Editorial: A war’s sobering reminder

Tuesday, March 5, 2002 | 8:48 a.m.

The Taliban and al-Qaida forces in Afghanistan had, for the most part, been routed by the U.S.-led military coalition by November, creating a situation that allowed for speculation as to what should be the United States' next stop on the war on terrorism. (Iraq, perhaps?) But Monday brought us a jarring reminder that the war in Afghanistan is far from over -- and that the United States must not lose its focus nor its resolve in finishing its primary mission, which is to destroy the Taliban and al-Qaida in Afghanistan.

Military officials said that on Monday seven U.S. soldiers were killed during a U.S.-led assault on opposition forces belonging to the Taliban and al-Qaida. In the largest ground operation so far in that country since the United States started waging war in October, an additional 40 American troops were wounded in the fighting. The operation, which involved more than 1,000 troops, occurred in treacherous mountain terrain at elevations from 8,000 to 11,000 feet. Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the snowy and icy conditions resembled the "Rocky Mountains in the middle of the winter."

The lack of prolonged, intense fighting during the past few weeks may have lulled Americans into thinking that the war in Afghanistan was finished. Also contributing to the feeling that the war was virtually over was the Bush administration's steps to expand the war on terrorism to countries such as Yemen, the Philippines and Georgia. The administration even has sent signals that the United States is weighing military options to help overthrow Iraq's Saddam Hussein. Still, even those members of the Bush administration who want to expand the war had cautioned that the battle in Afghanistan was far from over. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, at a stop at Nellis Air Force Base two weeks ago, said that it could take years, not months, before the war finally comes to an end in Afghanistan because of the fierce pockets of resistance that have remained.

It seems longer, but it was just six months ago that terrorists struck the United States, killing more than 3,000 people. It is essential that the American public remain patient and remember President Bush's words on Oct. 7, when he announced that the United States had begun its military campaign in Afghanistan. "We will not waver; we will not tire; we will not falter; and we will not fail," Bush said. Monday's loss of life almost certainly won't be the last; it likely will get worse before the war is over. The United States should remain steadfast in the war on terrorism -- our freedom, and that of our allies, depends upon it.