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CNN Live At Daybreak

America's New War: Bush Authorizes $100 Million in Relief for Refugees

Aired October 01, 2001 - 07:04   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.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: And at the White House, President Bush has been working on ways to bolster opposition to the Taliban in Afghanistan.

White House correspondent Major Garrett has more on that -- good morning, Major.

MAJOR GARRETT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Paula.

CNN has confirmed that the president has released and authorized the use of about $100 million in humanitarian aid to relieve the mounting refugee crisis along the Afghan-Pakistan border. Many Afghan refugees are fleeing into Pakistan, the neighboring country, in fear of a possible military strike. Administration officials tell CNN the military is actively contemplating air food drops to at least partially minimize some of the humanitarian crisis there. But they are afraid of dropping that food in the way that the Taliban could, in fact, receive it. The military is scrutinizing ways to try to get that food as rapidly as possible to those refugees fleeing the two countries.

The "New York Times" reports this morning that the president has also authorized covert aid for those forces that seek to topple the Taliban. Administration officials CNN spoke to this morning would not comment on that story. But over the weekend, CNN did confirm the contents of a memoranda prepared for the president by senior State Department and National Security Council officials indicating for the very first time that it is an explicit goal of the Bush administration to assist those who seek to topple the Taliban regime. And on Sunday, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld made it clear the U.S. has identified those who do seek to end the Taliban regime's reign in Afghanistan and is looking for ways to support them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: There is no question but that there are a substantial number of Afghans who do not favor Taliban, find it repressive, don't agree with it, wish it were not there. It is also true that there are any number in the Taliban who do not favor al Qaeda and wish it were not there. There are any number of factions within the Taliban and tribes in other parts of the country, to say nothing of the Northern Alliance in the north, that would like the entire crowd out of there, not just al Qaeda, but the Taliban in addition.

What does that mean? Well, it means that we need to find ways to encourage those people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GARRETT: And finding to encourage those people very much on the minds of the president's military and diplomatic planners. No specifics on how that's going to be achieved yet. But in that memoranda that CNN was able to confirm over the weekend, it also says the United States will seek the support of other nations in trying to build a peaceful, economically developing Afghanistan, one free of terrorism -- Paula.

ZAHN: Thanks so much, Major.

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