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This image obtained from the Air Force on October 23 shows a B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber, “Spirit of Alaska,” from the 393rd Bomb Squadron out of Whiteman Air Force Base, MO, as it taxis out to take off. B-2s have been flying missions supporting Operation Enduring Freedom since strikes in Afghanistan began. These long-distance missions take up to 40 hours to complete.

Joint Press Availability with British Secretary of State of Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Jack Straw

SECRETARY POWELL: Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. It is a great pleasure to welcome again my colleague, Foreign Minister Jack Straw, and look forward to a profitable discussion. This is a little bit different, in that we are giving the press conference before the meeting, due to schedule difficulties, and I have to get up on the Hill very quickly.
But it is a pleasure to welcome him, especially today, after we have seen such progress yesterday in the Northern Ireland peace process, and I want to extend my congratulations to Jack and to Prime Minister Tony Blair and to the Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern, for this step forward, and it shows what can happen when one remains persistent and with a determination to solve what appear to be intractable problems.
I am sure that the Minister and I will also have occasion to talk a great deal about the situation in Afghanistan. And let me take this opportunity to again thank the British Government for the strong support that they have given to us in this time of crisis since the 11th of September. As always, we can count

on the United Kingdom, and they have come through again. And likewise, we deeply appreciate their military contribution to the campaign.
But more than just these political-military things, we deeply appreciate the outpouring of support that we received from the British people during this time of challenge and crisis. We also had a chance to extend our condolences to Her Majesty’s citizens who were lost in the World Trade Center as well.
We will be speaking, I am sure, also about the future of Afghanistan. The Foreign Minister gave a very important speech earlier this week that talked about what we have to do with respect to putting in place a broad-based government and what we have to do with respect to helping the people of Afghanistan get on a path to a better life in a post-Taliban regime. And I am sure there are a full range of European issues, NATO issues, that we will also have a chance to discuss in the next hour or so. So, Jack, welcome. It is always a pleasure to have you, sir.

FOREIGN MINISTER STRAW: Colin, thank you very much indeed for that welcome. I am delighted to be here. The last time I was in this room was towards the end of June,

in rather more benign circumstances. Since then, we have had the atrocities on the 11th of September. And I think it is worth my underlining to you and to the American people the huge admiration we have in the United Kingdom for the steadfastness and courage which was shown on the 11th of September by so many people in New York and Washington and elsewhere, for the steadfastness and patience and wisdom shown by your President, by you, sir, and by members of your administration for all the work that is now being done by United States forces as well, and for the fact that whilst it’s—and I can say this as somebody who has only ever been a politician—politicians, sometimes put their reputations but no more on the line. It is members of our armed forces who put their lives on the line, and we expect great things from them and we get great things from them.
You have been very kind, as your President has, about the sentiment and the feeling in the United Kingdom. It was instinctive. It was just there, because we feel part of almost of a family. But it was also instinctive because of a recognition that, on two occasions, in a very short space of time, the United States