In what has been referred to as the best speech by a U.S. President since Franklin Roosevelt's speech responding to the attack on Pearl Harbor, President Bush last night outlined the U.S. response to the 9-11-01 attack on America.

Key segments of the speech follow:

• "Tonight, we are a country awakened to danger and called to defend freedom. 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."

• "The United States respects the people of Afghanistan — after all, we are currently its largest source of humanitarian aid — but we condemn the Taliban regime."

• "I also want to speak tonight directly to Muslims throughout the world. We respect your faith. It's practiced freely by many millions of Americans and by millions more in countries that America counts as friends. Its teachings are good and peaceful, and those who commit evil in the name of Allah blaspheme the name of Allah".

• "The terrorists are traitors to their own faith, trying, in effect, to hijack Islam itself. The enemy of America is not our many Muslim friends. It is not our many Arab friends. Our enemy is a radical network of terrorists and every government that supports them."

• "Our war on terror begins with Al Qaeda, but it does not end there. It will not end until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped and defeated."

• "These terrorists kill not merely to end lives, but to disrupt and end a way of life. With every atrocity, they hope that America grows fearful, retreating from the world and forsaking our friends. They stand against us because we stand in their way. We're not deceived by their pretenses to piety."

• "We have seen their kind before. They're the heirs of all the murderous ideologies of the 20th century. By sacrificing human life to serve their radical visions, by abandoning every value except the will to power, they follow in the path of fascism, Nazism and totalitarianism. And they will follow that path all the way to where it ends in history's unmarked grave of discarded lies."
  

• "Our response involves far more than instant retaliation and isolated strikes. Americans should not expect one battle, but a lengthy campaign unlike any other we have ever seen. It may include dramatic strikes visible on TV and covert operations secret even in success."

• "We will starve terrorists of funding, turn them one against another, drive them from place to place until there is no refuge or no rest. And we will pursue nations that provide aid or safe haven to terrorism. Every nation in every region now has a decision to make: Either you are with us or you are with the terrorists."
  

• "From this day forward, any nation that continues to harbor or support terrorism will be regarded by the United States as a hostile regime. Our nation has been put on notice, we're not immune from attack. We will take defensive measures against terrorism to protect Americans."

• "Today, dozens of federal departments and agencies, as well as state and local governments, have responsibilities affecting homeland security. These efforts must be coordinated at the highest level. So tonight, I announce the creation of a Cabinet-level position reporting directly to me, the Office of Homeland Security."

• "And tonight a few miles from the damaged Pentagon, I have a message for our military: Be ready. I have called the armed forces to alert, and there is a reason. The hour is coming when America will act, and you will make us proud."
  

• "This is not, however, just America's fight. And what is at stake is not just America's freedom. This is the world's fight. This is civilization's fight. This is the fight of all who believe in progress and pluralism, tolerance and freedom. We ask every nation to join us."
  

• "Perhaps the NATO charter reflects best the attitude of the world: An attack on one is an attack on all. The civilized world is rallying to America's side. They understand that if this terror goes unpunished, their own cities, their own citizens may be next. Terror unanswered can not only bring down buildings, it can threaten the stability of legitimate governments. And you know what? We're not going to allow it."

• "After all that has just passed, all the lives taken and all the possibilities and hopes that died with them, it is natural to wonder if America's future is one of fear. Some speak of an age of terror. I know there are struggles ahead and dangers to face. But this country will define our times, not be defined by them. As long as the United States of America is determined and strong, this will not be an age of terror. This will be an age of liberty here and across the world."

• "Great harm has been done to us. We have suffered great loss. And in our grief and anger we have found our mission and our moment. Freedom and fear are at war. The advance of human freedom, the great achievement of our time and the great hope of every time, now depends on us. Our nation, this generation, will lift the dark threat of violence from our people and our future. We will rally the world to this cause by our efforts, by our courage. We will not tire, we will not falter and we will not fail."

• "It is my hope that in the months and years ahead life will return almost to normal. We'll go back to our lives and routines and that is good. Even grief recedes with time and grace. But our resolve must not pass. Each of us will remember what happened that day and to whom it happened. We will remember the moment the news came, where we were and what we were doing."

• "I will not forget the wound to our country and those who inflicted it. I will not yield, I will not rest, I will not relent in waging this struggle for freedom and security for the American people."
  

