Bush, other top aides, call foreign leaders

WASHINGTON -- President Bush and senior U.S. officials, in an urgent round of phone calls, alerted leaders throughout the world as the United States launched military strikes inside Afghanistan on Sunday.

Secretary of State Colin Powell planned later this week to travel to Pakistan, a key ally in the U.S. terror war and neighbor to Afghanistan, and to India to shore up diplomatic support for military retaliation.

Bush telephoned Russian President Vladimir Putin to inform him of the attacks. Putin has provided welcome support to the U.S. operation, opening Russia's airspace to U.S. deliveries of humanitarian aid and encouraging Afghanistan's neighbors in Central Asia to lend their support for the operation.

French President Jacques Chirac said in a nationally televised address that he also spoke with Bush and suggested that French forces could play a direct role in the military offensive.

All told, Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and Powell called more than a dozen leaders, administration officials said.

Powell worked the telephones from his suburban Virginia home, calling, among others, Mexican President Vicente Fox, Argentine President Fernando De la Rua, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, the amir of Bahrain Kalifia Hamad, Sultan Qaboos of Oman and the leaders of five former Soviet republics: Georgia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.

The latter two are considered to be potentially important strategically because of their shared borders with Afghanistan. They may be asked for their cooperation in the event of U.S. land operations into Afghanistan.

Leaders in Jordan, Israel, Germany, Italy, Egypt and Canada also received calls from top U.S. officials. Powell and Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage also informed key Senate and House members of the operation.

A senior official said Powell had talked to 14 leaders by Sunday afternoon. His basic message was to inform them of the attacks, to stress that efforts were made to minimize civilian casualties and to highlight U.S. humanitarian programs on behalf of the Afghan people.

The official said Powell will travel to India and Pakistan at Bush's request. The goal is to continue building the anti-terror coalition, the official said.

Within hours of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the administration began rallying international support for a campaign against terrorism. The focus shifted to Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaida group as evidence accumulated that they were responsible for the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

As a result of these efforts, Bush said Sunday that more than 40 countries in the Middle East, Africa, Europe and Asia have granted air transit or landing rights.

As the attacks began, the State Department warned of possible retaliatory actions against U.S. citizens and interests throughout the world.