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CNN Live Saturday
FBI, Pakistanis Arrest Khalid Shaikh Mohammed
Aired March 01, 2003 - 15:30 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: Just a few hours ago, the FBI and Pakistani authorities arrested al Qaeda's operations commander, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed. He's been tied to just about every active al Qaeda terror in the past decade from, from the 1993 World Trade Center bombing to the 1998 bombs in Africa and the 9/11 attacks in New York and Washington.
CNN's Mike Boettcher has new details on how this suspect and two others were picked up outside of Islamabad. He is in Kuwait City -- Mike.
MIKE BOETTCHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, in the flow chart of al Qaeda, there is Osama bin Laden, number one; Ayman Al- Zawahiri number two, and Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, number three.
But in terms of operational importance, the man that launches the missions, that plans them, he is the most important al Qaeda person. And intelligence sources and investigators around the world have been chasing terrorists are celebrating tonight, because they say, they tell CNN this is the biggest break in the war against terrorism since 9/11.
Khalid Shaikh Mohammed was arrested outside of Islamabad near Rawalpindi, in a house there. Our sources in Pakistan tell us there was another raid last week and they believe that that raid was part of an effort to get Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, but he escaped and was tracked to Rawalpindi.
Now this was -- has been an operation that has been underway for quite some time. Coalition intelligence sources told CNN about two weeks ago that they were close to getting Khalid Shaikh Mohammed. They find confident they would get them, and they have.
Now, the important thing at this moment is where will he go? Will he be tried in the United States? Because he is under indictment for a plan in 1995 called the Pachinko plot (ph) in which Khalid Shaikh Mohammed is alleged by U.S. authorities to plan to bomb multiple U.S. airliners crossing from Asia to the United States all at once. He's under indictment for that.
He is the only recent top arrest arrestee who is under indictment. So it begs the question, where will he go? To a criminal court in the United States or will he be taken to Guantanamo Bay or one of those secret interrogation centers that exists in the world outside of the United States, in which the CIA questions the al Qaeda operatives who have been arrested. So Carol, this is a very, very important case. I was warned, though, that even though there is celebration, I am told that we're entering a very dangerous period and I'm trying to find out why.
It could be because retaliation could come from the arrest of such a major al Qaeda figure -- Carol.
LIN: You bet, Mike. I know you're still working your sources.
You say that obviously this is a big arrest. But Mike, these guys aren't really known for spilling their guts. So how likely is it that he's going to talk? And number two, how is it that U.S. interrogators or other interrogators are going to try to extract information from him?
BOETTCHER: Well, it's been done in the past by using information gotten from several other detainees in crosschecking that. And it's an information building thing. You take one bit of information, build on it and continue on.
Also, I am told by coalition intelligence sources that many of the top al Qaeda leaders have been very reticent to talk, have been very resistant. They are trained not to talk. They are trained to give out information, but perishable information. And that will probably be the route that Khalid Shaikh Mohammed takes.
One thing they would like to get from him is, they believe he does have information where Osama bin Laden is. But I am told by other coalition intelligence sources that they travel in separate routes, so to speak. Osama bin Laden and Khalid Shaikh Mohammed have not been together.
But this is a man who has traveled widely around the world from Asia to Europe, planning major attacks and right now, those coalition counter-terrorism operatives are celebrating tonight, Carol.
LIN: Mike, there was a big bounty on his head, $25 million. Was there a tip-off in this case? And is somebody likely to collect that reward?
BOETTCHER: Well, I wish I knew if there was a tip-off. It would make sense that would be the case.
You know, as I said, this was an operation that has been under way for at least two weeks. And along the way, I've been told by a lot of people who are counter-terrorist operatives that probably the big break in getting Osama bin Laden and some of the others would be for someone to take that $25 million reward.
These people know how to travel, know how to conceal themselves, have false identities, sometimes change their appearance, sometimes have operations to change their appearance.
So they are in areas that are very difficult to access. For example, it is still believed Osama bin Laden is in the tribal areas and Carol, you're very familiar with those areas along the Pakistan/Afghanistan border. It's believed he's still in those areas and it's a very tight-knit group.
But it was believed that sooner or later, money would talk. And we don't know if that's the case, but it's one of the possibilities, Carol.
LIN: Yes. The tribal areas where the government does not have any authority.
