Taliban defiant after weeks of US bombing
After four weeks of US bombing, a senior Taliban official said today that Afghan leaders were gearing up for a long war and challenged Washington to send in ground troops.
‘‘We are preparing for a long war,’’ said Taliban chief spokesman Amir Khan Muttaqi. ‘‘If they are so powerful then why are they not sending in their soldiers to fight us face to face.’’
‘‘Instead, they are using their sophisticated technology against us,’’ Muttaqi said of the Americans. ‘‘Are they afraid?’’
Muttaqi’s comments echoed other defiant statements by Taliban leaders, who insist the US bombing has failed to undermine their morale or shake their hold on this embattled country.
The United States maintains the bombing, now in its fifth week, has disrupted Taliban defences and weakened their grip on the country.
President George Bush launched the air campaign October 7 after the Taliban refused to hand over Osama bin Laden, chief suspect in the September terrorist attacks that killed about 4,500 people.
Muttaqi insisted the air campaign has not resulted in any changes in front lines where the Taliban face troops of the US backed Northern Alliance. The alliance has acknowledged its troops have made no major gains but insist they are preparing for major offensives against Kabul and other cities.
In the last week, US have pummeled Taliban front lines in an attempt to weaken them and pave the way for advances by northern alliance troops. So far the Northern Alliance soldiers have been unable to move forward.
A new Northern Alliance offensive on the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif was faltering with ethnic divisions within the alliance surfacing. Uzbek general Rashid Dostum, a partner in the alliance, has been unable to rally his troops which are only about 700, mostly demoralised soldiers, claimed Ashraf Nadeem, a spokesman for deposed president Burhanuddin Rabbani.
‘‘Their efforts have not produced anything,’’ Muttaqi said in the Afghan capital. ‘‘International cooperation with the American government is lessening day by day. The cries of death to America are growing day by day.’’
