On September 21, 2001, when a senior Bush Administration official was asked about the US’s response to the 9/11 attacks, he replied: ” ‘The president said last night we begin with bin Laden, but it doesn’t end there,’… States that sponsor terrorism are to have a chance ‘to turn over a new leaf,’ the official said. Iraq, the official added, is considered unlikely to do that.”
– David E. Sanger and Eric Schmitt, “U.S. Puts Afghan Strike Ahead of Full Plan; Bush Rewarding Pakistan for Its Support,” The New York Times, Sep. 22, 2001