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American Morning

Ground Forces Have Built Detention Center Near Kandahar

Aired December 27, 2001 - 07:17   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.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: U.S. ground forces have built a detention center near Kandahar. They're now moving al Qaeda and Taliban detainees into that complex.

CNN's Bill Hemmer is there. And Bill, before you get into that, I'm curious how much have the marines been able to see of that latest Osama bin Laden tape? Do they have access to cable news and television there?

BILL HEMMER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, not a whole lot. No. No cable television news, certainly not, Miles. There is some e-mail service. There is some Internet service. A lot of folks have to wait in line a pretty long time to access it. A lot of marines we talked to, frankly, were not aware of it, Miles. But as one marine put it, most of these guys can't even get sports scores, much less any other news at this time.

But for those who are aware and did hear bin Laden's comments on that latest tape released by Al Jazeera late yesterday, many say their mission does not change and they weren't surprised by it all. One said we have heard it before and seen it before. And other than that, their reaction was somewhat muted.

There was also reaction today, and even last night, to that decision announced by the Pentagon that marines will not be heading into the Tora Bora region. Rather interesting perspective, too, a bit of a mixed reaction, with some of the younger marines we've talked to Miles, they say they're a bit disappointed. They really wanted that challenge of heading north and east into the Tora Bora region and carrying out that cave to cave complex search. It's not going to happen, though, for these marines.

And but for some of the older marines, they say they're a bit relieved. Relieved, they say, because they've seen combat before and they know when body bags come out how the reaction to be so entirely devastating. And they believe, the older marines we talked to believe that if American marines were sent in there, indeed, there would be a body count, there would be casualties, and some marines, indeed, would lose their life.

With regard to the detainees, though, Miles, you asked about that, that is on an ongoing basis we talked about it just about 15 minutes ago, we're up to 37 now, 37 total here in the Kandahar Airport. And, again, they were brought in in the middle of the night on board a C-130, as was the case, anyway, about a week ago when the first group was brought in here.

And certainly they're processed and they're questioned and the marines want to know certainly what they know about al Qaeda, Taliban leadership, etc.

There's a group of FBI agents here at the base, about a dozen, who are carrying out a lot of that work. And, in fact, we've seen them set up for the past several days. They're pretty much off limits. They don't talk a whole lot. But some sources here on the base do indicate through the FBI that these detainees were picked up along the Afghan-Pakistan border.

You know, there's a whole lot of concern about al Qaeda fighters fleeing the Tora Bora region heading over that pass into Pakistan. But, indeed, these were caught and rounded up. Now there's a question as to whether or not more detainees will come. We are told it is always a possibility and it's always possible, too, on a short notice of time.

We'll watch it. More shortly.

Miles, back to you in Atlanta.

O'BRIEN: Bill Hemmer in Kandahar, thank you very much.

Following the events of 9-11, airline security has become a priority, to say the least.

And as Casey Wian reports, several new technologies are ready to take on the unfriendly skies.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CASEY WIAN, CNNFN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): More than a year ago, James Raisbeck was contacted by a major airline, wondering if his company could design bulletproof cockpit doors. The airline was worried about a disturbing series of events that hadn't been reported to the public.

JAMES RAISBECK, CEO, RAISBECK ENGINEERING: There had been some international instances of people shooting through the cockpit. And in one instance, at least, a co-pilot was injured.

WIAN: So, Seattle-based Raisbeck Engineering went to work. Then came 9/11.

RAISBECK: The airlines were suddenly in need of cockpit protection, one form or another. And as a matter of fact, it wasn't very long after September 11 that the FAA and the DOT came out with mandatory regulations applicable immediately to keep people, some method to keep anyone from getting into the cockpit through force.

WIAN: Raisbeck delivered its first cockpit door reinforcement kit to Alaska Airlines on October 2. The door is bulletproof, and has windows and locks that only work from inside the cockpit. Initially, the FAA gave airlines 90 days to install bars or other temporary devices to improve cockpit door security.

(on camera): While the FAA would not comment, permanent measures, including bulletproofing, are expected to be ordered within 18 months. And the competition for that business, potentially 20,000 planes and a half billion dollars worldwide, is intensifying.

(voice-over): Companies such as Los Angeles based Telair are bringing new products to market almost overnight. Before 9/11, Telair was developing blast-proof cargo containers for airlines. It says the same material can be used to make cockpit doors bulletproof.

DENNIS STAVER, GENERAL MANAGER, TELAIR: One of the features we're finding is that it's about half the weight of the products we're aware of at the current time. And weight is a big issue or a big concern when you're doing anything with aviation.

WIAN: Telair has been trying to get its material sold so quickly the company says it hasn't had time to come up with a name for it. Perhaps a catchy name won't be needed to help sell a product that could stop a terrorist.

Casey Wian, CNN Financial News, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: Airline officials reportedly ordered a Secret Service agent off an American Airlines flight Tuesday after repeated questions about his identity. The "New York Times" is reporting the officer is Arab-American and a Secret Service agent who is a member of President Bush's security task force.

The officer was attempting to fly from Baltimore to Dallas and was on his way to the president's ranch in Crawford, Texas. Critics are calling it a case of racial profiling.

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