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America Strikes Back: Former Security Adviser's Perspective on Homeland Defense

Aired October 12, 2001 - 07:25   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: And welcome back. With the FBI warning of possible additional terrorist attacks against the U.S., we look now at whether the U.S. is ready to prevent such threats.

For his perspective on the nation's homeland defense, former National Security Adviser Zbignew Brzezinski joins us from our Washington bureau. Welcome back.

ZBIGNEW BRZEZINSKI, FORMER NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: Good morning.

ZAHN: Good morning. So, Mr. Brzezinski, what do you think the president was preparing us for last night?

BRZEZINSKI: Well, that's a very good question, and I'm afraid it wasn't answered. The president's speech was inspirational. It reaffirmed his determination. It made an important point about the U.S. commitment to a Palestinian state. But when it came to the threat, I am afraid it simply repeated a very generalized threat which inevitably will increase some level of anxiety among the American public without offering any specifics.

My sort of gut feeling if we don't know where the threat is and if we don't know how to react to it, it may be better not to talk about it, or at least offer some very generalized suggestions so that everybody would feel that they can do something, such as if you see a truck parked in a tunnel, inform the police. If you see a big truck on a bridge stopping, tell the police. If you see a cluster of people who look suspicious in an airport, inform the police. If you see someone going through a mall with an aerosol, tell the police.

You know, a few simple things like that wouldn't induce paranoia, but would give people a sense of participation in watchfulness. But simply to say there's a generalized serious threat and then basically leave it at that, I don't think is helpful.

ZAHN: But don't you think the president made that clear when he had very broad comments about just look for unusual activity and call the FBI and call the police department if something looks unusual?

BRZEZINSKI: Well, yes, but, you know, what is unusual? And that's the question. He should be a little more specific than that otherwise we'll be inundated with calls about anything. I mean there are some certain specific kinds of activities that could be lethal and that we presumably know about. And these are the kinds of things people should be on the lookout and it gives people a sense of concreteness. That's the only point.

But basically I thought the president did fine. It's good he talks to the people. He conveyed sincerity. He conveys determination. He conveys intelligence and that's very important in this stage.

ZAHN: Now, Mr. Brzezinski, I know you're not getting briefings from the Bush White House right now...

BRZEZINSKI: Well, I am.

ZAHN: But how vulnerable are we?

BRZEZINSKI: I am. Actually, I am.

ZAHN: Oh, you are? I didn't know that. OK. But -- and I know, I'm not asking you to share classified information with us this morning, but how vulnerable are people living here in this country right now?

BRZEZINSKI: Well, my sense is not too vulnerable. You know, obviously there are serious threats and there's nobody denying that. But we're a huge country, 250 million people. And the terrorists are not omnipotent.

I personally suspect that they have shot their best bolt and that they are going to be including disorganized as law enforcement makes progress. They may have something still in their pockets and they'll probably lash out in some fashion, but I think on balance they are losing and they're going to continue losing. And the main front, in my view, is, in fact, not Afghanistan. The main front, in my view, is America, West Germany, Western Europe more generally. That's where the serious danger is, truly lethal activities are going on, and these are the ones that we have to ferret out.

ZAHN: Mr. Brzezinski, if you'll be kind enough, we're going to take a very short break here and continue our conversation on the other side. Appreciate your patience. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ZAHN: Right now we're going to get back to former National Security Adviser, Zbignew Brzezinski, who joins us from Washington. Again, thanks for standing by through that short break.

Got a lot of territory to cover with you. President Bush said late last night that he continued to support the idea of a Palestinian state, as long as it recognizes Israel's right to exist.

And he said he was taking seriously Syria's offer to help in the global war on terrorism. Would you take their offer seriously?

BRZEZINSKI: Yes. It seems to me that, if we are serious about building a coalition, we have to have countries like Syria in it.

Don't forget that in 1991, when the United States waged direct war against Iraq, Syria was part of the coalition, and Syrian forces actually participated. If we want to pacify the Middle East, if we want to dilute somewhat the rage that is directed largely at us, we have to deal with some of the problems.

We can, of course, and we should, of course, try to extirpate the terrorists. But we have to ask ourselves, what fuels them? What sustains them? What produces the terrorists? And that is political rage over a number of issues.

And I think the President is pointed in the right direction. We have to have an Arab coalition, because otherwise, the Arab countries are going to blow up. The place to watch in my view is Egypt and Saudi Arabia. They're very vulnerable. And second ...

ZAHN: Yeah, I was going to ask you about the two of those. Are they in it ...

BRZEZINSKI: Yeah.

ZAHN: ... for the long haul? Are they in the coalition ...

BRZEZINSKI: I think they're ...

ZAHN: ... for the long haul?

BRZEZINSKI: ... in the long haul, because their leads know that they need us. They're also vulnerable. And they'll go down the drain if the places explode. But they can only go so far with us, unless we begin to deal with some of the issues animate the hostility of the publics.

And that's the treatment of the population of Iraq. We have failed to remove Saddam Hussein, which we probably should have done early on. But we are punishing the Iraqi people. And that's what you see massive resentment. I don't think we understand in this country how resented that is.

And we are tolerating the Arab-Israeli conflict - the Arab- Palestinian conflict - in which the Israelis are stronger, so they're naturally inflicting much more casualties than the Palestinians, than the Palestinians on the Israelis. And that produces frustration and rage.

I think the President's statement, that the United States favors a Palestinian state was a milestone. And I think now he should hollow it with some invitation to Sharon and to Arafat to come to Washington - and he ought to knock heads, literally knock heads. We have enormous leverage over both countries. And both of those peoples owe us an enormous amount.

If we don't get that process of peace going seriously, we're going to be preventing the emergence of any coalition in the Middle East, and probably stoking the fires of the ongoing rage. ZAHN: Mr. Brzezinski, one last question for you this morning. The last time we spoke, you were highly critical of the fact that the fight against Osama bin Laden was - you called it, almost too personalized, that he was just one of many targets the U.S. needed to go after.

The U.S. now has broadened its campaign since, since we spoke. And are you satisfied now with that overall direction? That it's not ...

BRZEZINSKI: Yes.

ZAHN: ... all, only about Osama bin Laden.

BRZEZINSKI: Yes. I think the administration took to heart the views expressed by a number of people, that we shouldn't personalize this struggle, and we shouldn't make his capture or death the success standard for this operation. We're dealing with a big network.

And I think it's also important for you, the mass media, to bear in mind, that what is happening in Afghanistan is just the first phase. We're trying to push aside the Taliban government - not really install a new one - in order to get at al Qaeda, and to disrupt it.

But after that will come camps in some other countries, and above all, an intelligence and police operation sustained for long in Western Europe and in the United States. And in my view, that is the toughest front. And all of that has to be packaged in a political approach which over time dilutes some of the sources of fanaticism and rage in that part of the world.

ZAHN: Mr. Brzezinski, always good to have your perspective, and a particularly informed one, now that we understand you're getting briefings from the Bush administration.

Good of you to join us. Thank you, sir, for your time.

BRZEZINSKI: Thank you.

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