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CNN Live At Daybreak
Former Al Qaeda Safe House Contains Evidence of Chemical Weapons; Taliban Fighters Switching Sides Not Unusual
Aired November 28, 2001 - 06:34 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: Former al Qaeda safe house contains evidence that the terror group was dealing with chemical weapons. Our Brent Sadler reports from the remains of a terrorist camp in Jalalabad.
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BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Massive bomb craters, the aftermath of U.S. airstrikes more than a month ago, hundreds of al Qaeda terror recruits were reportedly training here, but have now scattered. According to the new authorities in the area, though, they still pose a threat to security.
This former terror base, I'm told, partly explains why. It holds deadly secrets and is a dangerous place to be. I'm taken to what they fear most of all, a non-targeted building made of brick and wood, containing evidence, which seems to support claims al Qaeda was developing and spreading chemical weapons know-how.
An untidy collection of gas masks, rubber gloves, and toxic substances, half hazardously stored next to an anti tank mine. A student textbook shows the chemical formula for sarin, a deadly nerve agent. A macabre horde of terror training manuals. The camp is destroyed, but the knowledge learned here may still be intact, spread far and wide.
Brent Sadler, CNN, Jalalabad.
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KAGAN: Well if you can't beat them, join them. Afghanistan has a history of soldiers in a losing army doing just that and switching sides. Our Ben Wedeman reports from Maidan Shar on this latest chapter in that history.
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BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A few days ago they were shooting at one another. Now Taliban fighters and Northern Alliance troops are shaking hands. In Maidan Shar, southwest of Kabul, a transformation familiar to many in Afghanistan is underway.
Following the application of military pressure, protracted negotiations are taking place to coax the local Taliban over to the alliance side.
(on camera): Until just a few days ago this area was loyal to the Taliban. But there's nothing permanent about loyalties in Afghanistan.
(voice-over): Switching sides is an old tradition in Afghanistan. Taliban fighters had no hesitation to speak with us in the presence of their old enemies. Their reasons for joining the Taliban militia were straightforward.
"I was a driver before," says Nour Agha (ph), "but the Taliban commander asked us to each take a gun and defend our area."
The local Taliban commander wanted nothing to do with us.
According to another fighter, Nour Amin (ph), the people in this area will be loyal to whoever is in control.
Mirha Azrat began to tell us why he's still a supporter of the Taliban when he was led away by an Alliance soldier. He had said enough, we were told. Not everyone in this area has confidence in the ability of the two sides to work out a deal. Civilians continue to flee worried that the process of shifting loyalties could yet collapse into warfare.
Ben Wedeman, CNN, Maidan Shar, Afghanistan.
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