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Politics : Idea Of The Day -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: TimF who wrote (40770)	9/28/2001 4:40:58 PM
From: Susan G	Respond to of 50167

U.S. official: Special forces in Afghan operations September 28, 2001 Posted: 3:33 PM EDT (1933 GMT) WASHINGTON (CNN) -- U.S. and British special forces have conducted operations in Afghanistan and the Central Asian region, a senior U.S. official told CNN on Friday. CNN Senior White House Correspondent John King reported that a senior U.S. official said the operations took place "in the region" and "in country," meaning Afghanistan. The Pentagon refused to comment. Top officials in Pakistan said they had not been informed of any U.S. operations. White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer also declined to confirm the report, saying that the war against terrorism will be waged both publicly and privately. "There are going to be elements of this war that everybody will know about, that people will be able to see and know about for themselves that will be publicly discussed," Fleischer said. "But it is also the nature of this first war against terrorism that there may be areas that people do not know about. And I'm just not going to go beyond that in discussing anything that is operational like that." Reports of special operations were first reported in the Pakistani press and in Friday's editions of USA Today. The senior official confirmed those reports to CNN. Special operations forces are trained in a variety of combat specialties. The official did not confirm reports that the forces were hunting suspected terrorist Osama bin Laden, cautioning that the United States has little information on bin Laden's whereabouts. "We have an intelligence deficit here," the official said. The official characterized the operations as part of routine special forces deployment that typically accompany U.S. troop deployments. Such operations would perform logistics tasks such as scouting locations. President Bush told reporters at the White House that conventional military force "may or may not" participate in the campaign against Afghanistan if the Taliban refuse to hand over bin Laden. "It is very hard to fight a guerrilla war with conventional forces, and we understand that," Bush said. "That is why we have explained to the American people that the new war on terrorism is going to be a different war." Bush repeated that U.S. officials would rely more on financial and intelligence efforts to track suspected terrorists and cut off their resources. 'Standard military stuff' Military experts told CNN they would be surprised if such operations were not happening. "They're doing exactly what special forces always do," said retired U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Donald Shepperd, a CNN military analyst. "They're there behind the scenes establishing the locations of people and things that will be used later. ... This is standard military stuff." British special operations forces include the Special Air Service. Shepperd said the British have more experience at special operations, but the U.S. military has been bolstering its forces. "In the last 10 years, they have really been hard at work getting ready for this type of thing," Shepperd said. U.S. special operations units include Navy SEALs, Army Rangers, Army Special Forces known as Green Berets, Air Force Special Operations and the ultra-secret Delta Force, of which the Pentagon does not even acknowledge its existence. "They're there quietly, unseen, behind the scenes, establishing locations of people and things that will be used in military campaigns later," Shepperd said. "They don't get a lot of credit for this. We don't talk a lot about it, but they're always part of any military operation." Specialized units Special operations forces share many of the same combat skills; each unit also maintains its own specialty, which may be useful in this new war on terrorism. For example, if the United States works with opposition groups such as the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance, the Green Berets could play a role. Green Berets are required to have the ability to speak and read at least one foreign language. They are trained in a variety of specialties, including foreign internal defense, unconventional warfare, security assistance, peacekeeping and humanitarian assistance. The Army Rangers work in larger groups, pack more firepower and are considered the experts in seizing airfields. They are trained in infiltrating and exiting by land, sea and air; conducting raids; and recovering personnel and special equipment. Air Force Special Operations specialize in inserting, resupplying and retrieving soldiers inside enemy territory, using standard military aircraft modified to fly longer, lower and quieter. "In a special operations mission, a routine mission, if you're detected on the way to the target, you may as well turn around and go home," said retired Gen. William Patterson, a former commander of Air Force Special Operations. "You failed." Navy SEALs -- an acronym for Sea, Air and Land -- are trained in special reconnaissance, combat search and rescue and unconventional warfare. As tensions rise in this unconventional war, U.S. officials are likely to monitor the status of eight Western humanitarian workers -- including two U.S. citizens -- arrested by the Taliban last month and charged with trying to convert Muslims to Christianity. The ultra-secret Delta Force might be employed to help this situation as its specialty is hostage rescue. "Units like Delta Force are pretty much focused on hostage rescue," said retired Army Gen. David Grange, a former Ranger commander. cnn.com another article from USA today usatoday.com

To: TimF who wrote (40770)	9/29/2001 1:04:52 AM
From: IQBAL LATIF	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 50167

It was just made official today, when we broke the news ggg it was just 15th Sept..<President Bush (news - web sites) said Friday the United States is ``in hot pursuit'' of terrorists behind the Sept. 11 attacks. A top Bush administration official said U.S. forces have conducted scouting missions in Afghanistan (news - web sites), where suspected terrorists are hiding. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the work of U.S. and British forces is a prelude to potential military action. The official denied reports that the forces, deployed in the last few days, are actively seeking prime suspect Osama bin Laden (news - web sites).> Friday, Sep 28, 2001 9:38 AM Respond to of 40772 He is on a run like a rat and SSG's from USA and UK after him closing all holes, the most secret battle behind enemy lines is being fought with valour and gallantry that future folklore stories will be hopefully based on, this is my read, remember the hostage mission in Tehran under Carter multiply it by 100 times.. the units from 82nd airborne hopefully will pick him and others from these rat holes.. lets all of us pray for the safety of our soldiers behind the enemy lines..US never sleeps..