U.S. forces, al-Qaida to go head-to-head

Herald news services

TORA BORA, Afghanistan — U.S. special forces will begin to directly fight Osama bin Laden’s embattled al-Qaida soldiers in a deal struck with Afghan military leaders, one of the commanders said Wednesday.

The decision to intensify the U.S. role came after the Pentagon refused to go along with a cease-fire arrangement between al-Qaida and the Afghan troops and then rejected the terms of surrender the two sides had set.

In return for continuing to fight al-Qaida on this rugged, remote mountain, the Afghans sought — and received — assurances that U.S. ground forces would play a more direct, on-the-ground role, the Afghan official said.

"The Americans will have to go to the front … They will fight together with the mujahideen on the ground," said the Afghan who participated in the meeting where the promise was made. Until now, U.S. special forces have been used mainly to coordinate air attacks.

Surrender negotiations, meanwhile, continued on a parallel track. Afghan tribal chiefs gave the al-Qaida fighters a second ultimatum to lay down their arms by midday today.

The likelihood of a negotiated end to the battle for Tora Bora was diminished by the fact that the leaders of one key bloc of the cornered al-Qaida fighters — about 400 Arabs loyal to bin Laden — refused to negotiate, according to another Afghan commander. Representatives of other al-Qaida factions — Chechen, Uzbek and Afghan members of al-Qaida forces — did talk with the Afghan fighters about giving up, said Hazarat Ali, one of two top Afghan military leaders in the offensive.

"We have one condition — that we want Osama alive," Ali said, refusing to elaborate.

Not known was the number of U.S. fighters joining the on-the-ground assault. An estimated 60 to 70 U.S. special operations troops are in the Tora Bora region now.

At the Pentagon, U.S. officials Wednesday would not comment on whether additional U.S. ground forces would be dispatched to the Tora Bora area, but did not rule it out. "Don’t know what we’re going to need tomorrow," said Marine Corps General Peter Pace, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Although he said he was not aware of any direct cave fighting by U.S. forces, Pace said at a Pentagon news conference, "It’s not inconceivable that (U.S. special forces) would be in direct contact" with al-Qaida as the fighting continues.

In other developments:

FBI agents questioned John Walker, an American who joined Taliban fighters, at a Marine base in southern Afghanistan. Walker said in earlier questioning that a new al-Qaida terror attack was possible by the end of the Islamic holy month Ramadan, but the White House cast doubt on the report, saying the 20-year-old would not have knowledge of such plans.

A U.S. Air Force B-1 long-range bomber Wednesday crashed in the Indian Ocean as it attempted to return to its base on the British Island of Diego Garcia. The four crew members ejected from aircraft and were quickly rescued by the USS Russell, a Navy destroyer.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan called for the quick deployment of a multinational peacekeeping force in Afghanistan and said he hoped Britain would agree to lead it.

New Afghan leader Hamid Karzai arrived at the presidential palace in Kabul, the capital, on Wednesday, officials said. Karzai, named interim leader at a U.N.-brokered conference last month, had not been in Kabul since his appointment.