U.S. trying to influence Afghans to 'rise up'

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- As the United States deploys military forces overseas for a possible strike against Afghanistan, the Bush administration is also working on what officials call a broad strategy for fundamental change in Afghanistan.

With a dire humanitarian and security situation in the country, U.S. officials said the Taliban has not delivered on the promises of stability, and the Bush administration sees "fertile ground" for a "homegrown" regime change in Afghanistan.

Although they were clear to say they could not "impose" a new government on the Afghan people, the officials said they were working with a variety of what they called "Afghan nationalists" -- ethnic, religious and political Afghan groups in the country and within the Afghan diaspora -- in the hope they would band together and form a new coalition government.

"The question is, have the conditions changed enough so that Afghans themselves can effect a realignment," one official said. "Maybe it is time for the Afghan people to rise up."

"To have a successful regime in Afghanistan, it has to be home grown," an official said. "You have to come up with a formula that is balanced with all ethnic groups and sects."

Latest developments

• President Bush will unveil his proposals for improving airline and airport security Thursday in a speech to airline workers at Chicago's O'Hare Airport. He is expected to propose placing armed federal marshals on virtually all U.S. commercial air flights and significantly boosting the federal role in airport security screening. But the White House firmly opposes letting pilots carry handguns in the cockpit, sources told CNN Wednesday. (Full story)

• AFL-CIO President John Sweeney will travel with the president to Chicago Thursday. Bush promised Sweeney on Wednesday to work with organized labor and Congress on a legislative package to assist workers laid off or dislocated as a result of the terrorist attacks.

• At least 10 people -- including four men believed to be Iraqis -- have been arrested in three states in connection with alleged efforts to fraudulently obtain commercial licenses for the transportation of hazardous materials, authorities said Wednesday night. The arrests in the Seattle, Detroit and Kansas City areas, however, have not been tied to any terrorist plot. (Full story)

• In a somewhat unusual step of a formal exoneration, the Justice Department on Wednesday formally cleared San Antonio radiologist Dr. Albader al-Hazmi, who was briefly held in connection with the nationwide terror investigation. (Full story)

QUICKVOTE Are you considering buying a gas mask? Yes No Have one already View Results

RESOURCES  At a glance: • Saudi Arabia • United Arab Emirates • Afghanistan • Pakistan Provided by CountryWatch.com

CNN.COM SPECIAL REPORT  CNN NewsPass Video  Agencies reportedly got hijack tips in 1998  MORE STORIES Intelligence intercept led to Buffalo suspects Report cites warnings before 9/11  EXTRA INFORMATION Timeline: Who Knew What and When? Interactive: Terror Investigation Terror Warnings System Most wanted terrorists What looks suspicious? In-Depth: America Remembers In-Depth: Terror on Tape In-Depth: How prepared is your city?  RESOURCES On the Scene: Barbara Starr: Al Qaeda hunt expands? On the Scene: Peter Bergen: Getting al Qaeda to talk

• In some of his most forceful language yet, President Bush on Wednesday called suspected terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden "an evil man" who is bent on killing innocent civilians -- a man "who doesn't mind destroying women and children." He also said the terrorists who carried out the September 11 attacks "underestimated the will and determination of the commander in chief."

Bush's comments came during a meeting with American Muslim leaders in which he also said, "The teaching of Islam [is] the teaching of peace and good," and that the U.S. war is against extremists like bin Laden who has "evil goals. As Bush did earlier during a meeting with American Sikhs, he pressed a message of tolerance and the right for all Americans to practice their own religion.

Meeting elsewhere with the Egyptian foreign minister, Secretary of State Colin Powell said bluntly: "We're going after Osama bin Laden."

• The stock market took another dip Wednesday as investors worried about how the United States will retaliate for the terrorist attacks. The Dow Jones industrial average closed down more than 92 points and the Nasdaq was down by more than 37 points. (Full story)

• Saying it is "a duty" to fight terrorism, Saudi Arabia on Wednesday agreed to join a U.S.-led coalition against terrorism. The government announced its commitment after a European Union delegation led by Belgian Foreign Minister Louis Michel met with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Abdullah.

• Israeli and Palestinian leaders agreed at truce talks in Gaza Wednesday to resume full security cooperation. The meeting, held at the prompting of the United States, was considered crucial by the United States in its efforts to draw Arab and Muslim states into its anti-terror alliance follow attacks on New York and Washington. (Full story)

• Police have arrested three people in Leicester, in central England, under the nation's terrorism law. French authorities say one is a French citizen of North African ancestry wanted by authorities in connection with planned attacks on U.S. interests in France.

