M A I N   N E W S

USA ignores Musharraf’s appeal
Battle may continue till next summer

Washington, October 23
The Pakistan President’s appeal for an end to US military mission in Afghanistan before Ramazan finds no takers in the Bush administration.

Official reckoning is that the battle may continue well into the spring and beyond.

“This is going to be a very, very long campaign,” said General Richard B Myers, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in an interview on ABC’s ‘This Week’.

“It may take till next spring. It may take till next summer. It may take longer than that in Afghanistan,” Myers added.

As the air strikes continued into the third week and included attacks on Taliban’s frontlines, Myers indicated about the prospect of winter fighting for American troops. In an interview with CNN, Secretary of State Colin Powell endorsed Myer’s views, saying while he was mindful of the religious significance of Ramazan, “we also have to make sure that we pursue our campaign.”

“We’ll have to see where the mission is at that point and what needs to be done and would yield to my colleagues in the Pentagon as to what we will do as we approach the season of Ramazan,” he remarked.

Powell further said that it would be “in our interest and the interest of the coalition to see this matter resolved before winter strikes and it makes our operations much more difficult.” The US message comes despite requests from several Muslim countries like Indonesia.

Indeed, the US officials are not only facing the military challenge of continuing the conflict during winter, when snow and cloud cover could pose problems for ground troops, but also the delicate diplomatic issue of the holy month of Ramazan which begins on November 17.

While Ramazan may be a sensitive consideration for the Americans, winter is not. Myers insisted that the US troops are prepared to fight through all types of weather, including the frigid Afghan winter. “We have an all-weather force,” he said.

With advances made in reconnaissance and surveillance equipment that can see through clouds and darkness, as well as bombs and missiles guided by satellite-based global positioning systems, the weather should have little impact on airstrikes, analysts have been quoted as saying. ANI