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CNN Live Today
British Troops Search for al Qaeda, Taliban Pockets
Aired April 17, 2002 - 10:11 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.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: The war on terrorism is being fought on a number of different fronts, and one of those fronts is Afghanistan, of course. And we were reminded again today that there is still a war under way in Afghanistan and just how dangerous that war is for American forces by events this morning.
Our senior international correspondent, Walter Rodgers, joins us now from Kabul with the details of yet another American casualty there -- hello, Walt.
WALTER RODGERS, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello Leon. A painful reminder of just what a dangerous environment U.S. soldiers are operating in. A U.S. soldier in Kandahar, a city in southeastern Afghanistan, shot in the face, a drive-by shooting. Remember, Kandahar was always the stronghold of al Qaeda and the Taliban, and there are certainly pockets of Taliban sympathizers in that particular city at this time.
The soldier is said to be in stable condition, but from other sources we are being told that in point of fact Afghanistan is expected to become increasingly dangerous in the coming weeks. This because the Loya Jirga, the tribal council is going to meet in mid- June, and there will be efforts to hatch together a unified government in this war-torn country. And of course, those, like al Qaeda and the Taliban who opposed a unified and peaceful Afghanistan, are expected to try to disrupt that process.
Now, on the military operational front in central and eastern Afghanistan, Operation Ptarmigan is continuing. That, of course, is being led by British Royal Marines. There are several hundred in the country now.
They are operating in the mountains of eastern Afghanistan. This is operation Ptarmigan, by the way, is a grouse-like bird that lives in arctic and sub-arctic conditions, and those are precisely the conditions the British Royal Marines are operating in in eastern Afghanistan. There is still snow in those mountains as they search through the mountains looking through pockets of al Qaeda and Taliban fighters who may still be there trying to regroup at some point in the future.
Again, several hundred, as many as 600 British Royal Marines here now, 1,700 expected by the end of the month, and the British Royal Marines are taking the lead at this point. The U.S. forces at this point are actually in more of a support role. The Operation Ptarmigan is the first major military operation since the U.S. forces concluded Operation Anaconda about a month-and-a-half ago -- Leon.
HARRIS: Walter, let me ask you one more question about the political landscape there in Afghanistan. As you know, the former king, Zahir Shah, is supposed to be on his way back, I believe leaving later today if I am not mistaken, from Italy. And he is going to be accompanied by Hamid Karzai. What is the landscape there politically that the king is going to be encountering when he does arrive there? And what are the prospects there for this to be something of a smooth transition that we'll be watching here?
RODGERS: Well, of course, as far as a smooth transition goes, there are opposition elements here who don't want to see that smooth transition. King Zahir Shah is returning to Afghanistan for the first time after 30 years of exile. He has been living in Rome. He is 87 years old. The reason he is coming back is to be a presiding officer over that Loya Jirga meeting, which takes place in June.
He has no official role as a prime minister would, no executive responsibility. He is just coming as a symbolic father figure to try to present some form of healing for this country, but as you pointed out, there is absolutely no certainty that everyone here wants this country put together again. You have got Taliban and al Qaeda fighters out there still in small pockets. As long as you have got at least 5,000 U.S. forces here on the ground, that is what is propping up the government here, along with the ISAF forces, the peacekeepers.
There are just so many people here who want this government brought down or who want a piece of the action for themselves. There is no guarantee that King Zahir Shah will be able to do very much other than preside as a grandfather at least through June. After that, what happens in Afghanistan, the political landscape is anybody's guess -- Leon.
HARRIS: Walter Rodgers reporting live for us from Kabul, Afghanistan. You be careful -- we'll check back with you later on.
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