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CNN Saturday Morning News

Taliban Stronghold Under Siege in Afghanistan; South Scrambles as Snow Moves In; Death of Young Man Set to Make His Debit at Winter Olympics

Aired February 13, 2010 - 06:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Well, good morning, everybody. From the CNN Center, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING for this -- it's not Valentine's Day just yet, is it?

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Not just yet. That's tomorrow.

HOLMES: Tomorrow. The -- the 14th. A lot of people getting ready for that. But we're getting ready for a big day today, a lot to tell you about.

Good morning to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes.

NGUYEN: Yes, a lot going on today. Hello, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen. Thanks for joining with us today.

All right. So it is the biggest battle yet, and it is happening right now. We have exclusive video: A U.S. -- or U.S. troops and coalition forces, they are in Afghanistan, battling the Taliban. And we are all over this story.

HOLMES: And the Winter Olympics getting off to a tragic, tragic start, even before the Games get going, a death before the opening ceremonies for a young man who was set to make his Olympics debut. We'll tell you all about it here coming up.

NGUYEN: So sad, yes.

And a major cleanup this morning after a winter storm just slams into the Southeast. We have the latest on all of that coming up.

HOLMES: Yes, but certainly going to be one of our biggest stories this morning to tell you about, the largest military offensive in the Afghan war. That tops our look at your top stories right now.

NATO forces being led by U.S. and Afghan troops battling Taliban fighters in the Helmand Province town of Marjah. Marjah is important. It's critical because it is the last stronghold of the Taliban in the region. We are just getting word also this morning that three U.S. service members have been killed in Afghanistan today. However, they died in an IED attack that was not related to the Marjah offensive. Much more on this offensive coming up in just a moment.

NGUYEN: Also this: Three people dead, three wounded after a shooting at a University of Alabama -- in fact, at that university in Huntsville. The suspect is an assistant biology professor, and CNN affiliate WHNT caught up with her as she was taken into custody.

Now just take a listen to what she had to say.

All right, we don't have that sound for you. But again, want to remind you that three people are dead. The suspect's name is Amy Bishop. Affiliate WFAFF is reporting that she was angry after she was denied tenure. All of the victims worked in the biology department. Now, no students were involved in that shooting.

HOLMES: And again, that Olympic athlete dying after an awful accident at the Winter Games in Vancouver. He was set to make his Olympics debut in just a couple days. He's a Georgian athlete. His name is Nodar Kumaritashvili. He was killed while performing a practice run for the luge, a high-speed sled race.

This is a race where you're going down these hills at some 80, 90 miles per hour. And he crashed and hit a pole. Now, several athletes had already complained about the tracks, because there was some safety concerns that this thing was just too fast, there had been some other accidents.

Olympic Committee has decided that that track will remain open, for now at least.

Want to turn back to that offensive in Afghanistan. It includes some 5,000 U.S. service members and also about 2,000 Afghan forces.

NGUYEN: Yes, covering this story from the Afghan capital of Kabul is Frederik Pleitgen. Atia Abawi is embedded with the Marines, while Nic Robertson reports from London on the involvement of British troops. And Barbara Starr handles news coming out of the Pentagon.

So let's get to Atia. She reported earlier this morning that the Taliban make nearly $2.5 million a year from the narcotics trade in Marjah.

HOLMES: Yes, the Marines want to put an end to all that, of course, get the Taliban out of town. Again, we have reports from all of those people we just mentioned, all of our correspondents.

We want to start though with CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: The U.S. military has been talking openly about the operation for days, signaling the Taliban that Marjah, in Helmand Province, is the next objective for U.S. and Afghan forces.

The region is a major poppy-growing district, and U.S. officials say one of the last strongholds of the Taliban. The objective is to get the Taliban to go on the run, leave the region, then U.S. and Afghan forces can establish enough security to protect civilians and leave the Taliban no safe haven to return to. But there are risks. U.S. Marines will have to travel the region mainly on foot patrol, trying to avoid IEDs, ambushes and suicide bombers that may be lying in wait. U.S. commanders say it's just too early to say whether the Taliban will cut and run, or stay and fight. And the ultimate challenge: Can the shaky Afghan government provide the security the people of Marjah need to ultimately keep the Taliban at bay?

Barbara Starr, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Want to go now live to the Afghan capital. Our Frederik Pleitgen is there in Kabul, keeping an eye on things.

Frederik, hello to you. I guess just give us just the update. This thing has been going on for some 12-plus hours now. What are you hearing?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, T.J.

I mean, this thing started in the way early-morning hours of today with an air assault by the Marines, by British forces and also by Afghan forces.

So on the one hand, you had the coalition forces coming in from the air, trying to establish a foothold in that town of Marjah, trying to set the stage for the ground forces that then moved in subsequently.

Now the biggest issue that they have, and it's something that goes back to what Barb -- Barbara was just saying, is that the Taliban have planted a ring of improvised explosive devices around the town of Marjah. So the Marines are using heavy breaching equipment to get through that ring of improvised explosive devices to make lanes for their forces to move in.

Now, what we're hearing from our people on the ground is that there is scattered resistance to the Marines and the other forces on the ground here. We're hearing of gunbattle, RPG fires and also the occasional improvised explosive device being set off.

So far, we have no information as to any coalition losses in that area, those three U.S. service members that were killed, you were talking about before, of course, as you said, were killed in Kandahar, not part of this operation.

However, we do know, that so far, according to the Afghan government, five Taliban have been killed. Eight further Taliban have been taken into custody. So certainly, this operation is ongoing. The Marines are establishing that foothold as they go along. Their main objective, of course, is to get this town under control as fast as possible.

And the big unknown is, as Barbara said as well: Will the Taliban ultimately put up a fight right now. It looks as though they're resorting to what they usually do, which is hit-and-run tactics, rather than open, toe-to-toe battle -- T.J.

HOLMES: Frederik, one more thing, can you tell us, did the civilians heed the warning and get out of town before this offensive?

PLEITGEN: Not as many as were believed.

I mean, one thing that NATO was telling them beforehand, for a long time, is they were dropping leaflets, asking them to either leave the area or stay in their houses. I've been, in the past couple of days, actually, talking to people who chose to leave the area. And what we're hearing from the Afghan government, that it was maybe 200 or 300 families that actually left the Marjah and -- and the districts surrounding Marjah.

That really isn't as many as we would have thought. That's a couple of hundred, maybe a little over 1,000 people. And if you think about the fact that this whole area has about 100,000 people in it, then the exodus was certainly not as big as many would have thought.

Now, this is something that actually plays into what the U.S. and what NATO want. Because what they want to do is, they want to get this offensive going, go down on hard on the Taliban, shield the civilians, make sure there's no civilian casualties, and then have the civilians in the town to start rebuilding the government institutions there.

So it's very, very important that the people don't leave, or don't leave in great numbers, so they can start getting governance going in Marjah as fast as possible. That's what they want to do.

