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CNN Talkback Live

Leaders of Three Religions Discuss the Role Religion may have played in the Terrorist Attacks and its role in coping with the tragedy

Aired September 16, 2001 - 15:15   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.
BOBBIE BATTISTA, HOST: Daryn, thank you very much and thanks to all these wonderful people for coming down on their Sunday afternoon for this special edition of TALKBACK LIVE: AMERICA SPEAKS OUT.

We will be here with our live audience for the next couple of hours. This is your chance to share your thoughts and your feelings as President Bush declares, "We are at war."

Later this hour, we will talk to religious leaders about faith and about the Islamic faith in particular. And throughout the afternoon, you will have a chance to talk with our reporters and experts about the investigation, the reaction and the war on terrorism. But first, once again, I would like to take a little bit of temperature of what's going on in our audience today. So let me get a feel for how you feel about the president saying that we are at war.

Jeff, do you agree with statement and what do you think we should do?

JEFF: I think we are at war. And I think we should go in now and take care of - take care of the terrorism, take care of Osama Bin Laden because they're talking about that this is a Holy War. They're calling it a Holy War. They're going in - they're saying that, you know, that they're shielding the people - they're shielding their leaders behind innocent people. I have to agree with what Zell Miller said from here in Georgia, "We should bomb them all to hell" because they thought our people were expendable. If we bomb their people, there's innocent lives lost. So be it. They didn't care about our people.

Another thing is we're getting too much - we're starting to get into semantics. We're starting to say - we're starting to sugarcoat things. You know, I want people to look at the hard realities. We were attacked on our shores.

BATTISTA: Steven, we keep hearing the word "they" a lot. Do you feel like you know who you're fighting?

STEVEN: I think we're fighting exactly who the president said we're going against - going to war against. We're going - we're fighting terrorists. The president didn't say we were at war with Osama Bin Laden. He didn't say we're at war with Islam. He said we're at war with terrorism. That's who we're fighting.

No matter where you are in the world -- I agree with the president and I support him - you can run, but you cannot hide.

(APPLAUSE)

BATTISTA: And across the room, over here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is Hannah. Hannah, go ahead.

HANNAH: I do agree that we are at war with terrorism. Again, I agree that this was an attack on humanity but that we have to be conscious of the collateral damage in our counterattack, that we have to be conscious and aware of the fact that we still retain our humanity. And it's important that we display that in our counterattack and we be strategic and that we do not waste millions or thousands of innocent lives, to recognize that we are dealing with people. And this is a war against terrorism not a war against a religious group, not a war against an ethnic people, a war against terrorism and specific terrorists at that.

BATTISTA: Let me take a phone call. Nancy in Oregon. Go ahead, Nancy.

NANCY: OK. It's Oklahoma but that's fine.

BATTISTA: Oh, fine. I'm sorry.

NANCY: I want to say that I'm Vietnam era veteran. And I think that this attitude of that we're too good or we're too moral to get down and do what needs to be done, I think we need to resolve ourselves, that we need to get down, get dirty, get after them. And the difference between us and them is that we'll clean ourselves up afterwards.

BATTISTA: And one more from the audience here, Elliott.

ELLIOTT: Well, I feel, at this point, it's necessary to make a statement to the world that we will not condone countries harboring terrorists. And Afghanistan, we've asked them before to get rid of Bin Laden and to take action. And now, we've finally given them - or Pakistan has given them an ultimatum. And if he does not comply, it'll be necessary to take action against Afghanistan. And then from there, to get Bin Laden.

BATTISTA: Here, to give us some idea now on what's on the minds of people in their areas and their hometowns, Al Rantel, host of the "Al Rantel Show" on KABC radio in Los Angeles and Victoria Jones, a radio talk show host on WMAL in Washington.

Is this pretty much mirroring, Al, what you're hearing from your listeners?

AL RANTEL, KABC RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Yes, very much. It's amazing how the nation is speaking so much with one voice, Bobbie. It's - the unity is pretty amazing to see. Differences have been put aside. The controversy under which President Bush began president seems to have not had an impact on how people are reacting to this.

And I think what it shows is that the enemies of the United States always underestimate the American people. It never fails. They really believe that they can destroy America and then they don't understand that America is an idea and that you can't destroy ideas. You only unify people when you do what these - what these awful individuals thought they could do.

BATTISTA: Victoria, if we only knew exactly who that enemy was.

VICTORIA JONES, WMAL RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Yes, we don't know exactly who it is. We've got an idea about who it is and we've got an idea about who's harboring him or them. We don't really know and we're hoping that our government does know and that they'll take the appropriate action at the right time.

It's very difficult to fight a war against people who you cannot see, except you just see this one face again and again and again as Osama Bin Laden. And it'll be tragic. And it may be necessary if we have to bomb Afghanistan because the people of Afghanistan did not put the Taliban in power. They are being oppressed by the Taliban and some of them have actually said, they would rather die by American bombs than continue to live in the conditions they're living in now.

