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Bush pledges tireless assault
©Washington Post, WASHINGTON -- U.S. and British forces launched airstrikes at terrorist training camps and military targets throughout Afghanistan on Sunday, opening what President Bush pledged would be a "sustained, comprehensive and relentless" campaign against those responsible for the worst terrorist attacks in American history. Using sea-based cruise missiles, long-range bombers and fighter aircraft, the allied strikes hit their first targets about 12:30 p.m. EDT -- about 9 p.m. in Afghanistan -- and continued throughout the night, pounding antiaircraft sites, military headquarters, terrorist camps, airfields and a concentration of Taliban tanks. Speaking from the White House Treaty Room barely half an hour after the strikes began, Bush promised a tireless assault against the threat of terrorism. "The battle is now joined on many fronts," he said. "We will not waver. We will not tire. We will not falter. And we will not fail. Peace and freedom will prevail." With the threat of additional terrorist attacks in the wake of the military strikes, federal and state authorities stepped up security precautions at home and abroad, and the FBI ordered law enforcement agencies across the country to move to their "highest level of vigilance." Bush said the "carefully targeted actions" were aimed at disrupting the al-Qaida terrorist network of Saudi fugitive Osama bin Laden and the military capacity of Taliban militia ruling most of Afghanistan. He said the campaign is aimed at "the barbaric criminals who profane a great religion by committing murder," not against the Muslim world. The strikes included the use of 50 Tomahawk cruise missiles, 15 land-based bombers and 25 carrier-based fighters, and hit targets around three cities: the capital, Kabul; Kandahar, the center of the Taliban movement in southeastern Afghanistan; and Jalalabad near the border with Pakistan. Administration officials said the initial phase of the campaign, called Operation Enduring Freedom, was likely to last two to three days. The strikes were launched from submarines and aircraft carriers in the Arabian Sea, the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia and from Whiteman Air Force Base near Kansas City, and included B-1, B-2 and B-52 bombers, F-14 Tomcats and F-18 Hornets. The pilots used precision weapons guided to their targets by satellites as well as old-fashioned, unguided "iron bombs." In the Arabian Sea, Navy pilots on the USS Carl Vinson, whose launches shook the deck of the huge carrier during the first wave of attacks, reported only limited resistance from Taliban antiaircraft fire. Their biggest concern, they said, was running out of fuel during a mission that took them more than 600 miles each way and lasted 41/2 hours. "Tonight was about giving America back the confidence and letting them know, hey, we're out here and can take care of whatever we need to," the commanding officer of the carrier's F-14 squadron said after returning from a bombing run near Kabul. Under Pentagon rules, the officer spoke on condition he not be identified. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said the first wave of strikes was designed to cripple Taliban antiaircraft weapons and aircraft, and create the conditions necessary for a more sustained campaign to root out the terrorists, which is expected to include covert or Special Forces action. "Our objective is to defeat those who use terrorism and those who house or support them," Rumsfeld said. In fact, Knight Ridder reported that Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, Oman and other Muslim nations agreed to support the U.S. action only after President Bush and his top aides assured them that the United States would not quit until bin Laden and his al-Qaida terrorist network are destroyed. One of Rumsfeld's missions during his trip to the region late last week was reassuring leaders in those nations that this time the United States isn't "short of breath," according to Knight Ridder's report, which cited two senior administration officials. Pentagon officials said U.S. aircraft were preparing to drop humanitarian assistance -- food and medical supplies -- into Afghanistan as part of the administration's campaign to divide the Taliban from the Afghan people. Officials said they also plan a leafleting campaign aimed at encouraging defections among the militia and information about bin Laden's network. The strikes came 26 days after 19 terrorists, using hijacked commercial airliners, destroyed the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York and smashed into the Pentagon, killing more than 5,000 people, delivering a severe blow to an already weakened U.S. economy and leaving many Americans fearful about a new round of terrorism. The strikes came two weeks after Bush issued an ultimatum to the Taliban and after the United States rejected a last-minute proposal by the Taliban to have bin Laden tried under Islamic law. Within hours of the first strikes Sunday, bin Laden was seen on a videotape, apparently made earlier, branding Bush as an "infidel," calling on Muslims to rise up against the United States and declaring the conflict had divided the world into two camps: "the side of believers and the side of infidels." In a defiant warning, bin Laden said, "Neither America nor the people who live in it will dream of security before we live it in Palestine, and not before all the infidel armies leave the land of Mohammed." The Taliban ambassador to Pakistan, Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef, accused the United States of launching "a terrorist act" against Afghanistan and vowed his government would fight "to the last breath." Zaeef told the Associated Press today that civilians had been killed in the strikes. But he would not say how many or where they occurred. The strikes drew swift support at home and among U.S. allies around the world. Canada, Australia, Germany and France pledged military forces for later phases of the campaign, and Bush said more than 40 countries were offering overflight and landing rights for allied aircraft and more still were sharing intelligence. "We are supported by the collective will of the world," he said. The bipartisan leadership of Congress -- House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., House Minority leader Dick Gephardt, D-Mo., Senate Majority leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., and Senate Minority leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., issued a rare joint statement saying, "We stand united with the president and with our troops, and will continue to work together to do what is necessary to bring justice to these terrorists and those who harbor them." British Prime Minister Tony Blair, the most visible and staunchest ally of the United States since the Sept. 11 attacks, described the opening of the military campaign as "a moment of the utmost gravity for the world," but said the United States and its allies had no choice but to respond. Blair again said that there is "no doubt in my mind" that bin Laden was responsible for terrorist attacks and that, by refusing to heed Bush's ultimatum, the Taliban was equally culpable. "They were given the choice of siding with justice or siding with terror and they chose to side with terror," he said. About an hour before the strikes, Bush called French President Jacques Chirac, Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and Russian President Vladimir Putin to say that action was "imminent." U.S. officials also alerted the Northern Alliance, the principal opposition group to the Taliban. Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of State Colin Powell called foreign leaders as the administration continued to press its campaign to hold together an international coalition now that the military response has begun. Powell will visit Pakistan and India later this week. Bush alerted congressional leaders Saturday night that he had given the order to the Pentagon to launch the strikes. Bush returned to the White House on Sunday morning after spending the weekend at Camp David and attending a memorial service for firefighters. In his radio address on Saturday he had warned the Taliban that "time is running out." That declaration came after a final round of diplomatic and military preparation, including a Rumsfeld trip to five countries in the region that produced pledges of cooperation, and a mission by Blair to Russia, Pakistan and India. In Islamabad on Friday, Blair gave Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf a 48-hour heads-up on the planned attacks. Bush appeared on television shortly after broadcast networks announced that airstrikes were under way. He said the strikes were aimed at destroying the camps and disrupting the communications that allow the terrorists to recruit new members and coordinate activities. He said the Taliban "will pay a price" for continuing to protect bin Laden. Bush said that, while the strikes initially might drive the terrorists deeper into caves and other entrenched hiding places, the campaign eventually would force them into the open. He warned that victory will not come quickly and urged Americans to have the patience to persevere. In addition to the FBI order, the State Department issued a "worldwide caution" to travelers and shut down the U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia. The Coast Guard ordered round-the-clock surveillance of more than 300 ports. The Federal Emergency Management Agency said it planned to raise its state of readiness to respond to possible terrorist activity. The Federal Aviation Administration was alerted in advance of the military strikes but did not order additional security measures at facilities already operating under strict new procedures. Still many airports added more police and National Guard in terminals. The White House announced that Cheney had been moved to an undisclosed location as a security precaution.
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