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CNN Live Sunday

America Strikes Back: U.S. Attacks Jalalabad; European Union Throws Support Behind Strikes in Afghanistan

Aired October 07, 2001 - 17:30   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.
AARON BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: We have been blessed this afternoon by some terrific reporting in Afghanistan. It's obviously not an easy place to be and to report from. Kamal Hyder back on the phone. We will say again, we are not going to give his specific location, suffice to say he's close enough to see what's going on and know what is going on. Kamal, what can you tell us?

KAMAL HYDER, JOURNALIST: Well, the CNN guy from Jalalabad just called us and we told us that a few minutes ago there was a bigger attack on Jalalabad. The aim that the targets that they were trying to hit was the camp at Torobora (ph), at Milewa (ph), south of the city, and toward the west, Jharunta (ph). Anti-aircraft fire was heard initially, and the attack did not last too long, but there was still some sporadic fire into the air.

BROWN: And just to -- I'm sorry, to help orient our viewers a little bit, if you can go back to the map, guys and gals, if you go back to the map, Jalalabad -- there it is -- rests between, essentially, or almost between Kabul and Kandahar. It's an area that...

HYDER: Kabul and Peshawar.

BROWN: I'm sorry? Go ahead.

HYDER: Not Kabul and Kandahar, it would be on the Peshawar to Kabul highway.

BROWN: Correct.

HYDER: It's the capital of Nangarhar province.

BROWN: And we are just showing a map now that has Jalalabad on it, so people are a little better oriented as to where you are, or the area of which you are talking about.

Now, having interrupted you, and apologizing for that, go ahead.

Well, perhaps we've lost -- Kamal, are you still there?

HYDER: Yes, I'm here. I am sorry, I didn't hear you, go ahead.

BROWN: I'm sorry, I was saying to you, if I interrupted you, in the middle...

HYDER: No, you didn't. You didn't. I was just clarifying the location of Jalalabad.

BROWN: Thank you.

HYDER: I'm sure it must be very hectic for you also.

BROWN: It's reasonably hectic but probably not what it's like there. Are you able to hear any of the continuing attacks from your location? I know you are doing a lot of phone work now, which is what reporters do. Are you able to see it, hear it from where you are?

HYDER: No. Basically, I am not able to hear anything, but we have a man in Jalalabad, and he has just reported to us, we have our people in Kandahar. As you know, CNN has people in Kandahar and near Jalalabad, and they are reporting to us there in eastern Afghanistan where we are located.

BROWN: OK, Kamal, we will talk again as you hear more. It's a pretty good explanation to viewers in some ways how we are getting information. We have people in a number of places around the country, not necessarily people you will ever see on the air or hear, but they are in contact with correspondents and producers passing along information. In many cases, it's the only safe way for us to operate in Afghanistan right now. And that's how we take care of business there.

Major Garrett is at the White House. It's been a while since we talked. Good afternoon to you again.

MAJOR GARRETT, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Aaron. We are beginning to piece together some of extraordinary details of President Bush's weekend. We can tell you, for example, that the speech that he gave to the nation and to the world today announcing these joint military attacks by the United States and the British was being written at Camp David by, among others, the president, his top communications director Karen Hughes and chief White House speechwriter Mike Gerson. Also with the president at Camp David, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice and the CIA Director George Tenet.

And as John King reported earlier today, the president began notifying members of Congress Saturday evening that he had given the go-ahead to the Pentagon to begin this military act when they thought it best. The president arrived here at the White House this morning, at about 10:40 a.m. He departed Marine One and went straight to the Oval Office. In the Oval Office, he told senior aides standing there with them, quote, "I gave them fair warning." That quote comes from Ari Fleischer, the White House press secretary. The "I gave them fair warning" a direct reference to the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. Ari Fleischer went on to say -- and this is not a direct quote, but this is the essence of the president's words -- and they chose not to heed it.

From the Oval Office, the president then proceeded to the treaty room in the White House residence, and from there he spoke the words that will clearly define his presidency and just as clearly define the first great military conflict of the 21st century.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: On my orders, the United States military has began strikes against the al Qaeda terrorist training camps and military installations of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. These carefully targeted action are designed to disrupt the uses of Afghanistan as a terrorist base of operations and to attack the military capability of the Taliban regime.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GARRETT: Aaron, it's also worth pointing out some extra security precautions taken here at the White House at just about that time or maybe shortly before the president's speech. Vice President Cheney, who was working from his West Wing office was sent to a secret and undisclosed location, that as a security precautionary measure. The White House urges Americans not to read too much into that, they are just saying for the last three weeks the White House around the compound has taken security precautions, and they are doing it again today with the vice president -- Aaron.

