Allies may be unable to use ground troops - UK Defence Secretary
British Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon warned today that it may be too dangerous to send ground troops into Afghanistan if the Taliban regime collapsed in chaos.
He said the first night of US and British air and missile strikes against Afghanistan marked only the start of a ‘‘relentless, deliberate and sustained campaign’’ to ‘‘root out’’ terrorism.
The British Chief of Defence Staff Admiral Michael Boyce warned that they were in for the ‘‘long haul’’ with air strikes expected to continue for several more days to come.
‘‘We know that the defeat of international terrorism is not going to be easy and it is not going to be brief,’’ he told a news conference at the Ministry of Defence in London.
Mr Hoon confirmed that plans were being drawn up to follow up the attacks by sending in ground forces - including British troops - but he said that they may not be possible to carry out.
‘‘It is perfectly possible that the impact of these initial strikes and those that follow will have such a seriously disabling impact on the Taliban regime that the use of ground troops may not be possible in a hostile environment,’’ he said.
He acknowledged however that the action may destabilise the Taliban regime to the extent that the rebel Northern Alliance was able to seize the capital and take control of Kabul.
‘‘I think that is one of the possible outcomes that may follow from military action and the removal of the Taliban regime,’’ he said.
His comments are likely to cause alarm in Pakistan which is deeply hostile to the Northern Alliance.
The Pakistan President, General Pervez Musharraf, already facing a wave of anti-American demonstrations across the country, warned today that the Northern Alliance must not be allowed to exploit the military strikes for their own ends.
In all, 30 sites around the country - including Afghan air defences, airfields and garrisons - were targeted in three waves of attacks by missiles and American warplanes.
Royal Navy nuclear-powered submarines launched Tomahawk Cruise missiles at a large training camp belonging to Osama bin Laden’s al Qaida network at an undisclosed location.
Mr Hoon said that only three of the targets attacked had been in Kabul and four around other built-up areas and that the remaining 23 had been in remote parts of the country.
Despite claims from the Taliban that there had been civilian casualties - with reports of 20 dead - Mr Hoon insisted that strenuous efforts had been made to avoid civilian targets.
