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CNN Live Saturday
Middle East Sees Deadliest Month In Recent Memory
Aired November 29, 2003 - 14:17 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.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN ANCHOR: Well, it has not only been one of the deadliest months in Iraq, officials in Afghanistan say they've seen the bloodiest fighting there since the U.S. drove out the Taliban. Since July, more than 400 people died in attacks. Defense analyst David Isby is here to talk about the mounting challenges facing the new Afghan government, Mr. Isby buy, thank you for joining us this holiday weekend.
DAVID ISBY, DEFENSE ANALYST: Thank you.
WALLACE: First question to you, are we seeing do you believe a resurgence of the Taliban or even al Qaeda in Afghanistan right now?
ISBY: Certainly there are more operations, more terrorist activity, but this is quite literally peripheral. It's mainly in the provinces bordering Pakistan, Kandahar and further north from there.
WALLACE: Are you sensing as international attention is focusing on Iraq that there is sort of a movement on the part ever the Tailban or these other groups to try and take advantage of that attention on Iraq and pursue actions in Afghanistan?
ISBY: I think they desperately need to show that they are still relevant, that they are still part of the process, and, also this is, perhaps, motivated their supporters, especially among the extremist elements in Pushtin speaking Pakistan and indeed among current and former members of Pakistan security services.
WALLACE: Give us a sense of your analysis of the security situation on the ground right now in Afghanistan? Is it getting worse? Better? What's your sense?
ISBY: Generally, it's going the way we want to. It is, like I said, its peripheral, if people have been killed. There is violence, this has to be counted, but the process set out back in 2001 with the Bonn accords is proceeding. We're going see, have the constitution. Going to have a lawyer jurgor (ph) ratification this year, and we're moving towards elections.
So Afghan politics is back. The people who are fighting against the government in Afghanistan are not there because they don't like the politics. They don't think there should be politics at all, except in their definition of them.
WALLACE: Besides a security situation, what are the other biggest challenges for the new Afghan government that soon could be in place in the months ahead? ISBY: The main challenge is that of reconstruction, everything in Afghanistan that has been destroyed needs to be replaced. This is one thing where foreign assistance has been lagging. The U.S. has been doing a lot, need to do more to show that the war on terrorism can build as well as blow things up.
Also, we have the issue of dealing with the many different forces inside Afghanistan. Exiles, people they call warlords, different regional groups, to pull them together into a comprehensive process. So that which the people who lose in the political game aren't going to get out their rolodex and call one of the neighboring countries and say, I don't like having lost, arm me to reverse this process.
WALLACE: David Isby, thank you so much for coming in today, shedding light on a difficult situation in Afghanistan that we will be watching. Thank you again for joining us.
ISBY: Thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired November 29, 2003 - 14:17 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN ANCHOR: Well, it has not only been one of the deadliest months in Iraq, officials in Afghanistan say they've seen the bloodiest fighting there since the U.S. drove out the Taliban. Since July, more than 400 people died in attacks. Defense analyst David Isby is here to talk about the mounting challenges facing the new Afghan government, Mr. Isby buy, thank you for joining us this holiday weekend.
DAVID ISBY, DEFENSE ANALYST: Thank you.
WALLACE: First question to you, are we seeing do you believe a resurgence of the Taliban or even al Qaeda in Afghanistan right now?
ISBY: Certainly there are more operations, more terrorist activity, but this is quite literally peripheral. It's mainly in the provinces bordering Pakistan, Kandahar and further north from there.
WALLACE: Are you sensing as international attention is focusing on Iraq that there is sort of a movement on the part ever the Tailban or these other groups to try and take advantage of that attention on Iraq and pursue actions in Afghanistan?
ISBY: I think they desperately need to show that they are still relevant, that they are still part of the process, and, also this is, perhaps, motivated their supporters, especially among the extremist elements in Pushtin speaking Pakistan and indeed among current and former members of Pakistan security services.
WALLACE: Give us a sense of your analysis of the security situation on the ground right now in Afghanistan? Is it getting worse? Better? What's your sense?
ISBY: Generally, it's going the way we want to. It is, like I said, its peripheral, if people have been killed. There is violence, this has to be counted, but the process set out back in 2001 with the Bonn accords is proceeding. We're going see, have the constitution. Going to have a lawyer jurgor (ph) ratification this year, and we're moving towards elections.
So Afghan politics is back. The people who are fighting against the government in Afghanistan are not there because they don't like the politics. They don't think there should be politics at all, except in their definition of them.
WALLACE: Besides a security situation, what are the other biggest challenges for the new Afghan government that soon could be in place in the months ahead? ISBY: The main challenge is that of reconstruction, everything in Afghanistan that has been destroyed needs to be replaced. This is one thing where foreign assistance has been lagging. The U.S. has been doing a lot, need to do more to show that the war on terrorism can build as well as blow things up.
Also, we have the issue of dealing with the many different forces inside Afghanistan. Exiles, people they call warlords, different regional groups, to pull them together into a comprehensive process. So that which the people who lose in the political game aren't going to get out their rolodex and call one of the neighboring countries and say, I don't like having lost, arm me to reverse this process.
WALLACE: David Isby, thank you so much for coming in today, shedding light on a difficult situation in Afghanistan that we will be watching. Thank you again for joining us.
ISBY: Thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
