12 October 2001
Rumsfeld, Myers Say Air Strikes Weakening Taliban, al Qaida
(Myers says missions "going according to our plan") (640)
By David Denny
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington -- Senior U.S. defense officials say that substantial
damage has been done to communications centers, air defense
capabilities and terrorist training camps in Afghanistan after six
days of concentrated U.S.-led air strikes.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said October 12, during a Pentagon
briefing, that the success of these air strikes has weakened the
Taliban and the al-Qaida terrorist network.
Tying the military effort against the Taliban into the overall
campaign against global terrorist organizations, Rumsfeld said, they
too have been weakened. He said the aggressive law enforcement effort
by various countries, along with freezing some financial assets and
some diplomatic progress have contributed to a further weakening of
terrorists and their networks.
Turning to the details of military actions of October 11, Joint Chiefs
Chairman General Richard Myers said U.S. forces hit six target areas,
including a training camp, troop compounds and vehicle and weapons
facilities. About 15 carrier-based strike aircraft and about 10
land-based bombers were used in the missions, he said.
Military operations continued October 12, Myers said, but there were
no planned air strikes because it is the Muslim Sabbath. Nevertheless,
Myers said forces were available to strike at targets of opportunity.
Myers said there were no humanitarian airdrops of food packages
October 11 because of over-flight clearance problems, but the airdrops
were scheduled for October 12.
Still in his prepared remarks, Myers said, "many of the conventional
efforts that you see today are stage-setters for follow-on operations.
Some of these efforts may be visible, but many will not... [Y]ou
cannot fight this asymmetric threat with conventional forces alone..."
Responding to questions about whether anti-Taliban forces have taken
territory during the six days of air strikes, Rumsfeld said the United
States would not have wanted those forces to move into areas where
strikes were being conducted. "And at that point where we are not
attacking military targets in close proximity to those troops, then
it's for those troops to make judgments as to whether or not they
intend to take advantage of the work that's been done for them," he
said.
Myers said that "a limited number" of the bunker-busting 5,000-pound
bombs have been used against caves.
As to whether U.S. forces have been attacking Taliban troops and their
leaders, Rumsfeld said "inanimate objects are not terrorists or
terrorist networks, nor do inanimate objects harbor terrorists. It is
people that do that, and it is people that train terrorists. ... And
it clearly is absolutely necessary to find them and root them out, as
we've said repeatedly." Striking at the decision-making elements of
the Taliban military apparatus is being worked on, he added.
Later in the briefing, Rumsfeld said "The United States is seeking out
concentrations of people who are involved in these terrorist
activities and in the terrorist training camps and in the terrorist
network, and when we find them we do try to deal with them. I'm not
going into [targeting of Mullah Omar, a top Taliban official], but I
think people should be on notice that it is not trees or rocks that
cause terrorism. It's people."
Denying the notion that the United States is influencing the future
makeup of Afghanistan by withholding military assistance from the
Northern Alliance forces, Rumsfeld said "no one has been withholding
any assistance from anybody. ... We are not withholding. We are
interested in assisting those on the ground who are anxious to throw
out the terrorists and the Taliban and the al-Qaida... We would
encourage that."
(The Washington File is a product of the International Information
Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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