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American Morning

U.S.-Led Military Effort About to Give Way to British-Led Stabilization Force

Aired December 19, 2001 - 07:40   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 ANCHOR: Welcome back. They are partners in the war on terror fighting side by side in Afghanistan. Now the U.S.-led military effort is about to give way to a British-led stabilization force. British troops are expected to play a major role in post-war Afghanistan. Retired Army Colonel Terence Taylor is a veteran of this country's peacekeeping mission. He's now with the International Institute for Strategic Studies. Colonel Taylor is in Washington this morning. Delighted to have you be with us sir.

COLONEL TERENCE TAYLOR, (RET), INSTITUTE FOR STRATEGIC STUDIES: Good morning. Delighted to be with you.

ZAHN: So Colonel, describe to us what you think is the chief challenge here, as we hear this debate rage on as to what the British forces will actually be able to do if they head up this peacekeeping force. I know ...

(CROSSTALK)

ZAHN: ... and I should say if, when they head up.

TAYLOR: Yes, all the details have got to be worked out. But their essential role will be to guarantee the stability of the provisional government in Kabul. So that has to be their primary task and ensuring that this momentum of the peace process of bringing Afghanistan together and governmental control really does work.

So this is their most vital task. And so - and also in general terms, by bringing a credible military force in to generate the feeling of stability and order generally. They'll also have some other roles, of course, in ensuring the delivery of humanitarian aid as well. And there's other issues like mine clearing, unexploded bombs and all these sorts of things that have to be dealt with, which means bringing in outside international expertise, and they'll have to look after all this, so it's a very big challenge.

ZAHN: But isn't there a dispute currently going on between these Afghan leaders that will assume a power this weekend about what the British forces could actually do. I guess you have these competing U.N. charters, one which only permits the use of force only in self defense and then there's this other one, Chapter Seven, which mandates to take all necessary including the use of force to fulfill its mission. TAYLOR: Yes this is a very difficult thing because we still have a war going on in Afghanistan. There are still offensive operations going on and also the stability within Afghanistan itself is questionable. It looks in many areas fortunately very benign at the moment. Weapons being handed in. Militias coming under some form of control.

But this can change very rapidly. So the force has to be capable of defending itself and defending itself may involve some offensive operations. Let's hope it doesn't come to that, but they need sufficient numbers to be able to do that. They need all the kinds of fire support and so on to ensure that they are safe and secure and able to carry out their primary mission, which is the protection of the Afghan government and to ensure that the machinery of government does operate.

But of course the Afghan leadership have to - have to agree to all this and there's a lot of debate over the size of the force and so on. But I think we're likely to see a kind of brigade size force, that is three to 5,000 - probably nearer 5,000 to make it a viable and credible force.

ZAHN: Final question for you this morning, British Prime Minister Tony Blair indicated that the British troops may be in Afghanistan for a long period of time and more recently, President Bush advocated a short-term commitment for U.S. troops. Is there a contradiction there?

TAYLOR: Well I think it's well known the U.S. doesn't want its troops involved in long-term peacekeeping. So they're hoping that the situation can stabilize. And I think this is where the British, along with, of course, its other European allies and other countries that are contributing to the force can stabilize the situation until the Afghan security forces - their own forces can actually operate alone. We just don't know how long this will take. It could take - could take months, maybe a year or maybe even longer.

ZAHN: Well Colonel Taylor, help - thank you very much for helping us better understand this very complicated situation that's unfolding in Afghanistan today.

TAYLOR: My pleasure.

ZAHN: Glad to have you with us.

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