POSTED AT 5:49 AM EDT Thursday, September 13
Associated Press

Brussles, Belgium — In a strong show of support, Washington's NATO allies declared Wednesday that the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington can be considered an attack on the whole alliance if they were directed from abroad.

“An attack on one is an attack on all,” NATO Secretary General Lord Robertson said after the alliance's 19 ambassadors decided to invoke Article 5 of the NATO charter for the first time in the alliance's history.

The decision obliges America's allies to provide support for any military operation against those responsible if Tuesday's attacks were committed by foreigners, he said.

“The country that is attacked has got to make the decision and has got to be the one that asks for help,” Mr. Robertson said. “They have not reached that judgment as to who did it and why they did it.”

On Thursday, Australia said in might implement part of a military treaty with the United States that would define Tuesday's terrorist attack as an attack on Australia. Prime Minister John Howard said that would allow the country would support and, if necessary, participate in any U.S. retaliatory strike against those found to be responsible. A decision was expected later Thursday.

Shortly before the NATO announcement, Secretary of State Colin Powell said invoking the principle would not necessarily mean using NATO force against terrorists and their protectors. It could include anything from opening up air space and providing intelligence to contributing troops and equipment.

Mr. Powell telephoned the leaders of the United Nations, NATO and the European Union on Wednesday in search of support for a coordinated response to the attacks on the World Trade Towers and the Pentagon.

He made two calls to Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and also spoke with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and top officials from Germany, Canada and Italy, among other countries.

In a separate show of allied solidarity, the European Union pledged Wednesday to help U.S. authorities track down and “punish those responsible” for Tuesday's attacks.

At a special meeting, EU foreign ministers meeting asked “all Europeans to observe three minutes of silence” on Friday at 6 a.m. EDT.

They declared Friday a “day of mourning” in all 15 EU nations because the attacks were “not only on the United States, but against humanity itself and the values of freedom we all share.”

“There will be no safe haven for terrorists and their sponsors,” the EU ministers said in a statement. “The Union will work closely with the United States and all partners to combat international terrorism.”

NATO officials stressed there was no discussion of military intervention at this point.

“At the moment this is an act of solidarity,” Mr. Robertson said, adding that the declaration “in no way” binds the United States ``against taking action on its own.”

After receiving assurances from President George W. Bush Wednesday that NATO members would be consulted very closely, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder offered his “full solidarity” with the U.S. for a possible response.

“They were not only attacks on the people in the United States, our friends in America, but also against the entire civilized world, against our own freedom, against our own values, values which we share with the American people,” he said.

Calling Tuesday's attacks a threat to peace and freedom everywhere, he said, “We will not let these values be destroyed - in Europe, America or anywhere in the world.”

Mr. Schroeder's chief of staff , meanwhile, said German, French, British and Israeli secret services consider Saudi exile Osama bin Laden as the prime suspect behind the attacks.

“The way it was carried out, the choice of targets, the military approach, the highly professional preparation and the presumably large financial resources ... (all) mean there are many points that indicate we should look for the perpetrators among those around Osama bin Laden,” Frank-Walter Steinmeier said.

He added that Germany expected the U.S. to launch strikes against whomever it determines carried out the attacks.

The notion of an attack against one ally being considered an attack against all dates back to the alliance's founding in 1949. Originally intended to be applied in case of a Cold War attack, Robertson said the principle “is no less valid” today.

In a statement, the NATO allies said “in the event of attacks ... each ally will assist (the U.S.) by taking such action as it deems necessary.

Accordingly, the United States' NATO allies stand ready to provide the assistance that may be required as a consequence of these acts of barbarism.”

Full text of NATO the official declaration issued by NATO's North Atlantic Council on Wednesday:

"On September 12th, the North Atlantic Council met again in response to the appalling attacks perpetrated yesterday against the United States.

"The Council agreed that if it is determined that this attack was directed from abroad against the United States, it shall be regarded as an action covered by Article 5 of the Washington Treaty, which states that an armed attack against one or more of the Allies in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all.

"The commitment to collective self-defense embodied in the Washington Treaty was first entered into in circumstances very different from those that exist now, but it remains no less valid and no less essential today, in a world subject to the scourge of international terrorism.

"When the Heads of State and Government of NATO met in Washington in 1999, they paid tribute to the success of the Alliance in ensuring the freedom of its members during the Cold War and in making possible a Europe that was whole and free.

"But they also recognized the existence of a wide variety of risks to security, some of them quite unlike those that had called NATO into existence. More specifically, they condemned terrorism as a serious threat to peace and stability and reaffirmed their determination to combat it in accordance with their commitments to one another, their international commitments and national legislation.

