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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: greenspirit who wrote (192426)	10/16/2001 1:47:32 AM
From: greenspirit	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769667

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Air Force on Monday sent a low-flying, slow-moving special forces gunship over the skies of Afghanistan, a senior defense official said. The step signaled the air campaign was shifting focus from military facilities to the Taliban leadership. The AC-130 turboprop airplane is used by American ground forces trained for small-unit operations in hostile country. It was the first acknowledged use of special-forces aircraft in the conflict. ``We felt it was the appropriate weapon to be used,'' said the defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity. He declined to discuss specific targets or results. Raids in the first nine days of the campaign targeted air defense and other military facilities with the purpose of making the skies safe for less agile aircraft like the AC-130. The front lines of battles between the Taliban militia and rebel forces won't be ``a very safe place to be'' for Taliban fighters, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Monday as U.S. warplanes carried out the biggest daylight attacks so far over Afghanistan. The daylight raids were followed by nighttime attacks, and Rumsfeld indicated much more bombing was planned. A Pentagon official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Monday's plan was to attack 18 to 20 targets, including some that had been struck previously as well as Taliban troop concentrations. U.S. airstrikes have targeted Taliban troop formations for several days and will focus more on front-line Taliban fighters once the Pentagon gets better information from rebel forces, Rumsfeld said at a news conference. On Sunday, the U.S. military added leaflets to the bombs and food being dropped in Afghanistan, he said. ``We're working to make clear to the Afghan people that we support them and we want to help free their nation from the grip of the Taliban and their foreign terrorist allies,'' he said. He said the Taliban are ``accomplished liars'' who make ridiculous claims about U.S. strikes killing hundreds of civilians. He added a warning to Taliban fighters who might feel that the front lines - virtually untouched by American strikes in the nine-day campaign - are relatively safe. ``I suspect that in the period ahead, that's not going to be a very safe place to be,'' Rumsfeld said. Rumsfeld spoke after American warplanes launched the biggest daylight attacks so far over Afghanistan, then followed them up with night raids. The USS Theodore Roosevelt joined three aircraft carriers already in the region, the Navy confirmed Monday. Air crews for the first time Sunday added leaflets - in the local languages of Pashtu and Dari - to the drops already being made of humanitarian food packets for the Afghan population, said Air Force Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who appeared with Rumsfeld. One leaflet shows a Western soldier in camouflage and helmet shaking hands with a man in traditional Afghan dress in front of a mountain scene. ``The partnership of nations is here to assist the people of Afghanistan,'' the leaflet said. Another depicts a radio transmitting tower and sketches of radios and tells times and radio stations to tune to for what it calls ``Information Radio.'' The broadcasts started earlier, but leaflets telling people to listen were delayed because of windy conditions last week, a Pentagon official said. Over the weekend, more than 68,000 ration packets were dropped, bringing the total to 275,000 since the effort began. Bombing targets were being expanded daily as military planners cross some off the list and add others, Rumsfeld said. ``The target (plan) that existed at the outset has been significantly enhanced by additional information from the ground,'' he said. ``As a result, the number of targets that are available have continued to be roughly the number that they were the day before.'' Rumsfeld said American military officials believe the Taliban still have some planes and helicopters untouched by bombs. He took issue with Taliban government reports that U.S. bombing has killed hundreds of civilians, saying ``some of the numbers (claimed) are ridiculous'' and the ``Taliban leadership and al-Qaida (the network run by Osama bin Laden) are accomplished liars.'' The Taliban have said some 200 people died when the village of Karam was bombed last week. Without giving a number, Rumsfeld acknowledged some Afghan civilians have been unintended casualties of the strikes. ``I don't think there is any way to avoid that'' in a war, he said. The anti-terrorist attacks will not end during Afghanistan's cold, snowy winter, Myers said. ``Let me just say that we have an all-weather force,'' he said. ``And visible and probably invisible things are going to happen off and on for a very long period of time.'' Afghanistan is believed to be the world's chief source for heroin, but U.S. strikes have not hit drug operations because ``there is a lot of information that is contradictory,'' Rumsfeld said. Myers said U.S. and British strikes hit 17 targets Saturday, including al-Qaida terrorist training camps, airfields, air defense forces and command-and-control facilities. About 25 American aircraft were used, including land-based bombers and strike aircraft launched from U.S. carriers in the Arabian Sea, Myers said. In addition, 15 Tomahawk cruise missiles were fired Saturday from U.S. and British ships and submarines, he said. Sunday's attacks hit seven targets, including Taliban troop staging areas, Myers said. Copyright © 2001 Associated Press. All rights reserved. wire.ap.org

To: greenspirit who wrote (192426)	10/16/2001 11:48:42 AM
From: Srexley	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769667

Well said Michael D. Cummings. Your posts and your positions are laid out better than any others on the tread imo. I particularly agree with "People who are xenophobic when it comes to any mention of the word God, are as wrong as the constant preaching proselytizers" Scott

To: greenspirit who wrote (192426)	10/16/2001 1:11:07 PM
From: KLP	Respond to of 769667

Michael...thanks for your insight here....Never thought about it exactly as you opined....but I think you are exactly right!

To: greenspirit who wrote (192426)	10/16/2001 6:09:31 PM
From: J_F_Shepard	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769667

"Most of the people who react so vehemently toward any mention of the world God in public life, are the first to preech about the planet earth as some sort of spiritual God-like creature calling them to save her" Secular people almost by definition are thinking people otherwise they would have gone merrily along with the religious crowd. They are indeed concerned about the planet and are in total awe of the universe. None can explain it and they don't pretend to know the answers like religionists do. Most, I think, are willing to be labeled atheists by people whose religious views are contrary to their logic but if you were to probe more deeply you would find that they really consider themselves agnostic since they know they don't have the answers and are not arrogant enough to think that they do. Religious people believe in gods because they believe there will be taken to a better place after death. Secularists, in general, do not because they have never seen evidence for it..... Religionists are afraid of their gods because they might not get to heaven and are not at risk if there is none, ....many non-religious feel there is nothing after death. If they happen to be wrong and the god-fearing are right they will not be excluded because most,I think, will have led more moral, humanistic, and honest lives than the religious. I disagree vehemently with Srexly who suggests that one who doesn't believe is probably less moral than one who does. Morality requires common sense thought which I would argue is more characteristic of the non-religious.