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Head of CIA Offers Another Warning About Terrorist Threat
Aired February 12, 2003 - 13:01 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: Amid growing signs of worry from coast to coast, the head of the CIA has offered another warning about the terrorist threat. The Bush administration is talking up ties between Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden. And in the last few minutes, news on North Korea that sounds like added cause for worry.
CNN's David Ensor now tracking all this on Capitol Hill -- David.
DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATL. SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, I've been following Tenet's testimony before this annual presentation of the threat level for several years now, and this is the darkest picture he has ever painted by far. He talked about multiple strategic threats to the United States, but as you say, the news is really about North Korea.
In an interesting exchange with Senator Bayh, Tenet was asked whether or not there could be a North Korean missile capable of hitting the West Coast of the United States. I'm afraid that viewers in California, Oregon and Washington will not like the answer.
Here's what he said:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. EVAN BAYH (D), INDIANA: There have been a lot of public reports to the effect that North Korea probably has a nuclear device already. What kind of probability do you think exists that they currently have a nuclear device?
GEORGE TENET, CIA DIRECTOR: Sir, I think we've unclassified the fact that they probably have one or two plutonium-based devices today.
BAYH: Probably? I mean, that's more than 50 percent? Between 50 and 100, where would you put that?
TENET: I think one or two's a very good judgment.
BAYH: And how about their -- they've fired missiles over Japan. What is the likelihood they currently have a missile capable of hitting the West Coast of the United States?
TENET: I think the declassified answer is yes, they can do that.
BAYH: So in all likelihood they have nuclear warheads, and the ability to deliver them to the West Coast of the United States, obviously, very, very troubling.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ENSOR: Now, this is the first time that a senior official at the level of tenet has confirmed on the record that the U.S. fears the North Koreans might have a missile that may be capable of reaching the West Coast of the United States. That kind of thing has been talked about on background, by officials in the past.
But now you have it official from Tenet. He also was asked a lot of questions, Kyra, about the tape, the Osama bin Laden tape that was put out yesterday, thought to be bin Laden, anyway, his voice, an audiotape in which he exhorts Muslims, particularly those in Iraq, to fight against the American infidels.
This is how Tenet described the first look that the intelligence community has on that tape.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TENET: He's obviously raising the confidence of his people. He's obviously exhorting them to do more. And whether this is a signal of impending attack or not is something we're looking at that.
I can only tell you what the history is. What he's said has often followed by attacks, which I think corroborates everything that we're seeing in terms of raising the threat warning, in terms of the specific information that we had at our disposal last week.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ENSOR: Tenet said that the release of that tape does raise the level of concern among U.S. intelligence officials about the possible threat in the next few weeks -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: David Ensor, 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
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Aired February 12, 2003 - 13:01 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Amid growing signs of worry from coast to coast, the head of the CIA has offered another warning about the terrorist threat. The Bush administration is talking up ties between Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden. And in the last few minutes, news on North Korea that sounds like added cause for worry.
CNN's David Ensor now tracking all this on Capitol Hill -- David.
DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATL. SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, I've been following Tenet's testimony before this annual presentation of the threat level for several years now, and this is the darkest picture he has ever painted by far. He talked about multiple strategic threats to the United States, but as you say, the news is really about North Korea.
In an interesting exchange with Senator Bayh, Tenet was asked whether or not there could be a North Korean missile capable of hitting the West Coast of the United States. I'm afraid that viewers in California, Oregon and Washington will not like the answer.
Here's what he said:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. EVAN BAYH (D), INDIANA: There have been a lot of public reports to the effect that North Korea probably has a nuclear device already. What kind of probability do you think exists that they currently have a nuclear device?
GEORGE TENET, CIA DIRECTOR: Sir, I think we've unclassified the fact that they probably have one or two plutonium-based devices today.
BAYH: Probably? I mean, that's more than 50 percent? Between 50 and 100, where would you put that?
TENET: I think one or two's a very good judgment.
BAYH: And how about their -- they've fired missiles over Japan. What is the likelihood they currently have a missile capable of hitting the West Coast of the United States?
TENET: I think the declassified answer is yes, they can do that.
BAYH: So in all likelihood they have nuclear warheads, and the ability to deliver them to the West Coast of the United States, obviously, very, very troubling.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ENSOR: Now, this is the first time that a senior official at the level of tenet has confirmed on the record that the U.S. fears the North Koreans might have a missile that may be capable of reaching the West Coast of the United States. That kind of thing has been talked about on background, by officials in the past.
But now you have it official from Tenet. He also was asked a lot of questions, Kyra, about the tape, the Osama bin Laden tape that was put out yesterday, thought to be bin Laden, anyway, his voice, an audiotape in which he exhorts Muslims, particularly those in Iraq, to fight against the American infidels.
This is how Tenet described the first look that the intelligence community has on that tape.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TENET: He's obviously raising the confidence of his people. He's obviously exhorting them to do more. And whether this is a signal of impending attack or not is something we're looking at that.
I can only tell you what the history is. What he's said has often followed by attacks, which I think corroborates everything that we're seeing in terms of raising the threat warning, in terms of the specific information that we had at our disposal last week.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ENSOR: Tenet said that the release of that tape does raise the level of concern among U.S. intelligence officials about the possible threat in the next few weeks -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: David Ensor, 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
u
