CNN Student News
Aired, September 11, 2003
First Up: On Tape: Osama bin Laden
CHRISTINA PARK, CNN STUDENT NEWS ANCHOR: A vigil, in honor of the lives lost two years ago. A sign of what the nation has been through, and how it has recovered from terror. And an example of the global efforts, to punish those who have carried out similar attacks. Hello and welcome to CNN student news on this Thursday, September eleventh! I'm Christina Park at the CNN center.
A candlelight procession wound its way through lower Manhattan last night...a somber ceremony commemorating the events that shattered a nation two years ago.
The president said that efforts to prevent other such attacks were ongoing, and advancing, on all fronts. But his comments came at the same time that a tape surfaced, warning of new assaults against Americans. Elaine Quijano tells us about the message purportedly from the men who masterminded the terror of September eleventh... and what it could mean, for the country at war against them.
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ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN REPORTER: On the videotape Osama bin laden and his top deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri are seen walking down a hill. With a voice on the tape, purportedly Osama bin Laden's, praising the September 11th hijackers . Another, supposedly al-Zawahiri's voice, sends an ominous message.
TRANSLATOR FOR AYMAN AL-ZAWAHIRI, BIN LADEN'S CHIEF DEPUTY: Here we would like let you know also and emphasize what seen so far first are just first skirmishes and the real battle has not started yet.... prepare yourself for the punishment for your crimes.
QUIJANO: The tape also addresses the mothers of U.S. troops in Iraq:
AL ZAWAHIRI: If you want see your sons, then hasten to have your government return them, rather than them coming back in coffins.
QUIJANO: At one point, the voice references the Mideast crisis saying al Qaeda quote -- will not let America enjoy peace and security until the Palestinian issue is resolved. The Arabic television network al-Jazeera released the video. It's not clear when it was recorded. Meanwhile ... President Bush did not acknowledge the new tape, but vowed to stay on the offensive in the fight against terrorism.
PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: They must be hunted. They must be found. And they will be defeated.
QUIJANO: President bush made his remarks at the FBI academy in Quantico, Virginia, after the tape was released. The President also said he receives a daily briefing on new terror threats ... and that the U.S. cannot afford one moment of complacency.
In Washington, for CNN student news I'm Elaine QUIJANO.
Written Word
The human spirit is not measured by the size of the act, but by the size of the heart.
-Yakov Smirnoff
September 11: A Nation Changed
PARK: The quote you just saw by Yakov Smirnoff is actually painted on a mural at ground zero, where the New York cityscape was scarred two years ago this morning. The tribute appeared on the first anniversary of the attacks last year, and it's one of the many symbols of remembrance, that have sprung up across the country in the wake of the hijackings. Peter Viles examines a changed nation, and its rise from the ashes of September-11th.
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PETER VILES, CNN REPORTER: Life changes in little ways: an old patriotic song makes a comeback at baseball stadiums... at a football game, extra security measures... we budget extra time when we go to the airport. Front page news, today and almost every day: the threat of terrorism, the cost of war. For America, there will be no going back to the era before September 11th, 2001, to false comfort in a dangerous world.
The end of false comfort means anxiety -- polling shows fears of terrorist attacks are still with us, although fading. In the weeks just after September 11th, nearly thirty percent of Americans told the pew research center they were "very worried" about an imminent terrorist attack; in late august, the percentage was 13 percent. In places like Danbury Connecticut -- a prosperous city with a low crime rate -- police officers use their imaginations in a new way: how might a terrorist attack our city?
ANDREW KOHUT, DIR., THE PEW RESEARCH CENTER
ARTHUR SULLO, DANBURY, CT POLICE DEPT. : We've taken extra security in the city, watching our watersheds in the city, our electric power areas, the large traffic generators such as the Danbury fair mall, which is one of the largest malls in New England.
