US to put military aircraft in Tajikistan-official

By Charles Aldinger

 
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon has decided to move U.S. military aircraft into the former Soviet republic of Tajikistan north of Afghanistan in a step that could intensify bombing strikes against the Taliban, a defense official said Monday.

The official, who asked not to be identified, said aircraft could be moved into at least one airfield after recent agreement by Tajikistan to offer up to three bases for possible use by U.S. warplanes against Afghanistan's ruling Taliban.

The official refused to be specific, but the decision could result in quick movement of Air Force attack jets into Tajikistan, where a U.S. military team has been looking at three bases: Kulyab, Khojand and Turgan-Tiube.

It was not clear which base or bases might be used or whether improvements would have to be made at the airports for either air strikes into Afghanistan or increased delivery of humanitarian aid to thousands of displaced refugees inside Afghanistan.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld earlier this month visited Central Asia and met with Tajik President Imomali Rakhmonov.

RELIEF FOR U.S. NAVY WARPLANES?

Rumsfeld refused to be specific about any offers of airfields, but told reporters last week that basing aircraft on the ground closer to Afghanistan would provide the advantage of shorter attack missions.

U.S. Navy aircraft, using mid-air refueling for long flights, have flown most of the hundreds of strikes against military targets of Afghanistan's ruling Taliban and al Qaeda guerrilla network in a 37-day air campaign sparked by Sept. 11 attacks on America.

Rear Adm. John Stufflebeem, a senior official on the U.S. military Joint Staff, said last week that U.S. military survey teams had been dispatched to several countries in the region that had offered assistance. He declined to be specific, but other officials said the teams were looking at bases in both Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

The U.S. military already is using one airfield in Uzbekistan, where at least 1,000 soldiers from the U.S. Army's 10th Mountain Division are based. It also has used some military facilities in Pakistan.

Anti-Taliban Northern Alliance forces, with the help of heavy U.S. bombing, have made made major gains against the Taliban in northern Afghanistan since last week. Those gains included capture of the key northern crossroads city of Mazar-i-Sharif.

But Chief Pentagon spokeswoman Victoria Clarke said Monday that the situation in the capital city of Kabul was not clear despite opposition claims that Taliban forces were apparently fleeing the city in large numbers.

Quoted:
US to put military aircraft in Tajikistan-official

By Charles Aldinger

 
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon has decided to move U.S. military aircraft into the former Soviet republic of Tajikistan north of Afghanistan in a step that could intensify bombing strikes against the Taliban, a defense official said Monday.

But Chief Pentagon spokeswoman Victoria Clarke said Monday that the situation in the capital city of Kabul was not clear despite opposition claims that Taliban forces were apparently fleeing the city in large numbers.

Quoted:
Just heard the US has captured Osama Bin Ladin. The US planes sprayed Afghanistan with Viagra and the little prick sprang up.


[;D]