They want to move in Afghan government institutions, because ultimately -- and this is something that the U.S. has been saying again and again -- the main objective is convincing the people in Marjah that their government, the Afghan government, is a better alternative than the Taliban, who have been governing them de facto for a very long time now -- T.J.

HOLMES: All right. Frederik Pletigen, we appreciate the update. We'll be checking in with you plenty this morning. Thank you so much.

NGUYEN: All right. So as we told you, right now, American forces are involved in fighting one of the largest operations of the Afghan war.

HOLMES: So what are the challenges they're facing on the ground? We have experts going to be helping us out this morning to spell out the path ahead.

NGUYEN: And the Southeast, slowed by all that snow, still digging out. And yet another winter storm? Say it isn't so, Bonnie Schneider.

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You know, we're still tallying up the snowfall totals. And this is Atlanta, where we had several inches of snow fall yesterday. A brand-new storm could bring more snow for the Mid-Atlantic. Plus, I'll have your snowfall totals across the Southeast. That's all coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: All right. It's the South's turn to get hit with a little winter storm. Atlanta -- you know, this is a big deal. If -- if it rains too hard here, people here kind of go crazy.

NGUYEN: Schools shut down, everything.

(LAUGHTER)

NGUYEN: You know, it's not that bad, but my goodness. Schools were shut down yesterday. Universities closed today. Any classes that may be taking place, not going to happen because all of that white stuff. How cute. Kids are getting out.

HOLMES: That's cute.

NGUYEN: Kids love this. I saw them at Centennial Olympic Park yesterday throwing snowballs. It -- it's a great time except if you're driving on all of this slippery stuff.

HOLMES: And we do, the park Betty just mentioned, just across the street from us, Centennial Olympic Park.

And again, overnight, some of that snow and some of that slush kind of froze. And that caused a big problem for those trying to get into work, I don't know, like, 3.

NGUYEN: Like yourself.

HOLMES: Three this morning. That kind of caused of an issue.

But for the most part -- you know, it's a Saturday. It's good. This will be nice. Actually, we don't get this a lot here in Atlanta. People can stay in...

NGUYEN: Mm-hmm.

HOLMES: ...and just enjoy the weather, watch Daytona this weekend, enjoy the Valentine's Day. So it -- it's kind of nice.

And -- and your home state of Texas, things were -- got a little ugly at times.

NGUYEN: Yes, I was talking to my mom this week, and she would say, 'It just keeps snowing and snowing.' In fact, they had record snowfall in the Dallas area.

Let's get the latest on someone who knows all about this, and that being Bonnie Schneider. She joins us now live, in for Reynolds Wolf, who's probably at home where it's nice and warm.

But...

SCHNEIDER: Well, he's been out there for awhile in the snow, right?

NGUYEN: That's true. He -- he got his fair share of it.

But man -- now is it true, I was reading somewhere that possibly there's snow in all 50 states. Is that true?

SCHNEIDER: There's snow in 49, except for Hawaii. That's a little debatable, because some people say at the high elevations...

NGUYEN: The mountaintop. Yes.

HOLMES: Yes.

SCHNEIDER: ...of the mountains, you can see snow.

But really, what's weird -- you were talking about earlier, about Dallas -- I just want to mention that on Thursday, we had the snowiest day ever in Dallas, 12.2 inches -- a foot of snow. Your mother was telling you the truth; it did not stop snowing until there was a foot of snow on the ground.

And yes, not just snow in Texas. Look at these numbers -- I just tabulated. These are preliminary reports, so we may fine-tune them as we go through the morning. Atlanta, Georgia, 3.6 inches of snow. Incredible. Macon saw 2.0 inches. Birmingham, Alabama, 4 inches. Jackson, Mississippi, 4.1. And Columbia, South Carolina, 5 inches of snow.

It is not often, once every 50 years, where you start talking about huge snowfall totals like what you see here for these cities. And even in Florida, in Pensacola, Florida, there was a trace of snow. That's why we are saying there is snow on the ground -- in Florida, maybe just a tiny bit, it might have already melted.

But let's take a look at where it's snowing right now, where the storm is right now, because it's not over yet. Not by any means.

We still have that wrap-around effect. So watch out for snow in Virginia Beach this morning. Also, snow in the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

And then offshore, as the storm encounters milder conditions, we're getting some very heavy thunderstorms. So it's almost over.

I want to take a closer look for those of you that are -- do have to wake up early and maybe head up somewhere. If you're in the Outer Banks area or into Greenville, North Carolina, watch out, because we still have snow falling. We even had snow in the golf courses across Myrtle Beach. An incredible snowfall totals.

And -- and T.J., you were mentioning about the temperatures. It is very cold out there. I noticed also driving in, particularly on the side streets, watch out for that black ice. Twenty-five degrees outside in Atlanta; Charlotte, North Carolina, also saw about five inches of snow. And we have 25 degrees outside. So now that the snow is gone, and skies have cleared, we're really looking at a cold, cold Saturday morning. So if you can stay inside, very highly advisable. I think that's a good idea...

(LAUGHTER)

SCHNEIDER: ..for the weekend. Have a great Presidents Day, Valentine's Day weekend and...

NGUYEN: Yes.

SCHENIDER: ...and batten down the hatches.

HOLMES: Gorgeous. It really is gorgeous outside.

NGUYEN: Light a fire, stay inside.

HOLMES: Yes. It's great that it happened on a weekend...

SCHNEIDER: Yes, that is true.

HOLMES: ...and not during the commute. So maybe we can enjoy this, Betty. Yes.

NGUYEN: Yes, (INAUDIBLE). And we already got the warning to stay inside from the experts, so, hey, you know, too bad we can't do that, right?

HOLMES: Yes, and I don't think Reynolds has made it back.

NGUYEN: Oh he hasn't? He...

HOLMES: He got stuck in D.C.

NGUYEN: Oh, is he stuck in the airport?

HOLMES: Yes.

NGUYEN: Reynolds, if you're watching, we're thinking about you, buddy.

HOLMES: We are thinking about you, buddy.

We're going to turn -- again, our big story this morning, we're going to keep an eye on what's happening in Afghanistan. You have thousands of NATO troops led by U.S. forces, also Afghan forces fighting in southern Afghanistan.

NGUYEN: Yes, they're targeting the Helmand Province.

And Josh Levs is here with a closer look at the territory.

All right. Give us just an idea of what kind of terrain and what this area is like.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, exactly. We're going to take you all the way inside, so you'll be able to see. And also, what this site under siege in Afghanistan specifically means to the United States.

Also, we have the words that a NATO commander said to his troops just before they embarked.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: It is the largest military offensive of the Afghanistan war.

HOLMES: Yes, and you can track all of the developments in the operation that's under way -- excuse me -- that's under way right now.

Josh Levs here to show us. Good morning to you, Josh.

LEVS: Hey, good morning again to you guys.

Yes, you know, it really -- it's very complex, and when we take a look at the Afghanistan war in general, we know it can be really hard to wrap your mind around whatever the latest development is. Which is why we have this great Web site for you, CNN.com/Afghanistan, that helps you do just that.

