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CNN Live Saturday
U.S. Intelligence Operatives Arrest Al Qaeda's No. 3 Man
Aired March 01, 2003 - 17:00 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.
RENAY SAN MIGUEL, CNN ANCHOR: U.S. intelligence says it has its biggest single arrest yet in the war on terror. Khalid Shaikh Mohammed is in custody tonight. Government officials say the al Qaeda operative engineered the September 11 attacks and may have been involved in the first attack on the World Trade Center 10 years ago.
Mohammed's got quite a history with al Qaeda. For that aspect of the story, we go to CNN's Mike Boettcher who is standing by in Kuwait -- Mike.
MIKE BOETTCHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, quite a history that dates back to 1993 and the first World Trade Center attack. Also, the attack of the USS Cole, the African embassy bombings, planned bombings of U.S. airliners crossing the Pacific back in 1995, the Bali nightclub bombing. The list goes on and on and on.
The question is now, what will happen with Khalid Shaikh Mohammed? U.S. officials are saying, senior officials saying tonight it would be very foolish to bring him directly back to the United States. Why foolish? Because Khalid Shaikh Mohammed knows operations of al Qaeda throughout the world, stretching from Asia to Europe.
Let me give you an example. In 1999, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed was in Germany. It is believed, not completely confirmed, but believed by intelligence sources that he was meeting and evaluating some of the 9/11 attackers. He was also in Asia in 2000, plotting bomb attacks against U.S. embassies in that part of the world.
So this is a very important person who U.S. authorities believe has information, and right now the trial of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed for that 1995 attack and potentially charges for being involved in masterminding the 9/11 attacks against Washington and New York will probably be put on hold.
Again, as one U.S. official told our Washington bureau late today, this would be very foolish to bring him back immediately.
But this is a person that has counterterrorism officials throughout the world celebrating, and at the same time, some of them told me tonight it could mean we're entering a more dangerous period that could result in the activation of other cells. But it also could mean the cells have been disrupted. It is believed that Khalid Shaikh Mohammed would have been involved in any plans by al Qaeda to attack U.S. interests in the event of a war -- Renay.
SAN MIGUEL: Mike Boettcher live in Kuwait City. Thank you very much, Mike.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: We learned in the last hour from our CNN White House correspondent that there was a midnight phone call between the CIA director and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice. Suzanne Malveaux breaking that story from the White House. And she's got more now live from there -- Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol. One senior administration official calling this a very big day for the White House. Not just the capturing of a big fish, but what they call a whale. It all happened at midnight last night. CIA Director George Tenet called the National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, who is at Camp David with the president this weekend. It was about midnight, he says, we think we have in our custody Khalid Shaikh Mohammed. We're pretty certain that it's him.
Then the next morning, this morning, it was confirmed. That's when Dr. Rice called the president, about 7:00 in the morning from her cabin. She told the president, we are told that he said, I'm quoting here, he said, "that's fantastic." Obviously the president very pleased with this news.
Another senior administration official saying that, yes, the president feel a certain sense of gratitude, that this joint effort between Pakistani and U.S. officials beared fruit, that he really feels that, yes, there's some lulls in the hunt for al Qaeda and other terrorists, but this is really vindication, that this is a critical, critical person in the operations and the planning, that they are very excited, perhaps even encouraged by what they may be able to learn from him.
And the White House this afternoon released a statement. I want to read just a part of it. It says that, "Khalid Shaikh Mohammed is one of Osama bin Laden's most senior and significant lieutenants, a key al Qaeda planner and the mastermind of the September 11 attacks."
Clearly the White House very pleased with this development. They feel this is a sense of hope, a renewed sense of hope in going after al Qaeda. And also, of course, the president, in his radio address, telling the nation that it goes beyond al Qaeda, that now this war on terror may mean a likely war with Saddam Hussein -- Carol.
LIN: Suzanne, any concern at the White House that there might be retaliation, reprisals because of this arrest?
MALVEAUX: Well, there's always concern about that. I mean, it's very risky what they do, U.S. officials, intelligence, as well as other officials in Pakistan, who go after al Qaeda. But the administration of course realizes, they recognize that it is part of the job, that this is something that we don't hear a lot about. That it happens very quietly. But when you get something like this, when it all comes together, that's when you hear that the big fish, the whale, has been caught. That's when they really know that it's paid off. But yes, they recognize there's a great deal of risk involved.
