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American Morning
Country About to Enter New Era in Fight Against Terrorism; Abdul Haq, Exiled Mujahadeen Commander, Reportedly Executed by Taliban
Aired October 26, 2001 - 10:01 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: With that special ceremony and the stroke of a pen later today, the country will enter what some call a new era in the fight against terrorism.
Straight to White House and CNN's Kelly Wallace for a preview now -- Kelly.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hello there, Bill. Well, Attorney General John Ashcroft yesterday comparing this new campaign against terrorism to the crackdown against organized crime, spearheaded by then Attorney General Robert Kennedy. The president will be joined by the Attorney General, FBI director Robert Mueller, his homeland security direct, Tom Ridge, as well as CIA director, George Tenet, and he will have some remarks, talking about the sweeping new powers for law enforcement, important new tools, in the words of White House aides, to defeat terrorism. Bill, this all passing the Congress in lightning speeds when it comes to the U.S. Congress, just six weeks after it was enacted. It will be signed into law.
The administration getting pretty much getting everything it wanted, not everything, but pretty much most of everything. The proposal, or the measure includes, number one, prosecutors will be able to detain non-U.S. citizens suspected of terrorism for up to seven days without filing charges, criminal or immigration charges against them. The White House did want to hold them indefinitely, but that was a promise the White House had to reach.
You see roving wiretaps. That will allow prosecutors to tap any phone that is suspect, not just one phone, also the sharing of secret grand jury information with intelligence officials, the seizure of voice-mail messages, and again, allowing these provisions and another compromise would expire in four years, most of these provisions in four years. That is because many feel or are concerned that some of these provisions could infringe on an individual's civil liberties, and so this is an opportunity for the Congress, as well as others, to look at how the provisions are working and then make changes four years down the road.
Now the Attorney General John Ashcroft saying yesterday that immediate after the president signs this measure into law, he will notify FBI agents and law enforcement officials around the country to immediately start using these new powers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN ASHCROFT, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: On the signing of the legislation into law, will be a campaign that will last for many years. Some will ask whether a civilized nation, a nation of law and not of men, can use the law to defend itself from barbarians and remain civilized. Our answer unequivocally is yes. Yes, we will defend civilization, and yes, we will preserve the rule of law, because it is that which makes us civilized.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALLACE: And the attorney general saying he will aggressively use these new powers again to fight terrorism in the United States and around the country. So expect, Bill, the president to have remarks in the audience. Law enforcement officials from around country and also the president talking about how this is one of the many fronts in this war against terrorism, the law enforcement side.
HEMMER: Kelly, quickly here, I think in a perfect world, the White House would have wanted this thing seven weeks ago. Will it take it now, or does it feel at this point, it is a bit behind the eight ball so far?
WALLACE: Well, you certainly did hear the attorney general and others pressing lawmakers over the past several weeks to get these new powers, saying the longer Congress waits, the more worrisome it is about suspected terrorists who could be in the United States.
But again, lightning speed really, six weeks to get sweeping new legislation enacted no law. Administration feeling good, feeling it got most of everything it wanted.
HEMMER: Kelly, thank you. See you in 45 minutes when it does get signed there at the White House. Thanks to you.
WALLACE: Now we want to get more information now on the fate of that anti-Taliban opposition leader Abdul Haq.
Rebecca MacKinnon, by telephone now, has been tracking this story through family members. She is in Peshawar, Pakistan with more now.
Rebecca, what do you have?
REBECCA MACKINNON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Bill, we have confirmed from an independent source here in Pakistan, not a family member, but also not a Taliban member, that Abdul Haq, the exiled Mujahadeen commander, was executed here Friday afternoon local time in Kabul, and he was executed along with two other associates. They had been put on a short trial apparently, convicted of spying for the United States, and then taken out and shot.
So far, the family members have been to reports of his death with disbelief, saying they believe is he still captured, they don't believe he has been killed at this time -- Bill. HEMMER: Rebecca, one clearly knows the dangers of going on the ground inside Afghanistan. Do you know if this man made similar trips like this since the airstrikes began three and half weeks ago, or is this thought to be the time?
MACKINNON: This is thought to be the first time. There have been rumors that he may have made or attempted to make another trip. Those rumors, however, not confirmed.
I spoke to him about 10 days ago, and he made it clear that he was working politically, that he was not focusing militarily, that he was trying to build an anti-Taliban coalition inside Afghanistan, and that he had been in close contact with what he believed to be moderate Taliban members, former commanders, who he had fought with when they were fighting the Soviets. Whether or not he was betrayed, exactly what happened, is quite unclear at this point -- Bill.
HEMMER: Also, Rebecca, give us a broader perspective on this issue. With this man working towards an anti-Taliban coalition now dead at this point, how much of a setback could it be, or are there others who could step in his shoes?
MACKINNON: Well, there are a number of anti-Taliban leaders here on the Pakistani side of the Afghan border. And of course as many people have pointed out, it was very important that the Pashtun, the ethnic group that make up the majority of Afghanistan, are heavily involved in the process, because the Northern Alliance is composed mainly of ethnic minorities.
There are some other Pashtun leaders here that have been working quite prominently. There was a heard of more than 800 Afghan leaders, those exiled and from inside Afghan, that was convened just over the last two days. The head of that meeting was a man named Pierre Valani (ph), who has close affiliation with the former king Zahir Shah, and so it is expected that they will continue to try and build their network as well -- Bill.
