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Special Team Coverage • World Trade Center Destroyed: America Under Attack

Important Web Sites • The White House  • Report Information to FBI • American Red Cross - New York City • New York Blood Center • American Airlines Call: 1-800-245-0999 • United Airlines Call: 1-800-932-8555 • Family Member Information Lines (MSNBC) • New York Emergency Information (NYC.gov) • Nationwide Emergency and Contact Information (USnews.com) • Joint Chiefs of Staff • Defense Department • State Department • Justice Department • FBI • Transportation Dept. • Federal Emergency Management Agency • USAMA BIN LADEN - FBI Ten Most-Wanted poster

Chronology: All time shown below are approximate Eastern Daylight Times.

Wednesday, September 19, 2001

Also today: The number of persons missing in the World Trade Center attack reached 5,422. Of the 218 bodies recovered, 152 had been identified.

• The confirmed death toll at the Pentagon reached 152 people, including the 64 people who died on the plane.
• Firefighters and rescue workers found and explored a few subterranean areas below the rubble of the World Trade Center towers described by rescuers as being left "largely intact." No survivors or bodies were found in the areas. Rescue workers said many more such areas remained to be located and searched.
• The USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) aircraft carrier battle group sailed from Norfolk, Virginia. The battle group had been scheduled to deploy to the Mediterranean sea long before the terrorist attacks, but defense officials have now added "and perhaps points east," to descriptions of the group's destination.

9:30 pm - CNN reported that India has been assisting the United States since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on New York City and the Pentagon by identifying locations of known terrorist camps in Afghanistan and Pakistan. CNN said that sources informed them that as many as 120 small, mobile terrorist camps were operating in the two countries. [See: India identifies terrorist training camps (CNN)]

7:00 pm - Pakistani officials reported to CNN that tensions along Pakistan's border with Afghanistan have been increasing of the last few days. CNN reported that Afghanistan appears to be "preparing for the worst." [See: Afghanistan prepares for the worst (CNN)]

5:00 pm - President Bush announced he will address a joint session of Congress and the American People tomorrow evening - Sept. 20, 2001 -  at 6:00 pm - EDT regarding the status of investigation into last Tuesday's terrorist attacks. The President said Americans "have got a lot of questions about what has taken place on September the 11th and subsequent to that. And I owe it to the country to give an explanation." The exact time of the address is subject to change. [See: The President takes questions from the press (The White House)]

4:00 pm - Driven by word that US warplanes were being deployed overseas, the stock market recovered strongly to finish well below morning lows. [See: Stocks Fall, but Late-Day Reversal Limits Losses (Reuters)]

3:45 pm - New York Mayor Giuliani reported that 233 bodies had been recovered from the World Trade Center site, 170 of which had been positively identified. Giuliani stated the search continued to be a mission of rescue and recovery. The number of persons listed as missing had reached 5,422.

3:00 pm - The Defense Department ordered the deployment of more than 100 aircraft to "forward areas" in the Persian Gulf in order support US military action in response to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The military operation to support the war against terrorism was assigned the tentative name "Infinite Justice." [See: U.S. Warplanes to Move Toward Middle East-Officials (Reuters)]

Aircraft to be deployed include F-15 and F-16 fighter jets, B-1 bombers, along with AWACS and JSTAR radar guidance aircraft and surveillance aircraft. Also deployed were midair refueling aircraft. According to CNN, the deployment could begin as early as Thursday, Sept. 20. 

2:30 pm - The US Senate is rushing to complete its consideration of H.R. 2590, the 2002 Treasury, Postal Service, and General Government Appropriations Act in order to clear the way for legislation intended to help the government deal with the terrorist attacks of Sept, 11. Some Senators have already agreed to withhold proposed amendments to the $17.1 billion spending bill.

1:15 pm - Following an inspection of damage at the Pentagon, Attorney General Ashcroft stated that terrorists who attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon had the support and protection of yet unnamed foreign governments. "It's pretty clear that the networks that conducted these (attacks) are harbored, sustained and protected by a variety of foreign governments," Ashcroft was quoted as saying by Reuters. [See: Ashcroft: Attackers Had Foreign Government Support (Reuters)] 

12:00 noon - In an address to the people, Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf stated that Americas pursuit of Osam bin Laden did not represent an attack on Islam of the people of Afghanistan. "Nowhere have the words Islam or the Afghan nation been mentioned," stated Musharraf in relation to discussions of cooperation between Pakistan and the United States. [See: Musharraf: U.S. not targeting Islam (CNN)] 

11:00 am - CNN reported that Taliban leader Mullah Omar had accused the United States of using accusations against Osama bin Laden as an excuse to to destroy Afghanistan's Islamic system. [See: Taliban leader hits back at U.S (CNN)]

10:00 am - Reacting to reports from Afghanistan's ruling Taliban government that nation's Islamic clerics might spend "days" reaching their decision on whether or not to turn over terrorist Osama bin Laden, President Bush told the Taliban the U.S. wanted action, not talk. [See: White House Tells Taliban It Wants Action, Not Talks (Reuters)]

9:30 am - Three Detroit men found to have ties to an aborted attack last year on a U.S. military base in Turkey were arrested by FBI anti-terrorism investigators. [See: Detroit raid leads to first criminal charges in terrorist probe (CNN)]

1:15 am - The FBI clarified its warning to fire departments issued yesterday that terrorist might steal their trucks and use them as "rolling bombs." FBI officials stated that they were aware of no specific threats or incidents of such actions.