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CNN Live Saturday

Comrades Remember Chapman

Aired January 05, 2002 - 15:01   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.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: From commanders to friends, those who knew and worked with Nathan Chapman pause to remember him as a great soldier and a dedicated family man. Chapman's body arrived in Germany earlier today, on the way home to the United States.

CNN's Rusty Dornin has more on the military's respectful remembrance of Nathan Chapman -- Rusty.

RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Catherine, there is a profound sense of sorrow here at Fort Lewis near Tacoma, Washington. This is where Sergeant First Class Nate Chapman called home, as much as any military man can call any base home. This is where he first came after basic training in 1988, and would return here to the special forces group after being stationed in places like Okinawa.

This is also where his family lives, his wife and his daughter, too, and his son, aged one. Now, his comrades call him a professional soldier; someone who is very dedicated, had a great sense of humor.

He also participated in many of the major military operations of the last decade. He parachuted into Panama; he was part of the operations in Haiti, and also part of Desert Storm.

But the folks here say his death is a huge blow.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COL. DAVID FRIDOVICH, GROUP COMMANDER: I'm convinced he was doing exactly what he joined the Army and Special Forces to do: That's to contribute at the highest level to our nation's goals and policy. There's no higher calling; there's no greater sacrifice.

He volunteered willingly, without hesitation, as all of guys would have, and often do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED SOLDIER: He knew soldiers very well. Soldiers loved to work with him, he loved to work with soldiers. But when the workday was done, he loved to go home to his family. He loved his wife Renee (ph) very much, and his two children. And we're all going to miss him. He was a great guy. (END VIDEO CLIP)

DORNIN: Well, it looks like there will be a special escort from Fort Lewis that will go and bring back Chapman's body here to Fort Lewis sometime during the middle of next week. In the meantime, of course, base personnel are providing support to the family -- Catherine.

CALLAWAY: All right, CNN's Rusty Dornin reporting to us from Fort Lewis. Thanks Rusty.

Well, at their home in Texas, Chapman's parents said that they are proud of their son, praising him as a devoted father who also loved the Army.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILL CHAPMAN, FATHER: We know that that's part of what freedom requires. And I chose to serve in the military; and that was his choice. And all I can say is he died doing what he enjoyed doing, and what he thought was the right thing to do. And we supported him in that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

QUESTION: Is there anything about that that really stands out in your mind about the last time you spoke with him, or that time that you spoke with him?

LYNN CHAPMAN, MOTHER: He seemed so far away. That's all. And I wished he had been home, but I was glad that he was able to talk to us. That meant a lot that day, and will always mean a lot to us.

It was pretty shocking. I just -- he had been through so many things, so many actions; and I guess I came to think that he -- nothing would happen to him. I was wrong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CALLAWAY: Will and Lynn Chapman live in Georgetown, Texas; that's about 25 miles north of Austin.

Well, Nathan Chapman was ambushed after meeting Afghan tribal leaders near the border with Pakistan.

Let's pick up the story now with CNN's Jonathan Aiken, who is joining us from the Pentagon.

Hello Jonathan.

JONATHAN AIKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there Catherine.

Pentagon officials say that the body of Sergeant Chapman, which is now at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany is going to be coming back to the United States. At some point tomorrow the plane will leave Germany tomorrow morning, Eastern time.

As for exactly what happened, the Pentagon says details are still sketchy. It's still trying to figure out some of what happened. We'll start with what you mentioned -- that Sergeant Chapman was working with a U.S. team which included a CIA operative. They were on the ground in an area of Paktir (ph) Province, which is a region in Afghanistan -- eastern Afghanistan, said still to be heavy with Taliban and al Qaeda resistance.

The U.S. team had been meeting with local leaders on the ground, local tribal leader, when they were fired on by gunmen unknown. It's an area, we're told, that has not only al Qaeda and Taliban remnants, but also rogue gunman -- some of whom are gunning after U.S. intelligence operatives because there's a reported bounty on their heads being paid by people opposed to the U.S. presence.

