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CNN Sunday Morning
Bush Monitors War From Camp David
Aired November 25, 2001 - 09:14 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.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: President Bush has been getting daily briefings on the war in Afghanistan, at the presidential retreat at Camp David and Mr. Bush heads back to the White House this afternoon.
CNN White House correspondent Kelly Wallace joins us live from near Camp David.
Good morning to you, Kelly.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Marty.
Well, no reaction just yet from the White House, the word that Northern Alliance troops have entered the city of Konduz.
Marty, typically this administration wanting to get a sense of the situation on the ground before commenting, of course. So as you mentioned, Mr. Bush monitoring developments from the presidential retreat.
On Saturday, the message coming from U.S. officials, they welcome the development of Taliban soldiers laying down and putting down their arms, but the message also is that U.S. forces still have plenty of work to do in Afghanistan.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(voice-over): The White House calls the peaceful surrender of hundreds of Taliban soldiers a positive development, but says the U.S. still has a long way to go in Afghanistan.
And in his weekly radio address, President Bush warns for the third time this week that difficult steps lie ahead.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The fight we have begun will not be quickly or easily finished. Our enemies hide and plot in many nations. They are devious and ruthless.
WALLACE: White House officials say the President wants to keep reminding American, just as he did in Fort Campbell, Kentucky, that despite the military successes so far, hunting down Osama bin Laden and his al Qaeda operatives won't be easy.
BUSH: Our enemies hide in sophisticated cave complexes, located in some of the most mountainous and rugged territory.
WALLACE: Another potential challenge, the surrender of foreign fighters, including Arabs, Chechens, and Pakistanis. The U.S. has made it clear, it doe not want these soldiers to be allowed to flee.
DONALD RUMSFELD, DEFENSE SECRETARY: Any idea that those people should be let loose on any basis at all, to leave that country and to go bring terror to other countries and destabilize other countries, is unacceptable.
WALLACE: But Pakistan, a key U.S. ally, has expressed concern about the fate of Pakistanis fighting alongside the Taliban. The Northern Alliance claims that Pakistan has airlifted some of its nationals out of Konduz, but the Pentagon categorically rejects those reports.
Still, the U.S. faces a delicate balancing act. It needs Pakistan's help for intelligence information and as a place to position troops to search for bin Laden. So it must be sensitive to the country's concerns.
TERESITA SCHAFFER, STRATEGIE & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: The whole issue is a reminder that on this issue, we've got some differences with Pakistan, and that the kinds of issues where we have differences with Pakistan are going to come up more frequently as time goes on.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WALLACE: Now President Bush enjoying a little bit of rest and relaxation on this rainy day at the Presidential Retreat, the main item on the agenda though, celebrating the 20th birthday of twin daughters, Barbara and Jenna.
Then Marty, as you mentioned, Mr. Bush back to the White House later, gearing up for a busy week ahead, more coalition building, meeting with the leaders of Spain and Yemen, and also Mr. Bush to tout his domestic agenda and call on Congress to get a bill to his desk that he can sign to give a boost to the economy. Marty, back to you.
SAVIDGE: Kelly, you mentioned this was the third time that the President is sort of warning the nation that it is not all over and that more difficult times lie ahead. Is he preparing us for something we're not quite aware of just yet?
WALLACE: Well he's preparing us for the fact that U.S. forces, more and more U.S. forces on the ground in Afghanistan, going out and searching, hunting down Osama bin Laden and his al Qaeda operatives. Everybody knows certainly, that as you have more and more ground troops on the ground, it could be more and more difficult for those troops and certainly pose a greater risk for American forces.
So preparing the American people, A, for the possibility of casualties when it comes to American forces. Also Marty, that this could take time, that there have been some good successes when it comes to the military over the past several weeks, but that finding bin Laden and al Qaeda operatives, going through those caves in Afghanistan could take time, warning again Americans not to be over confident that this is going to take some time.
And also the other message we are hearing from the President that, once there's victory, if there is a victory in Afghanistan, that won't be the end of this fight. We'll be going to other countries as well -- Marty.
SAVIDGE: All right, Kelly Wallace, just outside of Camp David, thanks very much.
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