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American Morning
Afghan Offensive
Aired January 29, 2004 - 07:31 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.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: The war on terror in Afghanistan could soon be stepped up. A senior Defense Department official is saying the U.S. is now working on a new military operation against al Qaeda and Taliban fighters in that country.
Barbara Starr is live at the Pentagon with more on this now.
Barbara -- good morning.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.
Well, today new hints about the next step in the global war on terrorism.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STARR (voice-over): The Bush administration is now planning a major spring offensive against Taliban and al Qaeda fugitives in Afghanistan. The plan? To deny hundreds of fighters the chance to regroup when the winter snows melt. It's the same tactic both sides have used in the past.
Guerrillas spend the Afghan winter hiding in the mountains along the border with Pakistan. In the springtime, they begin to move. The 11,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan -- as always -- plan to wait for them. Orders already have gone out to put troop, supplies and logistics in place.
It comes after weeks of concern about the continuing suicide bomber attacks. In Kabul Wednesday, a car bomber blew himself up, killing one British soldier and wounding four -- the second suicide attack in as many days.
This spring's offensive may be different. Officials are publicly saying they hope to finally catch Osama bin Laden and Mullah Omar, leader of the Taliban.
LT. COL. BRYAN HILFERTY, COALITION SPOKESMAN: And they need to be destroyed, and we believe we will catch them in the next year.
STARR: Military officials are being tight-lipped about their potential next step, which would be to conduct operations inside Pakistan, where it is widely believed Osama bin Laden is hiding along the border. Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has never officially given his permission for U.S. troops to enter his country, but Special Forces do occasionally operate secretly along the border region.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
Now, U.S. forces, of course, have been hunting for Osama bin Laden since September 11, but if they were to find him before the election or before another terrorist attack, certainly a victory of symbolism for the U.S. military -- Bill.
HEMMER: Barbara, a different topic. There's a report out there that says more troops may go to Iraq. What have you learned about that?
STARR: Well, yesterday what happened, General Peter Schoomaker, the chief of staff of the U.S. Army, laid out his thoughts before Capitol Hill on what will be happening with the U.S. Army in the months ahead. And what he talked about is that there will be an increase of about 30,000 people in the U.S. Army.
This is going to get them past this hump, this strain, if you will, on the force, because of the continuing mission in Iraq and Afghanistan. They're going to keep these people in through a series of incentives, through a method called the stop-loss program, which prohibits people from leaving military service during combat.
So, there is certainly the plan being laid to keep a robust U.S. military force in Iraq, at least for another two years possibly, according to officials here.
HEMMER: Barbara, thanks -- Barbara Star at the Pentagon.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired January 29, 2004 - 07:31 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: The war on terror in Afghanistan could soon be stepped up. A senior Defense Department official is saying the U.S. is now working on a new military operation against al Qaeda and Taliban fighters in that country.
Barbara Starr is live at the Pentagon with more on this now.
Barbara -- good morning.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.
Well, today new hints about the next step in the global war on terrorism.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STARR (voice-over): The Bush administration is now planning a major spring offensive against Taliban and al Qaeda fugitives in Afghanistan. The plan? To deny hundreds of fighters the chance to regroup when the winter snows melt. It's the same tactic both sides have used in the past.
Guerrillas spend the Afghan winter hiding in the mountains along the border with Pakistan. In the springtime, they begin to move. The 11,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan -- as always -- plan to wait for them. Orders already have gone out to put troop, supplies and logistics in place.
It comes after weeks of concern about the continuing suicide bomber attacks. In Kabul Wednesday, a car bomber blew himself up, killing one British soldier and wounding four -- the second suicide attack in as many days.
This spring's offensive may be different. Officials are publicly saying they hope to finally catch Osama bin Laden and Mullah Omar, leader of the Taliban.
LT. COL. BRYAN HILFERTY, COALITION SPOKESMAN: And they need to be destroyed, and we believe we will catch them in the next year.
STARR: Military officials are being tight-lipped about their potential next step, which would be to conduct operations inside Pakistan, where it is widely believed Osama bin Laden is hiding along the border. Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has never officially given his permission for U.S. troops to enter his country, but Special Forces do occasionally operate secretly along the border region.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
Now, U.S. forces, of course, have been hunting for Osama bin Laden since September 11, but if they were to find him before the election or before another terrorist attack, certainly a victory of symbolism for the U.S. military -- Bill.
HEMMER: Barbara, a different topic. There's a report out there that says more troops may go to Iraq. What have you learned about that?
STARR: Well, yesterday what happened, General Peter Schoomaker, the chief of staff of the U.S. Army, laid out his thoughts before Capitol Hill on what will be happening with the U.S. Army in the months ahead. And what he talked about is that there will be an increase of about 30,000 people in the U.S. Army.
This is going to get them past this hump, this strain, if you will, on the force, because of the continuing mission in Iraq and Afghanistan. They're going to keep these people in through a series of incentives, through a method called the stop-loss program, which prohibits people from leaving military service during combat.
So, there is certainly the plan being laid to keep a robust U.S. military force in Iraq, at least for another two years possibly, according to officials here.
HEMMER: Barbara, thanks -- Barbara Star at the Pentagon.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
