Military Strike Likely Within Days

Excerpts from an article describing the likelihood of military action against terrorist camps and Taleban military within days:

• "Devastating attacks on bases controlled by Osama bin Laden are set to be launched in the next 48 hours."

• "The operation, which British and US sources say could be launched as early as today, would begin with air and missile strikes to destroy the Taliban's 20-aircraft air force, remove anti-aircraft missile batteries, and destroy Taliban tanks and other armour."

• "The aim of the first phase, likely to be launched from aircraft with US and British ships in the Arabian Sea, would be to remove any threat from the Taliban for the substantial incursion that would follow."

Excerpts regarding details on the substantial incursion to follow:

• "Sources say this would be in the form of a so-called desant operation - an airborne assault deep into Taliban-held territory - led by helicopter-carried troops of the US 82nd Airborne Division. Sources said that the 101st Air Assault Division has also been ordered to be ready for action."

• "Also fully mobilised was the 10th Mountain Division, which would be the main ground force in what Bush called an upcoming 'guerrilla war' fought by US and British forces. Although soldiers of the 82nd Airborne Division are trained for low-level parachute jumps, any assault is likely be made by first abseiling down fixed lines from helicopters."
  

• "American forces would be supported by US Special Forces - including US Army Rangers and Green Berets, and by British Special Forces. British units understood to have been earmarked include mountain warfare cadres of G-troop, 22 SAS Regiment; the Special Boat Service's Mountain Troop - which is trained for cliff assault and Arctic warfare - and the Mountain Leaders' section of 4/5 Royal Marine Commando. All are trained and equipped to operate in mountainous terrain for periods of up to a fortnight without being resupplied."

• "The US troops are equipped with a specialised version of the Black Hawk attack helicopter and long range MH-47 Chinooks armed with rotary cannon. They would also be able to call on support from AC-130 aircraft - nicknamed Puff the Magic Dragon - which can give ground support with an artillery cannon in its belly."

• "Initial targets earmarked for the air assault and desant operation include bases controlled by the al-Qaeda around Kabul, in particular those with usable air strips."

Source:

• Guardian Unlimited

In tears and close to complete despair am I.

All I can ask is that those who have lived their lives surrounded by and submissive to the primacy of faith as worthy, read the following and in a moment of quiet contemplation reflect on that which is and that which should be in this, our one and only *sure* chance at life ...

Complete text of the invocation to suicide / murder for god ...

• Suicide/Murder Letter - Pages 1-2

• Suicide/Murder Letter - Pages 3-4

Excerpts from an article containing many warnings to avoid turning the conflict against islamic extremist terror into a world war pitting muslims against non-muslims:

• Lagos-based Vanguard: "We caution that, unlike the terrorists, America cannot afford to punish the innocent with the guilty. As a bastion of democracy... the US must not be seen to be arbitrary".

• Egyptian weekly Al-Ahram: "By rushing headlong into collectively punishing Afghans for a crime whose perpetrators have not yet even been established, the US will reinforce a growing conviction among Muslims that its battle cry heralds a latter-day crusade - a term fraught with sinister and bitter implications."

• Senegal's Walfadjri L'Aurore: "Equating Islam with terrorism is a dangerous oversimplification. Do terrorists really adhere just to one camp?"

• Kenya's Daily Nation: Warns against "inflaming Islamic societies everywhere". And it predicts a scenario of widespread regional destabilisation in the aftermath of what it says would be a "counter-productive military solution. Then the house would really fall in."

• Ethiopia's Addis Tribune: "The root causes of terrorism - which is partly a result of a widespread sentiment in the Muslim and Arab world of being a victim of US bias against them - must be addressed, because otherwise an effective long-term solution to the problem will remain elusive. "

  "It should not be forgotten, furthermore, that Muslims died in the recent terrorist attacks on the US and that Muslim nations are also victims of fundamentalist terrorists."

  The writer ends with a rallying call: "In fighting this new war against terrorism, the nations of the world, Muslim and non-Muslim, must unite against their common enemy".

• Algeria's La Tribune: "The writer says the world needs to realise that it is getting ready for a war "not against Islam, but against terrorism".
  
  He says anti-Muslim sentiment could bring about a "widespread conflagration which the six billion souls, living on a planet already strongly shaken by a multitude of conflicts, will find it difficult to extricate themselves from".

Source:

• BBC