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American Morning

Pakistan Moves Troops to Kashmir

Aired May 31, 2002 - 08:01   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.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Up front this morning, Pakistan confirms today that it is moving troops from the Afghan border to Kashmir, the region at the center of its conflict with India. Now, as the growing tensions between the two nuclear armed countries threaten to sidetrack the U.S.-led effort to hunt down al Qaeda terrorists, the Bush administration is stepping up its effort in its diplomatic push to defuse the situation.

John King has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The president says he is determined al Qaeda not benefit from escalating military tensions between India and Pakistan.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Al Qaeda is a -- they'll find weakness, and we are doing everything we can to continue to shore up our efforts on the Pakistani-Afghan border.

KING: Mr. Bush announced after this Cabinet meeting he is dispatching Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to the region, in addition to an already scheduled diplomatic mission by the deputy secretary of state, Richard Armitage. Secretary Rumsfeld's mission is to assess the impact of the standoff on the U.S.-led war against terrorism and to remind nuclear neighbors India and Pakistan of the stakes.

DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: It's the millions and millions and millions of people who live in those two countries who would be damaged by a conflict.

KING: One immediate debate in the Defense and State Departments is whether 63,000 U.S. citizens in both countries and the roughly 1,100 U.S. troops in Pakistan should be moved or evacuated.

BUSH: The secretary is -- both secretaries are -- analyzing what it would take to protect American lives if need be.

KING: Pakistan says it might move troops away from the Afghan border and toward the disputed Kashmir region. British troops already are fortifying the Afghan side as a precaution, and the Pentagon says U.S. troops might adjust as well. U.S. officials tell CNN India is preparing conventional warheads for its medium-range Prithvi missiles. Those are capable of carrying nuclear warheads, and some at the Pentagon fear a launch could bring a catastrophic miscalculation.

RUMSFELD: Things have a way of starting and then proceeding in unpredictable ways in life, and certainly wars can escalate in unpredictable ways.

KING: Mr. Bush again put the burden on Pakistan's president, Pervez Musharraf, urging him to stop terrorist attacks originating on the Pakistani side of Kashmir.

BUSH: He must do so. He said he would do so. We and others are making it clear to him that he must live up to his word.

KING: The continued incursions have strained relations with a leader who has been a key ally in the war on terrorism.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

And U.S. officials say those Pakistani troop movements now away from the Afghan border are causing additional strain, complicating the search for al Qaeda, complicating the efforts to keep the president's promise to, quote, "patiently hunt these people down" -- Paula.

ZAHN: So John, what's the thinking this morning about U.S. personnel in the region?

KING: State Department officials telling us that they expect a decision any time now, perhaps today. They are debating whether to have a voluntary order under which U.S. diplomats in the region would be free to leave, or direct orders for those people to leave immediately -- that debate being based on what is the given threat assessment at the time.

U.S. officials said yesterday they wanted to give diplomacy another day, assess the situation tomorrow. Don't be surprised if we hear more on that from the State Department later today.

ZAHN: Come back, John, to a moment about these reports that can't specifically tie al Qaeda to any of these terrorist attacks in India, but clearly there is evidence of militant ties, is there not, involved with some of these latest attacks in the region?

KING: Defense Secretary Rumsfeld said as much yesterday. He said he cannot firmly prove it, but he has deep suspicions. There are reports in the region, U.S. officials believe. You have seen President Musharraf say he is trying to crack down along the line of the control. U.S. officials say he certainly could do more, but you have extremists going across from the Pakistani side into the Indian side.

They know there are al Qaeda and al Qaeda sympathizers on the Pakistani side. That has been a source of violence and tension and terrorism in the past. U.S. officials say they would not be surprised at all. There are some hints, no firm evidence yet, that al Qaeda is fomenting the dissent up there, in part because of the longstanding tensions between India and Pakistan -- but in part, U.S. officials believe, to distract everyone from the ongoing war against terrorism, to make it more complicated for American troops on the ground there.

ZAHN: Well, before we let you go, let's just talk about how much more complicated it becomes when clearly there is evidence suggesting that the remaining pockets of al Qaeda leadership are either in Pakistan at this point or along the Afghan-Pakistani border. Clearly this is going to make it very difficult, is it not, for the administration to get to them?

KING: It is already difficult, of course. No Osama bin Laden. No Mullah Omar. U.S. officials say the best they can hope for right now is to contain any al Qaeda who have moved across the border into Pakistan. If you have Pakistani troops on their side of the border, U.S. and British troops on the other side, perhaps you can contain and then patiently -- because it is dangerous -- hunt and search.

If there is a very small, a very limited Pakistani presence, if those troops all move away, you open up a great deal of space in an area where the government has very little control. The terrain is very difficult. So yes, it makes an already difficult, already very frustrating search much more frustrating and much more difficult.

ZAHN: All right, thanks, John King.

Kind of weird to be in town and having you on the other side of town, but maybe later today we'll bump into each other in person.

KING: Right.

ZAHN: Delighted to be here broadcasting from D.C. here this morning.

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