Bush sends Rumsfeld to Mideast

The defense secretary was leaving Tuesday night for military talks with leaders in Saudi Arabia, Oman, Egypt and Uzbekistan, key members of Bush's growing coalition. Uzbekistan borders Afghanistan, where terrorist suspect bin Laden is being sheltered by the Taliban government.

He said he hoped his first face-to-face meeting with Uzbek leaders would be useful, since Uzbekistan borders Afghanistan, where terrorist suspect Osama bin Laden is being sheltered by the Taliban government.

Rumsfeld said he also would meet with U.S. troops performing joint exercises in Egypt.

The trip was announced as U.S. Ambassador at Large Francis X. Taylor, who is President Bush's coordinator for counterterrorism, finished briefing NATO.

The United States gave its NATO allies clear evidence Tuesday that conclusively links Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaida network to the Sept. 11 terror attacks in Washington and New York, NATO Secretary-General Lord Robertson said.

White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said Rumsfeld's mission will be information sharing and consultation with friends. Asked why Bush chose to send Rumsfeld to the region rather than Secretary of State Colin Powell, Fleischer replied, ``Because he's the appropriate person to go.''

Many of the U.S. forces in the region are based in Saudi Arabia, and others are in smaller Persian Gulf countries such as Bahrain and Kuwait. Saudi officials reportedly have expressed reservations about the use of bases on their soil to launch retaliatory strikes against Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaida terrorist network.

Support for the anti-terrorism campaign in Muslim countries is considered important to counter claims by bin Laden supporters that the United States is waging war against Islam.

``We want to make sure we have the consultations at the highest level,'' Clarke said. ``It's a very strong sign of the importance we place on the region and on the coalitions.''

Rumsfeld's trip comes as the U.S. continues to beef up its military presence in the region. The Pentagon announced Tuesday that 2,263 National Guard and Reserve troops were called to active duty, bringing the total reserves mobilized to more than 22,400. Clarke said that about 30,000 American military members are in the region, including two aircraft carrier battle groups and 350 planes.

In addition to the naval forces in the Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea, the Pentagon has dispatched more than 100 additional Air Force planes to the region since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. They are based in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and other Gulf nations.

Two other aircraft carriers are at sea and under way to the region.

The USS Kitty Hawk, which departed its homeport in Japan on Monday, will be available in or near the Arabian Sea as a floating base for other forces, defense officials said.

Two defense officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Kitty Hawk was headed toward the Arabian Sea to be available for use by U.S. special operations forces or by Navy aircraft other than its own.