Bush freezes bin Laden assets, to meet families
( 2001-09-24 23:37 ) (7 )

President Bush on Monday took steps to choke off Islamic militant Osama bin Laden's financial support, freezing US assets and prohibiting transactions with groups linked to terrorism.

White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said Bush signed the order on Sunday night, and would announce the step at 9:30 a.m. EDT. A White House official said the order freezes US assets of bin Laden and his al Qaeda network.

Bush has accused bin Laden of masterminding the Sept. 11 attacks by hijacked planes on New York and Washington. The order also bars transactions with persons or groups suspected of committing terrorism, the official said.

On Sunday, US national security adviser Condoleezza Rice said drying up financial support would be an important part of an international ``war against terrorism'' the United States is seeking to lead.

``We're going to have to start thinking about the need to really cut off what makes these terrorist networks work. What makes them work is not one man. What makes them work is that they do have access to financial flows that allow them to buy training, to buy access,'' Rice said on ``Fox News Sunday.''

``We've got to go after the guts of this. This could be like a planaria. If you just cut off it's head and it regenerates another head, that's not going to be very helpful. So, while, of course, Osama bin Laden and his lieutenants are part of the story, the real part of the story is to choke off the bloodline of this network,'' she said.

Washington is also using financial incentives to reward supporters of what it calls its new-style war against terrorism. The United States on Saturday lifted sanctions imposed on India and Pakistan in the wake of the two countries' 1998 nuclear weapons tests, and on Monday rescheduled $379 million in Pakistani debt.

Bush later on Monday was to meet at the White House with families of those who died in the crash of a fourth hijacked plane, which slammed into the ground in rural Pennsylvania. United Airlines flight 93, which authorities say was probably headed for a target in Washington such as the US Capitol, crashed after what was believed to be an attempt by passengers to overpower the hijackers.