The 69-year-old politician Rumsfeld said in Kabul that the military operation in Afghanistan was 'a proving ground' and indicated that the war against terrorism would be extended 'urgently'.
'The Afghan theatre has been the first battle but it won't be the last. The existence and development of weapons of mass destruction in countries that are on the terrorist list [Iraq, Iran and North Korea] means we have to do our task [urgently] before the terrorists get their hands on [them].'
But Rumsfeld's failure to mention Osama bin Laden, al-Qaeda or the Taliban reinforced the growing sense that the aims of the British and American military operation in Afghanistan are being subtly redefined in the face of unexpected difficulties. Instead, he explained the troops' task as ensuring that Afghanistan can develop economically and politically so the country would not become a haven for terrorists in the future.
The focus is now rapidly shifting to Pakistan where many al-Qaeda elements are hiding. Yesterday American troops hunting Jalaluddin Haqqani, a senior Taliban commander and al-Qaeda supporter, stormed a religious school near the Pakistani border city of Peshawar in the first such overt operation of the war. Local tribesmen reacted angrily. Yesterday the American General Tommy Franks, in charge of the operation in Afghanistan, admitted that his special forces were operating on both sides of the Afghan-Pakistan frontier.
'Al-Qaeda have broken up and gone underground,' one UK defence source close to special forces operations said. 'We are here to kill people and not doing it is getting kind of tedious,' said one sergeant with the 10th Mountain division.
Late on Friday night three rockets were fired at the headquarters of the British-led peacekeeping force in Kabul. On Thursday, unidentified attackers fired a rocket at a troop position in the eastern Afghan city of Khost.
www.observer.co.uk/waronterrorism/story/0,1373,706531,00.html
'The Afghan theatre has been the first battle but it won't be the last. The existence and development of weapons of mass destruction in countries that are on the terrorist list [Iraq, Iran and North Korea] means we have to do our task [urgently] before the terrorists get their hands on [them].'
But Rumsfeld's failure to mention Osama bin Laden, al-Qaeda or the Taliban reinforced the growing sense that the aims of the British and American military operation in Afghanistan are being subtly redefined in the face of unexpected difficulties. Instead, he explained the troops' task as ensuring that Afghanistan can develop economically and politically so the country would not become a haven for terrorists in the future.
The focus is now rapidly shifting to Pakistan where many al-Qaeda elements are hiding. Yesterday American troops hunting Jalaluddin Haqqani, a senior Taliban commander and al-Qaeda supporter, stormed a religious school near the Pakistani border city of Peshawar in the first such overt operation of the war. Local tribesmen reacted angrily. Yesterday the American General Tommy Franks, in charge of the operation in Afghanistan, admitted that his special forces were operating on both sides of the Afghan-Pakistan frontier.
'Al-Qaeda have broken up and gone underground,' one UK defence source close to special forces operations said. 'We are here to kill people and not doing it is getting kind of tedious,' said one sergeant with the 10th Mountain division.
Late on Friday night three rockets were fired at the headquarters of the British-led peacekeeping force in Kabul. On Thursday, unidentified attackers fired a rocket at a troop position in the eastern Afghan city of Khost.
www.observer.co.uk/waronterrorism/story/0,1373,706531,00.html
