but I sure wish Bush could deliver a speech like Blair.
Taliban jet drops cluster-bombs in show of strength
The Independent
October 5, 2001
In what may be the opening shots of the war in Afghanistan, a silver-coloured Taliban jet screeched through the sky and released two cluster bombs. Just missing some mud-brick houses, they exploded in a field, spraying hundreds of steel balls in all directions.
The attack at noon yesterday by the MiG fighter-bomber on the opposition-held town of Charicar, in the front line 40 miles north of the Afghan capital Kabul, was a clear warning from the Taliban government to its enemies. It showed that it still has teeth and is prepared to use them.
If the bombs, taken from old Soviet stockpiles going by Russian markings on the casing, had been released a few seconds later they would have landed in Charicar’s packed street market and killed hundreds of people.
As the MiG passed overhead, General Babajan, the commander of 2,000 Northern Alliance soldiers at Bagram airport, was in the wrecked control tower talking to a group of journalists. One end of the airport is held by his men and the other by the Taliban.
Just after the bombs exploded, General Babajan rushed out on to a balcony on the top floor of the control tower and pointed to rising smoke at the foot of the mountains. He said in a surprised tone: “This hasn’t happened before.” Perhaps equally surprised were his anti-aircraft gunners, who had no time to fire at the jet.
The Taliban have a small airforce, its planes inherited from the old Soviet-backed government. But its aircraft are mainly used for tactical air support for its ground troops and only occasionally against civilians. The jets have not been in action anywhere in the last four days.
Searching for the place where the bombs had landed, I drove back from Bagram, through half-deserted mud-brick villages close to the front line, to the battered town of Charicar. This has changed hands a number of times in battles over the past few years. The buildings on its outskirts are pockmarked with bullet holes and scorched by blast damage.
On a road beside a canal we stopped at a small shop to ask if they had seen where the bombs had fallen. An excited 10-year-old boy called Idi Mohammed said he had seen them both, one detonating on impact and the other half an hour later.
This is not the first time the Taliban have used MiGs to attack this area, but they have not used cluster bombs before. Idi Mohammed, as he showed us the way to the craters, said: “A bomb landed close to my brother six months ago and damaged his brain, so now he is crazy.”
After driving over several watercourses, we saw the craters beyond some long-abandoned Russian military vehicles. Around the main craters were smaller ones and hundreds of shiny steel balls glinting in the dust showing that cluster bombs had been used.
Possibly the Taliban pilot had aimed at some buildings a mile away that looked like fortified barracks. If so, cluster bombs, which are designed to kill human targets standing in the open, were a strange weapon to use. Whatever the target, Kabul had clearly decided to send a message to its enemies that the Taliban would not give up without a fight.
There are increasing signs of military preparations in this opposition stronghold at the end of the Panjshir valley. More young men armed with sub-machine guns are in the streets as reserves are called up. As we drove to find the bomb craters, a truck with multiple rocket launchers in the back speedily passed us on its way to the front.
General Babajan said that both he and the Taliban had brought up reinforcements to the front. In Afghanistan, the frontline usually consists of thinly-held forward positions with more troops stationed further back waiting to counter-attack against any breakthrough. Northern Alliance commanders say they are waiting for the US air assault to start before launching an offensive. If they do attack it is unlikely to be a direct assault on Kabul, which would be over-ambitious given their limited military strength. A more probable option is an attack on the town of Taleqon, in the far north, where Taliban supply lines are over-stretched.
But as the bombing run demonstrated, until the US air attack starts, Kabul has control of the skies and still has the means to punish its enemies.
END
Goodness, Kellybird. Have you ever considered creating your own website?
I don’t believe we need media on the war front. Yes, we need to get the “real” story, but is it worth risking the lives of our military men? I had a cousin serve in the Gulf War. He worked with ordinance (unexploded munitions). Often, reporters would drive onto a base with an unexploded missle or other munitions in their vehicle for my cousins group to check out - which is incredibly dangerous. My cousin was more afraid of their over-eager good intentions than he was of what Hussein would do.
Also, I would think the element of surprise would be a good thing in warfare. It worked great for the terrorists. We need to catch people off their feet! We don’t need the media telling us and the Taliban how effective last nights bombing run was…
The witchy witch witch of south central NC.
