Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Government Statements and Transcripts
US Domestic Responses
International Responses
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

October 30, 2001 Airstrikes

Operations

• PENTAGON/ANTI-TERROR VOA 30 Oct. 2001-- A top Pentagon official is hinting U-S anti-terrorist operations may be under way in other places besides Afghanistan
• PENTAGON / RUMSFELD VOA 30 Oct. 2001-- U-S Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has for the first time openly acknowledged the presence of U-S ground forces operating with opposition groups inside Afghanistan
• AFGHAN ATTACKS VOA 30 Oct. 2001 -- U-S warplanes carried out more strikes along Taleban front-lines as the U-N special envoy for Afghanistan met with Pakistan's president to discuss establishing a broad-based government in Afghanistan
• 15th MEU (SOC) Recovers Downed U.S. Army Helicopter In Pakistan ABOARD USS PELELIU (November 9, 2001) Marines of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) and soldiers successfully fended off a small arms attack and recovered a disabled U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter during Operation Enduring Freedom October 20, 2001.

Video footage of airstrikes, used during DoD news briefing
Click on the small image to view a larger version
Footage showing Oct. 29, 2001, close-up of a Taliban tank caught in the open, northwest of Herat, and being hit
The two videos above show an Oct. 29, 2001, airstrike on two armored vehicles caught sitting essentially beside each other southwest of Kabul. The top vehicle is the first to be hit, followed by the second vehicle from another aircraft, which is just beneath those burning remains of the first.

Defense Policy / Programs

Government Statements and Transcripts

• Transcript: Defense Department Briefing, October 30 30 Oct. 2001 -- "Our efforts involved strikes in 13 planned target areas, as well as against targets in several engagement zones. We used about 70 strike aircraft yesterday, of which 50 to 55 are carrier-based, about six to eight were land-based tactical, and about the same number were long-range bombers. We dropped leaflets in the North and East, and continued our Commando Solo broadcast missions as well."
• Transcript: State Department Briefing, October 30, 2001 30 Oct. 2001-- Boucher: "Today, we have reached the total of one million meals dropped in Afghanistan. The humanitarian aid effort has been a very important part of our efforts, and the Pentagon, as you know, has been providing meals by airdrop into Afghanistan."
• Transcript: Rumsfeld Says U.S. Forces on Ground in Afghanistan 30 Oct. 2001-- Hoon: It wouldn't make military sense to announce up-front what our intentions were during that period. And it certainly wouldn't make military sense to afford the Taliban regime, which has been under very considerable pressure in recent times, the opportunity of regrouping, reorganizing, during a predictable period of time. That is not a sensible way to run a military operation.
• Transcript: Ridge, Other Officials Brief on Homeland Security 30 Oct. 2001-- Ridge: There's also been unprecedented collaboration and coordination among intelligence-gathering agencies around the world, as the President has, working with Secretary of State Powell, forged an international coalition to help us combat terrorism, worldwide.
• Transcript: Defense Official on Relations with Coalition Partners 30 Oct. 2001-- Quigley: Well, we will try to provide weapons, ammunition, and things of that sort to the various opposition groups. Again, you apply that yardstick initially to make sure that their objectives are the same as ours and if it's within our ability to do so, then we will move on to the next step and try to find a way to do that, and do that effectively.
• Transcript: Head of U.S. Central Command Press Conference in Tashkent 30 Oct. 2001-- Franks: I believe that we are on the timeline that we established which essentially is the timeline that we exercise at our initiative.
• Text: Afghanistan Emergency: U.S. Disbursement of $18.1 Million 30 Oct. 2001-- The United States is pleased to announce the disbursement of $18.1 million to assist the people of Afghanistan, part of an overall $320 million aid package announced by President Bush on October 4.
• Transcript: White House Daily Briefing, October 30, 2001 30 Oct. 2001-- FLEISCHER: The information that led to the issuing of this threat did not contain specific information, for example about what sites, what state. If any of that were provided, we'd be sharing it. That's the best way to prevent terrorism from happening. The warnings that we have do not include any such information.

US Domestic Responses

International Responses

• U-N-Afghan Woman VOA 30 Oct. 2001-- An Afghan woman says women must be involved in developing a new government for Afghanistan and that her country will need sustained help from the United States
• E-U / AFGHANISTAN VOA 30 Oct. 2001 -- European Union foreign ministers are focusing diplomatic efforts on the future of Afghanistan, as U-S air-strikes against terrorist targets there go into a fourth week
• UN/AFGHAN REFUGEES VOA 30 Oct. 2001 -- U-N relief agencies say they fear too little food and medicine are reaching Afghans as winter approaches
• BRITAIN / TERRORISM VOA 30 Oct. 2001 -- Britain has charged an Egyptian man, living in London, with conspiracy in the murder of a leader of Afghanistan's opposition Northern Alliance
• U-N AFGHAN VOA 30 Oct. 2001 -- The U-N High Commissioner for Refugees, Ruud Lubbers, says Pakistan has agreed to allow more of the most needy Afghan refugees to cross the border. He also says he plans to meet with the Taleban's ambassador to Pakistan, in order to urge him to ensure the safety of U-N refugee aid workers

Defense Industry

• Lockheed Martin Minehunting System Completes Successful Testing Milestone Lockheed Martin 30 Oct 2001 -- Lockheed Martin today announced the successful completion of the second Critical Item Test (CIT) required for development and production of the AN/WLD-1(V)1 Remote Minehunting System.
• BAE SYSTEMS UK SATCOM strengthens capability BAE Systems 30 Oct 2001 -- BAE Systems has completed a key stage in the development and production of the UK/TSC503 satellite field terminal (SFT) project with the official handover of the first system to the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence.

Other Conflicts

• DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL United Nations 30 Oct 2001
• HEADQUARTERS PRESS CONFERENCE ON WOMEN IN PEACEKEEPING United Nations 30 Oct 2001

News Reports

• BUSH / SECURITY VOA 30 Oct. 2001 -- President Bush is going to New York City in a few hours to attend the third game of the baseball World Series
• TERROR WARNING VOA 30 Oct. 2001 -- Attorney General John Ashcroft's latest warning of the possibility of more terrorist attacks has sparked debate over the wisdom of issuing public alerts that some experts contend do more harm than good
• BIOTERRORISM / SCARE VOA 30 Oct. 2001 -- The terrorist attacks in the United States have been confined to locations on the East Coast, but officials say fear has spread throughout the country. Some members of Congress recently met with California officials to hear about concerns on the West Coast
• TERROR / ECONOMIC IMPACT VOA 30 Oct. 2001 -- Leading U-S economists are predicting difficult times for the U-S and global economies in the wake of the September 11th terrorist attacks. They say layoffs and lower productivity will prevail in a climate of uncertainty
• AIDS ORPHANS / TERRORISM VOA 30 Oct. 2001 -- International advocates for children say the impact of the AIDS pandemic may have long-term consequences for the war against terrorism. Some experts fear millions of children left orphaned by the disease are potential recruits for criminal and terrorist organizations