LIN: All right, thank you very much, Suzanne Malveaux, live at the White House -- Renay.
SAN MIGUEL: We now want to get some more insight on just who Khalid Shaikh Mohammed is and his role as a senior al Qaeda operative. CNN terror analyst Peter Bergen is the man to turn to for this. He's actually one of the few journalists who have interviewed Osama bin Laden. Your thoughts on the arrest today of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed.
PETER BERGEN, CNN TERROR ANALYST: Well, it's the most significant development in the case against -- in the investigation of 9/11 since the event. Khalid Shaikh Mohammed was the mastermind of 9/11. And so, I mean, you can't understate the importance of this development. This is very, very good news in terms of the war against terrorism. Khalid Shaikh Mohammed is a very smart guy who has been involved in anti-American attacks of various kinds for over a decade. So it's obviously a very significant development.
SAN MIGUEL: I hate to be flip about it, but you know, in terms of his Rolodex, the people that he knows around the world, his contacts, talk a little bit about that and how extensive those are.
BERGEN: I think they're quite extensive. I just returned from Southeast Asia and Pakistan doing a documentary for the "New York Times," "Discovery." And we looked quite carefully at Khalid Shaikh Mohammed. And one of the persons that he had a lot of contacts with was somebody called Jabara (ph). Jabara (ph) was planning to implement a plan of attacks against U.S. targets across Southeast Asia after 9/11 that would have included the U.S. embassy in Singapore, the British embassy in Singapore, U.S. naval targets in Singapore.
Khalid Shaikh Mohammed also was reaching out to people in Karachi, Pakistan. He narrowly avoided capture there a year to the day of the 9/11 anniversary. But I think at the end of the day, we'll find that so many of the attacks in Karachi we've seen over the last year, whether that was Danny Pearl's death, the attack on the U.S. consulate that killed 12 Pakistanis, the attack on 12 French defense contractors, we will find that Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, his fingerprints are on those attacks.
So not only is it important because we captured the planner of 9/11, it is also important because this guy wasn't stopping there. I mean, he had a very pro-active program post-9/11.
SAN MIGUEL; So what you're saying is is that could what he knows prevent maybe another attack if the U.S. is able to get that out of him?
BERGEN: He would know -- it would defy imagination that he wouldn't know the key anti-American attacks being planned. We know, for instance, that when -- when I say anti-American, I mean anti- Western in general and anti-Israeli.
We know, for instance, that in April, a group of 14 German tourists were killed outside an historic synagogue in Tunisia. It appears from telephone intercepts that Khalid Shaikh Mohammed was orchestrating that attack. So any kind of significant attack, he would know. Will he talk? That's a whole other issue. I very much doubt it. I think that he's rather disciplined guy. His nephew, Ramzi Yousef, the architect of the World Center Attack, was not somebody who was terribly cooperative with authorities either. And I would guess that Khalid Shaikh Mohammed might be dis-inclined to talk.
On the other hand, al Qaeda leaders in custody have talked. So it's hard to predict.
SAN MIGUEL: So how do you think al Qaeda reacts to this? I mean, we've heard that as the hunt in terrorism was progressing, that some of these cells were getting more autonomy, were able to act on their own. Do you think that there will be reprisals? Or because he was such a leading command and control type figure in al Qaeda, that maybe they'll shut down for a while?
BERGEN: Well, I think there's going to be activity from al Qaeda related to the war in Iraq, which is relevant to Khalid Shaikh Mohammed's arrest or not. I think al Qaeda clearly would be out of business if they don't pull off something for Iraq. And clearly there are indications they're planning something.
The arrest of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed may incite even more, but I think the war in Iraq is more important than the arrest of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed in terms of energizing either al Qaeda itself to attack, or energizing groups that want to act like al Qaeda. And obviously, that's a separate issue from Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, because I think increasingly, we're seeing groups sort of acting like al Qaeda that may not actually have direct central command by somebody like Khalid Shaikh Mohammed.
SAN MIGUEL: If Khalid Shaikh Mohammed is found in Pakistan, does that lead you to assume that maybe Osama bin Laden may also be in Pakistan?
