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American Morning

Tragic Anniversary

Aired October 23, 2003 - 09:15   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: So that was 1983. Now in 2003, Robert Baer investigated that bombing back in Beirut. He was a CIA field officer then. His latest book is called "Sleeping With the Devil: How Washington Sold Our Soul for Saudi Crude."
And Robert Baer is our guest now, halfway around the world, in Abu Dhabi.

And we welcome you here to AMERICAN MORNING back with us on this program.

If you look back to 1983, you recently wrote a piece in "The Washington Post" that indicates in your estimation that there were strong parallels with the U.N. bombing in Baghdad from several weeks ago. What parallels do you see?

ROBERT BAER, FMR. CIA FIELD OFFICER: Well, the main one is that I think that our adversaries there are trying to reproduce Beirut 1983 by launching attacks by car bombs, inflicting considerable damage. Our inability to arrest the people. They're hoping to break the will of Washington and leave.

HEMMER: Do you believe the U.S. military 20 years later is better prepared for these events? Like the U.N. bombing in Baghdad, reflecting back on what happened in Beirut?

BAER: Oh, absolutely. Today in Baghdad, you'll find these barriers around all our major facilities, which prevent car bombs. You know, these 20 years we've learned that our facilities are extremely vulnerable to suicide bombers. Until you put these cement barriers around them, we're going to always be at risk.

HEMMER: Some people believe right now Baghdad is a large barricaded city.

For those who believe it was a victory for terrorists back in Beirut 20 years ago, what lesson do you think the U.S. learned from that? Essentially six months after those attacks, the Marines were out of Lebanon.

BAER: Well, it was more than the Marines were just out. Marines redeployed off shore. They left quietly.

But what that happened after the Marine bombing was unchained a group that's now called Hezbollah, which proceeded to drive the Israelis out of Lebanon. This now has become a template for Islamic militants. They hope to do the same thing in Iraq. And then You've got to remember that this war in Lebanon was a clear-cut victory for Islamic fundamentalism, at least the militant version of it.

HEMMER: When you helped investigate that in Beirut, what images come to your mind that you remember most clearly?

BAER: Well, it was the destruction, what you can do to a Marine unit like this. We had hundreds of people killed in this. From their perspective, it was a brilliantly carried out operation. There were almost no traces. Twenty years later, we're not exactly sure who did that bombing. We believe that there were Iranians behind it, but we never got clear-cut evidence to go after these people.

HEMMER: So you think in the end, no one was fingered for that bombing exclusively?

BAER: No, no one was ever punished for that bombing. And you know, as I said before, this was a victory. The Israelis, the first time they'd ever been defeated on the field of battle, the first time the Americans had ever been defeated in the Middle East, a military victory. And so people are looking at this now and hoping to reproduce it in Iraq.

HEMMER: Robert Baer, thanks, former CIA field officer in Beirut, Lebanon, 20 years ago right about this time, from Abu Dhabi.

BAER: Thank you.

HEMMER: You got it. Thank you.

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 October 23, 2003 - 09:15   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: So that was 1983. Now in 2003, Robert Baer investigated that bombing back in Beirut. He was a CIA field officer then. His latest book is called "Sleeping With the Devil: How Washington Sold Our Soul for Saudi Crude."
And Robert Baer is our guest now, halfway around the world, in Abu Dhabi.

And we welcome you here to AMERICAN MORNING back with us on this program.

If you look back to 1983, you recently wrote a piece in "The Washington Post" that indicates in your estimation that there were strong parallels with the U.N. bombing in Baghdad from several weeks ago. What parallels do you see?

ROBERT BAER, FMR. CIA FIELD OFFICER: Well, the main one is that I think that our adversaries there are trying to reproduce Beirut 1983 by launching attacks by car bombs, inflicting considerable damage. Our inability to arrest the people. They're hoping to break the will of Washington and leave.

HEMMER: Do you believe the U.S. military 20 years later is better prepared for these events? Like the U.N. bombing in Baghdad, reflecting back on what happened in Beirut?

BAER: Oh, absolutely. Today in Baghdad, you'll find these barriers around all our major facilities, which prevent car bombs. You know, these 20 years we've learned that our facilities are extremely vulnerable to suicide bombers. Until you put these cement barriers around them, we're going to always be at risk.

HEMMER: Some people believe right now Baghdad is a large barricaded city.

For those who believe it was a victory for terrorists back in Beirut 20 years ago, what lesson do you think the U.S. learned from that? Essentially six months after those attacks, the Marines were out of Lebanon.

BAER: Well, it was more than the Marines were just out. Marines redeployed off shore. They left quietly.

But what that happened after the Marine bombing was unchained a group that's now called Hezbollah, which proceeded to drive the Israelis out of Lebanon. This now has become a template for Islamic militants. They hope to do the same thing in Iraq. And then You've got to remember that this war in Lebanon was a clear-cut victory for Islamic fundamentalism, at least the militant version of it.

HEMMER: When you helped investigate that in Beirut, what images come to your mind that you remember most clearly?

BAER: Well, it was the destruction, what you can do to a Marine unit like this. We had hundreds of people killed in this. From their perspective, it was a brilliantly carried out operation. There were almost no traces. Twenty years later, we're not exactly sure who did that bombing. We believe that there were Iranians behind it, but we never got clear-cut evidence to go after these people.

HEMMER: So you think in the end, no one was fingered for that bombing exclusively?

BAER: No, no one was ever punished for that bombing. And you know, as I said before, this was a victory. The Israelis, the first time they'd ever been defeated on the field of battle, the first time the Americans had ever been defeated in the Middle East, a military victory. And so people are looking at this now and hoping to reproduce it in Iraq.

HEMMER: Robert Baer, thanks, former CIA field officer in Beirut, Lebanon, 20 years ago right about this time, from Abu Dhabi.

BAER: Thank you.

HEMMER: You got it. Thank you.

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