<

Key Allies Arriving for U.S. Talks
The Associated Press

Key foreign allies, starting with the president of France, are headed to Washington this week to talk about terrorism, even as the Bush administration hints that the surrender of prime suspect Osama bin Laden might not alone prevent U.S. military action.*

South Korea's foreign minister, who is president of the United Nations General Assembly, was first in line with a meeting this morning with Secretary of State Colin Powell. French President Jacques Chirac was arriving in the afternoon for a meeting and dinner with President Bush.

Also scheduled to visit after today are British Prime Minister Tony Blair, top officials of the European Union and the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Russia, Germany, China and Italy. Saudi Arabia could be a key player in any U.S. military operation.

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld raised doubts today about whether the surrender of bin Laden by the Taliban militia that control Afghanistan would be enough to avert a U.S.-led military campaign against terrorism.**

"Clearly you begin on a journey with one step, and he would be one step," Mr. Rumsfeld said on CBS' The Early Show. But he added, "If bin Laden were not there the organization would continue doing what it's been doing. So clearly the problem is much bigger than bin Laden."
(The Capital: News Source)

Well stated, Mr. Rumsfeld,
Dan
--footnote--
* When you say you’re going to “remove this evil from the land,” you would have to include more action than the passive trial of bin Laden (hint, hint).
** These doubts were raised with the razing of the still-populated Towers.