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Suicide Bombings in United States Inevitable?

Aired May 20, 2002 - 12:38   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.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Back to the story regarding the FBI director, Robert Mueller, we brought you about nine minutes again: the AP reporting, in a question-and-answer session earlier today, Robert Mueller referred to suicide bombers in the U.S. as inevitable.

Kelli Arena tracking it from Washington with more now -- Kelli, hello. Good afternoon.

KELLI ARENA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Bill.

Well, as you know, that meeting was closed to the press. So, we did not have anyone in that room to hear Director Mueller say that. But I can tell that you that FBI officials all along have been saying, since September 11, everything has been on the radar screen, including the possibility of suicide bombers.

I can tell you that terrorism experts that we have spoken to in the past have said that that is not necessarily the route that the al Qaeda terrorist organization may take, but that there are many other fringe terrorist organizations that view the United States as an enemy, and that the prospect of suicide bombers is very real here on U.S. soil, Bill.

HEMMER: Is this a way for the FBI director and others in the higher-reaching areas of the administration to warn or essentially prep the American people for what they consider inevitable?

ARENA: Well, we have heard a lot of prepping over the past few days, Bill, from all parts of the administration and, of course, from the FBI director. You can see him right here. He was exiting that meeting that he spoke at this morning.

There does seem to be a heightened level of concern. As a matter of fact, there is a quote from a government official that we received over the weekend, someone that I spoke to, about the new level of caution that seems to be sweeping over the administration. We do know, Bill, that there has been intelligence picked up, a higher volume of intelligence, as it's called, picked up about another possible attack on a U.S. target, either domestically or overseas, more in the past four weeks than officials have heard before that.

So, there is an effort on the part of the administration to get out there and let people know. And the attorney general, as you know, has said all along that it does depend on citizens to be alert and to be aware. and this is something that this society is not used to. Most Americans are not used to keeping an eye out for suspicious packages or suspicious people. It's just not part of our everyday culture. It is part of the everyday culture, for example, in Israel.

So, there is a lot of comparison being made between that culture and our culture, as we heard on the talk shows all weekend, Bill.

HEMMER: You're right.

Kelli, one more thing here. I'm just curious to know, in talking with sources there in Washington, have they ever picked up any of this chatter that may suggest that indeed it could happen, or is this uncorroborated at this point?

ARENA: Chatter, in and of itself, is often uncorroborated, Bill.

While information comes from various sources, there is some skepticism involving the credibility of the information. As you know, we have no credible or specific information regarding any terrorist threat at this time: no time, no place, no target. But suicide bombings is something that has been discussed among the intelligence community for some time, obviously prior to 9/11, but more significantly since 9/11.

The book is now open, Bill. They say that, once they saw planes crash into the World Trade Center, that they are not ruling anything out at this point: suicide bombings, a chem-bio threat. Everything and anything is on the table, Bill.

HEMMER: So true there. Kelli, thanks. I guess the FBI director also said -- and quoting, Kelli -- he said, "I wish I could be more optimistic." And I think many of us wish he could, too.

Thanks, Kelli -- Kelli Arena in D.C.

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