Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

President Says Investigators Following Every Lead in Hunt for Terrorists Abroad and Here at Home

Aired December 05, 2001 - 07:20   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.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: With Americans again on high alert, the president says investigators are following every lead in the hunt for terrorists abroad and here at home.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We can protect our homeland by beefing up law enforcement, by encouraging the FBI to focus on prevention, by working closely with local authorities, and we're doing that. But in the long-term, the best way to make sure America is safe is to find those who would commit terror against America, no matter where they run or where they hide, and bring them to justice, and that's exactly what we're doing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZAHN: On CNN yesterday, former Senator Gary Hart said he believes that so-called terrorist sleeper cells in the U.S. are lying in wait.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GARY HART, FORMER U.S. SENATOR: My own personal view, and I don't speak for our commission here, is that we will experience other terrorist attacks sooner rather than later, and they could well be tied with any action that we finally take against Mr. Bin Laden.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZAHN: So, how real is the threat from these sleeper cells? How do authorities root out terrorists that don't appear to exist?

Terrorism expert Brian Jenkins joins me now from Washington. Welcome back, sir. Good to have you with us this morning.

BRIAN JENKINS, TERRORISM EXPERT: Thank you.

ZAHN: I wanted to repeat something you have said, and your quote is, "Despite alarms coming from Washington, I don't think the American public fully comprehend the danger we face." What is it that you don't think we understand?

JENKINS: Well, despite the continued warnings from Washington and despite the high state of anxiety since September 11, the fact that we've had a measure of success in, against the Taliban in Afghanistan and the fact that Osama bin Laden is holed up somewhere, the fact that almost three months have passed without a major terrorist incident taking place against the United States, the fact that Flight 857 went down as a consequence of turbulence, not terrorism, has brought audible sighs of relief. And irrepressible American optimism plus a certain short-term horizon may lull us into a dangerous complacency.

ZAHN: And what are you most concerned about this morning?

JENKINS: Well, I mean it is clear that these actions -- and what we have learned since September 11 is, first of all, the intensity of the hatred, the depth of commitment of the adversary, the long planning horizons and the extensiveness of their networks across the world. Clearly this attack was in preparation, September 11 was in preparation for years before. Its organizers, those in charge of the al Qaeda network knew that it would provoke a military response by the United States, which, in fact, they hope to characterize as an assault on Islam.

So in addition to the September 11 attack itself, there would have been a business continuity plan, a plan for the survival of the leadership, its continued operations and perhaps even the possibility that there are operations in place that we will find out about days, weeks, months, potentially years from now.

ZAHN: Well, let me read to you something that a senior White House official was quoted as saying in the "Washington Post" earlier this week. "There are al Qaeda cells," say this -- this is the wrong graphic, but I'm going to read what he actually said -- "There are al Qaeda cells sitting out there, some in the United States, some in friendly countries, some in countries with a long history. We have to assume that since there were cells prior to September 11 buried in the United States for some time, there might be others. This is the most dangerous fact for American security right now."

How do you get to these sleeper cells?

JENKINS: Well, we've learned a great deal since September 11. It's always easier to follow a thread than it is to pick up a thread, and we have many threads to follow since September 11. The arrests that have been made abroad, the arrests in this country, the documents that we are finding in Afghanistan, the individuals who are captured, have been captured and will be captured there, are all a rich source of information. We have to make sure that we follow every bit of that information, that we coordinate it, that we exploit it to identify the patterns of activity and the individual operatives themselves that are spread throughout Europe and potentially here in the United States.

ZAHN: Senator Gary Hart, in that same appearance on CNN, said similar things to what you've just described here this morning. But he went even further, saying that these cells are poised and ready to act.

Let's review another part of that interview that he did just the other day here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HART: The cells that still operate in this country -- and I do, I believe they do, although I can't confirm that -- have, effect, prewritten instructions. I think they know what and when to act, even if they're not given further instructions, and I think it may be tied to anything adversely that happens to Mr. Bin Laden. And they will just simply operate on their own.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZAHN: Do you share the Senator's view?

JENKINS: I think that's a, certainly a safe assumption. As I say, it's entirely possible that there were operations planned before September 11 that haven't yet taken place. In addition, whatever happens in Afghanistan, the capture or demise of Osama bin Laden may provoke others to carry out terrorist actions.

This thing is going to continue for a long time. We have no reference point in our society for this type of warfare that we are currently engaged in. And the fact that there may be a long hiatus between events sometimes allows us to go back to business as usual. Well, it's not going to be back to business as usual for now. The threat is high.

ZAHN: Brian, a final question for you this morning. There's been a lot of analysis of Tom Ridge's very unspecific warning the other day and how that might tie to the Ramadan calendar. December 12th is the day, the 27th day, I guess, of that celebration period, where god determines the course of the world for the next year. Do you think any of these networks are planning attack, an attack tied to that date?

JENKINS: The question calls for prophecy, not for analysis. The fact is I don't know. There are a number of these dates that we look at over time that may have some symbolic significance to the operators. But also there is the simple fact that they will do what they intend to do when they decide it is appropriate or have the opportunity to do so. Beyond that, I don't think we can predict a precise date for the next action.

ZAHN: Brian Jenkins, as always, good to have your expertise. Thank you again for joining us.

JENKINS: Thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com