U.S. begins attack on Taliban frontlines

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

WASHINGTON, OCT. 22. In a major shift in strategy, the United States has started attacking the frontline Taliban soldiers north of Kabul. American jets and warplanes are raining bombs and missiles on Taliban troops which are poised against the Northern Alliance and are said to be hitting very close to positions near the Capital.

At a press conference in the Pentagon, the Defence Secretary, Mr. Donald Rumsfeld, argued that the reason for the attacks on the frontlines was to destroy the forces of the Taliban and the Al- Qaeda and it so happened that they were arrayed against the Northern Alliance. But Mr. Rumsfeld acknowledged that the air attacks on the frontlines was ``clearly to assist'' the Northern Alliance so that they could occupy more ground.

Asked to respond to the Pakistani President, Gen. Pervez Musharraf's comment that the military campaign will have to end before the start of Ramadan, Mr. Rumsfeld argued that historically, Muslim nations had fought wars during holy periods and it had not ``inhibited them.''

The Defence Secretary and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Richard Myers, emphasised that much of the American air strikes were taking place outside of the cities of Kabul and Kandahar. Pentagon officials are saying that the U.S. has been addressing or focussing the Taliban and Al-Qaeda forces, some of which are north of Kabul but also in such places as Mazar-e- Sharief. ``It is not a linear or a sequential war,'' Gen. Myers said.

``Our strategy has shifted from attacking operational targets such as airfields, air defences, communication nodes to tactical targets such as tanks and troops in the field that support the war fighting capability. We are striking targets. We are killing people on the ground. That's what war is all about,'' the Commander of the aircraft carrier, The USS Theodore Roosevelt, Rear Admiral Mark Fitzgerald, has said.

Senior administration officials are saying that the U.S. is pressing ahead with its military strikes and ground campaign so that the objectives could be accomplished before the onset of winter. The other factor that is weighing heavily is the holy month of Ramadan starting November. But the emphasis is also that any decision on cessation of the air strikes will be based on military factors, not on diplomatic grounds.

``It would be in our interest and the interest of the coalition to see this matter resolved before winter strikes and it makes our operations that much more difficult,'' the Secretary of State, Gen. Colin Powell said. He declined to say if key cities of Afghanistan must be secured before Ramadan.

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