WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States has no immediate plans to attack targets besides Afghanistan and the al Qaeda organization of Osama bin Laden, Secretary of State Colin Powell said on Wednesday.(Read photo caption below) Asked to comment on reports that the United States was going to attack other targets, Powell said: ``There are no plans that are about to go down the pipe with respect to the kinds of actions that you are suggesting in your question. We take these things one at a time.''
``The first phase is directed against al Qaeda. We will see what we are able to flush out as a result of intelligence activity, law enforcement and financial activities,'' he said.
But Powell also said that President Bush's campaign against ''terrorism'' was directed at the phenomenon ``wherever it may exist in the world.''
The New York Times said on Wednesday that ``terrorists'' based in the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia and linked with al Qaeda were likely targets of future U.S. operations.
``We will be persistent, we will be patient, we will be determined, to not only get rid of the al Qaeda network but to deal with terrorism around the world,'' Powell said.
PHOTO CAPTION:
Secretary of State Colin Powell, with President Bush and Attorney General John Ashcroft, addresses reporters during an FBI event to unveil list of 22 'most wanted terrorists' October 10, 2001. Asked to comment on reports the U.S. was going to attack other targets outside Afghanistan, Powell said there are no immediate plans to attack targets besides Afghanistan and the al Qaeda organization of Osama bin Laden. (Win McNamee/Reuters)
- Oct 10 4:34 PM ET