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CNN Live Saturday

Bizarre Accident Injures Two U.S. Marines

Aired January 19, 2002 - 18:01   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.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN ANCHOR: First, a bizarre accident in Afghanistan today injured a pair of U.S. marines. It happened on the same day the Marines hand over control of their base at Kandahar to the Army. Let's get started with CNN's Jonathan Aiken who's at the Pentagon -- Jonathan.

JONATHAN AIKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jeanne, we'll get to that accident in just a moment. Minor and kind of interesting.

The big story out of the region today was the fact that the Marines who built a military base out of Kandahar Airport on December 13 and who have held it ever since are finally getting a break.

Elements of the 101st Airborne of the U.S. Army took control of Kandahar today from the Marines. The transfer means that the Marines are going to be headed back to assault ships stationed in the Arabian Sea and awaiting further orders. And for some, in the natural course of rotation, this could mean that they may get sent home.

One thing to pass along before that transfer took place, this was the day before, and this is the accident you referred to, two Marines were hurt on Saturday. The injuries were not serious. Jet exhaust had picked up an aluminum pallet, several of them in fact, tossed one of them into a tent where a couple of Marines were trying to catch some sleep. Again, the injuries were relatively minor. We're told they received immediate treatment at Kandahar base.

Meanwhile, far from Afghanistan, over to Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, 110 detainees there now. Those detainees and the conditions that they've been living in getting a once-over from a four-member team of the International Red Cross. There's been a lot of criticism from human rights' groups and even coalition partners like Canada at the way these detainees are being kept at Guantanamo. The U.S. military says they're aware of the criticism, and the Red Cross is getting free reign to take a look and ask questions.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They've been allowed full access into the camps. They're looking at everything. We appreciate that. We're having some very frank discussions with them, very open discussions. They're making some good recommendations. Where it's possible, we are accommodating those recommendations. I would stress that the detainees have been here about a week now, and that the detention facility is about 13 days old, so this is work in progress.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AIKEN: This particular team, Jeanne, consists of four people including a physician, a linguist and an expert on prisons. This team is going to wrap up its operations in about a week's time, but the U.S. military says that the International Red Cross is going to be a consistent presence at Guantanamo, that the International Red Cross is going to be rotating delegations through the base, as the military put it, for the life of the operation -- Jeanne.

MESERVE: Jonathan Aiken at the Pentagon, thanks.

AIKEN: All right.

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