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American Morning

Talk with Sen. Richard Shelby

Aired October 15, 2002 - 08:05   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: Officials in the U.S. and overseas see a disturbing pattern in the latest terrorist attacks and they're drawing the lines back to al Qaeda. President Bush making it clear where he stands.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I believe the attack on the French vessel was a terrorist attack. Obviously the attack on our marines in Kuwait was a terrorist attack. The attack in Bali appears to be an al Qaeda-type terrorist -- definitely a terrorist attack, whether it's al Qaeda related or not. I would assume it is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZAHN: Is the terror network that's blamed for September 11 gaining renewed strength?

Senator Richard Shelby, vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, is back. He joins us from Washington.

Good to see you again, sir.

SEN. RICHARD SHELBY (R-AL), VICE CHAIRMAN, SENATE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: Good morning, Paula.

ZAHN: Thanks for being with us.

So, Senator, do you think this latest attack in Bali was the work of al Qaeda?

SHELBY: Either al Qaeda or an al Qaeda related group. There are a lot of these terrorist groups. A lot of the terrorist groups are affiliated with al Qaeda and this is probably what you are going to find out. A lot of them were trained there and have sustenance from those various groups.

ZAHN: You talk about a lot of them being trained there, we actually have exclusive video of what CNN says is a training camp in Indonesia and we're going to show some of those pictures. I don't think you'll be able to see them, but it's really quite astonishing what you'll see in this videotape. Now, the Indonesian government so far is refusing to acknowledge the existence of the camp. But over the weekend, an Indonesian defense minister admitted that he is convinced that al Qaeda is operating inside of Indonesia.

How, what kind of numbers are we talking about here?

SHELBY: You're probably talking about a lot of people. Indonesia is, I believe, the largest Muslim nation in the world. This is a haven for the sympathizers with the terrorist groups and the terrorist groups themselves. I believe that the government's got to stop being in denial. They've got to face up to the fact that the terrorists are operating there and it is a haven for some terrorist groups.

This is just the beginning, I believe, of more terrorist attacks not only in Indonesia, but elsewhere in the world. Everywhere, including the U.S., will be at risk.

ZAHN: Why is it do you think the defense minister would admit on one time -- at one point now that al Qaeda is operating within his country and not concede that there are training camps there?

SHELBY: Well, it's inconceivable to me that he would do this, but this is a large Muslim nation and perhaps there are political repercussions to getting involved, trying to root out the terrorists there, because they could be so deep into the country.

ZAHN: I know that you said on Sunday that this Bali attack is an indication to you that there is a lot more of this to come even in the United States. What kind of evidence points to perhaps future attacks in our own country?

SHELBY: Well, they're always looking to the U.S. if they can because this is the ultimate target, the United States of America. We know this. They will hit around the world in soft areas, our allies, our friends, or, perhaps, our assets. On the other hand, if they can hit us in the U.S., they're going to do it. And we know that in the United States, as we speak, that there are hundreds, perhaps in the high hundreds, of potential terrorists that will do damage to us in this country. And I believe these are not isolated incidents. There's a measure here. There's a pattern. And I believe they're just waiting for the opportunity to hit us again.

We need to stop these attacks everywhere we can.

ZAHN: In the meantime, what kind of position is the U.S. government in to stop these kind of attacks that you say could potentially happen?

SHELBY: Well, I think we're on alert big time since September the 11th in this country. And the FBI and the CIA and the other intelligence people are doing everything they can. But I believe at the end of the day, they're going to have to do a lot more, because terrorist attacks are something. You don't need to react to, you've got to prevent them. And if we don't stop them before they happen, there's going to be a lot of devastation in this country.

ZAHN: We have heard reports of a lot of chatter being analyzed now coming from these various sleeper groups. Is there anything you can share with the public today that would help us better understand what we could potentially be confronting here? SHELBY: Well, if we look back in the history of some of the recent attacks, there has been stepped up signals traffic, that is, radio traffic, telephone traffic and so forth, before there have been new terrorist attacks. The summer before the September the 11th attacks, attack in the U.S., we, there were signals all over the world that there was an attack imminent.

Recently, we've been hearing renewed signals and I believe that this is just indicative of what's to come.

ZAHN: Senator, a final question for you this morning. There are those who believe that al Qaeda has actually been weakened by the war on terror and there are others who believe that in many ways, al Qaeda is more menacing because it's split into so many diffuse groups. What do you think?

SHELBY: I think it's a combination. We have destroyed their sanctuary. We've destroyed their central command. But we have dispersed them around the world and a lot of these people will be acting on their own. But they're well trained and you'd better consider them very dangerous.

ZAHN: Senator Richard Shelby, as always, good to have you with us on AMERICAN MORNING.

SHELBY: Thank you, Paula.

