Monday, 19 November 2001

Afghnistan war: 'Northern Alliance needs US air strikes to make a dent in Taliban defence'

Though the Northern Alliance has arrayed its troops on the Shomali plains, it will depend on decisive US air strikes to make a dent in the Taliban defence.

Don Pathan
India Today

Bagram, Afghanistan

Sitting behind a sandbag on a rooftop watching Taliban soldiers just 500 metres away, an opposition Northern Alliance frontline commander, Major Khata, talks about the shortage of ammunition and the step up in American air strikes against the Taliban.

Though the strikes were far from what is commonly referred to by military men as "carpet bombing", US attacks in recent days have indeed intensified over previous weeks. By the middle of the week, US B-52 bombers were dropping the famed "daisy cutter" bombs that are among the most powerful conventional munitions of their kind.

It marked another major shift in the US bombing strategy. There seemed to be a new sense of urgency to get results before winter truly set in. America also seemed more open to coordinate its attacks with the Northern Alliance forces.

Prior to his meeting with Franks, Fahim had met with Iranian leaders and Russian intelligence chiefs to secure continued diplomatic and military support from the two countries. Soon after, US Defence Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld noted in Washington that although there may be an "uneven degree of coordination" between the two sides, the communication linkage was improving and he knew "for a fact that in a number of cases the coordination is quite good".

If Rumsfeld gets his way, there is likely to be an increase of US Special Forces personnel in north Afghanistan, working with frontline commanders in pointing out targets for the American jets.

Currently, there are about 100-200 Special Forces personnel in the Alliance's area, facilitating the humanitarian and ammunition airdrops, as well as assessing the military situation on the ground.

Northern Alliance Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah called the number of US military officials on the opposition-held territory "modest" and dismissed suggestions that American ground troops would be fighting alongside the Alliance soldiers in the event of an all-out offensive against the Taliban.

Last week, as the US and the Alliance were jumping in bed with each other, preparations for a thorough offensive against Kabul were clearly under way.

A Northern alliance advance towards Kabul will face stiff resistance. The Taliban are well dug-in and any American support will be out of sync as the two sides speak different languages.

Tanks and track vehicles, including truck-mounted, multiple-barrel rocket launchers, were being mobilised around the Shomali plains from nearby Kapissa province, northeast of Kabul.

Construction work on a small airstrip in Gulbahar on the northeast end of the Shomali plains is near completion. With snow falling on the Hindu Kush, transporting goods and ammunitions from Tajikistan through the land route would be out of question in the coming weeks.

Also, this past week, about 1,000 soldiers from the Zaparti strike unit were ordered to move back to their post in the Shomali from the northern front along the Tajikistan border.

On the outskirts of the town of Charika, which last week came under rocket attacks that killed two and injured nearly 20 people, troops in fresh new uniform were seen carrying out military exercises-jumping out of flatbed trucks on the old road to Kabul and dodging horse buggies and mules as they rushed to take up positions under the close watch of their commander.

In a show of force last week Burhanuddin Rabbani, the Alliance's president, reviewed several thousand troops as scores of foreign reporters looked on the parade field which was filled with shouts of "Allah hu akbar (God is great)".

As Rabbani gave his men a lengthy pep talk, troops in the formation broke rank and turned their heads to the south towards the Shomali plains to watch US jets taking out Taliban positions along the frontline.

The Alliance's strength is estimated at about 15,000- 20,000 fighters. Its armour includes T-62 and T-55 main battle tanks, BMP 1 and BMP 2 armoured fighting vehicles, D-30 122-mm artillery pieces and a range of mobile truckmounted multiple-barrelled rocket launchers.

There are only two MI-35 Soviet-built attack helicopters and no fix-wing ground attack aircraft-the essential hardware needed to take out Taliban tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles that are heavily dug-in and camouflaged in the heart of the Shomali plains that sits in between the Alliance's stronghold in the Panjshir Valley and Kabul.

Abdullah says his men are in the highest state of readiness but frontline commanders complain of a lack of ammunition, fuel, food and the fact that their men receive their meagre $10 (Rs 480) monthly salary only once every six months.

