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Marines In Afghanistan to Set Up Forward Operating Base
Monday, November 26, 2001
By SFC Kathleen T. Rhem
United States Army
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON
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.
(More: DefenseLink.Mil News Source)
2001 © American Forces Press Service.

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