Taliban using civilians as human shields: Rumsfeld

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

WASHINGTON, OCT. 29. The United States is ``patient, determined and committed'' to the ongoing campaign in Afghanistan says the U.S. Defence Secretary, Mr. Donald Rumsfeld, exuding confidence that the end of the operations will see in a comprehensive defeat for the Taliban and the Al-Qaeda. He denied that any American has been captured.

``We did not start the war. The terrorists started it'', he said maintaining that the responsibility for every single casualty would rest with the Taliban and the Al-Qaeda.

While acknowledging that there had been unintended civilian killings in the course of the air strikes, Mr. Rumsfeld said what the Taliban was saying on civilian casualty was unsubstantiated propaganda. The Taliban, he added, was using civilians as human shields.

The U.S. bombers and jets are focussing on caves and tunnels in eastern Afghanistan where the Al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden are believed to be holed up. The southern city of Kandahar, the Taliban leader, Mullah Mohammad Omar's stronghold, has also come under intense bombing.

There are unconfirmed media reports that the U.S. is seeking to set up a base within Afghanistan. One version is that as many as 600 soldiers may be involved in providing security, food and evacuation facilities to about 300 elite commandos. ``We consider a lot of things, but we don't discuss them'', he told presspersons on Monday.

The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Richard Myers, said on Monday that the U.S. went after as many as six targets on Sunday in and around Kabul and Mazar-e-Sharif. The air operations saw 55 tactical jets off American Carriers, between four to six land-based jets and an equal number of bombers.

At a time when there is considerable apprehension in this country over the course of the campaign in Afghanistan, the Head of the U.S. Army's Central Command responsible for West and Central Asia, Gen. Tommy Franks, held talks in Pakistan on Monday and will be travelling to Uzbekistan tomorrow. Both countries are major partners in the American war against terrorism.

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Section  : International
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