So we're talking about a really terrible situation and some very difficult choices. But I would agree with Al that definitely Americans are united. They are grieving. They are sad. They are angry. And they continue to be compassionate. And these are all the qualities that will ensure victory for us and for our allies.

BATTISTA: Let me take a quick look at the latest CNN/USA Today Gallup Poll. Right now, there is a lot of support among Americans for military action. The newest poll that we've done shows 88 percent of the country favors retaliating. People appear to be in this for the long haul, meaning that they will support it for years.

And if we can get to the next - there we go - long-term war to eliminate terrorism, 52 percent are supporting that. Thirty-six percent for punish those responsible for the attacks. And they are also prepared to make sacrifices. It would appear 80 percent are saying that they would support the use of ground troops and that support is there even if there are casualties. Let me go to the audience on this.

Pat, you're a veteran.

PAT: Yes, sir.

BATTISTA: Which war?

PAT: Both the - Vietnam and World War II. My main concern is that this is a different kind of war. I think the statement made that we are at war is very appropriate. The enemy that we're fighting isn't a battalion, isn't Russia, isn't a designated country per se. I'm praying that what the president does, that he's - first of all, gets everything in order, take his time, be very selective as to what we're going to do, do not misuse our troops -- we've had some bad experiences in the past - and that what we do in - we not only have to satisfy ourselves, we have to satisfy the people of the world, that we're just going out and just trying to be the cowboy.

BATTISTA: Let me - let me run a sound byte that came earlier today from Secretary of State Colin Powell on this very thing, on the kind of war that we will be fighting. Let's run that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: Nobody should think this going to be we go in and it's over in two days and we're out. This is going to change the way we do business. It's going to change the way we go about our daily life here in the United States. It's going to require a greater emphasis on homeland defense so we can defend ourselves against those who...

BATTISTA: We'll come back to that sound byte in just a moment. We have to interrupt our show to take you back to the news desk and Daryn Kagan now - Daryn.

KAGAN: Bobbie, we want to show live pictures now we're getting in from the White House, the landing of Marine One. On board, President Bush. He's returning from Camp David where he's been over the weekend meeting with his National Security advisers. We expect when the helicopter lands and the president gets out, he is going to make some comments. And we'll bring those to you live here on CNN.

Meanwhile, we'll split the screen. Keep the picture on the president and the White House and continue to listen to our viewers - Bobbie.

BATTISTA: All right, Daryn, we'll get back to you as soon as we hear something from the president.

Can we re-rack that sound byte from the Secretary of State there real quick and run that again, on what sort of war we are fighting this time around?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: Nobody should think this going to be we go in and it's over in two days and we're out. This is going to change the way we do business. It's going to change the way we go about our daily life here in the United States. It's going to require a greater emphasis on homeland defense so we can defend ourselves against those who, not withstanding our best efforts overseas, are still trying to get in to the country to hurt us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BATTISTA: Al, Victoria, reaction?

(CROSSTALK)

BATTISTA: What kind of a war are we fighting exactly? It's certainly not a conventional one.

RANTEL: Well, you know, one of the things...

JONES: It's going to be a completely new war, a war that we've never fought before, a war that we're fighting against the different kind of enemy. It is a war of ideas as well as of troops. We have an idea and they have an idea. And that's one of the difficulties of this war.

Also, the sustainability of it is going to be difficult for us, but we can rise to it. We're so used to instant response to everything that for us to sustain this for several years is going to be challenging. We can do that but that's something I'm already starting to hear from our audience as to how long are we prepared to keep going at this. But I think that we are.

RANTEL: We also have to evaluate some of the ways we do business here in the United States too. And this will be as much an internal look as it'll be in what we do externally. For example, you know, these people were running around lose in this country, Bobbie. They were doing all kinds of things, going to flight school in Florida and elsewhere. And we have to decide, who are we going to let into America. Are we going to be able to keep track of people who come here illegally and not have them come at all and know when people exit that they're supposed to exit? And if they don't exit the country, what exactly are they doing here, certainly, when they're from very suspect parts of the world, often times.

So there are ways that we do business in the America, that have not really been up to the level of a superpower to protect our security. We're going to have to examine all of those things as much as we do anything militarily.

BATTISTA: Sarah, go ahead.

SARAH: That we should remember first and foremost is that Bin Laden is a criminal. He has - he has committed a crime against the whole world. And he is - he's like a cancer on the body of the world. And so we must concentrate on him and not try to kill the whole body.

BATTISTA: Sarah, let me interrupt you just a second.

We're not ignoring the president here. We're having audio problems from the White House. So we will get you the president remarks as quickly as we can.

Sarah, go ahead.

