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American Morning
U.S. Officials Will Analyze 'Bin Laden' Audiotape
Aired February 12, 2003 - 07:03 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: Now more on our top story this morning, analyzing the recording which U.S. officials believe is the voice of Osama bin Laden that was played yesterday on the Arab news network, Al Jazeera. It calls on all Muslims to support Iraq if it is attacked by the United States.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): It is no secret that this crusade targets the Muslims, whether the socialist party and Saddam stay or go, so those Muslims, especially in Iraq, have to prepare themselves for jihad.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZAHN: Mike Boettcher joins us now from London.
Good morning -- Mike. What can you tell us about the timing of this tape's release?
MIKE BOETTCHER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Paula, I think it was precipitated by the comments made by Colin Powell yesterday in testimony before Congress that there was a tape out there. And that he also read some of the transcript of the tape and said Al Jazeera had this.
Now, I just returned from the Middle East, where I was hanging around, talking to people for several days, and heard that there was a tape out there produced by Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda that was supposed to be released at the time that the war started. Obviously, the timetable was moved up if that is correct.
Now to the tape itself. It is billed as a message to the Iraqi people, not to Saddam Hussein, but to the Iraqi people themselves. And in it, Osama bin Laden tells them about the lessons learned in Afghanistan; that they should dig trenches and try to draw the U.S. troops and its coalition partners into urban warfare if there is a war in Iraq.
So, this was basically urging the Iraqis to go out there and launch jihad against Americans and their allies in case there is a war with Iraq.
Now, Paula, let's listen to one section of this tape in which he is very, very direct in urging Iraqis to launch suicide operations against American troops.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): You need to initiate a long war (UNINTELLIGIBLE), where the enemy will be subjected to heavy losses. We also emphasize the importance of martyrdom operations as has been the case in America and in Israel.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BOETTCHER: One interesting thing, although he speaks generally about the possible conflict with Iraq, there are no direct time references in this, like there were in the tape released in November of last year in which he talked about the attacks in Bali and the one against the French tanker off the coast of Yemen.
So, it's going to be hard to date exactly when he made this recording -- Paula.
ZAHN: Let's further analyze any reference he made to Saddam Hussein. I think it's important for us all to understand the reference made to him was made very late into the tape, and it was rather weak, wasn't it?
BOETTCHER: Yes, weak is putting it in a very nice way. He basically said if Saddam and the Baathists (ph), the party that Saddam heads in Iraq, if they disappear, then that's OK.
So, ironically, Paula, actually Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda and the United States do have the same goal, which is the elimination of Saddam Hussein, although they have different goals after that. Al Qaeda -- and I think that's one of the intentions of this tape, al Qaeda would like to see an Islamic state in Iraq sometime soon, and of course, the United States would like something very, very different.
And I think he was preaching to the Iraqis, trying to win them over to his side, because I think that bin Laden sees the handwriting on the wall that there is going to be a change there, and he wants to stake his claim on some support in Iraq as well.
ZAHN: You have spent a tremendous amount of time over the last year-and-a-half analyzing what we've heard from Osama bin Laden, and now this latest tape. Is there anything else that really leapt at you as you listened to the translation of this latest communication?
BOETTCHER: Well, I felt that his call to martyrdom by the Iraqi people was very interesting, because he was basically telling the Iraqis to do things that they actually did not do in Afghanistan. He went on and rambled for quite some time about the battle of Tora Bora, which they took heavy casualties and the U.S. took casualties as well. That was in November -- pardon me -- December, I believe, of 2001. And you know, he said that they should dig trenches and lure them into urban warfare.
Now, al Qaeda did dig trenches in Afghanistan, but they didn't fight in the cities there, and I think that leapt out at me that he was saying, we made some mistakes, although he didn't say that on the tape, but that's what he was saying. We made mistakes, you do what we didn't do, and you'll have success against the Americans.
