US forces told, take no prisoners
[Note from PB. Proof that the press can sensationalize a topic. Rumsfield did not say what the headline implies. geez read what he actually said below... Mind you getting "killed or taken prisoner by N/A" does mean "be killed" for al-Qaida members imho.]
The US will "take no prisoners" in its fight with Taliban forces and al-Qaida in Afghanistan.
Donald Rumsfeld, the US defence secretary, says small numbers of American special forces are unable to accommodate prisoners.
He said the US is not looking to negotiate peace with Taliban forces who want to give up fighting in the besieged norther city of Kunduz.
"The United States is not inclined to negotiate surrenders, nor are we in a position, with relatively small numbers of forces on the ground, to accept prisoners," he said.
Mr Rumsfeld said al-Qaida mercenaries trapped in the city would not be allowed to escape to another country.
Up to 30,000 troops, including 10,000 foreign fighters, are encircled in Konduz, the last outpost of Taliban resistance in the north of Afghanistan.
Mr Rumsfeld said: "Any idea that those people in that town who have been fighting so viciously and who refuse to surrender should end up in some sort of a negotiation which would allow them to leave the country and go off and destabilise other countries and engage in terrorist attacks on the United States is something that I would certainly do everything I could to prevent. They're people who have done terrible things.
"The idea of their getting out of the country and going off to make their mischief somewhere else is not a happy prospect. So my hope is that they will either be killed or taken prisoner (by the Northern Alliance)."
Mr Rumsfeld would not say if US forces would pursue al-Qaida over borders, but added: "We might have an early, intensive consultation with the neighbours."
He also ruled out the possibility of Mullah Omar being allowed to find a safe exit from Kandahar, stating: "Would I knowingly let him get out of Kandahar? No I would not." |
