MANAMA

The US has not requested extra military assistance from Bahrain ahead of anticipated US-led strikes on Afghanistan, Information Minister Nabeel Al Hamer confirmed yesterday.

The US military presence in Bahrain was solely of a "logistical and administrative" nature, he said.

Bahrain already grants the US facilities within the framework of the defence agreement between Manama and Washington, the minister said.

He warned that while Bahrain was unequivocally opposed to terrorism, Manama and its GCC partners would not allow the use of bases on their territory as a springboard for attacks on any other country.

"Bahrain's policy is that no warplane will fly from its territory to bomb any friendly or brotherly state," the Minister added.

"We keep an eye on public opinion in the region. There are people who support the American plan to strike at places that host terrorist camps, and others who oppose it," he said.

The US was aware of the Gulf states position and had not sought their active participation in the impending offensive, he said.

In any event, the Americans "don't need Bahrain" as a launching pad, the minister said: US warships in the Indian Ocean "will do".

He said he did not expect the anticipated US military offensive against Afghanistan to be expanded to include Iraq.

Noting that it was the Iraqis, not the Americans, who were predicting a US strike against Baghdad, Mr Al Hamer said public opinion in the Gulf region would not tolerate the targeting of Iraq.

"There's no proof of Iraq's involvement in the anti-US attacks, and punishing Iraq for something in which it is not implicated would be unacceptable," he said.

As to whether the US will target other Arab countries, such as Yemen, where some organisations it accuses of having links with Bin Laden have a presence, Mr Al Hamer said: "I don't know. But I think that in the present circumstances, the offensive will be directed at Afghanistan and Bin Laden."

A US strike against an Arab country "would trigger reactions that would not be in the interest of international co-operation in the fight against terrorism," he said.

The Minister said that while Bahrain backed any effort to combat terrorism, the targets of any military offensive should be clearly defined.

"A country that harbours terrorists must take the consequences. But we are against bombing innocent civilians," he explained.

Asked whether he expected Washington to respond to calls from Gulf and other Arab governments to also fight the "state terrorism" they say Israel practices against the Palestinians, Mr Al Hamer said the US had been "putting pressure" on the Jewish state in recent days.

This could well be a "manoeuvre" aimed at enlisting Arab support for the anti-terror coalition the US is trying to build, he conceded.

"But even the American man in the street has started wondering why terrorism is targeting Americans" and asking questions about the causes of terrorism.

US support for Israel has left Washington without friends on "the Arab street," he remarked.

"We must look for the causes of terrorism and tackle the reasons that led to the emergence of these groups," he said.