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American Morning
Al Qaeda May Have Learned from Anaconda
Aired March 26, 2002 - 09:02 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: "Up Front" this morning: a report that Osama bin Laden has been spotted in Afghanistan. According to the "Christian Science Monitor," Afghan military officials working with U.S. forces say the al Qaeda leader was seen in the Khost region, just in this past week.
For the U.S. take on that report, we go to CNN's Barbara Starr at the Pentagon. Good morning, Barbara. How is the administration reacting to this report?
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Paula.
Well, officials say what they always say, technically, they don't know where Osama bin Laden is. There are as many reports of bin Laden sightings, they say, as there is of Elvis. But it is a little more serious than that.
Ever since Operation Anaconda ended several days ago, the question has been, what is next on the U.S. military agenda in Afghanistan? And now, we are told that the military has shifted its crosshairs. It's looking very, very closely at this region of southeastern Afghanistan. There are continuing reports from local Afghans that bin Laden and some of his top lieutenants have been sighted in the area.
Now, none of these reports can be confirmed to the point that the U.S. can actually launch military action to go get bin Laden. They don't have any specific details on where he is, but increasingly, they do believe that this whole region of southeastern Afghanistan is the most likely place where he is hiding. There's a lot of support for the al Qaeda throughout this region. And some officials even believe, in fact, that he may have occasionally crossed the border back and forth to Pakistan. This area of the border is extremely difficult to monitor, and it literally cannot be sealed off.
The intelligence community is also looking at a assessments now that as many as 2,000 al Qaeda may be spread out along the border from Khost along the border with Pakistan many, many miles south along this whole remote mountain range. And there are some pockets throughout this region, they say, perhaps as many as 2,000 total. Some of the pockets are very large, a couple of hundred al Qaeda. Some of the pockets are very small, but that's really no comfort to the U.S. military. Their big concern now is that with spring coming and the snow melting, these pockets of al Qaeda are going to find it much easier to move around, and possibly launch raids or counterinsurgency missions against the U.S. military in the region. So, the U.S. military is getting ready. As we know, A-10 aircraft have been moved into Bagram, and 1,700 British troops are on the way. All part of the effort, officials say, to get ready for the next move against al Qaeda in Southern and Eastern Afghanistan -- Paula.
ZAHN: And when you're talking about the potential for this insurgency movement, as spread out as it is, what kind of a time commitment are we talking about here?
STARR: Well, no one really knows for sure, but the assessment is that since Anaconda, there has been one very significant change. They don't believe that the al Qaeda is, again, going to regroup in a massive formation of people. Anaconda, of course, it was assumed there were several hundred al Qaeda, perhaps as many as 1,000 in that one region.
The U.S. now believes the al Qaeda have learned their lesson from Anaconda. They're regrouping in the small, relatively small pockets. Spring coming, they will be able to move around much easier, and possibly launch raids against the U.S. So the general assessment is that the U.S. will be conducting these missions against the al Qaeda at least through the spring.
ZAHN: All right. Barbara Starr, appreciate the update. Thanks so much.
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