A Secret Hub for the U.S. in Afghan War

WASHINGTON -- In October, when U.S. military personnel were first spotted at Pakistan's sprawling Shahbaz air base a short flying distance from the Afghan border, the Pakistani government hastened to assure militant Islamic protesters that the Americans were there for purely logistical and defensive purposes--not for combat.

In reality, however, the U.S. installation at Shahbaz has become the secret hub for Special Forces commando raids, covert CIA operations and a host of other activities aimed at rooting out Taliban and Al Qaeda fighters in Afghanistan and developing intelligence to thwart future terrorist attacks against the United States, according to military and other sources familiar with the operation.

Behind its screen of secrecy, the base appears to have played a central role in the air war in Afghanistan. Its proximity to the Afghan border has enabled U.S. commanders to react faster and keep planes in the air over targets longer than would otherwise be possible. "Nothing beats turnaround time. Even planes flying off of aircraft carriers have hours of flying time before they are over targets in Afghanistan," said William M. Arkin, a military analyst at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies who has been studying the Shahbaz operation.