BROWN: Major, thanks. I know you are a history buff. History does not allow you to pick your moments, they just happen to you. This president, eight month ago -- eight months ago, one month ago -- was on the verge of pushing very hard for his education package, he was trying to find some common ground for the patients' bill of rights. All this, this whole slate of domestic issues, but history has other plans. And it did for him.

GARRETT: History has other plans. And I have often talked to the White House speechwriters and senior White House officials about life in the White House, what is it like for them as they get used to this presidency. And they say, you know, they have done a lot of reading about history, and they say that one thing that they learned reading the history of other great leaders is that often events define you. You can sometimes seek events, you can sometimes seek an agenda, change the world, but often the world comes at you, and what you do at those moments define your presidency in ways you and the people you have been chosen to led never imagined.

BROWN: Thank you, Major. And I'm sure the president knows and we should all remind ourselves of -- we are at the very -- we, the country, the United States, is at the very beginning of something, not the end of anything. This is a long -- as the government has said repeatedly, every minister in the government, every cabinet secretary, again and again, this is going to take a long time, it's a different kind of war, patience is required. And the country is just at the beginning of something, the test for the government, for the administration, are just now beginning -- Judy.

JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: And Aaron, that is exactly one of the points my guest just a moment ago, Haron Amin, who is the envoy to the United States from the Northern Alliance -- of course, we want to remind everyone again this is the group that has been fighting the Taliban inside Afghanistan -- he said, after the interview, I said, "was there anything else you wanted to say we didn't have time to point out?" He said, "just to make sure the audience knows, Americans know, we know there will be casualties, people will be killed, people will be injured, but this is a long campaign."

At the same time, he then went on to predict that given the firepower that's now coming down reining down on the Taliban and the al Qaeda network, he said, "I don't think they are going to last more than a week." And I think by that he was referring to the Taliban.

Joining us now on the telephone to get a better sense of international reaction to today's events -- Javier Solana, who is the European Union defense minister. He's joining us on the phone from Luxembourg. Mr. Solana, first off, how from your perspective does this look like it is going?

JAVIER SOLANA, EU DEFENSE MINISTER: Well, we think that this operation is fully legitimate, according to the U.N. Security Council, and the European Union has all the solidarity with the United States in these operations. The fight against terrorism is our fight, and together we are going to win it.

WOODRUFF: At this point, Mr. Solana, Minister Solana, I should say, what exactly is the European Union, Europe, the West, in your view, authorizing the U.S. and Great Britain to do? Surely, you are not saying they can do whatever they want. What are the limits, if you will, of what they have been authorized to do?

SOLANA: Well, we have full confidence that the United States and Great Britain and other countries of the European Union which are contributed with -- by other means, not directly involved at this point, but with the help of airspace, bases, et cetera, we have full confidence that it will be done as a targeted operation, with their objective to defeat terrorism. And this is a long campaign that is not only -- it has not only a military component, but it also has an enormous political component, sharing of information, the stopping of the financial resources that arrive to these groups, stopping the weapons that may arrive to these groups. So, this is a battle in which we are all engaged.

WOODRUFF: And Mr. Minister, how much does this continued support on the part of the EU and other Western nations, how much does that support hinge on A, how successful this campaign is in getting the Taliban out of power, and B, on the amount of civilian casualties?

SOLANA: Well, the campaign we think will be successful. We are pretty sure they will be successful. And we will continue to count on the support of the European Union, the European Union people.

WOODRUFF: You are saying without regard to casualties, am I hearing you correctly?

SOLANA: Well, we know that in a military operation -- it has risk, but I'm sure -- we are sure that the United States and the European countries which are participating will have a very targeted operation. And they will do the utmost in order to focus on the responsible of the terrible crimes of the 11th of September and infrastructure they have (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

WOODRUFF: All right, Javier Solana, who is the defense minister for the European Union. Thanks very much -- Aaron.

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