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T V Parasuram in Washington
The United States on Thursday rejected a call by the Shoora, the grand Islamic council of ulemas (clerics) of Afghanistan, asking the spiritual leader of the Taleban, Mullah Mohammed Omar, to persuade Saudi fugitive Osama bin Laden to leave the country on his own.
At the same time the US began to unveil its military might by beginning to position a formidable array of over 100 air force planes, and a 14-ship naval task force for possible military operations against Afghanistan.
The White House demanded that bin Laden be handed over 'to responsible authorities' and said the clerics' edicts did not meet Washington's requirements.
"It's time for action, not words," White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said recalling President George W Bush's demand that bin Laden be handed over, and terrorist camps in Afghanistan be closed. The clerics also issued a fatwa (edict) to all Muslims to launch a jihad (holy war) against the US, if it attacks Afghanistan.
He said army units would also be deployed overseas.
"We are ready to sustain land combat operations ... across our force structure -- heavy, light, air mobile and air borne special operations, and combat support," Army Secretary Thomas White said.
Among the planes deployed by order of Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld are F-16 and F-15 fighters, B-1 bombers, AWACS radar planes and E-8C Joint Stars ground surveillance planes.
A defence department official who did not want to be identified said F-15E Strike Eagle fighter-bombers are to operate out of Uzbekistan, which, along with Tajikistan, borders Afghanistan, where Osama bin Laden, is believed to be hiding.
The planes are part of a deployment that also included a launch on Wednesday of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt from Norfolk, Virginia, which led a 14-ship naval task force, including amphibious assault ships carrying some 2,000 combat Marines capable of conducting special operations.
The Attack on America: The Complete Coverage
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