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American Morning

Bush Administration Sounding Familiar Theme in War Against Terrorism: It's Not Over Yet

Aired January 21, 2002 - 07:13   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.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Paula, the Bush administration sounding a familiar theme this morning in the war against terrorism, the theme being it's not over yet. The U.S. military, though, is clearly looking beyond Afghanistan to the Philippines, for example, where American troops are now training Philippine soldiers in counter- terrorism.

Meanwhile, the White House is denying a report in the "Washington Post" that Saudi Arabia wants the U.S. military out of their country.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: This is a very longstanding relationship with Saudi Arabia. How it will evolve in the future is, of course, up to the Saudis. And, but I'm not being told that nor have other people in the United States government been told that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAFFERTY: Joining us now from Washington, D.C., Kelly McCann, CNN security analyst and president of Crucible Security.

Kelly, happy Monday. Good to see you.

J. KELLY MCCANN, CNN MILITARY ANALYST, PRESIDENT, CRUCIBLE SECURITY: Good to see you, Jack.

CAFFERTY: What do you make of these reports that members of the Saudi government want us out of their country?

MCCANN: It's interesting. And it's interesting because it was a non-attribute in the "Post" that reported it, the "Washington Post." And then, of course, when it was investigated, none of the officials from the U.S. know anything about it.

So it could be that it was kind of floated forward to see what our reaction was. Remember that the al Qaeda's overall objective, of course, is to get us out of the holy land. More interested in a situation with King Fahd and his brother Abdullah, as well, because King Fahd, of course, has always been a friend to the U.S., Abdullah not so much. Abdullah is a little bit more aloof, keeps us at arm's length and is a little bit more akin to the fundamentalist feelings in Saudi Arabia.

So it's an interesting situation.

CAFFERTY: What would be the effect on the United States and on the stability of the Middle East if we were suddenly to pack up and leave what is arguably the most important military installation that we have in that part of the world, or one of them?

MCCANN: Oh, it'd be significant. And, I mean especially at a time when two weeks remember that there were several al Qaeda suspects, anyway, surveilled going across the Gulf of Aden into Yemen and then they were lost, we lost track of them. So what's interesting about that is we couldn't verify whether they were actually going to hide, to coordinate, to actually go into Saudi, to do some terrorist acts.

So there's a lot of moving pieces to this and if you take out a big player like Saudi Arabia and communications is shut down, it will have a significant impact.

CAFFERTY: Did you hear anything at all over the weekend about any sort of denial from anybody within the Saudi government or royal family?

MCCANN: The only thing I got, Jack, was no comment. In other words, nobody was saying anything. The only people that were talking about it at all were our government officials and they said out, without question that they had not been told anything like that by any Saudi officials.

CAFFERTY: The situation in Saudi Arabia has been a case of trying to have it both ways on a number of fronts for a long time. They want American military security for their own security in the country. Obviously, we are a huge consumer of their prime export, which is oil. But they are also under pressure, as you suggested, from the radical Islamic movement both within and without Saudi Arabia to get the infidels, being us, out of that part of the world.

How do you see this thing eventually playing itself out? Are they going to be forced to make a decision, and if so, which way are they going to tip?

MCCANN: Well, you know, at the base of all of that is this chasm that's between their beliefs and, of course, the Western world's belief. And it is a chasm. Anyone who's traveled over there, it's just stark the huge difference in the way that we view life and what people should do.

As far as which way they fall, they're going to almost have to fall on the side of people, of course, from the Islamic world. Now, that doesn't mean they have to fall on the side of Islamists, which is the fundamentalist movement. But it will be a very, very fine wire that they have to walk down and I'm not sure how they're going to handle it because they're going to be responsible to their population and they're also going to have to be an international player, which means they're going to have to embrace at least some of the Western ideals.

CAFFERTY: All right, Kelly. Appreciate your input this morning. Thank you.

MCCANN: Thanks, Jack.

CAFFERTY: Kelly McCann, CNN security analyst and president of Crucible Securities, joining us from Washington, D.C. Interesting stuff, Paula.

PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks, Jack.

And here with more now on the Saudi question is CNN military analyst General Don Shepperd, who joins me here in New York for a change. Nice to see you in person.

MAJ. GEN. DON SHEPPERD (RET.), U.S. AIR FORCE, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Nice to see you, Paula.

ZAHN: The first opportunity I've had to meet you face to face.

SHEPPERD: Indeed.

ZAHN: I usually see you by remote.

First of all, let's follow up on a little bit of what Jack was just talking about. I heard Majority Leader Trent Lott say over the weekend that oftentimes the Saudis will say something quite different publicly than they mean privately. What do you think is going on?

SHEPPERD: Yes, indeed. I think this story in the "Washington Post" got out well ahead of the diplomacy. We don't want a large footprint in Saudi Arabia or anywhere else. It's inconvenient, it's a long way away, it costs a lot of money, it's hard on our troops. We want to be gone from there.

The reason we're there, of course, is because of Iraq, enforcing the no fly zone over the southern part of Iraq. Now, it's very important that it not be perceived that we leave Saudi Arabia because of bin Laden and what has happened with bin Laden. That's the key to the diplomacy in this.

But we don't want to be there. We do want to go back there for stability in the region and if anything should ever break out in the way of conflict over the oil.

ZAHN: But doesn't this question become even more critical this morning when there's heightened speculation that perhaps as soon as six months from now that there might be some military action against Iraq?

SHEPPERD: Well, of course, if you take military action against Iraq, you really want to be in Saudi Arabia, and I think the Saudi Arabians would want us there, also. Also, you've got Iran, which is the other big player in that particular area. So Saudi Arabia needs us as a balance against Iran. But we have a symbiotic relationship. We need the Saudis for the oil. We need stability in the Gulf Region and they need the stability of the U.S. market fueling the world market out there.

So I, we've always found an accommodation with the Saudis. Kelly McCann laid out very clearly the relationship that the Saudis have with their own people. So this is dicey diplomacy that'll play out over time.

ZAHN: Let's move on to the issue of the status of Osama bin Laden. What do you make of the timing of President Musharraf's remarks that perhaps Osama bin Laden has died from kidney failure?

SHEPPERD: Yes, this came from left field, if you will. But heads of state don't talk off the top of their cuff -- off the cuff without something in the background. The ISI, the Interservice Security Intelligence agents of the Pakistan have very good intelligence. And this may very well be true.

We have known that bin Laden has had kidney problems, but we were thinking kidney stones. And none of us have ever heard about this dialysis machine before.

Now, the other thing that's different...

ZAHN: That was very specific information coming from the president.

SHEPPERD: Very specific.

ZAHN: He said two machines went into the country.

SHEPPERD: Yes, indeed, and that's new information.

The other important thing that's taken place is since the Tora Bora attacks, no reports of bin Laden. No reports of sightings. No intercepted communications. It could be that he was killed in the Tora Bora attacks or, of course, is dead from kidney disease. We don't know, is what it amounts to.

ZAHN: But you need a body to prove that.

SHEPPERD: If we don't have a body, it's going to be the Elvis syndrome, reports of him all over the world still existing. So we would like to have a body and proof of his death if at all possible.

ZAHN: Well, again, thank you for dropping by.

SHEPPERD: It's a pleasure.

ZAHN: Appreciate your coming in today.

SHEPPERD: You bet.

ZAHN: I understand you brought something with you?

SHEPPERD: I did, indeed. This is from my air force pilot buds, a beautiful scarf for you, if you will, and of course the pin of their latest joint strike fighter, the F-35. They say if you take that into any bar and they see you, they'll immediately buy you a drink and probably a new car. They didn't send anything for Jack or Anderson. I don't understand that.

ZAHN: Well, I will wear both of these proudly.

SHEPPERD: Very good.

ZAHN: Thank you very much for the gift.

SHEPPERD: Thank you.

ZAHN: And again, appreciate your coming to New York to talk with us.

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