Source:

• ABC News (speech transcript) [link inactive]

It's estimated that up to 18 percent of Americans are free from prayer as most of the nation wraps itself around prayer, churches, mosques, temples, shrines, synagogues, and religion during national crises.

Excerpts from the article:

• "I don't know the answers, but I would prefer to believe in people rather than God," says Lynn, a member of the Great Lakes Skeptics. She has sought comfort from and consoled friends and family members in recent days. "I think man made God in their own image, not vice versa."

• Rather than finding comfort in faith, atheists and agnostics say last week's tragedy shows that at its worst, religion can be dangerously divisive. At its fanatical fringes, they point out, it's been used to justify mass murder. "It was religion that got us into all this," Brooks (a retired GM worker and atheist) says.

• Dan Barker of the national Freedom From Religion Foundation in Madison, Wis., said several coworkers at the Foundation's office broke out in tears over news of the attacks. Many spent time in quiet reflection or even at secular memorial services for the victims.

• However, Barker and other nonreligious people were disappointed when President Bush ordered a National Day of Prayer last week in light of the tragedy.

• Barker, who spent several years as an evangelical Christian minister, says some atheists do feel left out when the rest of the nation turns to prayer and religious groups in times of crisis.

• "People pray when they feel helpless," Barker says. "Most atheists feel like let's do some important things: give blood or donate money to help the relief effort."
  

Source:

• Detroit News

Skyscraper Rethink

Fear of working in skyscrapers may now mitigate against their use in many areas of the world. In the U.S., the owner of the World Trade Center lease is contemplating replacing the original structures with buildings no higher than 60 stories, but even then, it may be awhile before folks brave the fear of working in buildings so closely identified with the attack.

Could anything have been done to have made the structure of the 110-story twin towers safer? Perhaps more fire-resistant concrete and less steel in the core may have allowed the structures to stay up longer, but with the nature of the penetration and explosion of the jet fuel, experts feel the structures would have collapsed in any case. Also, ways for firemen to ingress separate from occupant egress may have helped more to escape.

Modern skyscrapers in Asia have been built with state-of-art safety features. For example, the Shanghai World Financial Center has a reinforced concrete core, refuge floors with reinforced concrete and no furniture every 15 levels, and a dedicated fire lift so firemen going up won't interfere with occupants trying to escape.

In the U.S., until the feeling of threat from terrorism abates, interest in super-tall structures will remain on hold. Meanwhile, the taller the building and the higher the floor one works on, the greater will be the fear.

Source:

• BBC

Q & A: Religion and War

Questions answered regarding religion and war (excerpts from the source article):

• What is a jihad? "Specifically it is a holy war declared by Muslim clerics against unbelievers."

• What is the difference between a "just war" and a "holy war"? "A just war is a war specifically defined as such by Christian clerics, in which Christians may take part with a clear conscience."

• What are the religions that justify war? "Nearly all mainstream religions, with the notable exception of Buddhism, have evolved theologies to embrace the necessity of going to war."

• Is there a difference between fundamentalism and extremism? "Fundamentalism was coined by American Protestants as a badge of pride, and cannot be usefully translated into Arabic. Fundamentalism is a religious term meaning belief in the literal truth of the Bible, or in Islam, strict observance of the Koran and Islamic law. ... Extremism, by contrast, means taking something to the furthest limit or extreme."

• What are the major religious wars in history? "There are many possible contenders for this dubious honour, but the Crusades still stand as the classic example of war pursued for religious ends. ... Sadly, religion seems to have been a powerful element in an enormous number of the conflicts that have scarred the globe in the last decade."

• Osama bin Laden is said to follow Saudi Wahabism ... (what is it)? "... The violent, intolerant and fanatical strain of Islam which originated in Arabia less than two centuries ago has become the official theology of the Gulf states. Schwartz compares it to the most extreme form of Protestant sectarianism. ... From its foundation by Ibn Abdul Wahab in the late 18th century, the sect was associated with the mass murder of all who opposed it."
  

• Muslim leaders have criticised the BBC for referring to bin Laden as an Islamic terrorist. Why? "The Muslim Council of Britain wanted bin Laden referred to as a terrorist with no reference to his faith, because they feared a racial backlash was being provoked. ... The BBC declined to back down, nor should it. To back down could give an impression that bin Laden's motivation is not religious, when clearly it is."
  

Source:

• The Times [link inactive]