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Northen Alliance and U.S. Military Official Meet

Aired October 23, 2001 - 06:43   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.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: More from Afghanistan where anti- Taliban forces in the northeastern part of that country say they're now in contact and have met with U.S. military officials. What those meetings mean in terms of the war and in terms of the future of Afghanistan, we find out now from our Satinder Bindra.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SATINDER BINDRA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The first known face-to-face meeting on Afghan soil between U.S. Army officials and the commanders of these Northern Alliance troops took place near Mazar-e-Sharif.

The strategic northern Afghanistan city has, for several days, been surrounded by over 10,000 troops loyal to Uzbeki warlord, General Rashid Dostum.

GENERAL BARYALAI, NORTHERN ALLIANCE (through translator): A group of American commanders came, and they met General Rashid Dostum, and then they went back quickly.

BINDRA: It's believed U.S. forces flew in by helicopter from the neighboring country of Uzbekistan. At their meeting, senior Army commanders from both sides discussed the military situation in the ground and the defense needs of these Northern Alliance forces.

(on camera): In what's being interpreted here as an American campaign to provide more help to the Northern Alliance, U.S. planes have been bombing front line Taliban positions. Anti-Taliban forces on these front lines want more such targeted attacks. They say that will help Northern Alliance ground troops to surge across these lines and surprise the Taliban.

(voice-over): For all these new signs of cooperation, the Northern Alliance forces say the U.S. has not yet given them any arms. Senior alliance commanders also say the U.S. should be aware of their sensitivities. U.S. ground troops are not welcome.

BARYALAI (through translator): We have been fighting against the Taliban and Osama bin Laden for six years, and we have not invited U.S. forces to push them back, and we have no intention of doing so.

BINDRA: The alliance would like to take Kabul and Mazar alone, and fears U.S. troops would Afghan public opinion against them. It's still not clear if there will be any more face-to-face meetings between both armies, but Northern Alliance commanders say they are now in regular touch with U.S. forces through satellite phones.

With the Muslim holy month of Ramadan just a few weeks away, and winter approaching fast, both the U.S. and Northern Alliance troops are under pressure to make some military gains quickly.

BARYALAI (through translator): Nobody can forecast when a place will be captured, but it is a fact that the Taliban are getting weaker.

BINDRA: Weaker maybe, but for all of these military maneuvers and their soldiers' prayers, the fact remains the battle in Mazar has settled into a stalemate, and the Taliban still control the main prize: Kabul.

Satinder Bindra, CNN, Ay Khonum, northeastern Afghanistan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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