And I'm going to be telling you a little bit more about it. But I want to start off with one of the features we have for you, which is that we basically zoom you into the area where this is going on. And we can take this Google Earth right now, just so you can get a basic sense of the kind of location that we're talking about.

It's going to be this stretch down there in the south, and as we know, major Taliban-stronghold area where there's a lot of poppy- growing, which as you know, the opium trade is a huge problem inside Afghanistan. That which you're looking at right there is the key area that is basically under siege right now, is the area that the NATO is -- is focusing on along with Afghan troops, which means a lot of U.S. troops right there.

Now, we have something that I think is pretty striking. We're seeing the big picture a lot. You're hearing from us about it all day. But we also have the words for you of a commander inside NATO as he was addressing his troops.

In this case, it's a British commander. This is what he told his troops just before they went into this mission.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. COL. NICK LOCK, CMDR., ROYAL WELSH BATTLE GROUP: And this is a historic mission. We are really at a point, a tipping point in the future of the campaign. And I'm absolutely convinced of the necessity for this mission, because by doing this and clearing this particular area, we will ensure that we have the government of Afghanistan influence right the way through central Helmand.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: Mmm.

And you're going to be able to hear more of that and read a lot about more about it, too, at our Web site, CNN.com/Afghanistan.

Let's zoom in for a second. I want you to see some of the features that will help you understand what's going on here.

This is it: It's called "Afghan Crossroads." And it's packed with blogs and pictures from the ground. And as this mission develops, as you see more and more things happen in the coming days, we will be filling this with more and more pictures.

But while I have this screen up, this is the thing I want to end on here; I want everyone to see this. Let's zoom in way in.

We have for you every single casualty in the entire Afghanistan war and from the coalition, not just from the U.S. troops. You can search by date. You can also search by name. We have pictures of every single soldier that has died in this war, their hometown, their age, how they were killed, how they gave their lives and also some more information about them. Individual stories about all the troops in the Afghanistan war who have served as part of the U.S.-led coalition.

And all of that is at the Web address you're seeing on your screen right there, CNN.com/Afghanistan.

So Betty and T.J., I'm going to be hitting that often, just because anytime we talk about the Afghanistan war, it's so important to remember those sacrifices.

NGUYEN: Oh yes, no doubt. And this is the largest offensive of the war.

LEVS: Right.

NGUYEN: So a lot going on today. Very important day, and we're going to be following it every step of the way.

Josh, thank you for that.

LEVS: You got it.

NGUYEN: You know, it's not just Americans taking part in this offensive.

HOLMES: And CNN's Nic Robertson will join us with the latest from London, where we're learning about the U.K.'s involvement in this operation.

Stay here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Checking our top stories right now, a national day of mourning in Haiti one month after the earthquake that just devastated the country.

Thousands of people, they gathered in Port-au-Prince yesterday for a remembrance service to honor the dead. More than 212,000 people died and more than 300,000 were injured.

Want you to tune into CNN at 2 p.m. Eastern today for the video simulcast of Quincy Jones' collaborative remix of "We Are the World," all to support Haiti relief efforts. It will feature a special introduction by Grammy and Oscar winner Jamie Foxx.

Music legend Lionel Richie, who spearheaded the original with Jones, will close the simulcast.

You can catch it right here on CNN and CNN.com.

HOLMES: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates as many as 17,000 Americans have died from the H1N1 flu. Only about 2,500 of those deaths are confirmed. Health officials blame that on an underreporting of cases which tends to be common with the flu.

You may remember, after months of the outbreak, doctors began testing only those who were severely sick.

NGUYEN: All right. Folks in the South hoping that warmer weather in the forecast for today will melt some of that snow away. About 8 inches fell in Mississippi, but other areas got a lot less. Many flights though canceled, and schools, they've been closed.

HOLMES: As we're been reporting this morning, right now, U.S., NATO, Afghan forces in the midst of one of the largest offensives in Afghanistan, the largest we've seen since that war started.

Here, with a unique perspective -- this morning's development, it's Christine Fair. She's a senior political scientist with the RAND corporation. She spent some time working with the U.N. in Afghanistan.

Ma'am, thank you so much for being with us this morning. I talked to another gentleman about this offensive a little earlier this week, and, yes, it's huge, but he didn't seem to think it would be much of a turning point, if you will. Just a little step in a long process.

Do you agree with that?

CHRISTINE FAIR, SENIOR POLITICAL SCIENTIST, RAND CORP.: Well, I -- of course it is a long process. But there are a number of things about this operation which is very distinctive.

So in previous operations, we had a very small footprint of troops. And, you know, soldiers would call it "mowing the lawn," because they would go in and they would clear the area of the Taliban, but there wouldn't be enough troops to actually hold the ground, and the Taliban would come back.

So Operation Moshtarak, which actually means "together" in Dari, reflects a number of things about this operation which is very different. First, it's huge. Second, there is a substantial degree of Afghan involvement. Previous engagements, there would be one Afghan soldier for every 10 international soldiers. And here, it's 1-to-2. And -- and that's where Operation Moshtarak, the name comes in.

The second thing is that Karzai was briefed, and he -- he may have initially been reticent, but he did ultimately bless it.

And then a third really interesting thing, reflecting, again, the Afghan position behind this, was that there was actually a tribal shorta (ph), a meeting of about 400 elders, who also blessed this operation while expressing this concerns.

Now, there are a number of issues that certainly loom. And that is, once the area is cleared and you have soldiers that are staying, the question is, will the Afghan government get its act together and -- and get down there and actually provide some government. And apparently, there is a government in the box waiting for this.

HOLMES: OK. Well, you talk about the -- getting the involvement of -- of Afghans, and we talked about the leadership, if you will.

But what about the Afghan citizens? And some of those citizens there depend on some of this -- that farming in that -- that -- that poppy, that opium trade down there. How do they view the Americans coming in there, and essentially cleaning the place up?

FAIR: Well, these actually are the longer-term issues. So the longer-term issue is going to be what they call the -- the "build" phase, in the "clear, hold and build."

What's interesting about this particular area -- the reason why it's so fertile is, about 50 years ago, the Americans built that canal system. So the long-term plan is that they're going to be able to get in there and -- and replace poppy agriculture with something else. Now, that's obviously long term.

The other interesting thing, which is a big question mark as far as I am concerned, is that one of the operation of this operation is to knock the Taliban around, and to try to convince some of the foot soldiers, as well as the low and mid-level commanders, that they might want to integrate.

And I'm saying reintegrate, not reconciliation, because this isn't about politically comprising with the Taliban. So one question, of course, is this going to be an adequately successful campaign, that it's going to motivate some of those Talibs to actually reintegrate.

HOLMES: All right.

And I know you're going to be with us a little more this morning, I do believe. But I do want to pick up on that point when we talk to you again about that, essentially negotiating and sometimes buying the loyalties of some of these Taliban members. And can you buy long-term, if you will?

