to special report index. The first part of our collection of articles analysing the terrorist attacks on America and their aftermath, including pieces by The Independent’s respected Middle East Correspondent, Robert Fisk
More analysis: Air campaign | Taliban falls | Political aftermathRobert Fiskback to special report indexDispatches from The Independent’s respected Middle East Correspondent25 September: This is not a war on terror. It’s a fight against America’s enemies23 September: How can the US bomb this tragic people?16 September: Bush is walking into a trap15 September: Osama bin Laden: The godfather of terror? 14 September: The lesson of history: Afghanistan always beats its invaders13 September: They can run and they can hide. Suicide bombers are here to stay12 September: Is the world’s favourite hate figure to blame?12 September: The wickedness and awesome cruelty of a crushed and humiliated peoplePaddy Ashdown: The only way to answer global atrocity is with global lawChristopher Bellamy: He may look medieval, but Bin Laden is a modern tactician of rare geniusPaddy Ashdown: The ways and means of a ‘new kind of war’Christopher Bellamy: The dawn of ‘asymmetric conflict’ comes of ageLawrence Freedman: The enemy may be shadowy, but this war will follow the usual battle linesback to special report index. Alissa Quartback to special report indexDay 1: I cried – but I was one of the lucky onesDay 2: I kept bicycling to escape the fearDay 3: I want to leave, but it would seem a betrayalDay 5: Even the bankers have started saying hello…Day 6: We all felt much better hauling dog food aroundDay 7: I tried flowers, counselling, and religionDay 8: Invaded by tourists of the grotesqueDay 9: Empty malls and new values24 September: I have fled the city, but there is no escape28 September: Getting on with our lives but with a difference16 October: In New York, the exception has become the ruleback to special report index. David Usborneback to special report index’At that moment, thousands of us said our private prayers…’Priests give last rites on the street as survivors queue to give blood – this looks like a war zoneA journey through the ruins of ManhattanGrieving relatives turn to journalists as a neutral audience Barbra Walsh one victim’s storyAfter two days, five firefighters walked out of the tombThis is a city on edge, full of frazzled nervesThe ground is thick with wax from a thousand candlesSix thousand hopes flutter away on New York’s Wall of PrayerVictims & survivorsA bizarre and tragic twist of fateInside the towers, they scrambled for their livesTwo babies are born to mothers widowed in attackSurvivors tell of the difference between life and deathHe would have shrugged and said: ‘If it’s time to go, it’s time to go”I wish our Graham had slept in that day”The plane was feet from the tower ? I could see people in the cockpit’The rescue effortTrying not to think too much, they sift the remains of buildings and people’Where are the bodies?’ She sighs and looks up at the skyDr Palmer Bessey: Out of the flames, a chance of life for the wounded fewback to special report index. The veteran civil rights leader, the Reverend Jesse Jackson, is considering whether to embark on a mediation mission to Afghanistan.
The veteran civil rights leader, the Reverend Jesse Jackson, is considering whether to embark on a mediation mission to Afghanistan.
The circumstances of Mr Jackson’s possible involvement are confused. He himself said he was responding to an invitation from the Taliban, but the Islamic fundamentalist regime insisted that the initiative had been proposed by the veteran campaigner.Yesterday, Mr Jackson who has discussed the matter with Colin Powell, the Secretary of State, other senior Bush advisers and Kofi Annan, the UN secretary general said he had not made up his mind whether to go ahead.The White House would be far happier if he didn’t. Asked if he believed that Mr Jackson should accept the mission, Richard Armitage, the deputy secretary of state, replied: “I personally wouldn’t, but it’s not my decision.”Washington sees the mission as a deliberate delaying tactic by the Taliban, who have been told by President George Bush to hand over Osama bin Laden, the prime suspect for the devastating attacks on 11 September, and immediately release captured foreign aid workers, who include two Americans. In his address to Congress last week, Mr Bush said those demands were not open to negotiation. Now the administration fears that if Mr Jackson arrives in Kabul or Kandahar, the Taliban will try to do precisely that.Interviewed on American television, Mr Jackson said the families of the two aid workers wanted him to go to Afghanis-tan.
