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American Morning

Interview With Peter Brookes

Aired December 06, 2002 - 07:06   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.


BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: After the deadly attacks last week that we saw on Thanksgiving in Kenya, Israel has recognized it has a new enemy. And now, a Web site, which U.S. officials say speaks for al Qaeda, is reportedly confirming exactly what the Israelis say.
According to "The Washington Post," the site says al Qaeda has decided to launch suicide attacks against the Jewish state with the goal of destroying it.

From Washington to talk about whether or not the terror network is changing its tactics and the implications therein, Peter Brookes, back with us from The Heritage Foundation.

Good of you to come back, Peter -- good morning to you again.

PETER BROOKES, THE HERITAGE FOUNDATION: Good morning.

HEMMER: What do you first make of this link with al Qaeda and the Israeli suicide attacks? What are we to make of it today?

BROOKES: Well, I think that the threat continues. Al Qaeda, over the last few months, probably has reconstituted itself, reorganized. They've left Afghanistan. A lot of them left Afghanistan and found places to continue to operate and plan and train. And they're going to go after us, Western allies and probably the state of Israel.

HEMMER: A very naive question here, Peter. Are the Israelis, in al Qaeda's view, an easier target overseas? Have the Americans toughened their positions overseas or not?

BROOKES: Well, I think that -- you know, they went after them in Kenya. That's very different. First of all, it's a soft target. It's a hotel. It's at an airport. Certainly, the security isn't as rigorous in Kenya as it is in Israel or in the United States.

So, they're looking for opportunities, and it doesn't have to be in the state of Israel. It doesn't have to be in the United States. It could be against their interests overseas.

HEMMER: Now, on that Web site also, Peter, as you're well aware -- we'll put it up on our screen just to let our viewers know -- apparently a threat directed against Americans. I'm quoting now -- "The gift for the holiday is on its way." That is part of the threat that we picked up this week.

Al Jazeera out of Qatar is saying that it received a faxed letter from Mullah Mohammed Omar, the former leader of the Taliban in Afghanistan who has not been frankly heard from in months at this point. He is also threatening things against the hostility, chaos and destruction of America.

Do you see this as a ramp-up of the threats, or are we still on the same level as we have been for the past three or six months?

BROOKES: Well, I think they would certainly like to do something to us during our holidays. People are celebrating Christmas. They're celebrating Hanukah, Kwansaa -- all sorts of other end-of-the-year holidays. And I think that this would be a significant victory for them.

Remember, terror is part psychological. So, if they could do something that could get us distracted -- we are distracted by holiday parties. We're distracted by wanting to be with family, shopping -- things like that. But we have to keep our vigilance up, because it would be quite a coup for them to strike us during our holiday season.

HEMMER: Let me just take the converse of that, Peter. It does not appear in the past that al Qaeda has operated in a way where they function on anniversaries of significant dates. I mean, 9/11 meant nothing prior to that date being born.

BROOKES: Well, that's not quite true, Bill. Remember, in October, there were a number of incidents that were related to the beginning of our military operations in Afghanistan. I mean, that's certainly possible. Remember, we started in October of 2000, and there was the French tanker, there was the Bali bombing, there were the Philippine bombings. There were a number of things that did happen overseas that may have been related to those anniversaries.

So, we raised our vigilance. They probably want us to get our guard down, so maybe they think we're thinking they're going to attack on an anniversary, and then they actually come after us at a different time.

HEMMER: Point well taken on that. Indonesia, yesterday another spark flash point there, a McDonald's, an explosion ripped through there; a car dealership as well. You point out a couple of key items about countries around the world in which you believe al Qaeda can operate. Put them up on the screen. A sympathetic population, No. 1, you have to have that. Porous borders and a weak central government. Three items here that probably fit into the category of countless countries around the world.

How do you stack this up? Where are the flash points going forward?

BROOKES: Well, I think there's a lot of places we've already seen. We've seen things happen in the Philippines, we've seen things happen in Indonesia, we've seen things happen in Africa in 1998 in Tanzania, and as well as in Kenya as before. I mean, there's a whole host of them, and you could actually sort through them.

But also if you look at it, it makes us a tougher target. It makes Israel a tougher target. It makes Great Britain a tougher target.

So, they're going to look to probably attack American interests and other interests overseas where the target is easier. They look for seams, they look for chinks in our armor, and you could certainly look at a number of countries around the world based on that very short list and very generalized list of where it would be easier to attack.

HEMMER: In 15 seconds, Peter, how fortified are we today?

BROOKES: I think we're much better off than we were. But remember, al Qaeda...

HEMMER: Better off meaning what?

BROOKES: Well, we have the Department of Homeland Security that's stepping out. We've taken -- we have a Transportation Security Administration that is looking at the airports, screening 750 million passengers a year. We've had this hiatus, which is very positive. But we have to remain vigilant. We can't become complacent about our situation.

HEMMER: I'm with you on that. Thank you, Peter. Always great to talk to you.

BROOKES: Thank you.

