Vowing to stay in Afghanistan until the job is done, the US sent in more marines to join the hunt for Osama bin Laden while the world struggled to bring peace and hope to the war-ravaged land.
"We could be there for quite a while, which is fine, because we've got an objective in mind, and we'll stay there until we get our objective," US President George W. Bush told reporters in Washington.
The Pentagon said it was sending the marines to the central Asian region, ready for orders to track down the Saudi-born millionaire it says masterminded the Sept. 11 suicide attacks that killed thousands of people in the US.
US-led forces targeted bin Laden's long-time protectors, the strictly Muslim Taliban, at strongholds in the north and south as Germany prepared to host rival Afghan factions next Monday for talks on their political future.
Yesterday the Taliban again denied knowing where bin Laden was. Spokesman Tayab Agha told a news conference: "There is no relation right now, there is no communication."
The general in charge of the US campaign paid a brief visit to Afghanistan on Tuesday, his first of the war.
US General Tommy Franks did not rule out putting ground troops into the rugged country, where the Taliban are still holding out in strongholds in some areas and where US special forces are already operating.
US planes, in action for a 46th day, kept up attacks on the besieged Taliban enclave of Kunduz yesterday, the Afghan Islamic Press (AIP) reported, as thousands of defenders tried to negotiate a surrender.
The US strikes on Taliban positions and civilian areas in Kunduz caused considerable loss of life, the Pakistan-based AIP said, but this could not be verified independently.
More than 10,000 Afghan Taliban troops and Pakistani, Arab and Chechen fighters loyal to bin Laden are encircled in Kunduz, the fundamentalists' last stronghold in the north.
Taliban defectors and anti-Taliban Northern Alliance troops surrounding Kunduz say Afghan Taliban fighters want to surrender, but their comrades from bin Laden's al-Qaeda network -- aware they have nowhere to run -- plan to fight to the death and have prevented their surrender, witnesses said.
The Northern Alliance says it has suspended its ground offensive on the city while surrender talks go on, but US planes have staged daily bombing raids.
The US has also bombed Kandahar, spiritual home of the embattled Taliban and still firmly under their control, according to Afghans at the Pakistani border. AIP said overnight bombs killed two people in the city.
Meanwhile, in the US, fears of biowarfare resurfaced as a new case of inhalation anthrax was reported in Connecticut and fresh traces of the deadly bacteria were detected in the offices of two more senators in Washington.
Officials said a woman in her 90s was being treated for suspected inhalation anthrax. If confirmed, it would be the first US anthrax case since a New York hospital worker was diagnosed on Oct. 30 and died a day later.
Officials have been unable to identify who sent the letters, but are leaning toward a domestic rather than a foreign culprit.
RULES BROKEN: The MAC warned Chinese not to say anything that would be harmful to the autonomous status of Taiwan or undermine its sovereignty A Chinese couple accused of disrupting a pro-democracy event in Taipei organized by Hong Kong residents has been deported, the National Immigration Agency said in a statement yesterday afternoon. A Chinese man, surnamed Yao (姚), and his wife were escorted by immigration officials to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, where they boarded a flight to China before noon yesterday, the agency said. The agency said that it had annulled the couple’s entry permits, citing alleged contraventions of the Regulations Governing the Approval of Entry of People of the Mainland Area into the Taiwan Area (大陸地區人民進入台灣地區許可辦法). The couple applied to visit a family member in
CELEBRATION: The PRC turned 75 on Oct. 1, but the Republic of China is older. The PRC could never be the homeland of the people of the ROC, Lai said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) could not be the “motherland” of the people of the Republic of China (ROC), President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday. Lai made the remarks in a speech at a Double Ten National Day gala in Taipei, which is part of National Day celebrations that are to culminate in a fireworks display in Yunlin County on Thursday night next week. Lai wished the country a happy birthday and called on attendees to enjoy the performances and activities while keeping in mind that the ROC is a sovereign and independent nation. He appealed for everyone to always love their
‘EXTREME PRESSURE’: Beijing’s goal is to ‘force Taiwan to make mistakes,’ Admiral Tang Hua said, adding that mishaps could serve as ‘excuses’ for launching a blockade China’s authoritarian expansionism threatens not only Taiwan, but the rules-based international order, the navy said yesterday, after its top commander said in an interview that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could blockade the nation at will. The object of Beijing’s expansionist activities is not limited to Taiwan and its use of pressure is not confined to specific political groups or people, the navy said in a statement. China utilizes a mixture of cognitive warfare and “gray zone” military activities to pressure Taiwan, the navy said, adding that PLA sea and air forces are compressing the nation’s defensive depth. The navy continues to
MISSILE MISSION: The Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology said it does not make policy, but would be glad to obtain certification to assemble the missiles The Ministry of National Defense-affiliated Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology is in the process of getting certified to assemble an additional 1,985 Stinger missiles on top of those from US arms sales, a senior defense official said yesterday. Washington is to send a team to Taiwan to evaluate the institute’s manufacturing capabilities and information security, said the official, who commented on condition of anonymity. The ministry initially bought 500 missiles for the army and navy, but later increased the order to 2,485 in response to an increase in Beijing’s military activities around the nation, and to meet the army’s urgent need
RSS