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CNN Saturday Morning News

Chapman Was Killed Near Khowst, Afghanistan

Aired January 05, 2002 - 08:01   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: In Georgetown, Texas, the father of Sergeant First Class Nathan Ross Chapman of the U.S. special forces says his son was a devoted husband and father of two young children. Sergeant Chapman is the first American soldier to die in Afghanistan from hostile fire.

And CNN's Jonathan Aiken is at the Pentagon this morning with more on the death of the green beret.

Good morning, Jonathan.

JONATHAN AIKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Marty.

We can tell you that the body of Sergeant Chapman is on its way to the United States, arriving just about an hour and a half ago at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany, one of the stops it will be making on its sad trip home.

We can tell you, as you mentioned, Sergeant Chapman, a father of two, from San Antonio, Texas. He was stationed at Fort Lewis from Washington State. He was part of a U.S. team that was working along with a CIA operative on the ground in eastern Afghanistan. We're told that they were working with tribal leaders in an area not far from the towns of Gardez and Khowst, as you see in Paktia Province.

Now this is an area that the U.S. military describes as the worst of a bad neighborhood. It is the last area in Afghanistan where U.S. ground troops are actively making connections with local tribal leaders and establishing alliances, a system that has worked well in the past, beginning with the Northern Alliance in the northern Mazar-e Sharif and then the Pashtun leaders in the south.

This is the last part of Afghanistan where this is being tried. It's a rough neighborhood, we're told. There are a lot of bandits. There are a lot of rogue elements, a lot of freelancers with guns out there, al Qaeda and Taliban soldiers operating on their own. And U.S. intelligence officials tell us that many of them are eager to cash in on a bounty that's been put on the head of U.S. intelligence operatives, one of which presumably Sergeant Chapman was working with.

Now what the Pentagon is telling us that as these men were working with these local tribal leaders, that Chapman, the CIA operative and other others in the U.S. party were ambushed. We're not sure by who, and exactly what kind of weapons they were firing. Chapman, we were told, was killed in an exchange of gunfire. The CIA operative was severely wounded and was evacuated from Afghanistan.

Now while 10 Americans have been killed or wounded in this conflict, Sergeant Chapman is the first to die of hostile fire in Afghanistan. And the commander of the U.S. -- the head of the U.S. Central Command, Chairman Tommy Franks, the man who heads up the operation in Afghanistan says it's tough to lose a single soldier in combat, even when you know that it's going to happen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. TOMMY FRANKS, CENTRAL COMMAND: It's tough to say what does this particular point, that being the loss of life, of people on the ground say that compares or contrasts this conflict to one previously? I think in each conflict that our nation's been in throughout our history, we have had people hurt and we have had people killed. And it's no -- it is no more pleasant today than it has been in the past. I'm thankful everyday that we have not lost more people than we have lost in this fight, but I will tell you in each case, when we have lost someone, I think it touches my command and it touches all of us very deeply.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AIKEN: Now as you mentioned, Marty, Sergeant Chapman, the father of two from San Antonio, Texas. And his parents released this statement in which they said they were proud of their son, that he loved serving in the military, was devoted to his country and considered the military to be his second family.

We can also tell you in terms of military activity in Afghanistan, U.S. bombers were busy over the Eastern portion of Afghanistan yesterday. They hit an al Qaeda training camp about three miles from the Pakistan border. It's the second time in as many days that this camp was hit. It is said to be a sprawling complex filled with caves, buildings and a training center.

The presumption is that fighters, al Qaeda fighters, were beginning to regroup in the area, Marty, possibly to make a run for the border, which as I said, was just about three miles away.

SAVIDGE: Jonathan Aiken reporting to us live this morning from the Pentagon. Thanks.

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