|
B52 enters dec02 Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.startribune.com/stories/484/3468173.htmlhttp://www.startribune.com/stories/484/3468173.html
B-52 enters fray in Afghanistan
Published Dec. 2, 2002 ABOK02
B-52 in action
A B-52 bomber was called into combat for the first time in five months Sunday to protect U.S. special forces battling armed Afghans outside a U.S. base. No U.S. soldiers were injured during the shootout in western Afghanistan, U.S. and local officials said.
The battle began when a group of U.S. special forces patrolling outside Shindand Air Base encountered armed Afghans on a road and were fired upon, U.S. military spokesman Col. Roger King said. The Americans returned fire, then called for air support while making their escape, King said. The B-52 bomber dropped seven 2,000-pound laser-guided bombs.
Australian Prime Minister John Howard said Sunday that he is prepared to act against terrorists in neighboring Asian countries and that the U.N. charter should be changed to allow nations to strike preemptively against terrorists planning to attack them.
Australia has one of the most powerful militaries in its region, with a modern air force and experienced special forces.
Howard's comments follow Oct. 12 bombings on Indonesia's resort island of Bali that killed nearly 200 people, almost half of them Australian tourists. The Al Qaida-linked terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah has been blamed for the attacks.
Although dozens of suspected Jemaah Islamiyah operatives have been jailed, many more are believed to be operational.
"It stands to reason that if you believe that somebody was going to launch an attack on your country, either of a conventional kind or a terrorist kind and you had a capacity to stop it and there was no alternative other than to use that capacity, then of course you would have to use it," he told Australian TV's Channel 9.
Asked if that meant taking preemptive action against terrorists in a neighboring country, Howard said, "Oh yes. I think any Australian prime minister would." But he added that "there's no situation that I'm aware of at the moment that raises that issue."
In Jakarta, Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesman Marti Natalegawa said Australia did not have the right to launch military strikes in other countries.
Clearing their decks
Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell, who will head the new commission to look into the Sept. 11 attacks, said Sunday that they will sever relations with any clients involved in their investigation.
They also said they will conduct an aggressive, wide-ranging inquiry over the next 18 months. While adding that it is premature before the other eight commissioners are named to say whether President Bush, former President Bill Clinton or even foreign leaders or foreign intelligence agencies will be called for questioning, Kissinger did not rule it out.
"We will follow the facts where they lead," he said on CNN's "Late Edition."
Kissinger also was asked about the possibility that conflicts of interest could arise between clients of his New York-based consulting firm and the targets of the 9/11 investigation.
"If there are any clients that are involved in the investigations, I will certainly sever my relations with them," he said.
Mitchell, an attorney associated with a Washington law firm, said none of his clients or those of his firm poses a conflict, but if it turned out that they did, he too would sever the relationship.
Return to top
© Copyright 2002 Star Tribune. All rights reserved
|
|