BERGEN: I think conventional wisdom suggests that he's in Pakistan. I mean, a lot of different people have that view. I think it's very unlikely that Osama bin Laden went anywhere else in the tribal region between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Clearly, Pakistan plays a very key role, you know, historically with al Qaeda. We've seen -- it's not an accident that Khalid Shaikh Mohammed was arrested near Islamabad today. I think that the Pakistani authorities obviously are trying to crack down as much as possible, this being a very good example.
By the way, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed has some claim to being Pakistani, even though he's a Kuwaiti citizen. His family originates in Baluchistan and southern Pakistan. So it's no small matter for the Pakistani government to hand over this guy to American authorities. I mean, they've done this in the past, but it's a sensitive issue, particularly when it comes to people who have some claim to some sort of Pakistani citizenship.
SAN MIGUEL: CNN terror analyst Peter Bergen, thank you very much. LIN: Well, government officials say Khalid Shaikh Mohammed engineered the September 11 attacks and may have been involved in the first attack on the World Trade Center 10 years ago. And CNN Islamabad bureau chief Ash-Har Quraishi joins us now by telephone -- actually, by videophone there. Ash-Har, take us through exactly how this arrest went down and where it went down.
ASH-HAR QURAISHI, CNN ISLAMABAD BUREAU CHIEF: Well, first of all, Carol, we are wanting to make clear that Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, according to our sources, government sources here in Pakistan, is no longer in the country. He has been sent out. According to U.S. sources, he is now in U.S. custody.
Now, there's no word on exactly where he's headed or where he is at this point, but he's in longer in Pakistan.
Now, as far as the arrest is concerned, the three men were arrested early in the morning. It was a joint operation by U.S. officials and Pakistani officials. They arrested Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, another man of Middle Eastern origin, as well as a Pakistani man, a man named Ahmed Abdul Qadoos.
Now, what we understand is they've been tracking Khalid Shaikh Mohammed for some time now, and in a raid last week in Quetta, where they expected to find Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, he managed to escape. But the officials that were in on that raid were able to capture one person, suspected al Qaeda operative, who actually helped lead them to Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and these other two men in Rawalpindi, which is just south of the capital here in Islamabad.
Now, as far as the identities of that other person, the Middle Eastern origin man, they have not given any information about him yet. The Pakistani man, as I mentioned, his name was Ahmed Abdul Qadoos. Now, this man is somebody who is a member of the largest, most organized religious party here in Pakistan, the Jamaat Islami, which suggests that it's possible that the al Qaeda has found some refuge in some of the groups here that are more mainstream than the extremist groups. But at this point right now, officials are telling us that Khalid Shaikh Mohammed is no longer in Pakistan. He has been handed over to U.S. officials -- Carol.
LIN: Ash-Har, you raise an interesting point, that he was with the political leader of the Jamaat Islami. This was the political party that years ago, I think about 10 years ago, actually backed the rise of the Taliban. So is that an indication of what Khalid Shaikh Mohammed was actually doing?
QURAISHI: Well, it's obvious with what we know over the past year that Khalid Shaikh Mohammed was able to move around Pakistan fairly freely. Now, a CNN producer here in Pakistan actually met with him on two occasions, once in central Pakistan, once in southern Pakistan. Now, it's believed that Khalid Shaikh Mohammed was somebody that the authorities were after in Karachi on September 11 of 2002, when Ramzi Binalshibh was captured. It's believed that Khalid Shaikh Mohammed may have escaped along with a group of other suspected al Qaeda operatives at that time. So he's known to have been in Karachi. He's known to have been in central Pakistan and also in Rawalpindi now. We also know from other arrests, the arrest of Abu Zubaydah, who was arrested in Paslabad (ph), there are raids in Lahore, also the arrest of Binalshibh in Karachi, that these top al Qaeda operatives are able to penetrate into Pakistan. And it's not something that would be considered easy to do without the help of some parties, maybe political parties. In this case, the fact that he was found with the Jamaat Islami member suggests that there may be more sentiments that are helping to keep these -- these remnants of al Qaeda safe in Pakistan.
LIN: All right, thank you very much, Ash-Har Quraishi, reporting live by videophone from Islamabad.
Well, today's arrests are obviously a big coup for the CIA and the FBI, but does it bring any solace to the friends and families of 9/11 attack victims or those who lost loved ones in the World Trade Center bombing 10 years ago? Well, we sent CNN's Whitney Casey out to find out, and she joins us now from New York with the answer. What did you learn, Whitney?
