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CNN Live Saturday

Profile of Mullah Omar

Aired December 08, 2001 - 18:07   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.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: If Osama bin Laden is the most wanted man in this war, then the head of the ousted Taliban, Mullah Omar, may be among the most mysterious. He's rarely photographed; rarely seen in public. Omar now said to be missing, and CNN's David Ensor has a profile for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID ENSOR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): U.S. intelligence officials confirm that the man at the center of this picture is almost certainly Mullah Mohammed Omar, the reclusive leader of the much- feared Taliban. Hardly any pictures exist of him, because he believes photos are graven images forbidden by his fundamentalist brand of Islam.

OMAR SAMAD, DIRECTOR, AZADI AFGHAN RADIO: He's tall and he's somewhat handsome, even though he has lost an eye in the war against the Soviets. He is not at all talkative. He's somewhat silent.

ENSOR: Arno de Borchgrave is one of the very few Westerns ever to have met Mullah Omar.

ARNO DE BORCHGRAVE, CHAIRMAN, UPI: He seemed a little impatient that I was bothering him. He was running a war, then against General Massoud of the Northern Alliance. His command and control system consisted of a side-band radio, a couple of walkie-talkies and a satellite telephone.

ENSOR: Intelligence officials say Mullah Omar was wounded four times fighting the Soviets -- shrapnel remains in his head. As a result, officials say he suffers periodic brain seizures, during which he sometimes babbles incomprehensively.

This is the man who ordered the destruction of ancient Buddhist statues, who has banned music and soccer, ordered televisions smashed, banned kite flying and ordered executions for adultery. This is the man who banned women from schools and work places.

SAMAD: According to the first interview he gave to "La Monde," it was published back in 1994, a woman's place is totally at home.

ENSOR: Mullah Omar is not really a mullah, experts on Afghanistan say. He never completed the necessary schooling, but his followers gave him the title as a mark of respect. In 1996, he accepted the additional title "commander of the faithful," and appeared before followers wearing a cloak said to have belonged to the Prophet Mohammed, which has not been taken from its shrine in 60 years.

U.S. officials confirm a report in "The New Yorker Magazine" that as the war started, an armed CIA surveillance drone had Mullah Omar's convoy in its sights and the request to fire made of the U.S. Central Command was initially refused because of legal questions raised by the Command's lawyers.

(on camera): Where is Omar now, and will he somehow get away? Bush administration officials say no.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's clear to me that he will be brought to justice, and I believe I'm confident in a way that's acceptable both to the United States and to the Afghans themselves.

ENSOR: U.S. officials say they are still frustrated that they missed Mullah Omar on that day. Permission was later granted to fire on the convoy, but by that time, the Taliban leader was in a safe location. If he does not surrender, U.S. officials have said they hope to get another shot at him.

David Ensor, CNN, the State Department.

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