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U.S. Search for al Qaeda Goes Into the Caves
Wednesday, November 28, 2001, edition
By Ann Scott Tyson
Special correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor

U.S. commanders admit the danger exists that bin Laden could flee, perhaps over one of the more than 150 small, often rugged, paths leading from Afghanistan to Pakistan. But Gen. Franks vows to pursue the leaders into other nations.

WASHINGTON -- Source
Some are ancient mazes that run for miles, like giant anthills dug into limestone. Others are big, shallow, modern bunkers carved out of granite or other tough crystalline rock and reinforced with steel.

As the US military narrows its search for Taliban and Al Qaeda terrorist leaders including Osama bin Laden, one of its major challenges lies in outsmarting enemies it believes are hiding in Afghanistan's legendary labyrinth of caves and man-made tunnels.

If and when US forces pinpoint these leaders in their underground redoubts, the military has several options for "smoking them out" or eliminating them. Perhaps the most likely lethal method, now in use in Afghanistan, is surprisingly simple: Seal off cave entrances using large bombs, or destroy the caves with giant 5,000-pound "bunker busters."
(More: The CSMonitor.com News Source)
2001 © The Christian Science Monitor.

Dan