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American Morning
Top Al Qaeda Operative Arrested
Aired August 15, 2003 - 08:10 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: Peter Brookes is back with us.
And, Peter, I just want to get your thoughts initially. What are you taking away from what you are seeing right now, not just in New York, but as we trickle back into Cleveland, Ohio, knowing that the power is still out there for so many millions of people?
PETER BROOKES, HERITAGE FOUNDATION: Bill, I'm here to talk about Indonesia and the arrest of Hambali this morning, which I think is a really good news story compared to what you're seeing in New York. And this is taking down this mastermind of Southeast Asia's terrorist organization. Jemaah Islamiyah is a really good news story for the war on terror.
HEMMER: When that story broke yesterday, did that surprise you that such a high-ranking member associated with al Qaeda, with the Marriott bombing in Jakarta, the Bali bombing in November of last year, that they would be able to apprehend the man that is considered so critical in the war on terror?
BROOKES: Well, that's very significant, Bill, because the fact is it turns out he was planning to undertake some sort of operation against APEC, which would happen in Bangkok in October. APEC is the Asian Pacific Economic Conference, and it is a meeting of all of the heads of state of Asian nations, which would include the president of the United States.
So, actually this arrest probably pre-empted a possible attack on the president of the United States, as well as other leaders, such as the president of China and the prime minister of Japan. So, this is really significant.
He's been involved in the Bali bombing. He was involved in the J.W. Marriott bombing. He was also involved in the attempted plot to attack American ships and sailors in Singapore in December, 2001. And in 1995, he was also the mastermind of an attempted plot to bomb eleven airliners over the Pacific out of the Philippines.
So, this is really good news, and he is an equivalent in Southeast Asia to Khalid Shaikh Mohammed (ph) in the Middle East.
HEMMER: What do you think that says about the cooperation level from the government of Indonesia and Jakarta right now, and how willing they are to crack down on that massive country of about 240 million people, well over 13,000 islands? It spreads all throughout Southeast Asia, and has been largely, many experts including yourself will say that could be a haven for terrorists to grow and prosper. BROOKES: Well, I think the arrests today in Indonesia of other suspects in the Marriott bombing are probably out of the interrogation of Hambali, who was actually arrested in Thailand. So, the cooperation with Thailand is tremendous. That's very important.
And hopefully -- and also, the head of Jemaah Islamiyah, basically Hambali's boss, Abu Bakar Bashir (ph), is on trial in Indonesia for treason. So, we've really done a tremendous amount in taking down Jemaah Islamiyah in Southeast Asia.
HEMMER: Peter, thanks for joining us on a day today that's a bit out of the norm here at CNN, but appreciate your thoughts.
BROOKES: I understand. Good luck, Bill.
HEMMER: Thank you, Peter. We'll talk again.
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 15, 2003 - 08:10 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Peter Brookes is back with us.
And, Peter, I just want to get your thoughts initially. What are you taking away from what you are seeing right now, not just in New York, but as we trickle back into Cleveland, Ohio, knowing that the power is still out there for so many millions of people?
PETER BROOKES, HERITAGE FOUNDATION: Bill, I'm here to talk about Indonesia and the arrest of Hambali this morning, which I think is a really good news story compared to what you're seeing in New York. And this is taking down this mastermind of Southeast Asia's terrorist organization. Jemaah Islamiyah is a really good news story for the war on terror.
HEMMER: When that story broke yesterday, did that surprise you that such a high-ranking member associated with al Qaeda, with the Marriott bombing in Jakarta, the Bali bombing in November of last year, that they would be able to apprehend the man that is considered so critical in the war on terror?
BROOKES: Well, that's very significant, Bill, because the fact is it turns out he was planning to undertake some sort of operation against APEC, which would happen in Bangkok in October. APEC is the Asian Pacific Economic Conference, and it is a meeting of all of the heads of state of Asian nations, which would include the president of the United States.
So, actually this arrest probably pre-empted a possible attack on the president of the United States, as well as other leaders, such as the president of China and the prime minister of Japan. So, this is really significant.
He's been involved in the Bali bombing. He was involved in the J.W. Marriott bombing. He was also involved in the attempted plot to attack American ships and sailors in Singapore in December, 2001. And in 1995, he was also the mastermind of an attempted plot to bomb eleven airliners over the Pacific out of the Philippines.
So, this is really good news, and he is an equivalent in Southeast Asia to Khalid Shaikh Mohammed (ph) in the Middle East.
HEMMER: What do you think that says about the cooperation level from the government of Indonesia and Jakarta right now, and how willing they are to crack down on that massive country of about 240 million people, well over 13,000 islands? It spreads all throughout Southeast Asia, and has been largely, many experts including yourself will say that could be a haven for terrorists to grow and prosper. BROOKES: Well, I think the arrests today in Indonesia of other suspects in the Marriott bombing are probably out of the interrogation of Hambali, who was actually arrested in Thailand. So, the cooperation with Thailand is tremendous. That's very important.
And hopefully -- and also, the head of Jemaah Islamiyah, basically Hambali's boss, Abu Bakar Bashir (ph), is on trial in Indonesia for treason. So, we've really done a tremendous amount in taking down Jemaah Islamiyah in Southeast Asia.
HEMMER: Peter, thanks for joining us on a day today that's a bit out of the norm here at CNN, but appreciate your thoughts.
BROOKES: I understand. Good luck, Bill.
HEMMER: Thank you, Peter. We'll talk again.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
