The United States and the Global Coalition
War Against Terrorism
A Chronology: November 1-15, 2001
September, 2001
October 1-20. 2001
October 21-31. 2001

November 16, 2001
Once Again, The Power Of B-52s
Those lucky enough not to be vaporized by the battering tell their stories
with wide eyes and flapping tongues.
They describe the rolling of the earth, as if some subterranean war of angry
gods had caused a rumbling quake. They speak of an overwhelming wave of
explosions as dozens of bombs from a single airplane carpet a so-called kill
box that's typically a half-mile square. They tell of a sustained low
roar--not from the bombers themselves, which are too high to hear, but from
their massive loads of ordnance. They talk of the hits, first a few bombs,
then many more, as plumes of dirt and black smoke rise from a moonscape of
craters 25 feet wide. And they murmur less about the soldiers who are
obliterated than about those who survive, blood streaming from noses and
eardrums torn by the concussions, so dazed and frightened that they often
refuse to leave their foxholes--sometimes for days on end.
There are many reasons why, during the last week, warriors of the Northern
Alliance have rapidly overrun the bulk of Afghanistan. But what primarily
triggered the unraveling of the alliance's Taliban opponents appears to have
been the introduction in late October of swept-wing B-52 Stratofortress
bombers, legendary warhorses older than the U.S. Air Force pilots who fly
them.
Before the arrival of lumbering B-52s, much of the U.S. offensive came from
newer Navy jets making small-scale strikes--often one or two bombs at a
time--to hit buildings, tanks or antiaircraft sites. One Pentagon official
dismissed the early strikes as "piddling," hopelessly incapable of punching
a hole in Taliban lines so troops of the Northern Alliance could advance.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's deployment of B-52s, flying 13-hour
missions from the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia, changed all that.
Thunderous bomb drops along combat fronts destroyed or intimidated Taliban
fighters, allowing the Northern Alliance to take the city of Mazar-e Sharif
after a ground assault not supported by massive air power failed.
The story was the same a decade ago in the Gulf War. Iraqi soldiers had
never seen such a powerful airplane. After one punishing B-52 raid,
terrified Iraqis frantically tried to surrender to an unmanned and unarmed
U.S. reconnaissance aircraft no bigger than a desk.
Psychological devastation is a big part of the B-52's repertoire. The bombs
themselves disrupt only some 3 percent of the surface of the kill box. But
the aggregate impact of the ground tremors, the awful din and the
destruction create bedlam. As retired Air Force Gen. Perry Smith told a
reporter in early November, "If you don't get hit directly by the (B-52)
bombs, you know what it's like--and you know they're coming back."
The Air Force doesn't like to admit it, but the planes by themselves rarely
win battles. Instead they best synchronize with ground troops in a concept
that University of Chicago air strategy expert Robert Pape calls "hammer and
anvil." B-52s are the hammer; ground troops waiting to overrun the enemy are
the anvil.
"The B-52s create a choice for the opponent's ground forces," Pape says.
"They can mass for battle and get hit by the bombers--or they can run away."
The planes alone can't kill enough soldiers to wipe out a fighting force, he
adds. But as in Iraq and Kosovo, B-52 runs in Afghanistan caused enough
damage and distraction to give allied ground forces a huge advantage.
The planes have had a diplomatic impact as well. Remember all those October
news stories about Pakistan's president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, nervously
seeking an early end to the bombing campaign? Diplomatic sources reported
early this month that when he learned that U.S. bombing would instead be
intensified, with B-52s set to assault Taliban lines, Musharraf didn't
object. Rather, he figured that the stronger effort would achieve his goal
of encouraging Taliban defections and ending the war as quickly as possible.
In a subsequent interview, he confidently lectured that, "One has to achieve
the objective of a military operation" before halting it.
That said, B-52s haven't always won clear victories. They were last built in
1962--and so often modernized with structural, electronic and weapons
capabilities that pilots joke they don't have an original bolt. They were
first used against the North Vietnamese, who eventually learned to live with
years of constant raids: Ground fighters spread out, dug deep bunkers to
protect them, and found an ingenious way to down many B-52s with
surface-to-air missiles.
The planes are also dogged by controversy. U.S. antiwar groups vilify B-52s
as weapons so awesome that it's unfair to use them against primitive
opponents such as the Taliban.
But if fairness is the issue, weighing the costs thus far should start with
the 5,000 victims of Sept. 11. What's more, the purpose of using B-52s isn't
to make precision hits in civilian areas; it's to smash enemy forces poised
on the battlefield.
The aging B-52s are the air power that has mattered most in Afghanistan.
Yes, perhaps the war is a long way from over. And what Pape calls a sniper
approach is now more useful: precision-guided airpower aimed at caves,
structures or other Taliban or Al Qaeda hideouts.
Still, in the weeks before B-52s rewrote this war's script, the Taliban
resistance looked formidable. Then came the rumbling of the earth.

