From: Barry Stoller <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Visit our website: HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --------------------------------------------- Reuters. 8 October 2001. Washington Warns U.N. It May Strike Other Countries; U.S., Britain Launch Second Night of Air Strikes . UNITED NATIONS, WASHINGTON and KABUL -- The United States told the U.N. Security Council Monday it may have to launch military strikes on other countries and groups beyond Afghanistan and the al Qaeda network of Saudi-born militant Osama bin Laden. "We may find that our self-defense requires further actions with respect to other organizations and other states," U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte said in a letter to the 15-nation Security Council. Meanwhile, the United States and Britain launched a second night of air strikes against targets in Afghanistan on Monday as Islamic Taliban leaders declared a jihad, or holy war, and rallied their supporters to resist. As night fell in Afghanistan, U.S. and British forces resumed their pounding of strategic targets designed to weaken the Taliban and disrupt the network controlled by Osama bin Laden, the Saudi-born militant who the United States believes masterminded the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States. "These (strikes) are similar to Sunday. We have said that this is a continuing operation," one official told Reuters several hours after Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said in television interviews that initial cruise missile and bombing raids on Sunday appeared to be successful. Canada said on Monday it would deploy 6 naval ships as well as aircraft and 2,000 personnel to the coalition fighting terrorism and the former Soviet republic of Tajikistan, Afghanistan's northern neighbor, said it was prepared to let U.S. forces use its air bases for military actions. Initial estimates from across the country placed the death toll at 20 but Deputy Health Minister Mohammad Abbas later said the toll was about eight. Still, thousands of Kabul residents, fearing more attacks after three waves of bombing and missile strikes shattered the silence of the night in their war-shattered city, packed up what they could and fled the capital as dawn broke and the nightly curfew was lifted. The Taliban cabinet endorsed on Monday a call by a meeting of clerics to declare a jihad, saying the Afghan people would sacrifice all for honor. "They (the clerics) issued an edict for jihad and our people are enforcing it," Information Minister Qudratullah Jamal told Reuters. Iraq on Monday sounded an ominous warning. "We are at the brink of a big war being launched first against Islamic states and Muslim people and there are threats against other Muslim countries and people," Foreign Affairs Minister Naji Sabri said on arrival in Doha for an emergency Muslim summit to be held on Wednesday. Anti-U.S. wrath gripped Pakistan cities. Police fired into the air to disperse unruly crowds in the city center of Quetta and used teargas and batons. A pall of smoke hung over the western city as police battled thousands of pro-Taliban demonstrators who set ablaze the office of the United Nations Children's Fund, two cinemas, a bank and an office of Pakistan's Central Investigations Agency. Palestinian police shot dead two protesters at a rally in support of bin Laden on Monday, the first time Palestinians were killed by their own security forces since the start of the anti-Israel revolt. British officials, meanwhile, said the use of ground troops in future operations was "clearly an option." Rumsfeld said the U.S.-led offensive would be "a very long and sustained effort." . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Barry Stoller http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ProletarianNews with continuing coverage of WWIII _________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki Phone +358-40-7177941 Fax +358-9-7591081 http://www.kominf.pp.fi General class struggle news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe mails to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Geopolitical news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __________________________________________________
