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CNN Live Saturday

Taliban Diplomat Claims bin Laden Fled Afghanistan

Aired November 17, 2001 - 16:01   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.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: More now on that mystery surrounding Osama bin Laden's whereabouts. A Taliban diplomat claimed today the world's most wanted man had fled Afghanistan, destination unknown, but hours later, that envoy changing his story. To the Pentagon and CNN's Jonathan Aiken, to find out what we're happening -- what we're seeing, anyway, to try and sort out through this confusion. Jonathan, good afternoon.

JONATHAN AIKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon to you, Bill. And some confusion, indeed. This all began earlier in the day, when Mullah Abdul Salaam Zaeef, the Taliban's envoy to Pakistan, was quoted by the Associated Press in this country, announcers here on television, as saying that Osama bin Laden, his wives and his children had left Afghanistan.

Several hours later, the envoy ended up backtracking on some of those comments, saying what he meant to say was that bin Laden was out of an area controlled by the Taliban. The Pentagon officials here quick to react to the comment, the backtracking notwithstanding, Glenn Flood (ph) said that "our search continues, and you should consider the source," making the note that the Taliban has issued misleading or false statements in the past on Mr. bin Laden's whereabouts, possibly to redirect the search for bin Laden.

And we have a map to show you to indicate where that search may be, should bin Laden leave the country. If you take a look at the region, the question, of course, is where he would go. The obvious answer is Pakistan, with the porous, rugged border and not much in the way of barriers there to keep him from leaving. Same true with Iran, though Iran politically less likely to be a destination. They don't care for bin Laden, nor do they care for the Taliban's form of Islam.

Then there are the Stans -- Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. All of them have reasons to reject bin Laden. There are some people in those countries who would welcome him.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has spoken on this point, too. Friday, when he was at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center in Illinois, he talked about the possibility that bin Laden may actually be out of the country and where he might go.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD RUMSFELD, U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: There are lots of places bin Laden could go. I mean, he used to be in Sudan -- was his headquarters. He used to be in Somalia. He could go across into Iran or Pakistan. There are countries that have harbored terrorists, like Syria, Iraq, and Lybia, Cuba, North Korea. They're all on the terrorist list. We know who they are, so he could -- he could -- he could do something like that, but I think it's chasing the wrong rabbit to assume he's fled yet.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AIKEN: Rumsfeld said that U.S. greyhounds are still going after bin Laden, especially in the southern part of Afghanistan, and while he noted that it was possible that there may be some equipment stashed away by the Taliban, so that bin Laden could make an exit -- maybe a helicopter, with the ability to fly low in a ravine, to avoid U.S. radar -- bin Laden could even take a mule across the border to Pakistan, but, Bill, no indication, from any Pentagon officials of any evidence, they say, to indicate that bin Laden has actually left the country.

HEMMER: Got it. Jonathan, thanks. Jonathan Akin, at the Pentagon.

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