NATO ready to back action by U.S.

Associated Press

BRUSSELS, Belgium — In a strong show of support, the United State’s NATO allies declared Wednesday that the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, D.C., can be considered an attack on the whole alliance if they were directed from abroad.

"An attack on one is an attack on all," NATO Secretary-General Lord Robertson said after the alliance’s 19 ambassadors decided to invoke Article 5 of the NATO charter for the first time in the alliance’s history.

The decision obliges America’s allies to provide support for any military operation against those responsible if Tuesday’s attacks were committed by foreigners, he said.

"The country that is attacked has got to make the decision and has got to be the one that asks for help," Robertson said. "They have not reached that judgment as to who did it and why they did it."

Shortly before the announcement, Secretary of State Colin Powell said invoking the principle would not necessarily mean using NATO force against terrorists and their protectors. It could include anything from opening up airspace and providing intelligence to contributing troops and equipment.

Powell telephoned the leaders of the United Nations, NATO and the European Union on Wednesday in search of support for a coordinated response to the attacks on the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon.

He made two calls to Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, and also spoke with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and top officials from Germany, Canada and Italy, among other countries.

In a separate show of allied solidarity, the European Union pledged Wednesday to help U.S. authorities track down and "punish those responsible" for Tuesday’s attacks.

At a special meeting, EU foreign ministers meeting asked "all Europeans to observe three minutes of silence" on Friday at 3 a.m. PDT.

NATO officials stressed there was no discussion of military intervention at this point.

"At the moment, this is an act of solidarity," Robertson said, adding that the declaration "in no way" binds the United States "against taking action on its own."

The notion of an attack against one ally being considered an attack against all dates back to the alliance’s founding in 1949. Originally intended to be applied in case of a Cold War attack, Robertson said the principle "is no less valid" today.

In a statement, the NATO allies said "in the event of attacks … each ally will assist (the United States) by taking such action as it deems necessary. Accordingly, the United States’ NATO allies stand ready to provide the assistance that may be required as a consequence of these acts of barbarism."

But some European leaders also urged caution on Wednesday. Foreign Minister Anna Lindh of Sweden and Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer of Germany suggested it was too early to talk of military action when so little was known about the origins of Tuesday’s terrorist attacks.