White House fine-tuning strategy

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

WASHINGTON, SEPT. 30. The U.S. President, Mr. George W Bush, is closeted with top advisors at Camp David as his administration draws up the elaborate diplomatic and military campaign to fight terrorism and terrorists.

One of the sessions the President is said to have had is with the head of the Central Intelligence Agency, the National Security Advisor and his Chief of Staff. The White House has released a photograph showing the participants seated around a table studying a map of Afghanistan.

For the record, neither the White House nor the Pentagon is saying much of the operational details and plans. The President, in recent days, has stepped up the heat on the Taliban making it known in no uncertain terms that the extremist outfit has to go.

At the same time, the administration officials are trying to see how to cobble up a representative government taking into account the ground realities and regional compulsions, notably from the present staunch ally in the terrorist campaign, Pakistan.

``The United States respects the people of Afghanistan and we are their largest provider of humanitarian support. But we condemn the Taliban and welcome the support of other nations in isolating that regime,'' said Mr.Bush in his weekly radio address on Saturday.

As the U.S. steps up the diplomatic pressure and toughens up the rhetoric, indications are that a quiet and determined military effort is being put in place in the Persian Gulf, the Indian Ocean and in America's forward bases in West Asia and Turkey. And in the last several days, there have been indications that the Special Forces of Britain and the United States have already penetrated deep inside Afghanistan looking for the hideouts of Osama bin Laden and his terror outfit.

The Pentagon has not formally responded to news reports from West Asia that at least three American soldiers have been ``captured''. It is not likely to comment on such operations. At the same time, what has been taken note of here is the Taliban saying they have three captured soldiers and at the same time maintaining that there are no foreign troops on the soil.

According to one report, the Special Forces inside Afghanistan are being severely handicapped by the lack of hard intelligence on the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden. The United States which has long worked with the Northern Alliance is now trying to strengthen its intelligence by working even more closely with Pakistan and Central Asian States, notably Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

The lack of hard intelligence on Osama has led to speculation of sorts on whether he is in Afghanistan at all. Some are saying that he may have slipped into Pakistan, or left his present hideouts to locations in Somalia or Chechenya. But those who are convinced that he has not moved out are making the point that the Taliban - who is in full knowledge of his movements and is protecting him - would have loudly announced his departure knowing the kind of military strikes that are being contemplated.

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