08 October 2001
Transcript: Rumsfeld Says First Strikes Appear Successful
(Battle against terrorism could take years, he says) (1710)
U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says initial indications from
the first round of air strikes on 30 targets in Afghanistan and
airdrops of 37,500 medicine and food packets are that they have been
successful.
"We do, however, have to understand that it's going to be a very long
and sustained effort," Rumsfeld said in an interview on CNN October 8.
"There's, as I said yesterday, no silver bullet, no single thing
that's going to win this effort for the coalition. But all the
aircraft returned safely."
Any reports from the Taliban in Afghanistan that they've shot down any
aircraft are simply false, he said.
"Much of what they have said over a period of time is false," Rumsfeld
said. "These people are terrorists. They are harboring terrorists."
He said the Taliban have been repressive to the Afghan people, and
it's no surprise that many Afghan people are opposed to them.
All of the targets in the air strike campaign were military targets,
Rumsfeld said. They included military airports and runways,
surface-to-air missile batteries, terrorist camps and other targets
related to the al-Qaida terrorist network, he said.
However, Rumsfeld said that even with the military offensive now
underway, al-Qaida is still a threat. "While they're not a threat in
the sense of having an army, navy or an air force, they are very much
a threat in terms of international terrorism, not just in the United
States, but in many nations of the world," he said.
And Rumsfeld said that this campaign could take some years to
complete. "The reason I say that is because there are a lot of people
who've been trained in these terrorist training camps in many of the
countries that sponsor terrorism.
"They are already out there. They are organized. They have been
financed. And what we have to do is to be patient."
Following is the Pentagon transcript of the interview on CNN:
(begin transcript)
United States Department of Defense
Presenter: Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld
October 8, 2001
Secretary Rumsfeld Interview with CNN Live
(Interview with Paula Zahn, CNN Live)
Zahn: The Pentagon today is beginning to assess the damage from
yesterday's strikes in Afghanistan. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld
joins me now from the Pentagon to talk about the military campaign.
Good to see you, sir. Thank you for joining us.
Rumsfeld: Thank you. Good morning.
Zahn: Good morning.
Did yesterday's campaign meet its objectives?
Rumsfeld: Well, we'll know a good deal more later this morning as all
of the various types of intelligence are examined and correlated. My
impression is that it has been very successful. We do, however, have
to understand that it's going to be a very long and sustained effort.
There's, as I said yesterday, no silver bullet, no single thing that's
going to win this effort for the coalition. But all the aircraft
returned safely. The humanitarian food and medicine drops were
successful, and the planes are starting to return now.
So we feel that thus far it's been a very successful effort.
Zahn: So basically what you're telling me this morning that everything
the Taliban is reporting, that they shot down a jet, that they shot
down a helicopter with 14 people on board, is simply false.
Rumsfeld: That's correct. It is false what the Taliban has said.
Indeed, much of what they have said over a period of time is false.
These people are terrorists. They are harboring terrorists. They have
been repressive to the Afghan people. And it's no surprise that the
many Afghan people are opposed to Taliban, and even many Taliban are
opposed to the al-Qaida organization, the foreign terrorists that the
Taliban leadership has been harboring.
Zahn: I know you said your initial impressions are that this campaign
has been successful. The British defense minister announced today that
some 30 sites were targeted and struck in Afghanistan overnight. Do
you want to go along with that report this morning?
Rumsfeld: Well, there have been two or three dozen targets. They were
all military targets. They were military aircraft,
surface-to-missiles, airports, military airports and runways. They
were terrorist training camps. They were a host of things that are
directly associated with the al-Qaida and with the Taliban leadership,
which has been in close relationship with al-Qaida these many years.
Zahn: I know you have said that the Taliban doesn't have any army; it
doesn't have a navy. What do you think it does have left at this
point?
Rumsfeld: Well, it has a -- it still has money, which we're trying to
dry up. It still has the ability to harbor the al-Qaida organization,
which has cells in 50 or 60 nations. While they're not a threat in the
sense of having an army, navy or an air force, they are very much a
threat in terms of international terrorism, not just in the United
States, but in many nations of the world where they have already
engaged in terrorist acts.
