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5th Anniversary of 9/11 (Bush Addressed Nation)
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travelbug
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10-Sep-2006 12:11
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Just hope no crazy terrorist decides to celebrate 9/11 his own way..... |
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billywows
Elite |
09-Sep-2006 23:19
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Recalling the US markets on 9/11 ... --------------- Terrorism and Market Preparation By At 9:30 a.m. on September 17, a bell was rung on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, and trading resumed as it has for 209 years. That bell meant more to us than business as usual. It sounded out our deepest thanks for the bravery and sacrifice of so many who unhesitatingly came forward to give so much in this difficult time. It rang out our heartfelt prayers for those we have lost, their families, and loved ones. It steeled our collective determination to never let cowardice, intolerance, and evil sway this great and free society from its strong and sure course toward a better tomorrow. We move forward, stronger in spirit and purpose, knowing that history has proved the ability of our financial system to survive the darkest challenges time and again. We vow to do our utmost to preserve the bedrock foundations of worldwide prosperity and well-being. And we will sound that bell again and again. And let freedom ring. -- New York Stock Exchange, Sept. 17, 2001 In the aftermath of Sept. 11, 2001, the nation grieved. Among those carrying on in the midst of the tragedy was Wall Street. Despite suffering catastrophic personal losses and bearing firsthand witness to the events, the securities industry pulled together. Regulators, exchanges, and firms united then and continue to do so, determined to maintain an orderly market under all circumstances. Recap of response events None of the major stock exchanges opened for business on Sept. 11, 2001. The early morning terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center had occurred before the regularly scheduled opening bells of The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: NYX), the American Stock Exchange, and the Nasdaq (Nasdaq: NDAQ). Of all the exchanges, the NYSE most epitomizes American capitalism to the world, and it took a leadership role in assisting the reopening of the markets. While neither it nor the Nasdaq suffered physical damage, the Amex did. Located within a few hundred feet of Ground Zero, the Amex could not resume trading in its own building, because doing so would have impeded ongoing search-and-rescue efforts. There were also safety concerns about the building itself. So the NYSE allowed Amex equities and ETFs to be traded on its floor, while Amex-registered options traders and specialists conducted business at the Philadelphia Stock Exchange. The Big Board also helped with the relocation of approximately 35 member firms that were displaced. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq loosened its own listing requirements to facilitate liquidity. The Securities and Exchange Commission played an important role when it exercised its emergency powers for the first time. From Sept. 14 through 17, 2001, the agency adopted temporary rules aimed at easing regulatory restrictions and facilitating access to the capital markets. Some of those temporary rules were extended for several more weeks. Together with the Treasury and the Federal Reserve, the SEC also coordinated efforts to determine when the market could reopen, given the enormous damage to lower Manhattan's telecommunications infrastructure. Despite the destruction of its Northeast Regional Office, the SEC declared that "the commission has full confidence that the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, will have little lasting market impact." And the SEC's pronouncement proved correct. After the longest halt since the start of World War I, trading successfully resumed in record volume on Sept. 17. As the Dow dropped 7.1%, its largest one-day point decline, the market functioned efficiently, registering a decline in airline stocks and an upswing in defensive plays. By year's end, each of the major indices closed near their highs of the preceding six months. The subsequent focus The attacks brought home the acute need for readily available alternative facilities, and it also highlighted the price we pay for interconnectivity. The same ease that allows us to press a button to place an online trade in an account with, say Charles Schwab (Nasdaq: SCHW) or Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER), and see our trade settle three days later through electronic funds transfers, also underscores the degree to which our society has become so reliant on the telecommunications infrastructure. Many exchanges and financial firms quickly secured alternative physical locations, and others enhanced their own individual backup plans almost immediately after their initial recovery from the disaster. While that was happening, a more coordinated industrywide preparedness effort was taking shape. In 2002, the Federal Reserve, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the SEC drafted and subsequently completed in April 2003 what is known as the Sound Practices Paper. This report identifies steps to be taken by settlement and clearing companies and financial firms that play critical roles in one or more markets, with the goal of strengthening the resilience of the highly interdependent nature of the U.S. financial system. Concentrating on business continuity objectives, the paper specifies four broad sound practices for implementation: identification of clearing and settlement activities in support of critical financial markets, determination of appropriate recovery and resumption objectives, maintenance of geographically dispersed resources, and routine usage or testing of recovery and resumption arrangements. Business continuity principles for the trading markets and electronic communication networks came later, in a policy statement the SEC issued in September 2003. The principles include planning for trading to resume no later than the next business day following a wide-scale disruption, establishing geographic diversity between primary and backup sites, assuring resilience of key shared information systems, and confirming the effectiveness of alternative arrangements. Broker-dealers themselves became subject to rules of the NYSE and the National Association of Securities Dealers in a move approved by the SEC in April 2004 that required member firms to maintain business continuity plans -- an edict that includes assuring customers' prompt access to their assets even if a member firm does not remain in business. Trade associations representing equities, bonds, and futures market segments continue to conduct extensive connectivity testing to verify the resilience of the markets, with the next large-scale assessment planned for this October. Conclusion An interagency report issued in April 2006 analyzing implementation of the Sound Practices Paper reported significant progress in achieving the report's objectives. At the same time, the report recognizes that the financial industry cannot fully protect itself against all telecommunications failures and that "no business continuity plan provides complete protection against an unanticipated event." The paper further suggests that future efforts be undertaken to address the potentiality of a wide-scale disruption occurring across commercial sectors or involving other elements of the infrastructure, such as power, transportation, or water. Concrete barriers cannot insure against evil intent, and cybercrime constantly changes form. The securities industry has even recently raised awareness of the need for plans to address the potential outbreak of a pandemic flu. Still, there is no question that the market proved itself robust in the aftermath of Sept. 11 and is more prepared and resilient now than ever to face a future threat. By coordinating preparedness efforts while taking individual and shared responsibility, the industry is correctly focused more on resolving the effects of a disaster rather than pinpointing the cause. |
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billywows
Elite |
09-Sep-2006 23:02
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Hope we have a peaceful September - plus a rally! ------------------ Text of Bush radio address Good morning. This Monday, our Nation will mark the 5th anniversary of the attacks of September the 11th, 2001. On this solemn occasion, Americans will observe a day of prayer and remembrance, and Laura and I will travel to New York City, Pennsylvania, and the Pentagon to take part in memorial ceremonies. Our Nation honors the memory of every person we lost on that day of terror, and we pray that the Almighty will continue to comfort the families who had so much taken away from them.
