Top U.S. general says war in Afghanistan wouldn't end, even if bin Laden was killed or captured today

By JEFFREY ULBRICH
Associated Press Writer

BRUSSELS, Belgium – The United States' top general said Wednesday that if Osama bin Laden were killed or captured today, the war in Afghanistan would not be over.

"This is not looking for one individual," said Gen. Richard B. Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. "If bin Laden were to show up today, or to be pronounced dead or in captivity today, that would not end this particular part of the war.

"We are after also the al-Qaida leadership, (in) which there are several tens of leadership personnel that we need to bring to justice. Bin Laden is just one of those," he said.

Myers was at NATO headquarters to meet with other NATO military leaders and brief the 19-nation alliance's top decision-making body, the North Atlantic Council, on the U.S.-led war on terrorism.

He said the United States could not ease up on its military campaign until the Taliban leadership in Afghanistan has been smashed and a government that is not friendly to terrorists has been installed.

After the Sept. 11 attacks, NATO for the first time in its history invoked Article 5 of its founding treaty, which declares that an attack on one member state will be treated as an attack on all.

This has enabled the United States to call on the allies for help, including requesting allied early warning aircraft that are now patrolling American skies. That has freed up American AWACS for the war.

Myers thanked the NATO allies and non member partner countries, including Russia, for their assistance.

"Whether in some cases it's moral support, or in some cases it's actual combat support, it's all very much appreciated and it's all going to be needed in this long fight we're going to have to defeat global terrorism," Myers said.

"We're focused right now on Afghanistan because that's the most obvious operation that's ongoing, but it's not the only one."

He stressed that the battle would take years, adding: "It may not be the military in the end that is the decisive force."

Myers said that the while United States has not been able to locate bin Laden, the bombing campaign and other operations in Afghanistan have made it difficult for him to plan terrorist operations.

"It is difficult to get an accurate position on bin Laden," he said. "We think we continue to narrow the locations down. Whether we get him in the end I don't know. We know we are making it very hard for him to plan future terrorist operations because he is kept pretty much on the run. He doesn't spend more than one night in one place, we don't think."

President Bush launched the military campaign against Afghanistan on Oct. 7 after the Taliban refused to hand over bin Laden for his alleged role in the Sept. 11 attacks.

Myers said the United States so far has dropped more than 1.5 million humanitarian food rations into Afghanistan, but that Washington hoped NATO soon will relieve it of that responsibility.

The NATO Council last week instructed allied military authorities to begin drafting plans for providing logistical support for the humanitarian effort.

"The United States is right now doing most of the wholesale work of taking supplies down into the country where it can be distributed at the retail level," he said. "It would be my hope that NATO could play this role and relieve the United States of some stress in this area."

Myers also was meeting his Russian counterpart, Gen. Anatoly Kvashnin, who was in Brussels for a meeting of the NATO-Russia Permanent Joint Council, a consultative forum created in 1997.

"Our relationship with Russia right now is primarily in sharing of information," he said. "They have allowed humanitarian overflights of Russia as well. That cooperation is very, very important because they have a lot of information on the particular region."

AP-WS-11-21-01 1144EST