President swears in new anti-terror chief

Associated Press WriterWASHINGTON (AP) -- With the nation on high alert for more terrorist attacks, President Bush says, "I know many Americans feel fear today." He was installing former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge as head of a new Office of Homeland Security at a time of growing anxiety over reprisals from Osama bin Laden.

Ridge took a seat in Bush's Monday morning briefing by Federal Bureau of Investigation officials, and was to be sworn in by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. Original plans for Vice President Dick Cheney to give Ridge the oath of office were scrapped; Cheney remained at an undisclosed location Monday morning.

The assignment came a day after the United States and Britain launched attacks against military targets and bin Laden's terrorist training camps in Afghanistan.

The rocket and bomb attacks brought a fresh threat from bin Laden, who promised in a videotaped message on Sunday that Americans "will never dream of security or see it before we live it and see it in Palestine, and not before the infidels' armies leave the land of Muhammad."

Bush watched bin Laden's chilling broadcast on Sunday from the White House residence, White House press secretary Ari Fleischer confirmed Monday. "His reaction was first that this is much bigger than any one person. This is not a war against Osama bin Laden, this is a war against terrorists. ... He also noted that bin Laden virtually took responsibility for the attacks on the United States."

Fleischer added, "If Osama bin Laden was gone today, the war would continue tomorrow."

The FBI said Sunday night it was urging law enforcement agencies nationwide to "be at the highest level of vigilance and be prepared to respond to any act of terrorism or violence."

Bush gave Ridge a West Wing office just a few paces from his own, and a broad mission: Develop a "coordinated, integrated, national strategy to combat terrorism," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said.

Ridge was getting a staff of nearly 100, most of them currently working for the White House or other agencies, and a dozen employees of his own. He will report directly to the president, McClellan said.

Critics have questioned how much clout Ridge will have. Although Bush was naming him to his Cabinet, Ridge is not one of the 14 Cabinet members installed under federal law, each with his own budget and authority. Each president may designate any number of other top advisers as "Cabinet level," and that is what Bush did with Ridge.

McClellan said Ridge will have "significant input into the budgets of agencies involved in homeland security," though his own budget will be part of the White House's. "Governor Ridge will have all the authority he needs to get things done."

A Homeland Security Council consisting of Bush, Cheney, Ridge and various agency heads will tackle domestic terrorism much as the National Security Council advises the president on international affairs.

As the nation went to battle, the administration sought to heighten Americans' awareness of possible terrorist retaliation, without alarming them. "The American people need to be alert -- threats do remain," White House press secretary Ari Fleischer said. "This is a war."

Throughout the weeks following the Sept. 11 attacks on New York's World Trade Center and the Pentagon, Bush has sought to project an air of normalcy. That was true Monday, as he was celebrating Columbus Day at the side of singer-actress Liza Minelli.

After delivering his address to the nation, Bush spent Sunday monitoring the military action from the White House.

He began the day at Camp David, Md., and attended a memorial service nearby for the 99 American firefighters who died in line of duty last year. Some 343 firefighters are dead or missing at the World Trade Center.

"Our nation still mourns," Bush said. "They did not live to know who had caused the destruction, or why, they only knew their duty, and that was to go in, to follow the faintest cry, to search for the trapped and helpless, and to save those who could be saved."

He had already, in secret the night before, ordered retaliation for their deaths.