Instant victory is not a probable thing, the Pentagon said in a released statement. The Operation Enduring Freedom campaign enters its 25th day, and it is too early to expect the Taliban and al-Qaeda to surrender. The Pentagon also confirmed that long-range heavy bombers are being used to attack targets in northern Afghanistan.
“Smoke – at this very moment – is still rising from the ruins of the World Trade Center,” Donald Rumsfeld, secretary of Defense said. “With the ruins still smoldering and the smoke not yet cleared, it seems to me that Americans understand well that – despite the urgency in the press questions – we are still in the very, very early stages of this war.”
This war is a new type of war, Rumsfeld explained; one that the American people need to realize will not be won overnight.
“We are now fighting a new kind of war. It is unlike any America has ever fought before,” Rumsfeld said. “Many things about this war are different from wars past – but, as I have said, one of those differences is not the possibility of instant victory.”
B-52 bombers struck Taliban targets in northern Afghanistan in support of Northern Alliance forces, but are not limited to that area.
“The B-52s are being utilized in areas all over the country, including on Taliban forces in the North,” Rear Adm. John Stufflebeem said in a Pentagon briefing. “We’re using both precision and non-precision weapons.”
The B-52 can launch either weapon type. Non-precision weapons are typically dropped in great numbers to maximize the damage to the target.
“Heavy bombers have the capacity to carry large loads of weapons, and oftentimes if a target presents itself either in an engagement zone, or when directed, it’s possible to release an entire load of bombs at once, in which case – the real formal term for that is called a ‘long stick,’ which has also been called carpet bombing,” Stufflebeem explained. “What I will say is all of our capability, which includes long-range, heavy bombers that have the capacity to carry large loads, as well as tactical aircraft, are all being utilized and they’re all being considered.
“And we are applying the strikes and the power, if you will, against good targets, against known targets,” Stufflebeem added. “If the targets are large or wide-spread, then it would seem logical that we might find large bombers with large loads that are capable of attacking it just as effectively as a number of smaller tactical jets.”
Stufflebeem went on to describe the results of the recent attacks on targets in Afghanistan as successful.
“This is in a location called the Tarnak Farms, located near Kandahar. It’s one of the major al-Qaeda training camps funded by Osama bin Laden. Al-Qaeda used to use this facility to train terrorist and small-unit combat operations,” Stufflebeem said. “As you can see from the second image, much of the facility has been damaged or destroyed. This has been over the course of the last couple of weeks.”
While the campaign has been successful, Americans must remember that the war is not over, Rumsfeld said.
“This is a task that will take time to accomplish. Victory will require that every element of American influence and power be engaged,” Rumsfeld said in a released statement. “Americans have seen tougher adversaries than this before – and they have had the staying power to defeat them.
“In the end, war is not about statistics, deadlines, short attention spans, or 24-hour news cycles,” Rumsfeld added. “It is about will – the projection of will, the clear, unambiguous determination of the President and the American people to see this through to certain victory.”
On the Net: The Pentagon: http://www.defenselink.mil
