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Terror in Riyadh
Aired May 15, 2003 - 14:02 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.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: We start this hour with the ongoing fallout from the suicide bombings late Monday at three Western housing compounds in Saudi Arabia. U.S. investigators have finally arrived at the scenes of the crime, but some are still scrutinizing events and conversations between U.S. and Saudi officials days earlier.
CNN's Dana Bash live from the White House now with the latest -- Dana.
DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra.
Well, the White House is continuing their public line, that they believe that the Saudi government is cooperating in the war on terrorism, but they're also saying, as they have said for a couple of days now, that they do believe that the Saudis now understand that they have to step up that effort. And White House spokesman Scott McClellan said that just earlier today.
SCOTT MCCELLAN, DEP. WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECY.: I think Saudi Arabia officials, high-level officials, have acknowledged and recognized that terrorism has hit their soil and that not only American lives were lost, but Saudi lives were lost, as well as other countries, and that they need to face up to these threats and take action.
Saudi Arabia has provided good cooperation with us on the war on terrorism, but there is more that can be done.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: Now, that's the public light. Privately, though, there is some frustration here at the White House, primarily because of some warnings that the Saudis got even over the past week, just in the days leading up to the attacks earlier this week, specifically, a warning from one of President Bush's top advisers, Deputy National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley, actually went on Saturday, two days before the attack to Riyadh to talk to some senior officials there, to share intelligence information about some warnings, some fears that there might be attacks, and requested that there be stepped-up security on at least one of the three compounds that were bombed by terrorists on Monday. The -- Stephen Hadley was told by the Saudis they would take it under advisement. And clearly that increase in security didn't happen.
That has certainly caused private frustration here, but as you just heard, the public line continues to be that Saudi Arabia is cooperating and that they are at least happy at this point that Saudi Arabia might take this as a wake-up call that they have to do more -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Dana Bash, live from the White House. 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 May 15, 2003 - 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: We start this hour with the ongoing fallout from the suicide bombings late Monday at three Western housing compounds in Saudi Arabia. U.S. investigators have finally arrived at the scenes of the crime, but some are still scrutinizing events and conversations between U.S. and Saudi officials days earlier.
CNN's Dana Bash live from the White House now with the latest -- Dana.
DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra.
Well, the White House is continuing their public line, that they believe that the Saudi government is cooperating in the war on terrorism, but they're also saying, as they have said for a couple of days now, that they do believe that the Saudis now understand that they have to step up that effort. And White House spokesman Scott McClellan said that just earlier today.
SCOTT MCCELLAN, DEP. WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECY.: I think Saudi Arabia officials, high-level officials, have acknowledged and recognized that terrorism has hit their soil and that not only American lives were lost, but Saudi lives were lost, as well as other countries, and that they need to face up to these threats and take action.
Saudi Arabia has provided good cooperation with us on the war on terrorism, but there is more that can be done.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: Now, that's the public light. Privately, though, there is some frustration here at the White House, primarily because of some warnings that the Saudis got even over the past week, just in the days leading up to the attacks earlier this week, specifically, a warning from one of President Bush's top advisers, Deputy National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley, actually went on Saturday, two days before the attack to Riyadh to talk to some senior officials there, to share intelligence information about some warnings, some fears that there might be attacks, and requested that there be stepped-up security on at least one of the three compounds that were bombed by terrorists on Monday. The -- Stephen Hadley was told by the Saudis they would take it under advisement. And clearly that increase in security didn't happen.
That has certainly caused private frustration here, but as you just heard, the public line continues to be that Saudi Arabia is cooperating and that they are at least happy at this point that Saudi Arabia might take this as a wake-up call that they have to do more -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Dana Bash, live from the White House. 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
