The US and its allies stepped up plans for an expected strike on Afghanistan's Taliban yesterday as Pakistan said it was satisfied with the evidence linking Osama bin Laden to attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair said the time for military action was nearing and French President Jacques Chirac said a military response by Washington was now a certainty.
With the Taliban heading deeper into confrontation with the US, which has threatened to punish both bin Laden and the hardline Afghan rulers shielding him, the US-led drive to corral support for its war on terrorism gathered pace.
US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld held talks with Sultan Qaboos of Oman on how his country, within striking distance of Afghanistan, could help US forces zero in on those behind last month's attacks.
Blair, describing evidence against bin Laden and his network as "overwhelming," headed to Moscow before visiting Pakistan today to shore up support for military action.
"We are now approaching the difficult time when action is taken," he told parliament. "We will do what we can to minimize the suffering of the Afghan people as a result of the conflict."
Further pressure mounted as Pakistan said it was satisfied with evidence Washington says links bin Laden to the devastating Sept. 11 attacks -- a prerequisite for throwing its full support to the US.
"We have seen the material that was provided to us by the American side yesterday. This material certainly provides sufficient basis for indictment in a court of law," Foreign Ministry spokesman Riaz Mohammad Khan said.
But Afghanistan's hardline Islamic rulers appeared to have gained some breathing space as it was unlikely Washington would launch any operation with Blair and Rumsfeld in the region.
In London, Blair told parliament there was firm evidence linking bin Laden to at least three of the hijackers who flew planes into the World Trade Center and Pentagon.
"I can now confirm that of the 19 hijackers identified from the passenger lists of the four planes hijacked in America on the 11th of September, at least three of these hijackers have already been positively identified as known associates of bin Laden with a track record in his camps and organizations," Blair said.
The US asked its NATO allies on Wednesday for carte blanche to fly through their airspace as well as for use of air bases in Europe and NATO fuel pipelines.
NATO sources said it was the first time the US had asked to use the alliance's Cold War-era network of aviation fuel pipelines since the 1991 Gulf War.
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