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American Morning

Secretive CIA Comes Out

Aired May 07, 2002 - 08:21   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: It's time for our weekly intelligence brief. The once very secretive Central Intelligence Agency now seems to be operating everywhere out in the open. The agency is busy in Afghanistan and very active in the Middle East.

So what is behind the CIA's apparent switch from covert to overt?

CNN national security correspondent David Ensor joins us now from Washington -- good morning, David.

DAVID ENSOR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Paula.

ZAHN: So, David, before we get to all of that, we understand there is some news about the case of convicted spy Robert Hanssen. What's going on?

ENSOR: Well, the sentencing memo has come out from the prosecutors. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Friday. And they have said, as expected, that they recommend he be sentenced to life imprisonment rather than to the death penalty.

But what's interesting is that inside the sentencing agreement it's made clear there was some considerable debate and discussion, if not disagreement, between U.S. officials over whether Hanssen really has been cooperating with interrogators, telling all, in other words, about his espionage or not.

Some of them feel that he has not been cooperative, that he's been "contradictory, inconsistent, illogical," that he claims a poor memory in cases where they just simply don't believe him.

So on balance, the sentencing agreement says yes, go ahead, give him life imprisonment but there's really some concern as to whether he is cooperating with the U.S. and really is coming clean about his espionage -- Paula.

ZAHN: All right, let's move on to the Middle East now, David. There have been reports that the CIA was actively involved in creating what appears to be a resolution at the Church of the Nativity. What do we know about the CIA's direct involvement in this crisis?

ENSOR: Well, I can confirm that the agency has been directly involved in the negotiations. In fact, the station chief of the CIA, the top officer in Israel, has been directly involved in the negotiations to end this stand-off. And, as you know, as you've reported, the plan is for a number of Palestinians to go to prison in Gaza, to be watched there by Western observers, and for others to be exiled, first to Italy and then elsewhere.

This is the same kind of formula as the CIA was involved in, among others, in negotiating in Ramallah in the stand-off there at Arafat's headquarters. Again, Palestinian prisoners to be watched by British and American observers, and that, on the one hand, makes sure they stay prisoners, and on the other hand makes it a little harder for the Israelis to come and get them.

So that's the kind of formula and it's going to lead to more, not less, U.S. involvement, on the West Bank -- Paula.

ZAHN: And then on to Afghanistan. "Newsweek" is reporting that Osama bin Laden is alive in the northwest corner of Pakistan. That report also reinforced by the "Washington Times," whose reporter said that warlords had also indicated to him that bin Laden is someplace in the Peshawar region. Are you getting any feedback from your CIA contacts on that?

ENSOR: Well, you'll notice those two reports are, in a way, contradictory. They both say he's alive but one says he's alive in the border area of Afghanistan and the other says he's in Peshawar in Pakistan. That basically is where things stand. CIA officials saying they get almost daily reports that he may have been seen in one place or another, usually along the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan.

They believe he is in that area. Which side of the border, they're just not willing to say at this point. But they do believe they're closing in on him. A lot of work is being done to look for both him and al-Zawhari and some of the other al Qaeda leaders in that area -- Paula.

ZAHN: And, of course, we had that stunning report out of Tora Bora this morning, where the Canadian troops were unearthing some graves, that there was even some sort of thought that Osama bin Laden might have been buried there. But I guess the initial reports suggest that that is not the case.

All right, David...

ENSOR: They don't think so, but...

ZAHN: We'll see.

ENSOR: Right.

ZAHN: Thanks for the intelligence briefing.

ENSOR: OK. Thank you.

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