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U.S. Forces Push into Heart of Falluja; Yasser Arafat's Condition Deteriorates; Analysis with Hamid Karzai

Aired November 09, 2004 - 10:00   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.


RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to be following developments that's taking place in Falluja. Might get a chance to talk to one of our correspondents there.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: We will look at that. Right now, let's get to the headlines and take a look at what's happening now in the news.

To Iraq, bombs are exploding and booby traps are being destroyed as U.S. and Iraqi troops in Falluja pound insurgents and their hideouts in the second straight day. In all out urban warfare, U.S. and Iraqi forces are pushing deeper into the terrorists' stronghold dodging sniper fire and battling insurgents in streets to street fighting. The very latest from Falluja coming up in just a few minutes.

Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qorei has visited Yasser Arafat in the hospital. This after an earlier public falling out with Arafat's wife left a visit in doubt. Officials say the ailing leader's condition has worsened. He still is in intensive care. We're going to have an update for you on his condition in about 30 minutes.

To the Ivory Coast now, South Africa's leader is stepping in hoping to help ease tensions, after days of violence has rocked that country. An angry mob demanding that France leave the country has stopped cocoa exporters and shippers from making their deliveries, and some 700 people have been injured.

And here in the U.S., a little over an hour from now, jurors in the Scott Peterson double murder trial resume deliberation amid concerns of a possible deadlock. This after the judge in the case lectured jurors about the importance of keeping an open mind. We'll have a live report from the trial in just about 30 minutes.

And a good Tuesday morning to you, thanks for being with us. I'm Daryn Kagan.

SANCHEZ: And I'm Rick Sanchez. And we're going to begin this hour with the battle of Falluja.

Those are the sounds and the pictures. U.S. commanders saying they are tightening the noose on insurgent forces Falluja, and they're closing off exits to stop fighters trying to flee the besieged city disguised as civilians. The charge into Falluja comes after a thunderous bombardment lit the skies really laying waste in many cases to structures there on the ground. There you see more of the pictures. One civilian is saying that hundreds of homes have been destroyed and in his words, "Falluja has become like hell."

Let's begin right now with the nerve center of this operation. We join CNN correspondent Barbara Starr. She is at her post at the Pentagon with the very latest.

Good morning, Barbara.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Rick. Well, the first numbers now beginning to come in. U.S. military officials telling CNN that at least six U.S. troops have been killed in action in this Falluja operation so far. Two more killed in a vehicle accident. At least 10 wounded in action.

Of course, those numbers possibly growing in the hours and days ahead. Now, many as seven other U.S. troops killed in Iraq yesterday in a variety of attacks around the country, underscoring that violence is still across the country.

The prime minister, of course, putting an overnight curfew into effect in Baghdad. But in Falluja, U.S. Army troops, Marines still pressing toward the center of the city. The action continuing as they continue to battle the insurgents. They are coming across booby traps, improvised explosive devices, a variety of measures that the insurgents are using. But what is difficult to assess they tell us is whether they have really reached the core of the insurgency in Iraq and whether that core is even still in Falluja.

Now, one official telling CNN, quote, "We believe that most of the Zarqawi senior leadership has departed Falluja." They're not necessarily saying Zarqawi himself though; he is known to move around Iraq a good deal. But the assessment now as this raging battle continues is that the senior leadership of the insurgency may no longer even be in the city. So that is certainly something that they are looking at.

If the troops do not encounter what they believe is the of core resistance waiting for them, there will be an assessment about whether or not the insurgents generally have fled Falluja in advance of the attack, and may be regrouping somewhere else in Iraq -- Rick.

SANCHEZ: Fascinating information. Barbara Starr bringing it to us. We thank you so much, Barbara and we'll be checking back with you -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Insurgents are showing their reach extends well beyond Falluja. Militants attacked police stations in two towns near Baquba, about 30 miles north of Baghdad. Fighting there lasted for hours and four attackers were killed. In nearby Kirkuk, a suicide car bomber apparently targeted a member of Iraq's National Guard. At least three people were killed and several others were wounded.

The goal of the Falluja offensive is securing the country before the January elections. Earlier today on CNN's "AMERICA MORNING," we spoke to the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN DANFORTH, U.S. AMB., UNITED NATIONS: The position that our government takes, and also that the government of Iraq takes, is that Falluja is a real hot bed of the insurgency. And if the elections are going to happen in a timely fashion, which is exceptionally important, then Falluja has to be taken care of. It can't be the hot bed that it is right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Ambassador Danforth says it is the Iraqi government that will decide whether elections will take place as expected in January.