VILES: Americans are more likely to fly the flag, more likely to feel patriotic -- prior to the attacks, 55 percent of Americans described themselves as "extremely proud to be an American" ... that number grew to 65 percent after the attacks... and to 70 percent this summer.... in small ways, Americans pitch in where they might not have before.
KRISTIN VAN OGTROP, EDITOR, REAL SIMPLE: During the blackout I was making my way home and I was startled by the number of everyday people who were in intersections directing traffic. And I looked at that and I thought, I bet that would have not have been the case before 9/11.
VILES: Respect has grown for those in uniform -- whether in the military or public safety... firefighters ranked ahead of nurses in one poll of ethical standards and honesty.
ANDREW KOHUT, DIR., THE PEW RESEARCH CENTER: It was certainly a pat on the back for people who were in harm's way but there's also, I think, a continuing appreciation of those in our society who protect us, from the military to the police to the fire departments and that will continue to linger as the American public continues to feel concerned about the threat of terrorism.
VILES: It's important to note however that these anxieties about national security issues are not unprecedented. Fears of a nuclear war are higher than they were a decade ago, but they are still below levels reached in the mid 1980's.
peter Viles, CNN, new York.
(end video)
Word to the Wise
martyr
one who makes great sacrifices in order to further a belief, cause or principle.
Source: dictionary.com
Around the World
PARK: Osama bin laden has called the eleventh-eleventh hijackers martyrs, for giving their lives to support their cause. And now, a man in Bali is applying the term to himself, following his death sentencing on Wednesday. More on that story and other international headlines now, as Deanna Morawski takes us around the world.
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DEANNA MORAWSKI, CNN REPORTER: An Indonesian court has convicted and sentenced a second key suspect in last year's Bali attacks. The court found imam Samudra guilty of being the "intellectual mastermind" behind the nightclub bombings. He was sentenced to death by firing squad. Samudra had previously said he'd welcome the death penalty, which he views as martyrdom. The October attack killed more than 200 people--the deadliest terror attack since 9/11.
Hopes for peace in the Middle East continue to spiral downward. A day after two suicide bombings by Palestinian militants killed 15 Israelis in Jerusalem and tell Aviv. Israeli forces bombed the house of a senior Hamas leader in Gaza. The strike wounded Mahmoud Zahar and killed his son and bodyguard. The escalating violence comes as Ahmed Qorei-- the Palestinian parliament speaker-- agreed to serve as the Palestinian authority's prime minister. He would replace Mahmoud Abbas, who resigned Saturday after being locked in a power struggle with Palestinian authority president Yasser Arafat.
Americans are once again seeing Canadian beef on their side of the border. After receiving permits from American officials Tuesday, Canadian meat packers restarted shipments to the U.S. Several countries instituted a ban after one cow tested positive for mad cow disease in May. The disease-- also known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy-- has not been found in any Canadian cow since then.
Police executed a dramatic rescue in the Peruvian jungle. Dozens of indigenous people were lifted to safety by helicopter in the operation. Government officials say the natives were held against their will-- some for years-- by the shining path Maoist rebel group. Human rights activists have accused the shining path of genocide against natives. Authorities are aiding those rescued in returning to their communities.
For CNN Student News, I'm Deanna Morawski.
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Web Promo
PARK: A curriculum special is available at www-student-news-dot-com, to help teachers commemorate this date in 2001. You'll find discussion questions and a unique learning activity that challenges students to examine the attacks in light of their historical significance. On the second anniversary of an event that changed the world, be sure to click on www-student-news-dot-com.
Before We Go
PARK: Before we go...it's a group of Englishmen and women in New York...about 100 Bobbies, to be exact. They lined up in Times Square to take part in a salute to the big apple. A showing of solidarity, or support and fellowship, with their American counterparts on the anniversary of the terrorist attacks. One officer from London said police all over the world, were made of the same substance.
And we'll sign off with that salute on news-student-news. I'm Christina Park. Headline news continues, right after the break.
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