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CNN Sunday Morning

Bin Laden Not Believed to Have Nuclear Weapons

Aired November 11, 2001 - 09:03   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.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: Reaction continuing today to purported claims that Osama bin Laden and his al Qaeda soldiers have access to nuclear and chemical weapons.

CNN's Nic Robertson is in Islamabad this morning. He's been searching for clues on the truth of the matter of the claims -- Nic.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Martin, the first thing that we wanted to do at CNN was verify that this meeting, interview, had actually taken place. We met with Hamid Mir; and we asked to see photographs of his meeting that had appeared in the newspaper. We also asked to see the negatives of those photographs, showing him and Osama bin Laden.

Mir showed us those pictures. He said that they were taken just a few days ago in the interview. He also showed us visa stamps in his passport, authenticating, he said, that he had gone to Afghanistan at the time he said he was there for the interview a few days ago.

He also played for us part of the audiotape of his interview. Now on that tape, he said that the voice in Arabic that we could hear was that of Osama bin Laden's, and the translation back into English was that of Osama bin Laden's deputy, Ayman Al-Zawahiri.

Now, Mir says to get to this interview with Osama bin Laden, he was taken from Kabul on the night of the 7th of November. He said he was wrapped in a carpet, put on the back seat of a jeep and driven away from the city for about five hours. He said at times he was blindfolded.

And he believes he was taken to a mountain location north of Kabul, where he met with bin Laden and Al-Zawahiri. And there he said he put to him the question of whether or not Osama bin Laden had a nuclear capability. The answer he said, bin Laden stressing that he had capability, but that it was a deterrent.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HAMID MIR, PAKISTANI JOURNALIST: He was very brief. He said that if the United States of America is going to use chemical or nuclear weapons against us, then we reserve the right to respond back. And he used the word "deterrent." He said ,"we have that deterrent." And he said that we will not use these kind of weapons first. So these weapons are just for defense. (END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: Now Mir, who has interviewed bin Laden on two previous occasions, says that he doubts bin Laden has that nuclear capability. And that's certainly the view of analysts -- terrorism analysts who study Osama bin Laden. They say that in the past he has tried to get weapons-grade material, but they doubt that he's developed the capability to deliver it militarily.

However, they do say that there is evidence that he has tested chemical weapons and may also have some limited biological capability as well.

But Mir said the highlight for him from this interview was the fact that Osama bin Laden appeared to reverse earlier statements about targeting American citizens.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIR: He took a U-turn on the issue of the killing of Americans. Previously he was saying, or he was quoted in different interviews, that he said that "I'm against all the Americans." But this time he said "I'm not against all the American people, I am only against the American policies."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: Now, this is something that surprises analysts of bin Laden as well, because in the past he has only ratcheted-up his rhetoric targeting not only American civilians, but government and military officials as well. That was a statement in 1998 where bin Laden put American citizens on the same level, threatening to attack them as well.

Also, Mir said that he asked bin Laden whether or not he was responsible for the September the 11th attacks. Bin Laden said that he wasn't and that the United States did not have any evidence to prove that he was -- Martin.

SAVIDGE: CNN's Nic Robertson reporting to us from Islamabad, thanks very much.

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