WHITNEY CASEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, interestingly, many of the family members we spoke with, they do not even follow the investigation. They've said mostly they leave that up to the government.
When I asked them to name the top three al Qaeda operatives, they mainly said Osama bin Laden, and then two and three. So this name doesn't mean very much to them, although what it means to them is that the government is following through on what they've promised these families that they will find people and that they will ultimately find Osama bin Laden. I asked many of them, do you believe that the government will find Osama bin Laden? And they said very faithfully that, yes, they do believe.
We spoke with Charles Wolf. He lost his wife Catherine on the 97th floor of the first tower. Let's take a listen to what he had to say now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHARLES WOLF, LOST WIFE IN 9/11 ATTACK: The closer we can get to dismantling their operation, the better. Certainly, I think they have redundancy built in. I don't think this is going to end it. But it's just another step. Another step, another step. Because we have to beat them at their own game.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CASEY: Now, we also spoke with Adele Welty. She was the mother of Tim Welty, who was a firefighter that she lost on 9/11. Three hundred and forty-three firefighters were lost that day.
Adele had a different view. She also did not know the two and three operatives. She knew Osama bin Laden, and she said that was the most important name for her. But she said really, after the fact, all she's been focused on is getting her family back together and taking care of Timothy's son and daughter, her two grandchildren, that are now without a father. Take a listen to what she had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ADELE WELTY, LOST SON IN 9/11 ATTACKS: I was glad that he was captured alive. That he will face a judge and jury in a court of law, because we're civilized. Because we live by the rule of law, and, hopefully, we can continue to do that and not emulate those who go around blowing people up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CASEY: Now, I also called some firefighters that I have known since 9/11. Firefighters mostly say that they were not aware of this news and they did not recognize the name. And again, they -- I asked for names that they might have known that were top al Qaeda operatives and they didn't know anything. And they mostly said that they really didn't follow this investigation, because what was most important to them was just getting their fire houses back together and really sort of the coming together of New York. They said that the names seem to be somewhat of a labyrinth of names. Many of the terrorists with three or four names, and there were too many. And it was too confusing for them. And so they left it really in the hands of the government -- Carol.
LIN: All right, thank you very much, Whitney Casey, a busy day for you.
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Aired March 1, 2003 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RENAY SAN MIGUEL, CNN ANCHOR: U.S. intelligence says it has its biggest single arrest yet in the war on terror. Khalid Shaikh Mohammed is in custody tonight. Government officials say the al Qaeda operative engineered the September 11 attacks and may have been involved in the first attack on the World Trade Center 10 years ago.
Mohammed's got quite a history with al Qaeda. For that aspect of the story, we go to CNN's Mike Boettcher who is standing by in Kuwait -- Mike.
MIKE BOETTCHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, quite a history that dates back to 1993 and the first World Trade Center attack. Also, the attack of the USS Cole, the African embassy bombings, planned bombings of U.S. airliners crossing the Pacific back in 1995, the Bali nightclub bombing. The list goes on and on and on.
The question is now, what will happen with Khalid Shaikh Mohammed? U.S. officials are saying, senior officials saying tonight it would be very foolish to bring him directly back to the United States. Why foolish? Because Khalid Shaikh Mohammed knows operations of al Qaeda throughout the world, stretching from Asia to Europe.
Let me give you an example. In 1999, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed was in Germany. It is believed, not completely confirmed, but believed by intelligence sources that he was meeting and evaluating some of the 9/11 attackers. He was also in Asia in 2000, plotting bomb attacks against U.S. embassies in that part of the world.
So this is a very important person who U.S. authorities believe has information, and right now the trial of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed for that 1995 attack and potentially charges for being involved in masterminding the 9/11 attacks against Washington and New York will probably be put on hold.
Again, as one U.S. official told our Washington bureau late today, this would be very foolish to bring him back immediately.
But this is a person that has counterterrorism officials throughout the world celebrating, and at the same time, some of them told me tonight it could mean we're entering a more dangerous period that could result in the activation of other cells. But it also could mean the cells have been disrupted. It is believed that Khalid Shaikh Mohammed would have been involved in any plans by al Qaeda to attack U.S. interests in the event of a war -- Renay.