The government is preparing to appeal a federal judge's ruling that halted the case against Osama bin Laden's alleged driver. The court says that Salim Hamdan is entitled to a legal hearing on whether he's a prisoner of war protected by the Geneva Convention. The Bush administration had named Hamdan as an enemy combatant. The ruling could impact trials of other Guantanamo Bay detainees who are classified as enemy combatants.

In Afghanistan, a Taliban splinter group has threatened to kill one of three captured United Nation workers today, if some prisoners are not set free. Now news report say two of the hostages have called home to say they're OK, with one saying she could be released soon. Afghan officials say they are making progress toward ending that crisis, so it's still unclear if they will meet the kidnappers' demand.

SANCHEZ: Speaking of Afghanistan, the government says that it is still working to free those aide workers we have been talking about. Coming up, we're going to talk live with Afghanistan's president-elect Hamid Karzai for the very latest on that situation. We're also going to talk about his landslide victory in last month's elections. He won more than 55 percent of the vote in Afghanistan's first Democratic presidential ballot.

Born in Kandahar in 1957, educated in India with family here in the United States, Karzai is a key ally at the White House and the war on terror.

KAGAN: Afghanistan remains on the front lines in the war on terror. Some 18,000 U.S. troops still are hunting for Osama bin Laden.

Our chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour recently went to Kabul for a firsthand look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CHIEF INT'L. CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Fifteen thousand soldiers have joined the new Afghan army so far. They are being trained by Americans. They are being drafted into America's war on terror. But three years on, America's most wanted is still at large. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The importance of Osama bin Laden has kind of wore down because the big picture is to -- I don't think he's a big player as he was. I think the -- and he's probably in Pakistan any way.

AMANPOUR (on camera): For the past three years, the Americans and their Afghan allies have been predicting the imminent capture of Osama bin Laden. So we decided to ask the current commanders about their latest predictions.

(voice-over): The Afghan general responsible for parts of the country where terrorists are still active.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I hope very soon Osama will face the same fate as Saddam Hussein and be captured.

AMANPOUR: Later we asked the commander of the 18,000 U.S. forces hunting bin Laden how long until they smoke him out?

Very tough question and he's a very tough and elusive enemy out there. Clearly if we had a good insight into where he was we would be there and we'd have him in custody.

AMANPOUR: They don't know if whether he's in Afghanistan and it is risky business relying on Afghan warlords for help. Last May, CNN followed these Marines hunting bin Laden and his terrorists in central Afghanistan. This local commander was helping the Marines, but a few months later he was killed. The U.S. military said he had in fact been a senior Taliban commander.

HAMID KARZAI, PRESIDENT-ELECT, AFGHANISTAN: We are still looking for him. He's a fugitive. He's running away from law. We will get him one day. Sooner or later. But in the meantime, we have to build life.

AMANPOUR: Christiane Amanpour, Kabul, Afghanistan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: For more on the war on terror, straight ahead our Christiane Amanpour will be talking live with Afghanistan's President- Elect Hamid Karzai. That is coming up on CNN's LIVE TODAY.

SANCHEZ: Now more on another pressing concern in the Middle East, the worsening health of Yasser Arafat. Which is frankly, becoming even more confusing on this day. The Palestinian leader has now reportedly slipped into, and these are words being used, "a deeper coma." Stop quote. Just a few hours ago, members of his inner circle arrived at the Paris hospital with only the prime minister allowed to see him.

CNN's Fionnuala Sweeney is outside that Paris hospital hoping to clear things up for us here.

What's the latest, Fionnuala? FIONNUALA SWEENEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I'll try Rick. The delegation leaving this hospital less than an hour and a half ago, they spent two hours and 20 minutes inside talking to doctors. And as you say, one member of the delegation only, Ahmed Qorei, the prime minister was allowed in to see Yasser Arafat.

