Military

DATE=10/12/01

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT DEBRIEFER

TITLE=NORTHERN AFGHANISTAN SITREP Q & A

NUMBER=2-281709

BYLINE=ALISHA RYU

DATELINE=KHUJA BOUDIN, AFGHANISTAN

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: While the United States leads a bombing campaign against Afghanistan's Taleban rulers and their suspected terrorist associates, the opposition Northern Alliance is hoping to capitalize on the situation. V-O-A's Alisha Ryu is in Khuja Boudin [PRON: Chuzha Boo-dean] in Northern Afghanistan and spoke with Asia Editor Jennifer O'Neil about the situation.

TEXT:

JO: Can you tell us a little bit about what's going on Northern Afghanistan and what kind of fighting you are seeing?

AR: We crossed over from the Tajik border yesterday down into Northern Afghanistan. We are in an area called Khuja Boudin. This is a military headquarters that was built by the late general Masood, who was the military commander of the Northern Alliance. Basically, when we were crossing over the Tajik border, there were some Russian soldiers who told us that there was heavy fighting yesterday, about 10 kilometers from the Tajik border. Apparently, Northern Alliance tanks were shelling that area. There was some heavy artillery.

JO: What sense do you have in terms of what type of progress the Northern Alliance is making on one or any of these fronts? Is there any way of telling at this point?

AR: Very little information coming out of the Northern Alliance about what they want to do. They (are) sort of sitting back and assessing what the Americans will do next after the bombings in Kabul and Kandahar. They are looking at the bombardment as a way for them to somehow make a big push. When that big push happens -- Northern Alliance soldiers will come -- is still very much uncertain. Some commanders here had said that it could take as long as two weeks to reach the strategic town of Mazar-i-Sharif, in the northwestern Afghanistan. Others are saying it could take as long as a month. So it is very, very uncertain what the timeline is here.

JO: Once they take Mazar-i-Sharif and if they do take it, what does that symbolize; what does that mean for the Northern Alliance; what does that mean for the balance of power in Afghanistan at this moment?

AR: Well, there are two reasons why Mazar-i-Sharif is so important to the Northern Alliance. Number one, it would enable the Northern Alliance to consolidate its grip on the small area it controls in the north since the town controls routes running east to west and linking pockets of Northern Alliance strengths. The other of course is that, Mazar-i-Sharif was the last town to fall to the Taleban in 1996. So there is both symbolic and strategic reasons for wanting Mazar-i-Sharif.

JO: We've talked about the Northern Alliance as if they are one unit or one block. What is the sense there that you get from those in the Northern Alliance in terms of unity, in terms of their ability to act in unison now that the American strikes at Taleban and terrorist targets in Afghanistan have given them a break in terms of fighting against the Taleban?

AR: The Northern Alliance is also known as the United Front and certainly the United Front is a temporary arrangement that was made in 1996 because of the Taleban. We are talking about six or seven ethnic backgrounds within the alliance itself. They got together in response to the Taleban, not because they have any friendly relationship with each other. Now, from the sense that I get, they are together in this in trying to get rid of the Taleban and take back Afghanistan. Now who gets Afghanistan is a big question. There are a lot of speculation that once the Taleban is ousted there will be a tremendous struggle for power within these groups in the Northern Alliance and this is what the Bush administration is looking at.

JO: We've heard more than once the Northern Alliance commanders say things like, right now we are waiting for the Americans, we are waiting to see what happens with the strikes and that's on the military front. But how do they view the Americans, the British, those allied against suspected terrorists within Afghanistan if they are so involved in changing the military balance, possibly in ridding Afghanistan of the Taleban. They are obviously going to have political input. How does the Northern Alliance see this possibility?

AR: It's very interesting to listen to a lot of people talking about the air strikes and you sense a tremendous support of what the U-S is doing. They have one goal and that is to get rid of the Taleban out of Afghanistan. From the people that we spoke to in markets, and Northern Alliance fighters, there is a strong sense of let's finish this mission first of getting rid of the Taleban and then well work on the rest of it. But there's also a huge hatred, if I may use the word, for Osama bin Laden. They believe that the Taleban and Osama bin Laden have exacerbated the situation that was very bad to begin with and simply made it worse. They would like to see Afghanistan peaceful; the question is how are they going to do it and how long is it going to take. The people here seem to be resigned to the fact that this is going to be a very, very long war. But war is something that they are used to they appear to be quite accepting of the idea that they'll hold out and in the end, Afghanistan will have some semblance of peace.

JO: Thank you Alisha. That's V-O-A's Alisha Ryu speaking with us from Northern Afghanistan.

NEB/HK/AR-JO/HB-T/MAR