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CNN Live Saturday

Interview With Ali Khan

Aired January 18, 2003 - 16:05   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 LIN, CNN ANCHOR: North Korea may not be in the U.S. military's crosshairs but Iraq still is and many Americans are not happy about that. You're looking at a live shot right now at an anti- war demonstration in San Francisco. The featured speaker there is to be Martin Sheen, who isn't the president but certainly plays one on television, certainly to get them a lot of publicity there.
In the meantime, protesters are in the streets all over the country today, not just in San Francisco. Organizers in various cities are tying the rallies to the Martin Luther King Day weekend. CNN's Kathleen Koch is on the National Mall in Washington, and Kathleen, we want to be clear about this. These protests, they're in direct protest to any possible military action or strike against Iraq, is that right?

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Correct, Carol, but they also make the distinction that they are not against the individual U.S. military men and women who are being sent over there by the Bush administration.

Now, as you can see though behind me, this rally wrapped up. It wrapped up about an hour and a half ago. They said attendance was roughly what it was at the October peace rally, which they estimated at about 200,000. Officials in the city put it at about half that number. But these people came out despite the very bitter cold. They came from across the country and with numerous different motivations.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KOCH (voice-over): Investment banker Ali Khan is a nervous wreck every time he enters an airport. Last year as he tried to fly home to Chicago from Las Vegas he was prevented from boarding and interrogated for hours by local law enforcement and the FBI. He says he was unfairly targeted because he happens to share a name with a suspected terrorist. It's the kind of discrimination against Muslim Americans he thinks could get worse if the U.S. invades Iraq.

ALI KHAN, PEACE ACTIVIST: Perhaps we may suffer some more back lash, you know, as we did after 9/11. Again, there seems to be somewhat of a confusion. The people that committed the heinous crime on 9/11 was al Qaeda and those terrorists. The Iraqi government, the Iraqi people had nothing to do with that crime. So, we can't have this attitude, let's go out and get them to make ourselves feel better.

KOCH: Khan has become an activist for Muslim American causes, working to stop discrimination and build bridges of understanding in his own community.

KHAN: If you want to produce more terrorists, go and attack Iraq. There's a very young civilian population there. You're going to create a lot of hatred there if not already you haven't done so. We want to fight terrorism. Every American, everybody in the world wants to fight terrorism. We don't want to go out there and attack the people that barely can defend themselves.

KOCH: Khan's activism is prompting him to head for Washington, D.C. to take a stand for peace, this time on his way to catch a bus rather than a plane.

KHAN: We've got 11 busses leaving here from the Chicago land community. This is an intense sacrifice. It's a 12-hour ride in the middle of the night. There's a lot of snow out there. You know it's going to be difficult and we're going to be out there in the cold weather screaming and yelling.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KOCH: Ali Khan is here with us now, obviously with the rally wrapped up and the screaming and yelling wrapped up. Ali, how tough a day was it for you and for some of the people who came with you? I understand even an 80-year-old woman from Chicago made the trip.

KHAN: It was extremely tough. We had to travel through the night. It was a 12-hour journey across many states. I guess the best way to describe it, it was like a jihad which means struggle itself, you know. The 80-year-old lady she's here, bless her heart.

KOCH: She made it through the cold?

KHAN: She's made it through the cold and she's just as enthusiastic as everyone else and she's very glad that she did come and did participate in this rally.

KOCH: Was it worth it? Do you really think you were able to accomplish something to change things?

KHAN: I certainly hope so. I pray that it was worth it. I hope the Bush administration is listening to our voice today. It would make a lot of sense for him to pay attention to what happened here today. Perhaps this madness can come to a stop. Perhaps rational thinking can come into place.

KOCH: Many people felt there was a great deal of pressure. They felt this was the last chance to do something before potential war. So, do you see this then as an ending or as a beginning?

KHAN: Well, I hope it's an ending. I hope it can end the situation. We can say enough is enough, and we can get back to focusing on the economy itself. War has, as I say war has no mercy. War has a lot of casualties. We don't want to see American soldiers lost or Iraqi civilians lose their lives. I think hopefully people can come together in a calmer way and let the U.N. inspectors go in there and do their job so we can avoid all this. KOCH: All right, Ali Khan of Chicago, thank you very much. And, obviously most of the protesters now beginning to board those busses, the trains, getting back in their cars, heading back to their individual homes hoping that they made a difference, obviously no guarantee on that one, back to you.

