Afghan Front Heats Up, and Rumsfeld Urges Patience

Sunday, September 7, 2003

By Douglas Jehl

New York Times Writer

Mr. Rumsfeld's trip to Afghanistan and Iraq this week has taken him to the two biggest American battlegrounds in the campaign against terrorism. Today, he flew over craggy mountains in a Black Hawk helicopter for his visit to Gardez, a city that has come under rocket attack twice in the last five days.

KABUL, Afghanistan -- NYT
The top American commander in Afghanistan said today that his forces had killed as many as 200 fighters suspected of being members of the Taliban in the southern part of the country in the last two weeks. He said the military operation was part of a campaign to combat a major effort by the Taliban to regroup in a bid for power.

The new details about the continuing operation came from Lt. Gen. John R. Vines, who commands an American-led task force of 11,500 troops. General Vines said the infiltration of the Taliban had been significant and might include as many 1,000 fighters who had moved into the area northeast of Kandahar, the previous Taliban stronghold.

"They're trying to regain power; we knew that was inevitable," General Vines said after meeting here with Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld. "There's no question that they're trying to regroup, no question."

The infiltration has added to American and Afghan concerns about the degree to which Pakistan remains a sanctuary for Taliban forces, military officers here said. At a news conference here, the Afghan leader, Hamid Karzai, said this government was "very concerned about the increased activity of the Taliban on the Pakistani border."

American, Pakistani and Afghan officials are scheduled to meet later this week to discuss the matter as part of regular three-way discussions, officials said. Mr. Rumsfeld, appearing with Mr. Karzai, said the incidents showed how "terrorism is a problem that crosses borders."

Other officers said the American attacks, including both air and ground forces, are the largest in Afghanistan in more than a year. On Saturday night alone, American airstrikes in Zabul Province, east of Kandahar, carried out with fixed-wing aircraft, killed as many as 26 Taliban fighters, the officers said.
(More: NYTimes.com)

2003 © The New York Times Company.

Dan