WASHINGTON/ISLAMABAD, 20 September — US forces were on the move worldwide yesterday to get into position for a US campaign against terrorism and to hunt down those responsible for the Sept. 11 terror attacks in New York and Washington, the Pentagon said.

Pentagon officials refused to give details on the force movements or comment on a CNN report that deployment orders had been issued to send more than 100 airforce warplanes to the Gulf, including B-52 bombers, F-16 fighter jets and AWACS radar planes.

Earlier, the carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt set sail from Norfolk, Virginia for the Mediterranean and “points east” at the head of a 14-ship battle group that includes some 2,000 Marines capable of mounting special operations, navy officials said.

“There are movements and we will see more movements,” said Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz after a meeting with German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer who offered his government’s “full solidarity”. “I hope everyone understands, including the American people, why we do not want to reveal the details of those movements,” said Wolfowitz.

CNN said the operation has been dubbed “Infinite Justice.” But Pentagon officials would not even confirm that detail as part of a virtual news blackout on US military responses to the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, which killed thousands of people.

Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said, “The United States is repositioning some of its military forces, where required, to prepare for and support the president’s campaign against terrorism, and to support efforts to identify, locate and hold accountable terrorists and those who support them.”

The leader of Afghanistan’s ruling Taleban said yesterday he was ready to hold talks with the United States but appeared to rule out any swift surrender of Osama Bin Laden, prime suspect in last week’s attacks on New York and Washington.

The White House quickly responded that it wanted action, not negotiations, saying President George W. Bush expected the Taleban to “take the actions necessary to no longer harbor terrorists — whatever form that takes.” “The president’s message to the Taleban is very simple — it’s time for action, not negotiations,” White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said.

“We have not tried to create problems with America,” Mullah Muhammad Omar, the Taleban’s leader, told hundreds of Islamic scholars meeting at the presidential palace in Kabul to discuss the fate of Bin Laden.

“We have had several talks with the present and the past American governments and we are ready for (more) talks,” the Pakistan-based Afghan Islamic Press (AIP) agency quoted him as saying in a speech read out to the gathering.

Omar said, however, that any evidence linking Bin Laden to the attacks should be handed over to the Afghan Supreme Court or to scholars of three Islamic countries. “We assure the whole world that neither Osama nor anyone else can use Afghan territory against anyone,” he said.

Bin Laden has denied masterminding the attacks and was reported to have left Kabul on horseback with his bodyguards for a rugged mountain retreat.

Mullah Omar has called for jihad against the United States if Afghanistan is attacked. AIP said the Kabul gathering was expected to take a final decision on Bin Laden’s fate today in accordance with Islamic law.

Pakistan’s military ruler Gen. Pervez Musharraf told his people yesterday it faced its gravest crisis since war with India 30 years ago now that it had backed a US-led hunt for Bin Laden. In an emotional speech that appeared to be preparing his people for a war on their border, Musharraf appealed to Pakistanis to trust his decision to help the search in neighboring Afghanistan. “The Pakistan Army and the Pakistani people are ready to lay down their lives for the safety of the country,” he said. “Pakistan comes first, everything else is secondary.”

Musharraf said the United States had asked Pakistan for cooperation on intelligence gathering, access to its airspace and logistical support. “There is no operational plan ready yet,” Musharraf assured his 140 million people in a televised address. “Therefore we don’t know the details of our support.” Without giving details of his response to the US request, the general said his goal was to protect the Taleban and ordinary Afghans from harm in any US raids against Bin Laden. Musharraf said he had sent a personal letter with a delegation that met with Mullah Omar, on Monday, warning the movement of the seriousness of the situation.

The United States said it is “very pleased” with Pakistan’s cooperation. “The president has noted the speech of President Musharraf today in Pakistan,” said White House spokesman Fleischer. “The United States is very pleased with the cooperation of Pakistan and President Musharraf’s speech is an indication of the strong relationship between the United States and Pakistan to counter terrorism,” he said.

US Attorney General John Ashcroft said yesterday the networks that carried out the Sept. 11 attacks clearly had support and protection from unnamed foreign governments. “It’s pretty clear that the networks that conduct these kinds of events are harbored and supported, sustained, protected by a variety of foreign governments,” Ashcroft told reporters after inspecting the devastation at the Pentagon.

“It’s time for those governments to understand with crystal clarity that the United States will not tolerate that kind of support for networks that would inflict this kind of damage on the American people,” he said without giving details.

European leaders lined up yesterday to pledge support for Bush, while also urging Washington to exercise restraint in its response. On Tuesday, French President Jacques Chirac became the first in a parade of foreign leaders to visit the White House after last week’s suicide assaults, expressing solidarity with Bush but stopping short of endorsing his use of the word “war”.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair met German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder before flying to Washington for talks with Bush today. Russia hedged its bets on aiding Washington with reprisal strikes against suspected terrorist bases in Afghanistan despite the efforts of a top US envoy to cajole Moscow into providing firm assistance. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage drew assurances that Russia would “oppose terrorism by effective means” in talks with First Deputy Prime Minister Vyacheslav Trubnikov, but was left none the wiser as to whether facilities for US forces would be made available in Moscow’s “near abroad” — the central Asian states that formerly formed part of the Soviet Union.

Rescue workers have recovered 15 more bodies from the ruins of the World Trade Center, taking the total of confirmed dead to 233, but the number of people reported missing is unchanged at 5,422, New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani said yesterday. The missing toll includes people named in official reports to the police by their friends or relatives, he said. To date, 170 bodies have been identified, he added.