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In Indonesia, New Captures Being Hailed as Major Victories in War on Terror
Aired August 18, 2003 - 09:16 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: Now from Indonesia, some new captures are being hailed as major victories in the war on terror. Nine suspects believed to have played roles in the bombing of a Jakarta hotel two weeks ago were arrested this week. And this comes just days after the capture of an alleged al Qaeda chief.
A lot of this news being overshadowed by the blackout here in New York City. But there's a report this week in "Time" magazine that says the al Qaeda chief, Hambali got his marching orders from Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of 9/11.
How significant are the arrests and where might they lead now?
"Time" magazine's Washington correspondent Tim Burger joins us now to talk about it.
Good morning, Tim.
Good to have you.
TIM BURGER, "TIME" MAGAZINE: Thanks for having me.
HEMMER: Point of fact here, the question is how significant for Hambali, at this point is, what, regarding Indonesia?
BURGER: Well, Hambali is alleged to have been sort of the operational mastermind of al Qaeda in Southeast Asia. And he would sort of work with and under Khalid Shaikh Mohammed until, of course, his capture in March. And Hambali is viewed as a charismatic figure who was good at recruiting people and marshalling resources to set up such bombings as the October nightclub bombing in Bali last year and also allegedly there was a bombing, of course, of a Marriott Hotel two weeks again the region.
So he's viewed as having been quite lethally effective and capturing him is a big deal.
HEMMER: You know, Tim, I'm wondering, though, that network, how established is it in the sense that it could recreate another Hambali immediately, someone to come in, step in and pick up where he left off?
BURGER: That's always a concern. These things are sort of like, you know, one celled organisms, in a way. You cut them in half and perhaps they can grow another head. For example, if the person who master -- if key figures from the Bali or recent Marriott bombing remain at large, maybe they will have made their bones and move up. But that's another reason that the nine arrests you mentioned in your lead in are very important, because they really want to roll up everybody who may have had any involvement.
HEMMER: What do you make of the arrest of these nine, whether or not they had a role in the bombing of the Marriott Hotel? And do you believe right now that you can tell a measure of cooperation from Jakarta right now and the war on terror in that country?
BURGER: Well, clearly Indonesia is doing what they can, a lot more than they were. Clearly, Thailand has a lot of concerns, as well. The Thai prime minister said that Hambali had been trying to gear up to attack the APEC summit that President Bush is expected to attend in the near future over there. So there's a lot of concern in the region. The Bali bombing really brought it home. And there's been a lot more cooperation from countries such as Indonesia and, again, bombings on the home turf tend to get the attention of local authorities, as it did in Saudi Arabia in May.
HEMMER: What would a guy like Hambali know? What would he be willing, if you could get the information out of him and verify it and believe it, what could he tell about the terror network?
BURGER: He might be able to tell a lot, because, again, he's been known to have dealings with Khalid Shaikh Mohammed. Hambali has some connections to some of the 9/11 hijackers. He helped put together a crucial meeting in January 2000 that two hijackers attended and that also Khalid Shaikh Mohammed had a role in. That was a meeting in Malaysia, also in that region.
So, really, Hambali potentially could be a gold mine, if he decides to cooperate.
HEMMER: Tim, thanks.
Tim Burger from "Time" magazine.
The piece is out there in newsstands now.
Much appreciate it.
Thanks for coming in today.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
in War on Terror>
Aired August 18, 2003 - 09:16 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Now from Indonesia, some new captures are being hailed as major victories in the war on terror. Nine suspects believed to have played roles in the bombing of a Jakarta hotel two weeks ago were arrested this week. And this comes just days after the capture of an alleged al Qaeda chief.
A lot of this news being overshadowed by the blackout here in New York City. But there's a report this week in "Time" magazine that says the al Qaeda chief, Hambali got his marching orders from Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of 9/11.
How significant are the arrests and where might they lead now?
"Time" magazine's Washington correspondent Tim Burger joins us now to talk about it.
Good morning, Tim.
Good to have you.
TIM BURGER, "TIME" MAGAZINE: Thanks for having me.
HEMMER: Point of fact here, the question is how significant for Hambali, at this point is, what, regarding Indonesia?
BURGER: Well, Hambali is alleged to have been sort of the operational mastermind of al Qaeda in Southeast Asia. And he would sort of work with and under Khalid Shaikh Mohammed until, of course, his capture in March. And Hambali is viewed as a charismatic figure who was good at recruiting people and marshalling resources to set up such bombings as the October nightclub bombing in Bali last year and also allegedly there was a bombing, of course, of a Marriott Hotel two weeks again the region.
So he's viewed as having been quite lethally effective and capturing him is a big deal.
HEMMER: You know, Tim, I'm wondering, though, that network, how established is it in the sense that it could recreate another Hambali immediately, someone to come in, step in and pick up where he left off?
BURGER: That's always a concern. These things are sort of like, you know, one celled organisms, in a way. You cut them in half and perhaps they can grow another head. For example, if the person who master -- if key figures from the Bali or recent Marriott bombing remain at large, maybe they will have made their bones and move up. But that's another reason that the nine arrests you mentioned in your lead in are very important, because they really want to roll up everybody who may have had any involvement.
HEMMER: What do you make of the arrest of these nine, whether or not they had a role in the bombing of the Marriott Hotel? And do you believe right now that you can tell a measure of cooperation from Jakarta right now and the war on terror in that country?
BURGER: Well, clearly Indonesia is doing what they can, a lot more than they were. Clearly, Thailand has a lot of concerns, as well. The Thai prime minister said that Hambali had been trying to gear up to attack the APEC summit that President Bush is expected to attend in the near future over there. So there's a lot of concern in the region. The Bali bombing really brought it home. And there's been a lot more cooperation from countries such as Indonesia and, again, bombings on the home turf tend to get the attention of local authorities, as it did in Saudi Arabia in May.
HEMMER: What would a guy like Hambali know? What would he be willing, if you could get the information out of him and verify it and believe it, what could he tell about the terror network?
BURGER: He might be able to tell a lot, because, again, he's been known to have dealings with Khalid Shaikh Mohammed. Hambali has some connections to some of the 9/11 hijackers. He helped put together a crucial meeting in January 2000 that two hijackers attended and that also Khalid Shaikh Mohammed had a role in. That was a meeting in Malaysia, also in that region.
So, really, Hambali potentially could be a gold mine, if he decides to cooperate.
HEMMER: Tim, thanks.
Tim Burger from "Time" magazine.
The piece is out there in newsstands now.
Much appreciate it.
Thanks for coming in today.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
in War on Terror>
