Report: U.S. Special Forces in Afghanistan

Reuters | 9/28/01

[kattracks]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. special forces have been in Afghanistan for two weeks searching for Osama bin Laden, the prime suspect in the airborne assaults on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, USA Today reported on Friday.

Citing unidentified senior U.S. and Pakistani officials, the newspaper said U.S. commandos arrived in Pakistan on Sept. 13 -- two days after the attacks -- and began moving into Afghanistan with orders to capture or kill the Saudi-born Islamic militant, or pin him down until the United States can launch air strikes.

Pentagon spokeswoman Victoria Clarke refused to comment on the front-page story. The Pentagon was not making any comment on operations, she said.

Officials have said the U.S. "war on terrorism," declared after the terror attacks on New York and Washington in which nearly 6,500 people are dead or missing, would be an unconventional battle in which commandos could play a key role.

The newspaper, citing Pentagon officials in Washington and Pakistani military officials with direct knowledge of the operations, said U.S. special operations forces had landed in the Pakistani cities of Peshawar and Quetta.

Teams of three to five soldiers, supported by Black Hawk MH-60K helicopters based outside Afghanistan, began deploying into the country to locate bin Laden, concentrating their searches in caves and underground bunkers in southwest Afghanistan near Kandahar, the newspaper said, citing senior U.S. and Pakistani officials.

USA Today said the elite troops were having trouble finding bin Laden and had asked other nations for intelligence help.

Quoting U.S. officials, it said several elite military units were involved in the effort to find bin Laden, including the Army's Green Berets, Navy SEALS and the British Army's Special Air Services.

Copyright © 2001 Reuters Limited.

[Aric2000]

WELL DUUUUUUHHHHHH!!!!

Sorry, I just find it amusing when the press writes about this like its news... This is a big old DUH!! Who else would we have in there?

[Paradox]

Wonder who leaked this?

And why,
I wonder if this is even true. Maybe a bit of psy-ops, make the enemy freak out. Imagine, they have been there TWO WEEKS and went undetected.. paranoia time for the Taliban..

[Hammerhead]

"Yeah right. We'll bring this these people to justice. Bush is doing nothing. It is all a con. "

Larry,...your a liar.

[BunnySlippers]

No link? :-(

[Rokke]

You must mean the Kuwaiti's who died right?

[Yellow Rose of Texas]

Heads up, this was released at just the right time, we are ready for some kind of action.

[Int]

Wonder who leaked this?
and why?

[ExSoldier]

That would be the QRP or Quick Reaction Platoon which can be "wheels up" within two hours with the rest of the QRF or Quick Reaction Force as "follow on" within another four hours. This force is usually company strength...it takes the rest of the battalion a little longer to on-load vehicles and get the HAZ MAT straight and start to roll. But ROLL THEY WILL.

CRY HAVOC!! AND LET SLIP THE DOGS OF WAR.

[FReethesheeples]

Well put.

Dead man walking.

[Wolfstar]

Kattracks, thanks for finding and posting this. It gives my spirits a real and much-needed lift. I hope it's true. Trying to read the tea leaves: (1) The report is in the U.S. paper with the largest nationwide circulation. (2) It quotes unidentified SENIOR U.S. and Pakistani OFFICIALS. (3) They did not say the officials were talking on condition of anonymity. Such attribution usually means someone in the government with reliable info has been authorized to talk "on background." I note the Pentagon spokeswoman did not deny the report. (4) It's one thing to ask the American people for patience -- it's quite another to appear to be taking no retaliatory action at all. So perhaps a carefully placed item like this USA Today piece is intended to do precisely what it has -- give us hope that retribution is actually on its way.

[Torie]

Why is USA Today reporting on the movement of US special forces? Is the rag confident that this does imperil the lives of American troops? Do they care? Just curious.

[jwalsh07]

Who leaked what? That an A team was going to search every cave in Southern Afghanistan and that when the A team found bin Laden they were going to kill or pin down him and his thousand men?

[Int]

no. The 'fact' that they've been there 2 weeks

[green team 1999]

osama! come out!

[HiTech RedNeck]

I don 2 inches of tinfoil for this one. Not until we have a pretty good idea where Osama is, will we go after him. Imagine a company of soldiers searching an area comparable to the entire state of Texas -- with a terrain like New Mexico.

[griffin]

Hmmmm....interesting.

I heard a 32 year experienced firearms dealer this evening on talk radio here from MN. He claimed to have a few friends in CA in the firearms/military industry. Rumor has it that body bags of our SF guys are already coming back....we just aren't hearing about it yet...or it isn't true.

[Amerigomag]

Our troop arrival in Pakistan was reported as it occured by Pak sources but the posting was repeatedly sensored off this forum.

Why is it now allowed?

[Roebucks]

Hey Osama!

[jwalsh07]

OBL will be found by Afghans or Pakistanis who will be paid for the information. They will then be introduced to rolling thunder by some B 52's. When the dust clears there will be young American men with their faces painted and their senses on fire ready to kill any sonuvabitch that moves. Thats my take anywho.

[bulldog905]

Please pray for our brave men and their success in this mission!