Chirac, Blair Seek 'Appropriate' ReprisalFrench President Jacques Chirac and British Prime Minister Tony Blair said Thursday that their countries would participate in a reprisal for the terror attacks in the United States, as long as it is "appropriate and effective." The leaders spoke to reporters after a one-hour breakfast meeting at the presidential Elysee Palace in Paris.Blair was to head to the United States later Thursday, and Chirac had just returned from a trip to Washington and New York, where he flew over the ruins of the World Trade Center by helicopter. "When the United States reaches a decision, and after discussion and consultations with us, I can't see how France and Britain wouldn't be involved if the response is appropriate and effective," said Chirac, who was the first foreign leader to meet with President Bush after the terror attacks. Blair said the exact nature of the response was still under discussion, but that "those that can assist should do so. "That we must take action against those responsible for this terrible act is plain and certain," the British leader said. In New York, Blair was to attend a memorial service near the former site of the World Trade Center, where those missing and feared dead are believed to include up to 300 Britons. He also was to meet Bush in Washington. The British leader said that measures should be taken "at a national, and indeed at an international level, to ensure that the fight against this menace of terrorism is successful." He noted the growing strength of the worldwide coalition against terrorism, and said: "We will work very closely with the United States, and obviously as allies together." |
| People's Daily Online --- http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/ |