thr 027                                                               


Press-US-Attacks-Iran   /GNR/                                         


   Iran should have a more active role in current crisis: daily      


Tehran, Sept 19, IRNA -- `Iran News' on Wednesday commenting on the   


current crisis in the wake of the recent horrendous terrorist assaults


in New York and Washington, wrote that "the recent events have opened 


opportunities for the Iranian Foreign Ministry to adopt an active     


diplomacy to break its impasse with the West, look after Iran's       


interests and refrain from its passivity of the past."                


    A week has passed since the nightmare attacks in US, and          


Afghanistan has given mixed signals over the fate of prime suspect    


Osama bin Laden, while US President George W. Bush has warned that    


he will "smoke the terrorists out of their holes," and they are wanted


"dead or alive," noted the English-language dialy in its editorial.   


    Although the majority of international public opinion's           


condemnation of the recent US attacks is noteworthy, the daily        


believed that some have however advised caution over the predicted US 


retaliatroy action on the Taliban which is harboring bin Laden."      


    But the US is determined "to seek vengeance and the issue of bin  


Laden may be no more than a pretext," warned the daily, castigating   


the Taliban for wreaking havoc "on a docile and submissive Afghan     


nation and installing a zealot regime by clinging to their fanatic    


beliefs."                                                             


    Even very dim chances exist for a peaceful solution in the        


warn-torn country of Afghanistan, owing to the "intransigent          


characteristic of the Taliban," it pointed out.                       


    But the Taliban have nothing to lose in the predicted US action on


Afghanistan since, with the Taliban, "peace has never been a viable   


option," contended the article.                                       


    "Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are the      


only states to give the Taliban formal recognition, although they are 


shying away from their former ally," it noted.                        


    The paper lauded world opinion in supporting the US in eliminating


the Taliban for the reason that "we have all suffered from their      


tyranny, misrule and the scourge of the drug trade which they sponsor 


worldwide."                                                           


    The Talbain have not spared the United Nations as well and have   


not only made them the "butt of ridicule," but are also               


"persecuting" them, it pointed out.                                   


    Even Russia has joined the allied camp which is ready to pounce   


on the foe, it said.                                                  


    President George Bush may have outlined immediate objectives and  


long-term goals of his attack on the Taliban, but the paper believed  


that the US cannot eliminate terrorism with one fell swoop.           


    "The rampant murder campaign around the globe must be eliminated  


methodically over an extended period of time," it pointed out.        


    "The global economy is already threatened by recession and a      


protracted US military action will make things worse before they      


get better," it warned, further noting that the Wall Street shares    


plummeted after the recent US attacks.                                


    "The mouintain enclave was shunned by the former Soviet invading  


forces; it will now prove a challenge to the US military to target    


bin Laden from the air," noted the daily.                             


    However, all in all, the daily believed "a quick victory is       


vital for the US to appease the American public and regain its lost   


pride."                                                               


    Moreover, "such an operation would also be welcomed by regional   


states since the actual presence of an invading force on the ground   


may not be tolerated," it concluded.                                  


FH/LS/RR                                                              


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::irna    15:09