09632

01/08/2002
EDITORIAL NUMBER=0-09632

THE SEARCH CONTINUES

One of the primary objectives of the American-led coalition’s war against terrorism is to capture or kill the al-Qaida and Taleban leadership in Afghanistan. They are the ones responsible for the September 11^th attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Terrorists, and those who harbor them, must be brought to justice.

According to news reports, Qari Ahmadullah, intelligence head of the Taleban regime, was killed in a recent bombing raid. Ahmadullah was known for his cruelty. His torture methods included floggings with thick cables and the use of electric shocks. American military officials said that while they can’t confirm the report, U-S planes did attack a compound that housed the Taleban intelligence ministry.

The remaining al-Qaida and Taleban are being hunted on the ground by anti-Taleban forces, assisted by what the Pentagon describes as American "special operating forces." U-S troops are looking at locations and facilities where al-Qaida and Taleban forces might have been. As Rear Admiral John Stufflebeem put it, "we’re casting a relatively wide net to build intelligence."

That "wide net" includes searching for al-Qaida who might have fled Afghanistan. Admiral Stufflebeem said that hundreds of ships have been scrutinized and boardings have been conducted. The process is ongoing.

There are now more than three-hundred detainees under American control. They are being screened to determine which ones need to be brought out of Afghanistan to be handled in some form of legal process. U-S Assistant Secretary of Defense Torie Clarke said that when Taleban leader Mohammad Omar and al-Qaida terrorist head Osama bin Laden are captured, they will be turned over to the United States. She said that the Afghan interim administration, headed by Hamid Karzai, understands the American position.

As Mr. Karzai said, the al-Qaida, "together with their foreign supporters and the Taleban, destroyed miles and miles of homes and orchards and vineyards. They have killed Afghans. . . . We want them out."