Is it not so that if you give protection to any criminal culprit it is considered a crime, is it not?
Philsophical differences go both ways. However, when you erase the rhetoric and get down to the base what they are really saying is give up on Israel if you want us to help you. Now, I can understand that with Arabic peoples bargaining is a way of life and I suppose we are at the bargain stage.
However, at some point we will get to the bottom line. What then?
So I think we should hold the line and not play the game that will lead us down the road to being forced to give up a friend who is innocent of any crime for a terrorist who brags that we deserve what we got.
I read that in the area they are even claiming that Israel did the hijacking of the planes just to make Islam look bad.
So where would you draw the line? Where is that point beyond which reasonable people will not compromise?
I would like Tony Blair, but as a Hunt Supporter I cannot even bear to look at him on Television.
I have too many good friends who depend on making their livings in the British Hunting and Country Sports Fields to trust Mr Blair. 
…not to mention no computers so this discussion would have never begun…although as women, I’m not sure that it would be ladylike to have said any of this in the first place. Can you imagine…females with opinions! And I certainly hope you don’t ride gasp .astride… 
Pardon me girls, I’m going calling so need to find my white gloves and good Sunday hat.
~KBird
There is no plan to destroy anyone but the terrorists. We don’t want to occupy Afghanistan and the plans so far on the table are not only intelligent but with luck can effectively be the whole mission.
Our army isn’t large enough anymore for an old fashioned war. There is little doubt we will when we get the proper intelligence information drop our Delta troops from a plaane they will go in and clean out wherever the terrorists are hiding.
But, to blame this all on economics and our previous indescretions is futile and unnecessary at this point in time. I just finished listening to interviews from Afghanistan the confirm what I said earlier.
All the rest is from our perspective but from the perspective of the so-called terrorists they really believe the we are a pollutant because of our life style and belief. They really believe that Allah will bless them all with an end to their problems and prosperity if we are all dead.
Bin Laden really believes that Saudi Arabia is corrupted just because we are there, we do not follow his laws so we are infidels poisoning his world.
It’s not about money or food or even power and politics. To them exterminating us is not different than exterminating your house from roaches.
That is reality! The people in their grip are pawns in a game confused because they want to be good and earn the love of Allah.
After reading this nonsense I will forever call CNN an “alleged news reporting service”. Ditto Reuters. IDIOTS!
Friday, Sept. 28, 2001
Some Media Banning Use of the ‘T’ Word
First it was a ban on wearing U.S. flag pins. Now some journalists are being told they can’t call a terrorist a terrorist because they might appear to be judging the thugs who slaughter innocent people.
CNN, for example, says it wants to “define people by their actions,” a spokeswoman for the cable network told the Wall Street Journal.
She said that the kamikaze pilots flying the planes that hit the World Trade Center and Pentagon, for example, would be called “alleged hijackers,” not “terrorists,” because, she said, “CNN cannot convict anybody; nothing has been judged by a court of law.”
Reuters has restated its policy of forbidding journalists to use the word “terrorist” in describing the attacks or their perpetrators, the Journal reports. Reuters reporters, however, can quote others using the term.
“We do not characterize the subjects of news stories but instead report their actions, identity and background,” the company said in a written statement, adding that it has a similar proscription against the term ‘freedom fighter.’
“The integrity of those accounts - and the safety of our journalists in hot spots around the world who provide them - depend on our adherence to these long-held principles,” the statement said.
The Wall Street Journal, on the other hand, says it has told staffers they can use the word terrorist, but that “it should be used carefully, and specifically, to describe those people and nongovernmental organizations that plan and execute acts of violence against civilian or noncombatant targets, for example,” not merely sympathizers with such people or groups.
The Associated Press refers to the Black Tuesday attacks as “terrorist attacks” because “we consider they meet the criterion,” Managing Editor Michael Silverman said. Sometimes terrorists may call themselves freedom fighters, but “a lot of convicted murderers don’t like the definition of themselves either,” he added.
The Journal reported that the major broadcast and cable TV networks, including General Electric Co.'s NBC, Viacom Inc.'s CBS, Walt Disney Co.'s ABC and News Corp.'s Fox News, also said they have no new policies on such descriptive words or phrases.