ZAHN: Mike Boettcher, thanks for that update from London.
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 February 12, 2003 - 07:03 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Now more on our top story this morning, analyzing the recording which U.S. officials believe is the voice of Osama bin Laden that was played yesterday on the Arab news network, Al Jazeera. It calls on all Muslims to support Iraq if it is attacked by the United States.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): It is no secret that this crusade targets the Muslims, whether the socialist party and Saddam stay or go, so those Muslims, especially in Iraq, have to prepare themselves for jihad.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZAHN: Mike Boettcher joins us now from London.
Good morning -- Mike. What can you tell us about the timing of this tape's release?
MIKE BOETTCHER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Paula, I think it was precipitated by the comments made by Colin Powell yesterday in testimony before Congress that there was a tape out there. And that he also read some of the transcript of the tape and said Al Jazeera had this.
Now, I just returned from the Middle East, where I was hanging around, talking to people for several days, and heard that there was a tape out there produced by Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda that was supposed to be released at the time that the war started. Obviously, the timetable was moved up if that is correct.
Now to the tape itself. It is billed as a message to the Iraqi people, not to Saddam Hussein, but to the Iraqi people themselves. And in it, Osama bin Laden tells them about the lessons learned in Afghanistan; that they should dig trenches and try to draw the U.S. troops and its coalition partners into urban warfare if there is a war in Iraq.
So, this was basically urging the Iraqis to go out there and launch jihad against Americans and their allies in case there is a war with Iraq.
Now, Paula, let's listen to one section of this tape in which he is very, very direct in urging Iraqis to launch suicide operations against American troops.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): You need to initiate a long war (UNINTELLIGIBLE), where the enemy will be subjected to heavy losses. We also emphasize the importance of martyrdom operations as has been the case in America and in Israel.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BOETTCHER: One interesting thing, although he speaks generally about the possible conflict with Iraq, there are no direct time references in this, like there were in the tape released in November of last year in which he talked about the attacks in Bali and the one against the French tanker off the coast of Yemen.
So, it's going to be hard to date exactly when he made this recording -- Paula.
ZAHN: Let's further analyze any reference he made to Saddam Hussein. I think it's important for us all to understand the reference made to him was made very late into the tape, and it was rather weak, wasn't it?
BOETTCHER: Yes, weak is putting it in a very nice way. He basically said if Saddam and the Baathists (ph), the party that Saddam heads in Iraq, if they disappear, then that's OK.
So, ironically, Paula, actually Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda and the United States do have the same goal, which is the elimination of Saddam Hussein, although they have different goals after that. Al Qaeda -- and I think that's one of the intentions of this tape, al Qaeda would like to see an Islamic state in Iraq sometime soon, and of course, the United States would like something very, very different.
And I think he was preaching to the Iraqis, trying to win them over to his side, because I think that bin Laden sees the handwriting on the wall that there is going to be a change there, and he wants to stake his claim on some support in Iraq as well.
ZAHN: You have spent a tremendous amount of time over the last year-and-a-half analyzing what we've heard from Osama bin Laden, and now this latest tape. Is there anything else that really leapt at you as you listened to the translation of this latest communication?
BOETTCHER: Well, I felt that his call to martyrdom by the Iraqi people was very interesting, because he was basically telling the Iraqis to do things that they actually did not do in Afghanistan. He went on and rambled for quite some time about the battle of Tora Bora, which they took heavy casualties and the U.S. took casualties as well. That was in November -- pardon me -- December, I believe, of 2001. And you know, he said that they should dig trenches and lure them into urban warfare.
Now, al Qaeda did dig trenches in Afghanistan, but they didn't fight in the cities there, and I think that leapt out at me that he was saying, we made some mistakes, although he didn't say that on the tape, but that's what he was saying. We made mistakes, you do what we didn't do, and you'll have success against the Americans.
ZAHN: Mike Boettcher, thanks for that update from London.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
