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CNN Live Event/Special

America Under Attack: President Bush Has Military Drawing up Options

Aired September 13, 2001 - 05:43   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: President Bush has called this an act of war and he is working with the military to draw up different options in terms of a response. And he is asking for Congress to help, as well.

CNN White House Correspondent Kelly Wallace standing by this morning with more on that. Good morning, Kelly.

KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

Well, we know negotiations went late into the night between White House officials and law makers over the wording of what would be a congressional resolution authorizing the U.S. to retaliate for the four deadly terrorist attacks.

Now, we expect those negotiations to continue today, some White House officials comparing this use of force resolution to the resolution passed by the Congress back in 1991 authorizing Mr. Bush's father to take military action against Iraq after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait.

There you're looking at a live picture of the U.S. Capitol. Law makers and administration officials, again, likely to be hard at work over negotiations over that resolution today. Meantime, Carol, we are seeing really throughout the country and also here in Washington the feelings of people here about the tremendous tragedy that we have all witnessed. Last night we saw some hundreds of Washington residents turn out for a candlelight vigil in front of the White House. There were people holding candles, some carrying American flags, waving flags, as you see there, others singing, obviously reflecting the tremendous sadness about what this country has seen.

Now, as for President Bush, he issued a statement last night saying that he was saddened and outraged by the loss of life. He has also called on all agency heads to excuse any federal employees without loss of pay from duty if they can't get to work because of what we have seen in these deadly terrorist attacks or if they are facing a personal emergency or if they have been called on by law enforcement or search and rescue teams to participate and try and help.

Mr. Bush has also, as we've been reporting, been working the phones, trying to build what the White House is calling an international coalition against terrorism. Mr. Bush telephoning on Wednesday the leaders of Britain, France, Germany, Canada, China and Russia, likely to work the phones some more. The White House also very much gratified by a statement which came out of NATO on Wednesday which basically said that an attack on one member of the alliance amounts to an attack on the full alliance.

Now, Carol, one question we've been asking White House officials is if the U.S. is seeking any military support from other nations if and when it decides to retaliate. White House officials refuse to answer that question. But clearly we are seeing the White House trying to get some backing for any retaliation it might take and also for sort of a broader attack against terrorism worldwide -- Carol, back to you.

LIN: Kelly, give us a perspective on how quickly the political machinery can work here. Some terrorism experts CNN has been speaking to throughout the morning are predicting that if there is a retaliatory strike it will not be in a matter of hours, days or even weeks, that this could take quite some time. Given all the negotiations and the conversations that the Bush administration is having, what is your sense of any sort of timetable for response?

WALLACE: It's a hard, hard question to answer, Carol. We really, it appears from the words from President Bush and Defense Secretary Rumsfeld and others that whatever the U.S. does will take time. You heard President Bush say yesterday that this is a battle that is going to take time, but in the end the U.S. will win.

The feeling we get is that certainly that the president would like to act somewhat swiftly but hearing from some sources the U.S. definitely wanting to, A, build a case, make sure, A, it determines exactly who is responsible for these attacks, build some evidence, again, to get that international backing.

And then, Carol, there is this bigger concern that whatever the U.S. decides to do, it not only wants to sort of take out those responsible for these attacks, but to make sure these don't happen again, so to have a stronger attack on terrorism worldwide. So clearly I think even Defense Secretary Rumsfeld sending a taped message to the military indicating that U.S. forces around the world will be called upon to deal with terrorism, so a sense that anything the U.S. does could certainly take time.

So exactly -- I'm not answering your question. It's a difficult one to answer. It appears the U.S. likely to respond somewhat quickly, but that maybe this will be a prolonged assault against terrorism around the world.

LIN: That's all right, Kelly. No, you did answer the question. I think it is a complicated process and for so many people who are feeling so much emotion today, I think it gives us certainly a better sense of what the administration is doing and the challenges that they face.

Thank you, Kelly Wallace at the White House.

WALLACE: Sure.

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