By David Denny
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- More than 90 coalition aircraft struck 18 planned targets inside Afghanistan October 18, according to a Defense Department spokesman.

Rear Admiral John D. Stufflebeem, briefing journalists at the Pentagon October 19, said the targets included airfields, air defense sites (along with radar and armor located at the sites), ammunition in vehicle storage depots, and military training facilities, including vehicles and buildings.

More than 90 aircraft were used, of which about 75 were carrier-based planes and about 10 were land-based bombers, Stufflebeem said. Fewer than five were land-based strike aircraft. Also, three C-17s dropped 52,000 humanitarian daily rations by air. That brings the total to date to more than 500,000 daily rations, he said.

Stufflebeem began his briefing by saying that he would not discuss any operational details about U.S. ground forces. "If or when they are on the ground, being there would make them the most vulnerable individuals engaged in this campaign. And I will not discuss any matters that could possibly put our people at risk," he said.

In response to a question concerning a Taliban claim that the regime had suffered no casualties among its leadership to date, Stufflebeem said he had no information on that point.

"We are confident that their communications have been severed, and therefore I'm not confident that they necessarily know all that they think they know," he added.

Asked how that might affect al-Qaida operations around the world, Stufflebeem replied, "Afghanistan has been the most successful and prolific haven for al-Qaida. We're going after al-Qaida. We're going to bring them to justice or bring justice to them. With that haven being disrupted or, if necessary, destroyed, that has got to complicate al-Qaida's worldwide operations."

Asked what capabilities special operations units have that make them important now in the military effort, Stufflebeem said they have "a tremendous capability in intelligence gathering," as well as in training others, especially in small-unit military tactics, where they can be a "force multiplier."

And, he said, they are "experts in small-unit tactics and direct-actions warfare."

Questioned as to why the U.S. bombing effort hasn't done more to aid Northern Alliance forces near the key airport outside Mazar-i-Sharif, Stufflebeem replied, "When the time would appear right, we'll do what is necessary to get rid of those military portions of the Taliban that may or may not be directly against Northern Alliance [forces]. We're working on our campaign on our timeline for our specific goals and objectives. We are not concerned at this point, necessarily, [with] how that may appear to those in a particular spot on the ground."

As to the role that dropping of leaflets in Taliban territory may be playing, Stufflebeem said, "the leaflets are part of our capability or part of our arsenal, and they're providing instructions to those forces for their safety as well as for ours." Later he added, "We're hearing anecdotal reports that there are some who are switching sides," and suggested that leafleting has played a part in bringing that about.