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CNN Saturday Morning News

U.S. Troops Secure Airfield Near Bagram

Aired December 01, 2001 - 07:05   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: More now on military movement, U.S. troops have entered Afghanistan to secure an airfield, and CNN's Jim Clancy says the Americans are getting a warm welcome as they secure the airstrip near Bagram.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM CLANCY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The U.S. soldiers have taken up positions at the main gate to the former Soviet airfield at Bagram. Well armed and in uniform, they smiled while local militiamen with the Northern Alliance made sure we didn't get any closer. No pictures was apparently the order of the day.

(on camera): No pictures, and no conversations either. The three soldiers of the 10th Mountain Division that I was standing only 20 feet away from, refused to say a word about their mission. Now, publicly, that mission is to create a safe environment for the transfer of humanitarian aid by air into Afghanistan. Still, the reality is that Bagram Air Base could be converted to military flight operations in a matter of days if not hours.

(voice-over): Whatever the ultimate purpose here, both U.S. and British troops have been seen inside Bagram's battered control tower, making ready.

With a telephoto lens, we were able to get a view of these U.S. troops guarding the compound and assessing their new living situation. Without official comment, we can only guess what some of them must have been saying. Luxurious accommodations, beyond our wildest dreams, was one unlikely interpretation. Or perhaps a telephone call to Washington to describe the light and airy views.

Pentagon sources have said 50 U.S. soldiers are now stationed here, but some of the Afghans who also guard the base put that figure closer to 200. Again, no way of verifying that claim.

But one thing is clear. Afghans are delighted to welcome the Americans. "I'm happy," said this soldier and resident. "The Taliban were cruel. They forced us from our homes. Everyone is happy the Americans are here," adding, "It means we're secure."

Bagram, the town, is a ramshackle collection of mud-walled compounds tied together with a maze of narrow, twisting dirt roads. It was the front line in a years-long battle between the Northern Alliance and the Taliban. Residents say it was overrun by the Taliban three times. Each time, they said, they suffered beatings, killings, and abductions.

Many people are returning home to Bagram for the first time in years. Things are beginning to return to normal. At a water well, the hub of village life, the conversation soon turns to those new neighbors, the Americans.

"This used to be a front line. This man lived here and that man, but we were too poor to leave," said a village elder, saying the American presence meant peace and security. And that's what he wants for all of Afghanistan.

Whatever their mission, the U.S. forces seem certain to benefit from the view they helped defeat the Taliban. For many of these Afghans, the arrival of U.S. troops does mean peace. That's probably the best gift any new neighbor could have brought to the people living here.

Jim Clancy, CNN, Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan.

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