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American Morning
Interview With Eric Margolis, Terrorism Expert
Aired August 04, 2003 - 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.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to talk some more now about this threat coming from al Qaeda and this just-released audiotape that John was just talking about here.
Terrorism analyst Eric Margolis is author of "War at the Top of the World," and he joins us this morning from Toronto.
Good to see you again, Eric.
First off, do you believe this tape is coming from Ayman al- Zawahiri?
ERIC MARGOLIS, TERRORISM ANALYST: (AUDIO GAP) consistent with what Dr. Zawahiri, the right-hand man of bin Laden, has been saying up to now. We last heard from him in May. He made similar threats against the American allies. Now, he is focusing in on the United States.
HARRIS: Now, some have said, though, that these threats that he is mentioning on this tape were rather vague. How serious and how, I guess, specific do you really think they are?
MARGOLIS: Well, they were certainly vague, and certainly there is an element of boastfulness in them. He said, you know, what you've seen so far, oh, America is only skirmishing, and you're really going to get the big one now in punishment for the acts you've done recently, which I assume is the invasion of Iraq. So, it was a threat and it was a threat directed also to America's allies, who have been cooperating with the United States, particularly America's Arab allies, in the war against al Qaeda.
So, it's a broad-based threat, and it's a reminder to the faithful who are supporting al Qaeda that the organization is still alive.
HARRIS: And, in fact -- as a matter of fact, I want to read some of the words that were mentioned on that tape. It says: "Those who are allies or helping America will pay the same price. Those who are handing over our brothers will pay the same price."
Does that mean that perhaps in this case Iran could be facing a threat from al Qaeda? Because Iran, rather, is holding some senior al Qaeda members right now, although they have not turned them over to U.S. authorities.
MARGOLIS: Well, that's a good question. Iran has arrested quite a few al Qaeda leaders, including some senior ones, like Sayeed Faladel (ph), and has been holding them for probably a month. And, yes, Iran could then become a target of al Qaeda, just the way Morocco and Egypt were recently. It's a question that nobody knows, but it shows that there is quite bad blood between Iran and al Qaeda, and claims that the two of them are hand-in-glove really do not seem reliable.
HARRIS: Very interesting. Let's talk about what Homeland Security Chief Tom Ridge said yesterday. I want to play a piece of tape of what he had -- some comments that he made yesterday talking on the weekend talk shows.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOM RIDGE, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: Frankly, it's not news that al Qaeda is targeting the United States and our interests. We're quite aware of that, and I think you should just take it there for what it is. And without knowing who the source is, there's really not even -- even if we did know, I don't think it rises to anything we should be concerned about anymore than we are now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: I should say that was Secretary Ridge after his appearance on the talk shows yesterday. But he says that there really is not any extra concern right now about an attack by al Qaeda here. Do you agree with that?
MARGOLIS: I think we should be concerned. Al Qaeda has not attacked the United States since September 11. It needs to stage a major attack to revive its fortunes. You know, it's really a public relations operation as much as a violent group. It needs to reestablish its credentials. So far, it's concentrated on American allies rather than on the American homeland, which is very well protected now, or there may be an attack on American interests abroad, which is much more likely.
HARRIS: Eric Margolis joining us this morning from Toronto. Good to see you, as always. Take care, and we'll talk to you soon.
MARGOLIS: You're welcome.
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 August 4, 2003 - 07:06 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to talk some more now about this threat coming from al Qaeda and this just-released audiotape that John was just talking about here.
Terrorism analyst Eric Margolis is author of "War at the Top of the World," and he joins us this morning from Toronto.
Good to see you again, Eric.
First off, do you believe this tape is coming from Ayman al- Zawahiri?
ERIC MARGOLIS, TERRORISM ANALYST: (AUDIO GAP) consistent with what Dr. Zawahiri, the right-hand man of bin Laden, has been saying up to now. We last heard from him in May. He made similar threats against the American allies. Now, he is focusing in on the United States.
HARRIS: Now, some have said, though, that these threats that he is mentioning on this tape were rather vague. How serious and how, I guess, specific do you really think they are?
MARGOLIS: Well, they were certainly vague, and certainly there is an element of boastfulness in them. He said, you know, what you've seen so far, oh, America is only skirmishing, and you're really going to get the big one now in punishment for the acts you've done recently, which I assume is the invasion of Iraq. So, it was a threat and it was a threat directed also to America's allies, who have been cooperating with the United States, particularly America's Arab allies, in the war against al Qaeda.
So, it's a broad-based threat, and it's a reminder to the faithful who are supporting al Qaeda that the organization is still alive.
HARRIS: And, in fact -- as a matter of fact, I want to read some of the words that were mentioned on that tape. It says: "Those who are allies or helping America will pay the same price. Those who are handing over our brothers will pay the same price."
Does that mean that perhaps in this case Iran could be facing a threat from al Qaeda? Because Iran, rather, is holding some senior al Qaeda members right now, although they have not turned them over to U.S. authorities.
MARGOLIS: Well, that's a good question. Iran has arrested quite a few al Qaeda leaders, including some senior ones, like Sayeed Faladel (ph), and has been holding them for probably a month. And, yes, Iran could then become a target of al Qaeda, just the way Morocco and Egypt were recently. It's a question that nobody knows, but it shows that there is quite bad blood between Iran and al Qaeda, and claims that the two of them are hand-in-glove really do not seem reliable.
HARRIS: Very interesting. Let's talk about what Homeland Security Chief Tom Ridge said yesterday. I want to play a piece of tape of what he had -- some comments that he made yesterday talking on the weekend talk shows.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOM RIDGE, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: Frankly, it's not news that al Qaeda is targeting the United States and our interests. We're quite aware of that, and I think you should just take it there for what it is. And without knowing who the source is, there's really not even -- even if we did know, I don't think it rises to anything we should be concerned about anymore than we are now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: I should say that was Secretary Ridge after his appearance on the talk shows yesterday. But he says that there really is not any extra concern right now about an attack by al Qaeda here. Do you agree with that?
MARGOLIS: I think we should be concerned. Al Qaeda has not attacked the United States since September 11. It needs to stage a major attack to revive its fortunes. You know, it's really a public relations operation as much as a violent group. It needs to reestablish its credentials. So far, it's concentrated on American allies rather than on the American homeland, which is very well protected now, or there may be an attack on American interests abroad, which is much more likely.
HARRIS: Eric Margolis joining us this morning from Toronto. Good to see you, as always. Take care, and we'll talk to you soon.
MARGOLIS: You're welcome.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