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service


WASHINGTON, Nov. 16, 2001 -- The U.S. air campaign against the Taliban and Al
Qaeda continues on this first day of Ramadan, DoD officials said.
"We are bombing today," Pentagon spokesman Dick McGraw said. "There is no change
in operations."
On Nov. 15, U.S. air forces flew 138 sorties over Afghanistan. The focus was in
support of ground operations near Kunduz and Mazar-e Sharif in the north and
Herat in the west. U.S. forces also went after caves and tunnels from "Kabul to
Khyber," McGraw said.
He said there were nine leaflet drops and two Commando Solo missions. In
addition, three C-17s dropped 52,000 Humanitarian Daily Ration packs in
Afghanistan.
Some 40 U.S. special operations troops and about 100 British soldiers are on the
ground at Baghram Air Base, 35 miles northeast of Kabul, McGraw said. They
arrived in C-130 transports yesterday. Their primary mission is to prepare the
base for humanitarian relief operations. U.S. forces may use the airport for
combat strikes if needed, he noted.
The French Defense Ministry announced the arrival of 58 soldiers in Mazar-e
Sharif, in northern Afghanistan. Turkish officials also said their forces are
ready for Afghan action.
In the south, the situation around the Taliban stronghold of Kandahar remains
fluid. "There's a lot of movement back and forth, a lot of activity, "McGraw
said.


WASHINGTON, Nov. 19, 2001
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld will visit the Army's 
Fort Bragg, N.C., the day before Thanksgiving.
Rumsfeld will observe demonstrations of special operations
capabilities and receive a special operations update from
Air Force Gen. Charles R. Holland, commander of U.S.
Special Operations Command based at MacDill Air Force Base,
Fla.
Fort Bragg is home to the largest concentration of special
operations forces service members in the American military.
The secretary will also visit with some of Fort Bragg's
42,000 soldiers. "We're always looking for an opportunity
to point out just what an incredible role these people
play," Pentagon spokeswoman Victoria Clarke told reporters
Nov. 19.
Fort Bragg is home to the Army's 18th Airborne Corps, 82nd
Airborne Division, the U.S. Army Special Operations Command
and the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School.
This is Rumsfeld's first visit to the post during this
stint as Defense Secretary, Defense officials said.

