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CNN Live At Daybreak

America Strikes Back: Pentagon Plans to Deploy Ground Troops

Aired October 11, 2001 - 08:09   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: Defense Secretary Rumsfeld saying American warplanes own the skies over Afghanistan. Now there is talk in many circles of sending U.S. ground troops into that county.

CNN's Bob Franken now on the possibilities. He's at the Pentagon again this morning -- Bob, hello.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Bill.

And taking Martin Savidge's point that, to a great degree, it doesn't seem like a month, it seems it's just like one horrible, long day.

Here in the Pentagon it seems like the collision into the Pentagon by that plane is somewhere in the distant past, at least you get that impression when you are watching the military planning that goes on here -- the planning that has resulted in the aerial campaigns.

And the planning that -- one of the most open secrets here is going to be the planning that will involve ground troops, particularly the special operations unit, which -- the units, which were deployed from a variety of bases around the country, including Fort Bragg. They are in the area. We know that. We hear frequently that they might have even already ventured into Afghanistan, but certainly they are in positions around in Pakistan and Uzbekistan.

And also they are going to be deployed off the USS Kitty Hawk, which, as you know, is an aircraft carrier, but it was deployed from Japan without its -- many of its airplanes on board. And Pentagon officials make it clear that it's going to be used as a base -- a floating base for incursions by helicopter and by those special forces units whose job it will be to, among other things, try and terrorize -- to put it mildly -- some of the Taliban officials and soldiers to try and get them to consider defecting.

And also the job that they don't like to talk about very much here, Bill, and that is the one to find Osama bin Laden, and one way or the other either capture him or to possibly kill him. As I said, that's not something that is official policy, but that is what special forces units are trained to do -- Bill.

HEMMER: Bob, quickly on a minor point: There was no briefing yesterday at the Pentagon for the first time in days. Why not? (CROSSTALK)

FRANKEN: Well, there actually are not daily briefings scheduled here. And they did not really have new information to release -- new pictures to release. Of course, this is a very special day -- the month-long anniversary, and there will be the ceremonies here. So it's not clear yet whether there will be a briefing today, even though one would be regularly scheduled. But normally briefings are not held daily. They are held on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

HEMMER: Got it. I'm on board now -- Bob, thank you.

Another reminder: That memorial service that begins at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time, a little less than three hours from now, from the Pentagon -- the president is the keynote speaker. We'll also hear from the defense secretary, Donald Rumsfeld at that time as well -- live coverage a bit later this morning.

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