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American Morning

America Strikes Back: Discussion with Foreign Minister of Northern Alliance

Aired October 09, 2001 - 10:19   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Four U.N. aid workers are confirmed dead from the overnight attacks, and for reaction on this and a whole lot more, I want to go overseas to Islamabad to CNN's Nic Robertson, who is tracking this and a whole lot more in the country of Afghanistan.

Nic, hello again to you.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Bill, hello. Well, this compound was apparently close to a radio television mosque (ph). The compound was operated by a group working under the U.N.'s umbrella of demining in Afghanistan. Now every day, under normal circumstances in Afghanistan, some thousands of workers demine. There are some 10 million mines estimated to be underneath the ground inside Afghanistan. And it as daily job, as I say, for thousands of workers.

Now the U.N. spokesperson here in Islamabad today called on international military planners to take more care in their targeting.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHANIE BUNKER, UNITED NATIONS: Today, the U.N. coordinator for Afghanistan appealed to the international community to protect innocent civilians while military strikes are going on. And I quote, "People need to distinguish between combatants, and those innocent civilians who do not bear arms. They also need to be mindful of protecting assets essential for the survival of Afghan civilians. Staff are clearly the most important resource the aid community...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: Now, since this has happened, the world food program, which is the main organization delivering humanitarian supplies into Afghanistan, has said that it can no longer keep up those supplies, it just started resupplying by truck convoys into Afghanistan about five or six days ago. It now says it cannot continue. The truck drivers they say, they use are at this time just too afraid to go inside Afghanistan. In Kandahar, the day started with raids at about 6:00 a.m. in the morning, then again at 8:00 a.m., 9:00 a.m. in the morning, again, midway through the day, and later in the afternoon.

Again, raids over the city each time the Taliban gunners inside the city hearing aircraft, we are told by our sources there, they were opening up with antiaircraft gun fire.

Security in the city now very tight there, we are told. We are also told that most of the people have left that city. Most of the women and children have all been taken out. Here in Pakistan, it was another day of demonstrations and in Quetta and in Peshawar, both cities in Pakistan, very close to the Afghan border, had again large, and in some case, violent demonstrations in Quetta. Three people killed in these anti-American, anti-Pakistan demonstrations on the streets.

The chief of the interior ministry here has said that he has arrested some three radical Islamic clerics, put them under house arrest and will put them incommunicado, says, if the police here can not control the demonstrations. He says also that they will bring out on to the streets a civil armed guard and the army if the police cannot contain demonstrations.

The demonstrations, however, not appearing in the city's, in the capital here, Islamabad, but in those areas where they're very close ethnic ties and cultural ties with the Taliban and with Afghans, close to the Afghan border, the demonstrations very violent this day -- Bill.

HEMMER: All right, Nic, thank you, more on the protests momentarily. Nic Robertson in Islamabad -- Paula.

(NEWS UPDATES)

PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks, Bill.

Now we have the very latest from Afghanistan.

CNN's Chris Burns is in the northern part of the country, an area under the control of the Northern Alliance -- Chris.

CHRIS BURNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Paula, we were down on the frontlines today, after two nights of airstrikes, combined with the pounding of the Taliban by Northern Alliance forces with artillery and machine gun fire. We went down there to the front to see how things were going. There was scattered gun fire there, as we met with the commander on the ground there. He took us for a tour to show his troops, and he expressed a bit of frustration perhaps, a bit of disappointment that the U.S. airstrikes have yet make any difference for him on the ground. He says the Taliban have not been struck yet on the ground there. He says the airstrikes have been focusing on air defenses primarily, so he is waiting to give the green light to his troops it make any kind of an attack, a move on Kabul.

Joining us here right now is the foreign minister of the Northern Alliance, Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, and perhaps he can offer a bit more insight to us on what the strategy is here.

Doctor, Abdullah Abdullah, what effect have these airstrikes had for your forces?

