From: Francisco Javier Bernal <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Fw: [jamahiri] US Preparing To Bomb Somalia [WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK] HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --------------------------- > U.S. plans long-term war strategy > > October 17 U.S. military planners are preparing to > extend the bombing campaign beyond Afghanistan. NBCs > Jim Miklaszewski reports. > > Oct. 18 Despite appeals from aid agencies for > a break to get badly needed food into Afghanistan, > U.S. warplanes saw fresh action Thursday, and U.S. > officials told NBC News that the bombing is likely to > continue through mid-November. NBC News has also > learned that military planners are already drawing up > a list of potential targets for action outside > Afghanistan, beginning with terrorist camps in > Somalia. > > THE ACKNOWLEDGMENT of mid-November as a cutoff > point for U.S. bomber and missile strikes is the first > public indication that military planners have > established a specific timetable for the air campaign > in Afghanistan. > > Opposition to the U.S. air attacks, already > strong in Arab and Persian Gulf states, would likely > intensify should the military campaign continue into > Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting, which begins > Nov. 17 in Afghanistan and almost all of the United > States. > > U.S. officials have previously demonstrated > their awareness of Muslim sensitivities, proclaiming > repeatedly that the anti-terrorism campaign was > directed at the operations of bin Laden and other > terrorists, not the religion of Islam. They said they > scaled back their assault on Afghanistan for several > hours over the weekend in recognition of the Muslim > day of prayer. > > Meanwhile, President Bush said current U.S. > airstrikes were paving the way for friendly troops on > the ground to defeat Afghanistans Taliban militia > and root out terror cells. > > The presidents statement, made to a business > group in California, was the clearest indication yet > that the United States was looking to the Northern > Alliance, a loosely-gathered coalition of opposition > forces, to help overthrow the Taliban. That was > bolstered in comments by a senior administration > official, reported Thursday by The New York Times, > that the president was indeed referring to rebel > troops and not U.S. or British forces. > > At the same time, military planners were also > looking beyond Afghanistan. NBC News defense > correspondent Jim Miklaszewski reported Wednesday > night from Washington that all major U.S. commanders > had been given orders for the first time to draw up > battle plans for potential assaults in other countries > on bases of Osama bin Ladens al-Qaida network. > > Sources told NBC on condition of anonymity that > military planners were drawing up a list of potential > targets elsewhere, beginning with suspected terrorist > camps in Somalia. > > Bin Laden, the exiled Saudi millionaire accused > of masterminding the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and > Washington, has said that his followers were > responsible for the deaths of 18 U.S. servicemen on a > humanitarian mission in Mogadishu, the Somali capital, > in October 1993. > > In Afghanistan, U.S. forces kept up their > intense bombardment, embarking on a 12th straight day > of bombing by rocking the southern city of Kandahar, > the power base of the Talibans supreme leader, Mullah > Mohammed Omar, with a series of powerful explosions, > witnesses said. > > Sources close to the Taliban have said leaders > and officials were in hiding or were moving rapidly > from place to place to evade the strikes. > > As we target [Taliban air defenses], their > ability to respond is falling away, Rear Adm. John > Stufflebeem said in a briefing for reporters Wednesday > at the Pentagon. > > The success of the 10 previous days of bombing > and missile strikes had given U.S. forces access to > [targets] that we might not have with an air defense > that weve now taken out, said Stufflebeem. We are > now forcing the targets out to attack. ... As we go > along in this campaign, more targets will emerge. > > Most of the focus was on targeting what > Stufflebeem called Taliban elements that protect > al-Qaida. > > More than 40,000 U.S. troops and almost 400 > aircraft have taken part in strikes so far, targeting > about 2,000 bombs and missiles at Afghanistan, most of > them around three cities: Kandahar, Kabul and > Jalalabad, an eastern city on the trade route to > Pakistan near which bin Laden is thought to have > operated training camps. > > OPPOSITION FORCES BEAR DOWN > > Meanwhile, Taliban fighters and Northern > Alliance forces were battling for the strategic > northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif, which U.S. officials > say is a critical supply crossroads. > > The city sits near the Uzbekistan border on the > edge of a large contested region. In recent days, the > alliance has pushed its way from its base in the > jagged mountains of the far northeast toward > Mazar-e-Sharif, hoping that capture of the city would > allow a trade route to reopen across the border. > > Stufflebeem would not confirm that U.S. forces > were directly supporting the rebels by targeting > Taliban defenses in Mazar-e-Sharif. But he indicated > that many U.S. missions would benefit the opposition. > > We are continuing to support our campaign > objectives, and where those cross with that of the > Northern Alliance, then we obviously have a mutual > benefit, he said. > > The U.S. military also has dropped thousands of > humanitarian aid packets nearby, indicating its > confidence in the regions strategic value. > > Battles were pitched, according to reports > Thursday. Reinforced with 1,000 fighters and numerous > pieces of heavy artillery, the Taliban launched a > fierce counteroffensive that put rebel forces on the > defensive, The Washington Post reported in its > Thursday editions. > > Stufflebeem himself acknowledged the battle was > ebbing and flowing between the two sides, with much > of the fighting centered around the citys airport. > > U.S. military officials continued to increase > use of their arsenal Wednesday, telling NBC News that > F-15E Strike Eagles stationed in Kuwait had joined in > flying missions, the first time land-based > fighter-bombers had been used. > > The F-15E, an all-weather tactical fighter > designed for aerial combat, can carry 5,000-pound > GBU-28 bombs known as bunker busters, the firepower > of which Pentagon officials have trumpeted in recent > weeks. The F-15E uses a mix of precision-guided > ordnance, however, and officials told NBC News that > they might not have carried GBU-28s in their first > missions Wednesday. > > U.S. military planners have been careful to > step up their firepower in phases; they withheld > Special Operations forces until this week, when > powerful AC-130 Spectre gunships began bombing over > Kandahar. U.S. officials told NBC News that AC-130s > were used again Wednesday. > > The U.S. military presence at home also > continued to grow as the Pentagon announced Wednesday > that 700 members of the Navy reserve, most of them in > law enforcement and security, were being activated. > > The call-up brought the total activation of > reserve and National Guard forces to 30,087 since the > Sept. 11 attacks, more than 60 percent of the force > authorized under an order Bush signed last month. > > U.S. DISPUTES IMPACT ON AID > > Meanwhile, private aid groups appealed > Wednesday for a pause in the U.S.-led bombing to allow > urgent food deliveries for the winter. > > Two million Afghans need donated food to help > them get through the winter, and 500,000 of them will > be cut off by snow if aid does not reach them by > mid-November, the aid groups said. > > On Tuesday, a U.S. bomb hit a warehouse in > Kabul belonging to the International Committee of the > Red Cross, angering relief organizations. A security > guard was injured and two warehouses containing wheat, > medicine and other supplies were set afire. > > U.S. officials, while acknowledging the > concerns, said they were not responsible for the > agencies difficulties. It is the Taliban that has > made life very, very difficult, said Defense > Department spokeswoman Torie Clarke, who accused > Taliban forces of harassing and hindering aid > agencies. > _________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki Phone +358-40-7177941 Fax +358-9-7591081 http://www.kominf.pp.fi General class struggle news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe mails to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Geopolitical news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __________________________________________________
