Evidence has begun to emerge of divisions in the US administration over the scope and strength of American retaliation.
A report in the New York Times cites official sources claiming that the Secretary of State, Mr Colin Powell, has been involved in a bitter debate with the Deputy Secretary for Defence, Mr Paul Wolfowitz, over Mr Wolfowitz's insistence that the US should strike not only at Afghan bases but also terrorist bases in Iraq and Lebanon's Bekaa Valley.
Mr Wolfowitz is also said to be pushing the administration to go for a killing blow against President Saddam Hussein, although the US has yet only circumstantial evidence of his support for Osama bin Laden.
Mr Wolfowitz is backed by the Vice-President's chief of staff, Mr Lewis Libby, although the paper reports that both Mr Dick Cheney and the Secretary of Defence, Mr Donald Rumsfeld, the most powerful conservatives in the administration, believe that "Iraq can wait".
A number of conservatives are reported to have circulated a letter yesterday calling on the President to "make a determined effort to remove Saddam Hussein from power".
Mr Powell, who has been central to building a global alliance to back US actions, has allegedly warned that selecting targets beyond Afghanistan, specifically in Iraq, would "wreck" that alliance. He has urged the administration to hasten slowly, emphasising the need to build a rock-solid case to legitimise US actions in international law.
The New York Times quotes one anonymous source as complaining that Mr Wolfowitz is "more concerned about bombing Iraq than bombing Afghanistan".
Mr Powell's concerns are reflected in a carefully qualified statement of support by France's President Jacques Chirac yesterday after he met the British Prime Minister in Paris ahead of Mr Blair's visit to the US.
"Neither England nor France could fail to be present if the response is appropriate and efficient," Mr Chirac told reporters after the meeting. Mr Blair added he would "agree entirely with that". The Russian Foreign Minister, Mr Igor Ivanov, is also reported to have urged caution on his visit to the US on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, ending their silence after a week of national mourning, social and religious organisations and peace groups are beginning to urge restraint. Protests and vigils are being organised in many colleges and an alliance, the Washington Peace Centre, has called a major "peace event" for Washington on September 30th.
In strong statements the National Council of Churches and a coalition of well-known individuals organised by singer Harry Belafonte, actor Danny Glover, and civil rights veteran Rosa Parks, have warned that wholesale military action will encourage terrorism, not end it.
Among protest organisers is Ms Judy Kenne, whose husband died in the World Trade Centre. She told journalists "The WTC was in retaliation for something else and that was in retaliation for something else. Are we going to continue this in perpetuity?"
The US backed its demand for the handover of bin Laden by deploying combat forces within striking distance of Afghanistan and preparing Americans for a protracted war on terrorism.
"We are ready to sustain land combat operations," said Army Secretary, Mr Thomas White, as preparations for Operation Infinite Justice were under way.
The US military is deploying a massive armada of planes and ships around the Middle East. Officials said bombers and fighter aircraft were deployed to bases in the Gulf and the Indian Ocean.
Two US aircraft carrier battle groups were already on stand-by in the waters off the Gulf and southern Asia, while a third battle group was on its way, aboard three amphibious warfare, led by the USS Bataan, military spokesmen said.
The war ships are part of a 14-ship task force led by aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt, which left Norfolk, Virginia, on Wednesday in the first major deployment since the terrorist attacks in the US, navy officials said.
