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CNN Live Saturday

More Than 1,000 Marines Occupy Kandahar Outskirts

Aired December 01, 2001 - 22:27   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.
DONNA KELLEY, CNN ANCHOR: To Afghanistan now, where a southern airstrip on the far outskirts of Kandahar is serving as home base for 1,000 U.S. Marines.

CNN's Walter Rodgers is among the pool of journalists traveling with them. And he joins us now over the phone with a live report for us. Walter?

WALTER RODGERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Donna. Here in the southern Afghan desert, where the 15th U.S. Marine Expeditionary Unit is encamped. The only noise disturbing the night has been the sound of jets overhead. U.S. Navy jets a few moments ago -- I saw (AUDIO GAP) flying south again and concluded its bombing raid. That B-52 is headed back to its base in Diego Garcia. Also, a short while after that, an American B-1 bomber.

Well, some of the Marine squads were out here criss-crossing the desert on reconnaissance patrols overnight. Many of the Marines in this unit, spent another cold night dug in, in their fighting holes, they call them, dug in and just trying to stay warm.

On their minds, however, a keen interest in how the Northern Alliance troops are doing, as the alliance positions itself around the last Taliban stronghold at Kandahar. A Marine sergeant told me his men are trying to staying abreast of what is happening at Kandahar, because these Marines know that is likely to be the last major land battle in the war. And the threat of the Taliban making a last stand there, with bloody street fighting, has to weigh on the minds of these Marines.

Currently orders to move in that direction have not been given. And this battalion-sized unit is camped on a dry leaf bed, which is also a crude air strip.

Most of the Marines' activity so far has been those reconnaissance patrols, that combine the use of light armored vehicles and attack helicopters. The Marines main concern is that no one in the Taliban pockets of resistance, that stretch from Kandahar to Lastragar (ph), try to infiltrate into the Marine lines. There are also -- the Marines are also conducting surveillance on civilian traffic that moves across the desert roads, surveillance designed to determine if some of those Afghan civilian cars they see are being used to smuggle supplies to the remaining Taliban forces. It is now Sunday morning here in Afghanistan. And the chaplains are preparing to hold religious services for the Marines (AUDIO GAP) -- Donna.

KELLEY: All right, Walt Rodgers -- our Walter Rodgers, who's with the Marines in southern Afghanistan, thanks very much.

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