All right. Thank you very much, Mike Boettcher reporting live from Kuwait City. We'll be talking again soon.
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 March 1, 2003 - 15:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Just a few hours ago, the FBI and Pakistani authorities arrested al Qaeda's operations commander, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed. He's been tied to just about every active al Qaeda terror in the past decade from, from the 1993 World Trade Center bombing to the 1998 bombs in Africa and the 9/11 attacks in New York and Washington.
CNN's Mike Boettcher has new details on how this suspect and two others were picked up outside of Islamabad. He is in Kuwait City -- Mike.
MIKE BOETTCHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, in the flow chart of al Qaeda, there is Osama bin Laden, number one; Ayman Al- Zawahiri number two, and Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, number three.
But in terms of operational importance, the man that launches the missions, that plans them, he is the most important al Qaeda person. And intelligence sources and investigators around the world have been chasing terrorists are celebrating tonight, because they say, they tell CNN this is the biggest break in the war against terrorism since 9/11.
Khalid Shaikh Mohammed was arrested outside of Islamabad near Rawalpindi, in a house there. Our sources in Pakistan tell us there was another raid last week and they believe that that raid was part of an effort to get Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, but he escaped and was tracked to Rawalpindi.
Now this was -- has been an operation that has been underway for quite some time. Coalition intelligence sources told CNN about two weeks ago that they were close to getting Khalid Shaikh Mohammed. They find confident they would get them, and they have.
Now, the important thing at this moment is where will he go? Will he be tried in the United States? Because he is under indictment for a plan in 1995 called the Pachinko plot (ph) in which Khalid Shaikh Mohammed is alleged by U.S. authorities to plan to bomb multiple U.S. airliners crossing from Asia to the United States all at once. He's under indictment for that.
He is the only recent top arrest arrestee who is under indictment. So it begs the question, where will he go? To a criminal court in the United States or will he be taken to Guantanamo Bay or one of those secret interrogation centers that exists in the world outside of the United States, in which the CIA questions the al Qaeda operatives who have been arrested. So Carol, this is a very, very important case. I was warned, though, that even though there is celebration, I am told that we're entering a very dangerous period and I'm trying to find out why.
It could be because retaliation could come from the arrest of such a major al Qaeda figure -- Carol.
LIN: You bet, Mike. I know you're still working your sources.
You say that obviously this is a big arrest. But Mike, these guys aren't really known for spilling their guts. So how likely is it that he's going to talk? And number two, how is it that U.S. interrogators or other interrogators are going to try to extract information from him?
BOETTCHER: Well, it's been done in the past by using information gotten from several other detainees in crosschecking that. And it's an information building thing. You take one bit of information, build on it and continue on.
Also, I am told by coalition intelligence sources that many of the top al Qaeda leaders have been very reticent to talk, have been very resistant. They are trained not to talk. They are trained to give out information, but perishable information. And that will probably be the route that Khalid Shaikh Mohammed takes.
One thing they would like to get from him is, they believe he does have information where Osama bin Laden is. But I am told by other coalition intelligence sources that they travel in separate routes, so to speak. Osama bin Laden and Khalid Shaikh Mohammed have not been together.
But this is a man who has traveled widely around the world from Asia to Europe, planning major attacks and right now, those coalition counter-terrorism operatives are celebrating tonight, Carol.
LIN: Mike, there was a big bounty on his head, $25 million. Was there a tip-off in this case? And is somebody likely to collect that reward?
BOETTCHER: Well, I wish I knew if there was a tip-off. It would make sense that would be the case.
You know, as I said, this was an operation that has been under way for at least two weeks. And along the way, I've been told by a lot of people who are counter-terrorist operatives that probably the big break in getting Osama bin Laden and some of the others would be for someone to take that $25 million reward.
These people know how to travel, know how to conceal themselves, have false identities, sometimes change their appearance, sometimes have operations to change their appearance.
So they are in areas that are very difficult to access. For example, it is still believed Osama bin Laden is in the tribal areas and Carol, you're very familiar with those areas along the Pakistan/Afghanistan border. It's believed he's still in those areas and it's a very tight-knit group.
But it was believed that sooner or later, money would talk. And we don't know if that's the case, but it's one of the possibilities, Carol.
LIN: Yes. The tribal areas where the government does not have any authority.
All right. Thank you very much, Mike Boettcher reporting live from Kuwait City. We'll be talking again soon.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
