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American Morning
John Timoney Talks on Al Qaeda Among Us
Aired July 12, 2002 - 09:15 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: As we have been reporting this morning, there is new and alarming information regarding groups of suspected al Qaeda operatives working inside the U.S. Sources tell us that the FBI is said to have fewer than 100 possible al Qaeda operatives under its surveillance in several major cities across the country -- Seattle, Detroit, Chicago, among others, Atlanta. But it's local law enforcement in those cities who are now on the front lines of this war. Just how should they handle this new challenge?
Here with me now is the former Philadelphia police commissioner, John Timoney, a man with a long career in law enforcement who is now the CEO of an international security firm.
Welcome back, how are you?
JOHN TIMONEY, CEO, BEAU DIETL & ASSOCIATES: Good morning, Paula, how are you?
ZAHN: I'm fine, thanks.
Did you ever have this headache when you where in Philadelphia? Were you ever asked by the Feds to help monitor any suspected al Qaeda operatives?
TIMONEY: Yes, initially when the Justice Department came out with the list of the so-called 5,000 list, we did pay a visit (ph). I believe there were about 27 in Philadelphia. Helping out, checking to make sure that all the papers were in order, that they were here correctly, that they didn't overstay a student visa, things of that nature. But there's a greater role for local law enforcement.
We saw last week, while you're on vacation, there was a local police officer in Pennsylvania, in Lancaster County, pulled over a guy in a truck that had all sorts of suspicious items, if you will, in the truck. Turned out that he had been wanted for visa violations, immigration, there was some false papers.
And so we've been saying all along that you know one of the key elements to breaking these cases, if you will, is local law enforcement. Those are the guys and gals that are going to pull over people with bad license plates, registrations,...
ZAHN: Sure.
TIMONEY: ... blowing a red light, in a car accident, in a family district, things of that nature.
ZAHN: But the challenge...
TIMONEY: And they need the information.
ZAHN: But the challenge here...
TIMONEY: Yes.
ZAHN: ... is that we are told many of these operatives are able to go into businesses...
TIMONEY: Yes.
ZAHN: ... that look like pretty traditional businesses.
TIMONEY: Correct.
ZAHN: Whether it's at the nation's ports or in trucking systems...
TIMONEY: Correct.
ZAHN: ... or wherever the guys are.
TIMONEY: Yes.
ZAHN: How much harder does that make your job in local law enforcement?
TIMONEY: It makes -- it makes it really hard, but there is information coming out of Guantanamo Bay that's getting better. They're getting much better at briefing the al Qaeda prisoners down there. And what's starting to emerge is that clearly, depending on who's counting and who you're asking, anywhere from a hundred to 400 or 500 so-called operatives in midst the -- I guarantee that there are thousands of sympathizers across America.
It wasn't unusual for any other ethnic group to be very sympathetic to a cause in the home country. You know the IRA had plenty of supporters in Boston and the Bronx. However, they had the enemy or the object of their hostility was some other power.
The problem here is they're trying to attack America. And so it's the equivalent of almost a fifth column that's developing in the United States. Makes it that much more difficult. People who are not operatives but may be sympathizers, may be providing financial support or safe houses until the -- try and root them out is extremely difficult so you need better intelligence.
ZAHN: What are your concerns now that this list of cities has...
TIMONEY: Yes.
ZAHN: ... become public? Is it -- is it going to flush these guys out or is it going to make them more embolden to... TIMONEY: I think...
ZAHN: ... trip up the U.S. government?
TIMONEY: No, I think that list is just a partial list. You could also throw in there Buffalo, New York, which is right across from Toronto, Canada. There's a great deal of activity across the border. Detroit, Buffalo, Seattle, those big cities that border on Canada. Clearly with port cities, whether it's airports at Atlanta or you know, New Orleans or places where -- with big containerships coming in -- San Francisco. There's a whole host of possible ways of these folks coming in you know by land, sea, air or just by car.
ZAHN: The balancing act here is once these guys are under surveillance is getting enough on them to make an arrest, right?
TIMONEY: Correct. Exactly.
ZAHN: So that's got to be pretty darn frustrating watching them...
TIMONEY: It is because...
ZAHN: ... and suspecting they're involved with...
TIMONEY: Yes, and...
ZAHN: ... something that could be part of a larger, hideous project down the road?
TIMONEY: Correct. And unless you can -- you know usually under federal conspiracy statutes you need not just information but some kind of an overt act. And so what constitutes an overt act is often dodgy. And of course you never want the act to be completed, but if you prematurely jump the case, you may wind up jeopardizing, you know, the criminal case as it moves forward. And then, of course, there's the notion, and we still always have to be sensitive to the -- make sure that, you know, we're not just rousting people up that look a certain way.
ZAHN: Sure.
TIMONEY: And every Middle Eastern person isn't a sympathizer. And we also have to keep that in the back of our mind. That we move forward aggressively, that you know we are at war, make no excuses, but at the same time be also politically sensitive.
ZAHN: Thanks for your insights.
TIMONEY: Paula, good seeing you.
ZAHN: Always good to see you. John Timoney, take care.
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