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CNN Saturday Morning News

High-Ranking al Qaeda Leader Sits in U.S. Custody

Aired January 05, 2002 - 10:09   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: Returning now to the war in Afghanistan, among the rising number of detainees in U.S. custody sits a high-ranking al Qaeda leader. Meanwhile, the elusive Mullah Omar is still on the run. Our Bill Hemmer joins us now with the latest on those stories from Kandahar.

Hello again, once again, Bill.

BILL HEMMER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Kyra. Good evening from Kandahar, hope you're doing OK back there in Atlanta. At this point, the man who ran the terrorist camps, accused by the U.S. of doing that, now in U.S. custody. His name is Ibn Al-Shaykh al-Libi. He is from Libya.

Back in mid-September, the White House froze his assets. He is said to be, according to the White House, one of the 12 most wanted members of the al Qaeda network. Right now, he is here in the detainee facility in Kandahar, one of 275 other detainees here.

We are told that right now intelligence officials certainly want to know from him more aspects of the al Qaeda network here in this country and certainly around the world as the terror network -- the network, we've been told, reaches into 60 different countries throughout the world, but getting that information might be a bit tougher than imaginable. We'll talk with General Shepperd about that in a moment, live in Washington.

But right now, we're also told inside that facility, sources indicate that the latest detainee, the most high profiled that we are aware of now, is being held separately, away from the other he detainees. They say they don't want him to have any contact with the others being held here. I also want to ask whether or not more high profile members may come here. A high-ranking military official, today, says, "We're going to get more. You can count on it." That's a quote we heard from earlier today.

Now, more on Abdul Salam Zaeef, many remember him as the face and voice of the Taliban. He's the ambassador to Pakistan, the former ambassador we should say. He was trying to get asylum in Islamabad. The Pakistanis refused. And earlier today, we are told, he was driven back to Afghanistan, right now, in Afghan custody and may be turned over at any time to U.S. officials and again, certainly, the U.S. wants to know more about what Zaeef may know about Mullah Mohammed Omar. And on that front, we can tell you; it's a different day, a different rumor and a different report. What we know today is that some are indicated that Omar may have slipped the noose in northern Helmand Province. No way to know it, no way to pinpoint it right now. But we do know Special Forces are operating in that area and the one thing that is confirmed with regard to Omar -- I know we've gone back and forth to it on so many days throughout the past week about what's true and what is not true regarding him and about 1,500 Taliban fighters. We do know this; the U.S. does not have him in custody at this point.

Let's bring in Major General Don Shepperd now, live in Washington, to talk about these matters and a whole lot more.

General, good morning to you back in D.C. And I'll save you the good morning back to me so we can save on the satellite time here, given that massive delay here.

Here's what I want to know, General. About a 100 yards from behind where I'm standing, about 275 suspected al Qaeda members picked up -- many of them picked in Pakistan, along the Tora Bora region. What is the chance and the likelihood of these people turning and actually giving information to U.S. investigating authorities?

MAJ. GEN. DON SHEPPERD (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Bill, I think there's a very good possibility that we'll get lots of information from these people. We use standard interrogation techniques, military interrogation, as well as law enforcement interrogation by FBI and CIA. These people are professionals. They do it all over the world and in high profile cases as well as low profile. You get little pieces of information from everybody.

It doesn't mean that everyone has to turn, but every little piece of information you get goes into a bigger picture. And I certainly believe that, over time, we'll get very valuable information about the al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan and many other countries around the world -- Bill.

HEMMER: With that, General, we also know that number one and number two still on the run. Osama bin Laden may or may not be alive. We don't know. Mullah Mohammed Omar, still believe he's alive but on the run clearly somewhere in southern Afghanistan. If these two men are not verified for, based the U.S. military action here, how would this mission, how will this operation be viewed, General?

SHEPPERD: Well, I think it will be certainly disappointment throughout the American public certainly if we don't get these people and of course, throughout the military. On the other hand, there's lots to do in Afghanistan and other places. And there will be a worldwide search on for them forever. These people and their families and people that have contact with them will never be able to sleep because they're going to be waiting for next knock on the door that is a U.S. coalition forces or law enforcement coming from somewhere to roost them out. But there certainly will be a disappointment if we don't get them. We're trying to lower expectations, saying it's not just about one man or two men, but of course, there'll be disappointment if it doesn't happen -- Bill.

HEMMER: Which takes us into another issue -- Tora Bora region, we know from the Pentagon yesterday that some of that intense bombing apparently did severe damage to scores of Taliban, according to the Pentagon, said to be in tunnel complexes and high altitudes. And right now, there is the strong possibility of DNA testing being carried out there, to identify the bodies of the deceased inside of those mountains.

And one would think, General, I don't know about your memory, but when was the last time the U.S. military was involved in something like this?

SHEPPERD: Well, quite frankly, from a military, large operation standpoint, it's been a long time. On the other hand, this is a normal procedure within the military. Any time you have an accident or a crash, you have to do exactly the same thing. You have to go in and you have to find bodies and you have to identify those bodies. So it's fairly standard procedure although it will take a great deal of time in this case.

HEMMER: Well, general, one final thought here on the Green Beret that was killed yesterday. A 31-year-old man out of San Antonio, Texas, one might wonder that's been an absolute amazing thing that so few lives have been lost in this campaign so far. Do you find that remarkable as well, General?

SHEPPERD: It's remarkable, Bill, but remember we spent billions of dollars to ensure that our American soldiers, sailors and airmen have the best equipment in the world so that they can stand off at long ranges and not have to get face-to-face with an enemy. And they have overwhelming advantage with night vision equipment, with weapons that are better than anybody else's anywhere in the world and it is indeed paying off.

There are people who think that it's not real war unless you have a lot of casualties. Hey, we spent billions to make sure that if there are a lot of casualties, they are not on the American side. So it does not surprise me that there have been so few. It disappoints me that there have been any.

HEMMER: Point well taken. Major General Don Shepperd live in D.C. General, thanks again for your time today.

Back here in Kandahar, one final note here, we know within five to 10 days now, the 101st Airborne Division of the U.S. Army will take this airport after the Marines hand it to them. And again, the transition teams continue to come in here on a daily basis. Another one came in today. And we talked with the Army. Right now, the 101st says they are itching to get ready to go here in southern Afghanistan.

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

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEMMER: Certainly, for the Army, the 101st, their initial duties here: keep the air base secure, watch the detention facility and eventually, possibly within seven to days -- seven to 10 days time, you might get some humanitarian aid flown into this part of Afghanistan. We will track all of that from here.

Back to Atlanta now, more with Kyra -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Bill, thanks so much. You better get some sleep. I hear that scratchy voice. Thanks for all the intel.

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