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American Morning

Investigation by Authorities in Europe Suggests Reid Had Some Help With Foiled Plan

Aired January 21, 2002 - 09:05   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.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: "Up Front," the case of the alleged shoe bomber Richard Reid, charged with trying to bring down an American Airlines jet crossing the Atlantic. An investigation by authorities in Europe suggests Reid had some help with his foiled plan to blow up a U.S.-bound commercial jet with explosives in his shoes. The investigation centers on a trail of Reid's e-mail, including one exchange in which Reid was told to "go again," after missing his initial Paris-to-Miami flight last month. Frederic Helbert, a senior reporter for Europe One Radio, has been following this story. He joins us now from Paris today.

Thank you very much for being with us, sir.

FREDERIC HELBERT, EUROPE ONE RADIO: Goods morning, Paula.

ZAHN: Frederic, what we would love for you to did is to explain to us the contents of some of these e-mails. I know you have established in your reporting that you believe Richard Reid did not act alone, and these investigators are hot on trails of e-mails that apparently he mailed all over Europe. Let's start with the one that he sent to his mother, what is the significance of that letter?

HELBERT: Well, this is in fact, the last e-mail he sent before boarding on the plane, and he sent that e-mail to several mosques here, and there was one for his mother, and this e-mail was supposed to be published after his death, so after the destruction of the plane. He sent that e-mail from the hotel where he spent his last night before boarding on the plane. And in this e-mail, in fact, he claimed responsibility, his responsibility for destroying the plane. He didn't say exactly low he was working for. He didn't gave any name. It was not a kind of prevarication. It was a kind of testment. He was saying that this way he was going to become a martyr of Islamic codes, and he was saying that he was going to have accesss to paradise. This was his words, and he was using a lot of reference to the Koran. Remember, that he had Koran book when he was arrested in the plane.

And, finally, he asked his mother to convert to Islam.

ZAHN: You also mention that he e-mailed some letters to mosques, and we are going to put up in the screen right now some of the content of those e-mails. In your judgment, what is the significance of these transactions? HELBERT: Well, what are thinking the investigators now is that Richard Reid used the Internet as a lot of members of Al Qaeda, to communicate with his friends, with his leaders, and with all the one giving him support, money, and accomadation. There was one last e- mail he send from the hotel before boarding on the plane, which was very important, according to the investigators. It was that -- the connection he made with the Pakistan, the connection between Paris and the Pakistan, and in fact it was just after he failed.

He tried first time to board on the plane as you know, and he missed because there was too long a questioning at the American Airlines checkpoint. He missed the plane, then he came back to the hotel, and he send an e-mail to the Pakistan. We don't know -- it is an unidentified person, correspondent he had a talk with, and in that e-mail, he gave details about his mission. He said, well, I had a problem, I couldn't board on the plane. There were a lot of questions about security, so shall I go again? It seems that he was at this time a little bit frightened, that he was afraid to go on again, that it was too many risks, and the answer, which came from Pakistan, and I will remind that you he went in Pakistan before coming in Paris, before coming back in Iraq to make his mission, the answer which game from Pakistan at this point, was you have to do it you have to go back, you have to do it this is your way this your mission, go back, and the day after he was on the plane.

So that means that there was someone leading him and there was someone who gave him the order, to continue his mission, so that means, according to the investigator, that there is a network, a terrorist network between that guy, that he has not done this alone, and that there was a big logistic cell helping him, and giving him support, money, and also accommodation in Paris, because we didn't find yet the hotel where he could have stayed in Paris.

ZAHN: Frederic, who do investigators think Richard Reid was working for? Can they tie him to Al Qaeda?

HELBERT: Well, that's what they think, but they don't have any evidence right now, because they do not -- as far as I know, they did not yet identify that network, that logistic cell which held him -- but they just noticed that there was a lot of money, and no money, I mean, but he was given a lot of money. He was always paying cash. He was using the Internet. He was trying to forget to -- he was trying to target an American plane, excuse me.

So this was a mission which has been planned since a long time. There is also a few remarks I can make about the bomb he had in his shoes. It was a very sophisticated bomb. And it has been made according to the intelligence sources I have. It was made by an expert, and it was made by some people who have used before, there was components. One of the components in the bomb is called TAPT (ph). It's a very high explosive component, and it has been used before by Al Qaeda members, Al Qaeda teams, and they found the special way to stabilize it, and to make a perfect bomb. So all this indicates that there is strong suspicion that Richard Reid was a kind of soldier, a suicide bomber, working for Al Qaeda, and for Osama bin Laden, and in fact he was connected before this mission, with other people, other members of Al Qaeda team, who have been arrested since 11th of September attacks in America.

ZAHN: Frederic Helbert, we are going to have to leave there this morning, but you broke the story of this e-mail connection, and we were delighted to have you come on this morning to tell us the substance of those communications. Thanks so much for your time.

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