From: "Macdonald Stainsby" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Tue, 30 Oct 2001 15:37:51 -0800 To: "Rad Green" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, "Leninist International" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [L-I] Rumsfeld Confirms American Troops AP. 30 October 2001. Rumsfeld Confirms American Troops Are Operating in Northern Afghanistan. WASHINGTON -- The Pentagon confirmed the presence of American troops in northern Afghanistan for the first time Tuesday and credited them with improving the effectiveness of U.S. bombing raids. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, who previously had refused to disclose such details, told a Pentagon news conference a "very modest" number of U.S. troops are advising forces opposed to the Taliban, coordinating resupply and helping direct U.S. airstrikes on Taliban targets. Rumsfeld did not say which U.S. troops are in Afghanistan or how long they have been there, but from his description of their missions it seemed likely they include Army Special Forces, commonly called Green Berets. He said fewer than 100 are in Afghanistan. A reporter at the press conference quoted critics who have called the U.S. military effort in Afghanistan halfhearted and misguided in its reluctance to commit ground troops. "We do have a very modest number of ground troops in the country," Rumsfeld said. "They are there for liaison purposes and have been doing an excellent job of assisting with the coordination for resupply of various types, as well as targeting." [N.B.] He said President Bush has not ruled out committing ground troops in numbers comparable to the 1991 Gulf War, when hundreds of thousands were deployed. The Bush administration has come under increasing criticism in recent days for not doing more to destroy the Taliban militia and assist the loose alliance of opposition forces in the north. That alliance, with modest U.S. help, is hoping to win control of the crossroads city of Mazar-e-Sharif. On the 24th day of the air campaign, British Defense Minister Geoffrey Hoon consulted with Rumsfeld at the Pentagon and told a joint news conference it would not be wise, from a military standpoint, to halt or limit the aerial bombardment during Ramadan, the Islamic holy month. "It wouldn't make military sense to announce upfront what our intentions were during that period," Hoon said. "It certainly wouldn't make military sense to afford the Taliban regime, which has been under very considerable pressure in recent times, the opportunity of regrouping, reorganizing during a predictable period of time." Rumsfeld expressed a similar view Monday, although President Bush has not announced his intentions. Rear Adm. John Stufflebeem told reporters that having U.S. troops on the ground in Afghanistan added a new dimension to the war. "We are taking an element of risk in putting combat forces on the ground, but it's a measured risk," Stufflebeem said. "It's a risk that is part of a plan." ------------------------------------------- Macdonald Stainsby Rad-Green List: Radical anti-capitalist environmental discussion. http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/rad-green ---- Leninist-International: Building bridges in the tradition of V.I. Lenin. http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/leninist-international ---- In the contradiction lies the hope. --Bertholt Brecht _________________________________________________ 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] __________________________________________________
