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Troops in Afghanistan Come Across GPS Device That Belonged to Soldier Killed in Somalia in 1993
Aired March 20, 2002 - 13:02 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: Earlier, we were at the pentagon and want to get back there right now with Barbara Starr. We have found now somewhat of tantalizing link to Afghanistan with what happened in Somalia back in 1993. Back there now and Barbara Starr who is tracking this for us.
Barbara, good afternoon to you, for the first time today, on a Wednesday.
BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, there, Bill.
Yes the U.S. military got an eerie voice from the past in the final hours of Operation Anaconda. As U.S. troops were searching a cave in eastern Afghanistan, they came across a global positioning system receiver device. This is a communications unit that would have allowed the Al Qaeda who were in that cave area to precisely calculate their position, something that they would have wanted to do, but the equipment had a name on it.
The pouch and the equipment had the name of U.S. Master Sergeant Gary Gordon. Gary Gordon was one of the U.S. special forces men who were killed in Somalia in October of 1993. His name was on the pouch as well as on the equipment itself. Sergeant Gordon's family notified that -- some of his equipment was found. Sergeant Gordon was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor after the firefight in Somalia which killed 19 men.
Now, intelligence officials say they are not sure what this all really means. It either ties the Al Qaeda to operations in Somalia nearly a decade ago. Or it is possible that Sergeant Gordon's receiver equipment was stolen and was transferred somehow on the black market and fell into Al Qaeda hands.
The Pentagon is talking to the manufacturer of the equipment. They are trying to trace it all through the serial number and see exactly what transpired.
But in other news, the Pentagon is also bracing for a possible round of criticism tomorrow when Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld is expected to unveil information about how those military commissions will be conducted against suspected Al Qaeda and Taliban detainees that the U.S. has been holding. Some information is coming out now about how these proceedings will take place. We are told that only a handful of detainees are actually expected to face trial, just the most senior people. No television cameras will be permitted. The sessions will be closed when classified information is being discussed. There are some elements that the American public will recognize in these trials. The people will be presumed innocent until proven guilty. We are told a unanimous decision will be necessary for a death penalty verdict, and that the president will be able to review any convictions. All of this is expected to be unveiled at the Pentagon here tomorrow. It should be quite controversial -- Bill.
HEMMER: Indeed it may. Barbara Starr at the Pentagon. More military analysis now. Retired Air Force Major General Don Shepperd with us now.
Afternoon to you, Don. Washington D.C. is my assumption there.
Good afternoon.
MAJ. GEN. DON SHEPPERD, (RET.) CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Indeed, Bill.
HEMMER: First of all, I want to talk about this story breaking here, that suggests that the U.S. troops may be involved at some point in Indonesia. This is a massive country, 13,000 islands, well over 200 million people. Curious to know, what are you hearing on the possibilities there?
SHEPPERD: Bill, I think the reports come from the obvious, which is as we get information in the way of intelligence from Al Qaeda, and as we have seen the things that happened earlier in Singapore. These things were tied to Indonesia, and Indonesia is the only country right now that has not arrested Al Qaeda members as a result of the things that took place on 9-11, only one of the major Western countries and countries of that area that has not arrested them.
Obviously, they are a haven because of their Islamic connections for Al Qaeda cells there. And we at some point will want to go after them. We're at the early stages of trying to decide how to put that together from a military standpoint.
HEMMER: But clearly, at a Pentagon briefing, that's not the place where they're going to make this announcement, do you reckon?
SHEPPERD: No, this is not a military announcement to be made. This will obviously come from the White House or the State Department, and you'll obviously develop like we have in Georgia, and in some of the other areas where -- Yemen, where we put in special forces early on to start the training, and then things happen later.
HEMMER: Let me jump around just a bit here, general. This question thrown out there about U.S. troops in Israel, nothing confirmed about this at all. It's strictly a question that was thrown at the Pentagon. Are you hearing that could be a possibility discussed through either Anthony Zinni or the Vice President Dick Cheney? SHEPPERD: You know, I'm sure that all sorts of things are being discussed and asked, but again, it's way too early to start forming up how military action or military forces are going to be involved in the Israel-Palestine dispute. This right now is a political situation, and then you use the military to say, what means do we have that can help the political situation you want to come out? Way too early to say that we're going to be involved in any way militarily.
HEMMER: Back in this country, we want to put a map here and show some videotape, Fort Drum, New York, upstate New York, north of Syracuse about 75 miles, a terrible accident apparently early this morning, right about 7:30 a.m. Eastern Time, one dead, fourteen wounded. Two artillery rounds landed near a mess tent. Explain how something like that can go so deadly wrong.
SHEPPERD: Two ways, azimuth or distance, Bill. If you got for some reason, somebody without the word that's aimed off azimuth (ph) into a populated area of the base. Never should happen, but occasionally does. That could happen. Also, you put bags of powder in these guns to affect the range of the rounds you're sending out. Sometimes if you put too much powder in, it goes way long. Either one of those things could be what happened, but again, until they tell us, I don't have specifics.
Tragic thing there, you know, the 10th mountain division, we know has been in the region of Afghanistan, Uzbekistan for some time. Back to Afghanistan, what are you hearing right now. You know, we heard about this firefight near the town of Khowst in eastern Afghanistan. Some people are saying right now, upwards of five, possibly more pockets of Al Qaeda fighters right now being located. On your end, what is your gauge?
SHEPPERD: My gauge is that there's five now and there will be more later, and General Franks has told us we are going to be involved in this type of thing in many places in Afghanistan and out for a long period of time. This is Wild West in Paktia (ph) province. We have by no means cleaned up. We will engage these pockets as they emerge and re-emerge, and this is just an example in the last few days of what we are going to see for a long time, Bill.
We are going to be at it there for quite a while.
HEMMER: Thank you, general, appreciate it. Major General Don Shepperd live with us in D.C.
We'll talk again tomorrow.
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