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Bush Freezes Assets in Effort to Halt bin Laden's Money Flow
Monday, September 24, 2001 (9:54 AM ET)
By Scott Lindlaw / Associated Press

Demonstrators carry signs condemning terrorism as a crime against humanity during a small rally near Appara market in the center of Islamabad, Pakistan, Monday, Sept. 24.
AP Photo/Peter Dejong

As the White House prepared for military action and stepped up diplomatic efforts to build an international anti-terrorist coalition, President Bush signed an executive order Monday freezing the assets of 27 individuals and organizations, calling it a "strike on the financial foundation" of terrorists.

"They include terrorist organizations, individuals, terrorist leaders, a corporation that serves as a front for terrorism and several nonprofit organizations," the president said in a Rose Garden appearance.

Bush was flanked by Secretary of State Colin Powell and Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill as he spoke. He made his appearance as the nation struggled with its recovery from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks that killed more than 6,000 at the World Trade Center in New York, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania. There was some sign of optimism during the day -- the stock market opened sharply higher after a week of steep declines.

Bush said he signed the order one minute after midnight, adding, "This list is just the beginning."

Meanwhile, the leader of Afghanistan's ruling militia, Mullah Mohammed Omar said the United States should withdraw from the Persian Gulf and "put an end to the biased attitude on the issue of Palestine."

The death of bin Laden would do little to remove any threat to the United States, Omar said in a faxed statement.

Bush was meeting Monday with Prime Minister Jean Chretien of Canada -- a key ally, but one whose leaders and citizens felt snubbed in recent days.
(More: The Nando Times News Source)
Copyright © 2001, Nando Media

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