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American Morning

Discussion with John Mercer, Father of Heather Mercer

Aired November 26, 2001 - 07:50   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.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN NEWS: And welcome back at 10 minutes before the hour.

Two American women in prison in Afghanistan are back on American soil this morning. Heather Mercer and Dayna Curry arrived in Washington yesterday.

They were among eight international workers arrested last August in Kabul, and charged with trying to convert Muslims to Christianity.

They were choppered out of Afghanistan in a dramatic rescue earlier this month.

HEATHER MERCER: Several times were hard. I mean, definitely when the heavy bombing was going on, that was a scary time.

When we were taken out of Kabul by the Taliban and they were saying they wanted ransom, and we probably felt danger the most just not knowing whose hands we were in and what their intentions were.

But I'd have to say, we really, that the thing that got us through every day, we spent time together, all the girls, the six of us that were in prison.

We spent time singing songs to God and praying together. And really it was his grace and his - when we were most afraid, he would come in close to us and take away all the fear.

And really, that's how we got through.

ZAHN: The two women will meet President Bush a little bit later this morning.

And throughout Heather Mercer's long ordeal, her father, John Mercer, spent long weeks trying to win her release as he monitored the situation from Pakistan.

He joins us this morning from Vienna, Virginia.

I have spoken with you, I think, a half dozen times or so in the last month. It's the first time you have a relaxed smile on your face. You're home.

Describe to us ... JOHN MERCER: (INAUDIBLE) home.

ZAHN: ... what it was like for you and your daughter to touch American soil after those months of uncertainty.

JOHN MERCER: Well, it was absolutely fantastic. I just couldn't believe that she was actually home yesterday.

I had been fortunate enough to see her the day that she got out to Islamabad. And yesterday the reunion was so great, because her sister and her mother were there, her stepfather and many members of our family.

And she was ecstatic, as were we.

ZAHN: And she is talking about potentially returning to Afghanistan somewhere down the road. How does dad ...

JOHN MERCER: Well, ...

ZAHN: ... feel about that prospect?

JOHN MERCER: Well, you know, she's an adult and she needs to make her own decisions.

Afghanistan represents life - a life's work for Heather and some of the other detainees. She loves the people. She loves the country.

And I think once the government becomes stable and, you know, possibly there isn't a danger there, that maybe some of them will go back.

They do a very good job for the people.

ZAHN: I wanted to go back and revisit some history, here. And replay a little bit of what your daughter had to say about the dramatic rescue that took place that was phase one of bringing her home.

Let's play that right now and get your reaction.

HEATHER MERCER: I can say that it really was a Hollywood rescue, that these men, the men from the American military, they did an amazing job.

And from the moment they arrived to the moment we finally landed, we - it was incredible. It was just incredible.

And beyond that, I'm not sure what more to say about that.

ZAHN: Your daughter also went on to describe a little bit about her captivity.

Can you share any of that with us this morning, at a time when you obviously are celebrating her homecoming. That's still got to be foremost in your mind. I know the last time I spoke with you, you weren't even convinced she'd ever make it home safely.

JOHN MERCER: Well, particularly after the bombing started, I was quite concerned, but I knew that the bombings would not be directed where they were. We knew where they were most of the time.

After Kabul fell and the Taliban took them, we were very worried, because it took us a while to actually know where they were located, and then to get the military in there with the choppers at the right time and the right place to pick them out.

I was very thankful, actually, to the Taliban for keeping them safe and seeing that they were fed during their captivity, but the last few days were rather precarious.

But fortunately, our government and many agencies within our government pulled this rescue off in just fine fashion.

ZAHN: As you know, though, there is still a theory that some people take quite seriously, that the Taliban, in fact, planned to use your daughter, as well as the other eight workers, as human shields, but their command and control, their system was so compromised, they couldn't pull it off.

Is that what you choose to believe at this hour?

JOHN MERCER: Well, actually, I do believe that if Kabul hadn't fell, that, and all of this situation hadn't taken place, they would have given them a trial.

But when things deteriorated so rapidly, I believe, right at the end, that they were taken by the Taliban to hold them for ransom. But fortunately that plan was thwarted when the Northern Alliance overthrew the town and the prison that they were in, and freed them.

So, you know, it's really anybody's guess what they wanted to do, and political leverage certainly was one of the options.

ZAHN: Well, I guess Thanksgiving took on a whole new meaning this past weekend, didn't it, for your family.

JOHN MERCER: Indeed it did, Paula. It was really tremendous for all eight of them out, that they got out.

And plus, the 16 Afghans that were arrested with them, they were all freed at the time the Northern Alliance went into Kabul, which is very good news.

ZAHN: Well, thank you for joining us at this very busy time in your family's life.

Give Heather our best and tell her we'd love to have her come spend some time with us one morning when she gets settled in.

JOHN MERCER: Well, I'm sure she will. And thank you very much. ZAHN: Take care. John Mercer.

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