• An attorney of three detained college students in San Diego, California -- all of whom knew one of the suspected hijackers in the September 11 attacks -- said Wednesday his clients had nothing to do with the hijackings and denounced federal authorities for holding the men. A judge ordered the three to be detained "indefinitely" and transferred to New York for grand jury proceedings.

• Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill said Wednesday it would be "a few weeks" before it is clear what the full economic fallout will be from this month's terrorist attacks.

• The Pentagon called to active duty Wednesday 701 more members of the Naval and Air Force reserves as part of the overall mobilization of 35,000 authorized by President Bush. Defense officials said majority of the reservists are predominantly law enforcement and security personnel but also include medical, supply and intelligence specialists. (Full story)

• Stepped-up vehicle inspections at bridges and tunnels in the wake of the terrorist attacks added to traffic backups Wednesday on the routes into Manhattan in New York, prompting a mandatory order for citizens to start carpooling. (Full Story)

• One day after saluting Russia for its cooperation in the fight against terrorism, President Bush said Wednesday he believed there were "terrorists" in the Russian breakaway republic of Chechnya with ties to al Qaeda, the network headed by suspected terrorist Osama bin Laden.

• Earlier Wednesday, the president visited CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, where he expressed his unqualified support for the embattled intelligence community, saying the CIA represented "the best intelligence we can possibly have." (Transcript)

• Anti-U.S. sentiments boiled over in Afghanistan's capital. Thousands of angry Afghans attacked perhaps the sole remaining symbol of the United States in Kabul on Wednesday, setting fire to the abandoned U.S. Embassy. (Full story)

• With the fear of attack growing daily in Afghanistan, as many as 1.5 million Afghans may try to flee the country -- a situation international aid agencies said would create a "humanitarian catastrophe." In response, Pakistan has announced that although it is refusing to reopen its border with Afghanistan, it will aid those that cross illegally. (Full story)

• NATO defense ministers Wednesday pledged "unflinching support" for the U.S. campaign against terrorism. NATO Secretary-General George Robertson said U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz outlined Washington's "best thinking" on the response to the terror attacks at a NATO meeting in Brussels, Belgium. (Full story)

• Delta Air Lines, the nation's third-largest airline, announced plans Wednesday to cut about 13,000 employees, or just over 15 percent of its staff. The airline will also cut its flight schedule by 15 percent. (Full story)

• Iran's spiritual leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said Iran would not participate in any campaign against terrorism headed by the United States, citing what he called America's "arrogance" and "bullying." He said the United States lacked "the competence to guide a global movement against terrorism." (Full story)

• Faced with slumping oil prices and a worldwide economy close to recession after the attacks, OPEC oil ministers on Wednesday agreed to leave production levels unchanged. (Full story)

• Spanish police have arrested six people believed to have links to bin Laden, an aide to Spain's Interior Minister told CNN Wednesday. (Full story)

• Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said Moscow is ready to increase military-technical assistance to Afghanistan's opposition Northern Alliance, according to the Interfax news agency. (Full story)

• The FBI has begun a massive nationwide records check on all truck drivers licensed to carry hazardous materials. Attorney General John Ashcroft said Tuesday several individuals who may have links to the suspected hijackers had sought or held licenses to transport hazardous materials. (Full story)

• In New York, 6,347 people are missing from the attacks, Mayor Rudy Giuliani said Wednesday. Workers have recovered 300 bodies, 232 of which have been identified, he said. Families of the missing began filing of death certificates by bringing to the Family Assistance Center proof of their identity, their relation to the missing person and that person's employer. (Full story)

• Singer/actress Bette Midler and the Boston Symphony Orchestra joined thousands of others in Boston at a "service of remembrance" Wednesday for the employees of American and United airlines who lost their lives in the September 11 terrorist attacks. Both Boeing 767s that crashed into the World Trade Center took off from Logan airport carrying 157 people. (Full story)

• Calling the September 11 attacks a "stunning failure" of U.S. intelligence, Sen. Robert Torricelli, D-New Jersey, called for a board of inquiry Wednesday to find out what went wrong. "The goal of this inquiry would not be to assess blame and ruin careers," Torricelli said. "It would have a much more important goal: determining what went wrong so we can prevent it from happening again." (Full story)