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U.S. Issues Terrorist Warning In U.S., Yemen

Aired February 12, 2002 - 06:02   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.
BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: ... information to fill in the blanks.

Now the FBI alert was actually issued less than 24 hours after Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh met with a top U.S. general here in the capital. The authorities here have been told by the Americans that they do play a very important part in the anti-terror campaign, which is being led by the United States.

The warning about Fawaz al-Rabeei was passed onto Yemeni intelligence and security services Monday after that high-level meeting between the commander in chief of the U.S. Central Command, General Tommy Franks and the Yemeni leader. The issue of Fawaz al- Rabeei was not brought up at those meetings, but since then the Yemeni security services have, they say, been taking the threat seriously and have been reassuring themselves and the Americans that security here is up to scratch.

Now it's worth pointing out that security around the heavily- guarded U.S. compound here in San'a has been on a high state of alert for the past six weeks or so, following two previous terror threats against U.S. interests here in Yemen. Now officials are also saying here that this latest FBI threat along with the other two may well be seen in the context of continuing interrogations of al Qaeda and Taliban detainees at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. Interrogations, which the FBI may well soon be using Yemen as a partner to get even more information about possible terrorist strikes against U.S. interests not only here in the Yemeni capital, but also elsewhere in the world.

Back to you Carol.

COSTELLO: Well let me ask you again Brent. I know I asked you the same question last hour. Just how credible is this threat, because the word we're getting from the Homeland Security office is we just don't know. You know, we've been on alert since what December 3? The alert is still in effect from there until March 11, so how credible really is this threat?

SADLER: Well after September 11, of course, Carol, no one particularly the FBI, the CIA, or other U.S. agencies are going to take any risks in holding back on this (ph) information or not acting on serious credible information, which affects the interest of the United States. This has to be seen in the light of these two previous terror threats that were revealed here over the past six weeks or so. The Yemenis took security precautions around the embassy very seriously. The U.S. ambassador, I was told just a few days ago, was very thankful for that and recognized just how earnestly the Yemenis are being in protecting the interest of not only Yemeni security, but also that of Yemen's allies and friends, particularly the United States.

But I'm told by U.S. officials here that we may well see very many more so-called credible threats and warnings about U.S. interest, not just here, but elsewhere in the world, as more information is expected to come out of those detainees now being held and being questioned in Cuba, and connecting information there with the ongoing manhunt here to al Qaeda suspects, which of course still has not reeked any rewards in terms of capturing those two suspects wanted in connection with the bombing of the U.S. warship Cole some 16 months ago in Asian harbor.

Back to you Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. Thank you. Brent Sadler reporting live for us from Yemen and by the way, none of those 12 or 13 suspects are in this country right now, at least that we know of.

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