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| Afghanistan |
| Rumsfeld says no rules of engagement prevent icing Taliban leadership |
| 2001-10-18 |
With government service dating back 43 years, Donald Rumsfeld is accustomed to news stories that he does not like. But seldom does the secretary of defense get as exercised as he has been this week over accounts that the U.S. military had the Taliban's supreme commander in their sights Oct. 6, and did not pull the trigger. On the contrary, he says privately, a missile was fired at Mullah Mohammed Omar with undetermined results. Omar might have been hit by a missile fired by an unmanned CIA Predator reconnaissance aircraft, according to Rumsfeld's account (though this outcome would seem unlikely). His main message is that no rules of engagement prevent the U.S. military from eliminating the head of Afghanistan's rogue state. If U.S. forces locate the mullah, his days could be numbered. With President Bush ruling out negotiation, refusal to turn over Osama bin Laden could cost Omar his life. The 1976 order against U.S. assassination of foreign leaders has been interpreted by the Bush administration as not applying to the Taliban, which is viewed as a criminal gang without diplomatic status. To rid Afghanistan of the al-Qaida terrorist organization, the strategy is to form a government replacing the Taliban regime. |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |