The United States and British armed forces conducted a “very successful” attack on 30 sites in Afghanistan with missiles and bombs, according to officials.
“Based on our early assessment, we believe that we have made progress toward eliminating the air defense sites that have located around the country,” Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said in a briefing yesterday afternoon. “We also believe we’ve made an impact on the military airfields that were targeted.”
Targets included al Qaeda training camps and Taliban military installations, according to British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
“At 5:30 p.m. British Time [1:30 p.m. EDT] yesterday [Sunday] a series of air and cruise missile attacks began on the terrorist camps of Osama bin Laden and the military installations of the Taliban regime,” Blair told a recalled Parliament. “These were carried out by American and British armed forces with the support of other allies.”
Blair went on to explain the targets were mostly located outside major settlements, but that three were located near Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. Four other targets were near large cities, Blair added.
The Pentagon stressed that no civilians or civilian population centers were targeted.
“Every target was a military target. The reports indicating that there were attacks on Kabul are incorrect,” Rumsfeld said. “The attacks were on the military targets surrounding the city. All U.S. military personnel and aircraft that took part in yesterday’s strike are safe and accounted for, notwithstanding the statements by Taliban to the contrary, which are flat untrue. We believe the humanitarian assistance flights were successful, and they will continue today.”
Over 37,000 meals were air dropped to starvation-plagued areas on Monday, the Department of Defense said in a released statement.
General Richard Meyers,Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said that the strikes were against a “broad” range of targets, and that for now early objectives have been completed.
“The broad category of targets that we struck yesterday included early-warning radars, as we said before, ground forces, command-and-control facilities, al Qaeda infrastructure, and airfields and aircraft,” Meyers said in a Defense Department briefing. “We did destroy some of the terrorist infrastructure and we did begin feeding and assisting the victims of the Taliban regime. Our Day One efforts were designed to disrupt and destroy terrorist activities in Afghanistan and to set the conditions for future military action and to bring food and medical supplies to the Afghan people.
“Strikes are continuing as we speak. We are hitting targets that are similar to those we did yesterday,” Meyers continued. “Today we’re using about five bomber aircraft and about 10 carrier-based tactical aviation assets to conduct our operations.”
Prime Minister Blair said the Britain would support the United States on all fronts.
“We are taking action therefore on all those three fronts: military, diplomatic and humanitarian. I also want to say very directly to the British people why this matters so much directly to Britain,” Blair said. “Let us not forget that the attacks of the Sept. 11 represented the worst terrorist outrage against British citizens in our history. The murder of British citizens, whether it happens overseas or not, is an attack upon Britain.”
The strikes utilized Tomahawk cruise missiles launched from ships, such as the cruiser USS Philippine Sea and the British submarine HMS Trafalgar. It is the first time the British have used the Tomahawk missile operationally. Bomber aircraft were also used, although no Tomahawks were launched from the air.
The Pentagon said that the attacks are the first waves in the war on terrorism, designed to clear the way for further phases of Operation Enduring Freedom, the campaign to stamp out global terrorism.
“These strikes are part of a much larger effort against worldwide terrorism, one that will be sustained and which is wide-ranging. It will likely be sustained for a period of years, not weeks or months,” Rumsfeld said. “This campaign will be waged much like the Cold War, in the sense that it will involve many fronts over a period of time and will require continuous pressure by a large number of countries around the globe.
“We will not stop until the terrorist networks are destroyed. To that end, regimes that harbor terrorists and their training camps should know that they will suffer penalties,” Rumsfeld said. “Our goal is not one individual, it is not one group.”
On Sunday, President George W. Bush addressed the nation, just hours after US planes launched off the decks of aircraft carriers.
“These carefully targeted actions are designed to disrupt the use of Afghanistan as a terrorist base of operations, and to attack the military capability of the Taliban regime,” Bush said. “We are supported by the collective will of the world.
“More than two weeks ago, I gave Taliban leaders a series of clear and specific demands: Close terrorist training camps; hand over leaders of the al Qaeda network; and return all foreign nationals, including American citizens, unjustly detained in your country. None of these demands were met. And now the Taliban will pay a price. By destroying camps and disrupting communications, we will make it more difficult for the terror network to train new recruits and coordinate their evil plans,” Bush continued. “At the same time, the oppressed people of Afghanistan will know the generosity of America and our allies. As we strike military targets, we’ll also drop food, medicine and supplies to the starving and suffering men and women and children of Afghanistan.”
On the Net: Department of Defense: http://www.defenselink.mil British Ministry of Defense: http://www.mod.uk The White House: http://www.whitehouse.gov The Office of the Prime Minister: http://www.pm.gov.uk
