Bush rallies US with volunteers plea

George Bush asked Americans to get involved in the fight against terrorism last night, urging them to volunteer in hospitals and other places on the cutting edge of the nation's response to acts of sabotage and murder.

Speaking in Atlanta, above the whistling and cheering of an audience of thousands - including police, firefighters, postal and health care workers - Mr Bush urged people to head into "careers of service". He told them to "use their eyes and ears" to watch for suspicious activity, asserting that the country was "sadder and less innocent" since the suicide attacks of 11 September.

Part pep-talk, part reassurance that the government was working to protect its citizens, the speech echoed John F Kennedy's "ask what you can do for your country" call, pressing Americans to make a commitment to service in their communities.

He rallied the spirits of Americans, knowing he faces slumping confidence in US counter-terrorism efforts, and rising demands to deliver Osama bin Laden, dead or alive.

Instead of speaking from the formal distance of the Oval Office, he broke with tradition and addressed the nation from among the people.

Opinion polls have shown that Americans want to get more deeply involved in the fight against terrorism, a trend Mr Bush understands can be used to raise morale and expand forces ready to respond to another terrorist incident.

Harking back to his father's proposal for "a thousand points of light" in a volunteer society, Mr Bush said: "One way to defeat terrorism is to show the world the true values of America through the gathering momentum of millions of acts of responsibility and decency and service."