Military

DATE= 10/02/01

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE= PENTAGON / AID (L)

NUMBER=2-281258

BYLINE= ALEX BELIDA

DATELINE= PENTAGON

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: The Pentagon says humanitarian relief measures are part of the planning now under way for U-S anti-terrorist operations inside Afghanistan. More from V-O-A Correspondent Alex Belida, who is at the Pentagon.

TEXT: A senior Pentagon official says humanitarian measures are "a significant part" of the planning for Operation Enduring Freedom, the Bush administration's code-name for military operations against terrorist suspect Osama bin Laden and his supporters in Afghanistan.

The official declines to offer details of the types of measures under consideration.

However air drops of food and other relief supplies are a likely option. The official indicates to V-O-A that any such deliveries are likely to be targeted at Afghans who have moved away from Taleban-controlled areas of the country.

The official says such humanitarian operations will underscore the Bush administration's message that its anti-terrorist mission is not aimed against the Afghan people.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld repeated that message in a television appearance (NBC Today) early Tuesday.

In an interview, Mr. Rumsfeld noted that the United States is already the biggest food aid deliverer in Afghanistan, providing over 170-million dollars worth of aid this year.

Defense officials note relief operations have been a central element of several key U-S military missions in recent years, including Bosnia, Haiti, Kosovo, Somalia and Rwanda.

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United Nations officials have voiced fear that as many as one-point-five million Afghans might flee into Pakistan and other neighboring countries if the United States launches military strikes against terrorist targets in Afghanistan. (Signed)

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