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CNN Live Today

Anaconda Winding Down; Yemen May Be Heating Up

Aired March 12, 2002 - 13:30   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.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: U.S. forces in Afghanistan report making further advances against al Qaeda today. Military officials say Operation Anaconda has taken two new key positions. The battle has been raging in the mountains south of Gardez, supported by heavy U.S. airstrikes overhead. Martin Savidge, still on the scene in Bagram, filed this report a short time ago.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Day 11 of Operation Anaconda, and still coalition, as well as Afghan military forces, are pushing the fight against the remaining pockets of Taliban and al Qaeda.

Much of the fighting that is taking place, or at least the searching is now being conducted by about 2,000 soldiers, and the majority of them are now Afghan military soldiers. The benefit of that is that it has allowed -- to free up the coalition and U.S. forces that have been up fighting in the high elevation for the past 11 days, to finally get a break now, and begin returning to the Bagram base here, which has the main staging area.

The huge Chinook helicopters come flying in, usually in the early morning hours. They are escorted, riding shotgun, by the Apache gunship helicopters, and then the soldiers make their way, heavily burdened with all that equipment, coming back into camp. And it is a welcome respite for many of them, one just to get a good lung full of air, the other to get a good hot meal and maybe a hot shower, and then it is back here in tent city. And it is only probably going to be a few days of rest for many of these soldiers here, there are other operations that are in the work.

There is still Operation Anaconda that could, from time to time, require reinforcing by U.S. and coalition forces. And Operation Anaconda worked so well that military leaders here believe that it will serve as a model for future operations when going up against Taliban and al Qaeda pockets elsewhere around Afghanistan. So, for now, it is a break, but it is a break that won't last long.

Martin Savidge, CNN, Bagram, Afghanistan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: And from Afghanistan, the -- possibly the next front in the war, Yemen. To the Pentagon and Barbara Starr, who is tracking movements on this, and more U.S. personnel possibly there quite soon -- Barbara, good afternoon.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Bill.

Well, that's right. The Pentagon is finalizing plans that could send the first of 40 to 80 U.S. troops to Yemen to help that country with its terrorism problem, with al Qaeda cells in that country. The Pentagon expects orders, perhaps, by the end of this week, the first of next week that will make this movement of troops begin to happen.

Now, this program will initially focus on training and equipping the Yemeni military. They are a poorly equipped military force. The U.S. will start with training and equipping them in counterterrorism. But officials tell us the program may soon grow to advising and assisting, and that could put U.S. forces more directly involved in counterterrorism in Yemen, in helping plan missions, plan tactics, and possibly even accompany the Yemenis on missions.

An advanced team of 20 military personnel is already in Yemen beginning the planning for this program. In Afghanistan, officials here at a news conference earlier today confirmed, yes, the operation, Anaconda, is winding down, mopping up.

There are still pockets of Taliban and al Qaeda up in those mountains. They are particularly focusing on this area known as the Whale Back. This is an area named the Whale Back for how it looks from the air. You can see it here, how this ridge line looks to U.S. pilots flying over the region. They still believe there are al Qaeda and Taliban up in those ridge lines.

But intelligence officials are already turning their attention to the next pockets of al Qaeda and Taliban in the country that the U.S. military may go after. We are told reconnaissance and intelligence gathering is now underway, and that more U.S. military action is inevitable -- Bill.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIG. GEN. JOHN ROSA, U.S. AIR FORCE: The heaviest of fighting we have seen in the early days. The last 72 hours has been more sporadic, focused on smaller pockets of Taliban and al Qaeda, but in an area this big and this diverse, with as many caves, I would say, that there is still work to be done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: I'm sorry. That was General Rosa who conducted the news briefing earlier today, giving everybody an update on the progress in Operation Anaconda, the fact that it is winding down, they believe there is probably less than 200 of the original 800 to 1,000 al Qaeda fighters in the mountains, but he went on to say that there is still plenty of work to be done in Afghanistan, and that there is likely to be more missions against more pockets of al Qaeda across the country -- Bill.

HEMMER: Barbara, back to the Yemen issue. How are we to compare what's happening there, or may be happening there, to what we have seen already possibly in a place like the Philippines?

STARR: Well, this is much more on the Philippine model. It is becoming clear that U.S. forces are likely to be much more engaged in Yemen. This is is a bit different that what we are going to see in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia, for example. Perhaps 150 U.S. troops are going to head to Georgia in the weeks ahead, but in Georgia, they are going to probably limit themselves to training and equipping the Georgian military, classroom training, some field training. But in Yemen, like in the Philippines, it appears that mission is headed more towards having U.S. troops much more directly involved in hunting down the al Qaeda.

HEMMER: That would be a first. We will track it. Barbara, thank you. Barbara Starr at the Pentagon.

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