ZAHN: Appreciate your time. I know you've got a busy day ahead. Appreciate your dropping by.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired October 15, 2002 - 08:05   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Officials in the U.S. and overseas see a disturbing pattern in the latest terrorist attacks and they're drawing the lines back to al Qaeda. President Bush making it clear where he stands.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I believe the attack on the French vessel was a terrorist attack. Obviously the attack on our marines in Kuwait was a terrorist attack. The attack in Bali appears to be an al Qaeda-type terrorist -- definitely a terrorist attack, whether it's al Qaeda related or not. I would assume it is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZAHN: Is the terror network that's blamed for September 11 gaining renewed strength?

Senator Richard Shelby, vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, is back. He joins us from Washington.

Good to see you again, sir.

SEN. RICHARD SHELBY (R-AL), VICE CHAIRMAN, SENATE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: Good morning, Paula.

ZAHN: Thanks for being with us.

So, Senator, do you think this latest attack in Bali was the work of al Qaeda?

SHELBY: Either al Qaeda or an al Qaeda related group. There are a lot of these terrorist groups. A lot of the terrorist groups are affiliated with al Qaeda and this is probably what you are going to find out. A lot of them were trained there and have sustenance from those various groups.

ZAHN: You talk about a lot of them being trained there, we actually have exclusive video of what CNN says is a training camp in Indonesia and we're going to show some of those pictures. I don't think you'll be able to see them, but it's really quite astonishing what you'll see in this videotape. Now, the Indonesian government so far is refusing to acknowledge the existence of the camp. But over the weekend, an Indonesian defense minister admitted that he is convinced that al Qaeda is operating inside of Indonesia.

How, what kind of numbers are we talking about here?

SHELBY: You're probably talking about a lot of people. Indonesia is, I believe, the largest Muslim nation in the world. This is a haven for the sympathizers with the terrorist groups and the terrorist groups themselves. I believe that the government's got to stop being in denial. They've got to face up to the fact that the terrorists are operating there and it is a haven for some terrorist groups.

This is just the beginning, I believe, of more terrorist attacks not only in Indonesia, but elsewhere in the world. Everywhere, including the U.S., will be at risk.

ZAHN: Why is it do you think the defense minister would admit on one time -- at one point now that al Qaeda is operating within his country and not concede that there are training camps there?

SHELBY: Well, it's inconceivable to me that he would do this, but this is a large Muslim nation and perhaps there are political repercussions to getting involved, trying to root out the terrorists there, because they could be so deep into the country.

ZAHN: I know that you said on Sunday that this Bali attack is an indication to you that there is a lot more of this to come even in the United States. What kind of evidence points to perhaps future attacks in our own country?

SHELBY: Well, they're always looking to the U.S. if they can because this is the ultimate target, the United States of America. We know this. They will hit around the world in soft areas, our allies, our friends, or, perhaps, our assets. On the other hand, if they can hit us in the U.S., they're going to do it. And we know that in the United States, as we speak, that there are hundreds, perhaps in the high hundreds, of potential terrorists that will do damage to us in this country. And I believe these are not isolated incidents. There's a measure here. There's a pattern. And I believe they're just waiting for the opportunity to hit us again.

We need to stop these attacks everywhere we can.

ZAHN: In the meantime, what kind of position is the U.S. government in to stop these kind of attacks that you say could potentially happen?

SHELBY: Well, I think we're on alert big time since September the 11th in this country. And the FBI and the CIA and the other intelligence people are doing everything they can. But I believe at the end of the day, they're going to have to do a lot more, because terrorist attacks are something. You don't need to react to, you've got to prevent them. And if we don't stop them before they happen, there's going to be a lot of devastation in this country.

ZAHN: We have heard reports of a lot of chatter being analyzed now coming from these various sleeper groups. Is there anything you can share with the public today that would help us better understand what we could potentially be confronting here? SHELBY: Well, if we look back in the history of some of the recent attacks, there has been stepped up signals traffic, that is, radio traffic, telephone traffic and so forth, before there have been new terrorist attacks. The summer before the September the 11th attacks, attack in the U.S., we, there were signals all over the world that there was an attack imminent.

Recently, we've been hearing renewed signals and I believe that this is just indicative of what's to come.

ZAHN: Senator, a final question for you this morning. There are those who believe that al Qaeda has actually been weakened by the war on terror and there are others who believe that in many ways, al Qaeda is more menacing because it's split into so many diffuse groups. What do you think?

SHELBY: I think it's a combination. We have destroyed their sanctuary. We've destroyed their central command. But we have dispersed them around the world and a lot of these people will be acting on their own. But they're well trained and you'd better consider them very dangerous.

ZAHN: Senator Richard Shelby, as always, good to have you with us on AMERICAN MORNING.

SHELBY: Thank you, Paula.

ZAHN: Appreciate your time. I know you've got a busy day ahead. Appreciate your dropping by.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com