Author: Agencies
Publication: www.expressindia.com
Date: November 21, 2001
URL: http://www.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=4721
Washington, November 20: As US special
forces pressed on with their hunt for suspected terrorist mastermind Osama
bin Laden in Afghanistan, Washington issued a stern warning to states it
accuses of assisting terrorists, particularly Iraq.
"I think any government that supports
or harbours terrorists should be very worried right now," Deputy Defence
Secretary Paul Wolfowitz said. His comments, which are likely to trigger
renewed alarm in the Islamic world, coincided with a debate in United States
over the next phase of the US-led war on global terrorism in the wake of
September 11 attacks on New York and Washington.
Countries such as Iraq, Iran, Syria
or Lebanon as well as Islamic or Palestinian organisations are frequently
named as potential targets of the US threats. But both Wolfowitz and Secretary
of State Colin Powell have made it clear that Washington is determined
to pursue its anti-terror campaign beyond the operations in Afghanistan.
Speaking in Louisville, Kentucky
on Monday Powell vowed that President George W. Bush would not rest until
he had achieved his stated aim of finding, stopping and defeating every
terrorist with global reach. "We know it will take time. It will take effort.
We will be patient. We will be persistent," he said.
"We're going to continue pursuing
the entire al Qaeda network, which is in 60 countries, not just Afghanistan
and, worst of all, here in the United States," Wolfowitz said. "There are
a number of states that support terrorists. Saddam Hussein is one of them
but not the only one," he added. "Frankly, I would hope as they... Observe
the fate of the Taliban in Afghanistan some of them would be reconsidering
whether this is a promising career."