He was brought into the room, we're told, by Suha Arafat, Yasser Arafat's wife. But Yasser, according Nabil Sha'ath, who is also here with this Paris delegation. He is the Palestinian foreign minister. Yasser Arafat's condition is critical but he remains alive.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NABIL SHA'ATH, FOREIGN MINISTER, PALESTINE: He reported to us that the president is actually in critical condition, that his coma has deepened, but that he's fully alive. And that his brain, his heart, and his lungs, the most vital organs are still functioning; but that his condition is critical. His wife, Suha, received us all and embraced us. And we actually had the chance to talk to his doctors and all the military medical authorities that run this hospital.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SWEENEY: Well, now the French delegation on its way to meet the French President Jacques Chirac. We're expecting a news conference in about three hours or so from now. And then the delegation returns to Ramallah via Amman in Jordan. But according to Palestinian sources, it would take, quote, "divine intervention" for Yasser Arafat to survive perhaps the greatest battle of his life -- Rick.

SANCHEZ: We certainly don't want to read too much into this. But does it seem that there is some serious antipathy between this Palestinian delegation and Yasser Arafat's wife, Suha?

SWEENEY: Well, there certainly had been a lot of confusion a couple of days ago, which really was the cause of all these mixed messages we were receiving, with the hospital saying nothing about the state of Yasser Arafat's health. And that was per order of Suha Arafat because under French law, as next of kin, she is the only one that can determine what information is released.

The Palestinians have been arguing very strongly that he is not only Suha Arafat's husband; he's also the father of a nation. And as such, more information should be forthcoming. But according to Nabil Sha'ath, who you just heard, he also in a CNN International interview said that Suha Arafat embraced the Palestinian delegation when they arrived at the hospital. She was happy to see them.

The Palestinians understand that this is very much a psychologically stressing time for her. To quote one other Palestinian official as she put it yesterday, "It really has been the mix of the personal and the private with the public and political; and also involving the medical and political because of the French laws here."

SANCHEZ: Embrace them today, but just yesterday she was saying that they were trying to bury him alive, so obviously a very complex situation.

Fionnuala Sweeney thanks so much. We will certainly be keeping tabs with you -- Daryn.

KAGAN: No love loss between Suha Arafat and the Palestinian leadership. That goes back many years.

We are looking forward to getting more out of Paris. Also, our Christiane Amanpour's unique opportunity to sit down and talk with Hamid Karzai, who recently won the election in Afghanistan. He will be remaining that country's president. That is coming up in just a few minutes. You'll see that live here on CNN. Right now a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

AMANPOUR: It was just about a month ago that Afghanistan held its first ever popular elections. And President Hamid Karzai, who had been governing as an interim and transitional president, got the mandate that he had sought by winning the popular vote.

He joins us from the presidential palace in Kabul for his first interview since he became the first elected president of Afghanistan.

Thank you for joining us and congratulations on your victory.

KARZAI: Thank you very much.

AMANPOUR: You have said, Mr. President, that you sought a mandate, you sought the legitimacy from the people and that the vote, you said, was a vote for stability.

How will you secure the countryside? Do you expect more from NATO? What is your highest priority on that score?

KARZAI: Well, the countryside somehow has already been secured by the vote of the Afghan people, by the massive turnout of men and women of Afghanistan to the election. That was a sort of confidence expressed in the future of Afghanistan and a trust that Afghanistan is moving in the right direction. We are very happy about that.

In physical terms, in terms of the administration, in terms of policing, in terms of the army, of course, Afghanistan will continue to need the assistance and cooperation of the international community in providing us training for the national army, for the police, and also extending cooperation to us in the countryside to provide better security for our people. We will need that assistance for some time to come.

AMANPOUR: Just recently, there were three foreign U.N. workers who had been helping with the elections kidnapped with the threats of beheading; an Iraqi style development. What is the latest on that situation? Do you believe that the situation will be resolved?

KARZAI: I hope very much so. This was very un-Afghan. And the Afghan people have become very angry at it. We have been hearing in the past week Afghans from all provinces of the country condemning this act in the strongest possible terms.

And some Afghans have actually volunteered to be taken hostage in place of the U.N. workers a few weeks ago. And just today an Afghan businessman offered to be taken hostage, together with his family, by these hostage-takers in place of the U.N. workers.

So, the Afghans are very upset and this is something that we are not familiar with in this country.

We're working very hard to have the safe and secure release of the U.N. workers. They have helped us in Afghanistan tremendously. And it's a shame that this has happened in our country. Our people condemn it.

But let's hope they will be freed very soon. Let's hope that that will happen.

AMANPOUR: But do you have specific reason to believe that that will be the case? There have been reports from Kabul that they may be released. What are the specific developments there?

KARZAI: I can't go into the specifics, obviously.

Let's just hope that they will be released safe and sound. And I can say as much that we are working on it on a minute-to-minute basis day and night.

