15 October 2001
U.S.-Led Air Strikes in Afghanistan Show Progress
(Rumsfeld, Myers brief on weekend operations)(700)
By David Denny
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington -- Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld characterized weekend
military operations in Afghanistan cautiously, saying the coalition
was making some progress toward creating the conditions necessary for
sustained anti-terrorist operations.
Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Richard Myers gave details
October 15 at a Pentagon briefing on the air strikes carried out
October 13 and 14. Seventeen targets were struck on October 13, and
seven on October 14, he said.
Included in the target mix were terrorist camps, military training
facilities, air defenses and command-and-control facilities on October
13, and training facilities, surface-to-air missile storage sites,
garrison and troop staging areas and al-Qaida infrastructure the
following day, Myers said.
About 15 carrier-based strike aircraft and about 8-to-20 land-based
bombers were used each day, with an additional 15 sea-launched cruise
missiles fired on the 13th. Leaflets were also dropped on the 14th, he
said.
Myers also noted that a targeting error on October 13 resulted in a
small house being struck instead of a helicopter located near the
Kabul airfield.
Asked to elaborate on what kinds of conditions the U.S. effort is
aimed at creating, Rumsfeld named three. First, he said, was the
condition of being able to operate in the air so as to help ground
forces. That task is not yet complete, he said.
Second, Rumsfeld listed the development of relationships and
communications with anti-Taliban and anti-al-Qaida forces. That effort
continues to go forward, he said, though it remains incomplete.
Third, Rumsfeld cited the need to communicate with ground forces so as
to develop more precise information on potential targets that could be
attacked by air. He said this effort is "evolving and improving," but
is not a finished product.
Attainment of these three goals would allow ground forces to be more
successful against Taliban and al-Qaida forces and would produce a
"less hospitable" environment for the terrorists, in which "people
would be less inclined" to support them, and they would be forced to
keep moving and suffer losses "in a way that is going to be
discouraging for them," he said.
Meanwhile, the humanitarian aid effort continued over the weekend.
Over 68,000 daily food packets were air-dropped into Afghanistan,
bringing the total number of daily rations dropped by air to more than
275,000, Rumsfeld said.
Taking exception to reports of widespread civilian casualties caused
by the bombing campaign, Rumsfeld said Taliban and al-Qaida leaders
are "accomplished liars" who say things on television that are
"absolutely not true."
"One has to keep in mind ... that thousands of people were killed in
the United States by terrorist attacks. More are threatened every day.
And any time that the Department of Defense is engaged from the air or
on the ground, we have to know that there are going to be people hurt.
Overwhelmingly, they will be people who we intend to hurt. On
occasion, there will be people hurt that one wished had not been. I
don't think there is any way in the world to avoid that and defend the
United States from the kinds of terrorist attacks which we've
experienced," Rumsfeld said.
Addressing whether the air campaign was worth the anti-American
demonstrations in various places, Rumsfeld answered by saying "I guess
one has to put it on a scale and say how many thousands of or tens of
thousands of Americans or friends and allies around the world are you
willing to lose to make it worth it."
He closed the briefing saying the United States needs to do a better
job of getting out its message: "Our cause is just, what we're doing
is right, and we have absolutely nothing to hide. The other folks
don't function in free systems. They don't function with free press.
They are trying to manipulate world opinion in a way that is
advantageous to them and disadvantageous to us. And we need to do
everything we can to make sure that the truth gets out."
(The Washington File is a product of the Office of International
Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site:
http://usinfo.state.gov)
|
NEWSLETTER
|
|
Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list
|
|
|
