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American Morning

Ticking Time Bomb?

Aired November 26, 2003 - 08:32   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.


SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Hezbollah has developed a significant presence in Iraq. "The New York Times" is reporting the group is on the Bush administration's list of terror organizations, and the "Times" report says that the group has not been behind any attacks on coalition forces in Iraq. So what might the group's plans be? Joining us this morning from Washington is "Times" investigative reporter James Risen, who wrote the story.
Good morning to you, Mr. Risen. Nice to see you. Thanks for joining us.

JAMES RISEN, "NEW YORK TIMES": Yes, thanks for having me.

O'BRIEN: Let's begin, because it's a complicated story with sort of a Hezbollah 101, if you will. This, we mentioned, the group on the list of terror organizations from the Bush administration. But a very different agenda than we have seen in the insurgents in Iraq, and also Saddam Hussein's supporters in Iraq, isn't that right?

RISEN: Yes, I mean, prior to 9/11 George Tenet, CIA director, used to call Hezbollah the A-Team of terrorism. It was the group that the CIA worried about more than any other group in the world. It's probably the longest track record of anti-American terrorism of any group in the world, and yet now they've gone into Iraq, and they're not attacking Americans. And it's raised a lot of questions about exactly what's happening, why they're there and what they're really up to.

O'BRIEN: So I guess those are the questions. What's happening? Why are they there? And what are the speculations about what they're really up to?

RISEN: Well, Hezbollah is basically owned and operated by the Iranians. It's based in Lebanon. But it's always been controlled by Iranian intelligence operatives. And it basically, since the mid '90s, it stopped attacking Americans and focused much more on Israel, from its base in southern Lebanon. And it's been attacking the Israelis, along with the Palestinians.

Now, after the U.S. invasion of Iraq, it looks like Iran has ordered them into Iraq, and holding them sort of in reserve right now, and waiting for the development of events to see whether they're going to be used against the Americans.

O'BRIEN: Can I interrupt you there? So in reserve for what? And used against in what way? I mean, some people have said maybe potentially politically to influence the Shiites in Iraq? RISEN: Right.

O'BRIEN: Or are you talking really as a force to fight as the insurgents are doing against U.S. forces in Iraq?

RISEN: It's not clear yet, but it looks like there are several political factors that Iran is waiting and is worried about inside Iraq. One of them is the U.S. policy toward an anti-Iranian terrorist group called the MEK, which is inside Iraq, which had been supported by Saddam Hussein, and which is now being surrounded by American troops on the Iran/Iraq border. The Iranians are very worried that we are going to, at some point, unleash the MEK against the Iranians from inside Iraq.

O'BRIEN: So I'm going to stop you there again, because as we started saying this is a complicated story, so we'll back up a little bit. The MEK is also known as the people's Mujahadeen, right?

RISEN: Right.

O'BRIEN: And this is a group we really haven't heard much about, even though they are surrounded, as you say, by American forces right on that border between Iran and Iraq.

RISEN: Right.

O'BRIEN: Why do you think, first, we haven't heard very much about what's going on there? And then secondly, are you saying that they're hoping in some ways to use the MEK against the Hezbollah forces?

RISEN: Well, there's a big division within the Bush administration about what to do with these people who are on the border. They were anti-Iranian terrorists who were supported by Saddam Hussein for years. There's some people in the Bush administration, more conservative members at the Pentagon and elsewhere, who think we should use this group against the Iranians to help change the regime in Tehran. There's others at the State Department and the CIA who think that would be a bad idea, and it would be counter to our policy as the global war on terrorism.

But, so the Iranians are looking at our division, and the ambivalence we've had about what to do with this group, and I think there's some people who think maybe they have sent Hezbollah into Iraq as a message to us that if we unleash this group against them, they will unleash Hezbollah against us in Iraq.

O'BRIEN: You do not know, but I guess it will only be a matter of time before we find out. James Risen of "The New York Times," thanks for joining us this morning. Appreciate it.

