The Attack: Latest Developments

By Stephen M. Silverman

Wednesday September 19, 2001 11:24 AM EDT

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• President Bush demanded on Wednesday that Afghanistan's rulers hand over leaders of Islamic militant Osama bin Laden's network, which he accuses of masterminding attacks on America.

• As Bush conducted a second day of face-to-face meetings with foreign representatives to build an international coalition to tackle terrorism, the U.S. rejected calls by Afghanistan's ruling Taliban for talks on the fate of Osama bin Laden, who presides over a sprawling network called al Qaeda.

• "I would strongly urge the Taliban to turn over the al Qaeda organizers who hide in their country," Bush, quoted by Reuters, told reporters as he met Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri in the Oval Office. "Anybody who harbors terrorists needs to fear the United States and the rest of the freedom-loving world."

• Members of the international coalition Bush was building would contribute in varied ways, such as providing intelligence, helping to cut off funds to suspect organizations or helping with covert and overt activities, he said.

• Earlier on Wednesday, in Afghanistan, Mullah Mohammad Omar, leader of that country's militant Islamic Taliban movement, had appealed to the U.S. for patience in its call for Osama bin Laden to be handed over. Omar has also asked to see proof of the Saudi-born dissident's guilt in the case. Osama Bin Laden has denied masterminding the attacks.