'Prepare for long assault'

BRUSSELS, SEPT. 26. The United States told its NATO allies on Wednesday to prepare for a long, co-ordinated assault on terrorism but did not produce evidence linking the Saudi exile Osama bin Laden with the terror attacks on the Pentagon and World Trade Center.

Since the September 11 attacks, Washington has been calling bin Laden a prime suspect. But the Deputy Defence Secretary, Mr. Paul Wolfowitz did not name a specific perpetrator on Wednesday, and much remains unknown about those who orchestrated the attacks, a senior U.S. official said on condition of anonymity.

Mr. Wolfowitz, subbing for the Defence Secretary, Mr. Donald Rumsfeld, told NATO Defence Ministers that military action is only one element in a range of approaches needed to fight terrorism, a NATO official said, briefing reporters. Mr. Wolfowitz emphasised intelligence-gathering, co-operation in logistical support and following financial trails. He said there was an alarming connection between States that harbor international terrorists and the States with active programmes to develop weapons of mass destruction.

Military action might not be imminent, and if the United States does take action, it might be only to gather more information - at least initially, Mr. Wolfowitz said, according to U.S. officials. Breaking the network of support that allows them to operate is key to the fight against terrorist groups, he said. The U.S. did not present NATO with a timetable of specifics of the campaign.

The NATO Secretary-General, Lord Robertson opened Wednesday's session by recalling ``our own horror and the international horror that was felt two weeks ago yesterday in the terrorist attacks that were perpetrated against the United States in which so many American citizens - and indeed, citizens of most of the countries represented around this table - were to die and be injured.'' He then led the Defence Ministers in a minute of silence.

``The savage acts which we saw in New York and Washington two weeks ago represent an intolerable assault on not just the American people and those who were injured but humanity and the values we all share.''

The 19 NATO partners were to meet in a separate session with the Russian Defence Minister, Mr. Sergei Ivanov before Mr. Ivanov and Mr. Wolfowitz were to meet. The United States is seeking Russian support for its campaign against terrorism. ``I do not rule out a possibility of joint armed actions as the last means to be used in the struggle against this evil,'' the Russian news agency Itar-Tass quoted Mr. Ivanov as saying in Brussels.

- AP

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