Defiant Government Reopens After 'Acts of War'

W A S H I N G T O N, Sept. 12 -- The federal government defiantly returned to work today, a day after thousands were feared killed in hellish attacks President Bush called "acts of war."

Bush got a firsthand look at the heavily damaged Pentagon complex, where a hijacked American Airlines Flight 77 crashed and exploded in an inferno of jet fuel at the heart of the nation's defense headquarters Tuesday morning. First lady Laura Bush, visited doctors, nurses and victims of the attack at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

"It makes me sad on the one hand," the president told rescue workers. "It also makes me angry. Our country will, however, not be cowed by terrorists."

Before the president's tour, firefighters had finally extinguished the fires and draped a massive American flag near the collapsed wing of the building to welcome him. Rescue workers searching the remains of the damaged wing all but lost hope of finding any survivors. Officials now estimate the number of dead or missing in the Pentagon at 200.

This morning, while huddling at the White House with his National Security Council, Bush warned the nation to be "keenly aware of the threats to our country" in the wake of the coordinated hijacking attacks that struck the Pentagon, obliterated the World Trade Center towers in New York, and downed four commercial airliners on Tuesday.

"The deliberate and deadly attacks, which were carried out yesterday against our country, were more than acts of terror. They were acts of war," Bush said. "This will require our country to unite in steadfast determination and resolve. Freedom and democracy are under attack."

The calamities could have hit the president even closer to home, administration officials revealed today. Attorney General John Ashcroft said the government "had specific and credible evidence that the White House and Air Force One were targets."

Bush spokesman Ari Fleischer said American Airlines Flight 77 was initially headed toward the White House.

As costs mounted for cleaning up the damage, hunting down the terrorists and heightening defense, Bush asked congressional leaders to approve an emergency request for funding.