HEMMER: Clearly, that effort will continue.
Rebecca MacKinnon by telephone in Peshawar, Pakistan, with the late there.
Let's focus now on the military front. Britain, America's most vocal ally, we know that, in the current war. The country has also offered to the U.S. its military hardware to help in the fight. Word of another commitment now. Some elite British troops, armed forces minister, Adam Ingram made that announcement in the House of Commons earlier today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ADAM INGRAM, BRITISH ARMED FORCES MINISTER: Some 200 men who have fought (ph) to command the Royal Marines, based in Panton (ph), will be aboard HMS Fearless, as elite elements of an immediately available force to help support operations. The remainder (UNINTELLIGIBLE), in the region of 400 men, will return to the United Kingdom, but will be held at high readiness to return to the theater should our operational needs make that necessary.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: So the contribution continues. What does it mean to the Pentagon now, and CNN's Bob Franken who is watching this.
And more, first, the British front, Bob, how significant?
BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's significant. Up until now, the British have expressed their support by mainly logistical support. They fired a few cruise missiles, Tomahawk cruise missiles, from their submarines, but for the most part, they've contributed reconnaissance flights and refueling flights. This is the first addition of manpower, of troops actually going in, 200 of their commando units, as you heard, will be stationed on assault ships; 400 kept a very, very high state of alert in Britain. That high state of alert means they could be in place within two to three days, according to a briefing the British defense officials provided.
Now what about the British? Why do they bring something different? They have an elite commando unit, and they have a particular specialty, in contrast to the U.S. forces specialty. The British commandos are, by reputation, able to go into an area in their secret way and stay their for a long time, to hunker down. They have a very strong endurance. That's their reputation, in particular, that the British commandos have. The U.S. special forces are known for the ferocity of their attacks.
They can go in, and they can just wreak havoc before they move out, but it is not their specialty to stay in for a long period of time. Of course both of them overlap in their duties. You saw the U.S. forces, the commando units and Rangers, when they were operating over the weekend. This is video provided by the Pentagon, when they made their lightning strike and withdrawal into Afghanistan. But this is now an addition to the troops that are there, very specialized troops, troops that have quite a strong reputation as commandos, and this is a big addition to the British involvement, which until now, has been really supportive with a few missiles, and of course, Tony Blair on the attack in just about every country he goes.
HEMMER: Bob, what are you picking up there at the Pentagon? The Northern Alliance saying they are giving significant information to the U.S. troops, and they are not hitting certain locations on the front lines of the Taliban. In defense, the Pentagon says what?
FRANKEN: The Pentagon is really dealing with a little bit of frustration that has begun to emerge, people saying this is really clearly demonstrating that this is tougher than the U.S. anticipated, and the response to that is, this is going exactly as planned, there has to be patience. That's the word from the Pentagon. But apparently, the patience is starting to wear thin, particularly among critics.
HEMMER: Got it. And, Bob, we've heard briefings just about everyday this week. One more today, or not?
FRANKEN: One more today.
As a matter of fact, they've resigned themselves to have daily briefings. Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld has made it clear he didn't particularly like the idea, but he sort of shrugged his shoulders and said, you want briefings? We will give you briefings, that Monday through Friday briefing.
HEMMER: 1:30.
FRANKEN: It's at 1:30. It is not expected to be the secretary today. It will be assistant Secretary of Defense Tory Clark, who handles the public affairs, and Admiral Stufflebeam (ph), who you've seen on several days.
HEMMER: Got it. OK, we will make a note of it, Bob Franken at the Pentagon.
As the fighting in Afghanistan continues, word of a closed door meeting between U.S. British and, again, those Northern Alliance officials.
For the latest on that, in Northern Afghanistan, here is Matthew Chance tracking that story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): More military developments here in Northern Afghanistan. Sources in the foreign ministry of the Northern Alliance telling us in the past few days, there have been a series of high-level meetings between senior Northern Alliance figures and military personnel, both from the United States and Britain now. These meetings are secret, they're held in secret, behind closed doors. There is no media access whatsoever.
But our sources inside the foreign ministry tell us one of the things under discussion at these meeting have been the possibility of deploying military advisers. This area, north of Kabul, on these front lines to help formulate a strategy, a plan, that would involve bringing the Northern Alliance forces into a coordinated military efforts with the U.S.-led bombing campaign over Afghanistan.
Now, there is also, according to our sources, complaints expressed at this meeting by the Northern Alliance that the targeting information that they shared with the United States-led coalition, information on Taliban troops concentrations, tank and artillery, had not in their words, been used effectively. They say the Taliban offenses here north of Kabul are pretty much in tact, and certainly not degraded to the extent that would allow a Northern Alliance advance towards the Afghan capital, Kabul.
Now that may have been intentional by the United States. Certainly there is a big concern internationally that post Taliban, it that there is some kind of ethnic and broad-based political involvement on the table for Kabul is simply wrested from the control of the Taliban and effectively placed in the hands of the Northern Alliance forces. But clearly, after those meetings, these latest developments, we are watching the situation very closely from here.
Matthew Chance, CNN, Northern Afghanistan.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER: Matthew, thank you.
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