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Captured al Qaeda Member Gives Conflicting Information
Aired March 06, 2003 - 13:47 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.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: So, where is Osama bin Laden? A captured al Qaeda leader, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, has reportedly made conflicting statements about his boss. Mohammed was captured last weekend in Pakistan, and that country's president, General Pervez Musharraf, talked with CNN's Ash-Har Quraishi -- hello to you, Ash- Har.
ASH-HAR QURAISHI, CNN ISLAMABAD BUREAU CHIEF: Hello, Heidi. Well, that's right, we spoke to President Musharraf just a few hours ago. We talked about the arrest, which he called a great success in the war on terrorism. He also called it something to the credit of the Inter-services Intelligence agency. That is Pakistan's version of the CIA here.
He also said that this was further proof that Pakistan was committed to the war on terrorism, pointing out that Pakistan has handed over more than 480 suspected terrorists to the United States since the war on terrorism began. He said he spoke to President Bush yesterday, and he said that President Bush thanked him -- quote -- "profusely."
Now, we also asked him about the question of bin Laden. We told him that there had been, obviously, some successes for Pakistan. They admitted that they had actually caught some of the top al Qaeda brass in some of the major cities in Pakistan, including Faisalabad, Karachi, and now in Rawalpindi, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed was caught there.
I asked the president what he thought about the possibility that bin Laden may not be hiding in the tribal areas, or in Afghanistan, but rather in one of Pakistan's major cities. Here's what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PERVEZ MUSHARRAF, PRESIDENT OF PAKISTAN: Osama bin Laden is a different personality. He wouldn't be hiding alone, or with one other colleague of his in one room of a house and all that.
Certainly, he's a different person. I presume, if he's alive, which Oman (ph) thinks that now, with all the evidence and information we have that maybe he is alive, he would be moving with a large body of -- so many bodyguards.
So therefore, he would need a sanctuary, he would need a bigger area. He wouldn't be moving in a city where -- I don't think so. He would need a much bigger area, a safe area. Therefore, I don't think he can be in one of the cities like these people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QURAISHI: Now, as far as the interrogation of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed goes, the president said that while he was in the custody of Pakistani authorities, in joint interrogations with the United States, that Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, as you mentioned, gave inconsistent answers to their questions, not giving any information as to the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden, as to whether or not he might be alive, or as to whether or not Khalid Shaikh Mohammed was in contact with him recently.
The president did say that these were preliminary interrogations, and that it is quite possible that Khalid Shaikh Mohammed may divulge some information that may lead to his arrest. He also said that Pakistan's ISI, their intelligence agency, and their security forces are on high alert. They say that they are reorganizing their anti- terrorism units. They are also monitoring not only the major cities, but also the tribal regions as well -- Heidi.
COLLINS: All right. From Islamabad, Pakistan, Ash-Har Quraishi today. Thank you so much.
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 March 6, 2003 - 13:47 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: So, where is Osama bin Laden? A captured al Qaeda leader, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, has reportedly made conflicting statements about his boss. Mohammed was captured last weekend in Pakistan, and that country's president, General Pervez Musharraf, talked with CNN's Ash-Har Quraishi -- hello to you, Ash- Har.
ASH-HAR QURAISHI, CNN ISLAMABAD BUREAU CHIEF: Hello, Heidi. Well, that's right, we spoke to President Musharraf just a few hours ago. We talked about the arrest, which he called a great success in the war on terrorism. He also called it something to the credit of the Inter-services Intelligence agency. That is Pakistan's version of the CIA here.
He also said that this was further proof that Pakistan was committed to the war on terrorism, pointing out that Pakistan has handed over more than 480 suspected terrorists to the United States since the war on terrorism began. He said he spoke to President Bush yesterday, and he said that President Bush thanked him -- quote -- "profusely."
Now, we also asked him about the question of bin Laden. We told him that there had been, obviously, some successes for Pakistan. They admitted that they had actually caught some of the top al Qaeda brass in some of the major cities in Pakistan, including Faisalabad, Karachi, and now in Rawalpindi, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed was caught there.
I asked the president what he thought about the possibility that bin Laden may not be hiding in the tribal areas, or in Afghanistan, but rather in one of Pakistan's major cities. Here's what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PERVEZ MUSHARRAF, PRESIDENT OF PAKISTAN: Osama bin Laden is a different personality. He wouldn't be hiding alone, or with one other colleague of his in one room of a house and all that.
Certainly, he's a different person. I presume, if he's alive, which Oman (ph) thinks that now, with all the evidence and information we have that maybe he is alive, he would be moving with a large body of -- so many bodyguards.
So therefore, he would need a sanctuary, he would need a bigger area. He wouldn't be moving in a city where -- I don't think so. He would need a much bigger area, a safe area. Therefore, I don't think he can be in one of the cities like these people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QURAISHI: Now, as far as the interrogation of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed goes, the president said that while he was in the custody of Pakistani authorities, in joint interrogations with the United States, that Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, as you mentioned, gave inconsistent answers to their questions, not giving any information as to the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden, as to whether or not he might be alive, or as to whether or not Khalid Shaikh Mohammed was in contact with him recently.
The president did say that these were preliminary interrogations, and that it is quite possible that Khalid Shaikh Mohammed may divulge some information that may lead to his arrest. He also said that Pakistan's ISI, their intelligence agency, and their security forces are on high alert. They say that they are reorganizing their anti- terrorism units. They are also monitoring not only the major cities, but also the tribal regions as well -- Heidi.
COLLINS: All right. From Islamabad, Pakistan, Ash-Har Quraishi today. Thank you so much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
