Bush visits New York to focus on recovery

President George Bush was today visiting New York to see its response to the devastating World Trade Centre terror strikes.

Aides to Mr Bush said he was hoping to focus on the city’s recovery - unlike his previous visit, days after the September 11 terrorist attacks, when he met with rescue workers and victims’ families.

Today, he was meeting business leaders, schoolchildren and Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and was said to be concerned about the attacks’ impact on children and on the economy.

‘‘It will be a message to help New Yorkers recover and rebound from the attacks and to talk to children about what they’re thinking, what they’re going through,’’ White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said.

‘‘It has been very difficult on children and the President is very concerned about that.’’

Mr Bush’s wife Laura visited a school in Greenwich Village, New York, last week and listened to children reading letters they had written to the president.

She was not expected to join him today as he visited an elementary school in the city’s Chinatown.

The president was also meeting 30 business leaders, having lunch with the Mayor, and was reported to be planning to visit Wall Street.

Exact details of his plans were being kept secret amid security fears but he was said to be keen to meet businessmen and women.

‘‘The president is very concerned about the effects on the economy, not only in New York but in America,’’ Mr Fleischer said.

Yesterday Nato gave its full backing to America in its ‘‘war’’ against terrorism after being shown ‘‘clear and compelling’’ evidence that Osama bin Laden was behind the September 11 attacks.

For the first time in its history, the alliance fully invoked Article 5 of its founding treaty - which declares an attack on one member is an attack on all - after being briefed by US ambassador-at-large Francis Taylor.

In the immediate aftermath of the attacks in the US, Nato had said that it would invoke Article 5 if the US provided proof that they had been directed from abroad.

Following a meeting of alliance ambassadors at Nato headquarters in Brussels yesterday Secretary General Lord Robertson said they had now been shown that proof.

‘‘The facts are clear and compelling. It is clear that all roads lead to al-Qaida and pinpoint Osama bin Laden as having been involved in it,’’ he said.