The toughest response on the use of the word came from Bill Wheatley, vice president of NBC News, who told the Journal:
“A group of people commandeered airplanes and used them as guided missiles against thousands of people; if that doesn’t fit the definition of terrorism, what does?” he asked. “We have no intention of changing.”
Heidi - are you signing up for grammar police too?
hobson, that was a beautiful rendition of a deep and meaningful topic - you can be sure I will stop by the romance section of Barnes & Noble tonight so as to better myself 
Here we go again with oral sex… everyone cover your eyes. 
Sandy M and magnolia thank you, you both completely made my day 
magnolia, I’d love to take complete credit for that comment, but the thought has occurred to me more and more ever since Dubya began his campaign and thanks to Inverness–I believe, who at one point posted an exceptionally eloquent question on why America seems to pride itself on “being good people” and practically attacking intelligence. Why don’t we defend the exceptional as well as the normal? It always confused me–at least in our area, gifted education programs are severely lacking, but the school district itself and the general education area is known to be excellent. Why don’t we support the brilliant minds we have as well as the average minds? 
Anyway, having a long-winded sort of day
~KBird
Now I’m 72 have smoked for over 55 years. I cost our government nothing in medical care and even when the doctor prescribes things I rarely have the time to waste getting MRI done and such. Last year I conceded and had a whole set of tests done and much to the chagrin of my doctor I’m fine. Three healthy children and believe me no low birth weight babies.
So do I get a credit or a gold star on my case file? I don’t know why, but I will tell you that I believe in doing what is pleasant and feels good, eating what tastes good. I can tell you that I enjoy every day as if I were going to die tomorrow. And, I sure don’t want some government clerk telling me how to live.
I smoked through the pregnancies because no one suspected that I shouldn’t, and I can verify that by today’s standards of excellence you all should probably have died at birth. We didn’t breast feed because we were told it was bad for the baby and only 3rd world women who couldn’t afford formula would consider breast feeding. I took for some 20 years some little light green pill at 10 AM every morning. I have no idea what it was because in those we trusted our doctors and just didn’t need to know all that stuff. My GOD! how awful we used that nasty stuff called talcum powder, rubbing alcohol and we even put honey in the baby’s bottle of water. Today, all that stuff would proably warrant and arrest for child abuse.
My point is not that we all were right or that we were perfect or superior but the fact is that styles change the frames of reference change. I just watched a show where some doctors claim that the reason children are so much sicker these days is because mothers keep them too clean. It damages their immune system. Guess what dirt is the healthiest for children? It’s all the lovely bacteria we have in a barn.
I mean come on guys! a little common sense please regarding the voices of the experts and their motivations. I’m not trying to say all my bad habits and appetites are OK! I’m only saying I have the right as an individual to live my life the way I want. And, yes! if the aid comes with long strings that tie me up so I can’t enjoy each day then who needs it? I moved out here in the boonies to get closer to the natural world. I get to live with a lot of dust, mold, ragweed, tree pollen and bacteria every day while I watch my horses play in the pasture.
Did you know some expert said you add a day to your life for every 15 minutes that you pet an animal with four legs? If he’s right you’re going to be stuck with me and the likes of me for an awful lot of years so please get used to us and get to know us.
I promise not to use up your money on me.
Welcome aboard all you individualists, boy it’s been really lonely here until now.
PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Oct. 11 Kyodo
Afghan civilians in Vardak and Ghazni provinces close to Kabul have burned food packages air-dropped by the United States in protest against U.S. air strikes, according to reports from Afghanistan.
A source in Peshawar, western Pakistan, citing witness accounts from Afghanistan, said several hundred people in each of the two provinces gathered the packets of rice and fruit dropped by the U.S. military, piled them up outside their homes and torched them.
‘‘No need for pity,’’ some of them chanted.
‘‘We will fight America to the end.’’
On Tuesday, the Taliban’s ambassador to Pakistan, Abdul Salem Zaeef, denounced the U.S. food drop policy, calling it ‘‘an insult’’ to the Afghan people.
U.S. President George W. Bush initiated the food drop policy, saying Afghans – long suffering from food shortages brought on by drought – are American friends and that the U.S. air strike was targeted at the Taliban and alleged terrorist Osama bin Laden and his network.
