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American Morning
Terror Investigation, U.S. Investigators to Arrive in Riyadh Today
Aired May 15, 2003 - 07:17 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, CNN ANCHOR: The Saudi government says it's determined to find those responsible for the deadly bombings in Riyadh. A U.S. team will arrive in the Saudi capital today to begin looking into this week's suicide attacks.
What kind of cooperation can the American agents expect from the Saudis in this investigation?
Dave Williams, a former FBI special agent, led the U.S. team that investigated the 1996 Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia. He is in Washington.
Mr. Williams, good to see you. This six-member team heading there today, they were held up temporarily in Germany. How much of a setback in the investigation was that?
DAVE WILLIAMS, FMR. FBI SPECIAL AGENT: I don't think it will necessarily end up being a great setback. The FBI team will be going in and working with organs of the Saudi government, particularly the Saudi Mabahith (ph) and other organs of our government, to try to get to the bottom of what happened here.
WHITFIELD: The Saudis are leading this investigation. What role should this six-member team expect to play?
WILLIAMS: I would hope that the FBI team could integrate with the Saudis, as we were able to do. We ended up having a situation which grew into a very good relationship with the Saudi Mabahith (ph), which is the FBI equivalent in Saudi Arabia. I think they can work together in a team and get to the bottom of this and find the people responsible.
WHITFIELD: But in '96 it was your experience that was difficult at first in which to get the Saudi cooperation. The Saudis wouldn't even allow the Americans to do any personal interviews. It had to eventually lead to the interviews of some U.S. military personnel to help in that investigation.
What has changed? What has been learned from that experience?
WILLIAMS: I think situations in that part of the world in particular, and really anywhere, are the result of an evolving and growing relationship. When we first went there -- of course, we come from an entirely different culture than they had. And we were able to do interviews, but only inside the Khobar Towers facility. As time went on, we began to partner with the Saudis and the Mabahith (ph), and the cooperation grew to be very good toward the end.
WHITFIELD: This team of investigators from the U.S. will include two bomb techs, an emergency response team member and two investigative agents. What exactly would they be looking for?
WILLIAMS: What they're going to be looking for, the bomb technicians will be working with the Saudis and working with other organs of our government to determine the type of bomb. You look for a signature in the bombing itself. The bomb we had in 1996 was a conventional device, and we were able to determine exactly what it was. And based on the way it was put together, we had a fairly good idea who may have laid that down. We coupled that with the information we got through intelligence channels and with the Saudis and were able to identify those responsible.
WHITFIELD: Is it your feeling, based on what you've learned from your inside sources, that this is indeed the work of al Qaeda?
WILLIAMS: Well, it's difficult to tell. I mean, we have seen a great deal in the media that is blaming this on al Qaeda. That would certainly be consistent with al Qaeda's method of operation. However, there are a lot of bad guys in that part of the world. It could be other people as well. Right now, the initial indicators are al Qaeda.
WHITFIELD: Initially, we also had heard from the Saudi government, which has admitted that perhaps they've underestimated the power of al Qaeda. Do you believe that that is indeed the case? Or is the Saudi government in any way assisting any terrorist groups such as al Qaeda in its country?
WILLIAMS: I have never seen anything that would indicate the Saudi government has assisted al Qaeda. The Saudi government is a monarchy, and al Qaeda looks at a monarchy as being the anathema of what they want to see and rule. Sometimes that part of the world, the culture works more slowly than we would like to see it happen. But I did consider the Saudi Mabahith (ph) and the Saudi government to be partners in the war on terror, and I continue to.
WHITFIELD: All right, Dave Williams, former FBI special agent- in-charge, thanks very much for joining us.
WILLIAMS: Thank you, Fredricka.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Riyadh Today>
Aired May 15, 2003 - 07:17 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: The Saudi government says it's determined to find those responsible for the deadly bombings in Riyadh. A U.S. team will arrive in the Saudi capital today to begin looking into this week's suicide attacks.
What kind of cooperation can the American agents expect from the Saudis in this investigation?
Dave Williams, a former FBI special agent, led the U.S. team that investigated the 1996 Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia. He is in Washington.
Mr. Williams, good to see you. This six-member team heading there today, they were held up temporarily in Germany. How much of a setback in the investigation was that?
DAVE WILLIAMS, FMR. FBI SPECIAL AGENT: I don't think it will necessarily end up being a great setback. The FBI team will be going in and working with organs of the Saudi government, particularly the Saudi Mabahith (ph) and other organs of our government, to try to get to the bottom of what happened here.
WHITFIELD: The Saudis are leading this investigation. What role should this six-member team expect to play?
WILLIAMS: I would hope that the FBI team could integrate with the Saudis, as we were able to do. We ended up having a situation which grew into a very good relationship with the Saudi Mabahith (ph), which is the FBI equivalent in Saudi Arabia. I think they can work together in a team and get to the bottom of this and find the people responsible.
WHITFIELD: But in '96 it was your experience that was difficult at first in which to get the Saudi cooperation. The Saudis wouldn't even allow the Americans to do any personal interviews. It had to eventually lead to the interviews of some U.S. military personnel to help in that investigation.
What has changed? What has been learned from that experience?
WILLIAMS: I think situations in that part of the world in particular, and really anywhere, are the result of an evolving and growing relationship. When we first went there -- of course, we come from an entirely different culture than they had. And we were able to do interviews, but only inside the Khobar Towers facility. As time went on, we began to partner with the Saudis and the Mabahith (ph), and the cooperation grew to be very good toward the end.
WHITFIELD: This team of investigators from the U.S. will include two bomb techs, an emergency response team member and two investigative agents. What exactly would they be looking for?
WILLIAMS: What they're going to be looking for, the bomb technicians will be working with the Saudis and working with other organs of our government to determine the type of bomb. You look for a signature in the bombing itself. The bomb we had in 1996 was a conventional device, and we were able to determine exactly what it was. And based on the way it was put together, we had a fairly good idea who may have laid that down. We coupled that with the information we got through intelligence channels and with the Saudis and were able to identify those responsible.
WHITFIELD: Is it your feeling, based on what you've learned from your inside sources, that this is indeed the work of al Qaeda?
WILLIAMS: Well, it's difficult to tell. I mean, we have seen a great deal in the media that is blaming this on al Qaeda. That would certainly be consistent with al Qaeda's method of operation. However, there are a lot of bad guys in that part of the world. It could be other people as well. Right now, the initial indicators are al Qaeda.
WHITFIELD: Initially, we also had heard from the Saudi government, which has admitted that perhaps they've underestimated the power of al Qaeda. Do you believe that that is indeed the case? Or is the Saudi government in any way assisting any terrorist groups such as al Qaeda in its country?
WILLIAMS: I have never seen anything that would indicate the Saudi government has assisted al Qaeda. The Saudi government is a monarchy, and al Qaeda looks at a monarchy as being the anathema of what they want to see and rule. Sometimes that part of the world, the culture works more slowly than we would like to see it happen. But I did consider the Saudi Mabahith (ph) and the Saudi government to be partners in the war on terror, and I continue to.
WHITFIELD: All right, Dave Williams, former FBI special agent- in-charge, thanks very much for joining us.
WILLIAMS: Thank you, Fredricka.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Riyadh Today>
