World Reacts To U.S. Strikes

Worldwide reaction to Thursday's unilateral strikes by the United States on terrorist-related sites in Afghanistan and Sudan was both swift and mixed.

Russia on Friday angrily denounced U.S. attacks in Sudan and Afghanistan, while President Clinton's allies rallied around the U.S. leader and defended the missile strikes. Muslim nations responded angrily.

"My attitude is indeed negative as it would be to any act of terrorism, military interference, failure to solve a problem through talks," said Russian President Boris Yeltsin, who was not warned beforehand of the attacks.

"I am outraged, and I denounce this."

The United States launched the missiles against what it identified as "terrorist-related" bases in Sudan and Afghanistan following the bombings of U.S. embassies in East Africa that killed 267 people, including 12 Americans.

Sandy Berger, the president's national security adviser, said overall he was pleased with the support the U.S. has received from other nations. "We have had broad support from countries around the world," Berger said. "There are some countries that become concerned by unilateral use of force by the United States or any country."

In Bonn, German Chancellor Helmut Kohl said his government supported the strikes, saying he condemned "every kind of terrorism."

"The German government supports all measures, which help to fight this scourge of the international community. This is particularly the case for the attacks the U.S. carried out yesterday on targets in Afghanistan and Sudan," Kohl said in a statement.

Britain was the first of Washington's NATO allies to express wholehearted backing.

"I strongly support this American action against international terrorists," British Prime Minister Tony Blair said from his French holiday home. "Terrorists the world over know that democratic governments will act decisively to prevent their evil crimes."

The response in the Middle East was, however, was much different. A crowd of angry Pakistanis burned the U.S. flag outside the U.S. Information Services Center in Islamabad.

Egypt's outlawed but influential Muslim Brotherhood denounced the air raids as "terrorism."

"We condemn this act of terrorism and muscle-flexing," Mustafa Mashour, supreme guide of the organization, said. "This will cause more hatred against America and ignite the flame of extremism and instability in the region."

Iraq and Libya, locked in bitter feuds with Washington, accused the U.S. of committing "international terrorism."

Two Gulf Arab newspapers condemned the strikes. al-Sharq newspaper, an independent Arabic-language daily, said in an editorial that by hitting targets in Sudan and Afghanistan, Washington was resorting to the "law of the jungle in handling international problems."

The Arabic-language al-Khaleej,> published in the United Arab Emirates, said the U.S. strikes portrayed Washington as an arrogant state without respect for international law.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard supported Clinton's decision, saying the United States had a right to defend itself.

Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi said he understood why Washington unleashed its missiles.

Spanish Foreign Minister Abel Matutes said the strikes were no surprise: "We knew that there was proof that showed the involvement of these two countries [Sudan and Afghanistan] in the bloody attacks."

Iranian radio said: "It is worth mentioning that following Clinton's domestic defeat in his recent court case, some international news agencies and publications raised the probability of a foreign military move by America aimed at covering up and overshadowing his problem."

Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi led a rally in Tripoli to condemn the U.S. attacks.

Official Iraqi television said Iraq was "ready to cooperate with any Arab and international countries to confront the U.S. hostile policies."

Afghanistan's eastern neighbor Pakistan, a traditional friend of the United States but also the main backer of the Afghan Taleban that now rules much of the country, said it had not been warned of the raids.

"These acts are a violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of an Islamic country," said Foreign Minister Satraj Aziz.