SAN MIGUEL: Mike Boettcher live in Kuwait City. Thank you very much, Mike.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: We learned in the last hour from our CNN White House correspondent that there was a midnight phone call between the CIA director and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice. Suzanne Malveaux breaking that story from the White House. And she's got more now live from there -- Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol. One senior administration official calling this a very big day for the White House. Not just the capturing of a big fish, but what they call a whale. It all happened at midnight last night. CIA Director George Tenet called the National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, who is at Camp David with the president this weekend. It was about midnight, he says, we think we have in our custody Khalid Shaikh Mohammed. We're pretty certain that it's him.
Then the next morning, this morning, it was confirmed. That's when Dr. Rice called the president, about 7:00 in the morning from her cabin. She told the president, we are told that he said, I'm quoting here, he said, "that's fantastic." Obviously the president very pleased with this news.
Another senior administration official saying that, yes, the president feel a certain sense of gratitude, that this joint effort between Pakistani and U.S. officials beared fruit, that he really feels that, yes, there's some lulls in the hunt for al Qaeda and other terrorists, but this is really vindication, that this is a critical, critical person in the operations and the planning, that they are very excited, perhaps even encouraged by what they may be able to learn from him.
And the White House this afternoon released a statement. I want to read just a part of it. It says that, "Khalid Shaikh Mohammed is one of Osama bin Laden's most senior and significant lieutenants, a key al Qaeda planner and the mastermind of the September 11 attacks."
Clearly the White House very pleased with this development. They feel this is a sense of hope, a renewed sense of hope in going after al Qaeda. And also, of course, the president, in his radio address, telling the nation that it goes beyond al Qaeda, that now this war on terror may mean a likely war with Saddam Hussein -- Carol.
LIN: Suzanne, any concern at the White House that there might be retaliation, reprisals because of this arrest?
MALVEAUX: Well, there's always concern about that. I mean, it's very risky what they do, U.S. officials, intelligence, as well as other officials in Pakistan, who go after al Qaeda. But the administration of course realizes, they recognize that it is part of the job, that this is something that we don't hear a lot about. That it happens very quietly. But when you get something like this, when it all comes together, that's when you hear that the big fish, the whale, has been caught. That's when they really know that it's paid off. But yes, they recognize there's a great deal of risk involved.
LIN: All right, thank you very much, Suzanne Malveaux, live at the White House -- Renay.
SAN MIGUEL: We now want to get some more insight on just who Khalid Shaikh Mohammed is and his role as a senior al Qaeda operative. CNN terror analyst Peter Bergen is the man to turn to for this. He's actually one of the few journalists who have interviewed Osama bin Laden. Your thoughts on the arrest today of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed.
PETER BERGEN, CNN TERROR ANALYST: Well, it's the most significant development in the case against -- in the investigation of 9/11 since the event. Khalid Shaikh Mohammed was the mastermind of 9/11. And so, I mean, you can't understate the importance of this development. This is very, very good news in terms of the war against terrorism. Khalid Shaikh Mohammed is a very smart guy who has been involved in anti-American attacks of various kinds for over a decade. So it's obviously a very significant development.
SAN MIGUEL: I hate to be flip about it, but you know, in terms of his Rolodex, the people that he knows around the world, his contacts, talk a little bit about that and how extensive those are.
BERGEN: I think they're quite extensive. I just returned from Southeast Asia and Pakistan doing a documentary for the "New York Times," "Discovery." And we looked quite carefully at Khalid Shaikh Mohammed. And one of the persons that he had a lot of contacts with was somebody called Jabara (ph). Jabara (ph) was planning to implement a plan of attacks against U.S. targets across Southeast Asia after 9/11 that would have included the U.S. embassy in Singapore, the British embassy in Singapore, U.S. naval targets in Singapore.
Khalid Shaikh Mohammed also was reaching out to people in Karachi, Pakistan. He narrowly avoided capture there a year to the day of the 9/11 anniversary. But I think at the end of the day, we'll find that so many of the attacks in Karachi we've seen over the last year, whether that was Danny Pearl's death, the attack on the U.S. consulate that killed 12 Pakistanis, the attack on 12 French defense contractors, we will find that Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, his fingerprints are on those attacks.
So not only is it important because we captured the planner of 9/11, it is also important because this guy wasn't stopping there. I mean, he had a very pro-active program post-9/11.
SAN MIGUEL; So what you're saying is is that could what he knows prevent maybe another attack if the U.S. is able to get that out of him?