Some believe that you might get it for the short term, but -- but it -- eventually, down the road, they're going to turn on you again.

So Christine Fair, so good to have you here with us this morning. We'll talk to you again soon.

FAIR: Thank you for having me. Thank you.

HOLMES: All right.

NGUYEN: Well, the Mid-Atlantic states, they're recovering from this week's snow. Lots of folks got plenty of it.

HOLMES: Plenty of it, and we're getting our go at it down here in the South now.

The work may not end soon. There's another winter-storm system -- yes, sights on which region this time? And how long do residents have before the next round arrives?

NGUYEN: That's so pretty.

HOLMES: Yes, if you're not driving in it, Betty.

(LAUGHTER)

NGUYEN: That's true, if you're not dealing with it.

(LAUGHTER)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Hello, everybody. Good morning on this Saturday. Welcome back. We appreciate you being with us today. I'm Betty Nguyen.

HOLMES: And good morning to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes. Glad you could start your day right here.

NGUYEN: Let's get right to it. Checking our top stories.

An assistant professor at the University of Alabama in Huntsville is facing murder charges this morning. Police say Amy Bishop, who teaches biology at this school, went on a shooting rampage killing three faculty members. Three others were wounded. And according to CNN affiliate WAFF, authorities say the shooting occurred at a faculty meeting in which Bishop learned she would not receive tenure.

HOLMES: Florida police have arrested a man suspected in a string of shootings in Tampa. The manhunt started at convenience store yesterday. That is where 53-year-old Andre Watkins car-jacked a pickup truck. Police say he then drove to a house, killed a 19-year- old woman. Watkins is also suspected of critically wounding two other people in separate shootings.

NGUYEN: That was the wrong video. That was the man who was accused of robbing banks in Florida. Sorry, about that folks. I want to tell you about this. An Olympic athlete died after an awful accident in at the Winter Games in Vancouver. Georgian athlete Nodar Kumaritashvili was killed while performing a practice run for the luge, the high-speed sled race where the rider sleds face up. Now several athletes had voiced concerns about the track's safety after other accidents. The Olympic Committee has decided the track will remain open for now.

And half a world away, U.S., British, and Afghan forces are putting their lives on the line. Right now, at this hour in one of largest offenses in the Afghan war. We've been talking about this throughout the morning and we'll continue to do so, but in the pre- dawn hours, 60 helicopters hovered in the skies above the town of Marjah, 15,000 soldiers moved in, and there are explosives buried everywhere on the ground. Our Nic Robertson is outside the British prime minister's house at 10 Downing Street.

Nic, give us the latest about what you know about what is taking place in that offensive at this hour.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, there are a number of British troops involved in that offensive. Possibly as many as 1,000 along with Canadian and, of course, U.S. Marines and Afghan forces, perhaps as many as 1,500 Afghan troops. The operation has already run into firefights, troops landing from helicopters, taking up positions as our reporting, exchanges of gunfire, rocket- propelled grenades fired at them.

A number of Taliban have been killed so far, exactly how many isn't clear. Ministry of defense will be giving their briefing in a few hour's time, which will perhaps give us some concrete details of what's happening on the ground. But already the fight is beginning, Betty.

NGUYEN: All right. When it comes to the difficulties that these troops face, give us an idea. Because we're reading that there are land mines in some areas, even some of the buildings are booby trapped.

ROBERTSON: Well, what the Taliban have in that area is the advantage of knowing the operation has been coming so they can plan and prepare for it. Of course, during that time NATO will have had UAV drone aircraft flying overhead, watching what the Taliban are doing.

But the Taliban will have been burying IEDs and they'll know the fields and they'll know exactly where the troops have to go through, you know, a gap in a wall or a particular place that's going to be easier for them to get around a particular field with irrigation canals. And they'll try to use that knowledge to place their IEDs in the right places to target the troops.

Watching one of these operations two years ago, Marines in Helmand taking on the Taliban very close to this same area, the Marines back then were able to fire heavy artillery rounds, thousands of rounds were fired and the battle lasted for a month. This time Marines and other forces don't have that opportunity because they're trying to minimize civilian casualties. So the Taliban are going to take advantage of that, as well. Wherever there are civilians, they know it'll be much harder for NATO forces to pull heavy fire power on them, Betty.

NGUYEN: Yes, and we are learning that many of the civilians did decide not to leave. Which means if this turns into urban warfare, house-to-house, a lot of times it seems that the troops may not be able to tell who is Taliban and who's not.

ROBERTSON: It's very tough, particularly going in an operation at night, it's very tough. And how do you tell a Taliban? Because they don't wear a uniform and in many cases, some of the people fighting as Taliban there will be local farmers. This is an agricultural area.

If you think of it more as sort of a large sprawling arable area, fields with the sort of small clustered, small towns where perhaps there's an intersection, a main crossroads where you'll have, perhaps as many as 20 to 40 small sort of one-room stores, and scattered housing around there. That's what the troops are facing.

The Marines going in, it's not like the operation in Fallujah, and Iraq in 2004, where the residents are cleared out. It was house- to-house fighting. This is much more open and spread out terrain. Much tougher in many ways to know exactly where the Taliban are going to be hiding and in whose house, and how many civilians, women and children may be in that house, as well.

Again, this is something Taliban will use to their advantage. The troops know this going in. They know this is what they're up against. And they're going to have a lot of high-tech capability UAVs and such like, providing on the ground real-time information for them, Betty.

NGUYEN: Yes, it is a difficult operation underway at this hour. Nic Robertson joining us live from London. Nic, thank you so much for that insight.

And we've been talking about how big this operation is. You're hearing a lot now about the city of Marjah in Helmand Province. It is very important to NATO.

NGUYEN: Indeed, and CNN's Tom Foreman tells us why.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Betty, T.J., this is really ground zero for this. Helmand Province in Afghanistan, why does that matter so much? First, look at where the U.S. troops have been in this country. Up here along the Pakistan border, near Kabul, the capital, and obviously, down in the south. They have been there because that is where the Taliban is strong. As you can see in the red sections here. And now they're going after a real stronghold of the Taliban, Marjah. About 125,000 people live here. This is an opium-producing area. So it has been a source of funding for the Taliban, also for weapons running here. What is a plan for attacking it while keeping the civilian casualties to a minimum?

Well, the idea is they'll circle the city first and then they'll strike in with helicopters, in different sites outside, and with specialized strike forces, increasing pressure on the inside. Trying to keep down civilian casualties and yet put pressure on the Taliban. Maybe the pressure makes them flee, maybe they stand and fight. We'll find out.

We do know already that there are targets here that really matter a great deal. For example, they're going to pay a lot of attention to potential choke points and transportation points like bridges, like this one right over here. They're also going to pay a lot of attention to things like roads that become critical for people moving out.

For example, this one right here runs from Marjah up to Lashkar Gah. And many of the refugees that have been fleeing this area have already been going out this way. These are critical things they'll have to watch as they strike this area.

