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

To: IQBAL LATIF who wrote (40871)	10/7/2001 1:31:02 PM
From: IQBAL LATIF	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 50167

The anti-terrorism war against Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden and his Al-Qaeda network in Afghanistan have begun, officials here said. Thousands of Afghan refugees were today forcibly removed from settlements around Quetta airport in southwest Pakistan amid speculation the United States is about to launch a strike against Afghanistan. Refugees said that they had been given until 6:00 pm (1830 IST) today to find alternative accommodation. Between 20,000 and 30,000 long term Afghan refugees and Kuchis - Afghan nomads - had set up camp near the airport about five years ago. The airport also houses Pakistani military aircraft. "This is not fair. Where are we going to go, how will we work? We have nowhere to go," one refugee said. Hundreds of Pakistani police were seen scattered around the camp today amid heightened speculation that Washington is about to launch an attack on Afghanistan's Taliban regime and Osama bin Laden, the man blamed for the September 11 destruction in New York and Washington. The airport in this city has been touted as a possible refuelling and logistics stop for US warplanes. Pakistan has offered its airspace, intelligence and "logistical support" to Washington. Analysts say a second airstrip near Kharan, about 180 km southwest of here, could also be used. The Shamsi airstrip near Kharan was originally built by the United Arab Emirates to provide access for hunting expeditions in remote parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan. The first batch of 1,000 US troops are already reported to be in Uzbekistan. "A few dozen" members of the military Special Operations forces have already been deployed within the striking distance of Afghanistan, a Defence Department official was quoted as saying in the New York Times. But around 500 additional members of Special Operations units will be laced among the 23,000 US troops now landing in Egypt for a month-long military exercise, 'Bright Star', which begins next week, a Pentagon official told the paper, adding "They could easily swing over toward Afghanistan." The US is also arming the soldiers of the Northern Alliance while efforts are being made to cause defections in the Taliban ranks, which is providing shelter to prime suspect in Sep 11 attacks on the US, officials said. "Assisting forces that are in opposition to the government of a hostile country - now, that is a classic special forces mission," said one veteran of the Army Special Forces, the Green Berets. British troops already in Oman for joint exercises will join the Americans from day one of the war. The British troops are expected to include the famed Gurkhas. The way might be novel as the terrain could not be more inhospitable and the Taliban soldiers are well-armed though with equipment much of which is now obsolete or obsolescent

To: IQBAL LATIF who wrote (40871)	10/7/2001 4:11:53 PM
From: IQBAL LATIF	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 50167

Where is Osama bin Laden? Why are the Taliban so confident that the US and its allies, with the world's most sophisticated technologies at their disposal, will never be able to get even near the wanted terrorist. Akbar Sultan writes from Peshawar on October 5 Everybody is guessing. Some say he is in Kandahar with Mullah Omar. Others say he has left Afghanistan in disguise. No mediaperson has met him after 1998. Even satellite cameras and intelligence sources of the world's best agencies are unable to locate him. Meanwhile, on October 1, a report was published in the Pakistani daily The News saying the US is now convinced that Osama bin Laden is hiding in some remote, inaccessible corner in the Pamir mountains. This information was first provided by Russian intelligence officers, who have provided detailed maps of the region to US forces. So far, neither the US nor the Taliban have denied this report. Shaped like a panhandle, the Pamir Range has exit routes to three countries - Tajikistan, Pakistan and China. The peaks of this range average up to 20,000 feet, with the highest at around 25,000 feet. During the Soviet occupation, this region was used as a base to store intercontinental nuclear ballistic missiles to provide Moscow with a third strike capacity in case of a nuclear war. Even after the Soviet forces withdrew in 1988, they continued to control the base till the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1992. Long after the Soviets had abandoned the base, it was taken over by Osama bin Laden to build his hideout, which today can accommodate more than a hundred people for over a period of at least 10 years. The residential complex of this hideout is well buried beneath the mountains south of the Sari Qul valley on the Tajik frontier, north of Buzai Gumabad. An alternative fortress has also been erected in the north-east of Wakhyir, which has exit routes to China. According to the Israeli media, Osama bin Laden is hiding in this base with a core group of 200 operatives from the Al Qaida outfit. More than 2,500 armed fighters are positioned at various key entry points of the base. According to Russian military analysts, incessant aerial bombing is not likely to prove effective in this scenario. What is needed is ground troops who would engage in close combat. But which government is willing to lease its army to the US for such an encounter? It seems it is not lack of technology but shortage of human resource that is delaying the war. Pakistan's stand is that they are ready to facilitate the US for an attack but are not ready to fight for the US. It is basically this stand that has so far been saving the Taliban. One option may be the Northern Alliance. Military analysts and Afghanistan specialists, however, say such an operation would be beyond the means of the Northern Alliance, a force of barely 5,000 battle-worn men who have constantly been engaged in conflict for the last five years. Sure, the Northern Alliance can provide adequate guidance, but it cannot go in for the kill. Russian analysts believe an operation to get at Osama bin Laden may require a sacrifice of about 50,000 trained Delta Force commandos, a high price indeed! The focus of the war has shifted from Kabul and Kandahar to the Pamir Range. According to highly reliable defense sources, advance parties of US commandos have already begun their operation from their base in Tajikistan, aided by Russian forces. The very latest anti-terrorist equipments have been delivered to Russia by the USA. Troops of the Tajikistan-based 201st Motorized rifle division of Russia have now joined the Delta Forces of the USA. Most of these Russian troops now inching towards the Pamir are fluent in Pushtu language and many are acquainted with local Afghan customs. The US commandos will have the opportunity to test some of their latest acquisitions, including the newly-developed two-barrel rifle, whose lower barrel can fire 5.56mm shells while the upper fires 20 mm shells. These shells explode over the targets before unleashing a rain of death. The commandos are communicating with each other through a satellite-enabled voice messaging service and through a wrist-mounted keyboard that sends messages that are displayed on the visors of the helmets. The commandos are also using a specially designed laser that can pick and destroy an individual in a crowd by unleashing two mega watts of energy. According to defense experts, before going for the unavoidable hand-to-hand combat, US troops would certainly want to " Smoke Osama and his followers out " with excessive use of GBU 15 system of penetrating bombs. The operation is still being kept a secret. According to reports, US defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld is secretly visiting Pakistan over the weekend to gather support. The visit is being kept secret for security reasons and Rumsfeld is expected to brief Pakistan about the achievements and the difficulties of the operational plan so far.