US President George W. Bush Saturday scored some crucial victories on the diplomatic front as he weighed strategy for a massive military campaign against terrorism, which Afghanistan's ruling Taliban threatened to counter with a holy war.
And in a move likely to give more clout to the US-led global coalition against terror, Bush waived sanctions imposed against India and Pakistan in the wake of their nuclear tests in 1998.
In another key development Russian President Vladimir Putin voiced readiness to cooperate with plans to strike Afghanistan, the base of Osama bin Laden, named as the chief suspect in the terrorist onslaught on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
Washington has been assured that Moscow would not oppose "any" cooperation between the United States and Central Asian nations which have collective security agreements with Russia, a US official said following a 40-minute telephone conversation between the two leaders.
US military jets already started arriving in Uzbekistan, according to military sources there.
The sources told AFP the aircraft were stationed just outside Tashkent and were equipped with surveillance devices, presumably aimed at Afghanistan, just to the south.
Diplomatic sources said US helicopters, used in recent joint exercises between Uzbek and North Atlantic Treaty Organization forces, also were stationed near Tashkent.
In neighboring Tajikistan, President Emomali Rakhmonov said his country was also willing to cooperate.
He did not spell how the Central Asian nation would help, but there are reports that Washington may send military personnel and equipment to bases in Tajikistan.
The United States also secured crucial support from Turkey, which said it would allow US transport planes to use its bases and airspace.
Meanwhile, an armada of US warships was to be reinforced by B-52 heavy bombers and high-altitude spy planes stationed at air bases in friendly countries in the region, an air force official told AFP.
With war appearing imminent, Bush discussed attack plans with his National Security Council in a video conference from his Camp David retreat.
In Kabul, the Taliban militia insisted that it would not bend to Washington's demand to hand over bin Laden and members of his al-Qaeda network of Islamist militants and would respond to US strikes by launching a Jihad, or holy war.
Bush has vowed to hunt down the authors of the airborne suicide attacks on September 11 that left more than 6,800 dead or missing.
Seeking to rally international support, the US president has met with the leaders of Britain, France and Indonesia, as well as top officials from other nations in recent days.
A Jordanian official told AFP that Jordan's King Abdullah II was among the dignitaries set to travel to Washington in the coming days, following a meeting Sunday with Arab League chief Amr Mussa.
In another victory for Bush's diplomatic campaign, the United Arab Emirates broke off relations with the Taliban.
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are now the only countries to have diplomatic ties with the Taliban.
Pakistan, as well as India, have promised assistance to US forces, and were rewarded Saturday when the Bush administration decided to waive sanctions.
In a memorandum to Secretary of State Colin Powell, Bush said "the application to India and Pakistan of the sanctions and prohibitions ... would not be in the national security interests of the United States."
Powell was reportedly working to gain a firmer commitment from Saudi Arabia, which reportedly refuses to allow US planes to use air bases on its soil to launch attacks.
Washington's next diplomatic target will be Iran. Tehran is no friend of the Taliban, but is a traditional US foe and has opposed military action.
British Foreign Minister Jack Straw, whose government has been Bush's strongest ally in the crisis, was due to visit Iran Monday with a message from Washington. A European Union delegation also was due to head to Tehran.
Several Islamic countries were among those saying they backed the global battle against terror, despite risks of a major backlash from fundamentalist organizations.
In Karachi, Pakistan's largest city, four people were killed Friday during protests by hardline Islamic groups.
Bush has made the capture of bin Laden, a 44-year-old exiled Saudi multimillionaire and Islamic extremist, a key goal of his planned campaign to root out terrorism.
He has warned the Taliban that they would also be targets if they do not hand over bin Laden, while the Pentagon said it would enlist the help of opposition forces based in northern Afghanistan.
Taliban forces Saturday pounded opposition-held posts in the northern province of Samangan for a second day. There were conflicting and unconfirmed claims the Taliban shot down either a helicopter or a surveillance aircraft.
Opposition leaders, as well as UN special representative to Afghanistan, Francesc Vendrell, were due to travel to Rome to meet former Afghan king Mohammed Zaher Shah, who has been living in Italy since he was ousted in 1973.
Aid agencies, meanwhile, warned of a impending humanitarian disaster in Afghanistan, where they said an exodus of refugees fleeing drought, civil war and US attacks could top 1.5 million and faced water shortages.
From the presidential retreat at Camp David outside Washington, Bush sought to reassure Americans that their economy remained "fundamentally strong" despite the September 11 attacks.
"They brought down a symbol of American prosperity," Bush said in his weekly radio address, referring to the fallen 110-story twin towers of New York's World Trade Center, "but they could not touch its source."
Late Saturday, he signed a 15-billion dollar bailout package for the airline industry, devastated the terror attacks on US targets, the White House said in a statement -- WASHINGTON (AFP)
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
