The European Union has declared total support for last night’s attack on Afghanistan and called for a truly representative Afghan government to replace the Taliban movement.
In a joint statement, the EU's 15 foreign ministers said: "The EU declares its full solidarity with the United States and its wholehearted support for the action that is being taken in self-defence and in conformity with the UN Charter and UN Security Council resolution 1386".
It said Afghanistan's ruling Taliban was paying the price for its refusal to hand over Osama bin Laden and his al Qaeda network.
Al Qaeda and the regime that supports and harbours it are now facing the consequences of their action, the EU said.
The statement came ahead of a meeting in Brussels later today of the 15 EU foreign ministers.