AL-QAIDA, TALIBAN FORCES GATHERING IN GARDEZ AREA

A Defense Department spokesman said March 1 that the United States and coalition forces are observing hundreds of Taliban and al-Qaida forces gathering in pockets in the area of Gardez, Afghanistan.

Air Force Brigadier General John Rosa, deputy director of operations on the Joint Staff, said "we are seeing pockets of al-Qaida and pockets of Taliban" around Gardez, a provincial capital southeast of Kabul and bordering Pakistan. Asked for the breakdown of Taliban and al-Qaida in the pockets, Rosa answered, "[T]here's hundreds of folks, and we don't know the makeup. But they're certainly not friendly."

Asked whether any action has yet been taken against these pockets, Rosa said, "We've observed, we've gathered intelligence. But to this date, we haven't acted. And that will be up to General [Tommy] Franks, [head of the U.S. Central Command], when he decides that."

ISSUE CAUSING HUNGER PROTEST BY GUANTANAMO DETAINEES ADDRESSED

The specific issue that caused a hunger strike by detainees at Camp X-ray in Guantanamo Bay Naval Base has been addressed, and the strike is subsiding, Rosa said.

The incident occurred a few days ago, Rosa said, when a detainee was praying with something wrapped around his head, which was contrary to security precautions then in place. Two security personnel asked the detainee to remove the wrapping, but he refused, Rosa said, and so the security people removed it. The next day the hunger strike started.

As a result of discussions with the strikers, the detainees will now be allowed to wear something fashioned as a turban, according to Pentagon spokeswoman Victoria Clarke, "because that is being sensitive ... to their religious beliefs. We will do periodic checks because of security concerns."

"I spoke to the folks down at SOUTHCOM this morning, and the commander and the chaplain have been out ... speaking to the detainees," Rosa said. "The tensions have eased, in their opinion. Less than 70 of them refused meals this morning," he added.

JAPANESE ANTI-TERROR, AFGHAN RECONSTRUCTION WORK HIGHLIGHTED

Clarke began the briefing by emphasizing the Japanese contribution to the anti-terrorism effort. She noted that Japan has three destroyers and two supply ships in the Indian Ocean, where they are refueling U.S. and British warships. In addition, about half of Japan's fleet of C-130 and U-4 aircraft are providing airlift support to the Afghanistan operation, she said.

Furthermore, Clarke quoted from President Bush's recent speech to the Japanese Diet, wherein he stated, "[Y]our generosity is helping to rebuild a liberated Afghanistan." [Japan has pledged up to $5,000 million for the reconstruction of Afghanistan over the next two-and-a-half years. That includes an emergency allocation of $5 million, through the United Nations Children's Fund, for the prevention of infectious diseases such as measles and polio, which are major causes of death among small children in Afghanistan.]