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CNN Live At Daybreak

More Detainees Arrive at Guantanamo Bay

Aired February 14, 2002 - 06:17   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.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Another round of questioning is scheduled today for 34 new Afghan detainees at the U.S. Navy base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. They arrived Wednesday at the base amidst the usual high security.

CNN's Jason Carroll is at that base and tells us about those security arrangements.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A caravan of buses and jeeps equipped with machine guns board a ferry in Guantanamo Bay. On board, a group called the military security force. Their task: Escort new detainees. This is a rare glimpse of the force, as it readies itself to meet the latest wave coming in from Afghanistan.

(on camera): Tell us what they're going to be doing when they get off the ferry.

BILL COSTELLO, MILITARY SPOKESMAN: OK. When they get off the ferry they're going to go to a staging area that will prepare for the arrival of the detainees. These guys are highly trained, they're well rehearsed, but one thing it is not is routine. Every opportunity to do this presents different challenges.

CARROLL: Like what?

COSTELLO: We change the scenario, we change the security posture every time. There may be one piece that we've incorporated on Monday, when we had our last batch, that we're not going to implement this time.

CARROLL: The security force that you just saw is now on standby, awaiting the arrival of the new round of detainees. Those detainees will be flying on an Air Force C-141. It will end up landing right out here on the runway that you see, and then what will happen is it will taxi to a location off limits to our cameras.

(voice-over): Thirty-four detainees arrived from Afghanistan Wednesday, bringing the total number at Camp X-ray to 288. It was intelligence information gathered here from some of the prisoners, combined with information from Afghanistan, that led federal officials to issue a warning about another possible terrorist attack. Military officials say with each new wave of detainees comes new opportunities to gather more information.

BRIG. GEN. MICHAEL LEHNERT, SECURITY FORCE COMMANDER: I would characterize the information that we are receiving as -- as a puzzle. And that each day we fill in pieces to that puzzle. And each day we know more than we did the day before.

CARROLL: The interviews will start as soon as Thursday, with the latest group of arrivals.

Jason Carroll, CNN, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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