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American Morning

Marines at Camp Rhino Now Hunting the Enemy; Cease-Fire Talks Expected Today in Middle East; Hanukkah Week for Jews Around World, Including Afghanistan

Aired December 11, 2001 - 05:30   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.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: The role of the U.S. Marines at Camp Rhino in southern Afghanistan is changing. Now they're hunting the enemy. They say it's what they've wanted to do for some - quite a long time now. Pool reporter Allen Pizzey is at Camp Rhino.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALLEN PIZZEY, POOL REPORTER: As dawn broke over Camp Rhino this morning, it came at the end of a very quiet night, but probably not for marines who are out in forward positions. Yesterday they began moving out closer to Kandahar augmenting their strength in that mission by up to 20 percent.

(INAUDIBLE) light attack vehicles and light armored vehicles as well, the idea is to assist both the anti-Taliban militias who are trying to take over Kandahar and have pretty much taken it over and to cut off any fleeing Taliban or al Qaeda who might try to come this way.

This is an obvious escape route for them and the marines are saying that any Taliban who wants to lay down his arms and go about his normal business - whatever that may be, is welcome to do so. Anyone seen with a weapon who does not drop it very quickly, one marine officer said, will die very quickly.

The marines plan to keep on putting more and more patrols (INAUDIBLE), but at the moment there seems to be no plans to go into the city of Kandahar itself. The marines are simply here to do interdiction - when people are interdicted they will be brought here to Camp Rhino where temporary detention facility is being built. This is not going to be a prison camp. It's just a place to hold suspected Taliban, al Qaeda and any other what the marines call "bad guys" until somebody figures out what kind of justice system they go into.

At the moment the only prisoner here is an American in fact -- John Wright Lindh, the young man who was caught fighting with the Taliban. He is expected to be moved out fairly quickly, but no one quite knows where. Does he fall under American justice, international justice - it's a big question for the lawyers. On the bright side for Mr. Walker Lindh, he's being well cared for.

He was (INAUDIBLE) when he came in. We were told he was given saline drips. His health is very good. He's not been seen by anybody around here. All the marines, though, seem to know that he is here and they all kind of symbolically, if you will, spit on the ground at the mention of his name. The marines say here they're proud to be doing what they're doing. This is what they want to do.

One said to us yesterday, there's no place on earth he'd rather be than right here in all this dust. But as for Mr. Walker, they don't think very much of him. So the marines are just getting on with their job. With the U.S. Marines in southern Afghanistan, I'm Allen Pizzey.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: And now we move onto the Middle East where another round of cease-fire talks are expected today despite more violence between Palestinians and Israelis. CNN's Chris Burns is in Jerusalem with more on that. Good morning Chris.

CHRIS BURNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning Carol. Well the worry that that - those rounds of talk could unravel if there's more violence. Violence overnight, of course, Israeli helicopter gunships fired several rockets into building - a building run by the 417. That is the - those are the elite bodyguards of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

No injuries reported there. This comes in the wake of a mortar attack against a Jewish settlement also in the Gaza Strip. This being obviously the Israeli response to that mortar attack. Also overnight in the West Bank, two Palestinians were shot and killed by Israeli forces at a checkpoint. The Israelis say that their car tried to go through that checkpoint and they disregarded the Israeli warning shots.

This, of course increases the tensions and could make it even more difficult, of course, also because there is a funeral today in Hebron, on the West Bank where two young boys are being buried today. They were killed in an Israeli rocket attack against a car where a Palestinian militant was riding in. He was - he escaped but with serious injuries. This shows the Israeli response in crackdown in the wake, of course, of the earlier suicide attacks in Israel at the beginning of the month that left 26 Israelis dead.

A back and forth, a tit for tat, that these talks are trying to end and trying to bring about some kind of a truce. One western source tells us that this is really the moment of truth for Yasser Arafat to show that he can bring these Palestinian militants under control and to stop these attacks, not only suicide attacks, but also mortar attacks against Israeli positions and homes.

