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Rumsfeld hopes Afghans will flush out Laden
The defence department is hoping afghans will flush Osama bin Laden out of his hiding place so Americans do not have to go into caves to find him, Defence Secretary Donald H Rumsfeld said.
The defence department is hoping afghans will flush Osama bin Laden out of his hiding place so
Americans do not have to go into caves to find him, Defence Secretary Donald H Rumsfeld said.
He said he hopes a USD 25 million reward will help convince local people to look for the prime suspect in the terrorist attacks on America. “Our hope is that the dual incentive of helping to free that country from a very repressive regime coupled with substantial monetary rewards will convince a large number of people to begin crawling through those tunnels and caves looking for the bad folks,” Rumsfeld said.
He also said that the US would not let Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar escape from his stronghold city of Kandahar, even if opposition figures negotiate a deal with him to depart. A southern opposition group has said Omar was negotiating a handover of power in Kandahar to Haji Basher, a tribal leader who is affiliated with the Taliban. Asked what would happen if Omar struck a deal, Rumsfeld said: “If the thrust of that question is, would we knowingly allow him to get out of Kandahar? the answer is 'no, we would not.' Rumsfeld also said several hundred special forces now are operating on the ground in Afghanistan.
More US commandos have entered Afghanistan to help in the hunt for bin laden, the pentagon said.
Meanwhile, US planes pounded Taliban front lines just outside the city of Kunduz, where Taliban and al-Qaeda force have been holding out for days as the rest of the north has fallen to opposition forces. Bureau Report
He said he hopes a USD 25 million reward will help convince local people to look for the prime suspect in the terrorist attacks on America. “Our hope is that the dual incentive of helping to free that country from a very repressive regime coupled with substantial monetary rewards will convince a large number of people to begin crawling through those tunnels and caves looking for the bad folks,” Rumsfeld said.
He also said that the US would not let Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar escape from his stronghold city of Kandahar, even if opposition figures negotiate a deal with him to depart. A southern opposition group has said Omar was negotiating a handover of power in Kandahar to Haji Basher, a tribal leader who is affiliated with the Taliban. Asked what would happen if Omar struck a deal, Rumsfeld said: “If the thrust of that question is, would we knowingly allow him to get out of Kandahar? the answer is 'no, we would not.' Rumsfeld also said several hundred special forces now are operating on the ground in Afghanistan.
More US commandos have entered Afghanistan to help in the hunt for bin laden, the pentagon said.
Meanwhile, US planes pounded Taliban front lines just outside the city of Kunduz, where Taliban and al-Qaeda force have been holding out for days as the rest of the north has fallen to opposition forces. Bureau Report