European Allies React Somewhat Guardedly : Gulf crisis: Germans receive news of war with dismay but pledge backing for U.S. Mitterand’s hard line eases doubts about France’s commitment.

In cities from Copenhagen to Rome, lights burned late in government offices and citizens sat glued to television sets to catch the first sketchy details of the globe’s newest war.

And in Tokyo, the Japanese government quickly declared its support for the United States in the gulf war.

News of the attack broke shortly after midnight European time, and initial official reaction from America’s European allies was cryptic.

The attack followed a day of sporadic war protests as a sense of foreboding settled over the Continent with the realization that diplomatic options had run out.

In Germany, a nation that destroyed much of Europe and was then itself destroyed by war half a century ago, the mood was especially glum.

In Bonn, German Chancellor Helmut Kohl said he received the news with dismay, but pledged the support of Europe’s strongest economic power and one of America’s closest NATO allies.

“All efforts toward a peaceful solution have failed,” he said in a prepared statement issued by the Federal Press Office in Bonn. “All of us are now thinking of the people who bear the full brunt of this conflict. Especially we Germans can empathize with them.

“Along with our partners, we will do everything we can to make this war end as quickly as possible.”

The opposition Social Democrats called for an emergency parliamentary debate later today on the action, and the German news agency, Deutsche Presse-Agentur, reported that “several thousand” peace demonstrators had taken to the streets in the pre-dawn hours in a number of German cities to hold spontaneous protests against the war.

In Berlin, protesters marched to the memorial church near the civic center.

Germany has provided more than $2 billion in economic assistance for the gulf effort, but its constitution prevents the deployment of military forces outside North Atlantic Treaty Organization areas.

In London, only 24 hours after Parliament overwhelmingly endorsed the use of British forces in the gulf, the Ministry of Defense announced that Royal Air Force Tornados had joined with U.S., Saudi and Kuwaiti aircraft in the initial attacks.

“They are there and are in action,” declared a Ministry of Defense spokesman.

Downing Street press spokesman Philip Aylett said Prime Minister John Major would issue an official statement later in the day, but reaffirmed the stance that has made Britain the most hawkish of America’s European allies in the crisis.

“Saddam has been warned what would happen, but to the last minute there was no flexibility from him,” said Aylett, referring to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. “He was told clearly what the consequences would be.”

Aylett said Britain was informed by Washington “a couple of hours” in advance of the attack.

The allied attack on Iraq and Kuwait came only hours after the French Parliament overwhelmingly approved the use of military force in the gulf.

The French vote in the lower house of Parliament, the National Assembly, nine hours after the U.N. ultimatum on the gulf had expired, meant that the three main Western powers with forces on the ground in Saudi Arabia--the United States, Britain and France--had received parliamentary or congressional assent for war.

It appeared that French President Francois Mitterrand had been informed of the imminent attack when he delivered a national televised address Wednesday night.

The speech was unusually emotional and patriotic for the 74-year-old French leader.

“The arms are going to speak,” Mitterrand announced only three hours before the allied attack began. He asked the French people to rally around the 12,000 French troops in the gulf.

He concluded with the famous French patriotic appeal: “Vive la Republique.”

Officials at Elysee Palace confirmed that Mitterrand had talked with President Bush in the hours before the speech. There was no official reaction from the French government in the first hours after the attack.

As in other European capitals, three French television networks commenced nonstop coverage with live reports from Cable News Network and from their own correspondents in the gulf. All three broadcast the speech of President Bush with simultaneous translation into French.

The French approval in the lower house of Parliament by a vote of 523 for and 43 against came after a low-key debate in which only the Communist Party and the extreme right-wing National Front Party stood in opposition. The French Senate approved the measure by a similar margin later Wednesday afternoon.

“I say with regret, but with determination,” Mitterrand said in his message to the Parliament, “the recourse to armed force to compel Iraq to evacuate Kuwait is from this moment legitimate. That’s why I will order the use of military means that require the participation of our country to put into effect the resolutions of the United Nations.”

Mitterrand’s hard line and the vote in Parliament erased lingering doubts about France’s commitment to the allied military option in the gulf. Those doubts had been rekindled in recent days by a maverick French peace initiative in the United Nations, largely motivated by domestic political considerations that surprised and angered British and U.S. officials.

In Rome, the Italian government voted Wednesday to authorize the use of its much smaller military contingent in the gulf, composed of 10 fighter-bomber aircraft and five ships, but ruled out the use of ground forces.

In Brussels, European Community officials said the 12 EC foreign ministers would most likely convene in emergency session in Paris today to discuss the war.

Defense ministers of the nine-nation West Europe Union defense organization are also scheduled to meet today in the French capital.

Speaking shortly after word of the attack on Iraq came, Belgian Foreign Minister Mark Eyskens underscored the defensive nature of the American-led action.

“We have done everything to prevent this, but I have the impression that Saddam Hussein wanted this war,” he said.

In Stockholm, the capital of neutral Sweden, a nation not involved in the gulf operation, Prime Minister Ingvar Carlsson lamented the outbreak of war, labeling it a tragedy.

However, he blamed Iraq for triggering the conflict by first invading Kuwait, then failing to heed the many U.N. resolutions.

The Japanese government, meanwhile, declared its support for the U.S.-led assault effort early today as pressure mounted on Japan to commit more funds to the military action.

There was no word on how much money Japan would be willing to pledge, beyond the initial $2 billion it has already contributed to the multinational forces. But government officials have indicated recently that more financial help would be forthcoming.

Prime Minister Toshiki Kaifu emphasized that Japan stands behind the United States and its allies in the nighttime attack against Iraq.

“Japan pledges its firm support for the use of force by the countries concerned, carried out in accordance with U.N. Security Council Resolution 678, as the last resort to terminate the invasion and restore peace,” Kaifu told a nationally televised news conference.

A Foreign Ministry spokesman said no decision had been made as of this morning on an increase in financial support for the multinational forces.

Minutes after the U.N. deadline expired--at midnight Tuesday in New York and at 2 p.m. Wednesday in Tokyo--Foreign Ministry Press Secretary Taizo Watanabe said officials were waiting to see how events developed before fixing an amount.

“We would like to have a full explanation of the basis of calculation” before deciding on a figure in response to American requests, Watanabe said.

In addition to the $2 billion supporting the military action, Japan has pledged $2 billion in economic assistance--mostly loans--for front-line countries.

The U.S. ambassador to Japan, Michael Armacost, meanwhile, called on Japan Wednesday to make a prompt decision on additional support. Armacost warned leaders of Kaifu’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party that Americans would be frustrated if Japan’s intentions are not made clear, according to local press reports.

Marshall reported from Berlin and Tempest from Paris. Staff writer Karl Schoenberger in Tokyo also contributed to this story.