17 April 2002

Defense Department Report, April 17: Afghanistan, New Command Plan, April 17, 2002

(Rumsfeld refuses to second-guess Tora Bora operation)

RUMSFELD DEFENDS DECISION TO USE ANTI-TALIBAN AFGHAN FORCES

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said he knew of no evidence at the time of the military operation there, "nor do I know today of any evidence that ... [Osama bin Laden] was in Tora Bora at the time, or even where he is today."

Rumsfeld responded at an April 17 Pentagon briefing to a published report of opinions expressed by unnamed senior U.S. military officials that the decision to use Afghan forces instead of U.S. troops in the Tora Bora operation had resulted in bin Laden's escape.

Reacting to the characterization of the Tora Bora decision as "the worst failure of the Afghan campaign," Rumsfeld noted that the United States "made a conscious decision" to "go ahead and use" anti-Taliban Afghan forces.

"And how did it all work out, all in all? Well, not bad. The Taliban is gone. The al-Qaida are on the run. It was done with the rather, I would say, effective use of Afghan forces; I would say rather effective use of coalition forces, and all in all, it seemed to happen rather rapidly and rather successfully," Rumsfeld said.

RUMSFELD DENIES OPPOSITION TO EXPANDED ISAF IN AFGHANISTAN

Rumsfeld said, "It is not correct" that the Defense Department opposes an expansion of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan. He made a distinction, however, between providing more U.S. forces for what he termed war-fighting purposes, as opposed to peacekeeping.

Rumsfeld noted that under current troop deployments, approximately 70,000 National Guard and Reserve forces had already been called to active duty, and that another 25,000-to-30,000 soldiers had been prevented from leaving at the end of their agreed term of service. As for providing U.S. forces as peacekeepers, he called it "a presidential decision," adding that "if I'm going to give advice, I will give it to the president. Although I think you've got a hint."

NEW UNIFIED COMMAND STRUCTURE PROVIDES FOR HOMELAND DEFENSE

Rumsfeld announced a new Unified Command Plan (UCP) in which every place on the globe is assigned a U.S. military commander-in-chief -- including the continental United States of America.

"This is the first time that the continental United States will be assigned a commander," Rumsfeld said. The new entity will be called Northern Command, or NORTHCOM, he said. The new command will help the Defense Department respond to natural disasters and attacks within the United States, and will provide a more coordinated military support to civilian agencies such as the FBI and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, he said.

The new UCP will also, when it becomes effective October 1, include the previously unassigned countries of Canada, Mexico and Russia, as well as the continent of Antarctica. A fact sheet detailing the new UCP is available on the Web at http://www.dod.gov/news/Apr2002/b04172002_bt188-02.html.