By Sgt. 1st Class Kathleen T. Rhem, USA
American Forces Press Service


WASHINGTON, Nov. 19, 2001 - Defense Secretary Donald
Rumsfeld had nothing but kudos for U.S. special operations
troops in Afghanistan during his daily Pentagon media
briefing. He also shed some light on exactly what they're
doing there.
"Several hundred" American forces on the ground have been
gathering information and helping find targets for
coalition aircraft, Rumsfeld explained.
"For the most part the special ops have been making
assessments, and interdicting roads and looking for
supplies moving north or south or east or west," Rumsfeld
explained. "(They're also) attempting to prevent people who
ought not to be going places, from going places."
He said several times the troops are doing a great job.
"They are certainly doing exactly that which they have been
asked to do and performing exceedingly well," Rumsfeld
said.
The secretary denied reports American forces know where
Osama bin Laden and other terrorist and Taliban leaders
are, saying it would be "foolhardy" for him to try to
speculate. "The Al Qaeda and Taliban leadership can be any
number of places, and they move frequently," Rumsfeld said.
He also said he didn't know how much of the Taliban and Al
Qaeda leadership have been killed in six weeks of bombing.
"We have been targeting command and control and leadership
activities where we get information that leads us to
believe that Al Qaeda and Taliban leaders are gathered,"
Rumsfeld said. "When we do that, we're not on the ground to
make body counts."
Rumsfeld acknowledged the CIA has operatives on the ground
in Afghanistan and said they are working closely with U.S.
military troops there. He denied, however, reports that CIA
and DoD are competing in any way or aren't cooperating with
each other. "They are tucked in very tight with the U.S.
military," Rumsfeld said. He added the CIA personnel report
through the commander in chief of U.S. Central Command, as
do the military forces there.
"You can only have one person with his hand on the steering
wheel, and that's General Tommy Franks," Rumsfeld said,
referring to the U.S. Central Command commander.
The secretary was adamant that Taliban troops mounting an
apparent last stand in the northern Afghanistan city of
Kunduz not be allowed to negotiate their way out. Rumsfeld
said that ultimately the Northern Alliance commanders
directing the opposition forces fighting there will decide
how best to deal with the situation, but that America is
strongly urging them to not let the Taliban troops get
away.
"The idea of their getting out of the country and going off
to make their mischief somewhere else is not a happy
prospect," Rumsfeld said. He would rather they be killed or
taken prisoner, he said.
"Any idea that those people ... should end up in some type of
negotiation that would allow them to leave the country and
go off and destabilize other countries and engage in
terrorist attacks on the United States is something that I
would certainly do everything I could to prevent," Rumsfeld
said.
Any prisoners would have to be taken by opposition forces,
not Americans. "We have only handfuls of people there. We
don't have jails; we don't have guards," Rumsfeld said.