Now, the Pentagon spokeswoman Tori Clarke happened to be in the building today, and we talked to her. And she said that Sergeant Chapman's death is a sign of just how dangerous and risky an operation Afghanistan still is. And that's what the Pentagon -- the point the Pentagon has been making all along -- that the key to the success of the U.S. mission and the fact that casualties have, in fact, been so low has been the ability of the United States to put people on the ground -- small groups of people -- and therefore reduce the risk.

As we mentioned, Sergeant Chapman's body now in Germany, should be making its flight back home to the United States sometime on Sunday morning.

Now let's turn the corner to what's been happening in Afghanistan itself. The U.S. actually gets a chance to question what may be its biggest fish in the Taliban dragnet so far. The former Taliban ambassador to Pakistan, Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef, is in U.S. military custody. He was turned over to the United States after seeking asylum and being rejected by Pakistani officials.

He had been interrogated over the past few days by both Pakistani and U.S. intelligence operatives. They are curious to what information he can provide as the whereabouts of Mullah Mohammed Omar, the Taliban leader, and also Osama bin Laden.

Now, Afghanistan's foreign ministry spokesman says that if Zaeef talks -- and that's a big question mark -- he could prove be to a windfall for the United States on both those issues.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OMAR SAMAD, AFGHAN FOREIGN MINISTRY: He was a trusted person, a trusted man, and he probably has quite valuable information that he could share with the anti-terrorism coalition and the Afghan authorities. And we hope that he will share some of that information.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AIKEN: U.S. officials are putting a lot of stock that they might be able to get Zaeef to talk. And they're also waiting to talk to someone else, and that is Ibn Al-Shaykh al-Libi. He's the gentlemen who is now in U.S. custody -- in fact, at the Marine base in Kandahar. This is one of the top al Qaeda people who are in U.S. custody. He ran Osama bin Laden's training camps in Afghanistan.

U.S. officials are hoping to get information from both men, possibly sparking some new information and some new heat on an investigation into the whereabouts of both Omar and bin Laden, an effort that U.S. officials clearly admit has been frustrating -- Catherine.

CALLAWAY: And Jonathan, getting back to the Nathan Chapman story. Obviously, the Green Berets know to be cautious -- the military has been cautious there. But in light of this incident, do you think there will be any changes, or has the Pentagon said -- any possible changes in the way that these meetings with the tribal leaders in that area will be held?

AIKEN: I'm sorry, I lost your signal for just a second, but I got the gist of your question.

Probably not. We were told today that the area in which these guys were operating is very rugged turf. And when they have these meetings with these local leaders, they're usually -- not so much impromptu, but they're held sort of in the field, or they're held in an area that's convenient for all concerned.

This is an area that doesn't have a tremendous road network. We're not talking about suburbs here, we're talking about far-flung villages and isolated settlements where some of these people live or perhaps do some business, hold control of their territory.

What they have to be careful about is whether or not there's inside information being provided -- whether or not this was a set-up. And as to that question when we presented that to Tori Clarke, the answer was: We don't know.

So the short answer to your question is probably not -- Catherine.

CALLAWAY: Dangerous situation all the way around. Thank you Jonathan. Jonathan Aiken at the Pentagon.

Well, the U.S. is also holding one of Osama bin Laden's top lieutenants today.

And CNN's Bill Hemmer reports from Kandahar Airport, where U.S. Marines are based.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILL HEMMER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He's accused of running the terrorist camps here in Afghanistan, and right now he's in U.S. custody, held at a detention facility here in Kandahar. His name: Ibn Al-Shaykh al-Libi, from Libya. Back in mid-September White House had his assets frozen. The White House also indicates he's one of 12 members of al Qaeda wanted the most here in Afghanistan.

And certainly intelligence sources will now be pumping him for any information they can gather regarding the al Qaeda network, not only here, but around the world.

Also sources inside the detention facility tell CNN that right now al-Libi is being held by himself, separated from the other detainees. They say they want him to have no contact with the others being held here in Kandahar.

On the Mullah Mohammed Omar front, again another day and another rumor. The latest report we have is that Omar may have slipped the net in northern Helmand Province, near the town of Baghran. But, again, we should caution you: Ever day this week the reports and the rumors have varied from day to day.

What's clear at this point, though, is that the U.S., right now, does not have Omar in custody.

Bill Hemmer, CNN, Kandahar, Afghanistan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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