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CNN Live Today
Potential Terror Plot Exposed
Aired September 20, 2002 - 10:01 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: Up first her on CNN, a potential terror plot exposed. Sources confirm to CNN that a Sudanese air force pilot is now in U.S. hands, amid reports that he was planning to crash an airliner into the White House.
Let's go straight to CNN national security correspondent David Ensor for the latest on this developing story.
Hi there, David.
DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Fredricka. Well, as you say, sources tell CNN that a Sudanese air force pilot is in U.S. hands as we speak. U.S. intelligence has been looking for this man. They had information that he was intending to hijack an airliner and try to fly it into a target in the United States, probably in Washington. This was first reported in "The Washington Times" newspaper, which said that the target was the White House. We have not been able to confirm that, but we do here from our sources that the man in U.S. custody. They are taking this matter seriously, but it is still being investigated. They do know also that the man entered Canada at some point in the past.
However, he was not arrested there, I understand. Moving on to the hearing as you just mentioned, behind me, senators and congressmen are assembling to listen to the staff director of the joint House- Senate intelligence probe into what mistakes were made prior to 9/11, and they are going to hear some detailed testimony from Eleanor Hill, the staff director, about exactly when the CIA determined that Nallah Al-Hazmi (ph), and Khalid Al-Midhar (ph), two of the hijackers, had been at a meeting in Malaysia, which has been described since then as sort of a terrorist summit.
This information they had in January of 2000. CIA officials have said that this information was communicated to the FBI, but there has been difficulty finding records in both agencies. We will hear from Eleanor Hill that a CIA communication -- internal communication in January 2000 states that Al-Midhar's (ph) travel documents, the fact that he had a U.S. visa, and the fact he's attended this terrorist conference were communicated to the FBI at that time, but the FBI says it has no record of that having been done.
Additionally, the CIA did not put these two men on the watchlist of people to be kept an eye on at the borders, and according to this testimony, Eleanor Hill says that in a closed testimony earlier, George Tenet, the director of Central Intelligence, admitted that this was a mistake on the part of the CIA. So we are going to hear about mistakes made, both with the CIA and at the FBI. There is additional testimony saying that there were communications problems within the FBI, that some of the FBI personnel who did know about what the CIA had heard about these two potential hijackers, did not communicate it to the right places within the FBI.
So problems both between FBI and CIA, and within the FBI itself.
We are going to hear this morning from some lower-level personnel at these two agencies, and a couple of them, I understand, are going to be testifying behind screens. Much of the work they do is secret, and they need to have their identities concealed -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD:: And those individuals are likely to be at least two CIA members and one FBI member, is that correct?
ENSOR: We will see when they get here, but something like that, yes, one or more from CIA, one or more from FBI, a couple of them behind screens, we're told.
WHITFIELD: All right, we'll continue to dip into that, and continue to keep tabs on the other story you're following about the Sudanese air force pilot and that report.
Thanks very much, David.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired September 20, 2002 - 10:01 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD: Up first her on CNN, a potential terror plot exposed. Sources confirm to CNN that a Sudanese air force pilot is now in U.S. hands, amid reports that he was planning to crash an airliner into the White House.
Let's go straight to CNN national security correspondent David Ensor for the latest on this developing story.
Hi there, David.
DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Fredricka. Well, as you say, sources tell CNN that a Sudanese air force pilot is in U.S. hands as we speak. U.S. intelligence has been looking for this man. They had information that he was intending to hijack an airliner and try to fly it into a target in the United States, probably in Washington. This was first reported in "The Washington Times" newspaper, which said that the target was the White House. We have not been able to confirm that, but we do here from our sources that the man in U.S. custody. They are taking this matter seriously, but it is still being investigated. They do know also that the man entered Canada at some point in the past.
However, he was not arrested there, I understand. Moving on to the hearing as you just mentioned, behind me, senators and congressmen are assembling to listen to the staff director of the joint House- Senate intelligence probe into what mistakes were made prior to 9/11, and they are going to hear some detailed testimony from Eleanor Hill, the staff director, about exactly when the CIA determined that Nallah Al-Hazmi (ph), and Khalid Al-Midhar (ph), two of the hijackers, had been at a meeting in Malaysia, which has been described since then as sort of a terrorist summit.
This information they had in January of 2000. CIA officials have said that this information was communicated to the FBI, but there has been difficulty finding records in both agencies. We will hear from Eleanor Hill that a CIA communication -- internal communication in January 2000 states that Al-Midhar's (ph) travel documents, the fact that he had a U.S. visa, and the fact he's attended this terrorist conference were communicated to the FBI at that time, but the FBI says it has no record of that having been done.
Additionally, the CIA did not put these two men on the watchlist of people to be kept an eye on at the borders, and according to this testimony, Eleanor Hill says that in a closed testimony earlier, George Tenet, the director of Central Intelligence, admitted that this was a mistake on the part of the CIA. So we are going to hear about mistakes made, both with the CIA and at the FBI. There is additional testimony saying that there were communications problems within the FBI, that some of the FBI personnel who did know about what the CIA had heard about these two potential hijackers, did not communicate it to the right places within the FBI.
So problems both between FBI and CIA, and within the FBI itself.
We are going to hear this morning from some lower-level personnel at these two agencies, and a couple of them, I understand, are going to be testifying behind screens. Much of the work they do is secret, and they need to have their identities concealed -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD:: And those individuals are likely to be at least two CIA members and one FBI member, is that correct?
ENSOR: We will see when they get here, but something like that, yes, one or more from CIA, one or more from FBI, a couple of them behind screens, we're told.
WHITFIELD: All right, we'll continue to dip into that, and continue to keep tabs on the other story you're following about the Sudanese air force pilot and that report.
Thanks very much, David.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
