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Binalshibh in U.S. Custody

Aired September 16, 2002 - 14:02   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: U.S. authorities have taken custody of a top al Qaeda terror suspect. Ramzi Binalshibh has now been moved out of Pakistan to an undisclosed location.
Details from our justice correspondent, Kelli Arena -- hi, Kelli.

KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra. Well, now that Ramzi Binalshibh is in U.S. custody, the objective, of course, is to get him to talk. By his own admission, he helped with the planning of the September 11 attacks, so he could provide a detailed account of that operation. He could also provide up-to-date information about al Qaeda. Whether he cooperates, though, is another matter.

Now, the fact that Binalshibh was captured during raids in Karachi and not in a remote location suggest that more senior operatives could be hiding out in the densely-populated city.

Earlier, the president vowed to continue his pursuit.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He is the one that thought he was going to be the 20th bomber. He thought he could hide. He thought he could still threaten America, but he forgot the greatest nation on the face of the earth is after him, one person at a time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ARENA: As for what will happen to Binalshibh next, sources suggest that he will be held by the United States in a third country. The question of whether he will be tried by a military tribunal remains open. Here is what Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld had to say on that score.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: The decision on who might or may not eventually be considered appropriate for a military tribunal -- or military commission, I think, is the correct phrase. I know very few people use that phrase, but I think that is what the military order that the president signed said -- is a decision for the president, and to my knowledge, he has not addressed this, and I think I would know.

(END VIDEO CLIP) ARENA: Along with Binalshibh, there was another al Qaeda operative also taken into U.S. custody today, caught at the same time at Binalshibh. His identity has not been revealed. He is described as someone who is of interest to the intelligence community, but not considered to be a high- level member of the terrorist organization -- Kyra, back to you.

PHILLIPS: Kelli, what does this say about possible hideouts for terrorists in Pakistan, and what is it saying about the relationship between the U.S. and Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf?

ARENA: Well, Pakistan, according to our sources, has been very helpful in the war on terror, but as I pointed out earlier, the fact that Binalshibh, along with several other, you know, al Qaeda members were caught in Karachi, right in the middle of the city, instead of in remote locations or along the Pakistan-Afghani border really does show that -- it is illustrative of what a lot of sources have been saying all along is the al Qaeda members have moved -- not only within the city of Karachi, but in other -- they say cities, as well, across the globe, so the targets that had originally come to light are not necessarily useful anymore.

Now it is much harder to find operatives when they are living in high rise apartment buildings and not where you knew them to be hiding out earlier, so it just shows you how difficult this search is going to be, but on the flip side of that, when you do have operatives that are hiding in densely-populated areas, the opportunity for intelligence and for tips on some of those individuals becomes more fruitful.

PHILLIPS: Kelli Arena, thanks.

Within the past hour, an American citizen was brought to a New York court to face charges of aiding terrorist organizations. He's a suspected member of what authorities call a terror cell, operating in the western part of the state.

CNN's Jeff Flock is in Buffalo -- Jeff.

JEFF FLOCK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Indeed, Kyra. We are getting some new details at this hour on Mukhtar Ali al-Bakri. We got his picture, and also a picture of him being led into the federal courthouse that is behind me. He came in today, the sixth of now six people who are suspected of potentially being part of an al Qaeda cell, but at the very least, the government is alleging that they received terror training in Afghanistan a year ago.

Inside the courtroom, CNN National Correspondent Susan Candiotti -- what did you learn in there, Susan?

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jeff, first of all, unlike the other five who had a court appearance on Saturday, Mr. Ali al-Bakri came in wearing not only handcuffs, but also leg irons. That didn't happen with the other five people. It appeared as though at least two of his relatives were inside the courtroom.

He spoke very respectfully to the court, and in fact, that is when the warrant and charges against him were unsealed.

He is charged, like the others, with providing material support to a terrorist organization, specifically, Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda organization, and, like the others, is charged with going to Afghanistan in around the spring and summer of last year to attend, according to the government, a terrorist training camp.

Now, when we asked an FBI official earlier this day whether they had proof that he intended to go to a terrorist training camp, we were told, "no comment."

Also interestingly enough, Mr. Ali al-Bakri said that the last time he was in the United States was -- or that he left the United States was in May of last year.

Evidently, he then returned to Lackawanna, and then went back to Bahrain, he said, in July of this past year. He was there for an arranged marriage, and according to FBI officials, he apparently did get married there.

The U.S. was looking for him during the course of this investigation, and with cooperation of the government in Bahrain, he was rendered, is the technical term, turned over to the United States, put on a U.S. government plane late over the weekend on Friday or Saturday, and once he entered U.S. air space, we are told, the warrant against him was unsealed.

He appeared in court this day. He said the last time he held a job was in May of the year 2000, worked as a deliveryman for a food wholesaler at the same place as one of the other five defendants, we might add, and he was appointed a court-appointed lawyer because he said he doesn't have enough money to pay for one.

He will, like the other five people, be appearing in court on Wednesday of this week for a bond hearing -- Jeff.

FLOCK: You made that interesting distinction, which is did he know what he was getting to. I take it that is going to be an important issue, because if he didn't know what he was getting into, was going over for some sort of religious training, and then sort of got sucked down a bad road, that would sort of make it look a little differently, wouldn't it?

CANDIOTTI: Well, certainly, this is the contention of family and friends, neighbors in the Lackawanna area, where all of these people live. They maintained that these men went overseas to Pakistan for religious training, and then were transported somehow over to Afghanistan with no intention.

The government is not saying whether they have evidence to the contrary, but that, of course, will be a point of contention in court.

FLOCK: Got it. Susan, thanks. Obviously, no direct evidence at this point that these men were planning any specific terrorist activity, so it will be interesting to see, Kyra, how this plays out. That is the latest from here. PHILLIPS: All right. Thanks to both of you, Jeff.

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