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CNN Live At Daybreak
Besides Osama Bin Laden, Who is Still at Large?
Aired September 09, 2003 - 05:39 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: Well, we hear regularly about the killing or the capture of al Qaeda leaders. But besides Osama bin Laden, who is still at large?
CNN's Mike Boettcher takes a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MIKE BOETTCHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ramzi Bin al- Shibh, nabbed after a shootout in Pakistan, a year to the day after 9/11. Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, captured a few months later, proof, says President Bush, that al Qaeda is on the run.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Nearly two thirds of al Qaeda's known leaders have been captured or killed and we continue on al Qaeda's trail.
BOETTCHER: Intelligence officials say al Qaeda's captured leaders are spilling big secrets about the group.
ROHAN GUNARATNA, AUTHOR, "INSIDE AL QAEDA": So Khalid Shaikh Mohammed was called Mukhtar, the brain. And when he was detained, basically he wanted to prove himself again as a great man to his interrogators.
BOETTCHER: That information may have helped prevent new al Qaeda plots. But it's not clear that it's gotten America or Pakistan any closer to capturing Osama bin Laden or his number two, Ayman al- Zawahri. The U.S. and Pakistanis thought they had bin Laden in March, but that lead proved false. The search for al Qaeda's leader is now focused on an area along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, particularly on the Pakistan side.
PETER BERGEN, TERRORISM ANALYST: The United States doesn't appear to have a mole within al Qaeda that could give you real time information about their whereabouts and the people around them don't seem to be motivated by the cash rewards.
BOETTCHER: Two other al Qaeda leaders, Suleyman Abu Gaith and military commander Saif al-Adal (ph) are said to be in Iran, in custody, possibly with bin Laden's son. Also thought to be in Iran, according to intelligence officials, Abu Mazab al-Zarqawi (ph), head of an al Qaeda affiliated group and seen as THE key link to cells in Iraq.
Bin Laden may have fewer lieutenants, say terrorism experts, but the group's not out of business. (on camera): And, in fact, several coalition intelligence sources tell CNN the al Qaeda leaders to worry about now are the ones we don't know about.
Mike Boettcher, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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 September 9, 2003 - 05:39 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Well, we hear regularly about the killing or the capture of al Qaeda leaders. But besides Osama bin Laden, who is still at large?
CNN's Mike Boettcher takes a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MIKE BOETTCHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ramzi Bin al- Shibh, nabbed after a shootout in Pakistan, a year to the day after 9/11. Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, captured a few months later, proof, says President Bush, that al Qaeda is on the run.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Nearly two thirds of al Qaeda's known leaders have been captured or killed and we continue on al Qaeda's trail.
BOETTCHER: Intelligence officials say al Qaeda's captured leaders are spilling big secrets about the group.
ROHAN GUNARATNA, AUTHOR, "INSIDE AL QAEDA": So Khalid Shaikh Mohammed was called Mukhtar, the brain. And when he was detained, basically he wanted to prove himself again as a great man to his interrogators.
BOETTCHER: That information may have helped prevent new al Qaeda plots. But it's not clear that it's gotten America or Pakistan any closer to capturing Osama bin Laden or his number two, Ayman al- Zawahri. The U.S. and Pakistanis thought they had bin Laden in March, but that lead proved false. The search for al Qaeda's leader is now focused on an area along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, particularly on the Pakistan side.
PETER BERGEN, TERRORISM ANALYST: The United States doesn't appear to have a mole within al Qaeda that could give you real time information about their whereabouts and the people around them don't seem to be motivated by the cash rewards.
BOETTCHER: Two other al Qaeda leaders, Suleyman Abu Gaith and military commander Saif al-Adal (ph) are said to be in Iran, in custody, possibly with bin Laden's son. Also thought to be in Iran, according to intelligence officials, Abu Mazab al-Zarqawi (ph), head of an al Qaeda affiliated group and seen as THE key link to cells in Iraq.
Bin Laden may have fewer lieutenants, say terrorism experts, but the group's not out of business. (on camera): And, in fact, several coalition intelligence sources tell CNN the al Qaeda leaders to worry about now are the ones we don't know about.
Mike Boettcher, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
