The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, November 14, 2001, Page 3, Image 3
U.S. aiding anti-Taliban rebels in Kabul
BY ROBERT BURNS
ASSOCIATED PHESS
WASHINGTON - American spe
cial forces slipped into the Afghan
capital to offer “advice and coun
sel” to triumphant opposition
forces, and small numbers of U.S.
troops are operating against the
Taliban in southern Afghanistan,
Defense Secretary Donald H.
Rumsfeld said Tuesday.
Rumsfeld cautioned against
concluding that the Taliban’s re
treat from the north means the
hunt for Osama bin Laden and
his terrorist network is almost
over. He said U.S. officials don’t
know where bin Laden is hiding.
“It’s a difficult country,” he
said. “There are lots of caves.
There are lots of tunnels, lots of
mountains. It is not an easy task.
We said that at the outset.”
When asked whether he
feared Osama bin Laden would
launch a hew terrorist attack
out of desperation, Rumsfeld
said: “The idea that we could ap
pease them by stopping doing
what we’re doing, or some im
plication that... we’re inciting
them to attack us is just utter
nonsense. It’s kind of like feed
ing an alligator, hoping it eats
you last.”
U.S. bombs fell in Afghanistan
for a 38th day, and Rumsfeld said
that in the aftermath of the
Taliban’s collapse in the north,
the United States has two short
term goals besides hunting down
the terrorists. They are opening
a “land bridge” to Uzbekistan in
the north and repairing airports
near Mazar-e-Sharif and north of
Kabul so that more humanitari
an aid can be brought in.
Rumsfeld raised the possibility
that leaders of the Taliban or the
al-Qaida terrorist network might
flee across the Afghan border into
Iran to the west or Pakistan to the
south and east.
He cited three possibilities,
any of which he said would lead
to the eventual demise of both
groups:
“They can flee and reorganize
in the south. They can flee and
melt into the countryside, or they
can defect. If they reorganize in
the south, we’re going to go get
them. If they go to ground, we
will, as the president said, root
them out. And if they decide to
flee, I doubt that they’ll find peace
wherever they select.”
Rumsfeld said a “very small
number” of U.S. forces are in
Kabul, not enough to keep a care
ful eye on the opposition forces
that entered the capital Monday
after the Taliban fled.
He said U.S. special operations
troops are in southern
Afghanistan, but unlike the
arrangement in the north that
helped trigger the retreat of the
Taliban, U.S. troops in the south
are working independently of op
position forces, Rumsfeld said. He
was vague about their mission.
“They are doing things that
are helpful to our side and un
helpful to the other side,” he said.
With the capture of Kabul and
other northern cities comes the
potential for gaining information
on the movements of bin Laden
and Other leaders of al-Qaida and
the Taliban, U.S. officials said.
U.S. forces accompanying
northern alliance commanders
are searching for Taliban items
like computer disks, maps and
documents that might contain
useful intelligence, one official
said. They probably also are in
terviewing Taliban prisoners and
commanders who defected to the
alliance.
Rumsfeld expressed hope that
the military successes in north
ern Afghanistan would create
new opportunities in the south.
“One of the encouraging things
is of course that as movement oc
curs in the north, that some of the
tribes in the south will decide to
become more active” in provid
ing U.S. forces with information
about the whereabouts of leaders
of both the Taliban and the al
Qaida network, he said.
In the Pashtun-dominated
south, which includes the Taliban
stronghold of Kandahar, resis
tance to the Taliban has been
fragmented. Unlike in the north,
there is little organized military
opposition in the south.
A CIA effort to create an up
rising in the south could focus
primarily on arming Pashtun
tribal leaders and commanders
persuaded or bribed to fight the
Taliban.
Rumsfeld seemed to refer to
this possibility when he said, “It
may very well be that money
talks, at some point.”
Exiled supporters of King
Mohammad Zahir Shah aren’t
viewed as a likely avenue to op
pose the Taliban in the south.
Tuition
Palms says USC is
still a bargain
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
Pruitt said the university has
raised tuition every year for the
past 25 years.
“We have to generally raise it
3 percent each year at least to cov
er inflation,” he said. Inflation is
gauged by the Higher Education
Price Index, which Pruitt called
the “standard.”
