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American Morning
Interview With Eric Margolis
Aired October 18, 2002 - 07:06 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: A blunt warning: Al Qaeda could be ready to hit the U.S. again. That is the terrifying prospect raised yesterday by CIA Director George Tenet.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE TENET, CIA DIRECTOR: The threat environment we find ourselves in today is as bad as it was last summer, the summer before 9/11.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZAHN: Joining us now to discuss Tenet's remarks before Congress, as well as North Korea's nuclear revelation, is Eric Margolis, foreign editor of The Sun Media Group, who has reported and written extensively about al Qaeda.
Nice to see you in person.
ERIC MARGOLIS, THE SUN MEDIA GROUP: Good morning.
ZAHN: We're finally getting you out of Toronto.
MARGOLIS: Yes, I'm here.
ZAHN: What is the significance, in your judgment, of what Mr. Tenet said yesterday?
MARGOLIS: Well, his warnings are well-taken. Most people in the intelligence community believe more attacks will come. However, we may not have another 9/11, because -- simply because everybody's on the alert and looking. It's going to make attacks much harder.
There is also a very high possibility of al Qaeda attacks abroad against Americans, as I have been saying on this program for a long time, against American tourists and businessmen.
ZAHN: You don't think al Qaeda's ability to mount attacks has been degraded at all?
MARGOLIS: Only by the fact that we're being more vigilant. The al Qaeda organization has not been destroyed. It's actually -- it's a very small organization. It's only about 300 men contrary to popular belief, but it has many associated anti-American groups around the world, and perhaps inside the United States, who work in conjunction with it. And some of those we don't even know about, and that's major danger. ZAHN: Most Americans waking up to this news are extremely frightened by what George Tenet had to say, and I'm wondering if you think there is any political calculation in that warning. Here in the United States, people use the expression "CYA." Because you're visiting from Canada, I'll use "CYD." Do you see any aspect of "cover your derriere" here?
MARGOLIS: Oh, I think all derrieres in Washington are frantically being covered. Bureaucrats do that. They hate being taken unawares, and having been in the U.S. Army, I've seen a lot of this. No doubt. And some of the threats may even be exaggerated just to protect the authorities.
ZAHN: Purposely exaggerated?
MARGOLIS: Yes, that's right, because they did such a lousy job of predicting and doing something to prevent the al Qaeda attacks before. I mean, all of the information seems to be there. The government just dropped the ball on it and blundered. So, this time, they're going to make sure that they don't.
ZAHN: Nevertheless, though, you agree with the premise of what George Tenet said yesterday. You think the threat is real, although you might not think that they're terribly accurate accounts of what might happen.
MARGOLIS: I think it's real, and I think Director Tenet is one of the most reliable officials of the Bush administration. He should be listened to.
ZAHN: Let's talk about something that ABC has reported recently, that an al Qaeda member, Nazir Treblesi (ph), told authorities that he witnessed an al Qaeda training sniper's program, and a program where you would launch attacks against the U.S. And he went on to say that apparently one plan that was under consideration was to take out senators when they were playing golf on a suburban Washington, D.C. golf course. Do you buy this?
MARGOLIS: A heroic death for our senators, I must say. Well, I saw al Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan, where they were practicing sharp shooting and marksmanship -- sniping. But usually, the al Qaeda pattern is to have teams of three or four men who go out sniping, and they attack high-level targets or military targets. I'm surprised they haven't been doing this in Afghanistan, for example.
To have one man going out is not the usual MO for al Qaeda, though we can't discount it. It's one man who has either run amuck or doing it out of sympathy.
ZAHN: So, at this juncture, when we hear speculation and conjecture by some who suggest this could be -- the spree of shootings in Washington, terrorist-related, you don't think so.
MARGOLIS: Well, I'd say the probability is beneath 25 percent.
ZAHN: A quick thought on North Korea and the revelation. We spoke with an ambassador during the Reagan administration yesterday. He said he wasn't at all surprised by this news. You weren't either, right? You've been there.
MARGOLIS: I've been writing columns for six years saying, why are we worried about Iraq when North Korea is a real threat to the United States, to the 37,000 American troops in Korea?
They have hundreds of tons of chemical weapons. They have 5,000 tons of biological weapons. They've got missiles, short and medium- range, can cover all American bases, hit Guam probably and Okinawa, building a missile that can hit the United States. They're very aggressive. They have the ability to kill large amounts of American troops.
But the U.S. has chosen to bribe them to be good and to ignore North Korea's nuclear program, while threatening war against Iraq, which has no nuclear program that we can define.
ZAHN: Oh, wait, wait, wait a minute. You've heard Tony Blair...
MARGOLIS: Well....
ZAHN: ... issue some of the evidence he said, which if they got their hands on fissile material, they'd be able to...
MARGOLIS: Well, if...
ZAHN: ... lob a nuclear weapon within hours.
MARGOLIS: Well, they don't have the missiles to carry them. And when Saddam did have weapons on missiles, he did not fire any chemical or biological weapons. So, this is conjecture.
The North Koreans, however, have nuclear weapons ready to go, and huge amounts of chemical weapons pointed at American troops.
ZAHN: We've got 10 seconds left, how do you see it being resolved?
MARGOLIS: I think we'll end up bribing the North Koreans to be good. That raises the question: Why not do the same thing with the Iraqis?
ZAHN: It sounds like something that will probably be debated in the days to come.
Eric Margolis, thanks for dropping by in person for a change.
MARGOLIS: Thank you.
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 18, 2002 - 07:06 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: A blunt warning: Al Qaeda could be ready to hit the U.S. again. That is the terrifying prospect raised yesterday by CIA Director George Tenet.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE TENET, CIA DIRECTOR: The threat environment we find ourselves in today is as bad as it was last summer, the summer before 9/11.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZAHN: Joining us now to discuss Tenet's remarks before Congress, as well as North Korea's nuclear revelation, is Eric Margolis, foreign editor of The Sun Media Group, who has reported and written extensively about al Qaeda.
Nice to see you in person.
ERIC MARGOLIS, THE SUN MEDIA GROUP: Good morning.
ZAHN: We're finally getting you out of Toronto.
MARGOLIS: Yes, I'm here.
ZAHN: What is the significance, in your judgment, of what Mr. Tenet said yesterday?
MARGOLIS: Well, his warnings are well-taken. Most people in the intelligence community believe more attacks will come. However, we may not have another 9/11, because -- simply because everybody's on the alert and looking. It's going to make attacks much harder.
There is also a very high possibility of al Qaeda attacks abroad against Americans, as I have been saying on this program for a long time, against American tourists and businessmen.
ZAHN: You don't think al Qaeda's ability to mount attacks has been degraded at all?
MARGOLIS: Only by the fact that we're being more vigilant. The al Qaeda organization has not been destroyed. It's actually -- it's a very small organization. It's only about 300 men contrary to popular belief, but it has many associated anti-American groups around the world, and perhaps inside the United States, who work in conjunction with it. And some of those we don't even know about, and that's major danger. ZAHN: Most Americans waking up to this news are extremely frightened by what George Tenet had to say, and I'm wondering if you think there is any political calculation in that warning. Here in the United States, people use the expression "CYA." Because you're visiting from Canada, I'll use "CYD." Do you see any aspect of "cover your derriere" here?
MARGOLIS: Oh, I think all derrieres in Washington are frantically being covered. Bureaucrats do that. They hate being taken unawares, and having been in the U.S. Army, I've seen a lot of this. No doubt. And some of the threats may even be exaggerated just to protect the authorities.
ZAHN: Purposely exaggerated?
MARGOLIS: Yes, that's right, because they did such a lousy job of predicting and doing something to prevent the al Qaeda attacks before. I mean, all of the information seems to be there. The government just dropped the ball on it and blundered. So, this time, they're going to make sure that they don't.
ZAHN: Nevertheless, though, you agree with the premise of what George Tenet said yesterday. You think the threat is real, although you might not think that they're terribly accurate accounts of what might happen.
MARGOLIS: I think it's real, and I think Director Tenet is one of the most reliable officials of the Bush administration. He should be listened to.
ZAHN: Let's talk about something that ABC has reported recently, that an al Qaeda member, Nazir Treblesi (ph), told authorities that he witnessed an al Qaeda training sniper's program, and a program where you would launch attacks against the U.S. And he went on to say that apparently one plan that was under consideration was to take out senators when they were playing golf on a suburban Washington, D.C. golf course. Do you buy this?
MARGOLIS: A heroic death for our senators, I must say. Well, I saw al Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan, where they were practicing sharp shooting and marksmanship -- sniping. But usually, the al Qaeda pattern is to have teams of three or four men who go out sniping, and they attack high-level targets or military targets. I'm surprised they haven't been doing this in Afghanistan, for example.
To have one man going out is not the usual MO for al Qaeda, though we can't discount it. It's one man who has either run amuck or doing it out of sympathy.
ZAHN: So, at this juncture, when we hear speculation and conjecture by some who suggest this could be -- the spree of shootings in Washington, terrorist-related, you don't think so.
MARGOLIS: Well, I'd say the probability is beneath 25 percent.
ZAHN: A quick thought on North Korea and the revelation. We spoke with an ambassador during the Reagan administration yesterday. He said he wasn't at all surprised by this news. You weren't either, right? You've been there.
MARGOLIS: I've been writing columns for six years saying, why are we worried about Iraq when North Korea is a real threat to the United States, to the 37,000 American troops in Korea?
They have hundreds of tons of chemical weapons. They have 5,000 tons of biological weapons. They've got missiles, short and medium- range, can cover all American bases, hit Guam probably and Okinawa, building a missile that can hit the United States. They're very aggressive. They have the ability to kill large amounts of American troops.
But the U.S. has chosen to bribe them to be good and to ignore North Korea's nuclear program, while threatening war against Iraq, which has no nuclear program that we can define.
ZAHN: Oh, wait, wait, wait a minute. You've heard Tony Blair...
MARGOLIS: Well....
ZAHN: ... issue some of the evidence he said, which if they got their hands on fissile material, they'd be able to...
MARGOLIS: Well, if...
ZAHN: ... lob a nuclear weapon within hours.
MARGOLIS: Well, they don't have the missiles to carry them. And when Saddam did have weapons on missiles, he did not fire any chemical or biological weapons. So, this is conjecture.
The North Koreans, however, have nuclear weapons ready to go, and huge amounts of chemical weapons pointed at American troops.
ZAHN: We've got 10 seconds left, how do you see it being resolved?
MARGOLIS: I think we'll end up bribing the North Koreans to be good. That raises the question: Why not do the same thing with the Iraqis?
ZAHN: It sounds like something that will probably be debated in the days to come.
Eric Margolis, thanks for dropping by in person for a change.
MARGOLIS: Thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
