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CNN Live Event/Special

U.S. Flag Raising Over Embassy in Kabul

Aired December 17, 2001 - 04:34   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.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Live from the CNN Center, we interrupt NEWSROOM to bring you this live event out of Kabul in Afghanistan, a ceremony marking the reopening of the American Embassy there. We are awaiting the flag raising ceremony there, a symbolism of American influence back in the region for the first time in more than 10 years.

CNN's Jim Clancy is standing by there to cover the ceremony live for us.

Jim, can you hear me?

JIM CLANCY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I certainly can, Carol, and you're watching the Marine Color Guard as they presented arms. They're going to be raising a flag here, this day in Kabul. It is the exact same flag that was taken down from this same flagpole on January 30, 1989. A lot of symbolism here.

The U.S. ambassador and special envoy to Afghanistan standing by.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have the honor of now introducing the U.S. special envoy, Ambassador James Dobbins - sir.

CLANCY: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) this is a day that's really going to mark not only the return of the United States to Afghanistan but a determination to stay.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Present arms.

AMBASSADOR JAMES DOBBINS, U.S. SPECIAL ENVOY TO AFGHANISTAN: Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Order arms.

DOBBINS: Today we honor three flags. At the flagpole, the flag we are about to rise is the flag taken down from this same flagpole at the U.S. mission in Kabul on January 30, 1989.

On the easel on the steps is a flag found in the embassy a few days ago, along with a letter from the last Marine detachment commander Gunnery Sergeant James M. Blake. Sergeant Blake wrote, "Marines, this was the last flag that flew over the Charge d'Affaire residence prior to our evacuation. It was taken down to the chancellery by Corporal Johnny P. Smith. Take care of it. For those of us who were here, it means a lot. For those of you yet to enter Kabul, it could mean a lot to you."

And the third flag we honor is the standard of the U.S. Army Special Forces. Colonel Mulholland, who met me on my first visit to Afghanistan three weeks ago, asked that this flag be displayed at the opening -- at the opening of the U.S. mission in Kabul. And since there's nobody to whom we owe more than Colonel Mulholland and his men for the opening of this mission, I was pleased to do it. And in a few minutes, I'll ask Colonel Mulholland to say a little bit more about it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Present arms.

(MUSIC, "STARS AND STRIPES")

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Order arms.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Backwards march. Detail, halt. Order arms.

(MUSIC)

CLANCY: Carol, after 12 long years, the U.S. flag flying once again over its embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan.

We're expecting to hear some remarks now from Colonel Mulholland, and we are also expecting to hear from the Ambassador, James Dobbins, as we said, the special envoy to Afghanistan. He says that a Charges d'Affaire will be appointed very shortly for this embassy. It will be a matter for the Congress to approve the appointment of an ambassador.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would now like to ask Colonel John F. Mulholland, Commander of the 5th Special Forces Group Command to speak -- sir.

COLONEL JOHN F. MULHOLLAND, COMMANDER, 5TH SPECIAL FORCES GROUP COMMAND: Mr. Qanooni, my friend Gerald Fahim Khan (ph), representatives of the Afghan people, Mr. Ambassador, distinguished guests from the international community and friends,

I am privileged and honored today to speak here at this great occasion, to see the Stars and Stripes once again fly over the American Embassy here in Kabul. I represent a distinguished and extraordinary group of men and women who have worked extraordinarily hard under difficult conditions to play a small role in this day's events, who represent a group of men and women whose motto is De Opresso Liber, which means "To liberate the oppressed."

We have been privileged and honored to fight and continue to fight alongside our Afghan brothers, to see that that motto becomes a reality here in Afghanistan for these people who have suffered so long under such tyranny.

I thank you for the invitation, sir, to allow me to speak here today. I very much am privileged to have worked along such fantastic people from my own government and from the Afghan people. On behalf of all the soldiers, I also wish to extend our sincere feelings of brotherhood and camaraderie to the firefighters of New York, to the policemen of New York and to our brothers at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.

(MUSIC, "AS THE CASSONS GO ROLLING ALONG")

MULHOLLAND: Ladies and gentlemen, I would ask you to share a moment of silence with me in memory of the countless innocent Afghanis who have suffered so long, for the fallen in New York and in Washington and for the fallen of the 5th Special Forces Group who gave their lives so this day may become a reality.

Thank you very much.

De Oppresso Liber.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If I may ask our distinguished guests to please be seated -- Ambassador Dobbins.

DOBBINS: Thank you.

Well, in any country other than Afghanistan, I would say to have it rain on a ceremony like this might be regarded as a bad omen. However, in Afghanistan, after three years of drought, it probably needs rain even more than it needs an American diplomatic presence, and so I regard this as a very good omen.