AMANPOUR: Mr. President there has been a report on a U.S. network that many, many Afghan prisoners or foreign terrorists who were captured during the Afghan war and held prisoner in Afghanistan have been released.

And amongst them, it is reported, are some very dangerous individuals who have told their interrogators that they would continue with attacks against the U.S., attacks against Afghanistan, that they continue loyalty toward the Taliban and al Qaeda.

Why are these people being released from Afghan jails?

KARZAI: We have released a lot of prisoners that were here without a trial, who had spent a lot of time in these prisons. And the human rights report given to me by the rapporteur of the U.N. on human rights told me that the condition was very bad. I put that to the cabinet and we decided for humanitarian reasons to release them all.

Now, if out of 200 or 300 people one or two of them have said that they will fight back, it's only natural and possible. We're not bothered with that.

The majority of those people were people that went back to their homes and have resumed their lives as citizens of this country. The two or three who have made those statements will be considered terrorists, and if they come across us again, we'll arrest them and put them in jail again.

But the rest of them are fine, and it was worth it to release them.

AMANPOUR: Being that terrorism and terrorists are still the biggest scourge of what certainly the West and Afghanistan are trying to fight, do you see any spillover from the Iraq war, either ideologically, rhetorically or, actually, any spillover copycat terrorism in Afghanistan, the likes of which is going on in Iraq?

KARZAI: Well, Afghanistan has proven the past three years that this nation really wants to use the best of the opportunity given to it, and we have proven that, especially with regard to the makeup (ph) the constitution, with regard to the registration, and the last, most important step with regard to the presidential elections. The Afghan people proved that they were moving toward a better future and that they will take the opportunity very well.

Now, we also have the parliamentary elections to do hopefully in the early spring next year. That will be another major achievement that we will have.

In my opinion, and also in the opinion of many, many Afghans, events in Afghanistan has proven that terrorism has no place in here, that it's defeated, that it's gone.

The remnants of terrorism that might come and try to explode bombs or assassinate people, that's something that we will have to fight for a long time in Afghanistan and in the region and in the rest of the world.

But Afghanistan, as far as an ideological base for terrorism is concerned, as far as a home-grown base for terrorism concerned, never was a place for them and is not a place for them and will not be a place for them.

I'm not worried about any spillover effects of what is going in Iraq. Afghanistan has in the past three years proven that it's different. I hope Iraq will also take the opportunity and go to the elections and have a good peace there.

AMANPOUR: In terms of your promises, now that you are elected with a mandate from the people, you have also said that you want to end warlordism, end the power of warlords. How do you plan to change your cabinet, your government, in terms of putting professionals in there rather than people who you think you need to incorporate to keep the peace?

KARZAI: The Afghan people have voted. They have elected the president. Like any other country, the president will make his cabinet and the cabinet will have to be one that will be able to work. It has to be an educated cabinet, a qualified cabinet, a productive cabinet, an honest one, a cabinet that will have a purpose in mind looking to the future.

That's what I'm going to do. Afghanistan needs to have institutions, the rule of law; that's what we will do.

And any private armies, any militia forces, drugs, these are the fight that we have and those of the former Mujahedeen that will be disarmed, whose arms will be taken, they'll be reintegrated into Afghan society in other fields of life. They are most welcome. They're the sons of this country. We should help them in the best possible manner.

But warlordism and private militias will not be tolerated at all. They'll have to go away. They run counter to the making of the Afghan state. So will be the case with narcotics. Narcotics will have to go away from Afghanistan and we will fight it.

AMANPOUR: That was going to be my final question. You've also promised to fight that and you said it again just right now. Narcotics, the drug trade is -- what? -- a third of Afghanistan's economy. It's booming rather than busting, if you like.

How are you going to stop that narco-Mafia state that threatens Afghanistan's stability?

KARZAI: We will do everything in our power to stop it. The Afghan people will cooperate with us, I'm sure of that. I hope the international community will do its part in providing the Afghan farmers with alternative livelihood, with alternative economy, with substitute agriculture.

The Afghan government and the Afghan people will do the eradication and the interdiction and the destruction of labs. Together, as an international community, if we work dedicatedly, we will end this menace in Afghanistan and in the rest of the world. It's something that is hurting us a lot, so we'll have to fight it.

AMANPOUR: Mr. President, thank you very much indeed for joining us from the presidential palace in Kabul.

President Hamid Karzai, the first popularly president elected in Afghanistan setting out his priorities for his next term in office.

