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CNN Saturday Morning News
U.S. Continues Planning Response to Terrorism
Aired September 15, 2001 - 06:33 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.
JONATHAN MANN, CNN ANCHOR: As we've been hearing from the Pentagon over the last few hours, armed with broad congressional support to use force, the Bush administration is beefing up the military. President Bush has given the Defense Department the go ahead to activate up to 50,000 National Guard personnel and reservists. Administration officials say the primary role of the troops is to supplement recovery and domestic security efforts.
Military planners have identified and initial allotment of 35,500 reservists from the various services. Ten thousand of them would come from the Army, 13,000 from the Air Force. The Marines would provide 7,500. The Navy and Coast Guard, 3,000 and 2,000 respectively.
The Congressional Resolution authorizes a call up of a million military personnel. And one powerful senator says if that's not enough bring back the draft.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CARL LEVIN, ARMED FORCES CHAIRMAN: We should not be reluctant to use all of the forces at our command, including our citizen armies and including a draft. So the reserves of today are going to be called up, up to 50,000 of them. Those are our citizen soldiers. And the draft, if it's necessary to prevail, I would vote for it absolutely.
This is December 8, 1941. But this time, it's a war against terrorism. But the people here are so determined. We have that absolute unified determination. So yes, if we need the draft in order to carry out a successful war, I would vote for it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN ANCHOR: Congress is showing a united front in granting President Bush the authority to retaliate against terrorism. But as Jonathan Karl reports, some lawmakers still have concerns about just how far those powers should go.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JONATHAN KARL, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With virtually no dissent, Congress authorized the president to use all necessary and appropriate force against all those tied to the attacks. SEN. JOSEPH BIDEN, FOREIGN RELATIONS CHAIRMAN: For constitutional purposes, it's the same as the declaration of war. There is no constitutional difference between authorizing the president to use this kind of force and saying, "We declare war."
KARL: The hurried vote united conservatives and liberals who usually disagree about military intervention. Paul Wellstone, whose first significant vote as a senator a decade ago was against the use of force against the Iraq in the Persian Gulf War, was one of the few to speak before the vote.
SEN. PAUL WELLSTONE (D), MINNESOTA: It's going to be a long difficult struggle. But I believe people in our country and people in Minnesota are united in this. But we need to do this the smart way.
KARL: Despite the lack of debate, members of both parties have privately objected to a White House request for a more open-ended authorization of force against terrorists. As a result, the resolution passed authorizes the president to use military action specifically - quote - "against those nations, organizations or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, or harbored such organizations or persons."
BIDEN: It relates to the incident and there's broad authority relating to the incident. It does relate to all terrorism every place.
KARL: Several key leaders hope to avoid a repeat of the 1964 Tonkin Gulf Resolution in which Congress; after North Vietnam allegedly attacked U.S. war ships almost unanimously granted President Johnson the authority - quote - "to take all necessary measures to prevent further aggression by North Vietnam." Many in Congress came to regret that as the Vietnam War escalated and grew increasingly unpopular.
(on-camera): While only Congress has the power to declare war, the president, under the Constitution, has the power to repel invasion. And if a war drags on, Congress, with its power of the purse, could ultimately bring an end to it by refusing to pay for it.
Jonathan Karl, CNN, Capitol Hill.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MANN: As the U.S. narrows in on a target for any war, one thing is becoming clear, when the U.S. strikes back it will be counting on broad international support. CNN's Andrea Koppel has more on that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If, as the U.S. suggest, Osama Bin Laden was the mastermind behind Tuesday's attacks, going after him and shutting down his al Qaeda terrorist network will require more than just a military assault on Afghanistan. That's because, over the years, al Qaeda, has become an international network with cells rooted in almost every region of the world. That's why Secretary of State Collin Powell has put the world on notice, the United States needs help.
COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: I am not threatening so much as I am saying this has become a new benchmark, a new way of measuring the relationship and what we can do together in the future and...
KOPPEL: Since Tuesday, Powell has had the world on speed dial, in particular, reaching out to countries where the U.S. says Islamic militant groups have links to Bin Laden's network.
PETER BERGEN, CNN TERRORISM EXPERT: Once these people have been trained in Afghanistan, we know that they have gone to Africa. We know that they've gone to Asia. We know that they've gone back to the Middle East. And it's clear now that they've also come to the United States.
KOPPEL: People like Ahmed Rasham (ph), the man charged with attempting to bomb the United States over the millennium. He's a member of Algeria's Armed Islamic Group but was trained by Bin Laden. So were members of Pakistan's Horac Al Mughahidine Group (ph), which hijacked an Indian jetliner to Afghanistan in December 1999.
