Taliban Ability to Respond to Airstrikes 'Falling
Away,' Admiral Says
By Rudi Williams
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Oct. 17, 2001 – The U.S. is using power in ways
today that military tacticians never thought of before. And
it's all aimed at reaching the nation's objectives of
destroying the instruments of power the Taliban uses to
support Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda terrorist network, said
Navy Rear Adm. John D. Stufflebeem.
"We're systematically attacking those elements of the
Taliban military that will take away the Taliban's
capability to support Al Qaeda," Stufflebeem told reporters
today during a Pentagon briefing. "Where those cross in
support of the Northern Alliance objectives is a good
thing."
Stufflebeem is the Joint Staff's deputy director of
operations for current readiness and capabilities.
As U.S. aircraft attack the Taliban and Al Qaeda in
Afghanistan, there are no "reports that they are returning
fire on our aircraft," he said. However, Stufflebeem, a
Navy pilot, pointed out that a pilot could be shot at and
not know it.
"Our sense is that the Taliban's ability to respond is
falling away," he said.
With the reduction in the air defense threat, U.S. aviators
started using a new tactic on Oct. 16 called an "engagement
zone." Stufflebeem said "flex targeting" was used to hit
those sites -- bomber flew to a target, returned to a
tanker and was then sent to another target.
"That's using bombers in ways we've never done before," he
noted.
In the first use of engagement zone doctrine, the admiral
said the aircraft struck 12 planned target areas, which
included airfields, air defenses, dispersed armor, radar,
ammunition, vehicle storage depots, artillery camps and
military training facilities, including armored vehicles,
trucks and buildings.
"About 90 to 95 strike aircraft were used in the attacks,"
Stufflebeem said. "About 85 of them were carrier-based
tactical jets, five land-based bombers and less then five
were AC-130 gunships."
He said the AC-130 brings special capabilities to the
battle.
"A pilot who is given a mission in an engagement zone knows
what type of target he'll go against – mobile armor, mobile
surface to air capability," Stufflebeem said. "A forward
air controller will find those targets and pass them to the
pilots to attack. So the sense that there is any
freewheeling or self-determination is not correct."
He said if pilots spot targets of opportunity, they call
controllers and they make positive identification before
assigning aircraft to attack them.
Stufflebeem said Oct. 16 airstrikes involved military
facilities in southern Afghanistan, including a garrison
facility of the 2nd Taliban Corps where barracks were hit.
The images also showed where vehicles were destroyed in a
Taliban bivouac area.
Stufflebeem said DoD doesn't have any information about the
Northern Alliance taking the northern Afghanistan city of
Mazar-e Sharif as some have reported. He characterized the
battle between the Northern Alliance and the Taliban as
"ebbing and flowing."
He told reporters he wouldn't characterize "what we're
doing today or what we'll do in the future." But he
reiterated that the U.S. is continuing to support its
campaign objectives and where they cross with those of the
Northern Alliance there is a "mutual benefit."
Asked if U.S. gains in Afghanistan would be reversed if
there was a bombing pause to allow humanitarian relief
groups to do their jobs, Stufflebeem said, "There is
nothing we're doing that should prevent the nongovernmental
organizations from doing what they need to do. But I have
seen reports that the Taliban is preventing them from doing
what they should be doing. We're supporting all efforts.
"It's inefficient to provide humanitarian support from the
air – it's most efficient when it's done from the ground,"
he pointed out. "We would do anything to encourage
nongovernmental organizations to be able to help those who
need it. I think it's the Taliban preventing that more than
it is our strikes."
He said, "one of our missions hit a Red Cross warehouse
that stored humanitarian goods. This building was within a
set of targets we had identified as being used for military
storage by the Taliban."
He said the Air Force continues to fly C-17 humanitarian
missions. "We delivered about 53,000 humanitarian daily
rations. Four C-17 airdrop missions delivered those
yesterday. To date, we've had nearly 400,000 daily rations
dropped."
Related Sites of Interest:
| 
AFRTS Radio Report: 
Printer-friendly Version
Email A Copy
Printer Friendly