I'm Christiane Amanpour. We're going to a break now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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Aired November 9, 2004 - 10:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to be following developments that's taking place in Falluja. Might get a chance to talk to one of our correspondents there.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: We will look at that. Right now, let's get to the headlines and take a look at what's happening now in the news.

To Iraq, bombs are exploding and booby traps are being destroyed as U.S. and Iraqi troops in Falluja pound insurgents and their hideouts in the second straight day. In all out urban warfare, U.S. and Iraqi forces are pushing deeper into the terrorists' stronghold dodging sniper fire and battling insurgents in streets to street fighting. The very latest from Falluja coming up in just a few minutes.

Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qorei has visited Yasser Arafat in the hospital. This after an earlier public falling out with Arafat's wife left a visit in doubt. Officials say the ailing leader's condition has worsened. He still is in intensive care. We're going to have an update for you on his condition in about 30 minutes.

To the Ivory Coast now, South Africa's leader is stepping in hoping to help ease tensions, after days of violence has rocked that country. An angry mob demanding that France leave the country has stopped cocoa exporters and shippers from making their deliveries, and some 700 people have been injured.

And here in the U.S., a little over an hour from now, jurors in the Scott Peterson double murder trial resume deliberation amid concerns of a possible deadlock. This after the judge in the case lectured jurors about the importance of keeping an open mind. We'll have a live report from the trial in just about 30 minutes.

And a good Tuesday morning to you, thanks for being with us. I'm Daryn Kagan.

SANCHEZ: And I'm Rick Sanchez. And we're going to begin this hour with the battle of Falluja.

Those are the sounds and the pictures. U.S. commanders saying they are tightening the noose on insurgent forces Falluja, and they're closing off exits to stop fighters trying to flee the besieged city disguised as civilians. The charge into Falluja comes after a thunderous bombardment lit the skies really laying waste in many cases to structures there on the ground. There you see more of the pictures. One civilian is saying that hundreds of homes have been destroyed and in his words, "Falluja has become like hell."

Let's begin right now with the nerve center of this operation. We join CNN correspondent Barbara Starr. She is at her post at the Pentagon with the very latest.

Good morning, Barbara.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Rick. Well, the first numbers now beginning to come in. U.S. military officials telling CNN that at least six U.S. troops have been killed in action in this Falluja operation so far. Two more killed in a vehicle accident. At least 10 wounded in action.

Of course, those numbers possibly growing in the hours and days ahead. Now, many as seven other U.S. troops killed in Iraq yesterday in a variety of attacks around the country, underscoring that violence is still across the country.

The prime minister, of course, putting an overnight curfew into effect in Baghdad. But in Falluja, U.S. Army troops, Marines still pressing toward the center of the city. The action continuing as they continue to battle the insurgents. They are coming across booby traps, improvised explosive devices, a variety of measures that the insurgents are using. But what is difficult to assess they tell us is whether they have really reached the core of the insurgency in Iraq and whether that core is even still in Falluja.

Now, one official telling CNN, quote, "We believe that most of the Zarqawi senior leadership has departed Falluja." They're not necessarily saying Zarqawi himself though; he is known to move around Iraq a good deal. But the assessment now as this raging battle continues is that the senior leadership of the insurgency may no longer even be in the city. So that is certainly something that they are looking at.

If the troops do not encounter what they believe is the of core resistance waiting for them, there will be an assessment about whether or not the insurgents generally have fled Falluja in advance of the attack, and may be regrouping somewhere else in Iraq -- Rick.

SANCHEZ: Fascinating information. Barbara Starr bringing it to us. We thank you so much, Barbara and we'll be checking back with you -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Insurgents are showing their reach extends well beyond Falluja. Militants attacked police stations in two towns near Baquba, about 30 miles north of Baghdad. Fighting there lasted for hours and four attackers were killed. In nearby Kirkuk, a suicide car bomber apparently targeted a member of Iraq's National Guard. At least three people were killed and several others were wounded.

The goal of the Falluja offensive is securing the country before the January elections. Earlier today on CNN's "AMERICA MORNING," we spoke to the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN DANFORTH, U.S. AMB., UNITED NATIONS: The position that our government takes, and also that the government of Iraq takes, is that Falluja is a real hot bed of the insurgency. And if the elections are going to happen in a timely fashion, which is exceptionally important, then Falluja has to be taken care of. It can't be the hot bed that it is right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Ambassador Danforth says it is the Iraqi government that will decide whether elections will take place as expected in January.