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On the cover of Today's Globe and Mail:
Secretary of State Colin Powell said the United States would respond "if it is a war . . . . It's going to be a long-term conflict."

Prime Minister Jean Chr�tien threw his support behind the idea of a U.S.-led coalition, and suggested it include Japan and Russia, the two Group of Eight members that are not members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

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Ubique

By Robert Fife, Ottawa Bureau Chief
National Post, with files from Jane Taber and Global News
17 Sept 01

OTTAWA - Canada will "unambiguously" join U.S. military action in striking back at terrorism, even if Canadian lives are lost, John Manley, Minister of Foreign Affairs, said yesterday.

"Canada is at war against terrorism," he said in an interview concerning the government's response to Tuesday's attacks. "The world changed in some very real ways as a result of those events and that is going to force us to look at all aspects of what we do."

Mr. Manley pledged Canada will "stand shoulder to shoulder" with the United States when it goes into battle against the perpetrators -- even if Canadian military personnel are put at risk.

"If they have things that they require [from the military], they should simply let us know," Mr. Manley said. "Let's remember we have already lost Canadian lives so I don't think anyone hesitates in saying our response is not just in support of the United States, but we have Canadians victims of this attack."

Asked if Canada is prepared to lose lives, Mr. Manley said: "We are victims of the attack. We are part of it so that is the end of that discussion."

He said Canada will also undertake a major review of its immigration and security policies to avoid a U.S. clampdown at the border. Washington has long criticized Canada as a haven for international terrorists, citing lax immigration and refugee policies and inadequate security laws. The United States and NATO have also chided Canada for inadequate military spending.

In a separate interview with television's Global Sunday, Mr. Manley emphasized again that this country's immigration and security laws will be re-examined in light of U.S. concerns about the ease with which international terrorists have entered Canada to raise money and mount attacks against the United States and other nations.

The U.S. Congress and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service have warned that virtually every known terrorist organization in the world is exploiting Canada's ethnic communities, posing a serious security threat.

Failure to take concrete action to reassess Canadian policies could cause irreparable harm to the economy and the free flow of commerce across the border, Mr. Manley acknowledged.

"We will have to make every effort to satisfy the United States as to the level of our border security. We have simply too much at stake economically in our ability to access the United States market -- over $1.3-billion U.S. dollars per day in trade -- we can't have them build a wall around the United States and us be on the outside of it. I think that is very clear so I think we need to satisfy them."

Mr. Manley also indicated Ottawa is prepared to heed concerns by the United States and NATO allies over Canada's defence spending, which is about 1.15 % of gross domestic product, half the NATO alliance average of 2.13 %.

"As we assess the world that we live in, we may well find that we're going to have to increase the amounts that we allocate to national defence as well as to our security force, as well as the RCMP and CSIS," Mr. Manley said.

Mr. Manley said Canadians will have to accept some limits to their freedoms as Canada and its allies put in place new measures to combat terrorism.

"Undoubtedly I think there is going to be a shift in that balance to some degree in favour of the duty to protect and away from individual liberty," he said. "It must never go too far or we take away the very essence of a free and democratic society but clearly we are going to have to look at every aspect of our security environment to see what adjustments need to be made in light of last Tuesday to assure Canadians that they live in a safe place."

Jean Chr�tien, the Prime Minister, is expected to elaborate on Canada's response to terrorist attacks in New York and Washington in a special parliamentary debate today.

The debate will be the first order of business when the House of Commons returns from its summer recess.

In his speech today, Mr. Chr�tien will call "us back to our Canadian values," say insiders. He will ask Canadians not to lash out against ethnic communities. "It is not who we are as Canadians," he is to say in his speech. He will ask Canadians to rely on their "wisdom and patience" in these trying times.

Joe Clark, the Conservative Leader, yesterday berated the Prime Minister for a "faint-hearted" response in the immediate aftermath of the attack, saying he should have come out strongly in support of Washington.

"I support military participation. I believe we have to take a very good look at our immigration laws. I think we have to take a very close look at airport security on the ground and in the air," Mr. Clark said.

Stockwell Day, the Canadian Alliance Leader, has also criticized the Prime Minister for not taking a tougher stand and unequivocally promising military aid to the United States.

[ 17 September 2001: Message edited by: Yard Ape ]

By JOHN STACKHOUSE
From Monday's Globe and Mail

From Afghanistan to Canada, Osama bin Laden has assembled a network of terrorist cells that is so disciplined and well-funded that it would certainly survive his death or capture.

