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CNN Live At Daybreak

Taliban Claims Mullah Omar Safe; Talks on Interim Government Continue in Germany

Aired November 28, 2001 - 05:04   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.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Now let's go closer to the area where Donald Rumsfeld said that noose is tightening.

Our Christiane Amanpour is in Kabul with Taliban reaction to this report of the compound where Omar might be and that perhaps being hit -- Christiane, good to see you.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, indeed, Daryn, the Taliban, as you can imagine, are denying that Mullah Omar was caught in that raid on what the U.S. is calling a leadership compound. They're saying that Mullah Omar was not there, that the target was not a leadership compound and that, indeed, he is alive and well. We, of course, have no way of independently confirming any of the claims.

Also, the Taliban are saying that they believe Osama bin Laden, or they think Osama bin Laden is not in territory they control. But, of course, we've heard from others that they believe, including the Northern Alliance, that Osama bin Laden is possibly somewhere in the Kandahar region or in regions near Jalalabad, as we've just reported from the Pentagon.

Now, as well as very closely watching the battle front here, the United States is also watching the diplomatic front. Lots of diplomatic representations have come here to Kabul from all sorts of different countries and the U.S. is now warning these countries, including Russia, not to precipitously recognize the Northern Alliance, even though it is now in control of Kabul and other areas.

But with this peace process going on and with the idea of forming a broad-based alliance, the U.S. is urging countries not to recognize the Rabbani government. And this comes at a time when the Russians have sent a representation to Kabul. It's a humanitarian mission and it comes nearly 22 years to the day after the Soviet forces entered and occupied this country.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AMANPOUR (voice-over): An Afghan speaking Russian. "We learned it when the Soviet troops were here," he says. But he didn't expect to be using it again, and 22 years after the Soviet invasion, Afghans didn't expect to see this again. Men old enough to remember rub their eyes in disbelief. Others watch slack jawed as the Russians come back to Kabul. "I fought against them in the Panshir Valley until our victory," says Mohammed Nasir. Now they have come to help us and that's good. Otherwise we're ready.

Memories are long, suspicions run deep, but these aren't Russian soldiers. They've come from Moscow's Ministry of Emergencies to set up a field hospital for the people of Kabul. As more people gather for a closer look, Afghan soldiers try to keep them far away. Traffic police smile and try to clear the road.

It's a new day for Afghanistan and the mood is full of good humor. A crowd tells us they want their country rebuilt. They want peace and they want jobs. And if the Russians want to help, that's fine, they say. Some of the younger ones are even indignant when we ask about the trauma of the Soviet years the million or so Afghan dead.

"Madam, they have come back to help us," says Sayed Alam, who told us that as a child, he spied against the Soviets for the Mujahedeen.

For Russians, too, a new day. The page turning on the trauma of losing a guerrilla war and their empire. Now the Russians are reopening their embassy in Kabul and bringing in humanitarian assistance.

(on camera): How do you expect the Afghan people to accept you after the 10-year war?

VLADIMIR IVANENKO, RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: Ask the people. When we were inside the city, there were a lot of smiles, very good guys.

AMANPOUR (voice-over): And a good time to be a Russian in Afghanistan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AMANPOUR: Now, at the same time, the Russians say they're here for a humanitarian mission and to make reconnaissance visits to their old and now destroyed embassy here. These talks are continuing in Bonn, Germany on trying to put together a political road map for the future of Afghanistan -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Christiane, we're going to hear more in just a bit about what's taking place in Bonn with those talks. But how might those talks and the people sitting at that table match up with the reality of who is really running things in Afghanistan today?

AMANPOUR: Well, clearly the biggest delegation at those talks belongs to the Northern Alliance, which, as you know, is a group of factions that is now in control of Kabul and most of Afghanistan. And obviously there was worries by the other factions that the Northern Alliance would have an undue advantage because of their de facto control and the size of their delegation. But, according to the United States and other representatives at the talks, they say that they are sure that the factions have come to deal seriously, that the Northern Alliance has reassured them over and over again that it is there to deal for a broad-based, new, all inclusive government.

KAGAN: Christiane Amanpour in Kabul. Christiane, thank you.

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