BERGEN: He would know -- it would defy imagination that he wouldn't know the key anti-American attacks being planned. We know, for instance, that when -- when I say anti-American, I mean anti- Western in general and anti-Israeli.
We know, for instance, that in April, a group of 14 German tourists were killed outside an historic synagogue in Tunisia. It appears from telephone intercepts that Khalid Shaikh Mohammed was orchestrating that attack. So any kind of significant attack, he would know. Will he talk? That's a whole other issue. I very much doubt it. I think that he's rather disciplined guy. His nephew, Ramzi Yousef, the architect of the World Center Attack, was not somebody who was terribly cooperative with authorities either. And I would guess that Khalid Shaikh Mohammed might be dis-inclined to talk.
On the other hand, al Qaeda leaders in custody have talked. So it's hard to predict.
SAN MIGUEL: So how do you think al Qaeda reacts to this? I mean, we've heard that as the hunt in terrorism was progressing, that some of these cells were getting more autonomy, were able to act on their own. Do you think that there will be reprisals? Or because he was such a leading command and control type figure in al Qaeda, that maybe they'll shut down for a while?
BERGEN: Well, I think there's going to be activity from al Qaeda related to the war in Iraq, which is relevant to Khalid Shaikh Mohammed's arrest or not. I think al Qaeda clearly would be out of business if they don't pull off something for Iraq. And clearly there are indications they're planning something.
The arrest of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed may incite even more, but I think the war in Iraq is more important than the arrest of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed in terms of energizing either al Qaeda itself to attack, or energizing groups that want to act like al Qaeda. And obviously, that's a separate issue from Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, because I think increasingly, we're seeing groups sort of acting like al Qaeda that may not actually have direct central command by somebody like Khalid Shaikh Mohammed.
SAN MIGUEL: If Khalid Shaikh Mohammed is found in Pakistan, does that lead you to assume that maybe Osama bin Laden may also be in Pakistan?
BERGEN: I think conventional wisdom suggests that he's in Pakistan. I mean, a lot of different people have that view. I think it's very unlikely that Osama bin Laden went anywhere else in the tribal region between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Clearly, Pakistan plays a very key role, you know, historically with al Qaeda. We've seen -- it's not an accident that Khalid Shaikh Mohammed was arrested near Islamabad today. I think that the Pakistani authorities obviously are trying to crack down as much as possible, this being a very good example.
By the way, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed has some claim to being Pakistani, even though he's a Kuwaiti citizen. His family originates in Baluchistan and southern Pakistan. So it's no small matter for the Pakistani government to hand over this guy to American authorities. I mean, they've done this in the past, but it's a sensitive issue, particularly when it comes to people who have some claim to some sort of Pakistani citizenship.
SAN MIGUEL: CNN terror analyst Peter Bergen, thank you very much. LIN: Well, government officials say Khalid Shaikh Mohammed engineered the September 11 attacks and may have been involved in the first attack on the World Trade Center 10 years ago. And CNN Islamabad bureau chief Ash-Har Quraishi joins us now by telephone -- actually, by videophone there. Ash-Har, take us through exactly how this arrest went down and where it went down.
ASH-HAR QURAISHI, CNN ISLAMABAD BUREAU CHIEF: Well, first of all, Carol, we are wanting to make clear that Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, according to our sources, government sources here in Pakistan, is no longer in the country. He has been sent out. According to U.S. sources, he is now in U.S. custody.
Now, there's no word on exactly where he's headed or where he is at this point, but he's in longer in Pakistan.
Now, as far as the arrest is concerned, the three men were arrested early in the morning. It was a joint operation by U.S. officials and Pakistani officials. They arrested Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, another man of Middle Eastern origin, as well as a Pakistani man, a man named Ahmed Abdul Qadoos.
Now, what we understand is they've been tracking Khalid Shaikh Mohammed for some time now, and in a raid last week in Quetta, where they expected to find Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, he managed to escape. But the officials that were in on that raid were able to capture one person, suspected al Qaeda operative, who actually helped lead them to Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and these other two men in Rawalpindi, which is just south of the capital here in Islamabad.
