The president of the United States is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, is responsible for the nation's security and has the power to put together and direct military actions in times of peace and war. The president is also the chief diplomat of the nation and has the power to negotiate treaties with the consent of the senate, and executive agreements with foreign nations without congressional approval.
Only eight months into his presidency, George W Bush was placed in a position that neither he nor the American people would have imagined when he took office. The terrorist attacks of September 11th, which caused the loss of thousands of lives and many billions of dollars in damage have forced Bush into action as commander-in-chief of the United States military. Lacking experience in foreign policy and military matters, the new president is being put to the test while the nation and the world watches.
When it became apparent that 4 airliners had been hijacked in a terrorist plot, the president ordered all air traffic halted, the military was put on the highest state of alert, and jet fighters patrolled the skies with authorization to intercept and shoot down any commercial airliner that tried to penetrate airspace over Washington. Two aircraft carriers were ordered to New York harbor, National Guard troops were sent into New York and Washington, and borders with Canada and Mexico were closed. .
In an address to the nation that evening, the president vowed to hunt down and punish those responsible for the attacks. The United States "will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbor them.'' ''The search is under way for those who are behind these evil acts,'' the president said. (Schmemann) As the United States seemed to be preparing for military action against its attacker, the question remained. Who had committed these horrible acts of terrorism? .
