U.S. explains attacks as 'self-defense' to U.N.

UNITED NATIONS -- The United States told the U.N. Security Council on Monday that it exercised its right to self-defense under the U.N. Charter in attacking targets in Afghanistan and said it may have to attack other countries to root out terrorism. \nIn a letter to the council, U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte said U.S. forces exercising "the inherent right of individual and collective self-defense have initiated actions designed to prevent and deter further attacks on the United States." \nThe council held a closed meeting late Monday at the request of the United States and Britain to discuss Sunday's air strikes on Afghanistan. Secretary-General Kofi Annan attended. \nThe Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution the day after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks recognizing the U.S. right to "individual or collective self-defense." \nIt called the attacks on New York and Washington "a threat to international peace and security" and expressed readiness "to take all necessary steps" to respond to the attacks and to combat all forms of terrorism. \nIn his letter, Negroponte said that since Sept. 11, the U.S. government "has obtained clear and compelling information that the al-Qaida organization which is supported by the Taliban regime in Afghanistan had a central role in the attacks." \nTo deter future attacks, U.S. and British forces have launched military strikes against al-Qaida terrorist training camps and Taliban military installations in Afghanistan, he said. \nBut Negroponte stressed that the investigation into the Sept. 11 attacks is in its early stages and "there is still much we do not know." \n"We may find that our self-defense requires further actions with respect to other organizations and other states," Negroponte said without elaborating. \nRussia's U.N. Ambassador Sergey Lavrov, asked for reaction to possible U.S. attacks against other countries, said: "This phrase is clearly linked to the need for further investigation. Let's wait until further investigation is over." \nIn a separate letter to the council, Britain's deputy U.N. Ambassador Stewart Eldon recalled that the British government on Oct. 4 presented information to Parliament "which showed that Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaida terrorist organization ... have been engaged in a concerted campaign against the United States and its allies." \nNeither envoy provided any details of the link between al-Qaida and the attacks on New York's World Trade Center and the Pentagon outside Washington, which killed more than 5,000 people from 81 countries.