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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports

America Strikes Back: What Happens Next?

Aired October 10, 2001 - 19:00   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.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Tonight on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS: Target: Terrorism.

U.S. warplanes are still flying seek-and-destroy missions over Afghanistan, but what happens next?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They must be found. They will be stopped. And they will be punished.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Will that happen on the ground in Afghanistan or through law enforcement efforts?

As the U.S. unveils a new most-wanted list for terrorism, I'll speak live with Senator John Edwards of the Intelligence Committee.

We'll get a live update on the Florida anthrax scare.

And we'll hear from our correspondents at the Pentagon, the White House and in Pakistan, as America targets terrorism.

Good evening. Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer reporting tonight from Washington.

We begin with the latest developments in the battle against terrorism. Targets in Afghanistan are under attack for the fourth straight day. These are the scenes from near Kabul, the Afghan capital. And there's word also today that several Taliban leaders are believed to have been killed in the first night of attacks.

Osama bin Laden and other al Qaeda leaders are on a new most- wanted terrorist list unveiled by President Bush -- also on the list: the founder of the Lebanese Islamic militia Hezbollah. He's suspected of being the mastermind behind the 1983 bombing of the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut. And he's also believed to have played a key role in the 1985 hijacking of a TWA plane.

And, in South Florida today, there was security present at the memorial for the man who died from anthrax. Federal health officials say investigators are making progress in determining when and how the bacteria got into the building where the victim worked. U.S. aircraft over Afghanistan are beginning to go after new types of targets.

CNN military affairs correspondent Jamie McIntyre joins us now live from the Pentagon with a look at what's next -- Jamie.

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN MILITARY AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, as we go into this fourth day of bombing, the United States is shifting its tactics slightly, setting its sights on some different targets.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(voice-over): On day four, U.S. bombers shifted focus, moving from disabling air defenses to attacking troops, their barracks, and military maintenance facilities. Warplanes from two U.S. aircraft carriers circled the skies, waiting to strike any movement of al Qaeda or Taliban forces. The idea, say Pentagon officials, is to keep bin Laden and his backers on the run.

GEN. DAVE GRANGE (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: We're going to force some movement. They're going to have to move. They're going to have to talk to each other. They just can't hide in caves and just shut down everything or they're going to lose control of the country.

MCINTYRE: Sources tell CNN that two adult male relatives of Taliban leader Mohammed Omar were among several Taliban leaders already killed on the first night of the bombing.

Meanwhile, the U.S. aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk, its decks cleared of planes, is arriving in the waters off Pakistan, part of a plan that would put U.S. special forces on the ground. Sources say the Kitty Hawk will serve as a floating air base for special operations helicopters to ferry U.S. Army commandos into Afghanistan to launch quick-strike in-and-out raids.

And officials say the United States is working to get permission to use special operations troops already based in Uzbekistan for combat missions and is hopeful neighboring Tajikistan will agree to that as well, giving the United States several forward bases from which to attack.

GRANGE: If you see any direct action with coalition forces, it will be very quick, raid-type operations, again, against targets of opportunity to accomplish our mission.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCINTYRE: Sources say U.S. commanders are reluctant to send helicopter gunships in direct attacks, covert combat missions against Taliban targets because of their vulnerability to shoulder-launched missiles, including some of the Stinger missiles the U.S. provided the Afghan rebels during the Cold War.

Also in the U.S. arsenal: new, improved bunker-busting bombs, 5,000-pound bombs capable of boring through several layers of concrete. Pentagon sources say these are perfect for hitting the caves where Osama bin Laden and his followers are believed to like to hide -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Jamie, these special operations helicopters that presumably would be used, they would be vulnerable not only to the Stinger shoulder-fired missiles, but also to AAA artillery fire. The question is this: How vulnerable would they be, given some of the jamming equipment, for example, that they might have?

MCINTYRE: Well, the key on using these special operations helicopters is to use them in a stealthy manner. That is, they sneak into the country, drop troops in a remote location. Those troops then attack targets and then are picked up again and ferried out.

Maybe the people on the ground don't even know what hit them, as opposed to a role in which there is an overt combat mission in which the helicopters are actually firing missiles on targets on the ground. In that case, they are very visible and much more vulnerable. So Pentagon sources say the Pentagon is leaning more toward the former mission, more of a stealthy, covert mission, things that they might not talk about after they are over.

BLITZER: Jamie McIntyre at the Pentagon, thank you very much.

And President Bush has issued a new list of the 22 most-wanted terrorists. It's topped by Osama bin Laden. But the administration makes clear the anti-terror effort won't stop there.

