President Bush has begun to prepare the American public for military action against terrorism that will be massive, prolonged, and potentially costly in US lives.
Last night on his return to the White House from a cabinet and national security meeting at Camp David, Mr Bush urged Americans to go back to work.
"People have declared war on America and they have made a terrible mistake. They have roused a mighty giant," said Mr Bush.
Both Vice-President Dick Cheney, and the Secretary of Defence, Mr Don Rumsfeld, told American TV audiences yesterday the military campaign would take years not weeks.
The US Secretary of State, Mr Colin Powell, warned bluntly that Afghanistan's ruling Taliban regime would have to make a choice: "Whether they want to get rid of the curse within their country or face the full wrath of the United States".
He added the US would have to be prepared for further attacks, which could include "chemical or biological threats".
The Secretary of State said he was awaiting a response from the Pakistan government to US demands that they close their borders with Afghanistan, cut off fuel to that country and open their air space to the US Air Force. He said he believed the US demands would be met.
A US delegation is expected to travel to Islamabad later this week to secure Pakistan's compliance with US demands.
Last night, President Musharraf of Pakistan indicated the military government would co-operate.
He said: "We are alive to the gravity of the situation and know that in the lives of nations such situations do arise as require the taking of important decisions."
The extent to which the US is readying itself for war was apparent from comments by the US Defence Secretary, who made it clear America had shaken off its fear of military casualties, an inheritance from the Vietnam War that saw it unwilling, except briefly during the Gulf War, to commit ground troops in any major conflict.
"The era of antiseptic warfare is over," he said in reference to the reliance on aerial bombing campaigns, as during the war in Kosovo, and successive administrations' extreme reluctance to engage an enemy with ground troops.
He told ABC TV's This Week programme that the attacks were assaults on the American way of life and "our way of life is worth losing lives for".
Over the weekend, as the number of missing in the rubble of New York's World Trade Centre twin towers climbed to 5,079 and millions of people across America flocked to sombre church services, some 35,000 military reservists responded to their call-up and more than 3,000 US Marines and sailors rehearsed helicopter and ship-to-shore landings off East Timor.
Mr Cheney disclosed yesterday that President Bush had authorised military pilots to shoot down civilian aircraft that threatened the White House or the US Capitol.
"The president made the decision ... that if the plane would not divert, if they wouldn't pay any attention to instructions to move away from the city, as a last resort, our pilots were authorized to take them out," he said.
Meanwhile, a commission, headed by New York's mayor, Mr Rudy Guliani, is to be set up to consider rebuilding the World Trade Centre.
In Arizona, an Indian immigrant was killed yesterday in what the local prosecutor described as a hate crime. "This is not going to be tolerated. We've had a terrible national tragedy but there is no excuse for anything like this," said Mr Rick Romley.
The Italian Defence Minister, Mr Antonio Martino, yesterday said Italian troops would not take part in any US retaliation and that use of the term "war" was inappropriate as the conflict was not between states.
--(Reuters)
