USA: TERROR ATTACKS: PRESIDENT GEORGE W BUSH WEEKLY RADIO ADDRESS/ LATEST IN WTC GROUND SERO SEARCH/ RESIDENTS RETURN TO THE AREA FOR SUPPLIES

Record ID: 677276

  • Title: USA: TERROR ATTACKS: PRESIDENT GEORGE W BUSH WEEKLY RADIO ADDRESS/ LATEST IN WTC GROUND SERO SEARCH/ RESIDENTS RETURN TO THE AREA FOR SUPPLIES
  • Date: 14th September 2001
  • Summary: (W6) NEAR 'GROUND ZERO', NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (SEPTEMBER 22, 2001) (REUTERS) SLV 'GROUND ZERO' ON BROADWAY SV PEOPLE STANDING ON STREET LEVEL SCU YOUNG CHILD COVERING MOUTH WITH T-SHIRT COWERS AWAY FROM CAMERA;PAN UP TO THE AREA SCU (SOUNDBITE) (English) NEW YORK CITY RESIDENT JOHN LEVY, SAYING: "It's just kind of frightening, to see it for real, to see this twisted thing. It has me kind of a little bit in shock." SLV CRUMBLING WALL; PULL OUT TO SLV POLICE GUARDING SITE (2 SHOTS) VARIOUS OF POLICE SEARCHING PEOPLE ON STREET LEVEL (3 SHOTS) TILT UP BULIDING; PAN DOWN TO BATTERY PARK CITY MV/SCU (SOUNDBITE) (English) NEW YORK CITY RESIDENT JEAN TOMASELLI, SAYING: (REPORTER ASKS: "How was it when you went back in there?") "A bit depressing... It doesn't look like the home I lived in for sixteen years. (REPORTER ASKS: "Is there a reason you are not staying there?") "They won't allow it until Wednesday. They're cleaning the entire building." SV PLACARD ON BUILDING READING "LUXURY RENTALS" MVS CLEAN UP CREWS (2 SHOTS) Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
  • Embargoed: 29th September 2001 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement
  • Reuters ID: LVAB058WAME140HDFECK9ACKYDC1
  • Story Text: U.S. President George W. Bush has sought to reassure Americans during his weekly radio address by saying the U.S.
    economy was "fundamentally strong" after the hijacked aircraft attacks in New York and near Washington.
    As the hope of finding more survivors beneath the rubble of the World Trade Center diminishes, rescue workers have continued combing through the debris for human remains and body parts.
    Meanwhile, several New York City residents have returned to the area near "Ground Zero" to retrieve essential supplies and assess the damage of the attacks to their own homes.
    U.S. President George W. Bush's radio address on Saturday (September 22) followed a week of selling on Wall Street, company layoffs and airline cutbacks.
    Bush told Americans that, "the terrorists who attacked the United States on September 11 targeted our economy, as well as our people".
    "They brought down a symbol of American prosperity, but they could not touch its source," he added.
    The aftershocks of the suicide plane assaults on New York's World Trade Center and the Pentagon that left more than 6,800 people dead or missing rattled the U.S. economy, leading a growing number of analysts to conclude the United States has entered a recession.
    Fears that war was inevitable following Afghanistan's rejection of a U.S. ultimatum to surrender Saudi-born Osama bin Laden, prime suspect in last week's attacks, drove blue-chip stocks to their worst weekly loss since the Great Depression.
    Bush has ordered ships, aircraft and special operations troops to join a growing U.S. strike force in range of Afghanistan and he led a strategy teleconference of his national security advisers from the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland on Saturday.
    The Dow Jones industrial index of 30 blue chip companies -- the crown jewels of the U.S. economy -- lost 140 points on Friday (September 21), bringing its loss for the week to 14.2 percent, second only to a 15.5 per cent drop in the summer of 1933.
    Bush did not sugarcoat the economic disruption, choosing instead to rally Americans by declaring that
    "no terrorist will ever be able to decide our fate".
    "Our economy has had a shock," he said, noting many workers lost their jobs this week, especially in the airline and hospitality industries, in restaurants and in tourism, as companies struggled to remain afloat despite Americans' fear of travelling.
    As he worked to build an international coalition to join the United States in a "war on terrorism," Bush also worked with Congress to deliver 15 billion US dollars in emergency aid to keep U.S. airlines flying.
    The Senate and the House of Representatives passed legislation on Friday to help restore the finances of major airlines reeling from the effects of the hijackings that include costly new security measures and plummeting ticket sales. The White House said Bush would sign the bill soon.
    The president assured Americans that Congress and the White House were also coordinating efforts "to get our economy moving again".
    Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan and Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill have urged lawmakers worried about how to help businesses suffering because of last week's dislocations not to rush into new stimulus measures before the full impact of the attacks became clear.
    Bush predicted his 1.35 trillion US dollar tax cut, Fed interest rate cuts, and lower energy prices would stimulate the economy and provide "an improved business climate".
    "I'm also working with Congress to strengthen our broader economy and to get Americans back to work," he said.
    "Both parties in both houses of Congress are united in our determination to use the fundamental strength of our economy to meet our immediate economic challenges," added Bush.
    A few weeks ago, the Republican president was heading for partisan battles with Democrats over his tax cut, the budget and spending priorities, but the unparalleled national crisis spawned by the New York and Washington attacks has unified Congress and the country behind Bush.
    Meanwhile, exhausted workers continued to comb the smouldering ruins of the World Trade Center on Saturday, reluctant to admit they may not find any more survivors of the attack on September 11.
    Battling underground fires they dug underneath the ruins trying to find voids or pockets of air where survival is theoretically possible.
    Although there has been no official announcement, the search and rescue effort has evolved into a recovery operation. No new survivors have been found since September
    Privately, officials have said all of the 6,333 people missing are presumed dead, many of them vaporized.
    However determined crews have been working 12 hour shifts and continued to crawl underneath the rubble with no success in finding survivors.
    One worker said none of his training prepared him for this kind of rescue operation.
    "A lot of things you learn from first hand experience from here, a lot of things they teach you, they didn't prepare you for this," said Cesar Deleon.
    Another rescue worker spoke about the long hours they have been working in the desperate attempt to find survivors.
    "The most hours I worked in one day were about 12 or 13, I think, until I felt my back was breaking," he said.
    Twelve days after the attack on the World Trade Center, some downtown New York City residents returned to the area near "Ground Zero" on Saturday.
    John Levy described the experience of returning to the area as "kind of frightening" and "a little bit of a shock".
    The rubble from the disaster spread for blocks, filling nearby buildings and apartments with dust and debris.
    "It's a bit depressing," said New York City Resident Jean Tomasselli, who was there to check on her apartment in Battery Park City.
    "It doesn't look like the home I lived in for sixteen years," she added.
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