Rumsfeld also took the opportunity once again to reiterate
that America's goal is to stop terrorists from being a
threat to the United States. He cautioned that this "won't
be an antiseptic war" and that America may yet suffer
casualties.
"If you're going to put people's lives at risk, you'd
better have a darned good reason," he said. "And we do."
On Nov. 18, coalition aircraft flew 138 combat sorties over
Afghanistan. "The sorties were largely in support of
opposition troops," DoD officials said. The strikes were
largely around Kunduz and Kandahar.
Three C-17s dropped 39,240 humanitarian daily rations as
well as wheat and blankets. Leaflets drops and Commando
Solo broadcasts also continued.

By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service


WASHINGTON, Nov. 20, 2001
About three-quarters of Afghanistan is now in the hands of 
opposition forces, while concentrations of Taliban and 
Al Qaeda troops continue to be bottled up in the cities of 
Kunduz and Kandahar, a senior Pentagon spokesperson said today.
"The situation in Kunduz and Kandahar remains the same,
which is a standoff," Navy Rear Adm. John D. Stufflebeem
told reporters at the Pentagon. The situation, he added,
"is not unlike what we observed around Mazar-e Sharif
before it fell" to opposition forces Nov. 9.
Opposition groups are "working to establish civil order and
consolidate their gains, as well as continuing to reduce
the Taliban and foreign fighter pockets of resistance,"
Stufflebeem noted.
He remarked that opposition forces "are working with Afghan
counterparts" to obtain the surrender of Taliban and Al
Qaeda troops trapped in Kunduz, east of Mazar-e Sharif in
the north, and at the Taliban stronghold city of Kandahar
in the south.
Stufflebeem said American and coalition military forces
continue to support opposition requests for "on-call" air
strikes on Taliban and Al Qaeda targets in Kandahar, Kunduz
and elsewhere in the country.
Some air strikes could be temporarily suspended at the
request of opposition forces, Stufflebeem said, to
facilitate their efforts to obtain the surrender of Taliban
and Al Qaeda troops.
"I think that it would be fair to say that if the
opposition groups were to ask us not to bomb a specific
facility or a location so they could continue their
discussions, we'll certainly honor that," he said.
U.S. Marines on ships in the theater of operations are
under U.S. Central Command chief Army Gen. Tommy Franks,
who is in charge of U.S. military operations in
Afghanistan, Stufflebeem told reporters. Franks could
conceivably employ the Marines at some point "in
traditional doctrine ways, as well as supporting special
operations," he noted.
Stufflebeem said yesterday's U.S. and coalition air
operations in Afghanistan involved about 65 strike
aircraft, including 50 sea-based tactical jets, 10 land-
based jets, and a number of land-based bombers. The
strikes, he said, focused on Taliban and Al Qaeda cave and
tunnel complexes, and terrorist troops in the Kandahar and
Kunduz regions.
Commando Solo broadcast missions continued as did leaflet
drops, Stufflebeem noted. Three C-17 aircraft delivered
more than 55,000 humanitarian daily rations to hungry
Afghans, he remarked, making a total of more than 1.7
million rations delivered since Oct. 7.

