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America's New War: Military Options on Borders of Afghanistan

Aired September 25, 2001 - 06:23   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: Well, the U.S. and its allies are gearing up for the war against terrorists and clearly now the focus is on Afghanistan.

LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: That's right, and the Taliban. The Taliban can take some comfort from Afghanistan's rugged terrain and its geographic isolation.

CNN's Kyra Phillips joins us right now. She's going to explain some of the potential options along the northern border of the country.

Hey, Kyra.

LIN: Morning, Kyra.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, good morning you guys, good to see you.

That's right, we're going to -- we actually want to just give you a bit of a geographical look at three former Soviet Union block nations that border Afghanistan. You're going to hear a lot about this region so we want to acquaint you with the areas and address the potential advantages.

One question being asked is could these country -- these countries actually be staging areas for U.S. forces? We're going to begin with Turkmenistan. Let's take a look at this. We found that there are a total of six military bases, not U.S., that are in this country. And, as you can see, the Mary base is the closest to Afghanistan. Now we've learned that minimal discussions have taken place with regard to these bases becoming possible staging areas for U.S. air strikes against Afghanistan.

Now let's move on to Uzbekistan. There are nine non-U.S. military bases here. And this country has come out and said it supports the U.S. in allowing it to use its air space. Now officials in Uzbekistan say the U.S. presence will bolster its economy and that's why it's in support of the efforts.

Now to Tajikistan, there are two non-U.S. military bases here and this country has made it clear that at this point it will not allow the U.S. to carry out offensive missions from this territory. Now President Bush has said when it comes to this war on terrorism, he will use every resource at his command and that the hour is coming when America will act. With this in mind, strike fighter pilots are ratcheting up their training on all fronts. I just returned from the Naval Air Strike and Air Warfare Center in Fallon, Nevada, where Navy pilots are training intensely for air combat. Here's a look at one squadron in particular that's making sure every air wing is ready. It acts as the enemy and prepares U.S. fighters to become the hero.

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PHILLIPS: Now coming up in the 8:00 hour, we're going to talk more about these Navy strike fighter pilots and how many of them tell me the only real tactical option is by flying from the carriers -- Carol and Leon.

HARRIS: Interesting.

LIN: Yes, we really enjoyed your reporting out of Fallon.

HARRIS: Very interesting, Kyra. Thanks, Kyra.

LIN: Thanks so much.

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