US President Mr George W Bush said today September 11th terror strikes made 2001 a year of "sadness and pride" and declared pursuing the war against terrorism was the top priority of 2002.
"Two thousand and one has been a year that Americans will always remember. We suffered great loss, and we found a new unity. We were attacked, and we responded swiftly," he said in his weekly radio address.
Meanwhile the Pentagon said today US forces in Afghanistan are now holding more than 120 Taliban and al Qaeda prisoners at a detention facility in Kandahar.
A spokesman for the Defense Department also confirmed US warplanes had bombed a Taliban leadership building near Gardeyz yesterday. An assessment of the damage was not yet available.
Mr Bush in his address from his "Prairie Chapel" ranch today praised Americans' resolve in the wake of terrorist attacks that left some 3,000 people dead and urged them not to falter.
"Above all, this coming year will require our sustained commitment to the war against terrorism. We cannot know how long this struggle will last. But it can end only one way: in victory for America and the cause of freedom," he said.
Aides were unsure of Bush's plans for ushering in 2002, though the teetotaler president suggested yesterday raucous partying was out of the question, saying he and wife Laura were "probably going to bed early."
The president also noted domestic successes, including passage of his ambitious $1.35 trillion tax cut plan and an education reform measure, even as he lashed opposition Democrats for resisting some of his initiatives.
Mr Bush pressed the Senate to take up his controversial energy plan; pass the version of a "bill of rights" for patients that he supports; and lower barriers to giving religious charities federal funds.
AFP and