Let's go live to our CNN senior White House correspondent John King for details -- John.

JOHN KING, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, that was the president's overriding message today.

He left the White House, went across town to FBI headquarters, unveiled this new list: the 22 most wanted terrorists in the world. As you mentioned, Osama bin Laden, a very familiar face atop the list -- but the president's message, as he unveiled those posters today, was that this campaign goes well beyond bin Laden, well beyond terrorist bases and hideouts in Afghanistan.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BUSH: For those who join our coalition, we expect results. And a good place to start would be to help us bring these folks to justice. Eventually, no corner of the world will be dark enough to hide in.

KING (voice-over): Emphasis on eventually. The NATO secretary- general promised the alliance is in the fight to the end. But expanding the war would strain the international coalition. So phase one is Afghanistan.

Day four of airstrikes -- and sources tell CNN special operations missions are increasingly important in the hunt for terrorists and their camps. Congressional leaders say the president's message over breakfast was so far, so good.

REP. RICHARD GEPHARDT (D-MO), MINORITY LEADER: This is going to be a long operation. It's clear to me that you use air and you use covert and you use paramilitary operations eventually to get this done.

KING: This anti-American protest is in Indonesia, one of the coming fronts as the campaign expands. The United States says the Abu Sayyaf terrorist network is based there, has close ties to bin Laden and operations in the Philippines and elsewhere across Asia.

The president complained about the Abu Sayyaf network in a meeting with Indonesia's president one week after the attacks on America. The president of the Philippines will visit the White House next month. And the United States already has received permission to use its military former bases for possible operations there.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KING: And sources tell CNN tonight that recent diplomatic messages to Iran, to Iraq and to Syria have been remarkably blunt. "Watch what is going on in Afghanistan," according one senior official, is that message. The president serious about doing this elsewhere if you don't get the message -- Wolf.

BLITZER: John, as you know, the White House has urged all the major television networks in the United States not to broadcast live additional statements coming from al Qaeda, al Qaeda's spokesmen, hinting there could be coded messages to terrorists around the world. Do they have any hard evidence that there are these so-called coded messages?

KING: They say they have no hard evidence, that this is based on suspicion.

We asked that question: Did you get a tip from an informant? Did somebody in custody tell you that there were indeed coded messages in there? The White House says no. It says it is just worried that there is such a message. The U.S. military is jamming communications within Afghanistan, trying to cut off any communications Mr. bin Laden and others could get out.

So the concern is that he would use taped messages broadcast on that al-Jazeera TV network to activate his terrorist cells elsewhere. But they say it is just a suspicion, no hard evidence.

BLITZER: John King at the White House, thank you very much.

And there have been flashes in the skies over Kabul. And heavy air strikes are reported in the Taliban stronghold of Kandahar. Could the conflict spill over into neighboring Pakistan?

Let go live to CNN's John Vause. He is in Islamabad.

John, what is the latest there? JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, probably the best indication of what is happening in Afghanistan -- in fact, the only indication of what is happening in Afghanistan -- is that video from our video telephone, those green pictures where we can see those bright flashes.

That certainly looks like there is anti-aircraft fire being fired off by Taliban forces. But it's important to note that they may just be firing. It may not be any indication that they are, in fact, under attack by U.S. forces. Maybe it's the Taliban which just think they are still under attack at this stage.

Now, on that issue, the local commander in Kandahar told his troops not to open fire with the anti-aircraft artillery because it was useless. And even today here in Islamabad, the Taliban ambassador here said to us that the U.S. warplanes were flying too high and they were simply out of range and that what anti-aircraft systems they did have just couldn't reach those planes -- Wolf.

BLITZER: John, what can you tell us about these reports that Taliban forces along border with Pakistan have actually tried to cross over and go after Pakistani positions inside Pakistan?

VAUSE: Well, we know that this border incursion, if you like, happened on Tuesday this time.

But the problem with getting information out of that very remote region is that it takes so long to get accurate information. What we do know is that Taliban forces, Taliban fighters approached the border. They were confronted. There was some kind of confrontation with Pakistani security forces.

We know that shots were fired and that the Taliban forces then retreated back into Afghanistan. But an important note here as well is that these incursions are not uncommon. One happened six months ago. One happened a year or so ago. So it's important not too read too much into this situation.

