Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

FBI Warns of Possible Suicide Attacks in U.S.

Aired April 30, 2002 - 09:10   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: On to the issue now of homeland security, and concerns over possible suicide attacks here at home. A "Time" magazine report says those fears were a key factor behind last week's decision to warn FBI field offices of possible terrorist attacks on public places like shopping malls. "USA Today" quotes an FBI memo warning that attackers -- quote -- "could work in teams of up to three operatives per team and might be drawing from techniques similar to those used by Palestinians against Israeli targets."

And suicide was one method the government was concerned about when the Justice Department announced a nonspecific threat against American banks earlier this month.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN ASHCROFT, ATTORNEY GENERAL: We have received information, which may or may not be reliable, that terrorists are considering physical attacks against U.S. financial institutions, particularly banks located in the northeast -- northeastern United States as part of their conspiracy against the -- their campaign against the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZAHN: So could we see suicide missions being carried out here? Joining us now from Los Angeles, a man that knows an awful lot about this, Terrorism Expert, Brian Jenkins. Welcome back Brian.

BRIAN JENKINS, TERRORISM EXPERT: Good morning. Thank you.

ZAHN: Good morning. So Brian this "Time" magazine article goes into a great deal of detail and basically raises the possibility that Al-Qaeda can activate some of its cell members who we know are scattered all over the world to carry out attacks here in the U.S. What do you think is the possibility of that happening?

JENKINS: Well certainly there is a possibility of suicide bombings in this country. I mean the attacks that we witnessed on September 11 were a form of suicide bombings on a spectacular scale. The attempt to sabotage an American airlines passenger jet in December, had it succeeded, would have been a suicide attack. In 1997, inspired by events in the Middle East, terrorists in New York had planned to carry out suicide bombings on the city subways. So we have seen attempts and we have seen actually the execution of suicide attacks in this country.

Certainly, we have to anticipate the possibility that there could be more.

ZAHN: Let's talk about the latest two warnings we've experienced. The warning of a shopping mall potentially being attacked or the banks in the northeast. We have been told that most of that intelligence came from Abu Zubaydah who is currently is being interrogated, a member of al Qaeda. How credible is this guy?

JENKINS: Well, without getting into the details as to what specific information may be coming from Abu Zubaydah or from other intelligence sources, certainly we know from the material that we have obtained in Afghanistan from the training that these operatives have undergone in the course of their membership in al Qaeda that they are, in fact, trained to deceive so that in addition to any of them giving us possibly real information, there is also a great deal of disinformation mixed in with that. And that makes it difficult for the -- for the intelligence analysts to separate what is real from what is deliberate deception.

ZAHN: Can you raise the possibility of the exportation of the Palestinian caused by suicide bombers at the top of the interview and I wanted to remind people what the former Israeli Prime Minister had to say when he went before Congress and talked about why he thought it was so necessary for the U.S. to come down hard on Palestinian Leader Yasser Arafat. Let's listen to that together.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, FORMER ISRAEL PRIME MINISTER: If we do not shutdown the terror factories that Arafat is hosting, those terror factories that are producing human bombs it is only a matter of time before suicide bombers will terrorize your cities here in America. If not destroyed, this madness will strike in your buses, in your supermarkets, in your pizza parlors, in your cafes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZAHN: So what do you think is the strategy of some of the groups he referred to later on in that speech, Al Aqsa and Hamas? Do they want to come to the U.S. to attack us?

JENKINS: I don't know that they particularly want to come to the U.S. or that there are individuals in this country who are prepared to carry out suicide bombings, certainly, that is a possibility. But the term suicide bombing itself can be misleading. However interesting it may be to inquire why a young man or women would volunteer to blow themselves to bits, our concern here is not with the fate of the bomber but rather with the targets of the bombings. Those are simply different modes of delivery. Whether a bomb is packed into a parcel or a suitcase that is left in an airport as terrorist in 1999 planned to do here in Los Angeles or whether explosives are packed into a truck as in the World Trade Center bombing in 1993 or the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995 or whether it is in the form of suicide bombing, those are modes of delivery. But all of those are attacks whether on shopping mall, restaurants or other public places that are intended to kill civilian non-combatants and intended to kill in quantity. That's the concern.

ZAHN: And given the threat of that possibility, how is it that you think Americans should continue to reaction to whether it's a yellow threat or a new threat that's been issued?

JENKINS: Well, again, the remote possibility of a major terrorist bombing in this country does not automatically translate into a serious risk for any individual American. I don't know that there is any particular lifestyle we can or ought to adopt in response to the threat of terrorist bombings.

These bombing may be carried out in any public place. It would be difficult for us to avoid public places. I don't know how people can plan not to be in the wrong place at a wrong time when a bomb goes off. But one ought not to overestimate that danger. It is not a basis for altering our lifestyle.

ZAHN: You raise a very good point there. Brian Jenkins of the Rand Corporation always good to have you on the air. Thanks for stopping by AM this morning.

JENKINS: Thank you.

ZAHN: Particularly at the ungodly hour it is on the west coast right now. Look forward to having you back.

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