U.S. may turn to India if Pak. refuses airbases

By Atul Aneja

NEW DELHI, SEPT. 15. The U.S. may ask India for airbases along the west coast, in case Pakistan refuses its airbases for launching punitive raids on Afghanistan.

According to highly-placed sources in the Government, the U.S. may prefer the use of Pakistani airfields, especially Peshawar and Quetta, with Kohat as a possible third option. But in case Pakistan denies its base facilities, the U.S. is expected to look towards India as the next best option. India is likely to comply in case the U.S. makes the request.

The U.S. forces may prefer the use of Indian airbases in Pune, Mumbai and Goa, if necessary as its planes can then overfly Karachi before moving towards the Afghan border. These bases will be useful for landing some of the planes which may take-off from U.S. aircraft carriers which are expected to be positioned in this area soon.

Access to land bases will help the U.S. forces launch more air sorties for attack and relieve some pressure on the crew of the carriers. As of now, the U.S. aircraft carriers, Enterprise and Kitty Hawk are present in the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean. Unlike in the past, the U.S. may prefer aircraft for strikes as its missile attacks on training camps in Khost in Afghanistan on an earlier occasion were not successful enough. The anticipation here is that Russia may also launch missile attacks in northern Afghanistan but not commit troops because of its traumatic experience in that country in the eighties. A scaled-down Israeli military involvement in specific pockets in West Asia also cannot be ruled out.

The U.S. retaliation against the terrorist strikes in New York and Washington is likely to be carried out in two phases. The U.S., in the first phase, will launch ``destructive strikes'', mostly in Afghanistan. Cities south of the Salang pass are likely to take the brunt of these extremely heavy attacks which will be well-publicised on American television.

In the second phase, which is likely to be a long haul, the U.S. is expected to target specific training camps and sanctuaries and other support for terrorists across the globe. As of now, terrorist camps in Pakistan occupied Kashmir are not in focus, but their presence is likely to be closely scrutinised during the second phase of the campaign.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Front Page
Previous : 'Osama cannot hide from U.S.'
Next     : Full support to U.S., says Pak.