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CNN Live Saturday

Can The U.S. Trust Its Translators?

Aired October 04, 2003 - 18:34   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: All right. To international news now. Can the U.S. government trust its translators at Guantanamo Bay? Two translators are behind bars and spying allegations are raising questions about their work.
CNN's Chris Plante is at the Pentagon. Good afternoon, Chris. What is the new wrinkle in this story?

CHRIS PLANTE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, we know about the arrests of these two translators and of a couple of other people in association with the operation at Guantanamo Bay. What we've learned today is that Pentagon and other U.S. officials are concerned that the activities of these two translators in particular, and their involvement with the interrogation of al Qaeda and Taliban suspects at Guantanamo Bay, may have been compromised by virtue of the fact that they were apparently involved in espionage activities, either working for foreign governments or possibly for nongovernmental radical Islamic elements.

So the concern is that they may not have faithfully translated the questions from interrogators, from the Defense Department, Justice Department, and intelligence community, or that they may not have accurately represented the answers coming from the al Qaeda and Taliban suspects.

LIN: Chris, who are these people in custody? Are they actually military personnel?

PLANTE: Well, the two translators there at the center of this controversy, one is an active duty member of the Air Force. He's a senior airman by the name of Ahmed al-Halabi. And he was arrested July 23rd. And he has been charged with a whole range of offenses, from espionage on down.

The second is a former member of the U.S. Army. He is now a civilian working as a civilian translator at Guantanamo during the course of his tour there. His name is Ahmed Mehalba. He was arrested on September 29th.

One civilian, one military. He is also former military. And Mr. al-Halabi is a Syrian American. And the second of civilian men, Mehalba, is an Egyptian American.

LIN: All right. Thank you very much, Chris Plante, at the Pentagon.

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 October 4, 2003 - 18:34   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. To international news now. Can the U.S. government trust its translators at Guantanamo Bay? Two translators are behind bars and spying allegations are raising questions about their work.
CNN's Chris Plante is at the Pentagon. Good afternoon, Chris. What is the new wrinkle in this story?

CHRIS PLANTE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, we know about the arrests of these two translators and of a couple of other people in association with the operation at Guantanamo Bay. What we've learned today is that Pentagon and other U.S. officials are concerned that the activities of these two translators in particular, and their involvement with the interrogation of al Qaeda and Taliban suspects at Guantanamo Bay, may have been compromised by virtue of the fact that they were apparently involved in espionage activities, either working for foreign governments or possibly for nongovernmental radical Islamic elements.

So the concern is that they may not have faithfully translated the questions from interrogators, from the Defense Department, Justice Department, and intelligence community, or that they may not have accurately represented the answers coming from the al Qaeda and Taliban suspects.

LIN: Chris, who are these people in custody? Are they actually military personnel?

PLANTE: Well, the two translators there at the center of this controversy, one is an active duty member of the Air Force. He's a senior airman by the name of Ahmed al-Halabi. And he was arrested July 23rd. And he has been charged with a whole range of offenses, from espionage on down.

The second is a former member of the U.S. Army. He is now a civilian working as a civilian translator at Guantanamo during the course of his tour there. His name is Ahmed Mehalba. He was arrested on September 29th.

One civilian, one military. He is also former military. And Mr. al-Halabi is a Syrian American. And the second of civilian men, Mehalba, is an Egyptian American.

LIN: All right. Thank you very much, Chris Plante, at the Pentagon.

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