- WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary
Donald Rumsfeld said Wednesday that he was willing to deploy U.S. military
forces in "another 15 countries" if that is what it takes to
combat terrorism.
-
- "If we have to go into 15 more countries, we ought
to do it -- to deal with the problem of terrorism, so we don't allow this
problem to damage and kill tens of thousands more people," Rumsfeld
said, discussing the extent to which America's 1.4 million-member military
already is stretched thin by the fight against terrorism and by longstanding
commitments.
President Bush and other administration officials have said repeatedly
since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks that efforts to track down al-Qaida
operatives and to neutralize other terrorist organizations would not be
confined to Afghanistan.
In recent days, the United States has sent 240 to 250 soldiers to the Philippines
to help train soldiers there to combat bands of the Muslim extremist group
Abu Sayyaf on the southern island of Baslian.
Rumsfeld's remark about the number of countries into which the United States
could carry the fight against terrorism was delivered off the cuff. But
it made clear just how broad the U.S. war against terrorism could become.
The strain on the military -- including 1.3 million reservists, many of
whom had been called to active duty several times in the past decade --
could become overwhelming.
As part of Operation Enduring Freedom, the United States has deployed 50,000
to 60,000 military personnel since the September attacks, the Pentagon
says. Between 3,500 and 4,000 are in Afghanistan.
The Defense Department also has restricted retirements of military personnel
and, as of Jan. 9, had called up 67,793 reservists.
The Army, Air Force and Marine Corps announced Wednesday that they had
ordered an additional 2,387 people to quit their civilian lives and report
for duty.
Rear Adm. John Stufflebeem, a Pentagon spokesman, said this week that the
Air National Guard was being strained by the post-Sept. 11 demand to fly
combat air patrols over the United States.
"If you overuse military equipment, or if you don't give crews time
to train, they may not be ready for what next is on," Stufflebeem
said.
Not counting war operations in the Afghanistan region, the United States
routinely has about 200,000 military personnel serving abroad, said Army
Maj. James Cassella, a Pentagon spokesman.
In other developments:
-- Rumsfeld said he believes al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden and Taliban
leader Mullah Mohammad Omar are still in Afghanistan. "We're still
working on that basis," he said.
-- U.S. investigators in Afghanistan questioned a man who showed up voluntarily
at the U.S. base in Kandahar to offer information, describing himself as
a financial supporter of the Taliban. A Pentagon official said on the
condition of anonymity that he was not on the U.S. list of wanted men,
but Marine spokesman Lt. James Jarvis said investigators were "jumping
with joy."
-- Rumsfeld said U.S. officials have tentatively concluded that al-Qaida
had not developed the means to produce chemical, biological or radiological
weapons.
-- The U.N. Security Council imposed sanctions against bin Laden, al-Qaida
and remnants of the Taliban. The resolution, adopted unanimously, requires
all countries to impose an arms embargo and a travel ban on individuals
and groups associated with them, while freezing their financial assets.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. http://www.pioneerplanet.com/news/nat_docs/229886.htm
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