By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service


WASHINGTON, Nov. 21, 2001 
With Al Qaeda terrorists and Taliban militia bottled up 
in the Afghan cities of Kunduz and Kandahar, and 75 percent 
of the country in opposition hands, senior DoD leaders 
suggested today that some Al Qaeda and Taliban chiefs might 
attempt to flee.
Deputy Defense Secretary Paul D. Wolfowitz, joined by
Marine Gen. Peter Pace, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs
of Staff, told Pentagon reporters that recent military
reverses in Afghanistan have caused Al Qaeda chief Osama
bin Laden to become "a man on the run."
Wolfowitz was responding to a journalist's question about
reports that bin Laden recently asked his followers to kill
him to prevent his capture. The U.S. State Department has
offered millions of dollars to those who can provide
information for the capture of bin Laden and other known
terrorists.
"This is a man who is being deserted by the same people
who've sheltered him not so long ago," Wolfowitz said of
bin Laden.
Bin Laden "is a man with a price on his head," Wolfowitz
emphasized. He noted that many people in Afghanistan would
"like to collect that reward," including "any number of
people who were associated with him in the past who are
(now) trying to say they've had nothing to do with him."
Wolfowitz cautioned: "There is a whole (terrorist) network
outside of Afghanistan that we have to get rid of that is
more than just bin Laden."
"Substantial concentrations" of Taliban and Al Qaeda troops
are still penned up by opposition forces in the northern
Afghan city of Kunduz, east of Mazar-e Sharif, and at
Kandahar in the south, Wolfowitz said.
So far, he added, there has been no great exodus of
terrorists and their Taliban supporters from those cities.
"They may be planning to head to the hills," but so far
that hasn't occurred, Wolfowitz said.
"That is one of the reasons why we'd like to kill as many
as we can or capture them while they're in places where
they can be located," he remarked.
The capture of Kunduz and Kandahar and of the Taliban and
Al Qaeda troops there -- by opposition forces would help to
produce "a very different situation where we can continue
the hunt for the (terrorist) remnants that remain" in the
country, Wolfowitz said.
Wolfowitz noted that the Afghan people's hatred of the
Taliban "is something that has worked in our favor, and has
worked against the Taliban." Defense officials had noted
that Al Qaeda and Taliban troops had seized warehouses
filled with food that had been earmarked for hungry
Afghans.
Wolfowitz said the United States with other nations, non-
governmental agencies and the United Nations are working
together to coordinate additional humanitarian relief for
needy Afghans in the form of food, clothing and shelter.
Mazar-e Sharif, which was abandoned Nov. 9 by Taliban and
Al Qaeda forces, will be the hub of the effort. In fact, he
added, some 50,000 metric tons of food had been delivered
to hungry Afghans between mid-October and the middle of
this month.
Pace noted that American ships continue to track shipping
in the Arabian Sea to interdict vessels attempting to
circumvent the trade embargo established against Iraq after
the Persian Gulf War. Both ship and aircraft traffic, he
added, are also watched to prevent Taliban and Al Qaeda
leaders from fleeing Afghanistan.
Opposition forces are closing in on the terrorists in
Afghanistan, Pace said, as Al Qaeda and Taliban troops lose
more and more real estate. Pace had a ready solution in the
event fleeing Taliban and Al Qaeda troops join those
already seeking shelter in Afghanistan's mountainous
regions. "Our specialized approach to caves and tunnels is
to put 500-pound bombs in the entrance," he said.
U.S. forces in Afghanistan are also searching for terrorist
facilities that make biological, chemical, or nuclear
weapons of mass destruction, Pace said. "We have a series
of facilities (in Afghanistan) that are on our list of
places to go visit and to check; we have taken samples at
some of those facilities and those samples are in the
process of being analyzed," he said.
Between 90-100 coalition and U.S. military aircraft flew
missions Nov. 20 in bad weather against Taliban and Al
Qaeda targets near the cities of Kandahar and Kunduz, cave
and tunnel complexes, and emerging targets of troops and
equipment, Pace noted. About 35,000 humanitarian daily
rations were delivered to needy Afghans. Commando Solo
broadcasts continued, and some 200,000 leaflets were
airdropped, he added.
Each year, on Thanksgiving Day, Americans
everywhere join with family and friends to give
thanks for the many blessings we enjoy as citizens
of this great land. It is a tradition that goes
back to our colonial forebears, and it is a
celebration that is uniquely American.
The freedoms we enjoy and for which we give thanks
on this day did not come without great sacrifice.
America's brave sons and daughters have, time and
again, answered the call to defend this great
country and our way of life.
On this Thanksgiving Day, we are again engaged in
a global conflict fighting to defend our freedoms
and our way of life. A new generation of
courageous soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines and
coast guardsmen has answered the call, and
together we will prevail in the challenge ahead.
To all of you in uniform today, thank you for your
service to our great Nation. Your dedication to
duty and selfless service are truly a blessing to
us all.
On this special American holiday, a day when duty
will keep many of you away from home and separated
from family and loved ones, the Joint Chiefs of
Staff join me in sending you and your families our
best wishes. You are in our thoughts and prayers
and in the thoughts and prayers of each citizen of
our Nation. May God bless you and may God bless
America.

