For the past week, rescue workers have been working around the clock at what has been termed "ground zero." However, there have been no civilian survivors pulled from the rubble since last Wednesday. New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani said the chance of finding any survivors in the rubble at this point is "very, very small."
As of yesterday afternoon, there have been 218 confirmed causalities in the World Trade Center attack, 152 of which have been identified. However, the projected final count now stands at 5,422. Despite the mayor's comments, CNN was reporting that among rescue workers there were strong feelings that some survivors would be found in basements or "voids" within the rubble. Of the dead, nearly 300 are New York City firefighters-a huge blow to the city's force and an emotional weight on many rescue workers.
Both New York's Office of Emergency Management (OEM) and the Federal Emergency Management Association (FEMA) are unsure when to switch the operation from a rescue effort to a "cleanup," according to CNN. Buildings are damaged for blocks around the destroyed towers. Aside from the Twin Towers, two other WTC buildings collapsed: the 22-story Marriott Hotel (building 5) and a 54-story office building (building 7). Office buildings 4 and 6 have also partially collapsed. OEM officials believe that there may be up to 13 other buildings in the area may have sustained some structural damage.
At the Pentagon, the latest death toll is 188, including those who died in the hijacked plane, according to The New York Times. However, rescuers have uncovered only 11 bodies thus far, according to Pentagon officials. Earlier this week, Congress approved $40 billion to the rescue and clean-up efforts at the WTC and Pentagon.
Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) launched a full-scale investigation only hours after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. In under 48 hours, the Bureau mobilized more than 4,000 special agents and 3,000 support personnel, with about 400 laboratory specialists deployed to examine forensic evidence, according to CNN.
Law enforcement officials reported that investigators, as of yesterday, had detained 75 people for questioning. Four others are under arrest as "material witnesses." U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft added that investigators were looking into the possibility that flights other than the four that crashed were targeted for hijacking on Sept. 11. Government officials have set their sights on Osama bin Laden and his network of followers, known as al Qaeda ("The Base"). However, unconfirmed evidence emerged yesterday that Iraq may have participated in the attacks of Sept. 11. According to The Times, a U.S. official, speaking anonymously, said information from a foreign intelligence service linked hijacker Mohamed Atta to Iraqi intelligence.
Despite what U.S. officials have said, Osama bin Laden insists that he was not behind last week's attacks. In a statement issued to the Arabic satellite channel Al Jazeera, bin Laden said, "The U.S. government has consistently blamed me for being behind every occasion its enemies attack it. I would like to assure the world that I did not plan the recent attacks." According to the Associated Press, President George W. Bush said that "there is no question that he is the prime suspect." The FBI has followed thousands of leads and received more than 50,000 tips in what is by far the largest single investigation in FBI history. The investigation shows no sign of slowing in the foreseeable future.
Retaliation
U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell has been working since the day of the attacks to form a U.S.-led coalition to combat terrorism, according to CNN. Powell announced Monday that the group was "coming together." An important ally in the upcoming months may be Pakistan, which borders Afghanistan, where bin Laden's nerve center is suspected to be.
Pakistan, an Islamic nation of more than 150 million, seemed earlier this week to have complied with U.S. demands. Pakistan sent a delegation to Afghanistan's ruling Taliban, demanding that they turn over bin Laden. The Taliban, as predicted, dismissed the demand to turn over bin Laden immediately, though it has agreed to allow the country's Islamic clerics to decide whether or not to comply.
Iran, which also borders Afghanistan, said it did not agree with U.S. talks of military reprisal against Afghanistan, but it did close its 500-plus mile border with that nation. French President Jacques Chirac pledged his nation's full support Tuesday for the U.S. "crusade against terrorism," according to The Times. Chirac said the French are "completely determined to fight by your side this new type of evil, of absolute evil, which is terrorism."
The U.S. has also received support from NATO but is seeking individual pledges of support from each of the member nations. However, the recent press for war by the U.S. government and media has created a backlash in European states. Belgian Foreign Minister Louis Michel chided the U.S. for throwing around the word "war" too easily. And a poll conducted yesterday in Sweden showed that residents there do not support U.S. military action against Afghanistan even if they don't hand over bin Laden.