Some in Northern Alliance wary, but many people in Kabul welcome Marines' arrival
Wednesday, November 21, 2001
By Jon R. Anderson, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Thursday, November 22, 2001
Jon R. Anderson / S&S
Holding a tattered newspaper picture of Osama bin Laden, this date seller in Kabul, Afghanistan, says the U.S. should do whatever it takes to come in and get the suspected terrorist mastermind.
KABUL, Afghanistan — A small contingent of Marines has landed in Afghanistan.
And although Northern Alliance officials appear split over whether more U.S. troops should enter the war-devastated country, most Afghans appear eager to welcome the reinforcements.
The Pentagon announced Tuesday that it was preparing to send in as many as 1,600 Marines aboard the Peleliu Marine Amphibious Ready Group now in the Arabian Sea off Pakistan. The troops are part of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, based at Camp Lejeune, N.C.
Their mission, say Pentagon officials, will be to provide the heavy ground-combat muscle lacking among the lightly armed special operations teams already scattered throughout the country.
The Northern Alliance, which seized control of Kabul last week as the ruling Taliban government crumbled under the weight of a monthlong U.S. air campaign, is not offering unanimous support for the idea.
"I don’t think it’s going to happen," said Hashmatullah Moslih, a spokesman for the Northern Alliance’s foreign ministry. "It’s not acceptable. We have not asked for any military personnel to enter Afghanistan."
A representative for the alliance’s security ministry, however, said any additional U.S. military forces would be welcomed. Welcomed, he added, as long as their only mission is to hunt down terrorist leader Osama bin Laden.
"It is a very good idea," said Omar, who like many in Afghanistan has only one name. "We hope this can be done quickly, but the important thing is that they get bin Laden."
Omar acknowledged, however, that any large U.S. troop presence in Afghanistan could pose problems. Pointing to anti-U.S. factions in Pakistan, for example, he said a propaganda campaign could be launched against the Northern Alliance for supporting another "occupation" force.
Those Afghans who supported the Soviets after the 1979 invasion of Afghanistan, for example, learned the hard way that most will not easily welcome foreign troops.
"Two months ago, there was a lot of disagreement over the idea of U.S. troops coming into Afghanistan," said Omar, "but now everyone is changing their minds."
Indeed, a small contingent of Marines has already been in Afghanistan’s capital city of Kabul for several days now, according to Northern Alliance officials.
About 85 troops have been based at the airport in the city of Bagram, outside Kabul, tasked with inspecting the long-vacant U.S. Embassy for mines and booby traps.
"That’s more than enough," said Moslih, a foreign ministry spokesman. "They are not here to fight."
He did, however, add that over the past several days there have been requests to increase the U.S. military size inside Afghanistan.
"Truly they have a desire to have more forces in Afghanistan," he said.
U.S. officials, apparently, are not the only ones.
In an impromptu poll at Kabul’s street-side food market, every person interviewed expressed support for U.S. forces coming into Afghanistan to go after bin Laden.
"This is very good news," said Mohammed Gul as he sold mostly blackened bananas hanging from his small wooden cart in Kabul’s dusty market. "They will bring peace to Afghanistan."
Bin Laden, he said, was "an enemy of the people of the world."
"They should kill him," said a date seller a short distance away as a setting sun cast long shadows over mud brick shanty huts on the hill above the market.
"Come on, come fast," added the owner of a spice stand, smiling widely under his graying beard. "The terrorist people must be kicked out of Afghanistan." |