So the important thing is to realize that this is not something that's
going to happen first. It's not an effort that's against the Afghan
people. Indeed, we're providing humanitarian assistance to the Afghan
people. It is going to take a good deal of time. We need to be
patient. We need to recognize that ultimately they're going to
collapse from within because they'll be starved by the people that
have been supporting them.
Zahn: And you are you expecting to fill that power vacuum?
Rumsfeld: Well, that remains to be seen. There are many elements
within Afghanistan. And in my view, that's for the Afghan people. But
many Afghans are opposed to Taliban. Even Taliban are opposed to the
al-Qaida. And there're forces in the north, the Northern Alliance.
There're tribes in the south. There are elements within Taliban. And I
think that those are the kinds of things that are going to have to be
sorted out by the people there.
Zahn: At this point, though --
Rumsfeld: What we have to do -- what we have to do is make sure that
the terrorism that they're exporting around the globe stops.
Zahn: And how seriously degraded is their ability to export this kind
of terrorism, given the number of military targets you say have
successfully been struck?
Rumsfeld: Well, I think that they still have that capability, and that
ultimately what has to happen will happen from the ground. It will be
people within that country who decide that they no longer want
al-Qaida there, that they no longer want the leadership of Taliban to
be supporting al-Qaida. And they themselves will find ways to assist
the rest of the world in stopping this scourge.
Zahn: I was speaking with an Air Force general who said that this is
an unusual campaign because it's the first time really the U.S. has
attempted to fight and feed at the same time. How critical is the
humanitarian aid part of this?
Rumsfeld: Well, anyone who looks at the overhead photography of these
poor human beings massing in twenties and forties and hundreds, and
now more recently into thousands of people trekking across
drought-stricken areas, looking for food, looking for sustenance and
refuge, anyone who sees that has to be just heart-broken. And it's
important that we and other countries in the world assist those
people. And that's what President Bush is doing. We were already the
largest food donor in Afghanistan earlier this year before September
11th with some $170 million. And the $320 million program that the
President announced and will be joined by other nations is something
that's urgently needed by the Afghan people.
Zahn: But how does the humanitarian aid complicate your war planning?
Rumsfeld: It doesn't at all. We're perfectly capable of flying in
transports and delivering food and medicine. As long as we're able to
deal with the air defense capability of the Taliban, the radars, the
MiG aircraft and the surface-to-air missiles, which we, I think, will
find later today got a good start on.
Zahn: And a final question for you, sir. You've said so much of about
how the American public needs to be prepared for a long offensive.
What are we talking about there?
Rumsfeld: Well, I think, realistically, we have to expect that it
could take some years, and several years. The reason I say that is
because there are a lot of people who've been trained in these
terrorist training camps in many of the countries that sponsor
terrorism. They're already out there. They are organized. They have
been financed. And what we have to do is to be patient. We have to
recognize that the power of weapons today is such that they can impose
enormous damage on free nations and free people. We don't get up in
the morning and think about protecting ourselves when we walk outside
the door. We don't wear flak jackets and carry weapons. That is part
of our vulnerability as a free people. It's a wonderful aspect of our
society.
Zahn: Do you have enough cruise missiles to sustain a long campaign of
the type you're talking about?
Rumsfeld: Well, as I say, this problem is not going to be rooted by a
cruise missile. There are things cruise missiles can do. There are
things bombers can do. But there's an awful lot that will have to be
done through the financial system, through diplomacy, as well as
through covert operations on the ground, and particularly through
intelligence gathering.
All across the globe, people are stepping forward. Dozens and dozens
and dozens of nations are participating. And this is probably more
likely to be a scrap of information that comes from somebody about how
we can deal with this problem than it will be a cruise missile.
Zahn: Secretary Rumsfeld, good of you to join us at such a busy time.
We appreciate your being with us this morning.
Rumsfeld: Thank you very much.
(end transcript)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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