LIN: All right, thank you very much Kathleen Koch reporting live from Washington's National Mall.

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 January 18, 2003 - 16:05   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: North Korea may not be in the U.S. military's crosshairs but Iraq still is and many Americans are not happy about that. You're looking at a live shot right now at an anti- war demonstration in San Francisco. The featured speaker there is to be Martin Sheen, who isn't the president but certainly plays one on television, certainly to get them a lot of publicity there.
In the meantime, protesters are in the streets all over the country today, not just in San Francisco. Organizers in various cities are tying the rallies to the Martin Luther King Day weekend. CNN's Kathleen Koch is on the National Mall in Washington, and Kathleen, we want to be clear about this. These protests, they're in direct protest to any possible military action or strike against Iraq, is that right?

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Correct, Carol, but they also make the distinction that they are not against the individual U.S. military men and women who are being sent over there by the Bush administration.

Now, as you can see though behind me, this rally wrapped up. It wrapped up about an hour and a half ago. They said attendance was roughly what it was at the October peace rally, which they estimated at about 200,000. Officials in the city put it at about half that number. But these people came out despite the very bitter cold. They came from across the country and with numerous different motivations.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KOCH (voice-over): Investment banker Ali Khan is a nervous wreck every time he enters an airport. Last year as he tried to fly home to Chicago from Las Vegas he was prevented from boarding and interrogated for hours by local law enforcement and the FBI. He says he was unfairly targeted because he happens to share a name with a suspected terrorist. It's the kind of discrimination against Muslim Americans he thinks could get worse if the U.S. invades Iraq.

ALI KHAN, PEACE ACTIVIST: Perhaps we may suffer some more back lash, you know, as we did after 9/11. Again, there seems to be somewhat of a confusion. The people that committed the heinous crime on 9/11 was al Qaeda and those terrorists. The Iraqi government, the Iraqi people had nothing to do with that crime. So, we can't have this attitude, let's go out and get them to make ourselves feel better.

KOCH: Khan has become an activist for Muslim American causes, working to stop discrimination and build bridges of understanding in his own community.

KHAN: If you want to produce more terrorists, go and attack Iraq. There's a very young civilian population there. You're going to create a lot of hatred there if not already you haven't done so. We want to fight terrorism. Every American, everybody in the world wants to fight terrorism. We don't want to go out there and attack the people that barely can defend themselves.

KOCH: Khan's activism is prompting him to head for Washington, D.C. to take a stand for peace, this time on his way to catch a bus rather than a plane.

KHAN: We've got 11 busses leaving here from the Chicago land community. This is an intense sacrifice. It's a 12-hour ride in the middle of the night. There's a lot of snow out there. You know it's going to be difficult and we're going to be out there in the cold weather screaming and yelling.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KOCH: Ali Khan is here with us now, obviously with the rally wrapped up and the screaming and yelling wrapped up. Ali, how tough a day was it for you and for some of the people who came with you? I understand even an 80-year-old woman from Chicago made the trip.

KHAN: It was extremely tough. We had to travel through the night. It was a 12-hour journey across many states. I guess the best way to describe it, it was like a jihad which means struggle itself, you know. The 80-year-old lady she's here, bless her heart.

KOCH: She made it through the cold?

KHAN: She's made it through the cold and she's just as enthusiastic as everyone else and she's very glad that she did come and did participate in this rally.

KOCH: Was it worth it? Do you really think you were able to accomplish something to change things?

KHAN: I certainly hope so. I pray that it was worth it. I hope the Bush administration is listening to our voice today. It would make a lot of sense for him to pay attention to what happened here today. Perhaps this madness can come to a stop. Perhaps rational thinking can come into place.

KOCH: Many people felt there was a great deal of pressure. They felt this was the last chance to do something before potential war. So, do you see this then as an ending or as a beginning?

KHAN: Well, I hope it's an ending. I hope it can end the situation. We can say enough is enough, and we can get back to focusing on the economy itself. War has, as I say war has no mercy. War has a lot of casualties. We don't want to see American soldiers lost or Iraqi civilians lose their lives. I think hopefully people can come together in a calmer way and let the U.N. inspectors go in there and do their job so we can avoid all this. KOCH: All right, Ali Khan of Chicago, thank you very much. And, obviously most of the protesters now beginning to board those busses, the trains, getting back in their cars, heading back to their individual homes hoping that they made a difference, obviously no guarantee on that one, back to you.

LIN: All right, thank you very much Kathleen Koch reporting live from Washington's National Mall.

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