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CNN Saturday Morning News

Bush Expresses Condolences to Afghan Government

Aired July 06, 2002 - 09:01   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.
ROBIN MEADE, CNN ANCHOR: The White House, as you might imagine, is following the developments in Afghanistan. CNN's Kelly Wallace is joining us now with reaction from Kennebunkport, Maine, where President Bush is spending the holiday weekend.

Kelly, good morning to you. I imagine that the administration does have a reaction to the -- what appears to be an assassination of a deputy vice president there in Afghanistan.

KELLY WALLACE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Robin, President Bush, in fact, spoke out about this just a short time ago after he finished a round of golf on this, his 56th birthday. He spoke, as you said, about how gunmen fired on and killed Vice President Qadir. The president saying that the United States is mourning the loss of a man who fought for freedom and stability in a country he loved.

The president told reporters that a member of his National Security Council team has been in touch with Afghan President Karzai to express the United States's condolences. Mr. Bush saying Karzai lost a good and trusted friend.

It was really a horrific scene earlier in Kabul. Vice President Qadir's car riddled with bullets, believed to be more than 30 shots fired on that vehicle, killing himself and another man. This the second Afghan minister to be gunned down and assassinated this year.

And so President Bush was asked this morning if he's concerned about stability in Afghanistan. The president telling reporters that with determination, patience, and the right kind of aid, Afghanistan can create a stable government.

Now, on a much, much lighter note, the president, as we said, celebrating this his 56th birthday, starting the day out on the links. He was joined by his father, the former president, his brother-in-law, and a golf pro out bright and early for a round of 18 holes. Asked how he was feeling, the president said he's feeling a bit older.

We understand the president will spend the rest of the day with his family, having lunch, going for a run, and probably partaking in some type of birthday celebration later. And, of course, though, on this serious note, Robin, monitoring developments in Afghanistan. The U.S. ambassador in Afghanistan has been in touch with Washington, and U.S. officials are assisting in the investigation -- Robin. MEADE: Kelly Wallace, thank you for that live report.

And right now, we're going to turn to our Afghan analyst, Eric Margolis. He's the author of the book called "War at the Top of the World." It is a book about Afghanistan, Kashmir, and to that.

Eric, thanks for joining us again this morning. You're joining us from Toronto, by the way.

You say that you knew Mr. Qadir. Who do you think would want to kill him?

ERIC MARGOLIS, CNN AFGHANISTAN ANALYST: Well, he has -- would have numerous enemies. First of all, there are enemies within his own Pashtun tribes. He's one of the most prominent Pashtuns and one of the few who very closely allied himself with the United States and the CIA and with Pakistani intelligence. He's a long-term friend. I knew him back from those days in the early 1990s.

Secondly, there are other -- there are possibly people from the Northern Alliance, the Tajiks and Uzbek faction, who are trying to dominate the government. There's a rivalry going in there. Third, there are al Qaeda people, possibly.

But fourth, there are many Afghans. There's growing unrest in Afghanistan and anger at the United States' presence there, particularly after the killing of many Afghan civilians a few days ago. And this was clearly a blow that was designed to strike the United States.

MEADE: Course, we have to stress that certainly there is no way of knowing who is to blame right now, and officials say it was an act of terror.

Let me talk to you about what do you think this may mean for the number of peacekeepers in the region? Will there be claims that more are needed to keep the peace and to help the stability, especially in the face of this assassination?

MARGOLIS: Well, the U.S.-installed Afghan government has been begging for more troops, because right now it rules only Kabul, and as we've seen from this assassination, not even that totally. But more troops are not going to solve the problem of the continuing unrest, the tribal infighting, and other nations trying to insert their influence into Afghanistan. The situation remains very turbulent.

MEADE: You know, he was one of three vice presidents. But how important was he to this administration?

MARGOLIS: He was very important, for two reasons. First of all, he was the most important Pashtun. The U.S.-installed leader, Ahmed Karzai, was -- Hamid Karzai, sorry -- was the -- was a Pashtun, but he had no tribal base, whereas Haji Qadir had a very important tribal following. He was a major tribal chieftain in southern Afghanistan. So he was a key ally. Secondly, he was the minister of what's called reconstruction, which meant that he was going to be one of the chief dispensers of American money coming in. So it was his job to keep buying the loyalty and fidelity of the southern Pashtun tribes. His removal, as I said, really hurts the American plans.

MEADE: Eric Margolis, thank you for your time this morning once again.

MARGOLIS: You're welcome.

MEADE: As he talks about the assassination of one of the three vice presidents there in Afghanistan, Abdul Qadir. Thank you again for your time.

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