By David Denny Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld characterized weekend military operations in Afghanistan cautiously, saying the coalition was making some progress toward creating the conditions necessary for sustained anti-terrorist operations.

Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Richard Myers gave details October 15 at a Pentagon briefing on the air strikes carried out October 13 and 14. Seventeen targets were struck on October 13, and seven on October 14, he said.

Included in the target mix were terrorist camps, military training facilities, air defenses and command-and-control facilities on October 13, and training facilities, surface-to-air missile storage sites, garrison and troop staging areas and al-Qaida infrastructure the following day, Myers said.

About 15 carrier-based strike aircraft and about 8-to-20 land-based bombers were used each day, with an additional 15 sea-launched cruise missiles fired on the 13th. Leaflets were also dropped on the 14th, he said.

Myers also noted that a targeting error on October 13 resulted in a small house being struck instead of a helicopter located near the Kabul airfield.

Asked to elaborate on what kinds of conditions the U.S. effort is aimed at creating, Rumsfeld named three. First, he said, was the condition of being able to operate in the air so as to help ground forces. That task is not yet complete, he said.

Second, Rumsfeld listed the development of relationships and communications with anti-Taliban and anti-al-Qaida forces. That effort continues to go forward, he said, though it remains incomplete.

Third, Rumsfeld cited the need to communicate with ground forces so as to develop more precise information on potential targets that could be attacked by air. He said this effort is "evolving and improving," but is not a finished product.

Attainment of these three goals would allow ground forces to be more successful against Taliban and al-Qaida forces and would produce a "less hospitable" environment for the terrorists, in which "people would be less inclined" to support them, and they would be forced to keep moving and suffer losses "in a way that is going to be discouraging for them," he said.

Meanwhile, the humanitarian aid effort continued over the weekend. Over 68,000 daily food packets were air-dropped into Afghanistan, bringing the total number of daily rations dropped by air to more than 275,000, Rumsfeld said.

Taking exception to reports of widespread civilian casualties caused by the bombing campaign, Rumsfeld said Taliban and al-Qaida leaders are "accomplished liars" who say things on television that are "absolutely not true."

"One has to keep in mind ... that thousands of people were killed in the United States by terrorist attacks. More are threatened every day. And any time that the Department of Defense is engaged from the air or on the ground, we have to know that there are going to be people hurt. Overwhelmingly, they will be people who we intend to hurt. On occasion, there will be people hurt that one wished had not been. I don't think there is any way in the world to avoid that and defend the United States from the kinds of terrorist attacks which we've experienced," Rumsfeld said.

Addressing whether the air campaign was worth the anti-American demonstrations in various places, Rumsfeld answered by saying "I guess one has to put it on a scale and say how many thousands of or tens of thousands of Americans or friends and allies around the world are you willing to lose to make it worth it."

He closed the briefing saying the United States needs to do a better job of getting out its message: "Our cause is just, what we're doing is right, and we have absolutely nothing to hide. The other folks don't function in free systems. They don't function with free press. They are trying to manipulate world opinion in a way that is advantageous to them and disadvantageous to us. And we need to do everything we can to make sure that the truth gets out."