Attacks in Afghanistan Underway

Thunderous explosions and the rattle of anti-aircraft fire were heard Sunday night in the Afghan capital Kabul, as the United States launched military retaliation in Afghanistan. Electricity was shut off throughout the city. U.S. and British warplanes and sea-launched missiles struck at air defenses, air bases, communications and training camps of the al-Qaida network in Afghanistan on Sunday to begin what U.S. military leaders called a sustained anti-terror campaign.

"Our objective is to defeat those who use terrorism and those who house or support them," Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld told a Pentagon news conference about two hours after the attacks began.

Along with the strikes against air defenses of Afghanistan's Taliban rulers and their small fleet of warplanes, U.S. Air Force C-17 cargo planes began dropping food and medical supplies inside Afghanistan as part of President Bush's promised effort to aid displaced Afghan civilians.

Rumsfeld said 37,500 sets of rations were to be dropped in an initial wave Sunday in the beginning stage of a humanitarian operation that might eventually include moving relief supplies by ground.

The defense secretary said less visible operations also were part of the U.S.-led campaign in Afghanistan – an apparent reference to efforts by U.S. special operations forces to track down al-Qaida and Taliban leaders and to collect new information on targets that could be struck in coming days.

Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said at the news conference with Rumsfeld that 15 land-based bombers – including B-2 Stealth bombers flying from Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo. – and 25 other strike aircraft flying from both aircraft carriers and land bases began the attack at 12:30 p.m. EDT – darkness in Afghanistan. He termed the strike "the early stages of ongoing combat operations" against the Taliban and the al-Qaida network.

Also participating in the initial wave of attacks were American and British ships and submarines that launched a total of 50 Tomahawk cruise missiles from positions in the Arabian Sea, officials said.

Rumsfeld said it was too early to judge the success of the mission. He said there was no indication that any American plane had been damaged.

The defense secretary said the military campaign "is continuous" but he declined to say how long it would last.

Myers, sworn into office less than a week ago, said the U.S. aircraft used in the initial wave of attacks included Air Force B-1 Lancers, B-2s and B-52 long-range bombers as well as unspecified carrier-based strike aircraft. The B-2s flew from Whiteman, but they will remain in the Southwest Asia region, another official said, suggesting they might operate from Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.

Rumsfeld said an initial goal of the strikes was to render air defenses ineffective and to wipe out the military aircraft of the Taliban, who rule most of Afghanistan. The Taliban are known to have a small inventory of surface-to-air missiles as well as shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles and anti-aircraft artillery guns.

"We also seek to raise the cost of doing business for foreign terrorists who have chosen Afghanistan from which to organize their activities, and for the oppressive Taliban regime that continues to tolerate terrorist presence in those portions of Afghanistan which they control," Rumsfeld said.

He said the U.S.-led military effort was focused on achieving several goals:

"To make clear to the Taliban leaders and their supporters that harboring terrorists is unacceptable and carries a price."

To acquire intelligence that will assist planning for future attacks against al-Qaida and the Taliban.

To develop relationships with groups in Afghanistan that oppose the Taliban and al-Qaida.

To make it increasingly difficult for al-Qaida to use Afghanistan freely as a base of operation.

To "alter the military balance over time" by denying to the Taliban the weapons they now use in fighting various opposition forces, including the northern alliance and tribes in the south of Afghanistan.

To provide humanitarian relief to Afghans suffering under the Taliban.

(Copyright 2001 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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Author: 6 ABC - Action News