Blair, Chirac back U.S. action

Blair and Chirac say they agree on need for international effort against terrorism

PARIS, France -- French President Jacques Chirac and British Prime Minister Tony Blair have pledged to back any "effective" U.S. action against the "menace" of terrorism.

"When this decision is arrived at by the United States and after discussions and consultations with ourselves, I believe that neither England nor France could fail to be present if the response is... effective," Chirac said after a breakfast meeting between the two men.

Chirac said that U.S. authorities have not decided how to retaliate for last week's attacks in New York and Washington, but "everybody understands they have to retaliate, that it is unavoidable."

"We share the view that we need to strengthen our efforts to fight against terrorism, this major threat to all our freedoms and liberties," he said.

"We recognise the need to take action," Blair, who is on a round of shuttle diplomacy on both sides of the Atlantic, told a joint news conference outside the Elysee Palace.

"I hope that in the next few days we demonstrate as a world our complete solidarity in this fight which is so important to us."

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The British prime minister has set himself the goal of building up a global anti-terrorism alliance behind the U.S. while the Taliban decides on what to do with prime suspect Osama bin Laden.

Blair spent Wednesday with German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder in Berlin and after meeting Chirac in Paris, flies to the United States.

There he will go to a memorial service for British victims in New York before reporting his progress to U.S. President George W. Bush.

After Washington Blair will head back to Brussels for special summit of EU leaders on Friday.

Following their meeting, Schroeder and Blair pledged their "unswerving support" for the U.S. following last week's attacks.

Schroeder reiterated that both viewed the attacks, which killed thousands, including hundreds of Britons and Germans, as an "assault on the whole civilised world."

Chirac was in the U.S. on Wednesday, urging the United Nations to lead the fight against terrorism, declaring it must be a long-term battle that goes beyond military action -- targeting the perpetrators and root causes.

In its response, he said, the U.S. must make sure it follows two rules: identify the fundamentalist terrorist groups responsible and bring them to justice, but do not finger-point at the predominantly Muslim Arab world.

Chirac, who met President Bush in Washington on Tuesday, flew over the ruins of the World Trade Center in a helicopter with New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani before holding a joint news conference with U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

The French president said France would not stand aside against "a scourge that defies all democracies."

"Today, it's New York that was tragically struck, but tomorrow it may be Paris, London, Berlin.

"But the action to be accomplished is something that by far transcends military action. It is really a question of genuine, coordinated, long-term action in order to eradicate terrorism."

The Bush administration has embarked on an all-out campaign to build an international coalition against terrorism. The new U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, John Negroponte, said Wednesday that this would be his top priority.

Chirac said the United Nations is the best body to "mobilise our energy" to root out terrorism, which he called the "absolute priority in the world today."

Annan said there is a possibility of a ministerial meeting on terrorism, which could create another legally binding treaty to fight the phenomenon. There are already 12 U.N. conventions and protocols -- in effect since 1963 -- which cover hijacking, funding terrorism and hostage-taking.

He warned against the tendency emerging in some "limited quarters" to point fingers at Muslims, Middle Easterners or dark-skinned people as a result of the September 11 attacks, saying this would not only divide multicultural nations like the U.S. and Britain, but would lead to "a fight between the Islamic and non-Islamic world."

The international coalition to fight terrorism must embrace as many countries as possible, Annan said, and the battle must also focus on the root causes -- "conflict, poverty, ignorance and racism."

Before leaving London for Germany, Blair said he wanted to "set an agenda" for international forces to crush the terror network behind the attacks.

"The most important thing is to demonstrate that the coalition against international terrorism not merely has support, but that support is growing," he said.

"That it encompasses nations in all continents, including Arab nations... that it has support from people of all faiths, and support from people of all democratic political persuasions."