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CNN Live Today

Talk with Michael Weisskopf

Aired November 25, 2002 - 10:32   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 LIN, CNN ANCHOR: We turn our attention now to the war on terror and a money trail that some say leads to the Saudi royal family. There are reports that a Saudi princess may have been the source of funds that went to two of the September 11th hijackers. But officials in Saudi Arabia say it is crazy to suggest the princess knowingly funneled money to terrorists.
Michael Weisskopf, senior correspondent for "Time" magazine, joins us now from D.C. to give us some perspective on this story.

Hey, Michael, I am going to throw up a tree of the cast of characters just to give our folks in the audience an idea of who it is we're talking about. At the top, Princess Haifa al-Faisal. She is the wife to the Saudi ambassador to the United States. What the allegation is that money from her organization went to the students al-Bayoumi and Basnan, and money from them eventually went down to the two last characters, Khalid Almidhar, and Nawaf Alhamzi. They were the two on the plane that hit the Pentagon.

What is it that your sources at "Time" magazine are telling you about the hijackers and the princess, if any?

MICHAEL WEISSKOPF, "TIME" MAGAZINE: This is a story of many links, and there is only one real critical link, and that is between these two Saudi nationals on the West Coast and the two guys who ended up hijacking the plane that went into the Pentagon.

Thus far, the FBI has found no direct link, and claims that the trail is cold. However, what this points up is the larger issue, one which a parade of U.S. senators addressed yesterday, and that is, what role does money from the Saudi royal family going ostensibly for charity have in terms of funding terrorist activities?

LIN: And can you answer that question, because the Saudi royal family has traditionally been very generous with the charities and even with its own people. They have the form of welfare there where the Saudi royal family will write a check directly to your or I if we were Saudi citizens?

WEISSKOPF: Yes, and that's admirable. The question, of course, is where the money ends up. This is not a case of united funds, for instance, where the money ended up going a different charity than you'd want it. Some of this money is believed to trickle into the hands of bin Laden and others, at least historically. The problem here is accountability, and to what extent the Saudi royal family and other millionaire, billionaires in that oil-rich country monitor the contributions. LIN: And how rigorously do they?

WEISSKOPF: That's the big question, and to what extent have they tightened the rigor in the wake of 9/11? Our government has had relatively little luck in getting Saudi cooperation in this area. Of course, this is quite separate from the question of Princess Haifa and money that may or may not have wound up in terrorist hands.

Both of the people who supposedly received money either directly or indirectly from Princess Haifa and her husband, Prince Bandar, were held in U.S. custody, or the custody of a friendly nation. They were investigated and finally let go, so one has to wonder how far this particular investigation will go.

LIN: How aggressive are the Saudis being? Because I spoke with the foreign policy adviser to the crown prince, and he said they have been very aggressive over the last six months in trying to trace -- they know what the source of the money is, but how it actually got to the hijackers. Are they sharing that information with the FBI and the CIA?

WEISSKOPF: The big question is, what is the difference here or the gap between rhetoric and actual practice? And there are those in our government who question the extent of vigor by the Saudis, simply because they have been suspected of trying to buy peace with terrorists.

In order words, they make a good-faith presentation to foreign audiences like our own. At the same time, they're fairly sloppy about where their billions in charity go, and that this way they have it on all sides.

LIN: All right, so are the Saudis friend or foe as the United States contemplates war with Iraq and needs Saudi Arabia to base troops out of in order to go war with Iraq?

WEISSKOPF: On the surface anyway, they certainly have lined up behind us on many issues. And, of course, 11 years ago, we saved their bacon by driving Saddam out of Kuwait in their neighboring country.

We'll have to see, because right now, U.S. national interests are more directly affected than any time in recent years, and whether or not they'll come through, whether or not they'll provide basing for U.S. aircraft in a possible invasion of Iraq, whether or not they really shut down this money flow to terrorism really remains to be seen.

LIN: All right, which may very well explain why we saw both Democratic and Republican senators putting pressure on the Bush administration to put more pressure on the Saudis in this investigation.

Thank you very much, Michael Weisskopf, "Time" magazine.

