|
U.S. Special Forces in Afghanistan
Since Two Weeks
WASHINGTON, Sept 28 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Special operations forces from the United States arrived in Afghanistan just two days after the September 11th terror attacks to search for Osama bin Laden, a
USATODAY article reported Friday.
Senior U.S. and Pakistani officials confirmed privately - not officially - the presence of U.S. commando teams inside Afghanistan, whose arrival two weeks ago was reported by English- and Urdu-language newspapers, the article said.
The officials said that the three-to-five member teams have been told to capture, kill or pin down bin Laden until more U.S. forces can be brought to the area.
CNN also reported receiving information from an unnamed George W. Bush administration official that special operations in Afghanistan were part of routine special forces deployment. However, the official declined to comment on Pakistani newspaper reports that the forces were searching for bin Laden, CNN said.
The official said that the operations were "intelligence or reconnaissance-related," and that the forces might be scouting terrain for landing sites or air strike targets, CNN reported.
USATODAY said the Pentagon declined to comment officially on the matter, quoting spokesman Rear Adm. Craig Quigley as saying on Thursday, "I will not be able to provide any information on operational matters."
Later, Bush on Friday said the United States was in "hot pursuit" of those he blames for the terror strikes and ruled out diplomacy as a way to get the Taliban to turn them over, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
"Make no mistake about it: we're in hot pursuit," he said, as the White House continued to declined confirming news reports that small teams of U.S. special forces were searching in Afghanistan for bin Laden.
"There is no negotiation with the Taliban," the president said as the Islamic militia stood fast by its refusal to hand over the Saudi-born dissident. "They heard what I said, and now they can act," he added.
Pakistan Foreign Ministry spokesman Riaz Mohammad Khan also would not comment on U.S. troops that may have landed in Pakistan and moved into Afghanistan from there,
USATODAY said, adding that Khan said that there are currently no U.S. forces on the ground in Pakistan.
According to the article, Pentagon officials and Pakistani military officials said that forces from the U.S. Army and Air Force, and units from the 82nd and 101st Airborne divisions, landed in Peshawar and Quetta on September 13th, setting up a command center in the area "to coordinate activities".
The officials said that the teams then deployed into Afghanistan's mountainous region with Blackhawk MH-60K helicopters backing them, and have been searching underground in caves and bunkers near Kandahar in southwest Afghanistan, where bin Laden has been known to operate from, the article continued.
The U.S. has been deploying aircraft, including B-52 bombers, to undisclosed positions in the region during the past two weeks in preparation for possible strikes against bin Laden - Washington's prime suspect in the September 11th terror attacks on New York and Washington - and against the ruling Taliban militia protecting him.
The extent of Pakistan's cooperation with the U.S. on possible military strikes in Afghanistan is still being worked out. Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf has promised "unstinted cooperation" with any U.S. action aimed at hitting back at bin Laden.
But exactly how far Islamabad will go in facilitating a U.S. operation against bin Laden's bases or Afghanistan's ruling Taliban militia remains an open and highly sensitive question.
In particular, the landing of U.S. troops on Pakistani territory would be seen as a high-risk move with the potential to split the country, and its military elite.
An embassy spokesman said the high-level Pentagon team had arrived late Sunday but would not give any details of whom they would be meeting or how long they intended to stay.
"It is a consultation visit," he said. "They are here to do consulting and there is no time limit on it. When they have done what they have to do they will leave."
Musharraf last week said Washington had requested the use of Pakistani airspace, logistical support and intelligence for any military action.
Logistical support could involve the use of Pakistan's ports to deliver fuel and other supplies in the event of U.S. troops being deployed in land-locked Afghanistan.
Pakistani officials insist no specific request has been made for the use of bases in Pakistan or for U.S. troops to be stationed in the country. Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar said Sunday there were no U.S. troops in Pakistan.
Sattar said Pakistan would be in a position to decide the extent of its cooperation once the United States revealed the details of its strategy.
But he conceded Pakistan was "running short of time because U.S. President George W. Bush has declared that the time for negotiations is over."
"We have our limitations with regard to providing assistance to the U.S. but it would only be determined when we are aware of the U.S.'s operational plans," he said.
|