As well as thousands of armed supporters in Afghanistan, where he is widely believed to be hiding, Mr. bin Laden has a coalition of militant allies in as many as 34 countries, including Canada, intelligence reports say. His personal support may be far greater, with a cult following in many countries.

A U.S. congressional report made public last week called Mr. bin Laden's network "a global threat."

"In building this network, bin Laden has assembled a coalition of disparate radical Islamic groups of varying nationalities to work toward common goals - the expulsion of non-Muslim control or influence from Muslim-inhabited countries," a report by the Congressional Research Service says.

Terrorist experts note that Mr. bin Laden's network, rather than relying only on guerrilla fighters, has attracted well-educated and well-travelled followers who can slip easily into Western society.

A British newspaper reported Monday that a European terrorist cell linked to Mr. bin Laden attempted to launch a sarin gas attack on the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, last February.

The attack was due to take place during a parliamentary session when 625 Euro-MPs and scores of officials would have been in the building. But German police foiled the attempt after breaking up the cell, which included Algerian members and operated in London, Frankfurt and Milan.

Six men based in Britain were arrested and charged under that country's Prevention of Terrorism Act, but later released so they could be monitored, the paper reported.

The congressional report puts Mr. bin Laden's financial worth at $300-million (U.S.), and the size of his Al-Qaeda (The Base) network at 3,000 Islamic militants. It says Al-Qaeda has cells in most major Muslim countries, as well as Canada, the United States and Britain.

Rather than direct these cells or affiliates, Mr. bin Laden is believed to accept proposals for militant activities that he might consider funding or arming. All of the so-called projects must be linked to Al-Qaeda's ultimate goal, which is believed to be the destruction of the West in retaliation for its policies in the Middle East and Arab world.

While the autonomous cells might suffer financially and logistically if Mr. bin Laden were killed or captured, there is another risk: that his stature in many Islamic countries would only grow. Millions already view him as a Rambo of the Muslim world.

Mr. bin Laden has built his stature with a sophisticated media network that originally relied on interviews with U.S. television from his Afghanistan hideout.

But in the past 18 months, he appears to have developed a new tactic, using a personal video crew that films him in favourable settings - usually shooting a gun or riding a horse - then distributes the footage to Arab broadcasters.

North American and European networks almost always pick up the clips, without knowing his whereabouts.

U.S. President George W. Bush tried to lay to rest fears that Mr. bin Laden may already have slipped out of Afghanistan. Reports last week said the fugitive had already relocated his base to the southern Philippines, where Muslim separatists have well-fortified camps.

"If he thinks he can hide from the United States and our allies, he will be sorely mistaken," Mr. Bush said.

The Taliban representative in the United Arab Emirates, Aziz Al-Rahman, said this weekend that Mr. bin Laden remains "the guest of our people" in Afghanistan.

Britain is also a key player in welding together a much broader coalition to back US military action but could British help include practical military assistance?

Much depends upon what the Americans decide to do but it is clear that there are a number of areas where Britain could perhaps help.

What is driving the speculation about a British military role is the fact that preparations are currently under way for one of the largest ever British military exercises in the Gulf.

Troop deployment

Up to 6,000 British troops are being deployed to Oman in an operation called "Saif Sareea Two" and involving ground, air and naval forces.

The bulk of the British troops comprise an armoured brigade with headquarters and supporting elements.

A strong naval force is also already on its way to the Gulf region - some 24 surface ships in all, together with two submarines.

Among the vessels are the aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious, with both Navy Sea Harriers and RAF Harrier GR7s on board, the helicopter carrier HMS Ocean and the assault ship HMS Fearless.

Royal Marines from 3 Commando Brigade will be staging landings on the Omani coast and over 30 combat aircraft are also due to take part in the exercise, which extends through to October.

The troops are arriving in Oman over the next few days and the naval element is currently in the Mediterranean.

According to the Ministry of Defence in London, everything is going as planned except that some key elements of the Joint Forces Headquarters that were intending to deploy to Oman are now staying in Britain.

Potent military force

All this represents a potent military force but it is far from clear how relevant it is to the sort of operation the Pentagon may have in mind.

One of the two submarines, HMS Trafalgar, is capable of firing land attack cruise missiles, and the carrier-borne aircraft could theoretically take part in any joint operation with US warplanes.

But the Americans may want British assistance in another area.

The US military was hugely impressed by SAS operations behind Iraqi lines during the Gulf War.

Some in the SAS already have experience of operating in northern Pakistan.