AC: "If indeed this has
been a success, then America should herald this."
Thursday, August 06, 2009
Length: 5:32
LARGE (63.9 MB)
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Breaking News tonight that Pakistani Taliban
leader Baitullah Mahsud -- who allegedly
masterminded the assassination of Benazir Bhutto --
may have been killed by a US drone attack. Erica
Hill speaks with Michael (in Mexico City) and Peter
Bergen (in Islamabad) about what this might
mean.
ERICA
HILL: More breaking news tonight about a man rarely
seen on camera, and never very clearly, frequently
with his back turned.
Tonight, though, there's word from American officials
the top Taliban leader in Pakistan just might have
been caught in the gun sights of a U.S. drone --
targeted and killed.
Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud, is he really
gone? And if so, what's next? Joining us now, CNN's
Michael Ware and Peter Bergen. Good to have both of
you with us.
Peter, I want to start with you. He's the leader, for
those at home who may not familiar with him, of a
major coalition of Taliban groups and Al Qaeda
supporters. So if he is dead, how big of a blow is
this to their goals and in fact their holding there?
PETER BERGEN, CNN NATIONAL SECRETARY ANALYST: It's
quite a big deal. He's the alleged mastermind of the
assassination of Benazir Bhutto, the leader of
Pakistan's major political party back in 2007. The
U.N. has identified him as a principle source of
suicide attackers in Pakistan.
He's also a principle source of suicide attackers
going over the border in Afghanistan, killing NATO,
U.S. and Afghan forces there.
So certainly taking him out of picture is important.
However, we have seen it before, Abu Masab al Zaqarwi
in Iraq, for instance, the leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq
killed in 2006. The violence actually went up in
Iraq. So taking out one person doesn't, of course,
end things.
But this is a very important symbolic victory, if
indeed it is true.
HILL: Michael, for a lot of folks at home, the
immediate thought would go to Afghanistan, Pakistan's
neighbor, where there are a obviously a number of
U.S. troops fighting the war there.
He was known to be an ally of Mullah Omar and also
the Afghan Taliban. What's the impact of his death on
the U.S. war against the Taliban in Afghanistan?
MICHAEL WARE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's
a good question, Erica. And I'd say two things. As
Mark Twain said, reports of my death are exaggerated.
We've heard that Baitullah Mehsud has been killed
before only to see him resurface. We've seen this
with many Al Qaeda leaders in the past.
So we do need to keep in check any sense of optimism
over this strike. I'm monitoring jihadi and American
websites and blogs at the moment, I'm still seeing
very conflicting reports.
In terms of the American war in Afghanistan, the
death, if it's true, of Baitullah Mehsud, I'm afraid
to report will only have a limited impact.
Baitullah mehsud is the leader of this coalition of
Pakistani Taliban. And the war principally in
Afghanistan is being fought by Afghan Taliban.
Now, you have Al Qaeda in the middle trying to unite
this groups as much as possible, trying to direct
efforts in one direction on several fronts.
But Baitullah Mehsud is primarily responsible for the
Pakistani conflict there. So in terms of American
boots on the ground, American deaths and casualties
and British deaths and casualties, this may still
have only a limited impact -- Erica?
HILL: Peter, is there any concern, even though it may
have a limited impact in Afghanistan, that the death
could in fact somehow embolden his supporters in
Pakistan, and maybe that could spill over?
BERGEN: Well, I mean there may be some reprisal
killings.
But I'm going to disagree with Michael slightly. Most
of the suicide attackers that go into Afghanistan,
according to the United Nations, actually come from
the tribal areas where Baitullah Mehsud is.
I've interviewed a number of them, failed suicide
attackers -- a pretty good definition of failure, a
failed suicide attacker. And overwhelmingly these
guys come from the tribal areas of Pakistan where
Mehsud is based.
And we've seen the Americans and the Pakistanis now
cooperate very strongly trying to kill Baitullah
Mehsud or at least interrupt his network.
President Obama has authorized 28 drone strikes since
he took office. That's more than President Bush had
done at this point last year. And about 13 of them,
at least half of them have been directed at Baitullah
Mehsud's network.
So even if he himself had not been killed, these
drone strikes have put a great deal of pressure on
his network and, indeed, his family, because it is
confirmed that both his wife and his father in law
are in fact, dead.
HILL: And it's a network where he said in an
interview with Al Jazeera in 2008 that the main aim
is to finish Britain, the U.S., and to crush the
pride of non-Muslims. So obviously, there is plenty
of hatred for the U.S., for the U.K., for the west.
What is the significance then if, in fact, he was
killed by a U.S. drone, Peter?
WARE: Well, in many ways --
BERGEN: President Obama has amped up his program.
HILL: Go ahead, Peter, and then, Michael, I'll let
you weigh in after.
BERGEN: Sure. President Obama has really ramped up
this program. President Bush started ramping it up
around July of 2008 and now President Obama has
really taken this program and authorized more strikes
than under his predecessor.
HILL: Michael, I'll give you the last word here.
WARE: And what I was going to say is that, obviously,
Pakistan's alliance with America in terms of fighting
the Taliban is a hot button issue domestically in
Pakistan. America is not popular generally with the
Pakistanis.
So the government in Islamabad has tried to maintain
a distance from Washington even while it collaborates
with these air strikes.
But from Washington, if indeed this has been a
success, then America should herald this. It
shouldn't shy away from celebrating this as a
tactical and perhaps a strategic victory -- Erica?
HILL: We'll continue to follow the developments.
Michael Ware, Peter Bergen, good to have both of you
with us tonight. Thank you.