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American Morning
Was Attack on U.S. Marines Terrorism?
Aired October 09, 2002 - 09:22 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: The attack on the U.S. Marines who were training on a Kuwaiti island. Was it terrorism? Let's get the very latest on the story from Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr.
Good morning, Paula.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Paula.
Here at the Pentagon, after a lot of caution all day yesterday, officials now say they do believe the attack on U.S. Marines yesterday in Kuwait was connected to the Al Qaeda. What they are telling us is they see a number of connections, but they are not sure yet if the Al Qaeda leadership itself order the attack.
What they do now, what they now believe is the two dead assailants shot by the U.S. Marines in a gunfire exchange yesterday had been to Afghanistan and had received training in Al Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan, and then had returned to Kuwait. Those two dead assailants also have family members that the U.S. military believes they are holding as detainees in Guantanamo Bay.
Now in addition to these two dead assailants, there are two other suspected co-conspirators now in custody by the Kuwaiti ministry of the interior, and we are told that the Kuwaitis are searching for one other man they believe is still at large.
So here at Pentagon again today, they believe there is a very strong connection to the Al Qaeda. What they don't know is if the Al Qaeda ordered the attack, or perhaps, very disturbingly to the U.S. military, this is now another one of the attacks that have been independently conducted by Al Qaeda cells around the world -- Paula.
ZAHN: So what impact will they have on the ongoing military exercises there?
STARR: Well, what we are told is they will resume. There will be very strict security, of course. This was not a live fire exercise in the portion that came under attack. Those Marines had no live ammunition to return fire against their assailants. Their assailant his gotten back in the pickup truck, moved to another location, and were then shot dead by Marine security guards, and we are led to believe that security will now be very tight around this training exercise -- Paula.
ZAHN: And what kind of impact can this ultimately have on military planning for a potential war with Iraq? STARR: Well, it should -- by any accounts, there shouldn't be that much of an impact. This was a regularly scheduled training exercise, something the military had long planned and is likely to continue. Of course, the Kuwait military, the Kuwait government, is considered a very close ally of the United States. I should also tell you, U.S. military still looking very closely at that French tanker explosion in Yemen. They haven't come to a final read here as to whether that was a terrorist attack.
ZAHN: Thanks, Barbara. Appreciate the update.
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Aired October 9, 2002 - 09:22 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: The attack on the U.S. Marines who were training on a Kuwaiti island. Was it terrorism? Let's get the very latest on the story from Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr.
Good morning, Paula.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Paula.
Here at the Pentagon, after a lot of caution all day yesterday, officials now say they do believe the attack on U.S. Marines yesterday in Kuwait was connected to the Al Qaeda. What they are telling us is they see a number of connections, but they are not sure yet if the Al Qaeda leadership itself order the attack.
What they do now, what they now believe is the two dead assailants shot by the U.S. Marines in a gunfire exchange yesterday had been to Afghanistan and had received training in Al Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan, and then had returned to Kuwait. Those two dead assailants also have family members that the U.S. military believes they are holding as detainees in Guantanamo Bay.
Now in addition to these two dead assailants, there are two other suspected co-conspirators now in custody by the Kuwaiti ministry of the interior, and we are told that the Kuwaitis are searching for one other man they believe is still at large.
So here at Pentagon again today, they believe there is a very strong connection to the Al Qaeda. What they don't know is if the Al Qaeda ordered the attack, or perhaps, very disturbingly to the U.S. military, this is now another one of the attacks that have been independently conducted by Al Qaeda cells around the world -- Paula.
ZAHN: So what impact will they have on the ongoing military exercises there?
STARR: Well, what we are told is they will resume. There will be very strict security, of course. This was not a live fire exercise in the portion that came under attack. Those Marines had no live ammunition to return fire against their assailants. Their assailant his gotten back in the pickup truck, moved to another location, and were then shot dead by Marine security guards, and we are led to believe that security will now be very tight around this training exercise -- Paula.
ZAHN: And what kind of impact can this ultimately have on military planning for a potential war with Iraq? STARR: Well, it should -- by any accounts, there shouldn't be that much of an impact. This was a regularly scheduled training exercise, something the military had long planned and is likely to continue. Of course, the Kuwait military, the Kuwait government, is considered a very close ally of the United States. I should also tell you, U.S. military still looking very closely at that French tanker explosion in Yemen. They haven't come to a final read here as to whether that was a terrorist attack.
ZAHN: Thanks, Barbara. Appreciate the update.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
