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CNN Saturday Morning News

Ibn Al-Shaykh al-Libi is in U.S. Custody

Aired January 05, 2002 - 08:05   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: We're told that the man who ran the training camps for Osama bin Laden is now in U.S. custody at Kandahar, Afghanistan.

CNN's Bill Hemmer is also there. He has more on that story.

Hello, again, Bill.

BILL HEMMER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Kyra. We're doing quite well, thank you. Good evening once again from Kandahar.

Going to start this hour now with the ever elusive search for Mullah Mohammed Omar, the Taliban founder. You know, a different day and a different report. Again, we have a new one today. Reports out of Helmand Province in the northern stretches of that province, near the town of Baghran, indicate that Mullah Mohammed Omar may apparently have slipped out of that area. Again, many special forces here in Kandahar, the fear, that he may slip their net there.

If this report is indeed true and verified on the ground, it would not be good news for the U.S. military in their campaign right now in southern Afghanistan. But we must caution you once again. We have heard different reports and different rumors throughout the week. The latest one tells us what I just said, but however, you never know. Wait another hour or wait another day. It might change.

Once again, all we do know right now for sure is that the U.S. do not have him in custody at this point.

Onto to the latest al Qaeda detainee, the highest, most-profile (sic) member yet to be brought here to the Kandahar Airport. 275, the running total right now, with a man by the name of Ibn Al-Shaykh al- Libi, the highest profile member yet. He was the man who was accused of running the terrorist training camps throughout Afghanistan. And certainly, U.S. intelligence wants a piece of him to try and find out what he may know, not only about al Qaeda activity in this country, but certainly al Qaeda activity as it stretches throughout the entire al Qaeda network around the world.

He's from Libya. His assets were frozen shortly after the attacks back in early September, frozen by the White House. And again, one of 275 members being held right here at the detention camp. We're also led to believe a transfer possibly to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba may come closer than we originally thought. And we're also told that the greater majority of the 275 here will make that trip to Guantanamo Bay for the potential for trial there on the southeastern edge of the island of Cuba.

Now back to the airport here, where the 101st Airborne Division continues to arrive here. The transition teams have been in throughout the week. And right now, the 101st Airborne is itching to get started. They were talking earlier with us today about their mission eventually, when the Marines hand over this airport to them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAJ. MIKE GIBLER, U.S. ARMY: We're glad to be part of it, because we have a tendency not to want to sit back and watch it on CNN when you're in the military, but you want to be part of it. We're just waiting to see what part we can play. And went to be a benefit. And we want to help the best we can on this entire fight on terrorism.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEMMER: There is the schedule as it stands right now. And what the Army's telling us, within the next 5 to 10 days, significant numbers, the 101st Airborne Division, will start arriving here during the night time in Kandahar. Eventually, as many as 2,000 of the 101st will take the place of the Marines here. And again, to help facilitate not only the military operation, but the detention facility as well, and eventually humanitarian aid, which may start arriving somewhere between a week to 10 days looking down the road here.

Kyra, that's a wrap from Kandahar. Back to you now in Atlanta.

PHILLIPS: All right, Bill Hemmer, thanks so much. We'll talk again in the next hour -- Martin.

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: With his take on these developments in Afghanistan, here's our military analyst Major General Don Shepperd.

Good morning again, General.

MAJ. GEN. DON SHEPPERD (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Martin?

SAVIDGE: This has been described, as far as the death of the green beret, an ambush. Do we know anything about the details?

SHEPPERD: We haven't been given the details yet, but very likely what happened is they were out dealing with the tribal leaders, trying to establish a liaison in the area, to get people to tell them where the remaining al Qaeda cells were and what their plans. Gathering information and intelligence that they could feed back to the Command, to decide where we want to put other people on the ground to mark targets and that type of thing.

Now again, whether this was a set up or a real ambush, we heard Jonathan Aiken tell us from the Pentagon that there is a price on the heads of these special operations forces being placed by al Qaeda, as well as us having prices on their heads, at least their leadership heads out there. So a murky and dangerous picture for our troops on the ground, Martin.

SAVIDGE: Would this likely lead to, say more air strikes, as opposed to using ground forces to try to prevent this again?

SHEPPERD: Well, we're not afraid to use ground forces whenever we need them. When General Franks thinks that he has an objective that he will go and take, he will put the forces in there. And he's now got more forces at his disposal with the expansion of Kandahar, with two Marine MEUs in there, and then the 101st coming.

But he's going to be very careful about that. We don't just throw people in the middle of bad guy country, to wander around and see what they can find out. We have specific objectives. And again, the purpose of the special forces people is to go in early and establish a liaison behind the scenes with the indigenous people and tribes in those areas. And theirs is just extremely dangerous.

Can it lead to air strikes? Yes, when we find out where people are and when air strikes are appropriate, they feed that information up the chain to the targeting cells. And then someone in the targeting cells will decide whether or not to apply air strikes or indeed, whether to send ground forces in, because they think Mullah Omar, bin Laden or some other high official is there.

SAVIDGE: When you conduct an operation like this, the meeting with those leaders in Afghanistan and a problem occurs, how do you get your forces out? What do you do?

SHEPPERD: Yes, you have a quick reaction team on call. These people are in contact all the time by radio. And also these days, even by telephone, with their quick reaction force. So when trouble comes, you get immediately on the radio and you yell for help. And that help will get there. And it just depends how far away they are.

Now as you have said in this particular area in the Khowst area, the Pakistan border is not too far away. In the case of this camp that we've been hitting, this Zawar Kili camp, it's only three miles from the Pakistan border. So it's likely that we would have forces there in Pakistan. But no matter what happens, it takes time to get them there. So you're in bad guy country and you're alone out there at some times. That's what these special forces kids do.

SAVIDGE: The Pentagon admits now that there were surveillance flights taking place over Somalia and Yemen. What could they see and how would they be conducted?

SHEPPERD: Yes, in many other places as well, I might add. Basically, they fly parallel to the coast. They have listening devices. They have long-range cameras that they can take pictures. We combine these with satellite photos and other intelligence means of known training sites, just like we did in Afghanistan, the pictures we've seen of training camps in Afghanistan before the hostilities started, we've taken the same kind of pictures in Somalia and other areas.

We watch these areas for levels of recent activity, and then we decide whether to go in there or whether to deal with indigenous people, to have them go in there and do the things that need to be done, which is gather intelligence and clean these places out.

SAVIDGE: In the case of Somalia, if we were to go in, such as say like an Afghanistan, where we have the Northern Alliance to rely on, who is there in Somalia for the U.S. to rely on?

SHEPPERD: That's the problem. There isn't anybody. There isn't a central government. There are armed bands and tribes that we have liaison with. And again, I assume that we people establishing liaison right now. And we are also in there with money, trying to buy information and this type of thing. But there isn't anybody that's an organized force, like a Somalia army, that we can go in.

So it's a much more complicated problem in one sense. It's also much easier in another sense, in that it's not -- you know, these areas are not well protected. So you've got good and bad on both sides here.

SAVIDGE: That you do. Major General Don Shepperd. Thanks again for joining us this morning.

SHEPPERD: Pleasure.

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