UNITED STATES BLUE-PRINT FOR OPERATION "INFINITE JUSTICE"
by Dr. Subhash Kapila
Operation "Infinite Justice": This is the codename given
by the United States to its planned military operations to deal with the
first phase of its intended campaigns to eliminate global terrorism.
Operation ‘Infinite Justice’ plans retaliatory military strikes and
retributive actions against the Islamic Jehadi perpetrators of the
September 11, 2001 devastating attacks in New York and Washington.
The United States has stated officially that it has evidence that these
attacks were masterminded and financed by Osama bin Laden and his
harbourers, the Taliban regime, are equally culpable of the crime.
Surprisingly, the United States is currently over-looking Pakistan’s
complicity as a haven of Osama bin Laden’s activities both in bombings
of US embassies in Africa in 1998 and presently too. With
Afghanistan under sanctions, the movement in and out to USA and the West
and the communications to Osama’s global network is made possible only
by Pakistan.
Operation "Infinite Justice" is an apt codename given by USA,
officially, to the military operation. Reminiscent of India's
buckling to minority pressures, the United States is intending to change
the name as Muslims have protested that only Allah can dispense ‘Infinite
Justice’.
United States Policy Statements: United States policy statements to
deal with global terrorism need to be recalled to indicate the
background for Operation Infinite Justice. In brief the United
States has maintained, as given out by President Bush in his address to
the Joint Session of the US Congress on September 21,2001 that: (1) The
Taliban deliver Osama bin Laden and all leaders of the Al Qaeda Islamic
Jehad Organisation; (2) Taliban close all terrorist training camps in
Afghanistan; (3) Taliban gives inspection access to all terrorist training
camps sites; (4) United States war on global terrorism will target all
countries that aid, abet or provides havens for terrorism organisations;
and (5) US war on global terrorism does not end with Al Qaeda.
Operation Infinite Justice is limited to achievement of the first four
American objectives and this paper's discussion is limited to these.
United States Wider Aims of Operation Infinite Justice: United
States needs to be complimented for its strategic vision and that is what
makes a nation great. United States has not only thought through in
military terms of its impending campaign in Afghanistan, but also thought
through as to what has to be done in the post-campaign period.
United States today realises that Afghanistan has been made the nursery
of Islamic terrorism, along with camps in Pakistan. Pakistan
achieved this by proxy use of power through the Taliban. Taliban
elimination, therefore is the prime American aim.
In pursuance of this aim, the United States seems to have decided that
the restoration of King Zahir to Afghanistan after the elimination of the
Taliban, would be a viable alternative. This is favoured by the
Northern Alliance too. Other than Pakistan, all Islamic countries
contiguous to Afghanistan seem to welcome the wider aim of Operation
Infinite Justice.
Operation Infinite Justice Military Blue Print - The emerging contours:
The emerging contours of this military campaign would not be like the Gulf
War where a large number of regular army divisions were required to
overcome the Iraqi conventional forces. It would not be a swift
exclusively air bombing campaign like Kosovo. Operation Infinite Justice
is expected to be a combination of Air Force and Special Forces operations
incorporating airborne operations and heliborne operations, supported by
long range naval weaponry like the cruise missiles.
The pattern of ordering strategic assets like the aircraft carrier
groups and combat aircraft to the region indicate how this military
campaign would proceed. In terms of ground forces, the formations
activated are the Airborne Divisions, the Special Forces and Marines from
Okinawa which are assigned for intervention operations in this region.
The Design of Battle: The design of battle for any military
campaign hinges on the terrain, the nature and military capabilities of
the enemy and more importantly the war aims.
Taking the last factor first, the United States military aims are
simple, namely: (1) Eliminate the Taliban from Afghanistan; (2) In the
process destroy all Islamic Jehadi terrorist organisations and structures
operating from Afghanistan; (3) Restore Afghanistan to a democratic
political system and arrange its re-construction with US aid.
The impossible terrain of Afghanistan is no impediment for high
mobility air-based US military operations. More so, when the
military aims are simple and limited. Furthermore, when the intended
military campaign does not envisage occupation of large tracts of Afghan
territory by ground forces requiring heavy logistics to be maintained by
roads.
