Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live Sunday

U.S. Officials Worry al Qaeda, Taliban May Change Tactics

Aired March 17, 2002 - 18:12   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.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: And now we move on to the war on terrorism. U.S. operations in Afghanistan are beginning to slow down a bit this weekend, but there is growing concern that the terrorists might actually change their tactics. Instead of fighting up in the hills, they may take their war to the streets. CNN's Kathleen Koch has more on this story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): U.S. forces in the Shah-e-Kot Valley are mopping up and moving on as Operation Anaconda winds down. A spokesman for the U.S. Central Command says coalition forces have "accomplished what they needed to accomplish."

Still, over the weekend, more than 40 missions were flown and at least 43 bombs dropped in areas of southern and eastern Afghanistan, where Taliban and al Qaeda support is high. The Pentagon has said the mission won't end until terrorists and their supporters are eliminated. It's a task the Russian defense minister says shouldn't be underestimated.

SERGEI IVANOV, RUSSIAN DEFENSE MINISTER: They shouldn't be over optimistic. It will take years to dismantle the roots of al Qaeda and Taliban, years definitely, not months.

KOCH: During its 10-year Afghanistan campaign, the Soviet Union lost 15,000 soldiers. U.S. fatalities, 32 at this point, are far lower. But some U.S. lawmakers are worried that could change if the battle shifts from the mountain slopes to the city streets.

SEN. BOB GRAHAM (D), FLORIDA: It's going to be urban warfare in small settings, where there might be 50 people in a marketplace, and in that 50, are three or four Taliban and al Qaeda people who are looking for Americans, and in that kind of hustle and bustle of a marketplace would assault.

SEN. RICHARD SHELBY (R), ALABAMA: There are going to be more episodes, probably not as much of a firefight as the other one, but you can't underestimate these people. They're fighting for their lives. They're fighting, knowing there's no future for them.

KOCH: Some point out fighting urban war has other costs.

JAMES WOOLSEY, FORMER CIA DIRECTOR: I think it could also entail a lot of, as they say, collateral damage, a lot of civilian deaths, but we simply have to root these people out and I think the U.S. military and the CIA helping them has shown a lot of fortitude and courage and adaptability most importantly. This is a confusing war.

KOCH (on camera): Confusing and frustrating, as the remains of enemy fighters killed in Operation Anaconda prove hard to find, and the reported escape of others raises questions about U.S. claims of victory.

Kathleen Koch, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com