On this anniversary, we also remember the brutality of the enemy who struck our country and renew our resolve to defeat this enemy and secure a future of peace and freedom.
So this week I've given a series of speeches about the nature of our enemy, the stakes of the struggle, and the progress we have made during the past five years. On Tuesday in Washington, I described in the terrorists own words what they believe, what they hope to accomplish, and how they intend to accomplish it. We know what the terrorists intend, because they have told us. They hope to establish a totalitarian Islamic empire across the Middle East, which they call a Caliphate, where all would be ruled according to their hateful ideology.
Osama bin Laden has called the 9/11 attacks, "A great step towards the unity of Muslims and establishing the righteous [Caliphate]." Al Qaeda and its allies reject any possibility of coexistence with those they call "infidels." Hear the words of Osama bin Laden: "Death is better than living on this earth with the unbelievers amongst us." We must take the words of these extremists seriously, and we must act decisively to stop them from achieving their evil aims.
On Wednesday at the White House, I described for the first time a CIA program we established after 9/11 to detain and question key terrorist leaders and operatives, so we can prevent new terrorist attacks. This program has been invaluable to the security of America and its allies, and helped us identify and capture men who our intelligence community believes were key architects of the September the 11th attacks.
Information from terrorists held by the CIA also helped us uncover an al Qaeda cell's efforts to obtain biological weapons, identify individuals sent by al Qaeda to case targets for attacks in the United States, stop the planned strike on a U.S. Marine base in Djibouti, prevent an attack on the U.S. consulate in Karachi, and help break up a plot to hijack passenger planes and fly them into Heathrow Airport or the Canary Wharf in London.
Information from the terrorists in CIA custody has also played a role in the capture or questioning of nearly every senior al Qaeda member or associate detained by the U.S. and its allies since this program began.
Were it not for this program, our intelligence community believes that al Qaeda and its allies would have succeeded in launching another attack against the American homeland. We have largely completed our questioning of these men, and now it is time that they are tried for their crimes.
So this week I announced that the men we believe orchestrated the 9/11 attacks had been transferred to Guantanamo Bay. And I called on Congress to pass legislation creating military commissions to try suspected terrorists for war crimes. As soon as Congress acts to authorize these military commissions, we will prosecute these men and send a clear message to those who kill Americans: No matter how long it takes, we will find you and bring you to justice.
As we bring terrorists to justice, we're acting to secure the homeland. On Thursday in Atlanta, I delivered a progress report on the steps we have taken since 9/11 to protect the American people and win the war on terror. We are safer today because we've acted to address the gaps in security, intelligence, and information sharing that the terrorists exploited in the 9/11 attacks. No one can say for sure that we would have prevented the attacks had these reforms been in place in 2001 -- yet, we can say that terrorists would have found it harder to plan and finance their operations, harder to slip into our country undetected, and harder to board the planes, take control of the cockpits, and succeed in striking their targets.
America still faces determined enemies. And in the long run, defeating these enemies requires more than improved security at home and military action abroad. We must also offer a hopeful alternative to the terrorists' hateful ideology. So America is taking the side of democratic leaders and reformers and supporting the voices of tolerance and moderation across the Middle East. By advancing freedom and democracy as the great alternative to repression and radicalism, and by supporting young democracies like Iraq, we are helping to bring a brighter future to this region -- and that will make America and the world more secure.
The war on terror will be long and difficult, and more tough days lie ahead. Yet, we can have confidence in the final outcome, because we know what America can achieve when our Nation acts with resolve and clear purpose. With vigilance, determination and courage, we will defeat the enemies of freedom, and we will leave behind a more peaceful world for our children and our grandchildren.
Thank you for listening.
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