U.S. steps up attacks on Afghanistan
By Jon Friedman, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 3:55 PM ET Oct. 10, 2001
WASHINGTON (CBS.MW) - U.S. warplanes stepped up nighttime attacks on Kabul, Afghanistan's capital, and Kandahar, the seat of the Taliban regime, while the domestic campaign against terrorism intensified.
Kandahar is under "heavy attack," according to CNN, marking the fourth consecutive night of strikes against the military and strategic infrastructure in the war-torn Central Asian state.
On the home front, President George W. Bush unveiled a list of the 22 "most wanted" terrorists on Wednesday and reiterated his pledge to stop the tide of terrorism around the world.
Bush also appeared with NATO Secretary General Robertson to commend the alliance's military support for the U.S. and its contribution of advanced surveillance aircraft to help protect U.S. borders.
At FBI headquarters in Washington, Bush said terrorism "has a face and today we expose it." See FBI Most Wanted List
The President appeared eager to show the world that the U.S. is targeting individuals extending far beyond Osama bin Laden, whom Bush has called the prime suspect in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks that leveled the World Trade Center in New York and damaged the Pentagon in Washington, resulting in the deaths of more than 5,000 people.
Also Wednesday, a bomb threat made to a business near the U.S.-Canada border and a suspicious vehicle caused federal officials to close two major border crossings, the Associated Press reported.
Seeking justice
Terrorists "will be stopped. They will be punished," Bush said evenly, speaking at the FBI headquarters in Washington as Attorney General John Ashcroft and other senior administration officials stood nearby.
Bush stressed that Americans must seek justice, not revenge. "As we round up the evildoers, we must remember not to violate the rights of the innocent," he said.
Bush showed his pride in the American people's resolve. "Our nation has responded in a way they never envisioned," he said.
The U.S. is working "to eliminate the threat posed by terrorism to the civilized world," Secretary of State Colin Powell added at the presentation.
Those threats also remain at home.
The FBI has taken command of an investigation of anthrax poisoning in South Florida. A man died last week after being infected with an airborne strain, and the FBI is probing whether his death was the result of a terrorist act. "You're seeing a heightened sense of awareness," said White House spokesman Ari Fleischer, discussing the anthrax investigation.
Also on Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ($INDU: news, chart, profile) registered triple-digit gains and surged past the 9,200 barrier while the Nasdaq ($COMPQ: news, chart, profile) popped past 1,600. See Market Snapshot.
Clear warning
Preceding the latest wave of attacks, bin Laden's terror group issued an ominous new threat Tuesday evening.
"The Americans must know that the storm of airplanes will not stop, God willing, and there are thousands of young people who are as keen about death as Americans are about life," Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, a spokesman for bin Laden's Al-Qaida network, said in a statement broadcast on Qatar's Al-Jazeera television.
And in what seemed like a rather extraordinary request, White House press secretary Ari Fleischer, during his daily press briefing, asked the media to refrain from airing Osama Bin Laden's videotaped messages, fearing that the American media could unwittingly be assisting the enemy's efforts to communicate with operatives..
Al-Qaida praised the "good deed" of hijackers who commandeered planes for Sept. 11 attacks.
Targeting the Taliban
Earlier, Taliban sources told the Associated Press that jets dropped three bombs near the airport outside Kandahar at about 7:15 a.m. A Taliban's envoy to Pakistan also said that Osama bin Laden and leader Mullah Mohammed Omar were safe, and that the Taliban's defenses remain intact.
Kandahar has been the target of multiple assaults since the airstrikes began on Sunday night. Housing units that lodge some 300 followers of Osama bin Laden are located in the region, along with air defense systems.
In Washington, U.S. officials expressed optimism about the progress they've made in relentlessly attacking Taliban military targets in southern Afghanistan over the past 48 hours.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said it was "pretty clear" that the Taliban was "feeling some pressure." He also said the U.S. has no interest in occupying Afghanistan.
"We have struck several terrorist training camps," Rumsfeld said at a Pentagon news briefing. "We've damaged most of the airfields -- I believe all but one -- as well as their anti-aircraft radars and launchers."
Rumsfeld added that the U.S.-British airstrikes have begun to operate during daylight hours. "And with the success of previous raids, we believe we are now able to carry out strikes more or less around the clock, as we wish," he said.
Information control seen as key to security
Fleischer also said the White House, angered by what it perceived to be news leaks by some members of Congress, would take steps to restrict the flow of classified information by briefing only eight Congressional leaders.
"In a time of war, the usual rules do not apply," Fleischer said, noting that President Bush anticipated criticism for the decision.
"This is the best way to save lives," in the President's judgment, Fleischer said. |
