Bush: 'Time for Action' on Terrorism

Nov. 10, 2001 -- President Bush told world leaders gathered at the United Nations today that the fight against terrorism is every nation's fight, and that all civilized nations must work together to defeat it.

"Every nation has a stake in this cause," Bush said. "As we meet, the terrorists are planning more murder, perhaps in my country or perhaps in yours.

"We have a chance the write the story or our times, a story of courage defeating cruelty and light overcoming darkness," Bush added. "This calling is worthy of any life and worthy of every nation. So let us go forward, confident, determined and unafraid."

The president told diplomats and nearly 50 world leaders assembled in New York for the U.N.'s annual "general debate" that "every nation in our coalition has duties" whether they are called upon to actively fight individual battles or not.

Bush said obligations of civilized nations include cracking down on terrorists' assets, sharing relevant intelligence information and denying terrorists any aid or safe harbor. He had a warning for any nation that might fail to comply.

"For every regime that sponsors terror, there is a price to be paid and it will be paid," Bush said. "The allies of terror are equally guilty of murder and equally accountable to justice."

The annual U.N. General Assembly session originally was scheduled to begin Sept. 24, but was postponed in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Bush expressed gratitude for U.N. and international expressions of sympathy.

"The memorials and vigils around the world will not be forgotten, but the time for sympathy has now passed," Bush said. "The time for action has now arrived."

More Diplomacy

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell will also engage in critical negotiations at the U.N. on Monday, when he talks with foreign ministers of the so-called "six plus two" group — countries bordering on Afghanistan, plus Russia and the United States — in an attempt to shape a broad-based coalition that could rule Afghanistan if the country's ruling Taliban is defeated by the U.S. military campaign.

But keeping any current coalition intact may be easier said than done. While some Middle Eastern allies of the United States have called for Bush to lead Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, Bush does not have plans to meet Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat at the U.N. gathering.

However, Bush rewarded President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan, who has been a vital U.S. ally during the U.S. airstrikes despite considerable political risks. Standing with Musharraf at an evening press conference, Bush said he had authorized the lifting of U.S. sanctions against Pakistan, debt relief and $1 billion in U.S. aid.

"Pakistan's efforts against terror are benefiting the entire world and linking Pakistan more closely with the world," Bush said. "The United States wants to help build these linkages."

Earlier, before the U.N. General Assembly, Musharraf reaffirmed his support for combatting terrorism, though he said there also must be a focus on addressing the grievances of the world's poor and oppressed, which he called "the roots" of terrorism.

Perhaps the most outspoken critic of the U.S. strikes was President Mohammad Khatami of Iran, who told the U.N. audience that the violence unleashed against the Taliban was no way to attack the roots of terrorism.

Paper: Bin Laden Claims Nukes

Bush's coalition-building attempts came hours after indicted terror mastermind Osama bin Laden was quoted in an English-language Pakistani newspaper as saying his al Qaeda organization has nuclear and chemical weapons, and that it would use them if the United States used similar weapons first.

A senior U.S. intelligence official told ABCNEWS that he was not discounting the legitimacy of the interview. He said bin Laden was "feeling the heat," and that his communication was a sign of growing desperation.

Another official, White House spokesman Ken Lisaius, said: "We have suspected all along that this organization has been pursuing the acquisition of chemical, biological and nuclear materials. They have stated those goals themselves. We take those past statements seriously and we will do everything we can to prevent their acquisition of these materials."

Bush would not say whether or not the United States believed bin Laden's claim, but said of it: "All the more reason for us to pursue him diligently and get him, and that is what we are going to do."

The United States holds bin Laden and al Qaeda, who the Taliban have sheltered for five years, responsible for the Sept. 11 attacks on America, in which nearly 5,000 people were killed.

Northern Alliance Claims Mazar-e-Sharif

On the ground in Afghanistan, Northern Alliance rebels said Friday they broke Taliban defenses and entered the strategically important city of Mazar-e-Sharif, in what could be a major boost to the U.S.-led military campaign in Afghanistan. Today, the Taliban confirmed that it had left the city.