ABDULLAH ABDULLAH, NORTHERN ALLIANCE FOREIGN MINISTER: Of course the strikes has been very successful if our point of view as well from the international alliance point of view. They have hit targets accurately, including the radar system of the Taliban and the antiaircraft system, and air bases of the Taliban and major military bases of the Taliban and command and control quarters of the Taliban, and bases of the Taliban, and the strikes have been effective, and it's going well.

BURNS: So overall -- and in fact, there's another development in the north, in fact, where these strikes actually helped you. Can you talk about the supply lines? You say you cut off a Taliban supply line, in part, because of that?

ABDULLAH: Yes, last night, we were able to cut off the Taliban's main supplies from the north to the south, or from the south to the north. And as 40 commanders previously, a part of Taliban system, but not Taliban themselves, former commanders, former Mujahideen commander, with 1,200 armed forces, they joined us last night, and they blocked the supply routes of the Taliban. That has put Taliban in a critical situation, Taliban forces in Northern Afghanistan.

BURNS: That cuts off especially their key northern stronghold, Mazzar-e-Sharif, which had been supplied by that line..

ABDULLAH: Of course, and bearing in mind that they are being stripped off by a large extent from air transport means as it is out of two days airstrikes. This will make it even more difficult for the Taliban. So in that regard, I could say it was the most significant military development from our point of view, in our sight, in weakening the Taliban in Northern Afghanistan.

BURNS: Does this mean we're getting any closer to a green light for your forces to make a move on Kabul?

ABDULLAH: I cannot comment on that. But I would say that Taliban are in really hard situation at this moment in Northern Afghanistan.

BURNS: But this green light will depend on how much the Taliban forces are softened. Do you expect some kind of a U.S. airstrike to soften up those forces on the other side?

ABDULLAH: I cannot get a specific to that. But I will say sometimes from now it will happen.

BURNS: How much coordination at this point is there between the Northern Alliance and the U.S.?

ABDULLAH: We are pleased and we are satisfied with the level of coordination, which exists at this moment.

BURNS: What can you say on the humanitarian side on how the U.S. is helping with air drops of food?

ABDULLAH: Air drops has been important for the people, for the needy people of Afghanistan in the parts where those operations were conducted. But it might require, it does require, much larger humanitarian relief operation from the side of the international community and the international alliance.

BURNS: For the refugees as well as for your fighters on the ground, how much did the weather factor? How much of is this a race against time? We've got a wind storm. We've got falling temperatures right now. It will be winter is in about a month. How much of this do you see as a race against time on the humanitarian and on the fighting front?

ABDULLAH: On the humanitarian situation, it is getting difficult and difficult day by day as there are more refugees to different parts. This is obvious in that regard. But I wouldn't say that it will have such a great impact on the military situation as a whole, because it will have equal impact on the Taliban as well as us on both sides of the frontlines.

BURNS: Good point. Thank you very much, Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, the foreign minister for the Northern Alliance, also formerly known as the united front. As we wait tonight for the resumption of more airstrikes and also artillery barrages by the Northern Alliance against the Taliban in an effort to soften them up to the point of moving toward Kabul. That green light has yet to come however -- Paula.

ZAHN: Chris, you said you accompanied some of the Northern Alliance people down to the front lines. Just help us better understand the geography of exactly how far that is from Kabul.

BURN: That northern -- the front between here and Kabul is about 40 kilometers, or 25 miles, north of Kabul. That of course is the key front that runs actually through an airbase, Bacara (ph) Airbase, a former Soviet airbase that is seen as a possible staging point for U.S. forces, if they didn't want to base themselves inside Afghanistan. So it's a very key flashpoint there, where if the Northern Alliance forces can push past Bacara and move on toward Kabul, that will at least free up Bacara Airbase for U.S. forces, if they did want to use that. It does have about a two-mile long air strip that the Soviets used very well during their occupation of Afghanistan from 1979 to 1989. It could be a great use to U.S. forces as well -- Paula.

ZAHN: Chris Burns, thanks so much.

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