W A S H I N G T O N, Sept. 11 — President Bush assured the world tonight America would withstand the worst terrorist attacks the nation has ever suffered, and vowed to hunt down the perpetrators and "those who harbor them."Stern and somber, the president addressed the nation from the Oval Office on a day when hijacked planes were flown into the World Trade Center towers in New York and the Pentagon in Northern Virginia. A fourth hijacked plane crashed in western Pennsylvania.
"The pictures of airplanes flying into buildings, fires burning, huge structures collapsing have filled us with disbelief, terrible sadness and a quiet, unyielding anger," Bush said, having watched the towers collapse from his cabin on Air Force One.
"These acts of mass murder were intended to frighten our nation into chaos and retreat. But they have failed," he said. "Our country is strong. A great people has been moved to defend a great nation."
The president began his trip back to Washington this morning, cutting short a trip to Florida to hopscotch around the nation by air as the administration scrambled to determine the scope of the devastating strikes.
While setting America's top priority as "to get help to those who have been injured and to take every precaution to protect our citizens at home and around the world," Bush has placed the armed forces on the highest possible alert.
In an ominous warning to nations where suspected terrorists may be residing, Bush said, "We will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbor them."
The hunt for terrorists is under way. Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and other lawmakers who have been briefed by intelligence officials told ABCNEWS that all signs point to the involvement of Osama bin Laden, who is already indicted on charges he organized the 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa.
Law enforcement sources say the FBI has already begun to issue search warrants on U.S. residents based on information gleaned from passenger manifests of the planes. Agents also have learned the exact seat of one hijacker from a flight attendant who managed to dial 911 before her plane crashed.
Late into the evening, firefighters were still trying to douse flames that erupted this morning when the Pentagon was slammed by a hijacked American Airlines Flight 77.
"It came in extremely low and at very high speeds and tore right into the side of the building," said Steve Patterson, a civilian living near the Pentagon who saw the crash.
The plane penetrated deep into the five-sided building, sparking an inferno and prompting an enormous rescue operation. Hospitals in Northern Virginia scrambled to treat dozens of casualties from the Pentagon as the building continued to burn into the late afternoon. Air Force F-16s circled in the sky as rescue crews worked the scene.
Among those killed in the attack was Flight 77 passenger Barbara Olson, a former federal prosecutor and the wife of U.S. Solicitor General Theodore Olson.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld could not offer an estimate of how many others were killed and injured in the attack, but he pledged to reopen the Pentagon on Wednesday.
The massive federal response to the attacks was unprecedented. At the White House, heavily armed security officials cordoned off the surrounding neighborhood, evacuated nearby buildings and commandeered telephones of area businesses. The Capitol and all other government buildings in Washington were cleared and locked down.
Aircraft carriers, missile cruisers and destroyers from the U.S. Atlantic Fleet were dispatched to New York and Washington to protect the cities and provide medical support.
The Federal Aviation Administration initiated the first-ever national grounding of all planes, allowing no private or commercial flights anywhere in the country. The nationwide grounding will remain in place until at least noon Wednesday.
Secretary of State Colin Powell cut short a trip to Peru to return to Washington. He called the attacks in New York and Washington a "terrible, terrible tragedy." The State Department, which was evacuated earlier today, has put all diplomatic posts around the world on alert.
Leaders of both the Senate and the House were taken to a secure location where they met earlier in the day to plot strategy in the wake of the tragedies. But they returned to the Capitol tonight to inspire unity in the nation.
Dozens of lawmakers gathered for an emotional event on the Capitol steps, singing "God Bless America" and hugging one another following statements by their congressional leaders.
"We will stand with the president, we will stand with this government and we will stand as Americans through this time," said House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill.
Determined to show the attacks would not halt the U.S. government, Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., declared Congress would get back to work immediately.
"As the representatives of the people, we are here to declare that our resolve has not been weakened by these horrific and cowardly acts," Daschle said. "Congress will convene tomorrow."
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