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U.K.'s War Cabinet Meets as Attacks Receive More Backing
LONDON, Oct 9 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Britain's war cabinet met for the first time Tuesday after a second night of military strikes against Afghanistan, emphasizing its likely long-term role in the region, news agencies reported.
Prime Minister Tony Blair and a clutch of senior ministers met at Downing Street at 9:30 am (0830 GMT).
It followed a second night of attacks that went well on into the day Tuesday against Afghanistan's ruling Taliban and Osama bin Laden, who Washington claims is the prime suspect behind the September 11th attacks.
Unlike Sunday's first round, when British submarines fired missiles, there was no direct British involvement in the second wave.
Nevertheless, Blair has stressed that London is committed to the coalition against terrorism that it has helped forge alongside Washington.
"We are in this for the long haul," he told parliament Monday evening. "We will continue to act, with steadfast resolve, to see this struggle through to the end..."
The war cabinet includes Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon, Home Secretary David Blunkett and Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, as well as senior advisors such as Britain's Chief of Defense Staff, Admiral Sir Michael Boyce.
Hoon said late Monday that he believed the air strikes were likely to last days rather than weeks, and confirmed that military planners were keeping open the option of using ground troops.
According to United Nations Security Council president Richard Ryan, the Council has offered unanimous support to the U.S-U.K. strikes.
The Irish ambassador, who leads the Council this month, told reporters late Monday that unanimity was "absolutely maintained" with regard to the U.S. retaliation to the September 11th terror attacks that left around 5,500 people dead or missing.
France's ambassador Jean-David Levitte echoed Ryan's remarks, noting that "extraordinary unity" continued.
Ryan's remarks came after U.S. and British ambassadors John Negroponte and Jeremy Greenstock went into closed-door sessions to inform the 13 other Security Council members of the nature of the military operation against Kabul and Kandahar that began late Sunday and appeared to continue Tuesday.
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