Taliban troop strength has been estimated at about 40,000 fighters-including 10,000 Arabs, Pakistanis, Chechens, Uzbeks and other Muslim radicals from southeast Asia, all belonging to bin Laden's Al Qaida movement. Moreover, any advance towards Kabul is likely to face stiff resistance.

Up north-a week after experiencing a major set-back following what was billed as an ill-conceived military plan- the Alliance on Tuesday claimed to have made a considerable advance on the strategic northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif near the border with Uzbekistan after US jets cleared the way through intense bombing.

The claim could not be independently verified. Despite the renewed vigour in the assaults by both the US and the Northern Alliance, the siege of Afghanistan continues to be an uphill battle.

https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/cover-story/story/20011119-afghnistan-war-northern-alliance-needs-us-air-strikes-to-make-a-dent-in-taliban-defence-774695-2001-11-19

Waiting in hope

Though the Northern Alliance has arrayed its troops on the Shomali plains, it will depend on decisive US air strikes to make a dent in the Taliban defence.

Don Pathan
India Today

Afghanistan, November 19, 2001 | UPDATED 18:06 IST

Sitting behind a sandbag on a rooftop watching Taliban soldiers just 500 m away, an opposition Northern Alliance frontline commander, Major Khata, talks about the shortage of ammunition and the step up in American air strikes against the Taliban.

"If the American air strikes are adequate, then we won't need so much supplies," Khata says. Minutes later, US war jets roar over the Shomali plains, about 45 km north of Kabul, dropping 12 bombs in a period of one hour on Taliban positions just a kilometer from where Khata is sitting.

Though the strikes were far from what is commonly referred to by military men as "carpet bombing", US attacks in recent days have indeed intensified over previous weeks. By the middle of the week, US B-52 bombers were dropping the famed "daisy cutter" bombs that are among the most powerful conventional munitions of their kind.

The coordination, which got off to a slow start, came about after last week's meeting between US Central Command chief General Tommy Franks and Northern Alliance Commander-in-Chief General Mohammad Fahim in Dushanbe.

Prior to his meeting with Franks, Fahim had met with Iranian leaders and Russian intelligence chiefs to secure continued diplomatic and military support from the two countries. Soon after, US Defence Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld noted in Washington that although there may be an "uneven degree of coordination" between the two sides, the communication linkage was improving and he knew "for a fact that in a number of cases the coordination is quite good".

If Rumsfeld gets his way, there is likely to be an increase of US Special Forces personnel in north Afghanistan, working with frontline commanders in pointing out targets for the American jets.

Currently, there are about 100-200 Special Forces personnel in the Alliance's area, facilitating the humanitarian and ammunition airdrops, as well as assessing the military situation on the ground.

Last week, as the US and the Alliance were jumping in bed with each other, preparations for a thorough offensive against Kabul were clearly under way.

A Northern alliance advance towards Kabul will face stiff resistance. The Taliban are well dug-in and any American support will be out of sync as the two sides speak different languages.

Tanks and track vehicles, including truck-mounted, multiple-barrel rocket launchers, were being mobilised around the Shomali plains from nearby Kapissa province, northeast of Kabul.

Also, this past week, about 1,000 soldiers from the Zaparti strike unit were ordered to move back to their post in the Shomali from the northern front along the Tajikistan border.

On the outskirts of the town of Charika, which last week came under rocket attacks that killed two and injured nearly 20 people, troops in fresh new uniform were seen carrying out military exercises-jumping out of flatbed trucks on the old road to Kabul and dodging horse buggies and mules as they rushed to take up positions under the close watch of their commander.

Abdullah has made it clear that advancing into Kabul will not depend on the political outcome of the ongoing dialogue between all parties concerned, including former king Mohammed Zahir Shah, looking to form an interim government in a post-Taliban Afghanistan.

In a show of force last week Burhanuddin Rabbani, the Alliance's president, reviewed several thousand troops as scores of foreign reporters looked on the parade field which was filled with shouts of "Allah hu akbar (God is great)".

MISSION TIME: General Fahim Khan (centre) and Burhanuddin Rabbani (right) review Alliance troops in Jabal Saraj

But as the US intensifies its air war against Afghanistan and terrorists suspected to be loyal to Osama bin Laden, there is still a big question mark over whether the opposition can take on the Taliban and its foreign friends.

The Alliance's strength is estimated at about 15,000- 20,000 fighters. Its armour includes T-62 and T-55 main battle tanks, BMP 1 and BMP 2 armoured fighting vehicles, D-30 122-mm artillery pieces and a range of mobile truckmounted multiple-barrelled rocket launchers.

The Taliban are well dug-in; any air support from American jets is likely to be out of sync as the two sides do not speak the same language; and the mud houses and high walls around villages are likely to serve as obstacles for advancing ground units.

Up north-a week after experiencing a major set-back following what was billed as an ill-conceived military plan- the Alliance on Tuesday claimed to have made a considerable advance on the strategic northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif near the border with Uzbekistan after US jets cleared the way through intense bombing.

The claim could not be independently verified. Despite the renewed vigour in the assaults by both the US and the Northern Alliance, the siege of Afghanistan continues to be an uphill battle.

Waiting in hope

Though the Northern Alliance has arrayed its troops on the Shomali plains, it will depend on decisive US air strikes to make a dent in the Taliban defence.

Don Pathan
India Today

Afghanistan, November 19, 2001 | UPDATED 18:06 IST

"If the American air strikes are adequate, then we won't need so much supplies," Khata says. Minutes later, US war jets roar over the Shomali plains, about 45 km north of Kabul, dropping 12 bombs in a period of one hour on Taliban positions just a kilometre from where Khata is sitting.

Though the strikes were far from what is commonly referred to by military men as "carpet bombing", US attacks in recent days have indeed intensified over previous weeks. By the middle of the week, US B-52 bombers were dropping the famed "daisy cutter" bombs that are among the most powerful conventional munitions of their kind.

Last week, as the US and the Alliance were jumping in bed with each other, preparations for a thorough offensive against Kabul were clearly under way.

A Northern alliance advance towards Kabul will face stiff resistance. The Taliban are well dug-in and any American support will be out of sync as the two sides speak different languages.

Tanks and track vehicles, including truck-mounted, multiple-barrel rocket launchers, were being mobilised around the Shomali plains from nearby Kapissa province, northeast of Kabul.

MISSION TIME: General Fahim Khan (centre) and Burhanuddin Rabbani (right) review Alliance troops in Jabal Saraj

The claim could not be independently verified. Despite the renewed vigour in the assaults by both the US and the Northern Alliance, the siege of Afghanistan continues to be an uphill battle.

Thursday, 8 November 2001

Northern alliance forces closing in on key Afghan cit

Aspen Daily News, Volume 24, Number 131,

November 8, 2001

Northern alliance forces closing in on key Afghan city

This article has been automatically clipped from the Aspen Daily News November 8, 2001, organised into a single column, then optimised for display on your computer screen. As a result, it may not look exactly as it did on the original page. The article can be seen in its original form in the page view.

Wednesday, 7 November 2001

US planes bomb behind Taliban front lines near Afghan capital

By Don Pathan
The Independent
(The Associated Press)

Jabal Saraj, Afghanistan

US warplanes bombed behind front–line Taliban positions near Kabul in an effort to weaken defenses and allow opposition troops to advance toward the capital.=

Witnesses said they did not hear any anti–aircraft fire from Taliban fighters, who have periodically tried to shoot down U.S. jets since bombing began more than five weeks ago.

However, there were no signs that the Afghan opposition, a loose coalition of fighters dominated by ethnic minority Tajiks and Uzbeks, was on the offensive near Kabul.

But the opposition has claimed victories on another main front, near the strategic northern city of Mazar–e–Sharif.

Backed by heavy U.S. bombing, the opposition northern alliance said Tuesday it captured several areas to the south of the city. Still, opposition forces remain at least 60 kilometers (40 miles) south of the city with winter closing in.

To the north of Kabul, witnesses said U.S. jets dropped dozens of bombs late Tuesday and two bombs early Wednesday behind the front line, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) north of the capital. Some explosions were followed by up to 30 smaller detonations.

The Taliban's Bakhtar News Agency said bombs north of Kabul and in the eastern city of Jalalabad killed at least 10 people and injured 19. The report could not be independently confirmed, and the Pentagon has denied Taliban claims of widespread civilian casualties.

At the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Tuesday that an assessment of the opposition claims of gains outside Mazar–e–Sharif would have to wait until the "dust settled."

But after seesawing battles south of Mazar–e–Sharif in recent weeks, the opposition said intense strikes by American planes helped open the way for Tuesday's advance. The alliance had complained earlier that U.S. bombing was not heavy enough.

Retaking the city, which the Taliban captured from the opposition in 1998, would greatly damage the Islamic militia's power in the north.

Footage shows LAPD shooting rubber bullet at transgender rights demonstrator during spa protests

Rumsfeld said U.S. military planners hope that American help to the opposition alliance – including weapons and ammunition – will unite its factions so "that we will see more success" on the ground.

The Pentagon has said small numbers of American special forces teams are working with northern alliance forces to train and equip them, provide them with additional ammunition and weaponry, and identify targets for U.S. strike aircraft.

The Pentagon also intends to start delivering cold–weather clothing to the northern alliance, officials say.

President George W. Bush launched airstrikes against Afghanistan on Oct. 7 after the ruling Taliban militia refused to hand over Osama bin Laden for his alleged role in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks against the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

On Tuesday, Bush pledged "to keep relentless military pressure" on bin Laden and the Taliban, saying it is essential to keep terrorists from acquiring nuclear, chemical and biological weapons.

Rumsfeld said the United States extracted Hamid Karzai, a southern opposition leader, from Afghanistan over the weekend. Taliban forces had been chasing Karzai as he tried to rally support among ethnic Pashtun tribes for an alternative to the Taliban.

The United States wants the Afghan opposition to make significant gains ahead of winter. Fighting traditionally tapers off then because snow closes roads and hampers the resupply of troops.

https://www.independent.co.uk/author/don-pathan

Tuesday, 23 October 2001

U.S. jets press attacks on Taliban positions near front lines; Taliban claim hospital was hit

DON PATHAN Associated Press Writer

BAGRAM, Afghanistan (AP) — U.S. jets pounded Taliban positions Monday near front lines outside the Afghan capital and a key northern city, the Taliban said. The attacks appeared aimed at helping Afghan opposition forces advance.

In Islamabad, Pakistan, Taliban Ambassador Abdul Salam Zaeef claimed U.S. and British jets attacked a hospital in the western Afghan city of Herat, killing more than 100 people. The report could not be independently confirmed.

Britain denied its planes took part in any raid against Herat, and the United States cast doubt on the Taliban claim.

Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said he did not have any specific information about a hospital, "but I put as much credibility in this Taliban report as others that have been proven wrong."

Zaeef also claimed the Taliban had shot down two U.S. helicopters over the weekend - one of which landed crippled in neighboring Pakistan, while the other crashed in Afghanistan.

The Pentagon has denied any of its helicopters were shot down, though it said a Black Hawk helicopter crashed in an accident Saturday in Pakistan, killing two U.S. servicemen on board.

Meanwhile, a refugee crisis was building at Pakistan's sealed border with Afghanistan. An Afghan man died of wounds suffered when border guards opened fire to force back up to 15,000 trapped Afghan civilians pushing and pleading for entry.

As the bombing campaign went into its third week, the strikes near the front lines suggested the start of a more aggressive American campaign on behalf of northern-based opposition forces facing the fundamentalist Taliban regime.

But it was unclear whether the poorly armed and poorly trained opposition forces would be able to make significant gains against either the capital Kabul or the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif - something they have been unable to accomplish since the air campaign began Oct 7.

A Northern Alliance intelligence officer, Motavar, complained that the attacks were not over a wide enough area. "We are satisfied, but we would like a broader bombardment over a larger area," said Motavar, who like many Afghans uses only one name.

Haji Gul Rahman, a deputy brigade commander at Bagram, north of Kabul, said there were casualties among the Taliban, but he couldn't say how many.

In the capital, the Taliban's official Bakhtar news agency reported heavy bombing Monday at positions 30 miles to the north.

Bombing in the same area Sunday marked the most substantial U.S. strikes to date against Taliban positions defending Kabul from the Northern Alliance forces, stalled for years 12 to 25 miles north of the city.

Bedraggled opposition fighters watched, excited, as smoke and dust billowed up. However, there was no report Monday of any opposition advances.

As sunset approached, two U.S. jets dropped six bombs, five of them on Taliban front-line positions north of Kabul, while another fell on the Northern Alliance side. There was no word on casualties.

U.S. jets also mounted fierce attacks throughout the night around the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif, where opposition and Taliban forces have been stuck in a seesaw battle for days. The strikes devastated two heavily fortified bases that had been guarding the southern approach, damaged tanks and artillery sites, and destroyed an ammunition depot, Khan said.

Still, as in the front near Kabul, there were no claims Monday of significant opposition advances around Mazar-e-Sharif.

Taking control of Mazar-e-Sharif would let the opposition control key supply lines for arms from neighboring Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. But the United States and Britain have been reluctant to help the alliance seize Kabul until a broad-based government is in place to replace the Taliban.

Skies over Kabul were quiet through the night and into the day Monday. A day earlier, a U.S. raid shattered two homes in the city's northern Khair Khana district - killing at 13 civilians, including three women and four boys ages 8 to 13.

Zaeef, the Taliban envoy to Pakistan, also said U.S strikes Monday hit two health clinics in south-central Urzgan province - though he did not know how many casualties resulted - in addition to the 100-bed hospital in Herat.

"More than 100 were martyred. Patients and doctors were killed," he said. "It is clear that American planes are targeting the Afghan people to punish the Afghan nation for having chosen an Islamic government."

The Taliban's Bakhtar news agency reported that at mid-afternoon U.S. planes hit the Nawabad section of Herat, destroying five houses and killing eight to 10 people. It did not mention a hit on a hospital.

The Pentagon has said it is targeting only sites linked to the Taliban or Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida terror network, accused in the Sept. 11 terror attacks in the United States. U.S. officials have expressed regret for any unintended casualties.

Afghanistan's neighbors have closed its borders to Afghan civilians fleeing the U.S.-led attacks.

Stranded, up to 15,000 Afghans are camped out in a no man's land between the Afghan and Pakistan borders at the Chaman crossing.

Pakistan officials said both Pakistani and Taliban border guards opened fire Sunday to quell a stone-throwing protest by hundreds of refugees demanding entry. Doctors at Chaman said Monday a 23-year-old Afghan died of a bullet wound. Another bullet injured a 13-year-old Afghan boy.

Pakistan border guards insist they were firing into the air only.

Sunday, 7 October 2001

MEKONG NAVIGATION PACT: Currents of suspicion still run

Don Pathan
THE NATION

CHIANG SAEN, Chiang Rai, Thailand

Every day a group of 75 to 100 men gather by the loading dock at Chiang Rai's Chiang Saen district waiting to offload hundreds of boxes of goods sent down from southern China via the Mekong River.

It's a back-breaking job, and the pay is low - about Bt100 per day on average- but the men are not complaining. A job is a job, they say.

Ten to 15 cargo ships, ranging from 75 to 100 tons, dock at the Chiang Saen pier daily, but the workload will get even heavier in coming days as more and more cargo ships arrive.

In May, Thailand, Laos, Burma and China's Yunnan province took a major step towards strengthening regional economic cooperation by entering into an agreement - after five years of negotiation - to allow cargo vessels to navigate freely on the Mekong.

Local Thai officials said the Chinese merchants and sailors, with their vast experience from navigating the Mekong and other great rivers were looking to make the most out of the recently signed agreement aimed at facilitating commercial navigation along the Mekong.

Unlike in the past when the absence of a standard operating procedure gave rise to unscrupulous practices by customs and port officials, the agreement that came into effect in May put in place the necessary rules for safe and free navigation along an 886-kilometre stretch of the river. This extends from Simao port in Yunnan to Luang Prabang, a world heritage site and popular tourist destination in northern Laos.

Considering the political turmoil of the past decades, the agreement is indeed a major step towards regional cooperation. In the post-World War II period, the Mekong was divided along geopolitical lines, with Communist China in the upper reaches being sidelined from development schemes funded by Western powers. The move was aimed at preventing communism from reaching the river banks of the non-communist states south of China.

Decades later, following the fall of the Vientiane royalist government in 1975, the upper-lower line became blurred. As a result, the portion of the Mekong that separated pro-US Thailand from Communist Laos became a bitter dividing line between the two countries. For the hundreds of thousands of Indochinese refugees fleeing Communist rule, the river became the last hurdle before reaching the so-called free world.

Today, the gathering of porters at Chiang Saen's port is indeed a testimony of how political and economic realities have evolved over the years. Though the changes are welcomed, not all parties are completely sold on the idea that this is a "win-win" situation. For some, the heart of the problem is the issue of sovereignty. For others, the problems lie elsewhere - namely security and environmental degradation.

Laos and Burma, which stand to gain only a fraction of what Thailand and China are reaping economically, have consistently pointed out that the great Mekong is not an "international waterway" and that the agreement does not constitute forgoing one's sovereignty for the sake of the whole.

Vientiane is also concerned that the dredging of the river to facilitate the movement of larger ships, as proposed by China, may exact too high a price.

In a recent interview with The Nation, Phongsavath Boupha, Lao deputy foreign minister, said dredging the Mekong was likely to have a wide range of effects, from environmental degradation to the shifting of the current border demarcation and riverbanks.

"Experts who carry out the study on the impact will have to be well versed in a wide range of areas as the dredging will affect a wide range of things," Phongsavath said.

The Chinese government is reportedly looking to invest US$5.6 million (Bt250 million) dredging the 331-kilometre section from the No 243 demarcation point between China and Burma to Houyxay in Laos.

If all goes to plan, the project will start in December. Once completed, this stretch is expected to allow passage of 100-ton ships all year round, Liu Daqing, a leading technician in charge of the project, was quoted by China's state-run People's Daily as saying.

And by 2007, 300-ton ships are expected to be able to navigate this stretch even in the dry season, the daily said. Currently the annual navigation capacity of the Mekong is four million ton and is expected to reach 10 million tons by 2007.

As for the generals in Rangoon, high on their agenda is the issue of security. Not only is the area on the Burmese side of the Mekong River rugged and not firmly within the grip of authority, the area is slowly being taken over by units of the United Wa State Army (UWSA).

And although Rangoon and the 20,000-strong UWSA entered a cease-fire agreement over a decade ago, the arrangement is still a far cry from a meaningful and lasting peace settlement. Any development that enhances the standing of the Wa, said Thai army officers, is definitely a point of concern for both Thailand and Burma.

The UWSA, dubbed the world's largest armed drug-trafficking group, has been declared "public enemy number one" by the Thai government. Checkpoints leading to the UWSA settlement and units have been ordered shut, while troop presence along the border has been beefed up to stop the flow of drugs into the Kingdom.

One good thing that has come out of the Wa's presence in the area, said a Thai border official, is the decline in banditry and river piracy.

But with or without the Wa, the face of the so-called economic quadrangular development zone - its social and economic landscape - is certainly changing.

"A handful of people may be involved in the drug trade and other illicit activities," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, "but the real force that is shaping the area is the cross-border trade among the four countries."

Besides enhancing trade between northern Thailand and southern China, strengthening economic cooperation in the region will essentially enhance Laos' international standing, the official said.

The landlocked country that in the past served as a buffer between Thailand and suspicious Vietnam and China is today trying desperately to become a land-link nation. Along the way, it is also looking to become the "battery" for Southeast Asia through the sale of hydroelectric power.

"A strong Laos would be good for Thailand," said the official. "We wouldn't want a mass migration from up north [China] pouring down to this area."

As pointed out by Nawin Thepawong, the chief of Chiang Rai's commerce office, cross-border trade between Thailand and Laos continued at the height of the regionwide economic crises. He said Thai exports to Laos, especially electrical appliances, were climbing steadily throughout the turmoil.

Said the Thai official: "Don't underestimate the Laotians. They are good salesmen. Much of what they have purchased from Thailand is resold to China and Vietnam."