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CNN Live Saturday

Pentagon Confirms Issuing Second Deployment Order

Aired September 22, 2001 - 16:19   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.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to our continuing coverage of America's new war. Let's go to the Pentagon, where CNN's military affairs correspondent Jamie McIntyre is standing by.

Jamie, the Taliban said it shot down an unmanned, a pilotless drone aircraft earlier today. What's the reaction from the Pentagon?

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN MILITARY AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: The Pentagon officials say don't necessarily believe it, but they're not commenting for sure, one way or the other. They note that a lot of countries operated unmanned aerial vehicles. They are not very expensive. They're in the hands of a lot of military. And that said, the Pentagon said it is not going to get into the business of denying, or commenting, on every claim from the Taliban.

The message here is, is that they're not going to talk about operation security issues, and they say don't believe everything that the Taliban says.

Meanwhile, Pentagon sources say a second deployment order that will add additional aircraft to those moving to the Persian Gulf and Central Asia region, has not yet been signed by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Pentagon officials, though, finally confirming that some of the B52s that we've seen take off from Barksdale, Louisiana, are part of this deployment, moving through bases undisclosed in the region. In the past, B52's have operated British Island of Diego Garcia, in the Indian Ocean, which would put them in striking distance of targets in Afghanistan.

But, again, no details being released by the Pentagon, about these troop deployments. We are expecting that later today they'll be another round of reserve call-up announcements, part of the 35,000 troops that were authorized by President Bush. They had been announcing the units, as they've been getting notification. But, those people will be recalled to active duty, they won't necessarily be deployed overseas, though -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Jamie, I understand Turkey is now indicating it's ready to cooperate with the U.S. Tell us about that?

MCINTYRE: Well, Turkey, of course, is a NATO ally of the United States, and already provides the United States with a base in Incirlik, for the U.S. Air Force and British planes that patrol the Northern no-fly zone in Iraq. NATO, of course, has already invoked a clause of it's treaty, saying that an attack against the United States is an attack against all NATO nations. And Turkey, as I understand it, has no granted the United States full over-flight rights, and other support needed.

But, the policy of the Pentagon here, as countries provide support to the United States, is not to acknowledge it, unless those countries themselves acknowledge it. Some people, they say -- some countries want to help openly, others want to help quietly -- Wolfe.

BLITZER: Thank you very much. Jaimie McIntyre at the Pentagon.

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