The government is preparing to appeal a federal judge's ruling that halted the case against Osama bin Laden's alleged driver. The court says that Salim Hamdan is entitled to a legal hearing on whether he's a prisoner of war protected by the Geneva Convention. The Bush administration had named Hamdan as an enemy combatant. The ruling could impact trials of other Guantanamo Bay detainees who are classified as enemy combatants.

In Afghanistan, a Taliban splinter group has threatened to kill one of three captured United Nation workers today, if some prisoners are not set free. Now news report say two of the hostages have called home to say they're OK, with one saying she could be released soon. Afghan officials say they are making progress toward ending that crisis, so it's still unclear if they will meet the kidnappers' demand.

SANCHEZ: Speaking of Afghanistan, the government says that it is still working to free those aide workers we have been talking about. Coming up, we're going to talk live with Afghanistan's president-elect Hamid Karzai for the very latest on that situation. We're also going to talk about his landslide victory in last month's elections. He won more than 55 percent of the vote in Afghanistan's first Democratic presidential ballot.

Born in Kandahar in 1957, educated in India with family here in the United States, Karzai is a key ally at the White House and the war on terror.

KAGAN: Afghanistan remains on the front lines in the war on terror. Some 18,000 U.S. troops still are hunting for Osama bin Laden.

Our chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour recently went to Kabul for a firsthand look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CHIEF INT'L. CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Fifteen thousand soldiers have joined the new Afghan army so far. They are being trained by Americans. They are being drafted into America's war on terror. But three years on, America's most wanted is still at large. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The importance of Osama bin Laden has kind of wore down because the big picture is to -- I don't think he's a big player as he was. I think the -- and he's probably in Pakistan any way.

AMANPOUR (on camera): For the past three years, the Americans and their Afghan allies have been predicting the imminent capture of Osama bin Laden. So we decided to ask the current commanders about their latest predictions.

(voice-over): The Afghan general responsible for parts of the country where terrorists are still active.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I hope very soon Osama will face the same fate as Saddam Hussein and be captured.

AMANPOUR: Later we asked the commander of the 18,000 U.S. forces hunting bin Laden how long until they smoke him out?

Very tough question and he's a very tough and elusive enemy out there. Clearly if we had a good insight into where he was we would be there and we'd have him in custody.

AMANPOUR: They don't know if whether he's in Afghanistan and it is risky business relying on Afghan warlords for help. Last May, CNN followed these Marines hunting bin Laden and his terrorists in central Afghanistan. This local commander was helping the Marines, but a few months later he was killed. The U.S. military said he had in fact been a senior Taliban commander.

HAMID KARZAI, PRESIDENT-ELECT, AFGHANISTAN: We are still looking for him. He's a fugitive. He's running away from law. We will get him one day. Sooner or later. But in the meantime, we have to build life.

AMANPOUR: Christiane Amanpour, Kabul, Afghanistan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: For more on the war on terror, straight ahead our Christiane Amanpour will be talking live with Afghanistan's President- Elect Hamid Karzai. That is coming up on CNN's LIVE TODAY.

SANCHEZ: Now more on another pressing concern in the Middle East, the worsening health of Yasser Arafat. Which is frankly, becoming even more confusing on this day. The Palestinian leader has now reportedly slipped into, and these are words being used, "a deeper coma." Stop quote. Just a few hours ago, members of his inner circle arrived at the Paris hospital with only the prime minister allowed to see him.

CNN's Fionnuala Sweeney is outside that Paris hospital hoping to clear things up for us here.

What's the latest, Fionnuala? FIONNUALA SWEENEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I'll try Rick. The delegation leaving this hospital less than an hour and a half ago, they spent two hours and 20 minutes inside talking to doctors. And as you say, one member of the delegation only, Ahmed Qorei, the prime minister was allowed in to see Yasser Arafat.

He was brought into the room, we're told, by Suha Arafat, Yasser Arafat's wife. But Yasser, according Nabil Sha'ath, who is also here with this Paris delegation. He is the Palestinian foreign minister. Yasser Arafat's condition is critical but he remains alive.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NABIL SHA'ATH, FOREIGN MINISTER, PALESTINE: He reported to us that the president is actually in critical condition, that his coma has deepened, but that he's fully alive. And that his brain, his heart, and his lungs, the most vital organs are still functioning; but that his condition is critical. His wife, Suha, received us all and embraced us. And we actually had the chance to talk to his doctors and all the military medical authorities that run this hospital.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SWEENEY: Well, now the French delegation on its way to meet the French President Jacques Chirac. We're expecting a news conference in about three hours or so from now. And then the delegation returns to Ramallah via Amman in Jordan. But according to Palestinian sources, it would take, quote, "divine intervention" for Yasser Arafat to survive perhaps the greatest battle of his life -- Rick.