What will they find? That's the big question. As these days go on and this attack continues, there's always a big question mark about the degree to which people will stand and fight and the degree to which they will flee. And one of the best ways to know is to look back in history.

If we fly over Iran here over to Iraq, we can see the town of Fallujah, where there is also a similar strategy in the past where they surrounded the town, some years ago, in a major, major battle trying to get the insurgents there. They also came collapsing in from the outside. They thought at the time that many of the insurgents would flee, many of them did not. And a battle that was supposed to last about 90 hours, in fact, went on for many weeks, Betty, T.J.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Well, the weather is now severely South. It was severe, Bonnie ...

NGUYEN: And severe.

HOLMES: Yes, for the past couple of weeks we've been talking, Bonnie, about the Northeast got hit back to back. But now it's our turn here in the South.

(WEATHER REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Checking our top stories right now. A national day of mourning in Haiti, one month after the earthquake that just devastated the country. Thousands of people gathered in Port-au-Prince yesterday for a service to honor the dead. More than 212,000 people lost their lives in the quake and more than 300,000 were injured.

HOLMES: Republican Senator Lindsey Graham spearheading a campaign to block funding of a civilian trial of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and the other 9/11 terror suspects. During the Republican address this morning, Graham argued for a military commission.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. LINDSAY GRAHAM, (R) SOUTH CAROLINA: Al Qaeda terrorists should not receive more rights than a Nazi war criminal, and now is not the time to go back to the pre-9/11 mentality of fighting crime, instead of fighting a war. Civilian trial of hard-core terrorists is unnecessarily dangerous and creates more problems than it solves.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: The White House says it's still considering a decision by Attorney General Eric Holder to try the 9/11 suspects in New York.

NGUYEN: Bill Clinton is resting at his home Chappaqua, New York, two days after undergoing an angioplasty. But the former president says he has no plans to slow down and is looking forward to getting back to work. Thursday doctors implanted stents to open up a clogged artery and they say there's no evidence of heart damage and call Clinton's prognosis excellent.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Getting food to the sick and hungry in Washington, that is a difficult job now that two snowstorms that turned the roadways into just that a giant obstacle course.

HOLMES: Our Sarah Lee now, tells us it may have become an impossible mission until more than 100 volunteers decided to take it up as a challenge.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARAH LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Digging out after the storm, difficult for most of us, essentially impossible for some. Like 56- year-old Juan Davis of Takoma Park, Maryland.

JUAN DAVIS, HIV SURVIVOR: I've been HIV positive for about 15 years. HIV disease has been a big struggle.

LEE: Davis lives alone and depends on services from Food & Friends, a Washington, D.C. nonprofit. They deliver daily meals to people with life-challenging illnesses, but also provide a dose of human connection.

DAVIS: It's funny, I listen for the doorbell. I almost sit in front of the door waiting for them to come.

LEE: In its 22-year history, the organization has never closed. But then came the snow, which shuttered its doors, not once, but twice in just a matter of days.

LEE (on camera): Going outside, negotiating those slippery streets, even putting yourself at risk of catching a cold. I mean, that's -- that is a serious concern for you.

DAVIS: That's something that I always think about. I'm very, very conscious of trying to maintain my health. I mean I consider myself a long-term survivor.

LEE: On a typical day, this is how much food would need to be delivered at Food & Friends, but an historic amount of snowfall requires unprecedented measures. Now all this food needs to head out the door today, with help from about 100 brand new volunteers. People like Nick and Hillary Babashko (ph), who with their children stepped in to help.

DAVIS: You didn't have much trouble getting in, did you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, the only issue was the snow outside.

DAVIS: Well, of course ...

LEE: But Food & Friends isn't the only place seeing snow inspired surge of good will.

ROBERT EGGER, FOUNDER, D.C. CENTRAL KITCHEN: Here's sweet potatoes, we've got greens. You know, we have all kinds of stuff we have been able-potatoes-all the stuff that we used to have to cook like immediately, now we can cook year round.

LEE: At the D.C. Central Kitchen, a soup kitchen that also trains and employs the formally homeless. There are extra helpings of help.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is why we're here today. This is why we're here every day. But it's a very special day because it's cold with a lot of snow.

LEE: I feel like Santa Claus in February?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A little bit, a little bit. It is tough to be compared to St. Nick, but we-you know, whatever we can do to help, we're happy to do that.

DAVIS: Thank you, again.

LEE: Sarah Lee, for CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: A lot of people deal with issues with their weight. A lot of people actually gain or lose a little bit every single day. NGUYEN: Depends on how much you eat, I suppose. If there is a large lunch today, you know, you're going to weigh a little bit more. But what if that up and down actually could cost you a shot at Olympic gold? That is what happened to one Olympic boxer. Now he's turning his missed chance into a golden teaching opportunity.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Well, as the Vancouver Olympics get underway, one American boxer is trying to put his Olympic experience behind him. Now, I introduced you to Gary Russell in 2008. His parents were trying to raise money to see him fight in China and Gary got his wish. His parents were right there ringside. But the end result was one he'd rather forget.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN (voice over): The gym, a place to train, perhaps even to forget. Gary Russell fulfilled a lifelong dream by making it to the Olympics. But the experience left him with an empty feeling.

GARY RUSSELL, 2008 OLYMPIAN: I kick myself almost every day. I am actually now starting to get over it.

NGUYEN: Gary trained long and hard for his big moment. He was favored to medal in Beijing, but when it came time for his final weigh-in, he came in two pounds over the limit for his weight class. Long story short, he missed his chance to fight. Gary was crushed.

RUSSELL: I am hurting the most because of those people, I feel as though I let those people down, who supported me, you know.

NGUYEN: Boxing analyst Teddy Atlas was in Beijing and saw what happened and he didn't sugar coat his words.

TEDDY ATLAS, BOXING ANALYST: With great privilege comes great responsibility, and he missed the boat on that responsibility.

NGUYEN: But Atlas also says this setback isn't as bad as some may think.

ATLAS: Without the Olympics having quite the status that they used to have, he didn't lose as much as he would've lost say, 15 or 20 years ago, when and Olympic medal, especially if it was a gold medal, meant so much more.

NGUYEN: Having missed his Olympic window, Gary decided to turn pro and he is off to a blazing 6-0 start, including this knockout a few months ago. But it's what Gary's doing outside of the ring that's also drawing some attention. The one-time Olympic hopeful has taken it upon himself to speak to youngsters in the D.C. area. Talking about his experience in Beijing and how not to let setbacks and disappointment get in the way of what they want to do in life.

RUSSELL: You want to always persevere. Does anybody know what persevere means? It means keep pushing forward no matter what happens, you want to keep pushing forward.

NGUYEN: Gary says he'll always remember the support he got from everyone leading up to the Olympics. And still to this day.

RUSSELL: Trying to give back to the community because the community been giving to me.

NGUYEN: It's that attitude that has 1976 gold medalist and six- time boxing champion Sugar Ray Leonard saying, bravo.

