WASHINGTON (AP) — Calling it a "strike on the financial foundation" of terrorists, President Bush signed an executive order Monday freezing the assets of 27 individuals and organizations. He demanded foreign banks follow suit.

Standing in the White House Rose Garden, Bush said his order applied to "terrorist organizations, individuals, terrorist leaders, a xOporation that serves as a front for terrorism and several nonprofit organizations."

Nearly two weeks after the worst terrorism attack on American soil, Bush conceded he was "concerned about the shock this had on the economy." But he said "the fundamentals for (economic) growth are strong," and added defiantly, "We'll come out of this and we'll come out of it strong."

There was at least some sign of optimism on Wall Street, where the stock market opened sharply higher after a week of exceptionally steep declines.

Bush spoke as halfway around the world, the leader of Afghanistan's ruling militia, Mullah Mohammed Omar, said the United States should withdraw from the Persian Gulf and "put an end to the biased attitude on the issue of Palestine."

In a faxed statement, he said the death of Osama bin Laden — the suspected mastermind behind the Sept. 11 attacks — would do little to remove any threat to the United States.

Flanked by Secretary of State Colin Powell and Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill, Bush said: "Money is the lifeblood of terrorist operations. Today, we're asking the world to stop payment." He called the list "the financial equivalent of law enforcement's most-wanted list."

Powell repeated the administration's view that bin Laden was culpable for the Sept. 11 attacks that killed more than 6,000. "There's no question that this network ... this guy at the head of this network, the chairman of this holding company of terrorism, is the one who's responsible."

Concerned about possible chemical weapons attacks, the Federal Aviation Administration imposed extended through Monday Sunday's ban on crop-dusting from airplanes in domestic airspace.

The president's executive order marked the first public step of the financial elements of his declared war on terrorism. He was working on the diplomatic front during the day, meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien at the White House.

At the same time, American military forces are deploying around the world in anticipation of an expected strike against bin Laden and his al-Qaida network. Pakistan announced Monday it had removed its diplomats from Afghanistan.

Bush spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin for nearly an hour over the weekend — their third conversation on the anti-terror campaign — and will see Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Tuesday.

As he laid the groundwork for a military strike, the president also sought to help restore a sense of normalcy to the nation. He looked on Sunday as Marines raised the American flag at his Camp David, Md., retreat to full-staff for the first time since the attacks.

Outside Washington, Americans resumed their routines.

Professional football games were played for the first time since Sept. 10.

One famous stadium was transformed into a field of healing. Representatives of New York's broad spectrum of faiths took the field of Yankee Stadium for a flag-draped gathering of prayer for the victims of terrorism. "We need faith, wisdom and strength of soul," said New York's Roman Catholic archbishop, Cardinal Edward Egan.

A key area of concern in Washington was the economy, bruised in the aftermath of the attacks. Bush was contemplating a broad array of methods to jump-start it, but heeding the advice of Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, who urged against an immediate government stimulus package.

Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., disagreed. "I think we have to have a stimulus package immediately that accelerates certain kinds of investment projects, whether it's railroad, road, airports, even something as prosaic as a sewer overflow, for mayors all across the country," he said on CBS' "Face the Nation."

Sen. Bob Graham, D-Fla., urged consumers to do their bit by opening their wallets. "People, if you want to do an act of patriotism, if you were going to buy a car, go out and buy that car," he said on CBS. "If you were going to do some trip, go do that trip."

Investigators continued their wide-ranging work. In a Dallas suburb, the FBI arrested a Palestinian whose name turned up in the address book of a former personal secretary to bin Laden. Ghassan Dahduli is appealing an immigration court deportation ruling for obtaining a work visa through fraud, FBI spokeswoman Lori Bailey said.

In Austin, Texas, authorities pulled from an American Airlines flight two men whose names matched those on an FBI list of people wanted for questioning. The two men, identified as Pakistani nationals, were released early Monday, said Austin-Bergstrom International Airport spokeswoman Jackie Mayo.