It's a great privilege of me -- for me to represent the Department of State and the United States government at the formal re- opening of the United States diplomatic mission in Kabul. Today's ceremony symbolizes the return, after more than a decade's absence, of the United States to Afghanistan.

Are we doing translation?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, we have (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

DOBBINS: Okay.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here's the (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

DOBBINS: Why don't I fini -- since it's written, I'll finish it and then you can do the whole -- translate the full text.

UNIDENTIFIED TRANSLATOR: Okay.

DOBBINS: For that decade, and in the aftermath of the Soviet withdrawal, Afghanistan was largely ignored, not only by the United States, but also by much of the international community. Afghan factions and Afghanistan's neighbors pursued their own narrow agendas without reference to the broader interests of the Afghan people or of the affects on regional and global stability.

The Afghan people paid a great price for this decade of neglect and abuse. On September 11, the United States and the rest of the international community also paid a great price. The United States returns to Afghanistan today at the head of a great international coalition, a coalition committed to rooting out terrorism and those who support it. But the United States also comes ready to join with the rest of the international community in assisting with the reconstruction of Afghanistan.

Over the past decade, the international community has learned a good deal about how to assist societies making a transition from war to peace. We have learned from early mistakes in places like Somalia and Haiti and become steadily more capable of assisting such transitions as evidenced by the progress made in recent years in places like Bosnia, Kosovo and East Timor. Two years ago, more than half the population of Kosovo were driven out of their homes creating a larger proportion of refugees and displaced persons than even Afghanistan. Yet only four weeks ago today, Kosovo held peaceful, democratic and most remarkably, multiethnic elections.

Of course the international community can achieve little if people are not ready for reconciliation and if its leaders are not ready to overcome their differences. This is precisely why current developments in Afghanistan are so hopeful. Two weeks ago, representatives of all of Afghanistan's regions and all its ethnic groups came together in Bonn to create a broadly-based government for their country and a legitimate partner for the international community in its reconstruction. Contrary to most expectations, they succeeded. In five days that government will take office.

This new Afghan government will be led by a new generation of Afghan leaders who have a historic opportunity to lead Afghanistan into a new era. As they do so, they can be assured that the United States will be there with them. With the reopening of the United States' mission in Kabul today, America has resumed its diplomatic, economic and political engagement with this country. We are here, and we are here to stay.

Let me conclude with a word of thanks to the Afghan employees of the United States who have watched over this mission with such dedication over the past decade and more, enduring rocket attacks, riots and jailings in the execution of their office.

Secretary of States Colin Powell has asked me to convey his own words of appreciation. "Since the U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan closed its doors in 1989," Secretary Powell writes, "you, our Foreign Service colleagues in Kabul, have performed the critically important mission of safeguarding the U.S. compound and other U.S. government property. In spite of many hardships, you persevered and accomplished your mission. As a result, Ambassador Dobbins is able to open the U.S. liaison office in Kabul today. Thank you."

And so accordingly, I declare this mission open for business.

CLANCY: Well there you have it, Carol, the U.S. mission there declared open for business by Ambassador James Dobbins, this special envoy for Afghanistan.

In his speech that was translated there, he hailed some of the Foreign Service nationals, that is the local Afghans who worked in this embassy. Some of them, I understand, in the crowd there are retired. They worked, some of them, for 40 years for the U.S. Foreign Service here. They kept this embassy in tact, if you will, as the ambassador noted there, through rocket attacks at times, through other hardships.

There was, of course, under the Taliban, a mob led into the embassy, burned down the general service's annex just outside the embassy itself. But as the ambassador said, the U.S. not only coming back here but coming back here to stay and stay engaged on the political front, the diplomatic front as well as on the economic front. And that's what Afghans are really looking forward to seeing one way or another the rehabilitation of their country that's been devastated by more than 20 years of war from both the outside and inside -- Carol.

LIN: Jim, you actually got a private tour with the ambassador yesterday. What did you see inside the embassy?

CLANCY: Well certainly the place is -- the embassy itself strewn with papers, piles of dust everywhere, bird's nests that have been built up. But when you look at it and you consider that it was taken over by the Taliban, they went through it, not too much was really destroyed. In fact, if you looked at the ambassador's desk, what we found were newspapers dated 1989. You also found a half-smoked cigar in the ashtray still sitting there and a lot of the things like the cars, the fleet of cars that were in a garage here all still working. So there's very much -- they said they were surprised that the Taliban left so much in tact here and that's going to help them to restart this embassy sooner.

It is open again today. The U.S. flag flying once again in Kabul, Afghanistan -- Carol.

LIN: All right, thank you very much.

Jim Clancy reporting live from Kabul. We will have more details at the top of the hour.

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