SUGAR RAY LEONARD, SIX-TIME BOXING CHAMPION: I'm more impressed with what he's doing talking to these kids, and talking to these students and talking to these athletes. The fact that is such great information to say that, you know what? If you stumble, don't give up. Don't forfeit your dreams. Pursue, persevere.

NGUYEN: With family and friends by his side, Gary says he's grown a lot since Beijing.

RUSSELL: I think everything happens for a reason.

NGUYEN: But there's still work to do, unfinished business.

RUSSELL: I don't regret anything that happened at the Olympics, because I wouldn't be as motivated as I am now, if that wouldn't have happened.

NGUYEN: The 2008 Olympian says the world didn't get a chance to meet him in China, but he says they'll find out who he is soon enough.

RUSSELL: I feel as though I have something to make. I feel as though I have to make it up to them, by becoming the champion as a professional. Just to show them that everything that happened, all the love that you gave me wasn't in vain.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: Quite a story there. But Gary is doing his best to put Beijing behind him and sends his best to the U.S. team in Vancouver telling them, go all out, and go after it because this is a moment they may not ever experience again. Good luck to the U.S. team.

HOLMES: And the winter guys don't have the concerns that he would have as a boxer. Those weights and a lot of times ...

NGUYEN: Two pounds.

HOLMES: It's a big, big deal. Often times those guys can take a couple of hours, go run around the block, they wrap up in that foil.

NGUYEN: That water weight gain?

HOLMES: And they can drop a few pounds real quick, but I don't know if they give you the same option in amateur sports, in the Olympics as they do in pro sports.

NGUYEN: I know, that's tough. That is so tough.

Well, we have so much coming up, including the weather. It is severe in many, many places and Bonnie Schneider will join us with a look at that.

HOLMES: And we're going to start the next hour, here in a moment. A good shot outside, actually. This is Centennial Olympic Park, this is right across the street from us here. And what you see down there, there's Atlanta under there, somewhere. We have a layer of about 4 inches of snow here. It's ice now because overnight we got temperatures that went real, real low. It's a good thing this happened on the weekend. We were talking about earlier, as well. Because we can hunker down.

NGUYEN: Right.

HOLMES: We don't have to worry about rush hour.

NGUYEN: You actually drove in it.

HOLMES: I drove in. I know a lot of us were put up--

NGUYEN: You were so confident yesterday until you got on that ice this morning.

Bonnie, we tried to tell him yesterday, hey, stay at the hotel. Many of us did last night so we wouldn't have to deal with this. Oh, but not daredevil T.J. Holmes, he decided to get out there and slip and slide.

You didn't do too bad, though, right?

HOLMES: I made it just fine. But again, I haven't been home since last Sunday. I was itching to see my place.

SCHNIEDER: But, T.J., you're not alone. Because I am the meteorologist and I was also told to stay at the hotel, and I drove here, too.

HOLMES: See.

NGUYEN: Aha!

(LAUGHTER)

SCHNEIDER: Yes, but I don't live too far. So I agree. It's funny, the worst of the roads are the side streets, especially here in Atlanta. Be careful, there is a lot of ice out there. And before the sun comes up, it's difficult to see exactly what you're facing if you do have to travel. Now, for those of you in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, or even further to the north and to Virginia, you still have snow falling right now. So that means visibility will be poor throughout the morning hours.

This is the tail end of this system that brought the heavy snow across parts of the South. The same storm system that brought a foot of snow to Dallas, Texas, on Thursday, which shattered a record that went all the way back to 1888. That's how long it's been since we've had that much snow on February 11th in Dallas, Texas. Incredible numbers with this storm system.

(WEATHER REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: From the CNN Center, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING for February the 13th. I'm T.J. Holmes.

NGUYEN: Good morning, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen. Thanks so much for starting your day with us.

All right. Let's get right to it, because it's the biggest battle yet and it's happening right now in Afghanistan. We have exclusive video as U.S. troops and coalition forces battled the Taliban. Just a look at that right there. We are all over this story, don't go anywhere.

HOLMES: Also, he was just days away from making his Olympic debut, but instead, tragedy in Vancouver. An athlete is dead and it overshadows the opening ceremonies.

NGUYEN: Yes. And cleaning up this morning after another winter storm just slams into the southeast. We have the latest on that.

HOLMES: But again, we want to tell you about the big story we're going to be keeping an eye on today. NATO troops say they are gaining ground in a major offensive against the Taliban militants in southern Afghanistan. Afghan as well as NATO forces, including nearly 5,000 U.S. service members, launched Operation Moshtarak, which means "Operation Together," about 14 hours ago in the town of Marjah. That's the last Taliban stronghold in the Helmand Province.

NGUYEN: Well, another news, we want to check this top story, because an assistant professor at the University of Alabama in Huntsville is facing murder charges this morning. Police say Amy Bishop, who teaches biology at the school went on a shooting rampage, killing three faculty members. Three others were wounded, and according to CNN affiliate, WAFF, authorities say the shooting occurred at a faculty meeting in which Bishop learned that she would not receive tenure.

HOLMES: President Obama talking spending and how to keep it in check in his weekly radio and Web address. He laid out the reasons for his budget deficit and said new spending and tax cuts need to be offset in order to start digging ourselves out.

The president signed a pay-as-you-go rule into law right after he authorized $1.9 trillion more of the federal debt.

NGUYEN: All right. So, we have several correspondents covering this big offensive in Afghanistan.

HOLMES: Yes, Frederik Pleitgen for us in Kabul this morning. Atia Abawi is actually embedded with marines. Also, our Nic Robertson reporting from London on the involvement of British troops. And our Barbara Starr reporting for us from the Pentagon today. And Kate Bolduan is also going to be joining us live from the White House.

NGUYEN: Atia reported earlier this morning that the Taliban make nearly $2.5 million a year from narcotics trade in Marjah. Now, the NATO troops want to put an end to that and run the Taliban out of town. That is part of this offensive.

And CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr joins us now to talk more about it.

Barbara, we know the Pentagon was talking about this operation in detail even before it happened. Why is that?

STARR: Well, Betty, they have really been trying to, if you will, shape their battlefields, get their messages out there about why they were doing this. They wanted, first perhaps, to make the Afghan people in this region aware that fighting would take place.

In the early hours now, we know that the U.S. Marines have gained a toehold in the town of Marjah, but they are encountering gunfire, rocket-propelled grenades, opposition from what they believe to be several hundred Taliban fighters in these early hours of the campaign.

The ultimate goal here, however, the ultimate message, if you will, is that the U.S./NATO/Afghan forces are here to try and offer the people in this region another way of life -- something other than the opium trade to fuel the Taliban which fuels the insurgency, of course.

So, that's the goal here. Move into this agricultural region, clean out the Taliban as a sort of comeback goal. But then rapidly move in with Afghan government help, economic aid, assistance, and provide a government and a security umbrella to the people who were here.