SARAH: I was basically saying that as far as retaliation goes, we have to be very careful not to attack the whole body when we're just trying to get the cancer.

JONES: Well, this is the difficulty because the cancer is not just in one place.

RANTEL: Right. JONES: If we kill Osama Bin Laden, that's fine. OK, we do that. But many more suicide bombers will arise in his state because that is the way that this particular way is being waged. We have to fight at a deeper level, a much more complex level than just taking out one person or one group or one cell. This is why it's going to take so long.

BATTISTA: Victoria, I'm sorry. Let's go to the president now. We've restored audio. Well, evidently we have not. We'll keep working on that and get back to the president. I'm sorry, Victoria, go ahead.

JONES: We're also starting to hear from some of audience. The idea that we have to look at ourselves not in the sense that we deserve this but in the sense of how do other people look at us and how are we going to be perceived during...

(INTERRUPTED FOR CNN COVERAGE OF A LIVE EVENT)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have great faith because of compassion and love that our fellow Americans are showing each other in times of need.

I also have great faith in our military and we have got a job to do just like the farmers and ranchers and business owners and factory workers have a job to do, my administration has a job to do and we're going to do it. We will rid the world of the evildoers. We will call together freedom loving people to fight terrorism.

And so on this day of - on the Lord's day, I say to my fellow Americans, thank you for your prayers, thank you for your compassion, thank you for your love for one another. And tomorrow, when you get back to work, work hard like you always have.

But we've been warned. We've been warned there are evil people in this world. We've been warned so vividly. And we'll be alert. The government is alert. The governors and mayors are alert that evil folks still lurk out there.

As I said yesterday, people have declared war on America. And they have made a terrible mistake because this is fabulous country. Our economy will come back. We'll still be the best farmers and ranchers in the world. We're still the most innovative entrepreneurs in the world. And this day of faith, I've got - I've never had more faith in America than I have right now.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Mr. President, are you worried this crisis might send us into a recession?

BUSH: David, I understand that there are some businesses that hurt as a result of this crisis. And obviously, New York City hurts. Congress acted quickly. We worked together, the White House and the Congress, to pass a significant supplemental. And a lot of that money was dedicated to New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, as it should be.

People will be amazed at how quickly we rebuild New York and how...

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Mr. President...

BUSH: ... and how quickly people come together to really wipe away the rubble and show the world that we're still the strongest nation in the world. But I have great faith in the resiliency of the economy. And no question about it, this incident affected the economy but the markets open tomorrow, people go back to work and we'll show the world.

Yeah.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Mr. President, do you believe Osama Bin Laden's denial that he had anything to do with this?

BUSH: No question, he is the prime suspect. No question about that.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Mr. President, can you describe your conversation with the president of Pakistan and the specific comments he made to you? And in addition to that, have you received other comments that (UNINTELLIGIBLE)?

BUSH: John, I will - I obviously made a call to the leader of Pakistan. We had a very good, open conversation there. And there is no question that he wants to cooperate with the United States. I'm not at liberty to detail specifically what we have asked him to do.

In the course of this - conduct of this war against terrorism, I'll be asked a lot and members of my administration will be asked a lot of questions about our strategies and tactics. And in order to protect the lives of our people that will be involved in the different operations, I'm not at liberty to talk about it. And I won't talk about it.

But I can tell you that the response from Pakistan, Prime Minister (UNINTELLIGIBLE) today of India, Saudi Arabia has been very positive and very straightforward. They know what my intentions are. They know my intentions are to find those who did this, find those who encouraged them, find those who housed them, find those who comfort them and bring them to justice. I made that very clear.

(CROSSTALK)

BUSH: There's no doubt in anybody's mind, with whom I've had a conversation, about the intent to the United States. I gave them ample opportunity to say they were uncomfortable with our goal. And the leaders you've asked about have said they were uncomfortable. They said, "We understand, Mr. President and we're with you."

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Mr. President, the attorney general is going to ask for enhanced law enforcement authorities to surveil and do other things to disrupt terrorism that might be planned here in the United States. What will that mean for the rights of the Americans? What will that mean... BUSH: Terry, I ask you to talk to the attorney general about that subject. He'll be prepared to talk about publicly at some point in time. But what he's doing is he's reflected what I said earlier in my statement that we're facing a new kind of enemy, somebody so barbaric that they would fly airplanes into buildings full of innocent people. And therefore, we have to be on alert in America. We're a nation of law, a nation of civil rights. We're also a nation under attack. And the attorney general will address that in way that I think the American people will understand.

We need to go back to work tomorrow and we will. But we need to alert to the fact that these evildoers still exist. We haven't seen this kind of barbarism in a long period of time. No one could have conceivably imagined a suicide bombers burrowing into our society and then emerging all in the same day, to fly their aircraft, fly U.S. aircraft into buildings full of innocent people and show no remorse. And this is a new kind of - a new kind of evil.

