Washington | Monday
THE US and British air strikes are only the opening shot of a sustained military campaign aimed at ousting Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers and destroying terror networks operating in the country, US defence officials said.
Acting first to seize command of the skies, US and British forces hit airfields, air defence sites and command centres as well as bases used by prime terror suspect Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda network, officials said.
”We need the freedom to operate on the ground and in the air,” said US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. ”And the target selected, if successfully destroyed, should permit an increasing degree of freedom over time.”
Rumsfeld made clear that the broader goal was to topple the Taliban and destroy the terrorist networks under their protection, but stressed these goals would not be achieved instantly.
”The fact is, in this battle against terrorism there is no silver bullet,” he said.
”Ultimately, they’re going to collapse from within, and they’re going to collapse from within because of the full combination of all of the resources from all of the countries that are brought to bear on these networks. And that is what will constitute victory,” he said.
Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Richard Myers, for his part, made clear the air strikes might not the only operations underway in Afghanistan.
”I want to remind you that while today’s operations are visible, many other operations may not be so visible,” he said. ”But visible or not, our friends and enemies should understand that all instruments of our national power as well as those of our friends and allies around the world are being brought to bear on this global menace.”
The campaign launched on Sunday will be conducted in phases over a period of time with air strikes clearing the way for ground operations by Afghan opposition forces as well as US special forces.
Even as explosions were lighting the skies over Kabul in televised scenes reminiscent of the opening days of the 1991 Gulf War, a parallel operation was set into motion to win the ”hearts and minds” of Afghans.
Two US Air Force C-17 transport planes were on their way to drop pallets of high protein food rations from high altitudes to refugees inside Afghanistan, military officials said. Leaflets were to be dropped with the food, a Pentagon official said.
Special forces EC-130 ”commando solo” aircraft designed for psychological operations made broadcasts with a variety of messages, including warnings not to harbour terrorists, officials said.
Osama bin Laden, the Saudi-born exile alleged to have masterminded the September 11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, was not targeted in the raids, Rumsfeld said.
Instead, the Pentagon is directing military action at their sources of support within the country, notably the Taliban itself.
”It’s going to be shake and bake until we smoke them out,” said one defence official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Officials said to expect air strikes lasting at least several days, before US and British forces move on to other phases of the campaign.
Operation ”Enduring Freedom” began with an opening salvo of about 50 Tomahawk cruise missiles fired from four US warships and two submarines — one British and the other American, a Pentagon official said.
They were followed by waves of attacking aircraft, he said.
Fifteen long-range bombers, including B-2 stealth bombers, B-1 Lancers and B-52 Stratofortresses, dropped mainly precision weapons but also some conventional bombs, military officials said.
Twenty-five F/A-18 and F-14 fighters from the aircraft carriers USS Enterprise and USS Carl Vinson also took part in the raids, they said.
The B-2 bombers flew strikes from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, and then refuelled at a base in the region, they said.
The bombers carry satellite-guided glide bombs, although the B-52 bomber also can fire air-launched cruise missiles.
Rumsfeld said it was too early to tell whether the strikes were successful.
He said no aircraft were reported shot down or damaged in the raids.
Afghanistan’s air defences are not much of a match for US and British aircraft.
The Taliban is reported to have a couple of dozen old Soviet-made MiG-21s. It has a small number of Soviet-made SA-2 surface-to-air missile launchers, shoulder fired SA-7 and SA-14 surface-to-air missiles, and man-portable Stinger missiles that were supplied by the CIA to Afghan rebels fighting the Soviet occupations forces in the 1980s.
Anti-aircraft artillery also pose a threat to US and British aircraft. – Sapa-AFP