That will be a very deep longstanding challenge to the Afghan government, very fragile, remains to be seen if they can pull it all off -- Betty.

NGUYEN: Yes. As you mention, it is going to be a challenge because many of the folks who live there have worked alongside with the Taliban. The Taliban have set up kind of a shadow government, if you will. So, many don't see the benefit in losing their opium crops and losing their money and then hoping that the Afghan government will come in and restore everything, correct?

STARR: Well, that is the challenge. And again, it gets back to what you were just saying, that the Afghan government will come in and offer help and assistance. That's what the U.S. wants to have happen. Because the concern, of course, is that the U.S. forces, the British forces, not appear as occupiers.

The people who live in this region, you know, this is their home. They have been very concerned about civilian casualties as a result of the fighting. And that is another challenge here. How do you distinguish between the Afghan farmer and the Afghan Taliban who may be picking up his rifle if you're a marine and firing at you over top of one of those mud walls?

The troops who are in this region are under very strict rules of engagement about being cautious, about not engaging in combat in where civilians could be inadvertently killed. There's a lot of concern on the part of the young troops that this is going to tie their hands. They're moving through an area that is very rural, very agricultural, but yet, a lot of civilian population, IEDs, roadside bombs, ambushes, sniper attacks possible. Very slow going, they're on the ground, going on foot bit by bit.

NGUYEN: Yes.

STARR: And moving through these areas which are a combination as you said of both civilians and Taliban, Betty.

NGUYEN: It is a dangerous situation that is playing out right now as we speak. Barbara Starr, thank you so much.

HOLMES: And like we mentioned, our Atia Abawi is embedded with Marines who are part of this offensive in Marjah. We want to go to here on the phone now.

Atia, hello to you again. If you can give us the very latest about the offensive there, and I believe that U.S. forces believe they are making some headway.

ATIA ABAWI, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Well, T.J., it started round 2:00 a.m. local time when the first U.S. troops hit the ground in Marjah, along with Afghan soldiers. We were with the main effort, that's the First Battalion 6th Marine Regimen.

And also the company, and I have to tell you, it was -- it was a very hard start because it was in the dark hours of the night. You could not see it, it was a rough terrain. Actually, the four wounded within the company, it was minor injuries, but it had to do with the terrain not with enemy contact.

But, I have to say, that throughout the day, especially when the sun came up, and the Taliban can see the Marines moving around, the firefights did start. We were running through the fields being shot at. There was -- they were firing RPGs. There's sporadic gunfire. We're hearing it throughout the city.

And it's not just Alpha Company. There's Bravo Company as well on the other part of the city where we were hearing other gun battles, as well. And we're hearing other companies coming in on ground by vehicles.

And they have these vehicles called Assault Breachers. So we are hearing the U.S. Marines actually detonating IEDs before they can actually injure the troops themselves. And here as well, with the IEDS planted within the city. We're in the city of Marjah. We're in a part of the city that's actually -- it's pretty much a ghost town at the moment. The bizarre -- it seems very dead. There's no one really walking around.

But just a few minutes ago, we did get word that two civilians were injured, a 16-year-old boy and an 18-year-old boy. But the U.S. Navy Corpsmen did attend to those injuries.

And the information that the U.S. troops, they got from them, was that the Taliban were using their home to fire at the U.S. troops. And by doing so, they did have retaliation fire, as well, injuring these two civilians who were later medevaced. The civilians also stating that there are more Taliban fighters waiting for the U.S. Marines, waiting for the Afghan troops, and waiting for the NATO forces and that there are IEDs planted throughout the farms as well as inside the city itself -- T.J.

HOLMES: Atia, had how would you describe or how would the military, I guess, there describe the level of resistance they are seeing from the Taliban that decided to just hunker down there and not leave the city?

ABAWI: Well, right now, they're seeing resistance. But the question that remains is: just how much more resistance will they see? Are the Taliban just assessing the situation? And will they have a stronger attack later?

What we notice in the past when it comes to Taliban in different parts of Afghanistan, as the NATO forces come in, they tend to leave and then come back later after assessing the situation. But today, they are receiving contact. But the U.S. Marines do have a foothold in parts of the city.

The question -- the question really that remains is just how the Taliban will retaliate. This is their last stronghold in Helmand Province, and it's a -- it's a very important city to them. Marjah is not only one of the strongholds that have a Taliban shadow government, but at the same time, it provides them money with the narco industry.

Some estimates say that the Taliban make around $200,000 a month by taxes alone from the narcotics industry. And that, on top of that, they also tax Afghans who leave bazaar (ph) on certain checkpoints outside of the city -- T.J.

HOLMES: And one more before we let you go here, Atia. How was the decision made to go when they did go at 2:00 in the morning? How was that decision made there? Since we did know they'd been talking about, they were going to be coming at some point -- how was the decision made?

ABAWI: That really depends on what the commanders on the ground decided on. But one thing I can notice out is that it's just mainly because it was pitch black. It was dark. The Marines did have night vision, but at the same time, it was very hard to navigate through the terrain and the farm fields. But -- and the canals and whatnot. But at the same time, they were able to do it. They did have the four wounded. But like I said, T.J., when the sun came up, the Taliban can see their target. And that's when we saw the gun battles began.

HOLMES: All right. Our Atia Abawi again, she is embedded with U.S. forces who are on the go right now against the Taliban in Marjah. I think, thank you so much. Be safe. We'll be checking in with you again this morning.

NGUYEN: All right. We want to go live now to CNN's Kate Bolduan for more on this story. She is at the White House and joins.

Kate, as we look at this Afghanistan offensive, it's the largest in the Afghanistan war. Talk to us about what does it say politically for the president?

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, absolutely. And, of course, what's really at stake for everyone in watching this is that -- are the safety and lives of the men and women who are fighting over there.

But yes, politically, this is very high stakes for President Obama. This is the first major offensive since President Obama announced that he was sending 30,000 additional troops to fight in Afghanistan. And bottom line, this is his war now, although he reluctantly took it. And remember, he did set a deadline for beginning to withdraw troops.

So, the objective for this mission at large and -- the mission at large and this operation is to oust the Taliban and stabilize the country, and hand back -- and hand over control of the country to Afghan forces. And that will need to happen and there will need to show success there before the president can ultimately get to his real goal, which is to begin withdrawing troops in July 2011.

And none of that, Betty, is an easy task.

NGUYEN: No, not at all. But when it comes to public support for this, how is that going? And how does the -- how's the president get the public behind this?

BOLDUAN: Yes, also, not an easy task at all. I mean, I'm sure showing evidence that there is success in this operation and there's progress being made towards securing the region and handing back control to the Afghan government, that would be the best way to gain more public support. But if you look at the latest CNN poll on this issue, it was conducted just a month ago, it showed that a majority of Americans, 52 percent oppose the war in Afghanistan.

So, again, that is not an easy task, as well, because everyone is watching to see what happens here -- and as Barbara Starr was talking about and our people on the ground, this is not an easy thing they're going through. This is a tough job ahead.

