U.S. rules Afghan skies, Powell says more to be done

AP Special CorrespondentWASHINGTON (AP) -- With American pilots bombing at will from the skies over Afghanistan, Secretary of State Colin Powell says the U.S. anti-terrorism campaign "will really never stop in any of its phases" -- military, financial, or otherwise. President Bush and congressional leaders sat down over breakfast to try to iron out squabbles over domestic defense needs.

Leaving the White House Wednesday morning, House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt, D-Mo., said that while no details had been decided, all sides want quick action on an economic stimulus -- hopefully to "get money out to people before the holiday season."

Bush and Republicans have proposed that Congress cut taxes; Democrats want any measure to be a blend of government spending and tax relief.

"I think we can work through this," said Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss. "Right now, the Democrats are coming at this from a different direction than Republicans, but we'll work through that."

Powell, interviewed on morning television, credited the military for claiming "free range" over the Afghan skies but said much more remains to be done.

"What we're after is to destroy the al-Qaida network, and Mr. Osama bin Laden is the head of that network, so we're after him too," Powell said on ABC's "Good Morning America." "But let's not deceive ourselves into thinking that if we get rid of one individual or one network then this campaign is over. It is not. It is a campaign that is directed against all terrorism."

That broader campaign, he said, "will really never stop in any of its phases."

With the bombing assault on Afghanistan in its fourth day, Bush is seeking to reassure the public about steps taken to thwart future attacks on American soil. He bluntly accused lawmakers of leaking classified information to the press -- and made the point in person during Wednesday's breakfast meeting with the four senior leaders of the House and Senate.

The president set out new ground rules for sharing information, and congressional leaders said they were satisfied they would get the information they need.

"The president has made his point and we all are going to be careful," said Lott. "We'll get what we need and he'll be able to do what he needs to do."

Bush and the congressional leaders also tried to work through sticking points over airline security and the administration's legislation to strengthen the hand of investigators in pursuit of suspected terrorists.

The counterterrorism bill was pending in the House and the Senate, where Sen. Russell Feingold, D-Wis., blocked passage Tuesday night, saying he wanted more time to propose changes. Airline security was hung up in the House, where Republicans were dug in against a proposal to federalize the employees who screen baggage at the nation's airports.

Bush also arranged to visit the Justice Department during the day and to host Lord Robertson, the NATO secretary-general, at the White House.

Officials have said previously the alliance would be sending some of its sophisticated AWACS aircraft for defensive use over the United States. Robertson said Wednesday the planes would be protecting American airspace this week, which would free U.S. planes for redeployment in the air campaign against terrorists overseas.

"The allies are committed not just to deal with Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida, they are determined to get to the root of the terrorism which was behind this atrocity and which might be behind future atrocities," Robertson said on CBS.

Defense Department officials labeled the bombing campaign a success thus far.

"I think essentially we have air supremacy over Afghanistan," said Air Force Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. American planes were dropping bombs in daylight and darkness.

Other officials said the U.S.-led assault has rained bombs and missiles on the meager military forces of the Taliban, rulers of Afghanistan. The result has been to disable all but one of their air bases, blind their air defenses and pound a pocket of ground troops and several suspected terrorist training camps of the al-Qaida network and bin Laden, they said.

At the same time, neither Myers nor Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld would provide information on what the follow-up battle plan would be.

The next phase of U.S. strikes likely would include special forces operations, such as raids by small groups of soldiers ferried in by low-flying helicopters to root out terrorist or Taliban leaders, military analysts say. Other special operations forces specialize in training rebel forces and could urge Afghans to support U.S. operations.

Myers declined to rule out providing close air support for an offensive by the northern alliance forces in Afghanistan that are fighting the Taliban regime. But he declined to say it would be forthcoming either.

Rumsfeld, who said earlier that bombs and missiles alone would not knock the Taliban on its heels, would not discuss the possible use of ground forces, either Americans or troops from other countries.

"I have been careful not to rule out anything," he said, but added, "this is a different situation ... from things that we are all used to from the past." Officials have discouraged speculation about the deployment of a large ground force such as was used in the Persian Gulf War a decade ago. The Pentagon already has had special forces operating inside Afghanistan.

In Congress, the anti-terrorism bill seemed poised for passage Tuesday night before Feingold stepped in.

He wants to eliminate a provision in the bill that would allow police to search suspects' home secretly, narrow a provision that allows federal officials to wiretap telephones, keep the FBI from being able to access Americans' personal records and clarify the federal government's ability to wiretap computers.

"It is crucial that civil liberties in this country be preserved, otherwise the terrorists will win the battle against American values without firing another shot," he said.