On Friday, Pakistan's president informed the U.S. his country is prepared to take specific steps to help the U.S. wage its campaign against Bin Laden. And in the Arab world, Powell has asked countries like Saudi Arabia to cut off the flow of money and resources to Bin Laden.
For Secretary Powell, who led allied troops to victory in the Gulf War, this war against terrorists will be fought on an entirely different battlefield.
POWELL: And so you have to design a campaign plan that goes after that kind of enemy. And it isn't always blunt force military although that is certainly an option.
KOPPEL (on-camera): The diplomatic sources say whatever option the U.S. chooses to take, it will need the support of Islamic countries. Such support would send a strong message to Bin Laden and his Islamic extremist supporters around the world, they have nowhere to hide.
Andrea Koppel, CNN, at the State Department.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VERJEE: As Andrea mentioned, Pakistan says its ready to give some support to the United States as it wages a war against terrorism. CNN's Tom Mintier is monitoring things very closely in the capitol, Islamabad and he joins us now -- Tom.
TOM MINTIER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Zain, there is a combination meeting right now between the Security Council and the Cabinet of the Pakistani president. I managed to speak with Mr. Musharraff as he was going in and he said they were going to be debating the pros and cons. Now, it's a debate that's been going on now for a couple of hours. It's rather extraordinary. The last time that these two groups sat down in the same room was just before a summit meeting with India. So it doesn't happen all the time.
We were fortunate enough to be inside as it was starting. And the president called on everyone in the room to stop for a moment of silent prayer for those who were killed in the terrorist attacks in Washington and New York.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GENERAL PERVEZ MUSHARRAF, PAKISTAN PRESIDENT: First of all, I want to take this opportunity to request all of you to join me in a brief one minute silence in memory of the harmed, innocent - the thousands of innocent people killed in this terrorist attack in the United States, the thousand of innocent people from all over the world, people of all regions and may I also add, people of all ages, children, young men, women and old people. Let us all join to observe one-minute silence in their memory.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MINTIER: This Cabinet meeting follows two other meetings, one, just yesterday of Army commanders and then the Security Council met the day before, after the president came back from Karachi (ph). He was there when the attacks took place, flew back into Islamabad and immediately went into a session with his advisers, which lasted well into the night. Just a few hours after that, the U.S. ambassador met on at least two occasions at the president's house, with the president outlining the U.S. position.
Now, what's being debated right now inside the Cabinet is how to respond. And as that meeting is taking place, there is also a new development from the Taliban. The Taliban issuing a warning that any nation who cooperates with the United States would side with the United States and go against the Taliban would face their own problems.
Joining us now from Kabul, Afghanistan is Nic Robertson with more reaction on the Taliban statement -- Nic.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly, Tom, the Taliban really, apparently, trying to influence the debate that's currently going on in Pakistan. Their statement came out earlier this morning, just before those key ministers were about to meet. And what they have said is that any country, any neighboring country, particularly Islamic countries around Afghanistan, should they give their soil or their airspace in support of the United States attacking Afghanistan, then they would have to expect a response from Afghanistan. And the Taliban said that they could mobilize a large mujahadin (ph), a large fighting force to invade that country.
So certainly, the Taliban trying to influence that debate. And from their spokesman, in Pakistan, the Taliban has this to say...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SOHAIL SHAHEEN, TALIBAN SPOKESMAN: If neighboring, original countries, particularly Islamic countries give a positive response to American demand for military basis, it would spark up extraordinary danger. Similarly, if any neighboring country give to the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) way, our airspace to USA against our land, it would draw us into an imposed war.
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ROBERTSON: And the country here really is being prepared for the possibility of war. On the radio, last night, in a rare 15-minute address, the supreme leader of the Taliban, Mullah Mohammad Omar, said people should put their faith in Allah, that they shouldn't be afraid of attack from the United -- if they put their faith in Allah, they would be OK.
He said that in the past, Afghanistan has been attacked by the great empires of the world. He talks about the British attacking so time ago -- said that at that time, Osama bin Laden wasn't in the country. He talked about the Soviet invasion of the 1980s. Again, he said, Osama Bin Laden wasn't in the country. And he said, again, as we stand as the country of Afghanistan stands to be attacked by the third great empire of the world, he says that -- he says that people should realize that it wasn't about Osama that in fact, it was very much about the demonization of Islam.
So certainly, the country here being prepared what could be coming next. Nobody here quite sure of that at this time.
MINTIER: All right, Nic Robertson reporting from Kabul, Afghanistan. And the meeting is still going on. We will bring you results of that Cabinet meeting here in Pakistan and the decision they make about providing assistance to the Unites States as soon as it is over.
I'm Tom Mintier, CNN, reporting live from Islamabad.
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