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CNN Sunday Morning
Donald Shepperd Discusses Fighting Around Konduz
Aired November 25, 2001 - 10:19 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.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: New developments now on the war in Afghanistan this morning. Another Taliban-controlled city appears to be falling to the Northern Alliance and another appears on the brink of changing hands, and CNN Military Analyst Retired Air Force Major General Don Shepperd again with us from Washington. General, it appears that the Taliban is losing its grip on Konduz; that's the last area under control in northern Afghanistan. Good move for the Northern Alliance!
MAJ. GEN. DON SHEPPERD (RET.), U.S. AIR FORCE: It is indeed a good move. Still lots to be sorted out. The cities around Konduz are falling. Remember, we've focused on Konduz. But the city surrounding it will defend Konduz. Report that Northern Alliance troops are in the eastern portion of the city, moving to the western portion -- remains to be seen whether there is any kind of fight to the death or whether in the end, there will be a big surrender there, Catherine.
CALLAWAY: You know, general, we can't have you on the air here without talking about the situation that developed in Mazar-e-Sharif with all of the Taliban who surrendered -- now apparently, somewhat of an uprising there, this morning, which is now apparently under control. This has to be expected with thousands of Taliban soldiers surrendering at one time.
SHEPPERD: It's worth remembering that no matter what you watch, it seems ordinarily, in a military operation, there are dangers. There's dangers to the military. There's dangers to the populace.
And as we've also learned there is danger to the reporters that are covering the story out there. It could be that this was some type of planned uprising: "Hey, let's surrender. Let's carry some grenades with us and then blast in and in the last minute, let's stage some type of uprising." But it could be that it just happened as a result of things that took place as their grenades were going off. But it's always dangerous. You have to be very, very careful and very watchful when you're guarding prisoners, even as in surrender.
CALLAWAY: With the massive surrenders that we're seeing now, some of the Taliban being moved from one area toward Mazar-e-Sharif now -- so many thousands of Taliban. Now the Northern Alliance moving into areas that they were not in before. This has to play a part in the planning of U.S. strategy now.
SHEPPERD: It does. There are so many rapidly developing things that have taken place, such as the collapse, essentially, of the northern half of the country taking place much more rapidly than we thought. We also had talked about moving land-based area and the area surrounding. Now you wonder if you really need to do that or not. So the planners have to be very, very flexible with the developing situation, and we've been surprised several times so far, Catherine.
CALLAWAY: So what's going to happen next? Are we going to have to see the situation stabilize in Konduz before we even look at Kandahar? What is the U.S. and British forces -- what are they thinking right now?
SHEPPERD: No, it's not a piece-by-piece battle where you go from one area to the other. It's a simultaneous application of force in many areas. There are reports this morning that bombing is still going on around Kandahar. So we're not waiting for Konduz to be secured before we go to Kandahar. And we are not waiting to look for bin Laden and the al Qaeda. All of this is going on simultaneously, and it's been enhanced by the intelligence we get from the prisoners that are captured and other means.
CALLAWAY: It just seems that with the situation like we had in Mazar-e-Sharif today that the U.S. military is got to have more involved in what to do with all of these mercenaries who are now surrendering to the Northern Alliance.
SHEPPERD: Well, it looks like that they are going to be turned over, if you believe President Rabbani, to the United Nations. The problem is there is no United Nations force there able to accept them. So we may, -- and I am sure this will be a part of the Pentagon briefing and the questions -- we may have a role in helping to secure or move those prisoners when a location is decided upon. Still remains to be seen.
CALLAWAY: All right, Gen. Don Shepperd in Washington.
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