President George W. Bush on Saturday portrayed the United States as a resilient nation with a "fundamentally strong" economy that would not be destroyed by the terrorists who launched attacks on New York and Washington.
"The terrorists who attacked the United States on September 11 targeted our economy, as well as our people," Bush said in his weekly radio address.
"They brought down a symbol of American prosperity, but they could not touch its source," he declared, referring to the fallen 110-story twin towers of New York's World Trade Center.
But he insisted that "our country's wealth is not contained in glass and steel; it is found in the skill and hard work and entrepreneurship of our people, and those are as strong today as they were two weeks ago."
"Our economy has had a shock," the president acknowledged. "Many workers lost their jobs this week, especially in the airline and hospitality industries, in restaurants and in tourism, as companies struggle to remain afloat."
But he insisted that the US economy is nonetheless "fundamentally strong" and that the government is working "to strengthen our broader economy and to get Americans back to work” -- WASHINGTON (AFP)
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
