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CNN Live At Daybreak
Wake-Up Call: Al Qaeda Tape
Aired May 22, 2003 - 06:05 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: A White House official says there is a high level of concern about threats attributed to an al Qaeda leader. Intelligence experts are now analyzing an audiotape supposedly made by Ayman al-Zawahiri, Osama bin Laden's right-hand man.
The voice directs Muslims to target the embassies and other interests of the United States, Britain, Australia and Norway.
(BEGIN AUDIO TAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Protests, demonstrations and conferences will not be enough. You will only benefit by taking arms and using them against the enemies -- the Americans and the Jews.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: More on this tape now. We've placed a "Wake-Up Call" to our State Department producer, Elise Labott.
Good morning -- Elise.
ELISE LABOTT, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT PRODUCER: Good morning, Carol.
COSTELLO: How is the Bush administration reacting to this latest tape?
LABOTT: Well, they're calling the tape inflammatory and saying Al-Jazeera is responsible -- irresponsible for airing these messages, calling on Muslims to launch these attacks. And they've protested this with Al-Jazeera and the government of Qatar, where Al-Jazeera is based, to take some action.
Secretary Powell himself called the decision by Al-Jazeera to air the tape unfortunate, and he placed a call to the Qatari foreign minister, but it's too late, Carol. The information, that message of the tape is out there. And Secretary Powell said the government is still not sure of the accuracy of the tape, but it does heighten tensions around the world. It spreads the message of hatred. And they're looking for the Qatari government to make sure this kind of action by Al-Jazeera is not repeated -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Can they ever be sure that the voice on the tape does belong to Osama bin Laden's No. 2 guy?
LABOTT: Well, certainly the intelligence community is going through the tape, going through other tapes that they have of Dr. al- Zawahiri's voice, that there could be edits in the tape. They say that they're really not sure when the tape was made. So, it's impossible to say for sure.
But the U.S. is closing its embassy in Oslo today to the public in order to assess the security situation there, saying this is really just a prudent thing to do in a situation like this. It's unclear why Norway was included in this tape. Norway didn't support the war in Iraq, but they did send special forces to Afghanistan as part of the war on terrorism, and are expected to send troops to take part in a stabilization force in Iraq.
And there doesnt seem to be any specific or credible threats to the U.S. embassy there, Carol, but certainly the tape is really the only information they have out there right now about Norway. And they are worried about someone heeding this call for attacks, and they want to make sure the embassy is as secure as possible and really want to be safe rather than sorry -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Exactly. Elise Labott, thanks for waking up early with DAYBREAK.
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 May 22, 2003 - 06:05 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: A White House official says there is a high level of concern about threats attributed to an al Qaeda leader. Intelligence experts are now analyzing an audiotape supposedly made by Ayman al-Zawahiri, Osama bin Laden's right-hand man.
The voice directs Muslims to target the embassies and other interests of the United States, Britain, Australia and Norway.
(BEGIN AUDIO TAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Protests, demonstrations and conferences will not be enough. You will only benefit by taking arms and using them against the enemies -- the Americans and the Jews.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: More on this tape now. We've placed a "Wake-Up Call" to our State Department producer, Elise Labott.
Good morning -- Elise.
ELISE LABOTT, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT PRODUCER: Good morning, Carol.
COSTELLO: How is the Bush administration reacting to this latest tape?
LABOTT: Well, they're calling the tape inflammatory and saying Al-Jazeera is responsible -- irresponsible for airing these messages, calling on Muslims to launch these attacks. And they've protested this with Al-Jazeera and the government of Qatar, where Al-Jazeera is based, to take some action.
Secretary Powell himself called the decision by Al-Jazeera to air the tape unfortunate, and he placed a call to the Qatari foreign minister, but it's too late, Carol. The information, that message of the tape is out there. And Secretary Powell said the government is still not sure of the accuracy of the tape, but it does heighten tensions around the world. It spreads the message of hatred. And they're looking for the Qatari government to make sure this kind of action by Al-Jazeera is not repeated -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Can they ever be sure that the voice on the tape does belong to Osama bin Laden's No. 2 guy?
LABOTT: Well, certainly the intelligence community is going through the tape, going through other tapes that they have of Dr. al- Zawahiri's voice, that there could be edits in the tape. They say that they're really not sure when the tape was made. So, it's impossible to say for sure.
But the U.S. is closing its embassy in Oslo today to the public in order to assess the security situation there, saying this is really just a prudent thing to do in a situation like this. It's unclear why Norway was included in this tape. Norway didn't support the war in Iraq, but they did send special forces to Afghanistan as part of the war on terrorism, and are expected to send troops to take part in a stabilization force in Iraq.
And there doesnt seem to be any specific or credible threats to the U.S. embassy there, Carol, but certainly the tape is really the only information they have out there right now about Norway. And they are worried about someone heeding this call for attacks, and they want to make sure the embassy is as secure as possible and really want to be safe rather than sorry -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Exactly. Elise Labott, thanks for waking up early with DAYBREAK.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
