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US Problem: How Hi-Tech Forces Find Men in a Cave
Thursday, October 11, 2001
(1:04 PM ET)
By Jack Redden & Tahir Ikram / Reuters

"But if they don't know where they're located what can they do?"

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Reuters
U.S. warplanes roam above Afghanistan, hitting targets at will, but a question mark hangs over how Washington's hi-tech weaponry will force out individuals hidden in one of the world's most rugged landscapes.

"This wonderful claim that they have gained air supremacy -- over Afghanistan!" laughed Shaukat Qadir, a retired brigadier in the Pakistani army who once taught military strategy. "It's ridiculous."

Washington started its campaign with night-time air strikes, aimed especially at eliminating the slight threat posed by the ruling Taliban's aging anti-aircraft defenses -- a few missiles and anti-aircraft guns that could not touch fast, high-flying aircraft.

The U.S. planes are now operating around the clock but the frequency with which they return to base with bombs and missiles unused indicates they are quickly running out of suitable "targets of opportunity" to hit.

"Even today half the aircraft are coming back with a full load of weapons and ammunition," Major General Rashid Qureshi, the Pakistan government spokesman, said to Reuters. "There are no targets there. There is no infrastructure in Afghanistan -- there is hardly a road."
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Dan