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CNN Live At Daybreak
John Walker Interview Tells His Side
Aired December 20, 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 we've been telling you this morning about John Walker, the American who fought with the Taliban in Afghanistan. A journalist found Walker among a group of fighters captured after the prison uprising at Mazar-e Sharif in Afghanistan.
Now, initially Walker expressed some reluctance to be taped, but with the camera rolling and the lights on, he told his story to CNN's Robert Pelton and Robert Pelton is joining us now live from our London bureau. Thanks for being with us this morning.
ROBERT PELTON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: It's a pleasure.
CALLAWAY: I have to ask you about how you actually found Walker and were your surprised when you learned that he was an American?
PELTON: I was staying in General Rasheed Dostum's house and he actually brought the prisoners that came out of the bunker to me so I could meet them. There were some rumors about Americans and there was one truck with the wounded -- they were covered with blue blankets. It wasn't until he was taken to the hospital about a half an hour later that I knew there was an American in that group. So I went upstairs, grabbed a Special Forces medic, and went down to see him.
CALLAWAY: Again, were you surprised at all to hear that an American was among those -- among those prisoners?
PELTON: Not really. I've taken Americans to other jihads, so it's not uncommon to find Americans fighting these wars.
CALLAWAY: Mr. Pelton, is it your opinion that Walker understood the charges that he would be facing at that time when you first met him?
PELTON: No, he didn't even know where he was. I had to tell him that he was in Sheperagon. Last time he had a location he was in Konduz and obviously had spent seven days in a bunker. So he was a little dazed and confused.
CALLAWAY: You don't think he was completely aware of the situation and America's involvement in the -- in the war there.
PELTON: Oh he knew Americans were involved. He'd walked over 100 miles on foot after the bombing started. But to be fair to him, he didn't start this war fighting Americans. He simply ended up with Talibans being attacked by Americans.
CALLAWAY: I believe we have part of that interview. Let's listen to a part of that now.
(UNINTELLIGIBLE)
I apologize. We don't have that, but we've been playing parts of it all morning. When you questioned him about his involvement and his feelings on the war, what did he say to you?
PELTON: Well basically what he wanted to tell me was that he was a devout Muslim. He thought fighting jihad in Afghanistan was his responsibility. He had no regrets for what had happened, even you know considering that he was one of the few survivors. He felt that it was a good cause and that he was there to give his life and in a strange way, I think it was a little sort of wishful that he hadn't died as a martyr, which of course is the ultimate goal of (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
CALLAWAY: And that was his goal, you believe?
PELTON: Yes. He told me that was his goal. He said that anyone of those people who have given their lives willingly.
CALLAWAY: Do you think that he was involved at all in the prison uprising there in Mazar-e Sharif that led to the death of a CIA operative there?
PELTON: No. He seemed to be a fairly non-aggressive person. He told me that when the shooting broke out, he was wounded almost immediately. He went down into the bunker and stayed there for seven days. So he did not take part as far as I was aware of any of the hostilities that took place above the bunker.
CALLAWAY: And did he have any questions for you or was he just completely unaware of how much trouble he was about to face?
PELTON: Well when I met him he was lying on the floor. He was very hypothermic. He had been starved for seven days. He was obviously shell-shocked. They tried to burn him out, blow him up. We gave him an IV of Hesban, which sort of brought him to life. He was very, very tired, and once he came to life, he talked willingly. He didn't really understand that he would then become a prisoner of war. He knew he was a prisoner of General Dostum, but he didn't understand America's enthusiasm in arresting and prosecuting people like himself.
CALLAWAY: What is your opinion on what kind of charges Walker should face?
PELTON: Well Walker did not enter Afghanistan to fight America. He went to support the Taliban regime. In his -- in his words he was there to support the creation of Islamic regime. He got caught in the middle of the bombing attacks when he was in Takara. So I think you'd have to judge him for his actions and his deeds. Now he did carry a weapon and he was trained to fight, so as a combatant in a foreign army, obviously he'll face whatever charges on appropriate for that. CALLAWAY: Couldn't he have put his arms down though when he was aware that America was involved in the war? You said he was aware.
PELTON: Yes, he was aware of the September 11th bombing attack and he was aware that Americans were now coming to Afghanistan. I think it's his own decision to continue fighting, but it's very difficult obviously when you're with a group of armed men who are on the run to simply disappear. He was an American in an Afghan country, so I think he stuck with his troops and stuck it out to the end.
CALLAWAY: All right, thank you very much for joining us and we'll be playing parts of your interview throughout the morning. Thanks for being with us today.
PELTON: Thank you.
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