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CNN Live At Daybreak

America Strikes Back: Reaction from Sen. Bayh and Sen. Hagel

Aired October 08, 2001 - 08:29   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.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Right now, we're going to talk with some U.S. senators who are on the key committees to get their reaction to what happened overnight. Senator Evan Bayh is a Democrat from Indiana and a member of the Intelligence Committee. He by chance happens to be here in New York this morning, and joining us from Washington right now, Senator Chuck Hagel, a Republican from Nebraska and a member of the Foreign Relations Committee.

Welcome, senators. It's good to have both of you with us this morning.

Senator Hagel, Osama bin Laden is reportedly alive. Do you think it is indeed part of the coalition mission to eventually kill him?

SEN. CHUCK HAGEL (R-NB), FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE: Well, it is part of the mission, to destroy bin Laden, all of the Al Qaeda networks that are involved in this international conspiracy called terrorism. It is a beginning. It is a first step. But it is a part of what our long-term objective is.

ZAHN: Are you optimistic that he will be crushed?

HAGEL: I am optimistic. We will get bin Laden. We will start dismantling this international terrorist coalition. As the president has said and Tony Blair and others, many tracks are being used. We are working the military track, the economic track, diplomatic track, humanitarian track, and, we will take it down phase by phase, and the fact is that Afghanistan is a principal supporter of terrorist networks, base camps, support base. There are other areas of the world where these terrorist cells reside, but this is the first phase, and we will just continue after that, as we must.

ZAHN: Senator Bayh, Jerrold Sieve (ph) in "The Wall Street Journal" writes that this is exactly what Osama bin Laden wanted, military strikes for two reasons, to incite further terrorist attacks, and to further increase a schism between the West and followers of Islam. Do you buy that analysis?

SEN. EVAN BAYH (D-IN), INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: Paula, I don't think that Mr. bin Laden and his group of terrorists needed any further incitement to attack us. They have shown they will attack us without any provocation, and so we are doing now exactly what we should be doing, which is trying to remove them before they can hurt any more innocent Americans. So I don't agree with that. But the larger point he was attempting to make, which is trying set up a conflict between the Islamic world and the West, I think that there is some truth to that, and we need to proceed carefully, and that's why I think the humanitarian aid is important here, showing that we are fighting the terrorists, we are fighting Al Qaeda, we want to remove Taliban, but for innocent Muslims, innocent Afghanis, we wish them nothing but well, and in fact are willing to help reestablish a civil society in their country.

ZAHN: Senator Hagel, I don't know whether you could hear my interview earlier today with Defense Secretary Rumsfeld, bud he said that this humanitarian aid didn't compromise the military mission in any way. Senator Bayh just raised an interesting point. If there are people out there believe these military attacks will increase tension between West and particularly followers of Islamic fundamentalism, what else could you do besides humanitarian aid that could possibly help?

HAGEL: Well, first, what the president has done, over the last four weeks, is put together an international coalition. Essentially, it is the entire free world. Terrorism is a threat against all peoples who believe in individual dignity, in freedom, in choice. This is not a war against Islam, against Muslim nations, against Muslim. These are evil, insidious terrorists. That is the definition we need to continue to make here.

What bin Laden is trying to do, and your reference to Jerry Sieve's piece is exactly right, but the fact is humanitarian aid is a critical part of this. As I said, a couple minutes ago, the different tracks we use here to cut them off, they're financial support base, they're physical support base, the military response, the diplomatic effort, bringing the coalition together in a sustained international effort, all working together, will get this job done, and that is the that is the objective here and has been over the last four weeks in order to get us to where we are.

ZAHN: Senator Bayh, I've got 30 seconds before a commercial takes me off the air here. Are you satisfied with the role that Egypt is playing, either publicly or privately?

BAYH: Egypt is in a delicate spot, Paula. As you know, they have their own problems with Islamic fundamentalists, but as far as I know, they are being cooperative behind the scenes, and that is what we expect. We expect their help and support in anyway they can provide it. At the same time, we have to be concerned about the stability of that regime. And so as far as I know, they are being very cooperative.

ZAHN: And boy, can you take a cue, Senator Bayh and Senator Hagel, thank you very much for time this morning. Glad to have you both of you with us.

BAYH: Thank you, Paula.

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