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Maj. Gen. Wesley Clark: Air campaign intensifying
Retired Army General Wesley Clark
Retired Army General Wesley Clark is a former NATO supreme commander and a military analyst for CNN.  


Update: The air campaign is still increasing in intensity. And I think the progress that's evident in disabling the threat is clear because now they are able to use the AC-130 gunship overhead. That's a sign that a certain amount of progress has been made in disabling any air defenses.

Impact: The AC-130 is so very effective against ground forces. It's the sighting and the guns. It's a very good platform. It gives you a better ability to minimize collateral damage. The noose is being tightened around the Taliban forces out in the field.

Strategy: The strategic piece of it right now is to balance off the intensification of the air campaign with Pakistan and other Islamic countries. Then the level of concern in the so-called Arab street is manageable -- partly a matter of not getting civilians hurt and it's just partly a matter of, if you keep saying that the campaign is getting bigger and stronger and heavier, then it arouses more ire in the Muslim world.

Tactics: We can't see whether the special forces are in there on the ground and how they might be operating. So that's really still the key question mark. But the use of the AC-130 would follow ... standard approaches in the past.


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U.S. Army Gen. Wesley Clark (retired), a former NATO supreme commander; U.S. Army Maj. Gen. David Grange (retired); and Air Force Maj. Gen. Don Shepperd (retired) are serving as CNN military analysts during the war against terror. Their briefings will appear daily on CNN.com.

EDITOR'S NOTE: CNN is sensitive to reporting any information that could endanger lives or operations.



 
 
 
 



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