U.S. prepares to hunt terrorists

WASHINGTON -- The American commander of the war in Afghanistan is assembling a mix of ground forces and air power to fit the most difficult and dangerous phase of the military campaign: rooting out Taliban and al-Qaida terrorist leaders from caves, tunnels and other fortified hideouts.

No decision has been made to commit U.S. ground troops to the mission, but Gen. Tommy Franks has made clear he will move forces closer to the key targets in case opposition forces cannot finish the job.

About 1,000 Marines are now established at a remote airfield in southern Afghanistan, and nearly 100 regular Army troops from the 10th Mountain Division have moved into northern areas.

In addition to about two dozen 10th Mountain soldiers posted at an airfield near Mazar-e-Sharif, there are as many as 75 from the same division at Bagram airport north of Kabul, the Afghan capital, officials said. Both groups are acting as a "rapid reaction force" to protect U.S. interests.

Pentagon officials said Thursday that Franks is considering sending additional attack planes to the region, while at least two airfields in northern Afghanistan are being repaired for possible U.S. use.

The Associated Press reported, quoting an unnamed senior defense official, that the government of Kyrgyzstan has given Franks conditional approval to base U.S. aircraft at an air base in that former Soviet republic, which lies to the north of Afghanistan and Tajikistan.

Franks must provide details, such as the numbers and kinds of aircraft, and the expected length of their deployment, before Kyrgyzstan will give final approval. The unnamed official told the AP that Franks has not decided those details and has yet to make a formal request.

Most of the U.S. planes attacking targets in Afghanistan are flying from aircraft carriers in the Arabian Sea or from land bases in the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean. Some Air Force special operations helicopters are based in Uzbekistan. Small numbers of U.S. forces are in Pakistan.

With only small pockets of Taliban resistance remaining in northern Afghanistan, the focus is on Kandahar, the southern city that gave birth to the Taliban militia movement. Franks wants to tighten the squeeze on Kandahar with selective U.S. bombing and growing pressure from anti-Taliban forces. The chief leadership target there is Mullah Mohammed Omar, the Taliban supreme leader.

U.S. special operations forces are working with opposition commanders in the south in an effort to improve the coordination of their attacks, which so far have made little progress against the Taliban in Kandahar, officials said Thursday.

Rear Adm. John Stufflebeem said the Taliban military is now "fractured," with little capability to coordinate or communicate. While some are fleeing or laying down their arms, others are digging in for a long fight, he said.

The southern opposition groups are in active negotiations with the Taliban for control of the city, he said.

If Kandahar falls, as appears likely, Franks will have further limited the territory on which his No. 1 prey, terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden, can hide. Franks will have more options for intensifying the search in the cave complexes near Jalalabad, in eastern Afghanistan, where some think bin Laden is holed up.

At this point, Franks is hoping that $25-million in reward money offered by the U.S. government for information leading to the capture of bin Laden and his top lieutenants will enable Afghan opposition forces to finish off al-Qaida. If not, U.S. ground forces might have to go after them.

© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright