After 18 days of U.S. airstrikes on Afghanistan, U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Wednesday that he isn't sure American forces will catch terrorist Osama bin Laden "dead or alive," as President Bush has said he wants. But Rumsfeld predicted that the Taliban regime, which is harboring bin Laden, will be ousted from power.
"Yes, I think there will be a post-Taliban Afghanistan," Rumsfeld said during a meeting with the USA TODAY editorial board. "That is easier than finding a single person." But the Defense secretary said the United States should not be responsible for forming a new government.
Since the bombings began on Oct. 7, President Bush has described the U.S. military campaign as only one part of a government-wide effort to root out international terrorists and isolate governments that support them. Bush said Wednesday that the military "was slowly but surely encircling the terrorists."
By contrast, Rumsfeld has been trying to ratchet down expectations for the military campaign.
In a 50-minute interview, Rumsfeld cautioned repeatedly that it will not be easy to capture or kill bin Laden. "It is a very difficult thing to do," he said. "It's a big world. There are lots of countries. He's got a lot of money, he's got a lot of people who support him, and I just don't know whether we'll be successful."
Even if bin Laden were captured or killed, his lieutenants and terrorist network would carry on, Rumsfeld added. "If he were gone tomorrow, the same problem would exist."
As for the Afghan government that supports bin Laden, Rumsfeld did express confidence that there would be a "post-Taliban" Afghanistan. He also said the Taliban is proving to be a wily and ruthless foe. "They are very tough people. They've made careers out of fighting, and they are not going to roll over," he said.
( People's Daily 10/25/2001)
