Associated Press
SHANGHAI, China — Cautioned by China to spare innocent civilians in Afghanistan attacks, President Bush urged wavering Asian nations to support America’s campaign against terrorism. He faced resistance Saturday from Malaysia, whose leader wants the United States to stop bombing Afghanistan.
On the eve of an economic summit here, the president declared, "All civilized nations must join together to defeat this threat." He knew at the time that ground combat would soon begin — a dramatic escalation in the conflict.
Bush was up before dawn today, working out in a hotel gym shortly before a defense official said that U.S. special forces had begun fighting in southern Afghanistan.
Bush met Chinese President Jiang Zemin for the first time Friday and praised him for sharing intelligence on terrorist activities and helping to cut off financing to their organizations. The Chinese leader, in turn, cautioned Bush about U.S. military strikes against the terrorist-harboring Taliban.
"We hope that anti-terrorism efforts can have clearly defined targets. And efforts should hit accurately and also avoid innocent casualties," Jiang said at a joint appearance with Bush.
The remarks reflected the sentiments of many leaders joining Bush at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference, which formally opens today. The APEC leaders are expected to approve a statement against terrorism without mentioning U.S. strikes on Afghanistan.
In what could be a ticklish session, Bush meets today with Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who recently denounced the Afghanistan raids. "We are against such an attack because I don’t think it is going to help in combating terrorism," Mahathir said.
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