US diplomats have moved to strengthen the international legitimacy of imminent military action against Afghanistan by setting out to allies evidence of Osama bin Laden's involvement in the attacks of September 11th.
Meanwhile, the US has said its campaign against terrorism will focus on Kashmiri militants as well the al-Qaeda group linked to Osama bin Laden and blamed for the attacks on the US.
The US Secretary of State, Mr Colin Powell, speaking after talks with the Indian Foreign Minister, Mr Jaswant Singh, condemned Monday's suicide car bombing in the Indian-ruled part of Kashmir in which at least 38 people were killed. India accused Pakistan of aiding and abetting the attackers.
"This clearly was an act of terror," Mr Powell said. " We are going after terrorism in a comprehensive way, not just in the present instance of al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden, but terrorism as it affects nations around the world, to include the kind of terrorism that affects India." Pakistan sympathises with the Kashmiri separatists but has agreed to co-operate with the US campaign against bin Laden.
While Pakistan insisted yesterday it needed more evidence against bin Laden, and the Taliban insisted on direct negotiations with the US, NATO's Secretary General, Lord Robertson, said the evidence presented to the 18 allies in NATO by the US Ambassador at Large, Mr Francis Taylor, was "clear and compelling".
"It is clear that all roads lead to al-Qaeda and pinpoint Osama bin Laden as having been involved in it," Lord Robertson said.
In response, NATO invoked Article 5 of its charter, which says that an attack on one member is an attack on all 19 members of the alliance, a move which will allow the US full use of NATO assets.
At the same time, the US said it had received information about possible terrorist attacks against "symbols of American capitalism" in Italy and warned its citizens there to take extra precautions.
In statements released in Washington and in Rome, the State Department said the attacks could occur within the next 30 days, but did not elaborate.
The US intensified its diplomatic offensive, sending the Defence Secretary, Mr Don Rumsfeld, to the Middle East to stiffen the resolve of allies as the Administration let it be known that the US will soon acknowledge the inevitability of Palestinian statehood.
Strong support came from Britain where the Prime Minister, Mr Blair, in an impassioned speech to the Labour Party conference, told the Taliban bluntly no compromise was possible, "surrender the terrorists or surrender power." He warned that "whatever the dangers of action we take, the dangers of inaction are far, far greater."
Speaking to the UN General Assembly, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, called for "action and not words" by UN member-states. With an eye to domestic opponents of military action, Mr Cowen insisted that the Security Council had acknowledged the US right of self-defence in accordance with the UN Charter.
The Minister asked: "Who can reasonably argue that the US does not have the right to defend itself, in a targeted and proportionate manner, by bringing to justice those who planned, perpetrated and assisted in these outrages and who continue to threaten international peace and security?"
President Bush reiterated that there was no question of negotiations with the Taliban. "I have said that the Taliban must turn over the al-Qaeda organisation living in Afghanistan and must destroy the terrorist camps. They must do so, otherwise there will be a consequences," Mr Bush said. "There are no negotiations. There is no calendar."
In Islamabad the US Ambassador, Ms Wendy Chamberlain, met President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan in Islamabad and informed him of the "status of investigations." But a government spokesman said the US has yet to present Pakistan with direct evidence linking bin Laden with the attacks.
Meanwhile, NBC and the New York Times have reported that bin Laden contacted either his mother or adoptive mother in the 48 hours before the attack, telling her: "In two days you're going to hear big news, and you're not going to hear from me for a while."
