Pentagon Confirms use of Heavy Bombing Runs Against Taliban Troop Lines
JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: At the Pentagon today they confirmed the use of heavy bombing runs against Taliban troop lines and other targets inside Afghanistan. For more on that and other developments let's turn to CNN's military affairs correspondent Jamie McIntyre. Hello, Jamie.</s>JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Judy. The U.S. is continuing to focus on Taliban front-lines as it tries to pave the way for opposition forces in the north to take two Taliban strongholds: The cities of Mazar-i-Sharif and the Afghan capital of Kabul. While the overall numbers of U.S. planes remains about the same, it may not seem that way on the ground because the focus has shifted to Taliban forces dug in along the front lines. The Pentagon again today releasing videos showing some of the pinpoint strikes that they have been able to accomplish on some of those. Here we see some tanks and vehicles along the ridge line along those front-line being hit by laser-guided bombs. In addition, the Pentagon has confirmed that about a half dozen or so heave bombers including B-52 have dropped hundreds of bombs in carpet bombing along those Taliban troops to both decimate and demoralize them. Again today a Pentagon spokesman insisted that the military campaign is on track and showing progress.</s>REAR ADM. JOHN STUFFLEBEEM, PENTAGON SPOKESMAN: Mullah Omar is still their leader, their commander. They are still attempting to be able to communicate with Mullah Omar. They are also trying to be resupplied and reinforced and they are having difficulties in all of that. We believe that that puts a terrific amount of stress on their military capability as their regional commanders, who have been used to a lot of top-down control, may not be getting that now.</s>MCINTYRE: So the Pentagon says that the Taliban may not know what bad shape it is in and that should begin to sink in over the next couple of days. What the Pentagon is attempting to do here is to convince the Taliban of the inevitability of the outcome that the United States is going to stick with this as long as it takes to push them from power. Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is preparing to leave at the end of this week for a trip to Russia and other countries in the region, as he works to -- work with some of the United States' newest allies in the war against terrorism -- Judy.</s>WOODRUFF: All right, Jamie McIntyre, thank you very much. I guess we will be hearing more about that trip. When does he leave again?</s>MCINTYRE: He is expected to leave tomorrow. He will be going first to Moscow and then we are told to other countries in the region. Those precise countries haven't been announced yet.</s>WOODRUFF: Jamie McIntyre, thank you very much.