WASHINGTON, Oct. 9 (UPI) -- With a third day of U.S. bombing underway in Afghanistan, President Bush on Tuesday welcomed German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder to the Oval Office where the two leaders discussed efforts to end terrorist activity in Afghanistan.
"I also want to thank him for being a steadfast friend in a broad coalition that is determined
to rout terrorism out where it may exist, to not only bring the al Qaida organization to justice, but to declare a broad campaign against terrorists and terrorism all across the world," Bush said during a Rose Garden news conference.
The two leaders talked about cooperation in the air strikes against Afghan targets aimed at destroying terrorist camps belonging to suspected terrorist Osama bin Laden's al Qaida organization, the group the Bush administration has identified as being the prime suspects in the Sept. 11 suicide attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon that left more than 6,000 dead.
In the attacks, terrorists hijacked four airliners; two were flown into the World Trade Center and one into the Pentagon, while the fourth crashed in Pennsylvania after passengers attempted to retake control of the aircraft.
Three of hijackers had lived in Hamburg, bringing the sweeping criminal investigation into Germany's borders.
"I specifically emphasized Germany's readiness to do whatever is in our power, objectively speaking, to support the international coalition that has indeed formed against the terror attacks, a real alliance of states that have come together. And obviously here, we need to add to the action already taken by political and diplomatic means too, Schroeder said.
"Now, we obviously proceeded to also talk about how important it is to dry up the finances that are fueling the network of terrorism and still doing so at this point in time," he said after his meeting.
Schroeder said he has never excluded the possibility of committing military troops to the operation in Afghanistan, an issue he said he discussed with President Bush during their meeting. Both men declined to talk about whether ground troops would follow the aerial assaults with Schroeder saying that "it would be entirely unhelpful to spread this kind of information. It would only help the enemy that we're trying to bring down."
The Defense Department reported Tuesday that air strikes carried out by U.S. forces damaged most of the Afghan airfields and several terrorist training camps. As a result American bombers are able to carry out strikes around the clock rather than limiting their hits to after dark.
In addition, humanitarian aid flights by U.S. military aircraft deliver approximately 37,000 rations each day into Afghanistan territory for refugees. As a result, political analysts have dubbed it a "bullets and butter" operation.
"Well, first, I think the American people are beginning to realize that this is a unique type of war," Bush said. "The first shot we took in this war against terrorism was when we started cutting off their money. And I want to thank the German chancellor and the German government for cooperating and joining with us in not only sharing information, but making it clear to al Qaida, and other terrorist groups, we're going to cut you off financially."
Asked whether he considered Russia's war in Chechnya to be a war against terrorists, Bush said he made it clear to Russian President Vladamir Putin that he needed to respect minority rights within his country.
"I expressed concern about how his government was viewing the minority that exists and how they were being treated. And so my position has been very consistent. To the extent that there's al Qaida organizations in his neighborhood, they need to be brought to justice as well. And we look forward to sharing information with him, just like he's sharing information with us," Bush said.
Bush described Putin's call to the National Security Council on Sept. 11 to tell the United States that he had stood his troops down as American forces went on high alert. During the Cold War, when one side placed troops on alert, the other country did the same, often on a higher security alert.
"It's a new attitude to our relationship. He understands the Cold War is over, and so do I, which provides great opportunity for not only America but Germany to work with Mr. Putin for our nations' interests, and his nation's interests. And I think we're going to find a lot of common ground, one of which will be to fight terrorism."
Bush and Schroeder also said they discussed the conflict in the Middle East. Bush said Germany has been strong in working with the Israelis and Palestinians to return the recommendations of the Mitchell committee for an extended cease-fire, an end to violence in the region and an eventual return to political negotiations.
