Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live Today

Pentagon Denies Reports of Osama bin Laden Escape

Aired April 17, 2002 - 14:11   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.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says there is not enough solid evidence to say the U.S. made a mistake in Tora Bora. The secretary is discounting reports that a tactical error allowed Osama bin Laden to slip out of that region during U.S. air attacks. Joining us now, CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr with this and more on a tape surfacing with Osama bin Laden -- Barbara.

BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra. Well, just about two hours after the secretary made his remarks, again, new pictures of Osama bin Laden emerging on videotape coming out of the Middle East. There have been these new pictures emerging today.

It's difficult, as you can see here, to tell when these were taken. It appears possibly that these are segment from a tape that Al-Jazeera, a Persian Gulf television network, had earlier this week, and expects to air in its entirety tomorrow.

But these pictures now, for the first time, do show bin Laden talking in this most recent release. We don't know, again, when they were taken. But it does appear that these pictures are quite similar to the videotape segments shown earlier this week.

Now, at the Pentagon today, Defense Secretary Rumsfeld insisted the U.S. has never had credible evidence in the last seven months about the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden. He called it pure speculation that bin Laden was in the Tora Bora cave region in eastern Afghanistan in December, just as the U.S. began that air assault in Tora Bora.

But other administration officials are telling a bit of a different story. They say that interrogation of detainees seized at that time is pointing in a different direction. That multiple detainees are telling the same story: that bin Laden was in Tora Bora in early December. He addressed his al Qaeda troops and then he slipped away with the help of local Afghans.

But today the secretary of defense remained very skeptical.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: We have had three or four or five different stories from the same detainees, in any number of instances. They change their stories frequently. It is entirely possible that that is the case, that he was there.

And I would not suggest that he might not have been. Or that he might not have left. He could still be there. But it's the -- the -- there wasn't any evidence that we had then that would give us a high- degree of certainty about it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: The secretary's press conference called today was for somewhat of a different purpose, however. He announced the creation of a new military command structure, saying it was the most significant change in decades. There will be a new northern command here in the United States, based here. And it will coordinate the activities of the military in supporting local and civil officials in things like civil disasters, in terrorist attacks, and defense against nuclear, chemical and biological attacks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUMSFELD: Some in the past have worried that creation of a command that covered the United States of America could be inward looking. Nothing could be further from the truth. The creation of Northcom means that we now have a command assigned to defend the American people where they live and work. And it will be functioning in a supporting role to civil authorities as occasions arise.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: Now, to the public this may all be a lot of Pentagon bureaucracy. But Rumsfeld says it is vital and that this new command will help the U.S. respond better after September 11th, if another disaster strikes. Back to you.

PHILLIPS: Barbara, a question regarding this tape, these new pictures, or old pictures of Osama bin Laden. Last week while monitoring these briefings with Secretary of State Donald Rumsfeld, I remembered that reporters were asking him questions about Osama bin Laden, the search for him, is he dead, is he alive, what's going on?

And Secretary Rumsfeld made the point that there haven't been any recent videotapes. So I find it interesting a week later all of a sudden now these tapes are surfacing. Do you know where these come from? Who gives them to the U.S. government? Who shoots these videotapes? Any new information surfacing about that?

STARR: Well, in fact, Rumsfeld was asked about that today. And he said no, the problem is the U.S. never knows exactly where these tapes have come from. They surface. It's not known how they were made, when they were made, and who has actually delivered them. But intelligence analysts do pour over these tapes frame by frame, and they try and glean clues. And as best they can figure out, these tapes that we're seeing now were made last year.

Rumsfeld has talked about the fact that to the best of his knowledge there have been no new videotapes, no new pictures of Osama bin Laden this year. PHILLIPS: Barbara, final question. Has the question been asked if Al Jazeera television is somehow in cahoots with Osama bin Laden and shooting these videotapes and releasing them when asked?

STARR: Well, no one has commented on that in a public fashion. There may be speculation behind the scenes. We really don't know. But clearly, Al Jazeera as well as many other media outlets throughout that region of the world, do have sources of their own and they do get access to information that is not made readily available to the western media.

PHILLIPS: Barbara Starr, Pentagon correspondent. Thank you very much, Barbara.

STARR: 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