WEISSKOPF: You're welcome. 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 November 25, 2002 - 10:32   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: We turn our attention now to the war on terror and a money trail that some say leads to the Saudi royal family. There are reports that a Saudi princess may have been the source of funds that went to two of the September 11th hijackers. But officials in Saudi Arabia say it is crazy to suggest the princess knowingly funneled money to terrorists.
Michael Weisskopf, senior correspondent for "Time" magazine, joins us now from D.C. to give us some perspective on this story.

Hey, Michael, I am going to throw up a tree of the cast of characters just to give our folks in the audience an idea of who it is we're talking about. At the top, Princess Haifa al-Faisal. She is the wife to the Saudi ambassador to the United States. What the allegation is that money from her organization went to the students al-Bayoumi and Basnan, and money from them eventually went down to the two last characters, Khalid Almidhar, and Nawaf Alhamzi. They were the two on the plane that hit the Pentagon.

What is it that your sources at "Time" magazine are telling you about the hijackers and the princess, if any?

MICHAEL WEISSKOPF, "TIME" MAGAZINE: This is a story of many links, and there is only one real critical link, and that is between these two Saudi nationals on the West Coast and the two guys who ended up hijacking the plane that went into the Pentagon.

Thus far, the FBI has found no direct link, and claims that the trail is cold. However, what this points up is the larger issue, one which a parade of U.S. senators addressed yesterday, and that is, what role does money from the Saudi royal family going ostensibly for charity have in terms of funding terrorist activities?

LIN: And can you answer that question, because the Saudi royal family has traditionally been very generous with the charities and even with its own people. They have the form of welfare there where the Saudi royal family will write a check directly to your or I if we were Saudi citizens?

WEISSKOPF: Yes, and that's admirable. The question, of course, is where the money ends up. This is not a case of united funds, for instance, where the money ended up going a different charity than you'd want it. Some of this money is believed to trickle into the hands of bin Laden and others, at least historically. The problem here is accountability, and to what extent the Saudi royal family and other millionaire, billionaires in that oil-rich country monitor the contributions. LIN: And how rigorously do they?

WEISSKOPF: That's the big question, and to what extent have they tightened the rigor in the wake of 9/11? Our government has had relatively little luck in getting Saudi cooperation in this area. Of course, this is quite separate from the question of Princess Haifa and money that may or may not have wound up in terrorist hands.

Both of the people who supposedly received money either directly or indirectly from Princess Haifa and her husband, Prince Bandar, were held in U.S. custody, or the custody of a friendly nation. They were investigated and finally let go, so one has to wonder how far this particular investigation will go.

LIN: How aggressive are the Saudis being? Because I spoke with the foreign policy adviser to the crown prince, and he said they have been very aggressive over the last six months in trying to trace -- they know what the source of the money is, but how it actually got to the hijackers. Are they sharing that information with the FBI and the CIA?

WEISSKOPF: The big question is, what is the difference here or the gap between rhetoric and actual practice? And there are those in our government who question the extent of vigor by the Saudis, simply because they have been suspected of trying to buy peace with terrorists.

In order words, they make a good-faith presentation to foreign audiences like our own. At the same time, they're fairly sloppy about where their billions in charity go, and that this way they have it on all sides.

LIN: All right, so are the Saudis friend or foe as the United States contemplates war with Iraq and needs Saudi Arabia to base troops out of in order to go war with Iraq?

WEISSKOPF: On the surface anyway, they certainly have lined up behind us on many issues. And, of course, 11 years ago, we saved their bacon by driving Saddam out of Kuwait in their neighboring country.

We'll have to see, because right now, U.S. national interests are more directly affected than any time in recent years, and whether or not they'll come through, whether or not they'll provide basing for U.S. aircraft in a possible invasion of Iraq, whether or not they really shut down this money flow to terrorism really remains to be seen.

LIN: All right, which may very well explain why we saw both Democratic and Republican senators putting pressure on the Bush administration to put more pressure on the Saudis in this investigation.

Thank you very much, Michael Weisskopf, "Time" magazine.

WEISSKOPF: You're welcome. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com