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CNN Live At Daybreak

Target: Terrorism: British Ground Troops Expected to Join War in Afghanistan

Aired October 26, 2001 - 08:08   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: With British troops on the way, the ground war in Afghanistan is entering a new phase.

Bob Franken is standing by at the Pentagon with that part of the story.

Good morning, Bob.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

And it's at least on the threshold of entering a new phase.

Up until now, the British support in this coalition has been limited mainly to firing a few cruise missiles and reconnaissance aircraft and refueling. But now, about 200 commandos are going to be stationed on assault ships in the region, another 400 on standby in Britain, and troops ready to be deployed in larger numbers within two or three days, says the British armed forces defense minister, who made his announcement in the House of Commons.

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ADAM INGRAM, BRITISH ARMED FORCED MINISTER: We have, therefore, decided to take a large and rebalanced force in the region. It is a concrete demonstration of our resolve to see the campaign against international terrorism through to the end.

We have said we are in this for the long haul, and we mean it. The force has definitely been designed to ensure that we are well placed to deal with a wide range of contingencies and to maintain operational flexibility for as long as necessary.

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FRANKEN: Just another of those tantalizing announcements, which suggests that significant ground action is going to be happening very soon, although you get no encouragement for believing that at the Pentagon.

Thus far, virtually everything, not including the raid over the weekend that we know of, has been from the air. And it continues today as jets continue to pound, among others, the Kabul area, leaving in their wake craters like this, damage like this and claims by the Taliban that there are civilian casualties.

As far the ground war is concerned, officials here emphasize don't draw any conclusions about when it's going to begin, or whether it already has -- Paula.

ZAHN: All right. We won't do that then this morning. Thanks, Bob.

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