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CNN Live At Daybreak
America Strikes Back: Interview of Envoy for Former Afghan King
Aired October 17, 2001 - 07:05 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: Fighter planes dropped more bombs on what Washington says are Taliban positions near Kabul several hours ago. The United States continues intense 'round-the-clock raids over Afghanistan.
CNN's Matthew Chance witnessed one attack. He joins us live from an air base just north of Kabul.
Matthew, what did you see, what did you hear?
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Paula. There are continuing U.S.-led air strikes across Afghanistan. There are some important developments which I'll report to you in just a moment.
Let me first of all give you a picture of exactly where I'm standing right now. I'm at the Bagram Air Force Base, once a key installation of the Soviet Union, in their occupation of Afghanistan back in the 1980s. Let me just stand out of the way of the camera for a moment so you can see the debris of that Soviet Union presence is left lying all around the air strip here at Bagram, these old MiG and Sukhoi fighter bombers simply abandoned by the Soviet Union when they made their hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan, back in 1989.
Just to give you an idea of the real frontline nature of this position that we're in right now, let's take a look at these houses, these mud houses on the horizon over there, just at the bottom of the mountains there. Those are the Taliban front lines, just about 2 kilometers from where we're standing right now. If we go really close up, you might be able to see the Taliban anti-aircraft guns, those black rods sticking up into the sky.
The mountain behind them is in strong control of the Taliban. It's just itself overlooking Kabul. It's about 25 kilometers from the city and is the last line of defense stopping the forces of the opposition Northern Alliance advancing into Kabul, which is, of course, their ultimate military objective.
As I mentioned earlier, important developments here. When we first arrived here, we heard a war plane streaking across the sky, dropping its bombs on what Northern Alliance frontline commanders say were Taliban frontline positions on these mountains over here, this side of the mountains overlooking Kabul. It's something we've not seen from the United States-led air strikes so far. It may be a significant new development, may be they're clearing the way for a Northern Alliance advance on the capital, Kabul. We'll have to wait and see -- Paula, back to you.
ZAHN: Matthew Chance, thanks so much for that update.
The U.S. assault on Afghanistan has been going on for a week and a half now and has intensified in the last three days, the time Secretary of State Colin Powell has been in the region. Powell is walking a diplomatic tightrope between nuclear rivals Pakistan and India.
This morning, Powell reconfirmed the U.S. commitment to its relationship with India.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: We are natural allies, two great democracies who believe in a common set of values that have served both of our nations well. President Bush has made it absolutely clear that transforming our relationship with India and to put it on a higher plane is one of his highest priorities. And I have found that this view is entirely shared by Prime Minister Vajpayee and his colleagues as well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZAHN: Secretary Powell's stop in India followed a visit to Pakistan.
And CNN's Christiane Amanpour is in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad with this live update.
Christiane, good morning.
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Paula.
As you say, there has been intense air activity again over Afghanistan, over Kabul and Kandahar and other locations. Our sources in Kandahar said another heavy wave of bombing started about an hour ago around that city, and they say that a building in the center of town has been hit that belongs to one of the police services. There are several different types of police service in Afghanistan, and this particular one, they say, is the morals police building, known by its real name of the Police for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice.
Also, the Taliban and other sources are claiming that a bus has been hit, the Taliban claiming that 18 people were killed in that attack. And there have been other reports, as we've mentioned, in Kabul and elsewhere, as well, of heavy bombardment.
One other critical issue on the political side, there has been a lot of reporting over the last several days of a potential defection or approach by one member of the Taliban regime -- the foreign minister, to be precise -- an approach to the United States and the international community asking for a pause in order to be able to draw the moderates together and to be able to think perhaps about once again talking about handing over Osama bin Laden and sort of refining their position on that.
What we have had from our sources who have spoken to the foreign minister in Kandahar, they say that he denies that, there is no split within the Taliban, and that all those reports are false, he says. And they say that they've just talked to him today in Kandahar.
On the political issue, very, very importantly, the United States, as you know, has been trying to develop a political solution for Afghanistan in the post-military scenario.
And joining us now is the special envoy for Zahir Shah, the former and exiled king of Afghanistan, in Rome, who has been mentioned as a potential leader of any broad-based alliance.
Hadayat Amin Arsala, former foreign minister, thank you for joining us.
Can you tell me what degree of organization do you have for a political arrangement for Afghanistan?
HADAYAT AMIN ARSALA, ENVOY OF FORMER KING ZAHIR: Well, the idea was ours. We wanted to create a political structure which would be acceptable to the people of Afghanistan and which could bring peace and stability to the country. We are thinking in terms of having an emergency merger, which is our traditional...
AMANPOUR: A consultative council.
ARSALA: Yes. But in the meantime, in order to avoid any possibility of a void or a vacuum, we've also decided on establishing a supreme council which will take over the functioning provisionally take over, in case there is a need for it.
AMANPOUR: So you think that if there is an opportunity to insert a kind of governing body, you're ready to do it?
ARSALA: Well, we are very close to it. I mean, we have discussed it with a number of sides -- particularly we've talked among ourselves, and then we've talked to the Northern Alliance, and now we are in the process of discussing it with other elements in the Afghan society, hoping that we will have a very broad-based sort of political structure which will take the place of the current structure.
AMANPOUR: And is the United States, who I know have sent envoys -- you've had congressional people come to visit you, and others -- do they want this situation to prevail, Zahir Shah at the top and a potential consultative council?
ARSALA: I mean what is important is that the people of Afghanistan want it. So I hope that the United States supports whatever the people of Afghanistan want.
AMANPOUR: Are you getting this support from the United States?
ARSALA: I think so. I think so.
AMANPOUR: On that note, I think we have to end it.
ARSALA: Thank you.
AMANPOUR: Thank you very much indeed.
So this is, again, one of the main possibilities that are being discussed for Afghanistan. And also you mentioned Secretary Powell, who, yes, is in India today, having visited Pakistan yesterday, meeting with his counterpart there, the foreign minister of India, as well as the prime minister of India. They had a press conference earlier today in which Secretary Powell praised the long alliance between India and the United States and said that he had got a commitment from both India and Pakistan to resolve issues on Kashmir -- Paula.
ZAHN: Christiane, thanks so much.
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