That is the question today. There's a full court press among the Americans. The Europeans now, Havia Selano (ph), their foreign policy chief is today meeting with Ariel Sharon, the Israeli Foreign Minister - Prime Minister, as well as with Arafat. Full court press also a four-way meeting between the U.N., E.U, the Russians, and the Americans pressing Arafat. According to a western source, the focus is on Arafat to bring about an end to get a hold of and control these Palestinian militants so that peace talks can once again resume.

Of course keep in mind that there have been 14 months of an Israeli - of an Palestinian intafada against Israeli occupation that has left more than 1,000 people dead, most of them Palestinian. These talks aimed at ending that bloodshed and trying to secure some kind of a peace process, if you will, Carol.

LIN: All right thank you very much, Chris Burns reporting live from Jerusalem.

This is Hanukkah week for Jews around the world including Afghanistan. There are only two Jews known to be living in Kabul. As CNN's Jason Bellini reports, the two men are united in faith and divided by anger.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON BELLINI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In post Taliban Kabul, only two Jews are known to remain. Both live in the synagogue where they fight venomously with one another.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)

BELLINI: Over the fragments of previous Jewish life here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): That stupid man turned the synagogue into a whorehouse says one.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The other man (INAUDIBLE) he's a cruel man and a liar says the other.

BELLINI: At the heart of their mutual hatred, rival claims to the 500-year old Tora that used to sit on this altar.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)

BELLINI: First I met Zebil Anzimitah (ph). He says he came here four years ago on business and ended up staying through the entire Taliban regime. Even though his family lives in Israel, he says he won't go home until he gets the Tora back and is assured that it's in good hands - not in the hands of his cohabitant (INAUDIBLE).

Your friend says many bad things about you. He says you're a bad man. I want to know if that's true. Ichak (ph) reluctantly invites me in for a few minutes, which turned into a few hours.

He says he came to Kabul 26 years ago. Everyone else left including his family. Now he's all alone - alone except for Zebil An (ph). He says Zebil An hates him because I'm an obstacle to him getting the book and selling it. For each accusation one makes, the other is ready with a response.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): That other man betrayed his religion. He became a Muslim.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I was Jewish. I am Jewish. I'll be Jewish in the future.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): For the first two years of the Taliban regime, I did pray, he says. When this other stupid man came here I was caught by the Taliban and they wouldn't let me pray. Besides that they hit me.

BELLINI: Zebil An shows me photos of his legs. He says the Taliban hit him while he was in prison. He also shows me a letter proving, he says, that the Taliban arrested him because Ichak told them he was a spy for Israel and that he planned to take the Tora away and sell it for $2 million.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I came into the synagogue one evening and discovered a window broken and the Tora missing Ichak says. I then went to the Ministry of Interior Affairs and told them what happened because I was the one responsible for the Tora.

BELLINI: On one point both men agreed the Taliban took the Tora and never returned it. I'm beginning my quest to find the Holy Tora here at the Interior Ministry building. This is where both men believe the Tora is now located. I'm going to go inside and see if I can find it.

The head of the Interior Ministry has never heard about the Tora. He sends me to the Ministry of Culture and Information. No, never heard of it. Visit the man in charge of logistics. OK, he says, I'll look into it. Come back in a few days.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Whenever I speak about anything, the other man comes here to listen to what I say. I need to make sure that other man isn't listening to me Ichak says. He threatens to kill me and throw me in a well.

BELLINI: It'd be better if someone killed him - is that what you just said?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I don't want to kill him. He's an old man. He'll die himself .

BELLINI: Inside the Temple, desecrated not by the Romans, but by neglect and inviting both Jews of Kabul light their Hanukkah candles separately. It would take a miracle to bring the two men together and perhaps an act of God to return the Tora to the honest man.

Jason Bellini, CNN, Kabul, Afghanistan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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