War on track, U.S. insists

The Bush administration dismissed criticism of its military campaign against Afghanistan on Sunday, saying the war was progressing as planned despite increased civilian casualties and violent unrest in neighboring Pakistan, a key U.S. ally.

“It’s not a quagmire,” Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said after defending U.S. strategy on morning talk shows and signaling that the Pentagon is prepared to fight through the Islamic holy month of Ramadan to defeat the Taliban regime and Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaida terrorist network.

The Justice Department, spearheading the investigation into anthrax-tainted mail, announced that its own remote mail facility had been contaminated with the bacterium. Traces of anthrax also have been found in the past week at the remote mailrooms of the White House, the Supreme Court and the Central Intelligence Agency.

Health officials announced that a postal worker in New Jersey had tested positive for inhalation anthrax, the 13th case of anthrax in the United States.

In New York, thousands of relatives and friends gathered at the smoldering debris of the World Trade Center for a memorial service honoring about 5,000 people killed or missing in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the twin towers.

As the U.S. began the fourth week of bombing against military and terrorist targets in Afghanistan, warplanes struck the capital, Kabul, and frontline positions held by troops of the Taliban regime.

An errant early-morning attack near Kabul reportedly killed 13 civilians, including children, witnesses said. The episode marked at least the second time in two days that U.S. bombs or missiles had missed their targets and hit civilians instead.

The anti-Taliban Northern Alliance said U.S. jets had attacked Taliban forces in the north-central corner of the country for the first time, dropping bombs near the Tajikistan border and targeting Taliban artillery threatening a rebel supply line along the Kokcha River. Previous strikes have concentrated on Taliban forces near the strategic northern city of Mazar-e Sharif and near Kabul.

Stray, unguided bombs landed Saturday evening behind the rebel alliance’s battle lines north of the capital, killing eight or nine civilians, mostly in alliance-controlled areas, witnesses said.

Still, the rebels hailed Saturday’s sustained bombardment of Taliban forces north of Kabul, saying it had caused significant damage.

“If yesterday’s type of bombing becomes the standard, the objective of the eradication of terrorism and the war against terror as a whole could be achieved much quicker,” said Abdullah, the alliance’s foreign minister.

Little sign of ending

There was little sign of a quick end to the campaign. British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw told the British Broadcasting Corp. that the war could drag on indefinitely and that the U.S.-led coalition was considering a hiatus for the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, beginning with the new moon around Nov. 17.

Islamic leaders, including U.S. allies, have warned of the risks of fighting a Muslim nation during Ramadan.

Rumsfeld, though, told CNN that the campaign is likely to continue.

“The Northern Alliance and the Taliban fought through Ramadan year after year,” he said. “There was a Middle East war during Ramadan. There is nothing in that religion that suggests that conflicts have to stop during Ramadan.”

`We’ll ... do what we have to’

White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card said in a television interview that the administration is “sensitive to the calls [from] around the world, but we note that Ramadan has not prevented terrorists to take action in the past. We’ll have to do what we have to do to make sure this war is won.”

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, whose support for the U.S. has sparked opposition among his Muslim citizens, has urged the U.S. to halt the military action during the religious observance. On Sunday, as Pakistani authorities struggled to control thousands of armed tribesmen on their way to support the Taliban, he called the civilian casualties in Afghanistan “excessive.”

Rumsfeld praised Musharraf for “doing a terrific job ... in a very difficult situation.” He also predicted that the Pakistani president would continue to stand by the United States.

“Pakistan is not going to pull out,” Rumsfeld said.

Card and Rumsfeld defended the bombing campaign as some allies abroad and lawmakers at home questioned whether it was accomplishing much. The Taliban remains in power and bin Laden, the prime suspect in the Sept. 11 attacks, remains at large.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., on Sunday called on Bush to step up the war effort, including mounting a significant ground attack, to avoid becoming bogged down in the hills of Afghanistan during the typically cruel winter.

“We may have to put large numbers of troops into Afghanistan for a period of time ... in order to effectively wipe out these terrorists’ nests and track down Mr. bin Laden,” he said on CNN, adding that that would probably mean U.S. casualties.

Long campaign was planned

Rumsfeld and Card said the war was progressing well and that they always had planned on a protracted campaign.

Card said the civilian casualties are regrettable but are not a reason to shift the administration’s war plans.

“Collateral damage is something that the United States tries to avoid,” Card said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” He also appeared on “Fox News Sunday.”

Rumsfeld, however, suggested that the Taliban regime may be lying about civilian casualties to win propaganda points.

“When there’s a bomb that goes down, they grab some women and children and pretend the bomb hit the women and children,” Rumsfeld said.

Rumsfeld defended the casualty figures as minimal and said some of the victims might have been killed by Taliban or opposition Northern Alliance fire. “Are people going to be killed in a war? You bet,” he said. “And there is plenty of ordnance flying around.”

Rebel was working with CIA

Rumsfeld and Card both confirmed that Abdul Haq, an anti-Taliban activist slain Friday by the Taliban in Afghanistan, had been working with the CIA. But they said Haq was not on a CIA mission when he was ambushed.

“He had been working with our people,” Card said. “I don’t think he was on a particular mission sponsored by the CIA, but he has been clearly working with our forces to try to rid the Afghanistan country of the Taliban government.”

Haq, who had been in the country with a satellite phone and bags of cash trying to convince Taliban supporters to turn away from the regime, was ambushed in the mountains as he tried to leave the country.

Rumsfeld said the U.S. tried to rescue Haq but that airborne assistance came too late. He said the help did not come from the U.S. military but from “another element of the government.” Other sources have said the intelligence community had sent in an armed, unmanned Predator aircraft to help.

Card would not comment on a published report that Bush had approved the use of the CIA in “targeted killings” of terrorists who pose a threat to the United States.

CIA killing directive reported

The Washington Post reported Sunday that, with Bush’s blessing, the CIA is considering undertaking clandestine missions intended to kill individuals who are perceived to be terrorist threats to the U.S., despite a ban on assassinations that dates to the 1970s. The Post cited classified legal documents as its source.

“I’m not going to comment about our CIA activities,” Card said. “I can tell you that we’re leaving no stone unturned in seeking out the terrorists and preventing terrorism from striking this country.”

Rumsfeld and Card avoided questions on whether Bush has been examined for anthrax or put on antibiotics. They would say only that Bush, who spent the weekend at Camp David and returned to Washington on Sunday, does not have anthrax and remains physically fit.

Chicago Tribune news services contributed to this report.