U.S. ``Long-Running Retaliatory War against Terror``

While sending an ultimatum to Afghanistan requesting for handing over Osama bin Laden through Pakistan on Sunday, President George W. Bush and other leaders announced that they would eliminate terrorists and the power behind the terrorists declaring that the war against terror would be a long-term war.

President Bush, Dick Cheney vice-President, and Secretary of State Colin Powell held a national security meeting reaffirming that the U.S. is at war, and pledged that they would lead the long-term war against terror that would be completely differently from the regular warfare in the past.

In relation to this, quoting the high-ranking officials of the Bush administration, BBC reported that the U.S. war against terror would become an extended war, and not just Afghanistan but the maximum 60 countries can be targets of the U.S.

President Bush urged the U.S. citizens to return to work emphasizing that the U.S. government is determined to ``rid the world of the evil-doers.``

Regarding bin Laden`s denial of terrorist attacks, Bush said again that there was no doubt that bin Laden was the prime suspect.

Vice President Dick Cheney, speaking on NBC`s Meet the Press, announced that the U.S. government was willing to engage in `dirty war` such as assassination along with the military attacks, saying that ``this war on terrorism is going to take awhile. It is not going to be a war with a couple of cruse missiles.`` Donald Rumsfeld Minister of National Defense said on ABC`s news program that ``this war will continue for a while.`` implying that the U.S. government was considering the use of nuclear weapons during war.

However, while requesting Afghanistan to hand bin Laden over to the U.S. through Pakistan, the U.S. government plans to send Richard Armitage to Russia to request for the necessary information and aids in attacking Afghanistan this week. Hence, a real attack is likely to take place as early as this weekend.

Some experts forecast that in light of the U.S. government`s declaration of a long-term war, the U.S. military action would be delayed until it completes its preparation for the military attacks by setting military bases in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, and Central Asian nations.

While blocking economic aids to Afghanistan, Pakistan sent a group of delegation to Kandahar, in which the Taliban`s supreme leader Mohammed Omar stays, to deliver the U.S. ultimatum.

Afghanistan Islam press reported yesterday that six delegation members including Mahmood Ahmed, chief of intelligence services, met the Foreign Minister of the Taliban, and talked with Omar.

Pakistan newspapers reported that the delegation delivered a document handed by the U.S., which may prove bin Laden`s involvement in terrorist attacks, to the Taliban, and the delegation may suggest that it would hand over bin Laden to the court in a third Islam country if the Taliban refuses to hand over bin Laden to the U.S.

As the Taliban arranged the military force on the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan on Sunday, tension between the two countries has been rising.

Lee Jin-Nyong jinnyong@donga.com