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CNN Live Saturday

What's Next for Afghanistan?

Aired December 08, 2001 - 17:19   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.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: As the Taliban forces in Afghanistan continue to crumble, many people's minds are turning to life after the Taliban.

And joining us now from Washington to discuss the charges facing an interim government is Omar Samad. He's director of the Afghanistan Information Center. He's with us often to help sort out the situation going on in Afghanistan.

Thanks for being with us again this afternoon.

OMAR SAMAD, DIRECTOR, AFGHANISTAN INFORMATION CENTER: You're welcome.

CALLAWAY: I'm sure you've been following the situation that is developing now in Kandahar over governorship of Kandahar. Are you surprised by this at all? And is this an indication of what's to come when we see the interim government take place, move into place in Afghanistan?

SAMAD: Well, I hope not, but I am somewhat surprised by what's happening in Kandahar because I think that we all suspected maybe one Afghan anti-Taliban group to come into Kandahar, take over, and then build its base, and then move onto coming into terms with other Afghan groups in Kabul, for example. And since the Bonn Accords took place just a few days ago, we think that the Kandahar situation needs to be resolved as soon as possible, if we are going to have a credible interim government.

CALLAWAY: You know, what can Hamid Karzai do to help move the situation along in Kandahar? And do you think he's handled that situation as he should have from the beginning, when there was word that Mullah Mohammed Omar was going to surrender Kandahar?

SAMAD: Well, Hamid Karzai is one of the factions surrounding Kandahar. There are some rivalries in the area. Now it's apparent that some groups have some distrust towards others. And I think that as soon as possible, the Afghan tribal leaders and elders need to get together. And I think there is talk of that happening as soon as possible, to sort out the differences.

This has to happen. And Hamid Karzai, I think, has been handling the situation pretty well. He is on the ground. So we don't know what type of intricate difficulties he's facing right now. And the tribal patchwork is very difficult to maneuver. And the politics is rather very dangerous and he needs to be very careful.

Obviously, the offer of amnesty that he gave to Mullah Omar earlier last week, he rescinded that. And he changed and modified that position by saying that Mullah Omar did not denounce terrorism. Therefore, he is still liable to be caught and brought to justice, whether it's Afghan justice or international court justice.

CALLAWAY: And we should say that Karzai is tapped to head the interim government in Afghanistan coming up here in a month. So a lot of eyes are watching what Karzai does in Kandahar.

Is there any chance that we may indeed see, when the interim government steps into place, perhaps what you might say a wolf in sheep's clothing, where those factions who may slip into the government masquerading as one thing, slowly see the Taliban restrictions move back into place in Afghanistan?

SAMAD: No, I don't see that happening at all. All the people who were involved in fighting the Taliban and al Qaeda and the terrorists are people who are well known in Afghanistan. The people who are now part of this interim administration for the next six months are people who are well known. And none of them have the Taliban extremist credentials accompanying them.

And these people are somewhat trusted by some people. And this is going to be a coalition interim government. They come from various ethnic groups, various political groups and various -- even people who were independent. For example, there are two women as part of this interim set up. And both of these are independent women and people who are activists and very well known in their fields.

CALLAWAY: All right, Omar Samad, thank you very for joining us again this afternoon.

SAMAD: Thank you.

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