Return-Path: <sentto-279987-3530-1004206235-fc=all.net@returns.onelist.com> Delivered-To: fc@all.net Received: from 204.181.12.215 [204.181.12.215] by localhost with POP3 (fetchmail-5.7.4) for fc@localhost (single-drop); Sat, 27 Oct 2001 11:12:07 -0700 (PDT) Received: (qmail 27983 invoked by uid 510); 27 Oct 2001 18:09:56 -0000 Received: from n2.groups.yahoo.com (216.115.96.52) by 204.181.12.215 with SMTP; 27 Oct 2001 18:09:56 -0000 X-eGroups-Return: sentto-279987-3530-1004206235-fc=all.net@returns.onelist.com Received: from [10.1.4.55] by n2.groups.yahoo.com with NNFMP; 27 Oct 2001 18:10:35 -0000 X-Sender: fc@red.all.net X-Apparently-To: iwar@onelist.com Received: (EGP: mail-8_0_0_1); 27 Oct 2001 18:10:34 -0000 Received: (qmail 7666 invoked from network); 27 Oct 2001 18:10:34 -0000 Received: from unknown (10.1.10.26) by l9.egroups.com with QMQP; 27 Oct 2001 18:10:34 -0000 Received: from unknown (HELO red.all.net) (65.0.156.78) by mta1 with SMTP; 27 Oct 2001 18:10:34 -0000 Received: (from fc@localhost) by red.all.net (8.11.2/8.11.2) id f9RIAle16390 for iwar@onelist.com; Sat, 27 Oct 2001 11:10:47 -0700 Message-Id: <200110271810.f9RIAle16390@red.all.net> To: iwar@onelist.com (Information Warfare Mailing List) Organization: I'm not allowed to say X-Mailer: don't even ask X-Mailer: ELM [version 2.5 PL3] From: Fred Cohen <fc@all.net> X-Yahoo-Profile: fcallnet Mailing-List: list iwar@yahoogroups.com; contact iwar-owner@yahoogroups.com Delivered-To: mailing list iwar@yahoogroups.com Precedence: bulk List-Unsubscribe: <mailto:iwar-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com> Date: Sat, 27 Oct 2001 11:10:46 -0700 (PDT) Reply-To: iwar@yahoogroups.com Subject: [iwar] [fc:Military.chief.warns.of.four-year.war.(Just.long.enough.to.get.re-elected?)] Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit SATURDAY OCTOBER 27 2001 Military chief warns of four-year war BY MICHAEL EVANS, DEFENCE EDITOR BRITISH troops going to war in Afghanistan faced the most complex and difficult campaign launched "in my lifetime", Britain's top military commander said yesterday. In a brutally realistic assessment of the prospects of defeating the al-Qaeda terrorists led by Osama bin Laden, Admiral Sir Michael Boyce, Chief of the Defence Staff, said that the war could last three or four years. As the Government announced that 200 Royal Marines of 40 Commando had been chosen as the first British "overt" troops for action in Afghanistan, Admiral Boyce admitted that it was going to be "extraordinarily difficult" to achieve the military objectives unless the Taleban regime in Afghanistan "folded". He said: "This is the most difficult operation we've undertaken, although not the most dangerous because we're not facing an enemy like the Iraqi Army." However, other conflicts, like the Falklands in 1982 and the Gulf War in 1991, had had identifiable enemies. But this was not the case with the campaign against the terrorists in Afghanistan. He likened the war on terrorism to the confrontation with the Soviet Union in the Cold War which had lasted 50 years. The West had kept up the pressure on the Soviet Union all that time "and did not blink" and the result was a victory against communism. He said: "I'm not suggesting this war will go on for 50 years but we're fighting a concept, not a state . . . and we're having to rewrite the rulebook (to deal with it). The al-Qaeda organisation is not tangible. You're fighting against this thing called terrorism." He added that the coalition's task was made harder because intelligence on the ground in Afghanistan was limited. "Only 6 per cent of the Afghan population has electricity, so not many people are using telephones," he said. This meant that the coalition had to rely on airborne and satellite intelligence-gathering systems. The 200 Marines from 40 Commando, who will be backed by a task force of warships, were "ready now" to mount operations in Afghanistan, Admiral Boyce said. They are among 21,500 British personnel nearing the end of a tri-Service exercise in Oman. The 400 other members of 40 Commando would return to Britain but would remain on 24 hours' notice to deploy. A total of 4,200 British military personnel are committed to the campaign in Afghanistan. Admiral Boyce said that the Marines, based on board the assault ship HMS Fearless , would provide "force protection" for special forces troops, perhaps seizing and holding ground while the SAS and SBS carried out operations. ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> Get your FREE VeriSign guide to security solutions for your web site: encrypting transactions, securing intranets, and more! http://us.click.yahoo.com/UnN2wB/m5_CAA/yigFAA/kgFolB/TM ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> ------------------ http://all.net/ Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.2 : 2001-12-31 20:59:57 PST