In Washington, Pentagon officials were reluctant to say that Mazar-e-Sharif was completely secured. One official expressed worry that the city fell so quickly, saying he feared the Taliban mounted a "strategic retreat" to reposition for further, sustained attacks.

An evidently more optimistic U.S. State Department announced today that on Sunday Uzbek and United Nations officials will go to Termez, an Uzbek city on the border with Afghanistan, to beginning planning the transport of humanitarian aid overland into Afghanistan. In a "media note," the department said: "The fact that this process can now get under way is a direct result of the changing security situation on the Afghan border" after "significant inroads" made by opposition forces.

However, a source at the Pentagon told ABCNEWS the State Department announcement only reflected early planning, and that overland aid shipments might begin only after the U.S. military had a couple of days to confirm that Mazar-e-Sharif and the surrounding area is safely in opposition hands.

Mazar-e-Sharif is crucial to control of supply lines throughout much of northern and western Afghanistan, where the Northern Alliance mostly operates. Capturing the city could be a psychological blow to the Taliban, who have been in control of all the major cities in Afghanistan. U.S. officials also stress that holding Mazar-e-Sharif would allow the United States to fly in military supplies, ammunition, food and clothing to the rebel troops, and humanitarian aid.

Other Fronts

Today, Northern Alliance forces said they swept into four more provinces in northern Afghanistan, though Pentagon officials expressed skepticism about the claim.

Near the border with Tajikistan, about 100 to 150 miles east of Mazar-e-Sharif, about 40 tanks and other pieces of military vehicles crossed a river and headed for the front line, where the Northern Alliance has been facing off against the Taliban for almost four years, Northern Alliance officials said. Wave upon wave of U.S. bombers attacked Taliban positions amid Northern Alliance artillery fire.

Northern Alliance officials said the moves were a prelude to a major advance on those Taliban positions, which would give the Alliance control of much of northern Afghanistan.

Overnight, the U.S. deployed 50 strike aircraft, hitting eight target areas near Kabul and elsewhere, including around Mazar-e-Sharif, Pentagon officials said.

Additionally, rebel forces were also gathering tanks and artillery along the front lines north of Kabul, the Afghan capital, for a possible attack.

However, with no political solution for a post-Taliban Afghan government sorted out yet, Bush said the United States will not encourage an invasion of the Afghan capital.

"We will encourage our friends to head south across the plains but not into the city of Kabul itself," Bush said. "We believe we can accomplish our military missions by that strategy."

Musharraf agreed with Bush's assessment, saying, "I think if the Northern Alliance enters Kabul we will see the same kind of atrocities" that destabilized the region in the past.

Jordan Considers Joining Campaign

In other developments:

Military officials today declared dead a U.S. sailor who apparently fell from a warship into the Arabian Sea. In a statement, the Defense Department said: "Machinist's Mate Fireman Apprentice Bryant L. Davis, 20, of Chicago, Ill. has been declared deceased after falling overboard from the USS Kitty Hawk on Nov. 7. Search and rescue efforts continued for more than two days before being halted on Friday. The USS Kitty Hawk is currently participating in Operation Enduring Freedom."

ABCNEWS has learned that Gen. Tommy Franks, the commander of the U.S. military operation, has asked for a brigade of 2,500 additional troops, from the 1st Cavalry Division in Fort Hood, Texas, to be sent the Middle East. The troops would first be stationed in Kuwait. The request has not yet been approved by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

Jordan's King Abdullah II said Friday his country would consider sending troops to Afghanistan, which would make his country the first Arab state to join the campaign. "I think we will be very clear: whatever it takes, we will beprepared to do it," Abdullah said in an interview with the British Broadcasting Corp.

The latest numbers of victims from the attacks on the World Trade Center, according to New York City officials are: 3,770 are missing and 556 identified dead.