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Afghan rebels say support lacking
'We will need American help'
10/30/2001
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – U.S. jets again pummeled Taliban front lines Monday as
opposition Northern Alliance leaders planned what they said would be a major
offensive against a key Taliban-controlled city.
But Northern Alliance officials also continued grumbling about the level of
American support, saying that their troops needed at least five days of
sustained air attacks to push into the Taliban stronghold of Mazar-e Sharif in
northern Afghanistan. "We will need American help," an alliance spokesman told The Associated
Press. In Washington, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and other Pentagon officials
said that U.S.-led forces are already doing just that as the bombing campaign
enters its fourth week. U.S. officials also dismissed Taliban charges that the air campaign is
deliberately targeting civilians. In Pakistan, Taliban Ambassador Abdul Salam Zaeef said Monday that the first
phase of the American military campaign "had achieved no significant achievement
that the Pentagon wished to achieve, except the genocide of Afghanistan people."
Mr. Rumsfeld countered that the Taliban were terrorists responsible "for
every single casualty in this war. Their leadership are the ones hiding in
mosques and using civilians as human shields." "Brave people give their lives for this cause, and needless to say, innocent
bystanders can be caught in the crossfire," he said. "But let's be clear: No
nation in human history has done more to avoid civilian casualties than the
United States has in this conflict." Queried about appeals from some quarters that Washington halt its bombing
during the Muslim holiday of Ramadan, Mr. Rumsfeld replied: "The Taliban and
al-Qaeda are unlikely to take a holiday. "Given the fact that they have killed thousands of Americans and people from
50 or 60 other countries, and given the fact that they have sworn to continue
such attacks, we have an obligation to defend the American people, and we intend
to work diligently to do that." On Sunday, opposition commanders gathered to plan a major assault on Mazar-e
Sharif and also discussed launching joint offensives in surrounding northern
provinces, opposition spokesman Ashraf Nadeem said. Taliban forces took the city in 1998, and recent opposition efforts to
approach it have been stymied by a lack of supplies and a recent influx of
Taliban reinforcements. Regaining control of Mazar-e Sharif would open key
supply lines for the opposition before winter's onset in mid-November. Monday's airstrikes included raids near the northern border with Tajikistan,
in Kabul, and in the Taliban stronghold of Kandahar. A U.N. food aid specialist
said Monday that his contacts in Kandahar recently described the city as
deserted. The United Nations stopped distributing aid in Kandahar on Sept. 13,
halting food supplies that had been feeding an estimated 150,000 people. Pentagon spokeswoman Victoria Clark told reporters that U.S. bombers were
also trying to hit cave networks used by al-Qaeda and its leader, Osama bin
Laden. President Bush launched the air war on Oct. 7 after the Taliban refused to
surrender Mr. bin Laden, the accused mastermind of the Sept. 11 terrorist
attacks. More than 5,000 people were killed at the World Trade Center, the
Pentagon, and a Pennsylvania field. Pakistan issues
In Islamabad, U.S. Army Gen. Tommy Franks, commander of the Afghanistan
campaign, met Monday with Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf to discuss the
U.S.-led operations The Pakistani leader has become increasingly vocal in calls for a quick end
to U.S. military action. He faces increasing public discontent about the
campaign and noted particular concern during the weekend about civilian
casualties. Pro-Afghan demonstrators recently blocked the Karakoram Highway, which traces
the ancient Silk Road through Pakistan's northern mountain region. Anti-American
protests have cropped up across the country, and a bloody Sunday attack on a
Christian church in Bahawalpur has heightened fears of violence. Thousands of mourners gathered in the southern Pakistan city on Monday to
mourn the 16 people killed during Sunday morning services at St. Dominic's
Catholic Church. Christian leaders said the attack, in which six bearded gunmen
stormed the church and sprayed a congregation with bullets, was the country's
worst anti-Christian violence in memory. Those killed were members of the Church of Pakistan, a Protestant
congregation that regularly met at St. Dominic's. No one has claimed responsibility. But government officials said they
suspected members of a banned Islamic militant group. Church leaders said they
fear that the incident was reprisal from Islamic militants angry about the U.S.
military strikes in Afghanistan. Also Monday, U.N. special envoy Lakhdar Brahimi arrived in Islamabad to begin
a series of meetings aimed at developing political solutions for the Afghan
crisis. A U.N. spokesman said the envoy was scheduled to meet with Afghan
leaders and citizens and consult with Mr. Musharraf. But the spokesman said Mr.
Brahimi had no plans to meet with the Taliban ambassador. Mr. Zaeef told reporters Monday that he was looking forward to a lengthy
discussion with the U.N. representative. But he also maintained that the Taliban
leaders were undaunted after 23 days of bombardment and that the Afghan people
remained defiant and committed to defending their country. Mr. Zaeef acknowledged that Taliban leaders had refused to accept 5,000
volunteers from Pakistan who had assembled near their country's northern border
to help defend Afghanistan. "We have requested that since there are only air assaults in Afghanistan,
there is no need and great danger for them being there," he said. "There is a
fear of mass casualties if these mujahedeen go to the front lines because of
U.S. bombings."