America fights back to end the war on terrorism

According to CNN, in Washington the Pentagon plans to use three bases in the former Soviet republic of Tajikistan to launch an attack and supply missions on Afghanistan.

Bases in Tajikistan would provide U.S. pilots with better access to their targets, allow U.S. to burn less fuel and enable them to supply missions quicker. A U.S. assessment team that was recently in Tajikistan inspected those bases to make sure they will provide the U.S. with an advantage. That assessment team must make sure these bases are in good condition and are close to the targets. The more bases that the U.S. has, the more land-based air power that can be brought in. By applying land-based air power, more flights can be generated over a longer period of time than with a carrier-based aircraft.

Tajikistan has offered to allow U.S. teams to inspect their facilities. Tajik Foreign Minister Talbak Nazarov will also allow U.S. military planes to fly over Tajik airspace and use Tajikistan’s airfields. Uzbekistan has also agreed to allow U.S. forces to use air bases there for humanitarian and rescue missions.

Even though the .S. will be allowed to use these bases, the U.S. still needs to gain access to Pakistan and its bases. Pakistan is near Afghanistan and has basing rights for humanitarian airlifts and pilot rescues. Most importantly, Pakistani officials know more about the Taliban than anyone else.

However, winter is approaching and that could hurt the U.S.’s mission. U.S. and coalition troops are prepared for fighting in bad weather. They have the necessary equipment and clothing, and the U.S. will not put troops anywhere where it cannot protect and take care of them. Winter will most likely hurt the Taliban more than the United States.
Tajik authorities have revealed little so far about the extent of their cooperation with the campaign against Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban government. The Taliban are believed to be hiding Osama bin Laden, the prime suspect in the September 11 terrorist attacks on New York, Washington and Pennsylvania.

There are also other suspects for the September 11 terrorist attacks. In Virginia, a man, who was investigated for possible ties to the hijackers involved in the attacks on the Pentagon on September 11, pleaded innocent to those charges. Also in Illinois, another man, who had tried to board a United Airlines flight armed with nine knives, a can of Mace and a stun gun, was arrested again by the FBI after being released earlier by local authorities. A 21-year-old Jordanian man also pleaded not guilty to charges of lying before a grand jury investigating the September terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

Mohamed Abdi was also taken into custody on Sept. 14 after FBI agents found his telephone number in a rental car in Washington, D.C. Nawaf al Hazmi, a Saudi national and a suspected suicide hijacker, had rented a car and crashed it into the Pentagon. He was thought to be part of the terrorist attacks on Sept 11. However, the only charges against Abdi are not related in any way to the those terrorist attacks, but he is charged with several counts of forgery in connection with rental checks. In Chicago, Subash Gurung, 27, was arrested at O’Hare and was charged with possession of a weapon and with attempting to board an airplane with that weapon, both of which are misdemeanor charges.

Osama Awadallah, a permanent U.S. resident who has lived in San Diego for three years, lied twice to the grand jury last month about being an acquaintance of Nawaf Alhazmi and Khalid Almihdhar, whom the Justice Department has identified as two of the hijackers on board American Airlines Flight 77, which ran into the Pentagon.
A group of U.S. special operations troops are in Afghanistan organizing air strikes and supply missions. Although U.S. air strikes have increased, the raids in northern Afghanistan are aimed at preparing for a possible advance by the Northern Alliance. The access to those bases mentioned earlier will allow the U.S. to be able to aim at more of Afghanistan, and eventually the U.S. will have enough bases to cover all of Afghanistan.

The Northern Alliance has been planning a “multipronged attack” against Taliban forces in Afghanistan as the U.S.’s warplanes continue their air raids on Taliban positions north of the Afghan capital of Kabul. European Union leaders have also proclaimed their support of the U.S.’s campaign.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Nov 9 2001. Filed under Opinion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry