AMERICANS - Tighten noose

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Americans tighten the noose By Michael Smith, Defence Correspondent and Toby Harnden in Washington (Filed: 24/09/2001)

AMERICA is to use former Soviet bases in central Asia as the main springboard for its military campaign against Afghanistan, it emerged last night.

Some military hardware and personnel have already been deployed in the former Soviet republics of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. They will be joined within days by special forces troops backed by combat and other aircraft.

It is the first time American troops have been based in parts of the former Soviet Union. The deployment will put forces within easy striking distance of Afghanistan and greatly increases the credibility of threatened allied military action.

The decision to open the bases to American and allied forces followed an hour-long telephone conversation between President Bush and President Putin of Russia, Time magazine reported.

American officials said that Mr Putin agreed to put pressure on the central Asian republics, where Moscow has continuing influence.

It was not known what quid pro quo the Russian leader or the central Asian states had secured.

Using bases in the two republics, which lie on Afghanistan's northern border, gives easy access for special forces heading into territory controlled by the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance.

It will also relieve pressure on Gen Pervaiz Musharraf of Pakistan, who faces an Islamic backlash for his decision to co-operate with Washington. Deploying large American forces on Pakistani soil would intensify the turbulence and could lead to the general's downfall.

As a reward to Pakistan, the country with the closest relations with the Taliban, America said it was lifting sanctions on Pakistan and India imposed because of their nuclear ambitions.

A high-level Pentagon team arrived in Islamabad to put the finishing touches to plans for America to use Pakistani air space and share intelligence.

Russia's support for the use of bases marked a significant success for American diplomacy. Tajik and Uzbek leaders had originally agreed to the use of their facilities but withdrew their offer after pressure from Moscow.

Uzbekistan, which is more independent of Moscow, was expected to provide the base for F15 fighter bombers and troops. Tajikistan, which still has thousands of Russian troops on its soil, was more likely to be used discreetly by American and British special forces, American defence department sources said.

The planned deployment results in part from close relations built between the American and central Asian military over the past three years through Nato's Partnership for Peace programme with its former Warsaw Pact foes.

As the military build-up continued, a senior Army officer returned to London with a full list of the contribution British forces are expected to make to the military action against Afghanistan, which could start this week. Lt-Gen Sir Anthony Piggott, Deputy Chief of Defence Staff (Commitments), had spent more than a week in Washington with a small team of planners from Britain's permanent joint headquarters at Northwood, west London.

British involvement, codenamed Operation Veritas, is expected to include aircraft, warships and small numbers of ground troops, mainly special forces.

Reports that SAS troopers had already engaged in a firefight with the Taliban were dismissed, but could be part of the psychological warfare being waged against Afghanistan before the real fighting starts.

The RAF is likely to be heavily involved. About 20 Tornado and Jaguar attack aircraft are already in the region.

Seven more planes took off yesterday from RAF Marham, Norfolk, to take part in the Swift Sword exercise in Oman, which was planned before the present crisis.

A fourth American carrier group, with 60 aircraft and destroyers and submarines capable of firing cruise missiles was deployed to the Gulf. As Washington raised to $30 million its bounty for information leading to the capture of the terrorist Osama bin Laden - believed to be the mastermind of the attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon - it dismissed Taliban claims that he was missing and had possibly fled Afghanistan.

Asked if he believed the claim, Donald Rumsfeld, the American defence secretary, said: "Of course not. They know where he is. They know their country."

Condoleezza Rice, the national security adviser, said: "We are not going to be deterred by comments that he may be missing. The Taliban are not trustworthy."

Mr Rumsfeld confirmed that America had lost an unmanned spy plane over Afghanistan. But he played down Taliban boasts that they had shot it down.

"We have lost contact with an unmanned aerial vehicle," he said. "That happens from time to time in terms of control. We have no reasons to believe it was shot down."

Bill Clinton, the former president, said that he had authorised the assassination of bin Laden in 1998.

Speaking in New York, he said that the CIA was in contact with a group inside Afghanistan, although he did not say whether it was an Afghan organisation or foreign-based.

But a lack of clear intelligence on bin Laden's whereabouts had prevented the plan being executed, he said.

Gen Colin Powell, the secretary of state, praised Gen Musharraf of Pakistan for supporting the offensive against bin Laden and predicted that his government would remain stable despite Muslim pressure.

"Everything I have seen convinces me that he made a courageous decision and he did it with full awareness of the potential domestic consequences."

Gen Powell said that America would soon be able to provide allies and potential allies with firm evidence of a link between bin Laden and the attacks in New York and Washington, which killed at least 6,800 people.

"We are hard at work bringing all the information together - intelligence information, law enforcement information," he said.

"I think in the near future we will be able to put out a paper, a document, that will describe quite clearly the evidence that we have linking him to this attack."

More than 30,000 relatives and colleagues of those who died packed a prayer service yesterday at the Yankee stadium, America's most famous sports ground.

A three-mile air exclusion zone was imposed around the stadium, which is on the flight path to La Guardia airport.

Thousands more people watched at big-screen venues across New York.

-- Anonymous, September 23, 2001

Answers

I saw yankee Stadium..when you think you won't get choked up anymore.... you find you still can! :^ (

-- Anonymous, September 23, 2001

Bill Clinton, the former president, said that he had authorised the assassination of bin Laden in 1998...But a lack of clear intelligence...

And we have no doubt where that lack was, Bill. Now, shut up!

-- Anonymous, September 24, 2001


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