Now, as far as the identities of that other person, the Middle Eastern origin man, they have not given any information about him yet. The Pakistani man, as I mentioned, his name was Ahmed Abdul Qadoos. Now, this man is somebody who is a member of the largest, most organized religious party here in Pakistan, the Jamaat Islami, which suggests that it's possible that the al Qaeda has found some refuge in some of the groups here that are more mainstream than the extremist groups. But at this point right now, officials are telling us that Khalid Shaikh Mohammed is no longer in Pakistan. He has been handed over to U.S. officials -- Carol.
LIN: Ash-Har, you raise an interesting point, that he was with the political leader of the Jamaat Islami. This was the political party that years ago, I think about 10 years ago, actually backed the rise of the Taliban. So is that an indication of what Khalid Shaikh Mohammed was actually doing?
QURAISHI: Well, it's obvious with what we know over the past year that Khalid Shaikh Mohammed was able to move around Pakistan fairly freely. Now, a CNN producer here in Pakistan actually met with him on two occasions, once in central Pakistan, once in southern Pakistan. Now, it's believed that Khalid Shaikh Mohammed was somebody that the authorities were after in Karachi on September 11 of 2002, when Ramzi Binalshibh was captured. It's believed that Khalid Shaikh Mohammed may have escaped along with a group of other suspected al Qaeda operatives at that time. So he's known to have been in Karachi. He's known to have been in central Pakistan and also in Rawalpindi now. We also know from other arrests, the arrest of Abu Zubaydah, who was arrested in Paslabad (ph), there are raids in Lahore, also the arrest of Binalshibh in Karachi, that these top al Qaeda operatives are able to penetrate into Pakistan. And it's not something that would be considered easy to do without the help of some parties, maybe political parties. In this case, the fact that he was found with the Jamaat Islami member suggests that there may be more sentiments that are helping to keep these -- these remnants of al Qaeda safe in Pakistan.
LIN: All right, thank you very much, Ash-Har Quraishi, reporting live by videophone from Islamabad.
Well, today's arrests are obviously a big coup for the CIA and the FBI, but does it bring any solace to the friends and families of 9/11 attack victims or those who lost loved ones in the World Trade Center bombing 10 years ago? Well, we sent CNN's Whitney Casey out to find out, and she joins us now from New York with the answer. What did you learn, Whitney?
WHITNEY CASEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, interestingly, many of the family members we spoke with, they do not even follow the investigation. They've said mostly they leave that up to the government.
When I asked them to name the top three al Qaeda operatives, they mainly said Osama bin Laden, and then two and three. So this name doesn't mean very much to them, although what it means to them is that the government is following through on what they've promised these families that they will find people and that they will ultimately find Osama bin Laden. I asked many of them, do you believe that the government will find Osama bin Laden? And they said very faithfully that, yes, they do believe.
We spoke with Charles Wolf. He lost his wife Catherine on the 97th floor of the first tower. Let's take a listen to what he had to say now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHARLES WOLF, LOST WIFE IN 9/11 ATTACK: The closer we can get to dismantling their operation, the better. Certainly, I think they have redundancy built in. I don't think this is going to end it. But it's just another step. Another step, another step. Because we have to beat them at their own game.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CASEY: Now, we also spoke with Adele Welty. She was the mother of Tim Welty, who was a firefighter that she lost on 9/11. Three hundred and forty-three firefighters were lost that day.
Adele had a different view. She also did not know the two and three operatives. She knew Osama bin Laden, and she said that was the most important name for her. But she said really, after the fact, all she's been focused on is getting her family back together and taking care of Timothy's son and daughter, her two grandchildren, that are now without a father. Take a listen to what she had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ADELE WELTY, LOST SON IN 9/11 ATTACKS: I was glad that he was captured alive. That he will face a judge and jury in a court of law, because we're civilized. Because we live by the rule of law, and, hopefully, we can continue to do that and not emulate those who go around blowing people up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CASEY: Now, I also called some firefighters that I have known since 9/11. Firefighters mostly say that they were not aware of this news and they did not recognize the name. And again, they -- I asked for names that they might have known that were top al Qaeda operatives and they didn't know anything. And they mostly said that they really didn't follow this investigation, because what was most important to them was just getting their fire houses back together and really sort of the coming together of New York. They said that the names seem to be somewhat of a labyrinth of names. Many of the terrorists with three or four names, and there were too many. And it was too confusing for them. And so they left it really in the hands of the government -- Carol.
LIN: All right, thank you very much, Whitney Casey, a busy day for you.
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