SANCHEZ: We certainly don't want to read too much into this. But does it seem that there is some serious antipathy between this Palestinian delegation and Yasser Arafat's wife, Suha?

SWEENEY: Well, there certainly had been a lot of confusion a couple of days ago, which really was the cause of all these mixed messages we were receiving, with the hospital saying nothing about the state of Yasser Arafat's health. And that was per order of Suha Arafat because under French law, as next of kin, she is the only one that can determine what information is released.

The Palestinians have been arguing very strongly that he is not only Suha Arafat's husband; he's also the father of a nation. And as such, more information should be forthcoming. But according to Nabil Sha'ath, who you just heard, he also in a CNN International interview said that Suha Arafat embraced the Palestinian delegation when they arrived at the hospital. She was happy to see them.

The Palestinians understand that this is very much a psychologically stressing time for her. To quote one other Palestinian official as she put it yesterday, "It really has been the mix of the personal and the private with the public and political; and also involving the medical and political because of the French laws here."

SANCHEZ: Embrace them today, but just yesterday she was saying that they were trying to bury him alive, so obviously a very complex situation.

Fionnuala Sweeney thanks so much. We will certainly be keeping tabs with you -- Daryn.

KAGAN: No love loss between Suha Arafat and the Palestinian leadership. That goes back many years.

We are looking forward to getting more out of Paris. Also, our Christiane Amanpour's unique opportunity to sit down and talk with Hamid Karzai, who recently won the election in Afghanistan. He will be remaining that country's president. That is coming up in just a few minutes. You'll see that live here on CNN. Right now a quick break.

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AMANPOUR: It was just about a month ago that Afghanistan held its first ever popular elections. And President Hamid Karzai, who had been governing as an interim and transitional president, got the mandate that he had sought by winning the popular vote.

He joins us from the presidential palace in Kabul for his first interview since he became the first elected president of Afghanistan.

Thank you for joining us and congratulations on your victory.

KARZAI: Thank you very much.

AMANPOUR: You have said, Mr. President, that you sought a mandate, you sought the legitimacy from the people and that the vote, you said, was a vote for stability.

How will you secure the countryside? Do you expect more from NATO? What is your highest priority on that score?

KARZAI: Well, the countryside somehow has already been secured by the vote of the Afghan people, by the massive turnout of men and women of Afghanistan to the election. That was a sort of confidence expressed in the future of Afghanistan and a trust that Afghanistan is moving in the right direction. We are very happy about that.

In physical terms, in terms of the administration, in terms of policing, in terms of the army, of course, Afghanistan will continue to need the assistance and cooperation of the international community in providing us training for the national army, for the police, and also extending cooperation to us in the countryside to provide better security for our people. We will need that assistance for some time to come.

AMANPOUR: Just recently, there were three foreign U.N. workers who had been helping with the elections kidnapped with the threats of beheading; an Iraqi style development. What is the latest on that situation? Do you believe that the situation will be resolved?

KARZAI: I hope very much so. This was very un-Afghan. And the Afghan people have become very angry at it. We have been hearing in the past week Afghans from all provinces of the country condemning this act in the strongest possible terms.

And some Afghans have actually volunteered to be taken hostage in place of the U.N. workers a few weeks ago. And just today an Afghan businessman offered to be taken hostage, together with his family, by these hostage-takers in place of the U.N. workers.

So, the Afghans are very upset and this is something that we are not familiar with in this country.

We're working very hard to have the safe and secure release of the U.N. workers. They have helped us in Afghanistan tremendously. And it's a shame that this has happened in our country. Our people condemn it.

But let's hope they will be freed very soon. Let's hope that that will happen.

AMANPOUR: But do you have specific reason to believe that that will be the case? There have been reports from Kabul that they may be released. What are the specific developments there?

KARZAI: I can't go into the specifics, obviously.

Let's just hope that they will be released safe and sound. And I can say as much that we are working on it on a minute-to-minute basis day and night.

