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Afghans Fear U.S. Retribution if Bin Laden Linked to Cole Attack

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

BERNARD SHAW, CNN ANCHOR: A giant U.S. transport ship is on the way to Yemen to pick up the crippled USS Cole. Meanwhile, authorities are still trying to find out who is responsible for the attack that killed 17 American sailors. There is great apprehension in Afghanistan about what could happen if Afghan-based Osama bin Laden is linked to the attack.

CNN's Nic Robertson has details from Kandahar, Afghanistan.

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NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Abdul Hai could be milling flour anywhere in Afghanistan, his poverty-stricken existence mirrored by millions of other Afghans, their everyday lives a struggle against the devastating effects of more than 20 years of continuing conflict.

He is grateful, he says, to the United States, who provide the wheat he grinds. But in his simple grasp of world events warns, "If they attack us, they attack our religion. We will tear them apart. Look what happened to the Russian invasion," he adds. "God tore them apart."

In the fields and orchards, however, most talk is about the drought destroying their crops, that their country harbors those accused of international terrorism is, they say, beyond their control, a joke to consider anyone other than the Taleban leader is in charge.

"Osama bin Laden has endeared himself to leader Mullah Omah," he says, "by giving him lots of cash. That's why he can roam this country."

Nearby, in the country's spiritual capital, where Mullah Omah's ability to shape events is most marked, fears of trouble ahead are growing.

Downtown, government restrictions make filming difficult, and people guard their thoughts cautiously. What worries them, however, is that if the United States links the attack on the USS Cole to Afghanistan, then a more wide-ranging attack than the 1998 strikes that targeted bin Laden's bases could affect them this time.

Nic Robertson CNN, Kandahar, Afghanistan. (END VIDEOTAPE)

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