U.S. officials say more than 100,000 food packets have been dropped in Afghanistan.
Was listening to Diane Rheim a bit ago…had all sorts of public health/bio-gurus on the program…I kept wanting to pick up the phone and say “BUT! What about…???” Of course, I was too busy forking the next pile into the manure tub, and getting on with normal life by hurrying through chores so I could ride to interrupt myself (besides, I’d be sitting there all hour just trying to get through, right?)…so I’ll pose part of what I have been wondering to you, our resident insurance expert…
…here’s the thing…We are lucky enough to have health insurance, “At The Moment,” through my husband’s small business, which he owns with two partners, one of whom is single and has opted not to have health coverage, the other of whom gets health coverage through his wife’s employent with the phone company–this benefit is of greater value to us (family w/two children) than to the others, so we get to pay for it out of out income, not off the top of company profits…however, each time we’ve had to renew our policy, we’ve had to cut back on the plan (not to mention change providers once) to negotiate the whopping price increases in order to maintain any coverage at all…we are now down to bare bones HMO…generic prescriptions or a huge co-pay, big deductible on hospitalizations…etc…not complaining, just illustrating what I think is probably not an unusual situation for someone in our income bracket, which I guess is pretty average…now…
How will the (for profit for the most part) health care “industry” respond to the new situations presented by large numbers of people at everyday jobs (postal workers, media workers, and their surrounds) having to be tested for all sorts of pathogens…never mind, how will it respond when asked to cough up the dough for all the medications (I don’t imagine there is anything available along the lines of generic Cipro?) I can see it coming now… next year the insurance industry’s “perceived” risk of bioterrorism will drive the price of health insurance out of sight…those of us who have been hanging on to their health coverage by a fingernail will be forced to drop it…
Not to mention the huge portion of the uninsured or underinsured that avoids going to the doctor till the situation has become acute…I just haven’t heard any discussion of the practical effects this will all have on a problem that is already out of hand…???
Who else besides me sees this as a problem…?
Yeah, yeah, yeah… we’re all ruining the country by daring to keep our eyes wide open and notice that THE MAN DOES HAVE AN ACCENT. Blasphemy! We’re pointing out that the emperor has no clothes!
No one said he should not be president because of it. No one said it implied he was doing a bad job. And I’m getting a little tired of people here jumping all over everyone else for expressing their opinions, which may or may not be in line with yours or with the President’s.
I would not have voted for Bush (couldn’t vote at all, due to an absentee ballot mixup 
) and I am vehemently opposed to many of his policies. However, I have been pleasantly surprised with his ability to step up to the plate in the last 10 days, and I look forward to seeing how his plans bear out.
I have not seen one single person here say they do not support Bush right now. I do see some thoughtful questioning of what the country should do next, but I would say this board is a pretty good representation of Mr. Bush’s whopping approval rating right now.
Now can we stop ripping people new ones for daring to disagree? It takes all kinds to make the world go 'round, folks…
By the way, not only do I think the President has an accent… I also think his ears kind of stick out funny and he reminds me of Howdy Doody. And yet, lo and behold, I am still standing right here and saying I think he made a good speech. My goodness! How does that happen? Could it be I am thinking critically for myself? Nah…
I feel better when I see the good people of this country standing behind the leaders and military and those rescuers and volunteers who stepped forward. I know they are the heart and soul of this country and not the likes of someone like yourself - self ordained as middle ground…I think not.
You can dance around the various definitions but your intent was clear and after 9/11 the use of the word has an obvious meaning.
Sept 24 NY Times-Networks Move to Revive Foreign News
Seems we Americans have been more interested in entertainment news than foreign policy–in this case ignorance has not proven to be bliss, and networks along with the rest of us have been scrambling in recent days to catch up on our world politics…
Thank you DMK for making some sense. I do remember a number of “oh, you caution-loving, anti-american cowardly peacenik pacifists will see who turns out to be RIGHT!”
I can’t believe it’s not Butter…Spray!
They had an interview with Fabio in a local newspaper once and apparently, he is quite aware of world politics. The reporter asked him some non-fluff question, and I guess Fabio went on and on about the problems of the world, quite intelligently, to the dismay of his management.
Ride it Like You Stole It…