And you know, we'll - we understand and the American people are beginning to understand. This is - this crusade - this war on terrorism is going to take a while. And the American people must be patient. I'm going to be patient. But I can assure the American people I am determined. I'm not going to be distracted. I will keep my focus to make sure that not only are these brought to justice but anybody who's been associating will be brought to justice. Those who harbor terrorists will be brought to justice.

It is time for us win the first war of the 21st century decisively so that our children and our grandchildren can live peacefully into the 21st century.

Patsy.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Mr. President, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) war and ask the military to get ready. Could the American people be ready to expect casualty in this war?

BUSH: Patsy, the American people should know that my administration is determined to find, to get them running, and hunt them down, those who did this to America.

Now, I want to remind the American people that the - that the prime suspect's organization is in a lot of countries. It's a widespread organization based upon one thing, terrorizing. It can't stand freedom. They hate what America stands for. So this will be a long campaign, a determined campaign, a campaign that we use the resources of the United States to win.

They have riled the mighty giant. And make no mistake about it, we're determined. Oh, there will be times when people don't have this incident on their mind. I understand that. There will times down the road where citizens will be concerned about other matters. And I completely understand that. But this administration along with those friends of ours who are willing to stand with us all the way through will do what it takes to raft terrorism out of the water.

Yes, (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Mr. President, getting back to your conversation with the leader of Pakistan. Did you make any requests or demands of him that he - that he turned you down on? Or did you get what you've asked for to this point...

BUSH: The leader of Pakistan has very cooperative. He has agreed with our requests, to aid our nation, to hunt down, to find, to smoke out of their holes the terrorist organization that is the prime suspect. And I am pleased with his response.

We will continue to work with Pakistan and India. We'll work with Russia. We will work with the nations that one would have thought a couple years ago would have been impossible to work with to bring people to justice, but more than that, to win the war on - against terrorist activity.

The American people are used to a conflict where there was a beachhead or a desert to cross or known military targets. There may - that might occur but right now, we're facing people who hit and run. They hide in caves. We'll get them out.

The other I said, not only will we find those who have affected America or who might affect America in the future. We'll also deal with those who have harbored them. And...

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Mr. President, would you confirm what the vice president said this morning that at one point during this crisis you gave an order to shoot down any civilian airliner that approached the Capitol? Was that a difficult decision to make?

BUSH: I gave our military the orders necessary to protect Americans, do whatever it would to protect Americans. And of course, that's difficult. Never didn't anybody's thought process about how to protect America did we ever think that the evildoers would fly not one but four commercial aircraft into precious U.S. targets, never.

And so obviously, when I was told what was taking place, when I was informed that an unidentified aircraft was headed to the heart of the capitol, I was concerned. I wasn't concerned about my decision. I was more concerned about the lives of innocent Americans. I have realized there on the ground in Florida we were under attack. But never did I dream we would have been under attack this way.

That's why I say to the American people; we've never seen this kind of evil before. But the evildoers have never seen the American people in action before either. And they're about to find out.

Thank you all very much.

BATTISTA: The president keeping up his tough rhetoric as he vows once again to hunt down and punish those responsible for those terrorist activities that we've experienced in this country in the past week and to win the war against terrorism.

I want to run the president's comments across a couple of folks in the audience here.

Chris, go ahead. You're active military, I believe, right?

CHRIS: Yes ma'am. I'd just like to say first off, I'm proud to be an American, proud that the country has come together for us in the last few days and hopefully, it'll keep it up. Hopefully, the challenge will be in the next few weeks and months, however long it takes for us to go ahead and do our job that you stand behind us, all of us here in this room or across the country everywhere, that things get done and the flow of patriotism continues.

BATTISTA: Tim?

TIM: I just wanted to kind of expand on what President Bush said. However, unfortunate took place on the World Trade Center, it is unfortunately most appropriate because it is an attack on - not only on the United States but on the world. That's all I wanted to say.

BATTISTA: All right, and over here to the top row.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bobbie, this is Omar.

BATTISTA: Omar?

OMAR: Bush labels Bin Laden as a prime suspect but not that I agree or you know, not that I'm saying - I am saying that you know, he's innocent or that he is - but what I'm saying basically is that - how can he label him as a prime suspect when there is no facts, no proof? Is American making the same mistake as they did with Richard Jewel in the centennial bombing?

BATTISTA: How do you know they have no facts and no proof?

OMAR: What - OK, the fact they have - I mean for example, the cell phone recording or whatever that they bugged.

BATTISTA: They got a lot more than that, I think. It's not just a cell phone that's going to bring this guy down, I don't think. But I understand what you're saying. I honestly don't mean to undercut what you're saying but I think there's a lot more evidence that points in the direction of this man and those who follow me than we are being lead to believe and that we even know about.

OK, Mohammad.