Assault on America - Editorial Comment Food can be a powerful weapon While the US steps up its efforts to cut off terrorist finances and destroy their bases, more than 5m people in Afghanistan face an increasing danger of starvation. |  Read Boosting markets Alan Greenspan stands accused of helping to cause the current US economic troubles by cutting interest rates too far when markets fell in 1998. |  Read European solidarity The EU spelled out their total solidarity with the US and the American people in the wake of the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington. |  Read The limits of policy Economic policymakers deserve praise for their rapid response to the terrorist attacks. |  Read Insurers' liability George W. Bush described the attacks in New York and Washington as "acts of war". Insurance policies in the US generally exclude acts of war but cover terrorism. |  Read Bush makes his mark American presidents often find their true voice in a crisis. George W. Bush's address to a joint session of Congress must rank among the most eloquent of presidential speeches. |  Read Tackling Afghanistan As the contours of an American military response to the attacks loom into view, the enemy remains elusive. One target is obvious: the Taliban rulers of Afghanistan. |  Read Pakistan's chance Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan's president, appears to face a tricky dilemma in deciding how far to co-operate with Washington's war on terrorism. |  Read The voice of Europe Europe has displayed an impressive discipline in its response to the terrorist assault against the US. |  Read Helping airlines The list of problems facing the world's major airlines had been long enough before the terrorist attacks. |  Read Intelligence test The terrorist attacks on New York and Washington marked a serious failure of intelligence, not least in the US. |  Read Sharon's task On the face of it, the situation on the ground in the Middle East in the wake of the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington could scarcely look bleaker. |  Read Economic risks are mounting Solidarity and patriotism have taken hold in the US. So despite the general gloom, there could be support for equities when US stock markets reopen. |  Read New rules for a world war It will be a war like none before it, global in scope, costing billions of dollars - and one in which neutrality will be difficult. |  Read Doubtful allies in central Asia Colin Powell, the US secretary of state, has said that the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington create a new benchmark by which the US will measure its allies. |  Read