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U.S. to Deploy Elite Units to Hit al-Qaida
Monday, August 5, 2002
By Rory McCarthy
The Guardian

Although there are 10,000 US soldiers in Afghanistan, there is still little indication about the whereabouts of Bin Laden or his deputy, the Egyptian Ayman al-Zawahiri. Ahmad Wali Karzai, brother of the Afghan president Hamid Karzai, said yesterday that the Taliban leader, Mullah Mohammed Omar, had been spotted in the southern Afghan provinces of Zabul, Uruzgan and Helmand, travelling on foot or by motorcycle. "The guy spends 24 hours a day planning where to run," he claimed.

ISLAMABAD -- The Guardian
US military planners are to deploy elite special forces units for new aggressive missions in Afghanistan after growing frustration with the slow pace of operations against Taliban and al-Qaida fighters.

US navy Seals, anti-terrorist Delta Force troops and paramilitaries from the CIA's Special Activities Division are likely to be called upon for operations against al-Qaida in Afghanistan and across the world.

The US defence secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, held private meetings in Washington last Friday with General Charles Holland, the head of special operations command, to discuss new ways to revive military operations. Gen Holland reportedly suggested stepping up the role of the navy in stopping suspicious ships around the world and sending special forces units along with foreign troops on missions.

Mr Rumsfeld reportedly told a closed meeting of the Senate armed services committee earlier in the week that he feared the Afghan military campaign lacked imagination and drive. "Rumsfeld's point was that the whole planning process has been too rigid and stale," one source told the Washington Post at the weekend.
(More: Guardian.co.uk News Source)
2002 Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers, Limited.

Dan