A Month of U.S. Strikes…Bin Laden Is Still Missing

Sixty-five U.S. B-52 bombers dropped hundreds of bombs intensively on the frontline positions of the Taliban near the Tajikistani border northeast of Afghanistan on Nov. 4..

That the Untied States deployed B-52 bombers for the war at the beginning of this month indicates that the U.S. attack on Afghanistan that will amount to a month on Nov. 7 has stepped into a long-term warfare.

B-52 bombers are equipped with various bombs and drop them from a high altitude to conduct carpet-bombing on a target. The British BBC News analyzed on Nov. 4 that the reason for the U.S.` employing outdated bombers manufactured during 1950`s for the first war of the 21st. century is that despite the search that has continued for a month, the U.S. is completely in the dark as to where Osama bin Laden is hiding and where the Taliban`s key positions are.

The symptoms of a long-term warfare can be clearly found when Defense Secretary Ronald Rumsfeld set out his second tour on Nov. 4 to gain supports from Afghanistan`s neighboring countries and the U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Richard Myers` said on Nov. 4, ``The number of the ground forces is to be tripled or quadrupled…We are setting in for the long haul.`` That the United States has been plunged into the long-term war footing means that the U.S. efforts over a month to hunt down the terrorists who are of a small group and have enough mobility in a steep land of Afghanistan have come to nothing as it has been concerned.

Along with this, the Northern Alliance which had been counted on greatly did not achieve any remarkable war results has become one of the reasons for a prolonged war. The Northern Alliance had publicly declared that they could take over Mazar-e-Sharif, a strategic stronghold, but has made no progress over a month. In addition, the U.S. was disturbed in its military operations as Afghan opposition leader Abdul Haq, who had been active in the Northern Alliance regions, was executed.

There is also an optimistic opinion that if the war become long the Taliban`s movement will be weakened, whereas the U.S. high-tech infrared weapons will display the power. But a cautious opinion is still predominant. Significant number of specialists point out that to reduce casualties caused by the prolonged war the United States should focus on the operations of the special forces of 10~20 members as it does now, and stimulate anti-Taliban protests rising recently. Only so, the United States can achieve a triple purpose, namely, to avoid blames from Arab nations, to appease worries about a `second Vietnam War` and to prevent Taliban from being replenished.

mickey@donga.com