President Bush visits disaster scene
A long presidential motorcade comprising dozens of cars snaked through Manhattan towards the site of the disaster.
President Bush emerged to shake hands with rescue workers and gave a thumbs-up to firefighters who were clearing rubble from the smoking remains of the north tower.
Bulldozers and cranes were clearing away the wreckage as rescue workers struggled over the wet, slippery rubble made treacherous by heavy rain that finally abated in the afternoon.
The President said earlier that he was determined to do everything in his power during his tenure at the White House to fight terrorism, as a national state of emergency was declared.
Vice President Dick Cheney remained at the presidential retreat at Camp David as part of the increased security measures put in place after the attacks.
President Bush said he had been reluctant to come sooner because he was concerned he might get in the way of the rescue effort.
But Mayor Giuliani assured the President that his visit would be an important morale booster and invited him.
The President said he wanted to talk to those involved in the emergency rescue effort.
Mayor Giuliani and former First Lady Hillary Clinton were among the small group who surveyed the carnage in Manhattan tonight.
The group was ring-fenced by secret service agents and FBI helicopters buzzed overhead as the country remains on high alert.
The President was said to have been saddened and angered by the devastation at the Pentagon and in Manhattan. But he said the attacks has strengthened his resolve to launch a global crusade to crush terrorism.
Congress today agreed 40 billion to help the emergency rescue operation and for the fight against terrorism.
US Secretary of State Colin Powell tonight warned Afghanistan that Washington would punish not just the perpetrators of the atrocity but ‘‘those who provided a haven, support, inspiration or financial assets’’ to them.
