US continues bombing for second day, with
initial indications of success
By Andrew Koch, Washington Bureau Chief, Jane's Defence Weekly,
with additional reporting by Kim Burger, US Staff reporter, JDW
;)
US forces continued bombing targets associated
with the Taliban and Al-Qaeda terrorist network for a second consecutive day on
8 October -- a strategy that is likely to be conducted for a few more days,
according to US defence officials.
The second day's attacks, said General Richard Myers, US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, were smaller than the initial strikes. They involved 10 US B-1 and B-2 bombers -- the later flying out of Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri -- as well as 10 carrier-based strike aircraft. US ships also fired Tomahawk land-attack cruise missiles, he added, although he did not disclose how many.
Like the previous day, targets included aircraft, early warning radars, surface-to-air missile systems, airports, runways, terrorist training camps, military command and control centres, ground forces and other Al-Qaeda and Taliban sites. The US and UK had struck 31 such targets as of late 7 October, said Gen Myers, while British Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon had earlier mentioned 30 targets hit by that point: three in Kabul, four in other populated areas and 23 in remote regions. A US defence official told Jane's Defence Weekly that among the targets was a small barracks-like facility near Mazer-e-Sharif containing tanks and other ground systems as well as Taliban and Al-Qaeda personnel.
Gen Myers said the US was "generally pleased with early results" from bomb damage assessments of those attacks, with US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld adding that the strikes had "made progress toward eliminating the air defence sites" and airfields in Taliban-controlled regions of Afghanistan.
The US warned the UN Security Council on 7 October, however, that the war on terrorism could necessitate attacks beyond the territory of Afghanistan. "I don't believe that this is going to be dealt with by a cruise missile or a bomber," Rumsfeld had said earlier in the day. "Realistically, we have to expect that it could take some years" to end the campaign against terrorism, he added.
The air attacks, however, are not likely to be a long sustained effort, he noted, because there are "very few targets of high value that are manageable from the air". Rather, he said, an important aspect of the campaign will be psychological operations (Psyops) and other efforts to win 'hearts and minds', noting that such efforts "have to be" an increasingly important aspect of the warfighting campaign. These efforts include humanitarian assistance -- with food drops over Afghanistan continuing on 8 October -- as well as Pysops and other information campaigns such as radio broadcasts of the Voice of America.
The US, Rumsfeld said, is "working with the elements on the ground that are interested in overthrowing and expelling" segments of the Taliban linked to, and supportive of, Al-Qaeda. US defence officials said that after the initial bombing campaign, the Pentagon would wait to see what effects the strikes had on the ground before deciding on the next course of action.
In preparation for any future moves, UK Royal Air Force tanker and reconnaissance aircraft are being deployed to the region but not strike aircraft at this point, according to UK Chief of Defence Staff Admiral Sir Michael Boyce.
By Andrew Koch, Washington Bureau Chief, Jane's Defence Weekly,
with additional reporting by Kim Burger, US Staff reporter, JDW
The second day's attacks, said General Richard Myers, US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, were smaller than the initial strikes. They involved 10 US B-1 and B-2 bombers -- the later flying out of Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri -- as well as 10 carrier-based strike aircraft. US ships also fired Tomahawk land-attack cruise missiles, he added, although he did not disclose how many.
Like the previous day, targets included aircraft, early warning radars, surface-to-air missile systems, airports, runways, terrorist training camps, military command and control centres, ground forces and other Al-Qaeda and Taliban sites. The US and UK had struck 31 such targets as of late 7 October, said Gen Myers, while British Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon had earlier mentioned 30 targets hit by that point: three in Kabul, four in other populated areas and 23 in remote regions. A US defence official told Jane's Defence Weekly that among the targets was a small barracks-like facility near Mazer-e-Sharif containing tanks and other ground systems as well as Taliban and Al-Qaeda personnel.
Gen Myers said the US was "generally pleased with early results" from bomb damage assessments of those attacks, with US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld adding that the strikes had "made progress toward eliminating the air defence sites" and airfields in Taliban-controlled regions of Afghanistan.
The US warned the UN Security Council on 7 October, however, that the war on terrorism could necessitate attacks beyond the territory of Afghanistan. "I don't believe that this is going to be dealt with by a cruise missile or a bomber," Rumsfeld had said earlier in the day. "Realistically, we have to expect that it could take some years" to end the campaign against terrorism, he added.
The air attacks, however, are not likely to be a long sustained effort, he noted, because there are "very few targets of high value that are manageable from the air". Rather, he said, an important aspect of the campaign will be psychological operations (Psyops) and other efforts to win 'hearts and minds', noting that such efforts "have to be" an increasingly important aspect of the warfighting campaign. These efforts include humanitarian assistance -- with food drops over Afghanistan continuing on 8 October -- as well as Pysops and other information campaigns such as radio broadcasts of the Voice of America.
The US, Rumsfeld said, is "working with the elements on the ground that are interested in overthrowing and expelling" segments of the Taliban linked to, and supportive of, Al-Qaeda. US defence officials said that after the initial bombing campaign, the Pentagon would wait to see what effects the strikes had on the ground before deciding on the next course of action.
In preparation for any future moves, UK Royal Air Force tanker and reconnaissance aircraft are being deployed to the region but not strike aircraft at this point, according to UK Chief of Defence Staff Admiral Sir Michael Boyce.
| An F/A-18C Hornet launches from the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson to strike al-Qaeda and Taliban military targets in Afghanistan on 7 October. Bomb damage assessments have been generally positive (Photo: USN) |
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