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American Morning

Were Saudi Attacks Timed for Powell's Visit?

Aired May 13, 2003 - 09:04   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.


BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Our terrorism analyst, Peter Bergen, has studied al Qaeda for years. Peter is with us again this hour from D.C. as well. Peter, good morning. Welcome back. We talked about two hours ago. You believe it's al Qaeda, shows all the signs, anyway. If that is the case and that is the way it plays out, what does it say about the amount of control or lack thereof within Saudi Arabia directed against this group?
PETER BERGEN, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: Well, Bill, you heard from David about why it's likely to be al Qaeda, I would add one other thing. Obviously, it was a suicide attack and that is the hallmark of the U.S. embassy attacks in Africa. That was also the case in the "USS Cole" attack in Yemen. That was obviously the case in the 9/11 attacks.

What does this say about the situation in Saudi Arabia? Well, I think it says that al Qaeda is alive and well in Saudi Arabia. Prince Nayif, the interior minister sort of embarrassed himself last week, I think, by saying that al Qaeda is weak or nonexistent in Saudi Arabia.

This is al Qaeda's answer to that. Clearly, they are far from weak. They seem to be strong and rather organized. This was a complicated attack to pull off. Not as complicated as attacking a U.S. military target in Saudi Arabia, which would be very difficult at this point.

However, the scale of this attack, and as David was mentioning earlier, the discovery of the explosives -- there were 55 bombs that were discovered last week in this house in Riyadh. There were also machine guns, hundreds of pounds of explosives. This is a group that obviously is able to acquire these materials. A number of people obviously being hunted by the Saudi authorities. I think it all goes to a picture which is somewhat embarrassing for the Saudi authorities. They previously said they had the situation under control. Clearly not the case. Riyadh is, after all, the capital of the country. On the day that Secretary Powell -- or the day before Secretary Powell arrived for talks with Saudi officials, a terrible day in many respects.

HEMMER: Peter, there is a step in logic here that says this coincided with Colin Powell's visit. It may or it may not, and in reading some of your comments earlier today, you do not necessarily believe that to be the case, in part because of the complications you just described, correct?

BERGEN: Well, it's hard to tell. Secretary Powell's visit hasn't been on the books for such a long time. This attack would require a lot of coordination. However, it would obviously benefit them to do it at the same time as Powell's visit. So, I mean, you can sort play it either way. On the one hand, these attacks require a lot of coordination and planning, and that might militate against the argument that it was time for Powell's visit. On the other hand, if you are going to do this kind of attack, if you are going to kill yourself in a suicide operation, why not do it at a moment when you know there is going to be a lot of international coverage because of Powell's visit?

HEMMER: Peter Bergen, our terrorism analyst, taking us through it. We'll talk again, Peter, thanks. Live in D.C.

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 May 13, 2003 - 09:04   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Our terrorism analyst, Peter Bergen, has studied al Qaeda for years. Peter is with us again this hour from D.C. as well. Peter, good morning. Welcome back. We talked about two hours ago. You believe it's al Qaeda, shows all the signs, anyway. If that is the case and that is the way it plays out, what does it say about the amount of control or lack thereof within Saudi Arabia directed against this group?
PETER BERGEN, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: Well, Bill, you heard from David about why it's likely to be al Qaeda, I would add one other thing. Obviously, it was a suicide attack and that is the hallmark of the U.S. embassy attacks in Africa. That was also the case in the "USS Cole" attack in Yemen. That was obviously the case in the 9/11 attacks.

What does this say about the situation in Saudi Arabia? Well, I think it says that al Qaeda is alive and well in Saudi Arabia. Prince Nayif, the interior minister sort of embarrassed himself last week, I think, by saying that al Qaeda is weak or nonexistent in Saudi Arabia.

This is al Qaeda's answer to that. Clearly, they are far from weak. They seem to be strong and rather organized. This was a complicated attack to pull off. Not as complicated as attacking a U.S. military target in Saudi Arabia, which would be very difficult at this point.

However, the scale of this attack, and as David was mentioning earlier, the discovery of the explosives -- there were 55 bombs that were discovered last week in this house in Riyadh. There were also machine guns, hundreds of pounds of explosives. This is a group that obviously is able to acquire these materials. A number of people obviously being hunted by the Saudi authorities. I think it all goes to a picture which is somewhat embarrassing for the Saudi authorities. They previously said they had the situation under control. Clearly not the case. Riyadh is, after all, the capital of the country. On the day that Secretary Powell -- or the day before Secretary Powell arrived for talks with Saudi officials, a terrible day in many respects.

HEMMER: Peter, there is a step in logic here that says this coincided with Colin Powell's visit. It may or it may not, and in reading some of your comments earlier today, you do not necessarily believe that to be the case, in part because of the complications you just described, correct?

BERGEN: Well, it's hard to tell. Secretary Powell's visit hasn't been on the books for such a long time. This attack would require a lot of coordination. However, it would obviously benefit them to do it at the same time as Powell's visit. So, I mean, you can sort play it either way. On the one hand, these attacks require a lot of coordination and planning, and that might militate against the argument that it was time for Powell's visit. On the other hand, if you are going to do this kind of attack, if you are going to kill yourself in a suicide operation, why not do it at a moment when you know there is going to be a lot of international coverage because of Powell's visit?

HEMMER: Peter Bergen, our terrorism analyst, taking us through it. We'll talk again, Peter, thanks. Live in D.C.

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