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American Morning

CIA Director Heads to Mideast

Aired June 05, 2001 - 11:56   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.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Let's go to Washington. Our David Ensor is standing by with some brand new information we're just receiving about changes in U.S. involvement in the Middle East peace process -- David.

DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, Leon, CIA Director -- the director of Central Intelligence -- George Tenet is going to head to the Middle East tonight. The purpose of his trip to try to get the Palestinian and the Israeli security chiefs together to cooperate once again -- as they have in the past, but have not recently -- in the effort to prevent terrorism.

Now, there are a number of steps that can be taken. But the feeling is that, if the security chiefs from both sides work together, there's a much better chance of preventing the kind of tragedy that occurred in Tel Aviv on Friday, where a terrorist bomb killed the terrorist and about 20 young Israelis as well.

So, though Tenet had not been traveling to the Middle East since the advent of the Bush administration, he is now being sent. He has very good connections, good ties to Palestinian security chiefs and to the Israelis. There was an attempt to put together an Israeli/Palestinian security meeting a little over a week ago. And the Palestinian chiefs boycotted the meeting. The feeling is that they will turn up if George Tenet is hosting the meeting. So that's why he is going, Leon.

HARRIS: All right, the wheels are moving. Thanks much, David Ensor, reporting from the Washington bureau on that one.

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