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American Morning

FBI Agents Enter War Zone in Search of Evidence

Aired December 19, 2001 - 08:07   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: But first, let's move on to Afghanistan and more about those al Qaeda prisoners, who will be questioned by federal agents. It is the first time since the 1940s that FBI agents have entered a war zone in search of evidence. By traveling to the terrorists' own backyard, U.S. authorities expect to uncover a rich source of information and sidestep a legal minefield.

Pool reporter, Rick Leventhal, joins us now from Kandahar -- Rick.

RICK LEVENTHAL, CNN POOL REPORTER: Well, Paula, the -- Paula, the FBI agents are actually talking about how unusual it is for them to be in an area where bombs are falling outside of the U.S. before the war is actually over. But in fact, there are eight FBI agents here, who processed the 15 al Qaeda and Taliban enemy fighters into the defensive facility here at the airport last night. They are waiting to interview these men, to interrogate them in trying to learn more about al Qaeda, its past and possibly its future.

But apparently, they are still trying to sort out the legalities of the interview process, because in some ways, this is unchartered territory. They also say they have to follow U.S. law, even though they're on Afghanistan soil. They also have to follow some military procedures, and they are coordinating their efforts with the Justice Department and the FBI and with the U.S. Marines, who are guarding these men in the facility, have been since they arrived here last night, along with the help of some U.S. Army MPs.

The men, by the way, were bound at the wrist and the ankles with flexi-cuffs and linked together with those cuffs. They had hoods covering their eyes and their mouths, shuffled in a line inside the detention facility and were processed individually, led then into the facility itself, which is basically a big metal shed inside a walled compound with some individual cells or group cells that are lined with concertina wire.

Again, the FBI processed them in, but as far as we know, have not yet begun interrogating these men, and hope to do that very soon -- Paula.

ZAHN: All right, Rick, you just made it very clear that the FBI not only has to follow U.S. law but military procedures as well. So just how limited will they be when they actually get to question these prisoners? LEVENTHAL: Well, they seem pretty confident that they will have opportunities to talk to these guys at length, and possibly get some relative information out of them. They don't have high hopes, in some cases, that they will get what -- everything that they're after, but there could be opportunities to get some of these Taliban or al Qaeda members to turn, could be opportunities to get them to give them some bits of information that might be helpful.

They are here with a purpose. They seem determined, and they, again, seem confident that they'll get something out of these prisoners.

ZAHN: Well, it's great to see you reporting once again -- Rick Leventhal, thank you very much for being with us this morning.

LEVENTHAL: Sure.

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