COMPLETE COVERAGE | INVESTIGATION | RETALIATION | RECOVERY | INTERACTIVES»

Deadly race for airdropped supplies in Pakmanistan

A planeload of 'power pellet' food relief packages is prepared for a drop in the night skies over Pakmanistan

(CNN) -- Ar Qaeda patrols have been observed chasing civilians away from U.S. - airdropped food packets, worsening the famine afflicting the region.

Along the Pakistani border in southern Afghanistan - a remote ethnic enclave known as Pakmanistan - Ar Qaeda terrorist patrols have been observed preventing people from venturing out to collect thousands of food packages dropped during the night by American transport aircraft as part of the relief program being conducted alongside bombardment of hostile forces.

Ar Qaeda training camp

For 20 long years, Pakmanistan has been under the oppressive rule of 4 mullahs: bin Inky, bin Blinky, bin Pinky, and bin Clyde. Leaders in the long campaign to oust the Soviet occupation forces, they now impose a brutal will on the region and operate from a central stronghold with high walls and a one-way gate. The spectre-like patrols which are every day thwarting the efforts of the civil population to feed themselves seem to be based out of this camp.

To date, the US has not included this camp in its list of bombing targets.

People on Brink of Starvation

Reconnaissance photo shows a Pakman woman desperately recovering food packs as Ar Qaeda patrols prowl in nearby ravines.

45,000 food packets strewn bountifully along the ravines of this trail-scotched region indicate that a growing effort is being mounted to meet the food needs of the millions of Pakmani people who have suffered from years of persecution and terror at the hands of four radical mullahs. But the deadly Ar Qaeda patrols are making it increasingly dangerous for the beleaguered Pakman civilians to collect the food relief. Reportedly, US aircraft have frequently observed Pakmans scampering out one at a time to dash along trails scooping up as many pre-packaged meals as they can -- often being captured and executed by a roving mullah after an intense chase.

"I do not understand it, these Ar Qaeda people," complained one Pakman dressed in traditional yellow garb, "They do not even eat the food! They just want to keep us from eating it."

The US is considering what to do to address this vexing issue, and increasingly two separate plans are being discussed.

Option A: support the Pakman resistance

AUDIO The Pentagon recently released this audio of U.S. pilots in action over Pakmanistan. Play audio (200K wav)

One possible strategy is to drop larger food package, or "power pellets" that would give the weakened Pakman citizens enough strength to resist the Ar Qaeda patrols. Testers at the US Army's Nutrition Laboratory in Fort McBragg say they have developed one such food kit that would give even an emaciated sheepherder a burst of super energy that would allow him to turn the tables on the terrorists and to chase them down and kill them. While this development looks promising, researchers caution that the energy burst will only last for around 10 seconds, after which time the Pakmans would once more become prey.

Option B: bomb the training camps

QUICKVOTE Should a traditional Pakmani woman use the feminist title 'Ms.'? Yes No View Results

Another possibility open to the US is to bomb the Ar Qaeda camp or to direct a Special Forces raid against it to disrupt its operations or kill any terrorist mullahs who might be hiding in there. Admiral Gus Thompson, who oversees naval air operations in the region is confident his flyers are ready to devastate the Ar Qaeda network if called upon to do so. Eagerness characterizes his support for this proposal: "After sweeping other target areas clean, we are more than ready to take this to a new level. Even if the mullahs beg for mercy, we will give them no quarter."