The Bush administration moved aggressively Wednesday to lay the diplomatic and military groundwork for a possible strike against Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden and his supporters in Afghanistan, winning an unprecedented NATO commitment of support and pressuring neighboring Pakistan for intelligence and logistical backing.
The Washington Post said that President George Bush and his top diplomats were lining up support across Europe, the Middle East and Asia for a response that they said would not just apprehend the attackers but retaliate against any countries behind them.
Secretary of State Colin Powell spoke early in the morning with NATO Secretary General George Robertson and by the end of the day had won a declaration committing the allies to back a US military reprisal.
Powell said the declaration would "tee up" the invocation of the NATO charter's mutual defense clause for the first time in the alliance's 52-year history. It assures the United States of overflight rights and other forms of support if the administration concluded the terrorist attacks came from abroad.
Bush directed the Pentagon to begin drawing up a menu of military options, a senior administration official said.
After a morning meeting with his national security advisers, the president called the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon "acts of war." Congress swiftly adopted a joint resolution that officials from Capitol Hill and the administration said freed the White House from having to seek a formal declaration of war.
US officials also began high-level meetings with Pakistani officials to insist on their help in tracking the attackers and aiding a retaliatory strike.
The Pakistani government has long had close ties with the Taliban movement in Afghanistan that shelters bin Laden.
"The message to Pakistan is there's clearly a worldwide momentum right now to stand up and be counted. Whose side are you on terrorism?" a senior State Department official said, cited by the paper.
Powell said he had held several conversations with leaders from Saudi Arabia, who would have to give the go-ahead if the United States were to use their crucial bases as staging grounds for any move against bin Laden. But he left unclear whether he had secured Saudi agreement.
"If they can be helpful in finding those who may be responsible, we will expect that help and we will express that very, very clearly," Powell said.
The European Union, meanwhile, vowed to help the United States identify and "punish" those behind the terror attacks.
"We will spare no effort to help identify, bring to justice and punish those responsible," EU foreign ministers said in a strongly worded statement after an emergency meeting in Brussels.
Russia put its intelligence service to work on Wednesday in the hunt for those responsible for the US attacks after President Vladimir Putin urged the world to go to war against terrorism, AFP said – Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
