by Merle D. Kellerhals, Jr.
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- The campaign against global terrorism will be relentless and sustained, says Air Force General Richard Myers, the new chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

As Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Myers briefed the media October 8 from the Pentagon, U.S. forces began the second night of air strikes against an array of targets in Afghanistan.

Myers said that U.S. and British aircraft and warships on struck at 12:30 p.m. EDT [1630 GMT] on October 7. He said the combination of air strikes and ship-launched cruise missiles struck 31 targets that included Taliban ground troops, armored vehicles, command and control centers, SA-2 and SA-3 missile batteries, antiaircraft artillery, military airports and runways, and Soviet-made MiG-21 and SU-22 strike fighter jets.

In the first round of attacks, said Myers, U.S. and British forces struck with 15 land-based bombers, which included B-2 Spirit stealth bombers, B-1 Lancers and the older B-52 Stratofortresses; 25 aircraft carrier-based strike planes and 50 cruise missiles launched from surface ships and submarines in the Arabian Sea.

These strikes will set the conditions for future operations for targets in Afghanistan, the JCS chairman said. The attacks occurred on targets in Kabul, Kandahar, Mazar-i-Sharif, Jalalabad, and an array of al-Qaida terrorist network training camps.

In addition, two U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III cargo jets conducting humanitarian aid missions October 7 dropped 37,500 food and medicine packets to starving Afghans, Rumsfeld said.

The October 8 attacks are being conducted by 10 land-based B-1 Lancer and B-2 Spirit stealth bombers and 10 tactical strike fighters from aircraft carriers in the Arabian Sea, said Myers. Some ship-launched cruise missiles will be included in the strikes, he said, adding that the aircraft and missiles involved in the strikes are all from U.S. military planes and ships.

There will also be some humanitarian aid airdrops similar in amount to the first night, the JCS chairman said.

Rumsfeld said the United States was still involved in early assessments of the battle damage caused October 7.

"Based on our early assessment, we believe that we've made progress toward eliminating the air defense sites that are located around the country," he said. "We also believe we've made an impact on the military airfields that were targeted. We cannot yet state with certainty that we destroyed the dozens of military command and control and leadership targets we selected. Today we will be continuing to collect damage assessments and we will be striking additional targets as appropriate."

Rumsfeld said the United States believes the first humanitarian airdrops were also successful and will continue them October 8.

"I also want to stress the larger context in which these actions take place," he said. "First these are not strikes against Afghanistan."

Rumsfeld said these are strikes against the Taliban and the al-Qaida terrorist network in Afghanistan.

These strikes are also part of a greater campaign against global terrorism, he said, adding that it will be sustained and wide-ranging.

"It will likely be sustained for a period of years, not weeks or months," Rumsfeld said. "This campaign will be waged much like the Cold War in that it will involve many fronts over a period of time and will require continuous pressure by a large number of countries around the globe. We'll use overt and covert military efforts as well as every diplomatic, economic, financial and law enforcement resource at our command.

"We will not stop until the terrorist networks are destroyed," he said.