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At NATO session, U.S. plays down military options©New York Times
© St. Petersburg Times, BRUSSELS -- Facing some skepticism from NATO allies over going to war to eradicate terrorism, the Bush administration said for the first time Wednesday that military operations will not be the primary piece of its campaign. At a meeting of NATO defense ministers that offered the administration a first opportunity to convey detailed plans to the alliance, some European states pressed for, but did not get, a detailed showing of evidence that would justify any attack on Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network in Afghanistan. German Defense Minister Rudolf Scharping said he had expected Paul Wolfowitz, the deputy defense secretary, to arrive with a "white paper" spelling out the evidence that connects the terrorist acts to al-Qaida. But administration officials are still debating how much information to make public since much of it rests on sensitive communications intercepts. The allies had been led to expect more by Secretary of State Colin Powell's statement Sunday that the government would "put before the world, the American people, a persuasive case." In the immediate aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks, NATO invoked for the first time an article of its founding treaty that says an attack on one member will be considered an attack on all. A sustained alliance military campaign against terrorism seemed possible, but Wednesday Wolfowitz said: "If we need collective action, we will ask for it. We don't anticipate that for the moment." A Pentagon official traveling with Wolfowitz told the New York Times that the United States would ask NATO for logistical, intelligence and other support and that military aid was not the primary request.
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From the Times wire desk Susan Taylor Martin
From the AP |