RICHARD B. MYERS
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service


WASHINGTON, Nov. 21, 2001 - An American military helicopter
made a hard landing in Afghanistan yesterday, injuring four
crewmembers, said DoD officials.
"The injuries were broken bones," Pentagon spokesperson
Richard McGraw told reporters today. None of the crews'
injuries are considered life threatening.
The incident occurred in the southern part of Afghanistan,
McGraw noted. The entire crew was safely removed from the
country and the injured are receiving medical attention,
according to a U.S. Central Command release.
The incident occurred at about 1:10 EST and its cause is
presently unknown, the CENTCOM release said. The release
noted that the landing wasn't caused by hostile fire. The
damaged helicopter was removed from Afghan territory.
On Nov. 2, bad weather caused another U.S. military
helicopter to crash-land in Afghanistan. Four crewmembers
aboard that chopper were injured and the helicopter was
severely damaged. The release noted all crew were safely
removed and none of the injuries was life threatening. U.S.
planes destroyed the damaged helicopter.

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service


WASHINGTON, Nov. 21, 2001 
What kind of risk will the American people accept in regards 
to bio-terrorism? How does the government communicate better 
with the American people when a biological attack occurs?
These are just two of the questions Maj. Gen. John S.
Parker, commanding general of the Army's Medical Research
and Material Command at Fort Detrick, Md., posed during a
presentation to the Fletcher Conference, Nov. 14.
Parker and his command have been involved in supporting
public health and law enforcement efforts in the October
anthrax mailings.
He said the anthrax mailings to news organizations and the
Senate has redefined the battlefield. "In military terms we
used to say, 'detect to avoid, detect to identify the
threat, detect to protect,'" he said. "And, we were
thinking of working in some far-off land with a face-to-
face enemy. Now, all of a sudden, the battlefield is the
continental United States."
"Detect to avoid" is not really possible. People are going
to have to use facilities, such as post offices. And this
leads America into assessing the risks posed by biological
agents, including anthrax. "In my experiences with the
recent anthrax contingency that occurred here, I learned
one thing above all things," he said. "It boils down to one
person who wants to know, 'Am I contaminated? Am I going to
get ill? What should I do?' One person."
He said American scientists have the know-how to build
equipment to detect a biological agent, but once the
detector finds agent "X," the mystery really begins. "We'd
better know an awful lot about 'X,' we'd better know what
it is, what it's physiology is, what it's human effect is,
what the therapy for 'X' is, and," Parker continued, "at
what level do we provide therapy for an exposure to 'X'".
Parker explained the idea of decontamination took on a new
meaning and a higher level of urgency when the battlefield
was the United States. "Decontamination of people, places,
things, papers, file drawers, your favorite pencil; they
all became important in the decontamination process," he
said. "Have we done enough research in the way of
decontamination that it is done quickly, leaving no
residues so that people can leave a building, have (the
building) decontaminated and immediately return?"
As the country faces this new war, more questions must be
answered. Defining the level at which contamination becomes
a threat is one aspect researchers must contemplate. "Do we
worry about one spore on the table?" Parker asked. "Do we
worry about 100 spores in the rug?  When do we worry?" The
country needs to develop standards of what is safe and
acceptable.
"I don't think we can guarantee no spores still exist in
the Hart [Senate Office] Building," he said. "One tiny
little spore is going to find some niche and survive. Now,
is that a danger? Well, to some people it is."
Parker added he does not think one spore is a danger and we
must identity the thresholds where people are safe. "As we
walk through our world today, people are shaking hands,
hugging, coughing, sneezing. Bacteria and viruses are
invisible to us, but we seem to survive in a sea of
pathogens that just would love to set up housekeeping in
the rich environments of our physiological fluids," he
said. "We seem to survive until one of those gets out of
balance and we need to know when that balance is changed."
He said all Americans need information to confront bio-
terrorism in the 21st Century. "The general public must
have a basic knowledge of what is in their environment, how
to act with it and how to take care of it if it becomes
personal," he explained.
Polls show Americans expect "zero risk" from biological
agents, but can the country afford zero risk, he asked.
"Getting to zero risk is an isotonic curve in which there
may be not enough dollars in the future to get there," he
said. "At what level of risk will a human being feel safe?"
People take risks every day. They ride motorcycles without
helmets, every day a thousand more children learn how to
smoke, every day 50 people die on the highways because of
drunk driving, he said. "There must be a level of risk that
the American public will accept because those statistics
prove it," Parker said. "Now, will they accept more than
zero risk in a biological event?"
Parker said communication during a bio-terrorism attack is
crucial. "Communication between people, communication
between the agencies, communication with our customers and
with the people that are involved in the incident," he
said. "We must do better with communication.
"I've been in the United States Army for 38 years," he
continued. "I've been in a lot of scenarios, be they real
or be they exercises.  And, in the after action report of
almost every single one of those scenarios or exercises,
it's been, 'We could have communicated better.'"
He said the country needs to think about improved
communication and invest both money and manpower in this
goal, adding that law enforcement and public health
officials need to resolve competing needs. "When is
material so important to a forensic investigation or to a
prosecution that it cannot be shared openly in situations
where it may have a public health consequence?" he asked.
Finally, the United States needs more information and
testing of defenses against biological weapons. "What we
need is a national test bed [for defenses against
biological weapons]," Parker said. "Not just a military
test bed, but a national test bed where entrepreneurs can
bring their equipment to that national test bed and have it
tested against a criteria."