There is another report coming out of Afghanistan in the wake of these attacks regarding U.N. workers, local Afghans who are still in Afghanistan. The U.N. told us that those workers are being targeted by Taliban authorities. They are being beaten and their cars are being confiscated.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHANIE BUNKER, U.N. SPOKESWOMAN: The NGOs working with the United Nations' mine action programs are increasingly being targeted by Taliban authorities. Staff have been beaten in Kabul and Kandahar and in Jalalabad. A significant number not yet specified of vehicles have been taken by the Taliban in Kandahar. This is in addition to yesterday's report about the taking over of three ambulances and one pickup in Kandahar belonging to mine action NGOs by the Taliban.

(END VIDEO CLIP) VAUSE: Now, the issue, which we have with the information coming out of Afghanistan, is much like on the border. It's very sketchy. The U.N. official who you saw talking there told us that she had only received a very quick briefing on that issue.

They promised us more details later today. But the work which those staffers are doing in Afghanistan is very important. There's something like 10 million land mines estimated to be still within Afghanistan, which kill, on average, 88 people every month -- Wolf.

BLITZER: John Vause, in Islamabad, thank you very much.

And when we come back, he played a leading role -- he has played a leading role in efforts to strengthen anti-terror defenses. I will speak live with Senate Intelligence Committee member John Edwards.

And how did deadly anthrax spores get into a Florida office building? Investigators say they are getting closer to some answers. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back.

I was interviewing Senate Intelligence Committee member John Edwards on "LATE EDITION" Sunday when word came that the U.S. air strikes against Afghanistan were under way. He joins me now to discuss where the anti-terror campaign may be headed.

Senator Edwards, thanks for joining us.

And we looked at the transcript. This is what you said as that word came on Sunday. You said: "This can't be over quickly. These people are spread out."

So what is next if the Taliban and al Qaeda are spread out throughout Afghanistan?

SEN. JOHN EDWARDS (D), NORTH CAROLINA: Well, I think the predictable next step -- although I don't know what the next step will be -- the predictable next step will be the use of special fores, special operations, in-and-out operations to try to locate where the al Qaeda is located.

I think they are going to be spread out, trying to use real-time actionable intelligence on not only where al Qaeda is located, but also where Osama bin Laden is located.

BLITZER: This sounds like a much more dangerous operation to U.S. military personnel than launching cruise missiles or having bombers drop even precision-guided bombs.

EDWARDS: Well, any time we put people on the ground, Wolf, it's more dangerous to our people. There's no question about that.

But they're very well trained, very experienced people who know exactly what they are doing. And like I say, I think it's very unlikely that we are going to engage in a long-term, extensive ground war in Afghanistan.

BLITZER: You heard that the White House is urging the television networks not to broadcast live these al Qaeda statements, fearing there could be some coded messages there. Our John King says they don't have any no hard evidence of that -- speculation. But is that good speculation on your part?

EDWARDS: Well, I think what the president and the administration are saying is: We are at war. We are at war with these terrorists. It's a time when it's a reasonable thing to do to ask all Americans, including the media, to act responsibly. And I think that is essentially what they are doing.

Now, of course, in our country, with the freedoms that we have, ultimately, that responsibility and that judgment will lie with the media itself.

BLITZER: You know, the president is not only asking the U.S. news media executives to behave responsibly, but also members of Congress, including Intelligence Committee members, others. He's accusing some of them of them of leaking information, classified information to the media. And he's limiting information to some of these members.

Your colleague, Senator Chuck Hagel, a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, was quoted in "The Washington Post" today as saying: "To put out a public document" -- referring to the president's memorandum -- "telling the world he doesn't trust the Congress and we leak everything, I'm not sure that helps develop unanimity and comradeship."

EDWARDS: Well, here is what I would say about that, Wolf.

I'm a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee. I'm entrusted regularly with very sensitive information. I take that trust very, very seriously. I think what the president, though, is concerned about endangering our ongoing operations.

One of reasons that we, the Congress, have been able to so united with the president, though, has been the free flow of information between the administration and us. So we need to find a way to work together on this. I think there was good steps, movement made in that direction today. I think we will continue in that direction. We will find a way to get the information we need to conduct our responsibility of oversight.

BLITZER: I have spoken to former CIA directors who have said to me that, as far as members of the House and Senate Intelligence committees are concerned, with the specific caveat they don't provide sources and methods, but almost everything else, the most classified top secret information is made available to you.

EDWARDS: I can tell you, up until now, that has been true. The briefings I have been in have been very extensive. And certainly the appearance is they are very open about the information they provide. But I do have to say, Wolf, I think we members of Congress -- particularly members of the Intelligence Committee -- are entrusted with an enormous responsibility. We have a responsibility to the nation, too, to keep that information confidential.

