Secretary of State Colin Powell said on Wednesday the US would turn its attention to Iraq after the war in Afghanistan, while President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair met to discuss how to topple the Taliban and break Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda organization, said reports.
After talks with a Kuwaiti minister on Wednesday, Powell said the US would focus on Iraq and its alleged weapons programs once it had dealt with the Al Qaeda organization and the Taliban.
"With respect to our activities in Afghanistan, that is our first priority. We must defeat Al Qaeda, we must end (Al Qaeda leader) Osama bin Laden's terrorist threat to the world and deal with the Taliban regime who has given them haven," the agency Powell quoted as saying.
The US blames bin Laden for the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and the Pentagon in which several thousand people were killed, and is making war on bin Laden's hosts, Afghanistan's Taliban regime.
"After that ... we will turn our attention to terrorism throughout the world, and nations such as Iraq, which have tried to pursue weapons of mass destruction, should not think that we ... will not turn our attention to them," he added.
Iraqi Deputy Prime Minsiter Aziz said in an interview last month he expected the US and Britain to launch new attacks on Iraq, using the war against terrorism as an excuse to try to oust President Saddam Hussein.
The US-UK coalition already regularly bombs air defense sites in Iraq to enforce its so-called "no-fly" zones, which are ostensibly in place to protect Iraq's Shiite and Kurdish minorities.
Both groups were urged by the US-led allies to rebel in the wake of the Gulf War, and were subsequently left without direct support.
Since the Sept. 11 attacks, some top US officials have lobbied for attacks on Iraq to make up for the past three years in which UN weapons inspectors have not been allowed to visit the country, according to Reuters.
Iraq has offered repeatedly to discard any intention of acquiring weapons of mass destruction as long as Israel gets rid of its reportedly massive nuclear arsenal.
BUSH, BLAIR STRIKE CONFIDENT POSE
President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair said Wednesday they would forge ahead to defeat the Taliban and vowed that bin Laden and members of his Al Qaeda terrorist organization would be "brought to justice," according to CNN.
At a White House meeting, the two leaders discussed strategies for the war in Afghanistan, "humanitarian efforts" in the country and plans for a post-Taliban regime.
Bush said the Taliban was falling apart but that the struggle would be long, reported the network.
"We're patient and our good friends are patient which is bad news for the Taliban and the people they harbor," CNN cited Bush as saying.
The US appeared to be gaining support in the region on Wednesday, with help arriving from both Turkey and Tajikistan.
Tajikistan's president said that the United States could have its pick of three airfields that military experts are considering for use in the war in neighboring Afghanistan, reported AP.
Reuters, meanwhile, said 90 Turkish special forces troops were being deployed for the war.
Blair said European countries were also closing ranks for the war effort.
"From the discussions I had with European leaders just a few days ago, their commitment is real and their determination is also absolute to see this thing done," Blair said, according to CNN.
However, Pakistan's president said Wednesday that he objected to a continuation of the allied war in Afghanistan during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, according to the network. Gen. Pervez Musharraf said bombing during Ramadan, which begins November 17, could damage support for the war on terrorism among Islamic states.
The US, despite such warnings, has announced plans to continue the bombing during Ramadan.
Meanwhile in Afghanistan, US warplanes launched intense attacks Wednesday on Taliban targets in and around the southern Afghan city of Kandahar, said CNN.
The network's correspondent reported that enormous explosions Wednesday night rocked the entire city, adding that the attacks were concentrated on Taliban targets just west of the city.
Top US officials have ridiculed the Taliban's reports of numerous civilian casualties, despite Al Jazeera satellite channel footage of mutilated children, and UN confirmations of off-target bombs hitting noncombatants.
According to OneWorld.net, the UN's World Health Organization has reported that millions of Afghan women and children are at risk of developing severe psychological problems after suffering through decades of war - Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
