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Thursday, 13 September, 2001, 12:39 GMT 13:39 UK
America mourns: The BBC's Jonny Dymond
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America woke up this morning to the full horror and anger of yesterday's terrorist attacks which rocked the very heart of the world's greatest democracy. Even for those not personally touched by the tragedy, there are few Americans that can be left unmoved by the sheer scale of the tragedy. The final death toll from the bombing of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon may not be known for weeks, but initial indications are that thousands could have died. In his address to the nation, President Bush warned the US would make "no distinction between the terrorists who committed the attacks and those who harbour them". What is the mood of the American people now that the full scale of the tragedy sinks in? How should the Bush administration respond? The BBC's Jonny Dymond is in Washington and answered your questions.
But I think this will fundamentally change the American psyche in several different ways. The first is that America has always been able to claim some form of protection against attack on its own territory because of the two vast oceans on either side - that has always given it some kind of imperviousness. Secondly, its technological advantages in so many ways has also given it a kind of invulnerability. Thirdly, Americans have never spent an enormous amount of time thinking about foreign policy actions. For the rest of the world that might seem very strange - America is an enormous foreign policy actor. But for many Americans - a lot of them don't possess a passport, who don't travel abroad - the world outside America is a place generally to be ignored except when it directly threatens American interests. I think those three things: technological advancement, the protection of the seas and also the ignorance about foreign affairs will change now. I don't think there is any way in which America can ignore the rest of the world or the American people can ignore the rest of the world as they have tended to do beforehand.
Then around America you have different reactions. Over on the West Coast - an enormous distance away from New York - there are concerns over the fact that many of the people on the planes were headed for the West Coast itself - heading to Los Angeles - relatives have been lost. So you have, as always in America, a very wide variety in reaction. But a general reaction of shock, of astonishment and of real disappointment, I think, that this kind of action could be so successfully carried out on American soil.
Perhaps one thing which should be picked up on is the way in which President Bush made quite a multi-lateral call to arms as it were - he was talking about democracy being attacked, about freedom being attacked and about relying on allies and friends around the world. That was a very different tack from a man who had, up to this point, repudiated treaties and acted - some people would call it in a unilateral, other people call it in an isolationist way. But yes I do think there will be action from the United States as soon as they are able to identify who the aggressor was and what the best way to attack that aggressor will be.
I would not be surprised if we started hearing over the next few days and weeks, as partisan divisions reappear between the Republicans and the Democrats, if we don't start to hear from the Republicans a cry that the Clinton administration had run down the security infrastructure of the United States. Already President Bush has indicated he will be asking for more money from Congress to beef up national security. At the same time, I think that the Bush administration will be fairly loath to admit to any serious security failings. They will point out for instance that if you are to maintain various American freedoms and flying is certainly one of those, it is almost impossible to restrict commercial air flights from the airspace around New York City and Washington DC. We shall have to wait and see.
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