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CNN Live Today

Al Qaeda Detainee Confirms 9/11 Plane Headed for White House

Aired May 23, 2002 - 11:11   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.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: There was much speculation after September 11th. Well, today, word United Flight 93 was, indeed, headed for the White House that fateful day. That confirmation comes from top al Qaeda figure Abu Zubaydah who is in U.S. custody now. U.S. officials say Zubaydah gave them the information just a few days ago, and they say they do believe him.

Flight 93 when down in rural Pennsylvania, as you know, after passengers, apparently, tried to retake the plane. The Newark-to-San- Francisco flight had turned southeast toward Washington. U.S. fighter jets were scrambling to intercept the plane and possibly shoot it down when it crashed.

The Bush team is growing increasingly concerned today about Iraqi hostilities. Let's bring in Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr for more on that.

Barbara.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, Carol.

Yes. For the third time now in two weeks, Iraq has tried to shoot down a coalition warplane patrolling over the southern no-fly zone, firing surface-to-air missiles. Of course, none of them have hit, but this more aggressive stance by Iraq is leading military officials, U.S. officials here at the Pentagon to take a close look and to try and determine exactly what Iraq is up to.

Now, yesterday, coalition warplanes destroyed what is being called an Iraqi offensive aircraft and missile-control center. Two communications buildings about 100 miles south of Baghdad

This follows another strike earlier this week against an Iraqi aircraft direction finding sight (ph). That's a very sensitive piece of Iraqi equipment that possibly monitors aircraft communications. Coalition aircraft flying in the southern no-fly zone may not even know they're being listened to, and so U.S. warplanes have now destroyed these sights, along with a number of surface-to-air missile launchers after the Iraqis used these flights to launch missiles at coalition aircraft.

All of these strikes were launched within hours of the planes being fired upon, demonstrating, the U.S. says, that it can launch a very quick response against Iraq when it's aggressive, and one of the things that pilots have noticed is that the Iraqis in the last several days and weeks are moving their missile launchers around even more quickly than they usually do.

So they're all looking at this, trying to determine whether Iraq, whether Saddam Hussein is getting into one of his more aggressive periods against coalition aircraft.

Carol.

COSTELLO: Something else the Pentagon may be concerned about, the situation in India, you know, on the -- in Kashmir. Is the Pentagon concerned about that?

STARR: Absolutely. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has been trying to reach the Indian defense minister by cell phone for the last two days. He's very anxious to talk to him. We are told that the state of tension -- military tension between India and Pakistan on that Kashmir border is at an all-time.

U.S. officials here at the Pentagon are particularly concerned that Pakistan may react by moving some of the Pakistani military forces which have been patrolling the Afghan border watching for al Qaeda moving into Pakistan.

But the Pakistanis may move some of those troops over to the Kashmir side to deal with that situation. That would cause the Pentagon a lot of concern. They want the Pakistanis to keep their military focus on the Afghan border.

So there's a lot of effort to diffuse that tension at the moment.

COSTELLO: Of course, nuclear weapons are involved here or could be, too.

STARR: Well, that's true, and we should tell you that we know U.S. intelligence is monitoring the position and location of both India and Pakistan's nuclear weapons on a daily basis. It's something that is watched very, very closely, and we are told that at this point there is no indication that either country has moved their nuclear weapons or changed the status of those weapons.

COSTELLO: Well, that is a relief. Thank you.

Barbara Starr reporting live for us from the Pentagon today.

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