NGUYEN: Not at all, and it's only just begun. Kate Bolduan joining us live from Washington.

And, of course, we have much more on this offensive in Afghanistan that is taking place right now. Stay with us, you're watching CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Well, we are following another developing story for you, and that being the shooting at the University of Alabama. Three people are dead, three others wounded. And authorities say an assistant biology professor pulled the trigger.

Catherine Callaway joins me now live from Huntsville, Alabama.

All right, Catherine, has anyone been charged? And what are the charges so far?

CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, an assistant professor has been taken into custody in this case and is facing murder charges this morning in the death of those three faculty members at the University of Alabama here in Huntsville. Also, three employees were wounded in this shooting spree.

Harvard-educated Amy Bishop was arrested shortly after the shooting spree just outside the building behind me, the Shelby Sciences building here on campus. That shooting is taking place about 4:00 local time yesterday afternoon.

Now, the dead in this case include the death of the chairman of biological sciences, Gopi Podila, also the deaths included two other associate professors of biology, Maria Davis and Adriel Johnson. And as we said three faculty members were wounded. They included associate professors, Joseph Leahy, he's in critical condition this morning; and Luis Cruz-Vera, another associate professor in stable condition, and a staff assistant Stephanie Monticello in stable condition.

Amy Bishop, as we said, was arrested just a few moments after the shooting and the Huntsville police chief, Henry Reyes, says they're still looking for a motive in the case. We hope to find out more at noon today when a news conference is going to be held.

Classes have been canceled, Betty, all next week, as well as all of the athletic events. And counselors are here at the university this morning in case students need them. And we will have more information as I said, hopefully after that news conference coming at noon.

NGUYEN: All right, Catherine Callaway, joining us live today. Catherine, thank you so much for that.

You're watching CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Checking our top stories right now.

A National Day of Mourning in Haiti, one month after the earthquake that devastated the country. Thousands of people gathered in Port-au-Prince yesterday for a remembrance service to honor the dead. More than 212,000 people died and more than 300,000 were injured.

Well, tune into CNN at 2:00 p.m. Eastern today for the video simulcast of Quincy Jones' collaborative remix of "We Are the World," all to support Haiti relief efforts. It will feature a special introduction by Grammy and Oscar winner, Jamie Foxx. Music legend Lionel Ritchie, who spearheaded the original with Jones, will close the simulcast. And you can catch it right here on CNN and CNN.com.

Plus this -- the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates as many as 17,000 Americans have died from the H1N1 flu. Only about 2,500 of those deaths are confirmed. Health officials blame that on an underreporting of cases which tends to be common with the flu. You may remember, after months of the outbreak, doctors began testing only those who were severely sick.

HOLMES: Well, we hear often about it being the tipping point. We hear that thrown around a lot. But what's happening right now in Afghanistan, could this be the tipping point in the war?

Well, Marjah set the tone from now until the promised drawdown of U.S. troops sometime next year. That's one of many questions we have this morning for retired Army Lieutenant Colonel Robert Maginnis.

Sir, thank you so much for joining us. Thank you for joining us, sir, from D.C. And a lot of people have a tough time still getting into the studio. But thank you for being here.

We're finally at this offensive. We've been hearing about it, have been calling it the worst-kept secret for weeks, it seems. So, was that a good move in your opinion to give civilians and also the Taliban a heads up?

LT. COL. ROBERT MAGINNIS, U.S. ARMY (RET.): Yes, it has to be, T.J. Keep in mind, this is a counterinsurgency. You don't want to have any civilian casualties. You want to go in there, remove the bad guys and begin aid, begin bringing the legitimate government.

President Karzai certainly was, you know, very involved in this process. And I suspect as soon as Marjah is secured, it will buy the ANA and U.S. and NATO forces, you're going to see all sorts of civilian aid activities there. You're going to see public services restored. You're going to see an effort, which is very critical, to provide them an alternative way of getting an income other than growing poppy, making opium, which is used for making heroin, which has long been their know, way of sustaining life in that area.

HOLMES: And, sir, I talked to other -- we're talking to a lot of experts, it seems like, in the past couple of weeks about this offensive. And some -- one told me earlier this week, this may not really be a turning point. You know, this is such a massive problem and it will be going on for so many years there, rebuilding in Afghanistan. This is just another step.

How do you see it? How important do you see this offensive?

MAGINNIS: Well, really the objective here, T.J., is to begin to create an ink spot across the southern part -- the most dangerous part of Afghanistan where the Taliban are. So we occupy the populated areas, put the Afghan National Army and police forces in there and then turn it over to them completely so they have civil control and they can begin a -- you know, a modicum of regular life once again.

And you do this across the entire swath of the area, you're chasing the Taliban, the enemy, al Qaeda perhaps, back into the mountains, in the hinterland, and you're beginning to control that entire region. Yes, you'll have pockets of resistance in the rural areas. But this is part of the overall strategy. And I think, you know, this is a good timing.

HOLMES: When you chase them out -- when you chase the Taliban out, do you have confidence, at least, that they won't be able to come back to Marjah to make that its hub once again? Because what's going to have to be left behind eventually are just Afghan forces -- can they handle the job?

MAGINNIS: Well, we've been working with the Afghan forces for years. They're getting much better. We wouldn't be putting the 3,000 in there if they weren't properly trained. They will be reinforced. We'll have reaction forces should, you know, something happen that they couldn't handle.

So, I think as the strategy goes forward, as the president and his team have laid it out, we're going to secure each of these areas, we're going to build up this entire region with the type of security and prosperity, hopefully, that begins to turn the hearts and the minds of the people. That's the doctrine. It can work, but you have to have the long-term viewpoint and the Karzai government has to do its role, as well.

HOLMES: Now, we have a plan laid out and the best-laid plans can go awry sometimes. Where do you see us maybe making a mistake here? Where do you see us, in this particular offensive, maybe underestimating just how important possibly even that Marjah is to the Taliban? They're not going to go quietly into the night.

MAGINNIS: Well, keep in mind, T.J., that for weeks, as you indicated early on, we have been announcing our intention of going in there. So, what is left? Maybe 1,000 Taliban sympathizers there have extracted themselves or blended into the population. So, we're going to have to root them out eventually.

Most of the leadership have fled to the south. And they would like to come back. So, it's really a matter of really securing the people, providing them an alternative life.

And this is going to take a lot of time. We just have to be committed to the doctrine, to the idea, that people are going to decide when they're ready to really embrace a different way of life. And hopefully, this is the beginning.

HOLMES: All right. Well, retired Lieutenant Colonel Maginnis, sir, we appreciate your expertise. We're going to be talking to you again plenty this morning. Thank you so much.

Quick break here. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Well, you know, the latest from Afghanistan, that is coming up, the largest offensive in the war is happening right now. We're going to get you there.

Plus, CNN SATURDAY MORNING continues with much more. You don't want to miss that.

But first, "DR. SANJAY GUPTA, M.D." begins right now.