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Link Between Iraq, al Qaeda?
Aired January 27, 2003 - 13:41 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.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Now to a game of connect the dots. The Bush administration has made accusations of a link between Iraq and al Qaeda ahead of a possible war with Iraq, but where's the proof?
CNN's national correspondent, Mike Boettcher, now working this story for some time. He joins us live with more -- Mike.
MIKE BOETTCHER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Kyra. Well, the proof -- that's going to be difficult, but there is heat on one person and that's Abu Mussab al Zarqawi. Now, Zarqawi is a Jordanian, a top terrorist in al Qaeda, according to coalition intelligence sources, who has been in Baghdad and in northern Iraq. He is also the man accused by Jordanian authorities of masterminding the assassination of U.S. diplomat Laurence Foley in Jordan in October.
Now, this is the person that President Bush was referring to in October when he made a speech saying that there had been one top al Qaeda leader in Baghdad receiving medical treatment there. That was Abu Mussab al Zarqawi, and that's the person they are looking at. Getting that definitive proof is tough, but the heat is on.
PHILLIPS: So intelligence agencies believe that al Qaeda-Iraq contacts have been in place for years?
BOETTCHER: Dating back to the early 1990s when al Qaeda was operating with Osama bin Laden in Khartoum in the Sudan. At that time, there was a competition, according to coalition sources, between Iran and Iraq trying to gain influence, or agents of influence inside the organization that they could use at some further point.
But again, those tales are very smoky. This is a very cloudy area, but there is evidence of this so-called competition between Iran and Iraq for the heart and soul of al Qaeda back then.
PHILLIPS: And also the threat of ricin, a story we have been talking about for a number of weeks now. Is there a connection, possibly, to Zarqawi and ricin?
BOETTCHER: According to U.S. intelligence sources, and this was reported by David Ensor, our national security correspondent, last week. U.S. authorities believe that there is a connection between Zarqawi and the so-called ricin gang in London. This is a group that is facing trial and charges there. They found traces of ricin in some of the apartments that were raided. And there is a connection, according to U.S. authorities, between Zarqawi and the ricin gang, and according to German intelligence. They say that Zarqawi is behind plans to launch chemical and biological attacks in the continental Europe.
PHILLIPS: Our Mike Boettcher. Thanks, Mike.
BOETTCHER: Thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired January 27, 2003 - 13:41 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Now to a game of connect the dots. The Bush administration has made accusations of a link between Iraq and al Qaeda ahead of a possible war with Iraq, but where's the proof?
CNN's national correspondent, Mike Boettcher, now working this story for some time. He joins us live with more -- Mike.
MIKE BOETTCHER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Kyra. Well, the proof -- that's going to be difficult, but there is heat on one person and that's Abu Mussab al Zarqawi. Now, Zarqawi is a Jordanian, a top terrorist in al Qaeda, according to coalition intelligence sources, who has been in Baghdad and in northern Iraq. He is also the man accused by Jordanian authorities of masterminding the assassination of U.S. diplomat Laurence Foley in Jordan in October.
Now, this is the person that President Bush was referring to in October when he made a speech saying that there had been one top al Qaeda leader in Baghdad receiving medical treatment there. That was Abu Mussab al Zarqawi, and that's the person they are looking at. Getting that definitive proof is tough, but the heat is on.
PHILLIPS: So intelligence agencies believe that al Qaeda-Iraq contacts have been in place for years?
BOETTCHER: Dating back to the early 1990s when al Qaeda was operating with Osama bin Laden in Khartoum in the Sudan. At that time, there was a competition, according to coalition sources, between Iran and Iraq trying to gain influence, or agents of influence inside the organization that they could use at some further point.
But again, those tales are very smoky. This is a very cloudy area, but there is evidence of this so-called competition between Iran and Iraq for the heart and soul of al Qaeda back then.
PHILLIPS: And also the threat of ricin, a story we have been talking about for a number of weeks now. Is there a connection, possibly, to Zarqawi and ricin?
BOETTCHER: According to U.S. intelligence sources, and this was reported by David Ensor, our national security correspondent, last week. U.S. authorities believe that there is a connection between Zarqawi and the so-called ricin gang in London. This is a group that is facing trial and charges there. They found traces of ricin in some of the apartments that were raided. And there is a connection, according to U.S. authorities, between Zarqawi and the ricin gang, and according to German intelligence. They say that Zarqawi is behind plans to launch chemical and biological attacks in the continental Europe.
PHILLIPS: Our Mike Boettcher. Thanks, Mike.
BOETTCHER: Thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
