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CNN Live At Daybreak
Marine Forces Increase Near Kandahar, Awaiting Orders
Aired December 03, 2001 - 05:00 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.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: The U.S. forces near Kandahar are growing stronger by the hour in both troops and equipment. Now, what's missing are the marching orders.
For more on that, let's check in now with CNN's James Hattori. He joins us now this morning from the Pentagon -- hi, James.
JAMES HATTORI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Leon.
Apparently there's no decision yet, at least that we're being told, as to whether U.S. Marines will take part in an assault on Kandahar. What we do know is that there is a buildup that has taken place in recent days at that U.S. air base that's within striking distance of Kandahar. The marines have also stepped up patrols across southern Afghanistan.
Clearly, now, if any military action occurs, especially if it comes down to a cave by cave search for Osama bin Laden, it'll be nasty business.
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DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: We are entering a very dangerous aspect of this conflict. There is no question about it. It is a confused situation in the country. The amount of real estate they have to operate on has continually been reduced. The noose is tightening. But the remaining task is a particularly dirty and unpleasant one.
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HATTORI: Dangerous, too, for Afghan civilians. Near Jalalabad in eastern Afghanistan, more than a dozen civilians, including some children, were hospitalized Sunday. According to local opposition leaders, they were injured in U.S. bombing raids, the second such incident in as many days, they say. The Pentagon, however, says it did not target civilian areas. In a statement released Sunday saying, "We know targets near Tora Bora, south of Jalalabad, fall into the realm of al Qaeda and Taliban strongholds. We're sure we're hitting those targets and we can account for all munitions. Al Qaeda and Taliban members who choose to bring innocent civilians, family members, into those complexes put these non-combatants at risk."
Human rights groups say they, or there is evidence the Taliban in recent weeks has used civilians as shields. That is in violation of international law -- Leon.
HARRIS: James Hattori at the Pentagon, thank you very much. We'll talk with you later on.
CNN's Walter Rodgers is with those Marines at their desert outpost near Kandahar and he is the pool television correspondent who's traveling with the marines and he filed this report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WALTER RODGERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The dawn sky in southern Afghanistan speaks to the overnight bombing raids around Kandahar to the north and east. The sun rises crisscrossed with the contrails of American warplanes that have been bombing Taliban positions there.
No one here is discussing exactly what the marines' operational orders are, but one senior officer has indicated they might be used in the final siege of the Taliban stronghold of Kandahar. ``Folks, we are definitely prepared for what lies ahead,'' one marine officer said. The same marine corps intelligence officer said, ``The Taliban still have control, but there are other forces coming into play now.'' Among them, he said, the Afghan opposition groups moving toward Kandahar from the north, other opposition forces moving up toward Kandahar from the south. And he said, ``Us, the marines, coming up potentially from where we are.''
The consolidation of Taliban forces in Kandahar suggests the war is approaching what the Marines call ``a culmination point.'' They still do not know here, however, whether they will be committed to battle or whether the fighting will be left to these Afghan opposition groups. The strategy, however, is self-evident. Put pressure on the Taliban by heavy bombing from the air then squeeze Kandahar like a snake, putting increasing pressure on its defenders. It is not at all clear, however, whether the Taliban will decide to capitulate under this pressure or whether it will force the opposition forces into the bloodiest of all fighting, house to house street battles, which would be the costliest way to take the city.
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