JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: A multinational peacekeeping force is filtering into Afghanistan, just ahead of the formal transfer of power to an interim Afghan government. There is a small contingent of British troops. They arrived just a short time ago at Bagram Airbase, and CNN's Harris Whitbeck joins us on the phone with the latest. Harris, tell us what's going on.</s>HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Judy, the commander said that they know they have an important job to do, and the 70 Royal Marines who came off of a C-130 transport plane about 15 minutes ago certainly looked like they were ready to take the job on. The Marines had been on a British ship in the Arabian Sea. They were helicoptered to an undisclosed Middle Eastern country, and then took a six-hour flight to land at Bagram Air Force Base, which is just about 25 miles north of Kabul. They say that their mission is to help Afghanistan in the coming months. They will be providing a presence at the installation of the Afghan interim government, which will take place this weekend. They say that they are sensitive to the fact that many Afghans aren't particularly happy with the presence of foreign troops in their land, and they say they will act accordingly, will maintain a relatively low profile. They say they will not be guarding, they will be maintaining a presence. They were very, very specific about that. And the commander said that the soldiers are happy that they are in the country, and they feel that they are contributing in a very positive way to the reconstruction of Afghanistan -- Judy?</s>WOODRUFF: All right, Harris Whitbeck, joining us there on the telephone there, reporting on the arrival of those British troops. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Multinational Peacekeeping Force Filtering into Afghanistan