Barry Stoller <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [R-G] [anarchism] US frustrated: more cannon fodder on way AP (with additional material by Reuters). 1 November 2001. Rumsfeld Says More U.S. Special Forces Are 'cocked and Ready' to Infiltrate Afghanistan. WASHINGTON -- The United States is urgently working to land hundreds more clandestine warriors in Afghanistan to intensify pressure on the Taliban, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Thursday. Rumsfeld said the extra troops are crucial to U.S. efforts to improve the bombing campaign by pinpointing targets and coordinating with opposition forces. He mentioned no specific number but said he hoped for a three- or four-fold increase from the current number, which is between 100 and 200. He said the present number was "nowhere near as many as we need." Other officials have said the Pentagon is considering setting up a base inside Afghanistan from which such forces could operate. Rumsfeld revealed that one recent attempt to land U.S. special operations troops was called off after the helicopter-borne troops encountered ground fire, presumably from the Taliban militia. The Taliban control most of Afghanistan and are harboring Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaida network. "Ground fire was simply too heavy to unload the folks and so they went back and they'll try it again in a different landing area," Rumsfeld told reporters on the 26th day of U.S. air strikes against the Taliban and al Qaeda guerrillas. Rumsfeld did not mention helicopters at a Pentagon briefing, but other defense officials later told Reuters that helicopters carrying troops had aborted at least one mission because of sporadic fire from the ground. "They took some ground fire and choose to pull out rather than get someone (shot) down in an area where it would be difficult to help," said one of the officials, who asked not to be identified. "Remember, this is a fairly new situation (in Afghanistan), and we want to make sure we're on solid ground," the official added. Other landing teams have been thwarted by bad weather [!], Rumsfeld said. In response to criticism of the U.S. use of cluster munitions, which release bomblets over a wide area, Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said these were appropriate weapons even though they sometimes pose a threat to civilians who might encounter unexploded bomblets. Myers said it was unfortunate that the bomblets are the same color as the bright yellow packages of food rations that Air Force planes have been dropping for starving Afghan civilians. Out of concern that people could mistake bomblets for food packages, the Pentagon will change the color of the food packages to blue, he said. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Barry Stoller http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ProletarianNews with continuing coverage of WWIII _________________________________________________ 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] __________________________________________________
