Pakistan Pledges Support;
NATO Invokes Collective Security
Internationally, Washington appeared to be on the way to securing a key regional ally. Pakistan, one of only three nations to recognize Afghanistan's Taliban rulers, has promised full cooperation.
Pakistan neighbors Afghanistan, where the ruling Taliban provide bin Laden with a safe haven.
"I wish to assure President Bush and the U.S. government of our fullest cooperation in the fight against terrorism," military ruler Gen. Pervez Musharraf said this morning from Islamabad.
Saudi Arabia also offered its cooperation today.
On Wednesday, NATO said the attacks on the United States would be considered an attack on the whole alliance if they were directed from abroad.
"An attack on one is an attack on all," NATO Secretary-General Lord Robertson said after the 19 NATO ambassadors invoked Article 5 of the alliance charter for the first time. The decision means the United States can count on military support from its NATO partners, if necessary.
That support may be called upon soon: Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld sent a videotaped message to defense department personnel telling them of the heroism of the past and present, and hinting at what could be ahead.
"I know I am speaking to many now — especially those of you in the field, those of you who wear the uniform of our country — who will in the days ahead also be called heroes," he said.
Rumsfeld said the nation faces "powerful and terrible enemies. Enemies we intend to vanquish."