HEMMER: Peter Brookes in D.C.

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 December 6, 2002 - 07:06   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: After the deadly attacks last week that we saw on Thanksgiving in Kenya, Israel has recognized it has a new enemy. And now, a Web site, which U.S. officials say speaks for al Qaeda, is reportedly confirming exactly what the Israelis say.
According to "The Washington Post," the site says al Qaeda has decided to launch suicide attacks against the Jewish state with the goal of destroying it.

From Washington to talk about whether or not the terror network is changing its tactics and the implications therein, Peter Brookes, back with us from The Heritage Foundation.

Good of you to come back, Peter -- good morning to you again.

PETER BROOKES, THE HERITAGE FOUNDATION: Good morning.

HEMMER: What do you first make of this link with al Qaeda and the Israeli suicide attacks? What are we to make of it today?

BROOKES: Well, I think that the threat continues. Al Qaeda, over the last few months, probably has reconstituted itself, reorganized. They've left Afghanistan. A lot of them left Afghanistan and found places to continue to operate and plan and train. And they're going to go after us, Western allies and probably the state of Israel.

HEMMER: A very naive question here, Peter. Are the Israelis, in al Qaeda's view, an easier target overseas? Have the Americans toughened their positions overseas or not?

BROOKES: Well, I think that -- you know, they went after them in Kenya. That's very different. First of all, it's a soft target. It's a hotel. It's at an airport. Certainly, the security isn't as rigorous in Kenya as it is in Israel or in the United States.

So, they're looking for opportunities, and it doesn't have to be in the state of Israel. It doesn't have to be in the United States. It could be against their interests overseas.

HEMMER: Now, on that Web site also, Peter, as you're well aware -- we'll put it up on our screen just to let our viewers know -- apparently a threat directed against Americans. I'm quoting now -- "The gift for the holiday is on its way." That is part of the threat that we picked up this week.

Al Jazeera out of Qatar is saying that it received a faxed letter from Mullah Mohammed Omar, the former leader of the Taliban in Afghanistan who has not been frankly heard from in months at this point. He is also threatening things against the hostility, chaos and destruction of America.

Do you see this as a ramp-up of the threats, or are we still on the same level as we have been for the past three or six months?

BROOKES: Well, I think they would certainly like to do something to us during our holidays. People are celebrating Christmas. They're celebrating Hanukah, Kwansaa -- all sorts of other end-of-the-year holidays. And I think that this would be a significant victory for them.

Remember, terror is part psychological. So, if they could do something that could get us distracted -- we are distracted by holiday parties. We're distracted by wanting to be with family, shopping -- things like that. But we have to keep our vigilance up, because it would be quite a coup for them to strike us during our holiday season.

HEMMER: Let me just take the converse of that, Peter. It does not appear in the past that al Qaeda has operated in a way where they function on anniversaries of significant dates. I mean, 9/11 meant nothing prior to that date being born.

BROOKES: Well, that's not quite true, Bill. Remember, in October, there were a number of incidents that were related to the beginning of our military operations in Afghanistan. I mean, that's certainly possible. Remember, we started in October of 2000, and there was the French tanker, there was the Bali bombing, there were the Philippine bombings. There were a number of things that did happen overseas that may have been related to those anniversaries.

So, we raised our vigilance. They probably want us to get our guard down, so maybe they think we're thinking they're going to attack on an anniversary, and then they actually come after us at a different time.

HEMMER: Point well taken on that. Indonesia, yesterday another spark flash point there, a McDonald's, an explosion ripped through there; a car dealership as well. You point out a couple of key items about countries around the world in which you believe al Qaeda can operate. Put them up on the screen. A sympathetic population, No. 1, you have to have that. Porous borders and a weak central government. Three items here that probably fit into the category of countless countries around the world.

How do you stack this up? Where are the flash points going forward?

BROOKES: Well, I think there's a lot of places we've already seen. We've seen things happen in the Philippines, we've seen things happen in Indonesia, we've seen things happen in Africa in 1998 in Tanzania, and as well as in Kenya as before. I mean, there's a whole host of them, and you could actually sort through them.

But also if you look at it, it makes us a tougher target. It makes Israel a tougher target. It makes Great Britain a tougher target.

So, they're going to look to probably attack American interests and other interests overseas where the target is easier. They look for seams, they look for chinks in our armor, and you could certainly look at a number of countries around the world based on that very short list and very generalized list of where it would be easier to attack.

HEMMER: In 15 seconds, Peter, how fortified are we today?

BROOKES: I think we're much better off than we were. But remember, al Qaeda...

HEMMER: Better off meaning what?

BROOKES: Well, we have the Department of Homeland Security that's stepping out. We've taken -- we have a Transportation Security Administration that is looking at the airports, screening 750 million passengers a year. We've had this hiatus, which is very positive. But we have to remain vigilant. We can't become complacent about our situation.

HEMMER: I'm with you on that. Thank you, Peter. Always great to talk to you.

BROOKES: Thank you.

HEMMER: Peter Brookes in D.C.

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