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CNN Live Sunday

Rumsfeld, Four U.S. Senators Visit Guantanamo Bay

Aired January 27, 2002 - 17:00   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.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Now back to our top story concerning Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's tour of the Camp X-Ray in Cuba. He was accompanied by four other VIPs, including four senators. CNN's John Zarrella covered today's visit, and he joins us now over the phone with details. Hi there, John.

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fredricka.

Actually, we are here live in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld, along with the four senators and the chairman of the joint chiefs, spent about three hours on the ground here this afternoon at Guantanamo Bay. And most of the time they spent was thanking the soldiers, as you mentioned, for the work they did here and are doing here to repair the camp for the detainees, the 158 detainees who are here.

But they also spent about an hour touring the camp, touring the facilities, touring the interrogation areas that are being set up. They did not, however, talk with any of the detainees, and the senators even told us that they did not make eye contact at all with the detainees who are here.

But Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld did enter the fray over the issue of whether these detainees are unlawful combatants or are they POWs. And he said flat out they are not POWs in his estimation, although he said the legal system, the courts may have to settle that later on. But in his estimation, they are not POWs, they are part of the Taliban and the al Qaeda are inseparable, hard to determine one from the other, and the fact that they did not wear any uniforms of any organized nation. Again, in his estimation, they are not POWs. He said that these people are the worst of the worst.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD RUMSFELD, DEFENSE SECRETARY: These are among the most dangerous, best-trained, vicious killers on the face of the earth, and that means that the people taking care of them, detaining them, managing their transit have to be just exceedingly careful, for two reasons: One, for their own protection, but also so these people don't get loose back out on the street and kill more people. This is -- this is a very, very serious business down there.

(END VIDEO CLIP) ZARRELLA: There has been some serious concern too, and criticism expressed of the treatment of the prisoners here, of the detainees and of the facilities they're housed in. At one point, the secretary was asked about the cages they're in, and he shot back: "Why do you use that term? What are you doing trying to stir up trouble? They are not cages." At another point, Senator Dianne Feinstein of California said that if they really think things are bad, they should visit Fulsome prison in her state of California.

Senator Ted Stevens from Alaska, Republican from Alaska, took very sharp criticism with the members of the British Parliament, parliamentarians who had criticized the center here, the facility here. And he said, "they ought to come and take a look," at that was the message that the senators and the secretary of defense said that any of the critics out there need to come down here and take a look at the facility before they go passing judgments.

Back to you, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Now, John, back to Rumsfeld, he made it very clear that he does not believe the detainees deserve POW status. Did he make any comments about the reported in-fighting involving some of the State Department lawyers who are asking for POW status?

ZARRELLA: No, he did not, but he just basically laid out his positions on the issues, stated what he thought they were, what he felt they should be, that they were unlawful combatants. He did not want to get into of any of the legal issues.

He said, what he did say, though, well, down the road it may that the lawyers will have to fight it out, and that's a determination down the road. But as far as he is concerned, they are unlawful combatants, period, end of story. There is no blurring -- "there is just no blurring here" is the way he put it.

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks very much. John Zarrella, glad to see you, from Guantanamo there. Thanks very much.

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