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CNN Live At Daybreak
Interview with Neal Boortz
Aired October 15, 2002 - 06:44 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: The Bali bombings and the serial sniper attacks are on the mind of our next guest, nationally syndicated radio talk show host Neal Boortz.
Good morning to you -- Neal.
NEAL BOORTZ, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: How you doing?
COSTELLO: I suppose you have many callers to your program talking about these sniper attacks in the Washington, D.C. area?
BOORTZ: Yes, really about the sniper attacks. And one of the concerns is if and when it's going to spread. Now not many of the callers believe that it is actually connected to Islamic terrorism, but as William Sapphire wrote over the weekend, there -- these terrorists simply must be sitting back and saying wow, this is effective.
COSTELLO: Yes.
BOORTZ: Why haven't we thought of this before? So it's simple; it's easy. It's easy to outfit a terrorist like this so a lot of people...
COSTELLO: It's interesting you say that...
BOORTZ: Yes.
COSTELLO: ... because we were talking earlier to some Boston radio folks and they said people in Boston were afraid that copycats would come out of the closet and try this in their city. And since this latest shooting happened at a Home Depot, it really brought the shootings closer to home because every city in this country has a Home Depot.
BOORTZ: Yes, there's only 1,500 of them. But you say copycats, and I'm wondering if the al Qaeda, whatever there is of them in this country, might pick this up. And I'm just dreading the day that we open up the newspapers and watch CNN and listen to the radio and find out that these are happening now in three cities,...
COSTELLO: Yes.
BOORTZ: ... then six cities, then about eight cities. And if you want to terrorize the population of this country, this is one way to do it.
COSTELLO: Yes. It's been effective in the Washington, D.C. area.
BOORTZ: Very much so.
COSTELLO: You know I have a lot of friends there because I lived in that area for 10 years and people are scared to do anything and you can understand why.
BOORTZ: I would be, too, if I was up there. September the 11th was devastating emotionally, but we weren't frightened on a day-to-day basis, filling up our cars, going shopping, going to the Home Depot. This is just completely different. This is very effective.
COSTELLO: Let's talk about the bombings in Bali because I am sure that is a topic on your radio show as well.
BOORTZ: It is. And the island of Bali is the only non-Muslim part of Indonesia and it is the most successful part of Indonesia. This is where the tourists go, it's where the incomes are high,...
COSTELLO: Very popular.
BOORTZ: ... it's where you have all of the what the Islamic world might refer to as the decadence of the nightclubs and men and women holding hands and kissing and dancing and drinking. It was a perfect target for the terrorists there. And the al Qaeda leader in Indonesia is determined to set up an Islamic state somewhere in the Southeast -- somewhere in Southeast Asia, what better place than Indonesia.
COSTELLO: Well...
BOORTZ: So this...
COSTELLO: And the biggest criticism the U.S. government has of the Indonesian government that it hasn't been doing enough to crack down on Islamic extremists that are working within that country. And one of the reasons is is there is a feeling in Indonesia that the United States is going to wipeout Islam there in general and that's why supposedly the Indonesian government has not acted strongly enough against al Qaeda.
BOORTZ: Also, if the Indonesian government, such as it is, acts strongly, the Indonesian government won't last that long because the country...
COSTELLO: Because in part they're controlled by these extremists.
BOORTZ: Absolutely, 85 percent of that country is Muslim.
COSTELLO: So you have to wonder now if the U.S. presence in that country will increase and what the United States will do now and if the United States government can handle that financially and militarily.
BOORTZ: There are 17,000 islands in Indonesia, 8,000 of them are inhabited, can you imagine the resources, the Navy, the Armed Forces, the money it would take to fight an effective war against Islamic terrorists in Indonesia? The cost would be staggering.
COSTELLO: It would be phenomenal.
BOORTZ: Yes.
COSTELLO: We have to end it there -- Neal.
BOORTZ: OK.
COSTELLO: Thank you very much. And you'll be back with us on Thursday.
BOORTZ: On Thursday.