Taliban’s military capabilities and the composition of its regular
forces and Islamic militia hardly command military respect. Their
military successes in occupying Afghanistan was made possible and
spearheaded by Pakistan Army officers directing their operations and
Pakistan’s Regular Army contingents (officially on leave) partaking in
Taliban military operations. With Pakistanis reported to having been
ordered back, the fighting capabilities of the Taliban will be
limited. Taliban’s prowess was a myth created by the media.
Taliban has held on to Afghanistan with active involvement of Pakistan in
all respects and with primitive Islamic terror as a weapon. Recall
President Musharraf’s statement - what have we not done for Taliban?
Without going into military intricacies, in simple layman terms, the
United States design of battle for the Afghanistan campaign can be summed
up as: (1) Air strikes against major military and political holds of the
Taliban like Kandahar, Kabul Jalalabad and Herat and their associated
airfields; (2) Airborne divisions and Special Forces air/helicopter borne
operations to establish airheads at the above locations; (3) Flushing out
of the Taliban leadership from these locations; (4) Simultaneous cruise
missile strikes against all known and suspected Al Qaeda camps in
Afghanistan.
Complementing the primary military operations of the United States and
possibly as a strategic prelude, the Northern Alliance of Afghanistan
forces can be expected to intensify its military advances towards
Kabul. In terms of bases for these operations, the United States has
to rely on its Middle East network and its aircraft carriers as
platforms. Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan could provide
bases for both United States Air Force, Special Forces and logistics
operations. The prime focus for US military operations should be
Kandahar and Kabul.
Pakistan as a Strategic Ally-Doubtful: The above US design of
battle for Operation Infinite Justice would have been greatly facilitated
in terms of speed, had Pakistan behaved as a strategic ally of the United
States as maintained by many in the State Deptt and Pentagon.
Pakistan as a strategic ally of USA should have been expected to launch
ground forces advances to Kandahar from Quetta and from Peshawar to
Jalalabad. It should have also been expected to host all US airborne
and heliborne operations from its Afghan frontier airfields.
Pakistan has not offered any such assistance except use of its air-space.
Pakistan, therefore, is of limited utility to United States in its
efforts to liquidate terrorism. On the contrary, Pakistan’s
contributions to USA could be disruptive in many of the following ways:
(1) Pakistan’s intelligence on Taliban could be deliberately inaccurate
and misleading; (2) Pakistan would not rein in inflow of its Islamic
Jehadis into Afghanistan to aid the Taliban; (3) Pakistan could continue
surreptiously as a conduit for fuel supplies for the Taliban war effort as
they had been doing before in spite of UN sanctions and; (4) Pakistan, and
especially its frontier areas, could emerge as the logical refuge for
Osama bin Laden. What would Pakistan do if Osama holes up in one of
the Islamic fundamentalists seminaries within Pakistan.
Popular Resistance within Afghanistan to US Military Campaign: The
Taliban has held Afghanistan in a vice-like grip of primitive Islamic
terror for the last seven years. The general Afghan masses would like to
see the end of the Taliban regime and the Pakistani presence. The
United States is unlikely to face any peoples resistance like in Vietnam.
However, the United States and its Special Forces can expect nasty
local actions in Kandahar while attempting to gain control.
Conclusion: Even without the tragic incidents of Islamic Jehadi
terrorism inflicting grievous wounds on USA homeland proper, there was a
higher call on the United States to contain and eliminate global
terrorism. There is no scope for quibbling and it is irrefutable
that the prevalent manifestations of global terrorism are Islamic Jehadi
terrorism which has targeted both non-Muslims and Muslim countries.
The United States having joined the list of victim states of Islamic
Jehadi terrorism, rather too grievously and disproportionately victimised,
should demonstrate by actions that it would live up to its resolve to
destroy all their networks and go after governments that support them.
President Bush wisely said that in this battle you are either with us
or on the terrorist side. There is no middle ground. This is
also a testing time for the United States to discover its natural allies.
(Dr. Subhash Kapila is an International Relations and
Strategic Affairs analyst. He can be reached on e-mail for
discussion at esdecom@vsnl.com)
