Taliban must act now: Bush

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

WASHINGTON, SEPT. 21. Calling upon nations to join the war against terror and reminding them that they were either on the side of the United States or the terrorists, the U.S. President, Mr. George W. Bush, vowed that justice would be meted out to those responsible for killing thousands last week in New York and Washington.

Addressing the joint session of Congress, Mr. Bush once again demanded that Afghanistan hand over the Saudi dissident, Osama bin Laden, prime suspect in last Tuesday's terror attacks, and be rid of terrorist outfits and operations. ``The Taliban must act and act immediately. They will hand over the terrorists or they will share their fate,'' Mr. Bush declared.

``Our grief has turned to anger, and anger to resolution. Whether we bring our enemies to justice or bring justice to our enemies, justice will be done,'' Mr. Bush said. He bluntly reminded the nations, ``either you are with us or you are with the terrorists. From this day forward, any nation that continues to harbour or support terrorism will be regarded... as a hostile regime.''

Mr. Bush, in the course of his historic address to Congress and the nation, reminded the Americans that his campaign was directed at the extremists and terror networks and not against the Islamic faith. Cautioning his countrymen against singling out individuals on the basis of their ethnicity or religious belief, Mr. Bush said the people of different nationalities, including over 250 Indians, had died in the tragedy.

The Vice-President, Mr. Dick Cheney, was not present on the Capitol Hill due to security reasons. Among those present was the British Prime Minister, Mr. Tony Blair. And the wife of a passenger who died in one of the hijacked planes in Pennsylvania

was among the invited guests. Mr. Bush took the opportunity to announce that a new Cabinet position had been created - Department of Homeland Security - and that his good friend, the Governor of Pennsylvania, Mr. Tommy Ridge, was going to head it and report directly to him.

On Thursday, a delegation of over 40 Senators travelled to New York to see first-hand, the destruction of the World Trade Center; and the Attorney-General, Mr. John Ashcroft, visited Pennsylvania to see the crash site of the hijacked plane, the passengers of which took the heroic decision of overpowering the terrorists.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Front Page
Previous : Successor a surprise choice
Next     : Dhanush test-fired