[link|http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2001/10/29/national1623EST0664.DTL&type=printable|Pentagon considering setting up a base inside Afghanistan for possible ground operations]
ROBERT BURNS, AP Military Writer
Monday, October 29, 2001
\ufffd2001 Associated Press

(10-29) 14:57 PST WASHINGTON (AP) --

The United States is considering setting up a base inside Afghanistan from which commandos, and possibly conventional ground troops, would launch missions against Taliban and terrorist targets, defense officials said Monday.

This option, which Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld hinted at in a Pentagon news conference, could indicate the U.S. military is planning more aggressive moves against the Taliban, the Islamic militia that rules most of Afghanistan and harbors Osama bin Laden.

[...]

Troops on the ground will likely be needed to capture or kill bin Laden and other leaders of his al-Qaida network, but past wars in Afghanistan -- notably the former Soviet Union's failure after 10 years of fighting -- have shown the high cost of a conventional large-scale ground invasion.

Rumsfeld was asked about a USA Today report that said U.S. forces may soon establish a forward base in Afghanistan that would support 200 to 300 commandos. The newspaper, quoting an unidentified defense official, said the base might be in northern Afghanistan.

"You're asking if we're considering doing something additional in various ways," Rumsfeld said. "Needless to say, that's our job -- to consider much different things, and we do." He said he had nothing to announce.

A senior defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said U.S. planners were considering many possibilities, including the idea of a forward operating base in Afghanistan and other ways of using ground forces.

If the base were in northern Afghanistan, it likely would be established at an existing air field to facilitate the movement of U.S. troops and supplies.

Having the base would make commando raids somewhat less complex, but would provide Taliban and al-Qaida forces with a new U.S. target. Hundreds of U.S. soldiers likely would be needed to protect the base from attack.

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