UN Secretary General, Mr Kofi Annan, yesterday suggested existing UN resolutions gave the US the right to proceed with a military strike against those responsible for the attacks.
Asked if more consultations were needed before any attack, Mr Annan told ABC's Good Morning America: "Well, the Security Council Resolution described the attack as a threat to international peace and security and has also reaffirmed the right of individuals and collective and the 15-member Security Council moved quickly after the attacks to condemn them in separate resolutions. The council also adopted a sweeping resolution that mandates all UN member governments to freeze the finances and control the movements of anyone involved in terrorist acts."
Mr Annan said he was surprised by the swiftness of the UN response to the attacks.
"This UN has reacted swiftly, in a manner that I haven't seen before," he said. "I think it shook them. It shook them and the solidarity has been quite remarkable." Mr Annan said any US attack on Iraq could "create major difficulties in the Middle East", but said he had not seen any evidence linking Iraq to the attacks, which the US blames on bin Laden and his al Qaeda network.
Mr Annan said the UN resolutions did not cover the removal of Afghanistan's ruling Taliban, but said the Afghan people themselves appeared ready for a change.
"I would not interpret the resolutions that have now been passed to include removing the Taliban from office," he said. "But there is an earlier UN resolution which demanded the Taliban to deliver bin Laden, and that was a basic, but important function on the Taliban."
He said reports indicated "the Afghan people themselves wish to have a change . . . there's a limit to what people can take". Mr Annan described caring for the flood of Afghan refugees massing near and streaming over the country's borders as "a major logistical nightmare" given the coming winter snows.
He also repeated his call for tighter international measures against nuclear, chemical and biological arms.