BLITZER: I want to read to you from an e-mail that Barry McCaffrey, retired general, a former head of the 24th Mechanized Infantry Division in Iraq during the Gulf War -- he writes this to some of his associates.

He writes: "We must also not be unwilling to confront the state sponsors of terror: Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Cuba, North Korea. None can be allowed to provide the base for another sickening strike against our civilian population of our allies."

That is going to split the coalition, if the U.S. now goes forward against, let's say, Iran or Iraq in seeking out terrorist bases.

EDWARDS: Well, Wolf, I think bottom line is, what the president has said. And the strategic approach that we have makes a great deal of sense. We know Saddam is a very bad actor. But right now, our focus is on al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden. Once we have dealt with that, we will move to the next step. And I think that step-by-step approach, given the nature of the war on terrorism, makes a great deal of sense.

BLITZER: Why do you have to wait, though? A lot of people are saying that some of the state sponsors elsewhere outside of Afghanistan are just as bad, if not worse than what's going on in Afghanistan.

EDWARDS: Yes, and there may be truth to that. But what we know is, al Qaeda is responsible for the attack on us on September the 11th. So I think it makes a great deal of sense to start with them, to focus on them and Osama bin Laden, and then take the next step, just simply because we are responding to a direct attack on the United States.

BLITZER: How will the American public know when this war on terrorism is over with?

EDWARDS: Well, I think this will be complicated thing. I think, first of all, it is going to go on over a long period of time. A lot will happen well under the radar screen. A lot of times, it will be reports on something that has been done over the past two or three months. I think it's the kind of thing where we will be able to describe what has happened over a period of time. But in real time, it will very different from the Gulf War.

It won't be obvious that things have happened at particular points in time. I think it's just the nature of this sort of clandestine operation.

BLITZER: Senator Edwards, thanks for finishing the interview we couldn't finish on Sunday.

EDWARDS: Glad to be with you, Wolf.

BLITZER: Appreciate it very much.

And just ahead: Investigators say they are closing in on the cause behind the deadly anthrax case in Florida. We'll get a live update.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back.

Words of some relief to perhaps temper another fear after the September 11 attacks: Investigators say they are making progress in tracking down the cause of an anthrax case and will say more in a news conference in less than an hour from now.

CNN's Ed Lavandera joins us now live from Boca Raton, Florida -- Ed.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, we're really going to have the first opportunity tonight to talk with representatives from the U.S. attorney's office, FBI and representatives from the Centers for Disease Control about this anthrax story here in Southern Florida.

A press conference is scheduled to start here tonight at 8:00 Eastern time tonight. And we are told there won't be any information about arrests or suspects or anything like that. Officials planning this news conference say that what they're hoping to do -- this will be our first time to address questions to them about how the investigation is going to this point, in terms of ever since the FBI has become involved into this situation.

And we are also told that what they are hoping to do is to appease a lot of the residents here in Southern Florida, and across the country, for that matter, who have been listening to stories about this anthrax situation here for the last couple of days. So that is the situation here: as I said, a press conference scheduled to start at 8:00 Eastern time -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Ed Lavandera, standing by at that news conference, thank you very much.

And CNN, of course, will bring you live coverage of the news conference. That is in about half an hour from now, 8:00 p.m. Eastern, at the top of the hour.

"CROSSFIRE," meanwhile, starts at the bottom of the hour for those of you watching in North America.

Bill Press joins us now live with a preview -- Bill.

BILL PRESS, "CROSSFIRE": All right, indeed, Wolf. Thanks. The president backed off a little, but he is still limiting how much information will be given members of Congress. And today, his national security adviser asked TV networks to be careful what information they give the public. Is the war on terrorism turning into a war on truth? Are the American people being told enough or too much?

That's our "CROSSFIRE" tonight, Wolf, coming right up after you say good night.

BLITZER: All right, I might say good night, Bill, but I will be watching. Thank you very much.

And we will be back in just a moment with the latest developments, including the fourth night of air strikes in Afghanistan.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Now the latest developments in the battle against terrorism.

For the fourth straight day, targets in Afghanistan are under attack. Intense air strikes are reported around Kabul, the capital, and in Kandahar, where the Taliban is based. A source in Kandahar tells CNN the attacks there have triggered panic among civilians.

And President Bush unveils a new most-wanted list of suspected terrorists -- at the top of that list: al Qaeda members, including the group's leader, Osama bin Laden.

That's all the time we have tonight. Please join me again tomorrow at both 5:00 and 7:00 p.m. Eastern, as America targets terrorism. Until then, thanks very much for watching.

I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington.

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