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American Morning
White House Responding to Terror
Aired May 14, 2003 - 07:05 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.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: The crown prince of Saudi Arabia has strongly condemned Monday's terror attacks in Riyadh. The relationship between the U.S. and the kingdom has been strained since 9/11. Americans have been concerned that the Saudis have not done enough to fight terror, but yesterday's quick and powerful response may be helping the Saudis recover some political capital in Washington.
John King is live at the White House with more.
John -- good morning.
JOHN KING, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Fredricka.
President Bush will get the latest on the early stages of the investigation this hour, his daily intelligence briefing from the CIA director, George Tenet. The president himself saying he cannot say for certain that al Qaeda is responsible, but as David noted, other senior officials are saying they believe this attack has all of the fingerprints of Osama bin Laden's terrorist network.
You see the president returning to the White House here yesterday evening. He had been out in the Midwest promoting his economic plan; also touring some areas of the state of Missouri damaged by the recent tornados.
After that tour, Mr. Bush spoke to reporters, and he said, make no mistake about it, that the war on terrorism continues. The president said he believed al Qaeda had only been half destroyed, and he promised those responsible for these deadly bombings in Saudi Arabia would be brought to justice.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The people that killed the Americans and other innocent life will be tracked down and they will be brought to justice. It doesn't matter how long it takes. The war on terror goes on. And this incident in Saudi Arabia shows the country that we still have got a war to fight, and we will fight it and we will win it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: Now, Mr. Bush spoke late yesterday with Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah. U.S. officials in the past have said that they do not believe the Saudis have done enough to publicly acknowledge the extent of al Qaeda activity inside their country. U.S. officials, though, were very pleased with the strong condemnation delivered by Crown Prince Abdullah yesterday. He called the bombers "monsters." He said there was no way the attacks could be justified in Islam or through the Quran.
Crown Prince Abdullah, we are told, promising President Bush in that phone conversation a thorough investigation. In the past, there has been a great deal of skepticism here at the White House about the Saudi commitment to crack down on al Qaeda operatives and sympathizers within the country. White House officials hoping the strong statement from the crown prince in the wake of the bombing signals that this time the Saudis will not only fully cooperate with U.S. investigators, but work aggressively to root out al Qaeda within the Saudi borders -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right, John King from the White House, thank you very much.
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 14, 2003 - 07:05 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: The crown prince of Saudi Arabia has strongly condemned Monday's terror attacks in Riyadh. The relationship between the U.S. and the kingdom has been strained since 9/11. Americans have been concerned that the Saudis have not done enough to fight terror, but yesterday's quick and powerful response may be helping the Saudis recover some political capital in Washington.
John King is live at the White House with more.
John -- good morning.
JOHN KING, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Fredricka.
President Bush will get the latest on the early stages of the investigation this hour, his daily intelligence briefing from the CIA director, George Tenet. The president himself saying he cannot say for certain that al Qaeda is responsible, but as David noted, other senior officials are saying they believe this attack has all of the fingerprints of Osama bin Laden's terrorist network.
You see the president returning to the White House here yesterday evening. He had been out in the Midwest promoting his economic plan; also touring some areas of the state of Missouri damaged by the recent tornados.
After that tour, Mr. Bush spoke to reporters, and he said, make no mistake about it, that the war on terrorism continues. The president said he believed al Qaeda had only been half destroyed, and he promised those responsible for these deadly bombings in Saudi Arabia would be brought to justice.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The people that killed the Americans and other innocent life will be tracked down and they will be brought to justice. It doesn't matter how long it takes. The war on terror goes on. And this incident in Saudi Arabia shows the country that we still have got a war to fight, and we will fight it and we will win it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: Now, Mr. Bush spoke late yesterday with Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah. U.S. officials in the past have said that they do not believe the Saudis have done enough to publicly acknowledge the extent of al Qaeda activity inside their country. U.S. officials, though, were very pleased with the strong condemnation delivered by Crown Prince Abdullah yesterday. He called the bombers "monsters." He said there was no way the attacks could be justified in Islam or through the Quran.
Crown Prince Abdullah, we are told, promising President Bush in that phone conversation a thorough investigation. In the past, there has been a great deal of skepticism here at the White House about the Saudi commitment to crack down on al Qaeda operatives and sympathizers within the country. White House officials hoping the strong statement from the crown prince in the wake of the bombing signals that this time the Saudis will not only fully cooperate with U.S. investigators, but work aggressively to root out al Qaeda within the Saudi borders -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right, John King from the White House, thank you very much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
