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American Morning
Capture of Abd Al-Rahim Al-Nashiri
Aired November 22, 2002 - 08:03 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: Back to our big story of the morning, the capture of Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri. Could he have crucial information that could help U.S. intelligence officials break up al Qaeda or possibly lead investigators to Osama bin Laden?
We're going to get the very latest now from our State Department correspondent Andrea Koppel -- good morning, Andrea.
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Paula.
ZAHN: What do we know about his level of cooperation with U.S. investigators?
KOPPEL: Well, U.S. officials tell us that he is talking, he is cooperating and is giving them information without being specific to us, they're saying this. Now, if al-Nashiri is talking, he will have a lot of information to offer U.S. officials. He was a key operational planner for maritime activities, terrorist attacks in the Persian Gulf region. He actually, his area of coverage ranged all the way from the Strait of Gibraltar between Spain and Morocco, way over into Asia near Singapore and Malaysia near the Strait of Malacca.
So this is a guy who has a lot of real time information, which is among the reasons why investigators have been trying to keep his name secret for the last number of weeks since they captured him somewhere in the Persian Gulf region, hoping, Paula, that they can use the information that al-Nashiri would have about plots in the works to arrest not only other al Qaeda members, but to try to keep these plots from being carried out.
ZAHN: Do we know if any of the recent terrorist warnings that the whole world has had to confront has anything to do with what al- Nashiri has told interrogators?
KOPPEL: We just don't know. We do know that there was a worldwide alert that the State Department issued earlier this week and what they're telling us is that the main reason for that is the bin Laden tape that we all saw last week, knowing that he's out there and has made recent threats now against Western interests, and investigators have said that that's bin Laden's M.O., to put out these videotapes or audiotapes ahead of terrorist attacks.
Now, as for al-Nashiri, we do know that he is the chief of operations in the Persian Gulf, and while he is a native of Saudi Arabia, intelligence officials say he ran his operation out of Yemen. In the 1980s he was a Mujahedeen fighter in Afghanistan who fought with bin Laden and is also known to be an explosives expert whose handiwork, Paula, was seen in October of 2000. U.S. officials believe that he was one of the masterminds behind the Cole attack off the coast of Yemen, in which a 40 foot hole was blown in the side of the USS Cole, leading to the death of 17 American sailors -- Paula.
ZAHN: And we are just beginning to learn a little bit more about the intelligence that would suggest more maritime attacks are being planned, potentially in the Red Sea. Do any of your sources believe that al-Nashiri might have anything to do with those plans?
KOPPEL: If they do know, Paula, they are not saying at this stage. And you're absolutely right, this is some very troubling news that has come out just in the last day or so that government sources say that he, in fact, that intel reports over the past several weeks say that there could be possible maritime attacks in the Red Sea and, in fact, they say that it could involve flying airplanes into Western warships, Paula.
ZAHN: A final question for you. Do any of your sources believe al-Nashiri knows where Osama bin Laden is?
KOPPEL: Most say that, most experts, Paula, say that that would be highly unlikely that he would know, just because al Qaeda, the terrorist network, is a very compartmentalized one. And so chances are he wouldn't know.
ZAHN: Andrea Koppel, thanks for that live update.
Appreciate it.
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 November 22, 2002 - 08:03 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Back to our big story of the morning, the capture of Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri. Could he have crucial information that could help U.S. intelligence officials break up al Qaeda or possibly lead investigators to Osama bin Laden?
We're going to get the very latest now from our State Department correspondent Andrea Koppel -- good morning, Andrea.
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Paula.
ZAHN: What do we know about his level of cooperation with U.S. investigators?
KOPPEL: Well, U.S. officials tell us that he is talking, he is cooperating and is giving them information without being specific to us, they're saying this. Now, if al-Nashiri is talking, he will have a lot of information to offer U.S. officials. He was a key operational planner for maritime activities, terrorist attacks in the Persian Gulf region. He actually, his area of coverage ranged all the way from the Strait of Gibraltar between Spain and Morocco, way over into Asia near Singapore and Malaysia near the Strait of Malacca.
So this is a guy who has a lot of real time information, which is among the reasons why investigators have been trying to keep his name secret for the last number of weeks since they captured him somewhere in the Persian Gulf region, hoping, Paula, that they can use the information that al-Nashiri would have about plots in the works to arrest not only other al Qaeda members, but to try to keep these plots from being carried out.
ZAHN: Do we know if any of the recent terrorist warnings that the whole world has had to confront has anything to do with what al- Nashiri has told interrogators?
KOPPEL: We just don't know. We do know that there was a worldwide alert that the State Department issued earlier this week and what they're telling us is that the main reason for that is the bin Laden tape that we all saw last week, knowing that he's out there and has made recent threats now against Western interests, and investigators have said that that's bin Laden's M.O., to put out these videotapes or audiotapes ahead of terrorist attacks.
Now, as for al-Nashiri, we do know that he is the chief of operations in the Persian Gulf, and while he is a native of Saudi Arabia, intelligence officials say he ran his operation out of Yemen. In the 1980s he was a Mujahedeen fighter in Afghanistan who fought with bin Laden and is also known to be an explosives expert whose handiwork, Paula, was seen in October of 2000. U.S. officials believe that he was one of the masterminds behind the Cole attack off the coast of Yemen, in which a 40 foot hole was blown in the side of the USS Cole, leading to the death of 17 American sailors -- Paula.
ZAHN: And we are just beginning to learn a little bit more about the intelligence that would suggest more maritime attacks are being planned, potentially in the Red Sea. Do any of your sources believe that al-Nashiri might have anything to do with those plans?
KOPPEL: If they do know, Paula, they are not saying at this stage. And you're absolutely right, this is some very troubling news that has come out just in the last day or so that government sources say that he, in fact, that intel reports over the past several weeks say that there could be possible maritime attacks in the Red Sea and, in fact, they say that it could involve flying airplanes into Western warships, Paula.
ZAHN: A final question for you. Do any of your sources believe al-Nashiri knows where Osama bin Laden is?
KOPPEL: Most say that, most experts, Paula, say that that would be highly unlikely that he would know, just because al Qaeda, the terrorist network, is a very compartmentalized one. And so chances are he wouldn't know.
ZAHN: Andrea Koppel, thanks for that live update.
Appreciate it.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
