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U.S. Intelligence Officials 95 Percent Certain It's Bin Laden's Voice
Aired November 14, 2002 - 05:15 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.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: U.S. intelligence officials tell CNN they are 95 percent certain it is Osama bin Laden's voice on a threatening audiotape and it was made within the last two and a half weeks. The tape was broadcast Tuesday by the Al Jazeera Network.
And CNN's Mike Boettcher reports that the Bush administration is taking the threat very seriously.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MIKE BOETTCHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Day two and President Bush had gotten Osama bin Laden's message.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Whoever put this tape out has put the world on notice yet again that we're at war and that we need to take these messages very seriously.
BOETTCHER: And for good reason. Words can kill, especially when they come from Osama bin Laden.
PETER BERGEN, TERRORISM CONSULTANT: There's been a pattern over the years. When bin Laden makes certain kinds of public statements, they are followed within a few months or even a few weeks by real action.
BOETTCHER: In May, 1998, a bin Laden call for Jihad against American civilians is followed weeks later by al Qaeda attacks on the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. In 2000, a bin Laden videotape appears showing him wearing a Yemeni dagger. Within months there is an attack on the USS Cole when it is in a Yemeni port. And last summer, this bin Laden tape, hailing the Kohl bombing and calling for more attacks against Americans, was followed by 9/11.
Now, a new tape and a new target -- America's allies in Europe.
ABDEL BARI ATWAN, EDITOR, "AL QUDS" NEWSPAPER: It seems he is legitimizing the killing of the civilians of countries which participated in the war against terrorism. He singled out Britain, France, Germany, United States and Australia and Canada. So it seems, it seems that future attacks could be targeted toward civilian populations, which is extremely alarming and dangerous.
BOETTCHER: What makes this latest threat so worrying to Abdel Bari Atwan is that it comes after a series of attacks, including the Bali nightclub bombing that al Qaeda has claimed credit for. And the tone is far more aggressive than in the past. For Peter Bergen, this marks a new phase. BERGEN: I call it al Qaeda 2.0. Basically, a second wave of terrorism. Al Qaeda's lost its base in Afghanistan. It's now a much more virtual organization that uses the Internet and the media to get its message across. It continues to exist, but it's not in one place, as it was largely in Afghanistan. It's now defused and decentralized around the world, posing, I think, still a very good, for a very big threat.
BOETTCHER: A very big threat, if al Qaeda's recent history is any guide.
Mike Boettcher, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Laden's Voice>
Aired November 14, 2002 - 05:15 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: U.S. intelligence officials tell CNN they are 95 percent certain it is Osama bin Laden's voice on a threatening audiotape and it was made within the last two and a half weeks. The tape was broadcast Tuesday by the Al Jazeera Network.
And CNN's Mike Boettcher reports that the Bush administration is taking the threat very seriously.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MIKE BOETTCHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Day two and President Bush had gotten Osama bin Laden's message.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Whoever put this tape out has put the world on notice yet again that we're at war and that we need to take these messages very seriously.
BOETTCHER: And for good reason. Words can kill, especially when they come from Osama bin Laden.
PETER BERGEN, TERRORISM CONSULTANT: There's been a pattern over the years. When bin Laden makes certain kinds of public statements, they are followed within a few months or even a few weeks by real action.
BOETTCHER: In May, 1998, a bin Laden call for Jihad against American civilians is followed weeks later by al Qaeda attacks on the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. In 2000, a bin Laden videotape appears showing him wearing a Yemeni dagger. Within months there is an attack on the USS Cole when it is in a Yemeni port. And last summer, this bin Laden tape, hailing the Kohl bombing and calling for more attacks against Americans, was followed by 9/11.
Now, a new tape and a new target -- America's allies in Europe.
ABDEL BARI ATWAN, EDITOR, "AL QUDS" NEWSPAPER: It seems he is legitimizing the killing of the civilians of countries which participated in the war against terrorism. He singled out Britain, France, Germany, United States and Australia and Canada. So it seems, it seems that future attacks could be targeted toward civilian populations, which is extremely alarming and dangerous.
BOETTCHER: What makes this latest threat so worrying to Abdel Bari Atwan is that it comes after a series of attacks, including the Bali nightclub bombing that al Qaeda has claimed credit for. And the tone is far more aggressive than in the past. For Peter Bergen, this marks a new phase. BERGEN: I call it al Qaeda 2.0. Basically, a second wave of terrorism. Al Qaeda's lost its base in Afghanistan. It's now a much more virtual organization that uses the Internet and the media to get its message across. It continues to exist, but it's not in one place, as it was largely in Afghanistan. It's now defused and decentralized around the world, posing, I think, still a very good, for a very big threat.
BOETTCHER: A very big threat, if al Qaeda's recent history is any guide.
Mike Boettcher, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Laden's Voice>