“We’ve been averaging to about
3 to 3 and a half percent a year,”
he said.
Despite the rising costs of tu
ition at USC, President John
Palms said, “For many people,
this is a bargain.”
“The cost of private-higher edu
cation is skyrocketing,” he said.
“You go to a private college or uni
versity, and it’s about $35,000 a year.
This is not anywhere near that.”
Palms said he expects enroll
ment to remain strong because of
the falling economy. “We have
students less likely to drop out af
ter one semester because there
are not many jobs out there like
there used to be,” he said. “Now,
at the sameiime, we have to get
ready for another possible cut,
“If the tuition goes up a
lot more, I’ll have to
start getting student
loans and taking care of
it myself. That’s kind of
tough because it hurts
a lot of students who
are already here if they
got halfway through the
semester and they have
to charge more.”
CHRIS BARKER
THIRD-YEAR FINANCE
STUDENT
and we’U just have to handle that,
and the... SDIC is going to help us
decide where the priorities ought
to be and where we might make
cuts if we get cut again.”
Student body President Corey
Ford said he “wasn’t too happy”
with the tuition increases and said
Student Government is working
with Clemson and College of
Charleston on joint lobbying pro
jects for when the Legislature re
convenes in January. Ford wouldn't
give details about these projects.
Comments on this story? E-mail
gamecockudesk&hotmail.com.
Sera Tec
CAN HELP YOU
EARN SOME
L) FAST CASH!
7 New donors can earn up to
$110.00 in 2 weeks!
Bring ID with date of birth A social security number.
Hours: Mon., Wed., A Fri. - 7:30 - 4:00
Tues. A Thurs. - 7:30 - 5:00 * Sat. - 8:00 -Noon
We have 4 positions open with our
promotional team. We are looking
for positive, self-motivated,
energetic individuals who have a
desire to make $500 per week.
We offer hire-on bonus and
training pay.
We Offer:
• Sign on bonus
• Health Ins. Benefits
• 401K
• Holiday and Vacation Pay
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Contests for cash & prizes
• Paid Training
Trinity
Episcopal
Cathedral
Across from State House
Sunday Worship
.7:45, 9 & 11:30 a.m.—Cathedral
11:30 a.m.& 6:00p.m.—
Keenan Chapel
Weekday Eucharist in
Keenan Chapel
771-7300
www.trinityepiscopalcathedral.org
rop uuiz
What can you get for only *39.99 a month?
A. 2500 Minutes all with Real Nationwide Long Distance included
B. 3 months of Wireless Web
C. 3 months of Voice Command
(d)AII of the Above
Call to anywhere in the country from anywhere on our nationwide network
of over 300 major metropolitan areas.
2500 minutes = 350 Anytime Minutes + 2,150 Night & Weekend Minutes, with
a one-year Sprint PCS Advantage Agreement?"
500 additional PCS to PCS minutes you can use to talk to other Sprint PCS
customers for an additional $10 a month.
u I
Sprint PCS'
use SPRINT STORE
Russell House on Greene St.
(803) 576-5887
This phone or offer may not be available from all retailers. Rate plan and $50 Instant Savings are available until 12/15/01 and require a one-year
Spnnt PCS Advantage Agreement:” $150 early termination fee applies to the Sprint PCS Advantage Agreement A nonrefundable $34.99 phone
activation fee applies except in select Affiliate markets All plans subject to credit approval. Depending on credit, a $125 deposit, a $25 setup fee
and customer service charges may apply. Included minutes are not good for calls made while roaming off the Sprint PCS Nationwide Network,
whether local or long distance. Roaming calls are charged at $0.69 per minute or $0.39 per minute, depending on specific local-market offers. A
Domestic long-distance calls made while roaming off the Sprint PCS Network will be charged at an additional $0.25 per minute. Night & ^
Weekend Minutes are Monday-Thursday 8pm-7am and Friday 8pm - Monday 7am Copyright ©2001 Sprint Spectrum L.P All rights reserved
Sprint, Sprint PCS, Sprint PCS Phone and the diamond logo are trademarks of Sprint Communications Company L.P.
■Bliiii Urn. '