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Pentagon Was Warned Terrorists in Final Stages of Planning Possible Attack in Indonesia Weeks Before Yesterday's Bombing
Aired August 06, 2003 - 14:35 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.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: New information has surfaced that the Pentagon was warned terrorists were in the final stages of planning a possible attack in Indonesia weeks before yesterday's deadly bombing. Fourteen people killed, more than a hundred others injured in that attack. Our Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr joins us with the latest developments. Hello, Barbara.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well hello to you, Miles. Yes, more indications that the U.S. had a lot of growing concerns in recent days about the possibility of another imminent attack in Indonesia.
Now, sources have confirmed to CNN that within the last two weeks the Pentagon, the Defense Intelligence Agency updated its own classified assessment about the possibility of a terrorist attack in Indonesia. That was a classified assessment warning that there was a possibility of an imminent terrorist attack, but they had no specific information about a location, a time, a place, any of that.
Now, that was a classified assessment that's part of the DIA, the Defense Intelligence Agency's routine intelligence work to update commanders around the world. They did have one very good reason, they said, for updating that classified assessment. Early in July, Indonesian authorities informed the U.S. they had, indeed, made a number of arrests of suspected J.I. members. J.I., of course, that being radical Islamic group in Indonesia suspected to be tide to the al Qaeda.
And in those arrests, in those raids they seized a number of weapons, but they also seized documents that indicated that J.I. was planning more attacks against so-called "soft targets," hotels, shopping centers, the types of commercial places that Americans might gather in Indonesia. Getting that information is what led the DIA to basically add more information, update, if you will, it's own threat assessment.
Now according to our sources, the State Department chose not to update its own travel warning to Americans about Indonesia as a result of this for one very good reason in their eyes. The current State Department warning already has very detailed information warning Americans about the risk of traveling to Indonesia, about being in those hotels, restaurants, shopping centers, that sort of thing. The State Department not feeling that they could substantively add to the warning they had already given Americans. The DIA taking a bit of a different approach -- Miles. O'BRIEN: All right. CNN's Barbara Star at the Pentagon, thank you very much.
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Possible Attack in Indonesia Weeks Before Yesterday's Bombing>
Aired August 6, 2003 - 14:35 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: New information has surfaced that the Pentagon was warned terrorists were in the final stages of planning a possible attack in Indonesia weeks before yesterday's deadly bombing. Fourteen people killed, more than a hundred others injured in that attack. Our Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr joins us with the latest developments. Hello, Barbara.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well hello to you, Miles. Yes, more indications that the U.S. had a lot of growing concerns in recent days about the possibility of another imminent attack in Indonesia.
Now, sources have confirmed to CNN that within the last two weeks the Pentagon, the Defense Intelligence Agency updated its own classified assessment about the possibility of a terrorist attack in Indonesia. That was a classified assessment warning that there was a possibility of an imminent terrorist attack, but they had no specific information about a location, a time, a place, any of that.
Now, that was a classified assessment that's part of the DIA, the Defense Intelligence Agency's routine intelligence work to update commanders around the world. They did have one very good reason, they said, for updating that classified assessment. Early in July, Indonesian authorities informed the U.S. they had, indeed, made a number of arrests of suspected J.I. members. J.I., of course, that being radical Islamic group in Indonesia suspected to be tide to the al Qaeda.
And in those arrests, in those raids they seized a number of weapons, but they also seized documents that indicated that J.I. was planning more attacks against so-called "soft targets," hotels, shopping centers, the types of commercial places that Americans might gather in Indonesia. Getting that information is what led the DIA to basically add more information, update, if you will, it's own threat assessment.
Now according to our sources, the State Department chose not to update its own travel warning to Americans about Indonesia as a result of this for one very good reason in their eyes. The current State Department warning already has very detailed information warning Americans about the risk of traveling to Indonesia, about being in those hotels, restaurants, shopping centers, that sort of thing. The State Department not feeling that they could substantively add to the warning they had already given Americans. The DIA taking a bit of a different approach -- Miles. O'BRIEN: All right. CNN's Barbara Star at the Pentagon, thank you very 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
Possible Attack in Indonesia Weeks Before Yesterday's Bombing>
