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Gen. Franks: Cities not priority in war
©Washington Post, TASHKENT, Uzbekistan -- The commander of the U.S. military campaign in Afghanistan said the capture of key cities in the country is not the top U.S. priority, even as Afghanistan opposition groups say they are launching a drive to seize Kabul and Mazar-e-Sharif. Gen. Tommy Franks insisted the war is "on timetable." But he suggested American forces have different goals than the Afghanistan rebel groups, who have complained the United States is withholding the firepower needed to help them advance. "We have discussed whether it would in fact support our campaign objectives to move toward a variety of places. And we have taken a decision that says we will remain focused on our objectives, and we will retain the initiative rather than providing specific focus on a specific area," Franks said in a news conference here. Such territorial objectives "would be a lot like previous wars, but not much like this one," he said. Franks spoke to reporters near the end of an eight-nation trip to meet leaders of countries in the region cooperating with the U.S. effort in Afghanistan. He spoke glowingly of that cooperation, but he declined to describe the issues discussed and refused to acknowledge any disagreements. On the appeal made by Pakistan's president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, to pause for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and end the bombing soon, for example, Franks said, "It would be wholly unrealistic to expect that I'm going to describe the conduct of our future operations." He also made clear that the blackout imposed by the Pentagon on information about U.S. troops now in Uzbekistan is to avoid offending Uzbekistan's political sensitivities. He declined to say how many American troops are on Uzbekistan soil, saying, "I believe that should be the prerogative of the leadership of this country." Uzbekistan, a Muslim country with an authoritarian government, has asked the Americans not to allow press coverage of the U.S. troops here, according to Rear Adm. Craig Quigley, deputy assistant secretary of defense, who is traveling with Franks. Franks' public comments continued the upbeat assessment of the war being offered by the Pentagon, despite the failure after three weeks of bombing to seize any significant territory from the Taliban and signs that the Taliban are tougher and stronger than expected. "Of course I don't believe this operation is at a stalemate," he said in response to a question. "We want this operation to be measured. We want this operation to be mature. We want this operation to focus on targets. We want to conduct this operation on our timeline. I think we are on that timeline."
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From the Times wire desk
From the AP |