By Sgt. 1st Class Kathleen T. Rhem, USA
American Forces Press Service


WASHINGTON, Nov. 26, 2001  
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said today that Marine 
forces are in southern Afghanistan to set up a forward 
operating base.
"They are not an occupying force," Rumsfeld told Pentagon
reporters. "Their purpose is to establish a forward base of
operations to help pressure the Taliban forces in
Afghanistan (and) to prevent Taliban and Al Qaeda
terrorists from moving freely about the country."
Roughly 500 Marines moved into an airstrip southwest of
Kandahar over the weekend, DoD spokeswoman Victoria Clarke
said earlier in the day. That number should rise to over
1,000 within the next couple days, she said. The Marines
are from the USS Peleliu and USS Bataan. Other Marines will
arrive at the airfield by C-130.
The secretary wouldn't say specifically what the operating
base would be used for. "We don't discuss future plans or
developments," Rumsfeld said. He said the area has
strategic importance because it is near major crossroads
and east-west routes into Iran and Pakistan.
Joint Chiefs Chairman Air Force Gen. Richard Myers said the
operation to position the Marines "has gone well so far."
He noted that U.S. efforts in the country "remain focused
on providing support to opposition groups throughout
Afghanistan and on establishing airfield hubs for
humanitarian assistance efforts."
Myers said Northern Alliance troops entered the city of
Kunduz as Taliban groups surrendered. He said isolated
pockets of foreign fighters continue to be active in the
area. Rumsfeld added he not surprised the foreign fighters
are holding out. "The Al Qaeda and the non-Afghan troops 
have been among the toughest of the fighters and the most
determined and the least likely to surrender," he said.
"(They) would have the least ability to melt into the
countryside."
The chairman said 110 U.S. aircraft struck in nine planned
target areas concentrated on Al Qaeda and Taliban cave and
tunnel complexes, as well as Taliban military forces
primarily in and around Jalalabad and Kandahar.
U.S. forces also dropped leaflets in the areas surrounding
Mazar-e Sharif, Kabul, Kandahar and Herat and continued
Commando Solo broadcasts in these areas, Myers said.
Two C-17 Globemaster III cargo planes dropped 40 containers
holding more than 19,000 humanitarian ration packs and 40
containers of wheat and blankets. Myers said these
containers were dropped near Kunduz and Herat using
"parachute delivery systems."

By Sgt. 1st Class Kathleen T. Rhem, USA
American Forces Press Service


WASHINGTON, Nov. 27, 2001 
U.S. operations in Afghanistan continued to focus on 
emerging targets and supporting opposition forces, 
Pentagon Spokeswoman Victoria Clarke told reporters 
this morning.
She said 153 aircraft sorties struck "largely around
Kandahar."
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Joint Chiefs Chairman
Air Force Gen. Richard Myers left Washington this morning
to visit U.S. Central Command Headquarters in Tampa,Fla.
Clarke said Rumsfeld planned to meet with CENTCOM Commander
Army Gen. Tommy Franks and also wanted to thank staffers
for their diligence in the war on terrorism.
"One of the main reasons the secretary wanted to go is to
show his appreciation for the people at CENTCOM
headquarters who have been working so hard," Clarke said.
Central Command is responsible for operations in the Middle
East and Southwest and Central Asia. This includes all the
activity in and around Afghanistan.
The five American service members injured in a friendly-
fire incident Nov. 26 during a prison riot near Mazar-e
Sharif were evacuated through Uzbekistan and Turkey. All
five were en route to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in
Germany this morning, Army Maj. Jim Cassella, another DoD
spokesman, said.
"All five are expected to recover from their injuries and
return to duty soon, after appropriate medical treatment,"
Casella said.
Clarke said there had been conflicting reports on the
service members' conditions and whereabouts because it is
difficult to get concrete, timely information out of the
region. It is a fluid situation in an austere environment,
she explained.
"There's a lot going on, and we still don't have
significant numbers of people over there," she said. "It's
not as though we have operations that have been established
for a long time with lots of sophisticated, comprehensive
communications.
"I'm sure [the military] are taking good care of these
people, and that's what really matters," she added.
Humanitarian relief operations continued with more than
19,000 Humanitarian Daily Rations being dropped in the area
around Herat, Clarke said. U.S. forces also dropped
leaflets near Kandahar, Ghanzi and Kunduz.
More than 600 Marines have so far arrived at a forward
operating base 60-70 miles southwest of Kandahar. Clarke
explained that number will grow to more than 1,000 over the
next day or so.

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