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CNN Sunday Morning

American Troops Wait for Orders

Aired September 23, 2001 - 08:22   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: American troops are deployed throughout the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman and everyone is on high alert waiting for orders. So, we're going to go to an expert to see what happens next. Retired Air Force Major General Donald Shepperd is well acquainted with homeland security, and general I understand you even once headed up the Air National Guard. Good morning.

RETIRED MAJOR GENERAL DONALD SHEPPERD: Good morning, Carol.

LIN: Good to see you. What we want to do is fly our audience right now through the region, to get an idea of what the terrain actually looks like and what the audience is looking at right now, as you can probably see on your screen, is a very rough terrain. These mountains around the Afghan capitol of Kabul are as high as 20,000 feet. Winters can be pretty brutal there and winter is expected to start in another month or so. Give us an idea of what American forces are up against in entering this terrain.

SHEPPERD: Very, very difficult. As I've said before, if you had to pick a place in the world you didn't want to fight, this would be high on the list. Winter is coming in the Khyber Pass, starting with rains and freezing rains the end of this month and then snow. It's very difficult terrain, mountainous terrain. Rocky, lots of hills, lots of caves and crags for people to hide. It will be very, very difficult.

LIN: So, do you expect that an initial assault will be by air, or by land, or both?

SHEPPERD: It's difficult to say right now. It's clear that we're assembling in the air any of the force necessary from ground, from missile-laden submarines and ships, to air attacks, that we'll be able to do whatever it is we need to do.

I think you can be assured that we are taking our time. I find that very encouraging, as a former military man, that we're not rushing out to strike something out there. We're taking our time and going to think this through very, very well and be very careful about putting troops anywhere that they're in real, real danger.

LIN: Yes, and President Bush certainly already warning Americans to be very patient.

Let's take a look at what we know of the deployment so far. What you're about to see here is the initial deployment. We also have news of a second deployment. Battle carrier groups now. The Navy's 5th Fleet in the Gulf region. The USS Enterprise, the USS Roosevelt, USS Vinson, all playing a key role. What can you tell by this deployment, in terms of how they're going to be used?

SHEPPERD: Well, there is several signs that the United States is really serious. First, when they start to deploy forces. Secondly, when you start to call up your Guard and Reserve. And third, when you cancel the redeployment of aircraft carriers and move more to the region.

There are two aircraft carriers in the region, a third on the way, and now reportedly perhaps a fourth on the way. None of that is confirmed by the Pentagon, but we're assembling a massive armada in this area to be able to do whatever we wish.

LIN: How is this armada likely to coordinate with the army base in Kuwait?

SHEPPERD: Well, the army based in Kuwait is one thing, but other army troops, I assume, will be on the way. Most important, we are establishing relationships for bases. Whoever thought they would see United States forces with the ability to base either airplanes or perhaps even ground troops in Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, is going on now. We never thought we would see that. This is impressive diplomatic activity.

LIN: General, given that it's pretty obvious that so many forces are being deployed in the region, does this eliminate the element of surprise?

SHEPPERD: In one sense, it eliminates the element of surprise, but nobody is surprised that we are moving forces to the area. I think it's important for the American people to realize, and for everyone to realize, that we could have struck within hours from the United States of this event taking place.

They know we are coming, for sure. There is no doubt about that. They just don't know when or where or how, and it's going to be a multifaceted campaign.

The good news is, that this deployment of forces, assembling them, gives us time to take all the diplomatic activity that is necessary and it's been very, very impressive so far.

LIN: Certainly, as they've been saying out of Washington, to give the president every option he needs to respond.

Thank you very much, Major General Donald Shepperd from Washington, D.C. this morning.

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