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CNN Live At Daybreak
America Strikes Back: President Will Try to Compromise With Congress on Classified Briefings; To Release Most Wanted Terrorists List
Aired October 10, 2001 - 08:03 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: As we mentioned, later today President Bush will unveil a list of the most-wanted terrorists in the world.
And CNN's John King is standing by at the White House, and he joins us now with more on this list of nearly 20 names -- good morning, John.
JOHN KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Paula.
It is 22 names in all, we are told. This is it right here: the president's list of the most-wanted terrorists here in the United States and around the world -- more on that in just a second.
We want to tell you, though, at this moment the president is meeting for breakfast with the top four leaders of Congress. He hopes to broker a truce, if you will, in the debate over leaking classified information. As we first reported Monday, the president significantly cutting back on the numbers of members of Congress who can receive sensitive briefings, because he was furious, we are told, that classified information was being leaked to the news media, in his view, putting the lives of U.S. troops and intelligence operatives overseas at risk. The president trying to strike a compromise with the leaders this morning under which he will allow more members of Congress to get those classified briefings, once the leaders look him the eyes and promise that they will help enforce a commitment to secrecy.
Then later this morning, the president will head over to the FBI, and he will release publicly this list: 22 suspected and known, in the view of the United States, terrorists responsible for a number of events. The World Trade Center bombing back in 1993, a plot to bomb a Manila airplane in the Philippines in 1995, the Khobar bombing -- Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia in 1996, and of course, the bombing of the United States embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998.
At the top of the list, no surprise: Osama bin Laden. But another key bin Laden associate also on this list. He is Ayman al- Zawahiri. He is the leader of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, a chief adviser to bin Laden believed to be living in Afghanistan and, indeed, seen in some recent videotaped -- released videotaped pictures with bin Laden. He is listed with bin Laden as a prime suspect in those bombings in Kenya and Tanzania back in 1998. The president will visit the FBI to release this list today. No. 1, to put these names on the public record, but No. 2, we are told, to continue to make this case that this campaign in Afghanistan is not just about al Qaeda, not just about Osama bin Laden -- that once the military objectives there are achieved, the administration plans to move on and take this campaign against terrorism to other locations around the world. That could, of course, prove quite controversial -- international support fairly strong right now for the strikes in Afghanistan. Some believe the administration wants to go much further, and that could prove quite controversial -- Paula.
ZAHN: John, before you get away, I wanted you to come back and talk a little bit more about the president being so upset that some classified information was leaked by a member of Congress to a member of the press.
If they catch whoever this was that leaked this information, are they talking about punishing this person or embarrassing this person? What's the plan?
KING: There has been some talk. I spoke to several senior congressional aides as the leaders flowed into the building here this morning for the breakfast. There has been some talk on Capitol Hill of perhaps an Ethics Committee investigation into these leaks. Someone would have to file a complaint. That has not happened as yet.
We are told by senior administration officials that they believe they have a few likely suspects in mind. They are refusing to name them publicly. We have heard a couple of the names, but in due diligence, we don't want to blame anybody until there is either an official complaint or some evidence or proof.
But the administration was quite furious -- Paula. The president telling some lawmakers, who met with him yesterday, he understood that the law requires him to inform Congress of some things, but that he felt he needed to send a very strong message and draw the line. He will now try to broker a compromise. But we were told the president was quite furious -- that he believes that classified information was being shared in a way that put the lives of U.S. intelligence operatives overseas and troops overseas at risk.
ZAHN: Well, you certainly could hear that in his tone of voice yesterday when you were out there in the Rose Garden covering that news conference -- thanks, John -- see you a little bit later on this morning.
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