-Caveat Lector-
http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20011221-95780908.htm
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Peace at any cost is a Prelude to War!
Inside the Ring
Bill Gertz and Rowan Scarborough
China continued to supply arms to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda terrorist
even after the group began the September 11 attack on America, says a senior
U.S. official.
The official said that a week after the terrorist attack, the ruling
Taliban and the al Qaeda fighters embedded among them, received a shipment of
Chinese-made SA-7 missiles. The shoulder-fired anti-aircraft weapons are
similar to the U.S. Stinger.
This official says the shipment raises serious questions about Beijing's
pledge to help fight terrorism.
We already know the Taliban and al Qaeda got sizable arms shipments from
China, which borders Afghanistan on the north. Opposition forces found huge
amounts of Chinese ammunition in the caves of Tora Bora. Defense Secretary
Donald H. Rumsfeld says Chinese have been found fighting among al Qaeda.
Earlier this week, Mr. Rumsfeld said eastern alliance forces near Tora
Bora made another China-related discovery. "They also interestingly seem to
have captured a good deal of Chinese ammunition," Mr. Rumsfeld said.
One U.S. official said the Chinese ammunition may have been left over
from the 1980s, when Beijing, along with the United States, was a major
supplier of the anti-Soviet mujahideen fighters.
A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman in Beijing said Tuesday he had "no
idea" what Mr. Rumsfeld was referring to in mentioning the large quantities
of Chinese ammunition found in al Qaeda caves.
Asked if China had sold weaponry to Afghanistan or neighboring nations,
the spokesman said, "the United Nations once adopted the resolution on weapon
embargo against Afghanistan, and China has acted according to the Security
Council resolutions."
China tests M-11
China's military is improving the accuracy of its newest short-range
ballistic missile, the CSS-7. U.S. intelligence agencies detected a flight
test of a CSS-7 earlier this week from a test facility in northwest China.
"There was a missile launch of a CSS-7," said a U.S. official familiar
with reports of the test at the Shuang Chengzi missile center in Gansu
province, northwest of Lanzhou. "This is part of a continuing series of tests
they are conducting to improve the accuracy of the missile."
China has deployed about 350 short-range missiles opposite Taiwan and is
building up to a force of about 600 missiles over the next several years.
The missiles are a mix of both CSS-7 and CSS-6 missiles. The CSS-7 is
also known as the M-11, and defense officials say the current force is being
improved with Mod 2 versions that are more lethal in targeting Taiwan.
Officials said the flight test is believed to be one of the Mod 2
versions of the missile.
Navy unreadiness
Navy sources tell us it's not the worst carrier inspection report
they've ever seen. But at this time in history, with the USS John F. Kennedy
the next carrier to enter the war on terrorism, the sources were amazed the
ship was in such bad shape.
"The ship was seriously degraded in her ability to conduct air
operations," said a report by a Navy Board of Inspection and Survey of the
Dec. 3-7 inspection. "Three of four aircraft elevators were out of
commission, two of four catapults were degraded, and the overall flight deck
firefighting capability was seriously degraded. These major system
degradations were in addition to a significant number of deficiencies noted
in the fueling system. "
Then there was the question of the ship's two power plants.
"The propulsion plant was evaluated to be extremely unreliable and
determined to be routinely operated out of safe parameters and in
non-standard configuration," said the report, a copy of which we obtained.
"Two shaft seals had unacceptable leakage rates."
"Topside corrosion, including the condition of the mast, superstructure
and catwalks, was the worst observed in three years."
The report accused the commanders of "complacency with a massive number
of seemingly obvious electrical safety deficiencies."
"It is my finding," a senior inspector wrote, "that USS John F. Kennedy
could not prudently demonstrate safe and reliable underway operations."
And in a parting shot, the inspector said the crew could not be counted
on to conduct "an accurate self-assessment numerous critical systems,
reported as fully operational, were demonstrated with safety features
bypassed."
The Navy took immediate action, firing the carrier's commanding officer,
Capt. Maurice Joyce. "It was a bad day for the Big John and she burped," he
told the Florida Times-Union in Jacksonville, Fla, the ship's home port. "The
week before, she was glorious."
The Kennedy is due to depart for Puerto Rico next month for crew
training, and then head for the Mediterranean in early spring. Iraq or
Somalia could be in her sights.
It is the lone sour note in an otherwise excellent performance by Navy
air during the war against terror and the campaign in Afghanistan. Navy
planes have carried out the bulk of tactical missions, while evading enemy
fire and scoring few bombing miscues.
Facility misstatement
A U.S. Central Command investigation into the bombing of Red Cross
warehouses in October has found that the facilities were not marked and that
the humanitarian agency never gave the coordinates of the facility to the
U.S. military, as it claimed.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) issued a statement
two days after U.S. warplanes inadvertently bombed two Red Cross warehouses
in Kabul on Oct. 25.
The Geneva-based ICRC "deplored" the bombing and claimed in its
statement that the warehouses, which had been used by Taliban forces, were
marked with large, nine-foot by nine-foot red crosses on white backgrounds
that were "clearly displayed" on each roof.
It also said that bombing such marked buildings was "a violation of
international humanitarian law."
The ICRC also said it had informed the U.S. military of the exact
location of its warehouses after an earlier bombing on Oct. 16.
However, the Central Command investigation found that the ICRC was
wrong, we are told by a defense official.
"Centcom did an investigation and found that the ICRC never gave us the
coordinates and that the buildings were located in an industrial complex and
that none of the buildings were marked," the official said.
Sorties
•Most senior administration officials in recent weeks voiced a belief
that Osama bin Laden was holed up in the Tora Bora region — all except
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld.
Air Force Gen. Richard Myers, Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, said, "In
the hunt up there, we think we know in general where he is. Can't be sure,
but we think we know."
Vice President Richard B. Cheney, asked last week if bin Laden was in
Tora Bora, answered, "In that general area."
"A few days ago, we believed he was in that area," Rear Adm. John
Stufflebeem told reporters on Monday. "Now we're not sure."
But Mr. Rumsfeld steadfastly has refused to say he believed the
terrorist was around Tora Bora — possibly to fend off any subsequent charge
that the U.S. military let him slip away. Asked this week if bin Laden had
left Tora Bora, Mr. Rumsfeld answered, "That presumes he was there. Since we
did not know that with precision, and we don't know if he is there now, it
would be difficult to answer that question."
•Correction: We misstated last week the number of grave sites each acre
allows at Arlington National Cemetery. It is 600 grave sites.
•Bill Gertz and Rowan Scarborough are Pentagon reporters. Mr. Gertz can
be reached at 202/636-3274 or by e-mail at [EMAIL PROTECTED] Mr.
Scarborough can be reached at 202/636-3208 or by e-mail at
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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