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U.S. courts Jordan, Turkey for help
©Associated Press
© St. Petersburg Times, WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration, nurturing Islamic support for its antiterrorism campaign, courted the king of Jordan and Turkey's foreign minister on Thursday. A U.S. official disclosed that Sudan has quietly rounded up as many as 30 foreign extremists since the Sept. 11 attacks. The administration believes success of the antiterrorism coalition that officials are trying to build rides on their ability to recruit moderate predominantly Muslim states such as Jordan and Turkey. King Abdullah II of Jordan and Turkish Foreign Minister Ismail Cem renewed support for the U.S. effort in separate meetings with Secretary of State Colin Powell. Both countries have been close friends of the United States for some time. But Sudan, one of seven countries on the State Department terrorism list, has long been regarded as unfriendly and a major violator of human rights. An administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Sudan has been detaining foreigners since the terror attacks, the Associated Press reported. Former President Clinton ordered a cruise missile attack on a pharmaceutical plant in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum in August 1998 on suspicion that it was being used to develop weapons of mass destruction. The Sudanese think the United States is capable of military action on a larger scale if the administration is convinced Sudan was involved in the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks, the administration official said, the Associated Press reported. A Sudanese Embassy news release said Sudan's foreign minister, Mustafa Osman Ismail, met Wednesday with the ambassador of France and gave him the "strongest assurances that Sudan has been cooperating closely with the United States and will continue to do so in their joint campaign against terrorism." As the administration maps its strategy against bin Laden and his allies, a number of foreign leaders, including Jordan's Abdullah, are counseling caution. They think military action leading to large numbers of casualties could inflame opinion in Islamic countries and generate more recruits for extremist groups such as bin Laden's al-Qaida network. Abdullah did not speak to reporters after his meeting with Powell. He will meet today with President Bush. Powell met with Turkish Foreign Minister Cem and praised Turkey's backing for the antiterrorism coalition. Powell mentioned specifically Turkey's willingness to allow American military aircraft to use Turkish air space. "I know that in the days ahead, as our campaign against terrorism unfolds, we will be able to count on the support and active assistance of our Turkish friends," Powell said. Bush met with Romano Prodi, the president of the European Commission, the EU's executive arm; and Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt, whose country holds the European Union presidency. The two outlined for Bush a recently adopted European Union action plan against terrorism that includes measures to tighten police cooperation, improve airline security and crack down on the financing of terror networks. Verhofstadt said the EU wants to join the United States in taking actions against terrorists. He said the EU urged Bush to make them "targeted and focused." Meanwhile, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher distanced the administration from the contention of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi that Western civilization is superior to Islamic cultures. Without repudiating Berlusconi, a key ally on many issues, Boucher put the Italian leader's remarks in the context of the anti-terrorism struggle. This clash, he said, "is not against Islam or Arabs." On another subject, Boucher said the recent forced departure of U.N. relief personnel from Afghanistan coupled with the suspension of international assistance has left food stocks running low. "Food stocks for an estimated 2-million people may run out in two to three weeks," he said. Boucher said international officials are preparing for 1.5-million Afghan refugees to flee to neighboring countries.
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From the Times wire desk
From the AP |
