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CNN Sunday Morning

Marine Troops Continue Fortifying Position Near Kandahar

Aired December 02, 2001 - 07:13   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.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Now to the military campaign in Afghanistan. CNN's Walter Rodgers is in the television pool -- he is the television pool correspondent, rather, traveling with the 15th U.S. Marine Expeditionary Unit in southern Afghanistan. He joins us now by telephone.

What's the latest Walter?

WALTER RODGERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Kyra. A U.S. Marine intelligence officer said today, the military campaign from the Taliban stronghold at Kandahar is reaching, quote, "a culmination point."

Talking with reporters here at the U.S. Marine's desert base in southern Afghanistan, Major Bo Higgins (ph) told reporters: We have a lot of forces in play now -- Afghan opposition groups from the north moving toward Kandahar, others coming up from the southeast, he said, moving toward the same Taliban stronghold. And Higgins added, quote, "us, the Marines, coming potentially from where we are."

There has been as yet no decisions to commit these U.S. Marines to the coming battle for Kandahar. Indeed, the Marines are standing off at a fair distance. Still, Major Higgins said, quote, "in every way, the Taliban is looking at a lot of pressure, kind of like a snake squeezing in on them." And he added, quote, "hopefully, we can get them out of here in the pretty near future."

Meanwhile, the Marine build-up continues. The number of attack and support helicopters here nearly doubled over night. Pilots continue to complain of flying through what they call "brownout," great clouds of desert dust when they take off and land. No one is talking about upcoming military operations. Still, the anticipation is building.

A Marine officer said, quote, "you see more Marines coming in. Our perimeter is secured. You see more helicopters. We are definitely prepared for what lies ahead," he said.

What lies ahead is still unknown for these Marines. At Protestant and Roman Catholic Church services Sunday, both prayed, quote, "to be delivered from evil in the coming days."

And now, when you ask Marines what they're expecting, one captain told me, quote, "We are here for a purpose. We'll tell you after we do it" -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Walter, I'm sitting here looking at the different shots of video and I'm curious. I saw the night shots of the paratroopers inside; it looked like a schnook (ph) possibly. But my question to you is, is this training that's going on or are they actually paradropping (sic) into enemy territory and doing surveillance?

ROGERS: A little of both. Training is constant in any military unit especially one as cracked as the United States Marines. Men are training constantly because -- like the Navy, like pilots in the Air Force, they do it all by the numbers.

Having said all that, these people are conducting missions, reconnaissance patrols, going out, extending their radius, their perimeter from their initial base here in the Afghan desert. And they are seeing things, which are being passed on back to the intelligence people and the intelligence people have to determine then whether what the Marines see are legitimate targets and then of course, a decision has to be made, whether the Air Force or the Navy are called in to strike those targets. So it is a little of both.

Training is constant. Reconnaissance patrols are going on 24 hours a day -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: CNN's Walter Rodgers, thank you so much.

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