Return to Transcripts main page
Live From...
Upsurge in Violence in Afghanistan
Aired August 20, 2003 - 13:17 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.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Now to the war on terror in Afghanistan. Remember that one? It's been one of the bloodiest weeks since the Taliban was booted out of power, and the violence is becoming increasingly bold.
CNN's Christiane Amanpour is on the line now with the latest on a deteriorating security situation in Kabul, joining us live now from Kabul.
Christiane -- just set the scene for us there.
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Somewhere between 90 and 100 people killed, mostly in the south and the east of the country. It's being blamed on a resurgent grouping, if you like, of former Taliban and al Qaeda types, who are apparently, according to the Afghan government, coming in from Pakistan and the like. And they're basically attacking Afghan police, Afghan soldiers, who are trying to mobilize against them, and even aid workers and others who are working with the Afghan government, or indeed with the international community and the U.S. forces here -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Let's talk a little bit about the U.S. forces there, joined by other nations as well. Are there enough boots on the ground, as term is used in the military? And there is a lot of controversy over whether they should be branching out beyond Kabul, where they're limited to right now.
AMANPOUR: Well, you know, this is considered make-or-break year. It's, as I say, nearly two years since the fall of the Taliban, nearly two years since the Bush administration promised something akin to a Marshal plan, and nearly two years since the administration and the international community promised to hunt down, find, capture and kill Osama bin Laden and Mullah Omar, the Taliban leader.
Well, those two are still on the lam, and they are apparently increasingly using the sort of space, the security vacuum, if you like, in the south to attack those loyal to either the U.S. or the U.S.-backed central government.
There are people here who believe that not enough boots are on the ground and not enough money is being put into reconstruction as a way to keep the people on the U.S. side, if you like. And certainly, there's a great deal of controversy among some -- some in the international community, the aid community here, and of course the government here. They want the peacekeeping force to branch out around the country and bring security. Right now, the U.S. and the rest of the international community only support the peacekeeping force inside the capital city Kabul. Therefore, there are these incidences of instability, and they're increasing, especially in the south.
O'BRIEN: CNN's Christiane Amanpour on the line with us from Kabul.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired August 20, 2003 - 13:17 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Now to the war on terror in Afghanistan. Remember that one? It's been one of the bloodiest weeks since the Taliban was booted out of power, and the violence is becoming increasingly bold.
CNN's Christiane Amanpour is on the line now with the latest on a deteriorating security situation in Kabul, joining us live now from Kabul.
Christiane -- just set the scene for us there.
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Somewhere between 90 and 100 people killed, mostly in the south and the east of the country. It's being blamed on a resurgent grouping, if you like, of former Taliban and al Qaeda types, who are apparently, according to the Afghan government, coming in from Pakistan and the like. And they're basically attacking Afghan police, Afghan soldiers, who are trying to mobilize against them, and even aid workers and others who are working with the Afghan government, or indeed with the international community and the U.S. forces here -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Let's talk a little bit about the U.S. forces there, joined by other nations as well. Are there enough boots on the ground, as term is used in the military? And there is a lot of controversy over whether they should be branching out beyond Kabul, where they're limited to right now.
AMANPOUR: Well, you know, this is considered make-or-break year. It's, as I say, nearly two years since the fall of the Taliban, nearly two years since the Bush administration promised something akin to a Marshal plan, and nearly two years since the administration and the international community promised to hunt down, find, capture and kill Osama bin Laden and Mullah Omar, the Taliban leader.
Well, those two are still on the lam, and they are apparently increasingly using the sort of space, the security vacuum, if you like, in the south to attack those loyal to either the U.S. or the U.S.-backed central government.
There are people here who believe that not enough boots are on the ground and not enough money is being put into reconstruction as a way to keep the people on the U.S. side, if you like. And certainly, there's a great deal of controversy among some -- some in the international community, the aid community here, and of course the government here. They want the peacekeeping force to branch out around the country and bring security. Right now, the U.S. and the rest of the international community only support the peacekeeping force inside the capital city Kabul. Therefore, there are these incidences of instability, and they're increasing, especially in the south.
O'BRIEN: CNN's Christiane Amanpour on the line with us from Kabul.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
