Visit our website: HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --------------------------------------------- From: Nicholas Camerota -------------------- NATO pledges `solidarity' in assisting U.S. -------------------- Treaty provision used for 1st time; EU vows support By Ray Moseley, Tribune foreign correspondent. Tribune correspondents Tom Hundley in Rome, Paul Salopek in Johannesburg, Colin McMahon in Moscow and Laurie Goering in Mexico City contributed to this r September 13, 2001 LONDON -- America's allies in the 19-nation North Atlantic alliance announced Wednesday that they stood ready to give the U.S. whatever assistance might be required as a result of the terrorist attacks. NATO Secretary General Lord Robertson said the declaration, adopted at a meeting in Brussels, did not necessarily mean NATO would take joint military action with the United States, nor did it bind Washington against taking action on its own "or with any other individual friend that it might choose." But the statement represented a pledge of powerful political support. It was the first time in the 52-year history of NATO that the alliance invoked Article 5 of its treaty, which provides that an attack on one member represents an attack on all of them. Flags of all NATO nations flew at half-staff outside alliance headquarters in Brussels during the day. Standing as one in crisis "At the moment this is an act of solidarity," Robertson said. "It's a reaffirmation of a solemn treaty commitment which these countries have entered into." NATO has never taken military action outside NATO's area of influence. A senior State Department official said of the NATO statement: "It doesn't necessarily mean we're going to send in a NATO invasion force." Any decision to undertake joint military action would require further discussions in the NATO Council, as would a decision to place national forces under NATO command. A separate meeting of European Union foreign ministers gave a strong show of support for the United States. The ministers said they would "spare no efforts to help identify, bring to justice and punish those responsible." A day of mourning They also declared a day of mourning in all 15 EU nations Friday and asked all Europeans to observe three minutes of silence at midday. "We were all victims of this attack," said Belgian Foreign Minister Louis Michel, who headed the meeting. Robertson attended the EU meeting in an exceptional move to show that the EU and NATO stand together, he said. In London, British Prime Minister Tony Blair announced Parliament would be recalled early from its summer break Friday to discuss the crisis. "America may have been singled out by these terrorists, but their attack is aimed at all of us, and it is therefore vitally imperative that we stand together in defeating it," Blair said at a news conference. "People of all faiths and all democratic political persuasions have a common cause: to identify this machinery of terror and dismantle it as swiftly as possible." Around the world, the terrorist attack produced apocalyptic headlines in newspapers, and some devoted their entire front pages to a dramatic photograph of the moment when one of the hijacked planes struck the World Trade Center and produced a giant fireball. Headlines around the world "A Declaration of War," the Guardian of London headlined. "Doomsday America" was the headline in the Independent of London. Other British headlines were "War Comes to America" in The Times, "Assault on America" in the Financial Times and "War on America" in The Daily Telegraph. "The New War," headlined France's Le Figaro. The Milan daily Corriere della Sera referred to "An Attack on America and Civilization," and the Rome daily Libero headlined: "Apocalypse Now." Russia's Izvestia simply used the word "Armageddon." "Who Has Declared War Against America?" was the headline of the Belgrade daily Vecernje Novosti. Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica called the attack the "act of lunatics" and said, "No words can express my worry for all of the world." "It's War!" screamed the headline of Mexico City's El Grafico. Mexican President Vicente Fox called off Sept. 15 Independence Day celebrations out of respect for victims of the tragedy. The Israeli newspaper Maariv carried this front-page headline: "America Burning." The Palestinian newspaper Al Quds summed up the tragedy with "Black Day in America." The Citizen of Johannesburg limited itself to a 2-inch-high headline with just one word: "Terror." One state-run TV channel in South Africa broadcast continuous CNN coverage for 24 hours. Copyright (c) 2001, Chicago Tribune -------------------- Improved archives! Searching Chicagotribune.com archives back to 1985 is cheaper and easier than ever. 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