RISEN: Thank you.

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 November 26, 2003 - 08:32   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Hezbollah has developed a significant presence in Iraq. "The New York Times" is reporting the group is on the Bush administration's list of terror organizations, and the "Times" report says that the group has not been behind any attacks on coalition forces in Iraq. So what might the group's plans be? Joining us this morning from Washington is "Times" investigative reporter James Risen, who wrote the story.
Good morning to you, Mr. Risen. Nice to see you. Thanks for joining us.

JAMES RISEN, "NEW YORK TIMES": Yes, thanks for having me.

O'BRIEN: Let's begin, because it's a complicated story with sort of a Hezbollah 101, if you will. This, we mentioned, the group on the list of terror organizations from the Bush administration. But a very different agenda than we have seen in the insurgents in Iraq, and also Saddam Hussein's supporters in Iraq, isn't that right?

RISEN: Yes, I mean, prior to 9/11 George Tenet, CIA director, used to call Hezbollah the A-Team of terrorism. It was the group that the CIA worried about more than any other group in the world. It's probably the longest track record of anti-American terrorism of any group in the world, and yet now they've gone into Iraq, and they're not attacking Americans. And it's raised a lot of questions about exactly what's happening, why they're there and what they're really up to.

O'BRIEN: So I guess those are the questions. What's happening? Why are they there? And what are the speculations about what they're really up to?

RISEN: Well, Hezbollah is basically owned and operated by the Iranians. It's based in Lebanon. But it's always been controlled by Iranian intelligence operatives. And it basically, since the mid '90s, it stopped attacking Americans and focused much more on Israel, from its base in southern Lebanon. And it's been attacking the Israelis, along with the Palestinians.

Now, after the U.S. invasion of Iraq, it looks like Iran has ordered them into Iraq, and holding them sort of in reserve right now, and waiting for the development of events to see whether they're going to be used against the Americans.

O'BRIEN: Can I interrupt you there? So in reserve for what? And used against in what way? I mean, some people have said maybe potentially politically to influence the Shiites in Iraq? RISEN: Right.

O'BRIEN: Or are you talking really as a force to fight as the insurgents are doing against U.S. forces in Iraq?

RISEN: It's not clear yet, but it looks like there are several political factors that Iran is waiting and is worried about inside Iraq. One of them is the U.S. policy toward an anti-Iranian terrorist group called the MEK, which is inside Iraq, which had been supported by Saddam Hussein, and which is now being surrounded by American troops on the Iran/Iraq border. The Iranians are very worried that we are going to, at some point, unleash the MEK against the Iranians from inside Iraq.

O'BRIEN: So I'm going to stop you there again, because as we started saying this is a complicated story, so we'll back up a little bit. The MEK is also known as the people's Mujahadeen, right?

RISEN: Right.

O'BRIEN: And this is a group we really haven't heard much about, even though they are surrounded, as you say, by American forces right on that border between Iran and Iraq.

RISEN: Right.

O'BRIEN: Why do you think, first, we haven't heard very much about what's going on there? And then secondly, are you saying that they're hoping in some ways to use the MEK against the Hezbollah forces?

RISEN: Well, there's a big division within the Bush administration about what to do with these people who are on the border. They were anti-Iranian terrorists who were supported by Saddam Hussein for years. There's some people in the Bush administration, more conservative members at the Pentagon and elsewhere, who think we should use this group against the Iranians to help change the regime in Tehran. There's others at the State Department and the CIA who think that would be a bad idea, and it would be counter to our policy as the global war on terrorism.

But, so the Iranians are looking at our division, and the ambivalence we've had about what to do with this group, and I think there's some people who think maybe they have sent Hezbollah into Iraq as a message to us that if we unleash this group against them, they will unleash Hezbollah against us in Iraq.

O'BRIEN: You do not know, but I guess it will only be a matter of time before we find out. James Risen of "The New York Times," thanks for joining us this morning. Appreciate it.

RISEN: Thank you.

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