Source:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2002/05/29/nuclear-fears-usat.htm
05/30/2002
Kashmir leads to U.S. plan for airlift
By Jonathan Weisman, USA TODAY
As border tensions heighten between nuclear powers Pakistan and India, a
U.S. government team is in India to plan the possible evacuation of 1,100
U.S. troops and up to 63,000 U.S. citizens from both countries. India's
foreign minister urged Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf on Wednesday
to honor pledges to halt terrorism in contested Kashmir and warned of
"the urgency of the situation." The Pentagon needs no such
warning. About 1,000 U.S. troops are on three military bases in Pakistan,
and an undisclosed number of special operations forces are hunting
al-Qaeda leaders in the country's western provinces. In addition, about
100 commandos are completing a military training exercise, code-named
Balance Iroquois, with Indian forces in Agra, site of the Taj
Mahal.
Officials from the State Department and the military's Pacific Command
have begun drawing up evacuation plans for 50,000 to 60,000 U.S.
civilians, virtually all of them in India, a Pentagon official with
access to the plans said Wednesday.
An airlift of that magnitude would dwarf the evacuations of Americans
from Vietnam, which Washington and U.S. forces abandoned in early 1975,
said a military official familiar with U.S. airlift
capabilities.
State Department officials lack specific numbers of Americans in Pakistan
and India. The most recent tally comes from 1999, when the department
reported that 4,231 citizens registered with the U.S. Embassy in Pakistan
and 15,369 with the embassy in India.
Few tourists or business travelers bother to contact the embassies, and
government employees are not included in the count.
On Friday, the State Department warned U.S. citizens to avoid traveling
to Pakistan and India and said Americans in the countries should consider
leaving.
A senior Pentagon official close to war planners said the presence of
U.S. troops in Pakistan and India might be deterring war. But Indian
Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh warned Tuesday that the presence of U.S.
troops "is not an inhibiting factor" as his government
considers going to war.
India and Pakistan have fought three wars since 1947, including two over
the Kashmir province that each claims. Both have nuclear
weapons.
The latest flare-up has stalled the hunt for al-Qaeda members, Pentagon
officials say. Asked what Pakistan was doing to find al-Qaeda leader
Osama bin Laden and his lieutenants, the senior Pentagon official
replied, "Not much. We're very concerned."
Maj. Gen. Rashid Qureshi, Musharraf's spokesman, said India "is
trying to take an unfair advantage by massing troops knowing Pakistan is
fully involved in fighting terrorists."
He said "a lot" of troops were shifted to the Indian
border.
Withdrawing U.S. forces from Pakistan would damage the continuing hunt
for al-Qaeda, Pentagon officials say. There are 7,200 U.S. troops in
Afghanistan, but virtually all the al-Qaeda leaders are believed to be
hiding in Pakistan.
Contributing: Dave Moniz, Bill Nichols and Chris Woodyard
Edward ><+>
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