*EPF102 01/28/2002
Defense Department Report, January 28: Afghanistan, Ship Collision
(Kandahar hospital, navy ships, State of the Union; Hazar Qadam) (600)

FIREFIGHT AT KANDAHAR HOSPITAL KILLS 6 AL-QAIDA FIGHTERS

Afghan anti-Taliban forces, assisted by U.S. Special Forces, stormed a Kandahar hospital January 27, killing six al-Qaida fighters who had seized one wing of the building and held it for almost two months, a Defense Department official said.

The attack came after the failure of several attempts by the Afghan province commander to negotiate the surrender of the al-Qaida fighters, according to Rear Admiral John Stufflebeem, who briefed at the Pentagon January 28. In the firefight, anti-Taliban Afghan fighters were assisted by U.S. Special Forces, and several Afghans were wounded, he said. No U.S. forces were injured, Stufflebeem added.

TWO U.S. NAVY SHIPS HAVE SLIGHT COLLISION IN NORTHERN ARABIAN SEA

A surface ship, the USS Ogden, collided with the submarine USS Greenville in the northern Arabian Sea on January 28, Stufflebeem said. Two crew members of the submarine were to be sent to the surface vessel for transfer back to the United States, he said, when the ships bumped while being maneuvered into proximity to effect the exchange. The collision occurred during daylight, he said. The surface vessel was remaining in its existing location while a team of divers assessed the damage sustained below the water line, said Stufflebeem.

THREE DEFENSE THEMES TO RECEIVE EMPHASIS IN STATE OF UNION SPEECH

Defense spokeswoman Victoria Clarke said three Defense Department themes will be emphasized during President Bush's State of the Union speech on January 29. First will be the drive by the military to recruit and retain the best possible people, with all that entails -- pay, benefits, training and equipment, she said.

Next will be a focus on transforming the military to face asymmetrical future threats, Clarke said. Last will be an emphasis on "reforming the way we do business here in the Pentagon. We have got to do a better job of using the taxpayers' hard-earned dollars, and we will," she added.

REPORTS CONFLICT OVER JANUARY 24 RAID ON HAZAR QADAM COMPOUNDS

Journalists at the Pentagon briefing pressed to get more details about the January 24 raid on the compounds at Hazar Qadam. Over the previous couple of days, they said, some locals claimed the people in the compound were working at the behest of the interim Afghan government to collect weapons and ammunition and store it there. Journalists also claimed several of the bodies found after the firefight had their hands bound behind their backs.

Both Pentagon briefers denied that the raid was conducted in error. Clarke noted that the latest reports came from a very few locals, and she asserted that before any operation, locals are interviewed as part of the intelligence-gathering process to determine who is in a particular site and what they are doing there. Stufflebeem noted that a ground force was used in this instance, instead of air strikes, in order to minimize casualties and maximize captives.

Also, Stufflebeem said, when U.S. forces burst into a compound they identify themselves immediately in the local language to say, "'This is who we are, this is what we're doing, this is what we want you to do.' Now, if the response that comes back is automatic weapons fire, you defend yourself," he said.

Furthermore, Stufflebeem said he had seen no reports that the detainees from the compound, who continue to be interrogated by U.S. personnel, corroborate the locals' story.

"There have been no indications that support this ... assertion from other locals," he said.

(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

Return to Public File Main Page

Return to Public Table of Contents