December 16, 2001	Sunday	Ramazan 30, 1422

LAEKEN (Belgium) Dec 15: The European Union on Saturday warned the United States against extending its international war on terrorism beyond Afghanistan without first seeking approval from the international community.

“There can be no possible geographical extension of these operations without the prior approval of the international community,” the 15-member body said, a day after promising participation in a UN-mandated military force in Afghanistan.

The warning came in draft conclusions made available in French that were expected to be approved by the summit later in the day.

US President George W. Bush has repeatedly said that the current campaign against Afghanistan’s Taliban regime, Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaeda network is just the beginning of a US-led “war against terrorism.”

Pentagon sources have suggested further action against targets and organisations accused of terrorist activity or complicity could include Iraq, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.

Last week, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan also warned Washington against an extension of the campaign, saying that the use of offensive military force should be confined to Afghanistan and not involve Somalia. He has insisted too that an attack on Iraq “could lead to a major escalation in the region.”

The EU was also expected to re-affirm strengthened support for a post-war Afghanistan and its decimated population during the second and final day of an EU summit in the Brussels suburb of Laeken Saturday.

On Friday, the 15 union leaders threw their support behind a multinational security force that could deploy in Afghanistan soon after expected passage of a UN resolution.

The EU’s contingent to the international force would be 3,000-4,000 strong, probably headed by Britain.

In the draft document, the 15 also reiterated — in strong language — commitments first set out at a summit in Ghent, Belgium in October, a month after the September 11 attacks on the US.

In Saturday’s draft conclusions they “committed themselves to participate in international efforts to restore stability to Afghanistan based on UN resolutions and the recent Bonn conference on Afghanistan.

COMMON DEFENCE POLICY: The European Union, on a quest for a bigger profile in world politics, Friday announced it was mulling a role for its 15 members in an Afghanistan security force to be.

The announcement triggered diplomatic chaos, as governments variously confirmed, denied or played down reports of a joint EU force poised to set sail for a theatre halfway across the globe.

At the end of the day, EU officials explained that troops from across the bloc would join a UN-mandated force but that the details still needed to be worked out.

Already the world’s biggest single market, the European Union has its sights set on “punching its weight” on a global stage dominated by the United States — an ambition that necessarily calls for a military dimension.

Central to that is the European Security and Defense Initiative, a policy package which includes a 60,000-man rapid reaction force, drawn from the armed forces of every member state. It is to be declared operational during the two-day EU summit at the Laeken royal palace, on the outskirts of Brussels, that winds up Saturday.—AFP