COSTELLO: Neal Boortz, thank you for being here.
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 October 15, 2002 - 06:44 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: The Bali bombings and the serial sniper attacks are on the mind of our next guest, nationally syndicated radio talk show host Neal Boortz.
Good morning to you -- Neal.
NEAL BOORTZ, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: How you doing?
COSTELLO: I suppose you have many callers to your program talking about these sniper attacks in the Washington, D.C. area?
BOORTZ: Yes, really about the sniper attacks. And one of the concerns is if and when it's going to spread. Now not many of the callers believe that it is actually connected to Islamic terrorism, but as William Sapphire wrote over the weekend, there -- these terrorists simply must be sitting back and saying wow, this is effective.
COSTELLO: Yes.
BOORTZ: Why haven't we thought of this before? So it's simple; it's easy. It's easy to outfit a terrorist like this so a lot of people...
COSTELLO: It's interesting you say that...
BOORTZ: Yes.
COSTELLO: ... because we were talking earlier to some Boston radio folks and they said people in Boston were afraid that copycats would come out of the closet and try this in their city. And since this latest shooting happened at a Home Depot, it really brought the shootings closer to home because every city in this country has a Home Depot.
BOORTZ: Yes, there's only 1,500 of them. But you say copycats, and I'm wondering if the al Qaeda, whatever there is of them in this country, might pick this up. And I'm just dreading the day that we open up the newspapers and watch CNN and listen to the radio and find out that these are happening now in three cities,...
COSTELLO: Yes.
BOORTZ: ... then six cities, then about eight cities. And if you want to terrorize the population of this country, this is one way to do it.
COSTELLO: Yes. It's been effective in the Washington, D.C. area.
BOORTZ: Very much so.
COSTELLO: You know I have a lot of friends there because I lived in that area for 10 years and people are scared to do anything and you can understand why.
BOORTZ: I would be, too, if I was up there. September the 11th was devastating emotionally, but we weren't frightened on a day-to-day basis, filling up our cars, going shopping, going to the Home Depot. This is just completely different. This is very effective.
COSTELLO: Let's talk about the bombings in Bali because I am sure that is a topic on your radio show as well.
BOORTZ: It is. And the island of Bali is the only non-Muslim part of Indonesia and it is the most successful part of Indonesia. This is where the tourists go, it's where the incomes are high,...
COSTELLO: Very popular.
BOORTZ: ... it's where you have all of the what the Islamic world might refer to as the decadence of the nightclubs and men and women holding hands and kissing and dancing and drinking. It was a perfect target for the terrorists there. And the al Qaeda leader in Indonesia is determined to set up an Islamic state somewhere in the Southeast -- somewhere in Southeast Asia, what better place than Indonesia.
COSTELLO: Well...
BOORTZ: So this...
COSTELLO: And the biggest criticism the U.S. government has of the Indonesian government that it hasn't been doing enough to crack down on Islamic extremists that are working within that country. And one of the reasons is is there is a feeling in Indonesia that the United States is going to wipeout Islam there in general and that's why supposedly the Indonesian government has not acted strongly enough against al Qaeda.
BOORTZ: Also, if the Indonesian government, such as it is, acts strongly, the Indonesian government won't last that long because the country...
COSTELLO: Because in part they're controlled by these extremists.
BOORTZ: Absolutely, 85 percent of that country is Muslim.
COSTELLO: So you have to wonder now if the U.S. presence in that country will increase and what the United States will do now and if the United States government can handle that financially and militarily.
BOORTZ: There are 17,000 islands in Indonesia, 8,000 of them are inhabited, can you imagine the resources, the Navy, the Armed Forces, the money it would take to fight an effective war against Islamic terrorists in Indonesia? The cost would be staggering.
COSTELLO: It would be phenomenal.
BOORTZ: Yes.
COSTELLO: We have to end it there -- Neal.
BOORTZ: OK.
COSTELLO: Thank you very much. And you'll be back with us on Thursday.
BOORTZ: On Thursday.
COSTELLO: Neal Boortz, thank you for being here.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
