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| US Steps Up Military Campaign in Afghanistan |
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WED, NOV 07, 2001
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The United States has stepped up its military campaign in Afghanistan by deploying more special forces and escalating its bombing in the Central Asian country. US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said on Tuesday that it would take only several months to topple the Taliban regime and eradicate the al-Qaeda network.
US jets resumed strikes on frontline Taliban positions north of the capital Kabul on Wednesday.
The military planes targeted Taliban-held territory near the Bagram Air Base.
On Tuesday, Rumsfeld said at a briefing in Washington that the US Special Forces on the ground have been increasing -- and that more are on the way as soon as the weather and cirmustances on the ground permit. But Rumsfeld stopped short of giving an exact number.
The Defense Secretary said the daily sorties by US warplanes had reached 120 as the US forces escalated bombing against Taliban and Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network targets.
Vowing to deal decisively with the enemy, Rumsfeld noted that it would take months, not years, to topple the Taliban regime and get rid of the al-Qaeda.
Peter Pace, vice-chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that the US forces had used two "Daisy Cutter" bombs, each weighing nearly 7000 kgs, in attacking targets in the past week.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon announced on Tuesday that the US military has so far called up 52,000 troops to active duty, surpassing the 50,000 ceiling which President Bush authorized in an executive order in September.
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