AMANPOUR: Mr. President there has been a report on a U.S. network that many, many Afghan prisoners or foreign terrorists who were captured during the Afghan war and held prisoner in Afghanistan have been released.

And amongst them, it is reported, are some very dangerous individuals who have told their interrogators that they would continue with attacks against the U.S., attacks against Afghanistan, that they continue loyalty toward the Taliban and al Qaeda.

Why are these people being released from Afghan jails?

KARZAI: We have released a lot of prisoners that were here without a trial, who had spent a lot of time in these prisons. And the human rights report given to me by the rapporteur of the U.N. on human rights told me that the condition was very bad. I put that to the cabinet and we decided for humanitarian reasons to release them all.

Now, if out of 200 or 300 people one or two of them have said that they will fight back, it's only natural and possible. We're not bothered with that.

The majority of those people were people that went back to their homes and have resumed their lives as citizens of this country. The two or three who have made those statements will be considered terrorists, and if they come across us again, we'll arrest them and put them in jail again.

But the rest of them are fine, and it was worth it to release them.

AMANPOUR: Being that terrorism and terrorists are still the biggest scourge of what certainly the West and Afghanistan are trying to fight, do you see any spillover from the Iraq war, either ideologically, rhetorically or, actually, any spillover copycat terrorism in Afghanistan, the likes of which is going on in Iraq?

KARZAI: Well, Afghanistan has proven the past three years that this nation really wants to use the best of the opportunity given to it, and we have proven that, especially with regard to the makeup (ph) the constitution, with regard to the registration, and the last, most important step with regard to the presidential elections. The Afghan people proved that they were moving toward a better future and that they will take the opportunity very well.

Now, we also have the parliamentary elections to do hopefully in the early spring next year. That will be another major achievement that we will have.

In my opinion, and also in the opinion of many, many Afghans, events in Afghanistan has proven that terrorism has no place in here, that it's defeated, that it's gone.

The remnants of terrorism that might come and try to explode bombs or assassinate people, that's something that we will have to fight for a long time in Afghanistan and in the region and in the rest of the world.

But Afghanistan, as far as an ideological base for terrorism is concerned, as far as a home-grown base for terrorism concerned, never was a place for them and is not a place for them and will not be a place for them.

I'm not worried about any spillover effects of what is going in Iraq. Afghanistan has in the past three years proven that it's different. I hope Iraq will also take the opportunity and go to the elections and have a good peace there.

AMANPOUR: In terms of your promises, now that you are elected with a mandate from the people, you have also said that you want to end warlordism, end the power of warlords. How do you plan to change your cabinet, your government, in terms of putting professionals in there rather than people who you think you need to incorporate to keep the peace?

KARZAI: The Afghan people have voted. They have elected the president. Like any other country, the president will make his cabinet and the cabinet will have to be one that will be able to work. It has to be an educated cabinet, a qualified cabinet, a productive cabinet, an honest one, a cabinet that will have a purpose in mind looking to the future.

That's what I'm going to do. Afghanistan needs to have institutions, the rule of law; that's what we will do.

And any private armies, any militia forces, drugs, these are the fight that we have and those of the former Mujahedeen that will be disarmed, whose arms will be taken, they'll be reintegrated into Afghan society in other fields of life. They are most welcome. They're the sons of this country. We should help them in the best possible manner.

But warlordism and private militias will not be tolerated at all. They'll have to go away. They run counter to the making of the Afghan state. So will be the case with narcotics. Narcotics will have to go away from Afghanistan and we will fight it.

AMANPOUR: That was going to be my final question. You've also promised to fight that and you said it again just right now. Narcotics, the drug trade is -- what? -- a third of Afghanistan's economy. It's booming rather than busting, if you like.

How are you going to stop that narco-Mafia state that threatens Afghanistan's stability?

KARZAI: We will do everything in our power to stop it. The Afghan people will cooperate with us, I'm sure of that. I hope the international community will do its part in providing the Afghan farmers with alternative livelihood, with alternative economy, with substitute agriculture.

The Afghan government and the Afghan people will do the eradication and the interdiction and the destruction of labs. Together, as an international community, if we work dedicatedly, we will end this menace in Afghanistan and in the rest of the world. It's something that is hurting us a lot, so we'll have to fight it.

AMANPOUR: Mr. President, thank you very much indeed for joining us from the presidential palace in Kabul.

President Hamid Karzai, the first popularly president elected in Afghanistan setting out his priorities for his next term in office.

I'm Christiane Amanpour. We're going to a break now.

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