CNN Europe CNN Asia
On CNN TV Transcripts Headline News CNN International About CNN.com Preferences
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
SERVICES
 
 
 
SEARCH
Web CNN.com
powered by Yahoo!
TRANSCRIPTS
Return to Transcripts main page

CNN LIVE AT DAYBREAK

U.S. Troops involved in Skirmishes in Eastern Afghanistan

Aired September 17, 2002 - 05:31   ET

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

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And while we've been focusing on Iraq, the war in Afghanistan does go on. Over the past several days, U.S. troops have been involved in skirmishes in eastern Afghanistan and have been at the center of complaints.
Our Mike Chinoy is live in Kabul with more -- Mike.

MIKE CHINOY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

Well, it is still a frustrating and dangerous campaign for U.S. forces. The focus of their search for al Qaeda and Taliban fugitives mainly in the rugged eastern provinces of Afghanistan bordering Pakistan. The U.S. military reporting that on Sunday two members of the U.S. special forces were wounded when explosives were detonated while their vehicle was driving along a road in eastern Afghanistan. Their wounds reported to be light.

Meantime, searches continue and we are being told that in those searches, one place U.S. forces picked up an anti-aircraft launcher, in another, 400 170 millimeter rockets and a launching tube. There have also been reports of rocket attacks on a U.S. garrison near the town of Khowst. But the U.S. military spokesman here is denying that and is attributing that report to what he called a sustained campaign of disinformation by al Qaeda supporters trying to show that there is more resistance to the U.S. than is, in fact, occurring on the ground.

Nonetheless, we are hearing reports from that area of complaints by many locals about the behavior of U.S. troops. Western aid workers in eastern Afghanistan also reporting that villagers are complaining about heavy-handed tactics, not showing enough sensitivity to local Afghan culture and houses being searched in a very rough way, in some cases women having their veils lifted. The Americans say it's necessary to pursue this campaign in an aggressive way, but the concern that aid workers and political analysts are expressing is that this could alienate the local population in a very sensitive area.

A couple of other significant developments in eastern Afghanistan, one of the main anti-government warlords who's been fighting the government, the pro-American government of President Karzai, has reportedly been driven from his stronghold. So that, at least, one important success for the pro-American regime here -- Carol.

COSTELLO: He's been driven from his stronghold and where is he now?

CHINOY: The report is that Padshah Khan Zadran and some of his followers are heading towards the border with Pakistan, that hundreds of his followers have surrendered to pro-government troops in the area of Khowst, which has been a particularly active area. That's where the U.S. military has several hundred troops on the ground.

President Karzai's regime has had very great difficulty expanding its control beyond here in the capital, Kabul. Padshah Khan Zadran has been openly opposing the regime for a long time. So if these reports are confirmed, it will be a significant step forward for the government -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Oh, definitely. I was just going to say, what a relief for Hamid Karzai.

Thank you.

Mike Chinoy reporting live for us from Afghanistan this morning.

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



© 2004 Cable News Network LP, LLLP.
A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved.
Terms under which this service is provided to you.
Read our privacy guidelines. Contact us.
external link
All external sites will open in a new browser.
CNN.com does not endorse external sites.