Islamic clerics meeting in Kabul to decide on whether to extradite Osama bin Laden resumed a second day of talks and were expected to issue a final ruling Thursday. Meanwhile, US warplanes were being deployed to the Arabian Gulf region as part of the initial buildup of forces in America's "new war" against terrorism.
A senior Talian official was quoted by AFP as saying that the meeting would hear reports drawn up by committees of ulema, or scholars, from each of Afghanistan's 32 provinces.
"A decision will be made in light of the committee's reports, in line with Islamic law and the government will implement it," the Taliban official said.
"We are expecting a decision today."
The Taliban's supreme leader Mullah Mohammad Omar on Wednesday told the ulema the United States had failed to provide any evidence to justify extraditing bin Laden.
Bin Laden has been named by Washington as the prime suspect in last week's attacks on New York and Washington in which close to 6,000 people died.
He has also been indicted by a New York prosecutor in connection with the 1998 bombing of two US embassies in Africa.
As President George Bush announced he would address Congress on Thursday about the terrorist attacks on the United States, Pentagon sources told CNN Wednesday that warplanes were being deployed to the Arabian Gulf region as part of the initial buildup of forces in America's "new war" against terrorism.
Dozens of military planes will be "forward deployed" as early as Thursday in support of the president's objectives, sources said.
A second deployment order, not yet issued, could put the number of aircraft involved to more than 100 planes.
The president's top security adviser cautioned that "this isn't Pearl Harbor" and that military forces would not be the only weapon in the new war against unconventional enemies.
"This is also of a war of will and mind. It is a war in which information may be the most important asset that we have. So we're asking a lot of countries to help us with information," said National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, cited by the network.
She said Bush would use his speech Thursday to explain to Americans "what it is we face and how we're going to have to face it."
"I think the president is going to use this as an opportunity to talk about the sustained nature of this campaign," Rice said. "I think he will use it as an opportunity to urge patience and reason."
The military campaign has tentatively been named "Operation Infinite Justice," according to sources.
Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, meanwhile, said the United States had requested the use of airspace over his country in the event of an attack against neighboring Afghanistan, and offered "full cooperation."
Bush has vowed to track down bin Laden and his al-Qaeda network, blamed for the September 11 terrorist attacks in which hijacked planes slammed into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, killing close to 6,000 people.
"We'll do what we need to do to achieve the first objective of a long campaign, and the first objective is to bring people to justice," said Bush.
"I would strongly urge the Taliban to turn over the al-Qaeda organizers who hide in their country," he said during a joint White House appearance Wednesday with his Indonesian counterpart Megawati Sukarnoputri.
Bush and his aides have been working to rally global support for a military strike against the man he said was wanted "dead or alive."
Britain's The Times newspaper reported Thursday that Washington and London were planning a 10-year "war on terrorism."
One source was quoted as saying that, rather than organizing a military invasion, US and British planners were working on the basis that military strikes would take place only as part of a wider counter-terrorist campaign involving international diplomatic, economic and political action.
The United States has won solid, if not specific, support Wednesday from two crucial Muslim countries -- Indonesia and Saudi Arabia -- and rival Russia, AFP said.
But Megawati's concern about reaction at home was also evident in a joint statement issued after her talks with Bush.
"Emphasizing that Islam is a religion of peace that neither teaches hatred nor condones violence, President Megawati encouraged President Bush in his stated purpose of building a broad coalition across religious lines and cultures to deal with these new and dangerous threats," it said.
Like other Muslim nations that have pledged support for the United States, Indonesia braced itself for possible conflict within its own borders, where hardline Islamic groups threatened to raid US facilities and expel Americans nationwide if Washington attacked Afghanistan.
Bush insisted his administration would not launch a "war of religion."
"Islam preaches peace, the Muslim faith is a peaceful faith," he told reporters at the White House.
The US president also held talks with Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov who told him and Powell that Moscow would "render all possible assistance in this difficult hour."
"Russia and the United States have agreed to closely coordinate their actions," Ivanov said, without specifying what Moscow would contribute to the effort.
US Secretary of State Colin Powell, meanwhile, met with his Saudi counterpart, Prince Saud Al Faisal, and telephoned Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri.
"We promised him (Powell) that we will do everything that we can to help in any way that we can to see that this fight brings the hope of all humanity," Prince Saud said, cited by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA).
Arab support is considered crucial for the US-led coalition, and Bush Wednesday urged Palestinian President Yasser Arafat to back up a condemnation of terrorism "with action."
Bush and Powell also spoke with German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer, who offered his country's support. "We are ready to be part of this anti-terror coalition," he told reporters, adding: "We do not rule out any option."
French President Jacques Chirac said his country "will not stand aside in a fight against a scourge that challenges all democracies."
But he added that "the action to be taken will go well beyond a military retaliation -- even if that is necessary. It is the implementation of coordinated action over the long term that will eradicate terrorism."
British Prime Minister Tony Blair was expected on Thursday after a diplomatic shuttle to boost European support for the US-led coalition, AFP said.
"I think it is clear the coalition is strengthening," Blair said after meeting German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder in Berlin.
In Japan, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi vowed to take immediate steps to allow Japanese troops to provide logistical support.
Chinese leaders, for their part, insist the UN Security Council play a deciding role.
The Security Council already has called on the Taliban to hand over bin Laden.
In another development, the United States on Thursday warned Americans against traveling to Yemen and Turkmenistan, said AFP.
In separate statements, the State Department said it had also authorized the departure of all non-essential US embassy personnel from Turkmenistan and the families of all embassy personnel from Yemen – Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
