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Pentagon Says American Special Forces Soldier Wounded in Afghanistan; Do You Have Right to Know if Some of Your Mail May Have Touched Anthrax-Contaminated Letter?
Aired December 05, 2001 - 05:30 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.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: Well the Pentagon says that an American Special Forces soldier working has been wounded in Afghanistan. That soldier was working near Kandahar where fighting has intensified overnight. Let's go to CNN's James Hattori. He's been at the Pentagon all morning with the latest on this. Do we know the condition of the soldier?
JAMES HATTORI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning Catherine. We don't know a lot of details. We do know that the soldier suffered a wound in the shoulder. Apparently it is not life threatening. He has been taken into hospitalization obviously and is expected to be OK, but it underscores the danger - the increasing danger as anti Taliban and allied forces continue focusing in on the enemy positions.
Now the U.S. - the Pentagon says there are no plans right now for U.S. Marines to take part in an assault on Kandahar, the last Taliban stronghold. They continue patrols from their base southwest of the city and will likely to try and interdict enemy troops trying to flee into Iran or Pakistan or prevent supplies and arms from going in. But Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says Taliban and al Qaeda forces will be driven from Kandahar one way or another.
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DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: In Kandahar the hope remains that Taliban and al Qaeda forces will surrender. But we have reason to believe that Omar may have instructed his forces to continue fighting, which of course is putting the civilian population in Kandahar and that region at risk.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
HATTORI: In eastern Afghanistan near Jalalabad, a local anti Taliban leader says he's sending in an additional 1500 troops. They're expected to join the hunt with using rocket launchers and artillery units at the ready in the hunt for Osama bin Laden who is believed to be hidden in the hills above the area of Tora Bora, and of course as we all know that by now the U.S. Special Forces are aiding coordinating that search Catherine.
CALLAWAY: Yes James, I was going to ask you about that. A couple of airstrikes there around the Tora Bora area. They're not giving up that area are they.
HATTORI: No they're attempting to obviously lay the groundwork for the - or should the need arise or when the time comes for troops to be on the ground and look in that area a lot more closely, but the bombings, of course, the first part of that campaign.
CALLAWAY: All right CNN's James Hattori from the Pentagon. Thanks James.
Well sources tell CNN today may be the day that experts unseal an anthrax-tainted envelope that was mailed to Senator Patrick Leahy. Investigators say that the letter along with another sent to Senator Tom Daschle may have crossed contaminated thousands of other pieces of mail at a New Jersey processing center. Investigators hope to gain more clues about who's behind the threats when they open the Leahy letter.
Do you have a right to know if some of your mail may have touched an anthrax contaminated letter? A congressman from New Jersey says that you do. CNN's national correspondent Susan Candiotti reports on one move to make more information public in the anthrax investigation.
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SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Postal Service estimates tens of thousands of pieces of mail were at risk for cross contamination because they were sorted through the same machines that processed those anthrax letters sent to Senators Tom Daschle and Patrick Leahy. Investigators know the exact addresses where all those letters were sent, but for now nobody's telling the recipients. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that's a Postal Service decision. The Postal Service says - quote - "the CDC does not think it would be worthwhile".
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you can't even really tell them what they might have received, all you know is a piece of mail could have gone to that address. That may just cause a little bit more concern than is actually necessary.
CANDIOTTI: A congressman Chris Smith who represents the Trenton, New Jersey district where the anthrax contaminated mail was sorted wants full disclosure. In this letter, he's asked the FBI director to at least release the zip codes.
REP. CHRIS SMITH, (R), NEW JERSEY: I think we owe it to the people. I'm not worried about panic. I think Americans are much more mature than, you know, to say oh something may have come to my house, therefore I need to hit the panic button - no way.
CANDIOTTI: Investigators suspect but can not confirm that cross contaminated mail caused the deaths of New York hospital worker Cathy Nuygen (ph) and 94-year old Ottilie Lundgren (ph) in Connecticut. No anthrax was found anywhere linked to either woman. However thanks to Postal Service bar codes and time stamps, investigators made at least two important discoveries. A letter sorted about 20 seconds after the Leahy letter was traced to this Seymour (ph), Connecticut home about three miles from Ottilie Lundgren's (ph) house.
Another letter sorted within minutes after the Leahy letter led authorities to this Bronx auto shop near Cathy Nugyen's (ph) apartment, but no letter was found.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I stay like four hours in the office and then checking everything.
CANDIOTTI: The FBI, CDC and Postal Service are not ruling out visiting every address where possible cross contaminated mail was sent, but they insist because it probably won't lead them to the anthrax, that effort is not high on their priority list.
Susan Candiotti, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CALLAWAY: Nearly three months after the September 11th terrorist attacks, President Bush and members of Congress have a difference of opinion over what is most important now. Senior political analyst Bill Schneider breaks it down for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BILL SCHNEIDER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: President Bush's answer is the war goes on until the U.S. eliminates terrorist networks worldwide.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Afghanistan is the first overseas front in this war against terror.
SCHNEIDER: Congressional republicans have a different answer. They want the White House to shift gears and focus on a different kind of threat, the recession - why? Because the recession is a threat to them. Republicans regard what happened last month in New Jersey and Virginia as a warning. Despite President Bush's soaring popularity, republican governors in both states were replaced by democrats.
Oh, oh, congressional republicans say, that could happen to us in next year's midterm elections. A recent poll by Public Opinion Strategies, a republican firm, shows concern about the slowdown of the economy outweighing concern about the threat of terrorism in the U.S. and far outpacing public concern about the war overseas and the anthrax threat.
In the northeast where the terrorists struck on September 11th, terrorism is still the top concern. But in the rest of the country outside the major media centers of New York and Washington, the economy ranks first and that's where three quarters of the nation's voters live.
In last month's CNN "USA Today" Gallup Poll, President Bush's job rating was still in the (INAUDIBLE) but the vote for Congress was a dead heat between democrats and republicans. Among people who approved the way President Bush is handling the war on terrorism the vote for Congress is still a dead heat - no impact. But among those who approve the way President Bush is handling the economy, republicans have a 15-point lead - impact. When people vote it's still the economy (INAUDIBLE) just like it was with President Bush's father when he ran for reelection in 1992. The go- far has often been compared to a video game. It ended quickly, game over, we won, onto the economy.
Could the same thing happen the day after the U.S. gets Osama bin Laden? President Bush hopes it doesn't, but congressional republicans may be eager to change the agenda.
Bill Schneider, CNN, Washington.
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