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CNN Sunday Morning

Was Explosion Aboard French Tanker Act of Terrorism?

Aired October 06, 2002 - 11:01   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: We begin now with today's explosion aboard a French tanker in the waters off Yemen. The incident happened just off a port in the Arabian Sea 342 miles east of Aiden (ph). The tanker was carrying almost 400,000 barrels of oil and 25 crew members. The French officials say the crew reported seeing a small boat near the giant tanker just before the blast. And a French embassy official in Yemen calls the blast "a copy of the attack on the USS Cole" two years ago this month, but U.S. officials say so far they have no information to support that theory as yet.
French President Jacques Chirac is said to be following the situation in Yemen very closely, and for the latest from Paris, we check in with CNN's Jim Bittermann. Hello, Jim.

JIM BITTERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Fredricka. Well, the very latest is that the owner of the Limburg says that he is convinced that it was terrorism that caused the explosion aboard his ship. He said his ship was only two years old and not the kind of thing that would contribute to any kind of accidental detonation that would have caused the Limburg to explode.

The French government, however, saying officially that it's still too early to tell whether this was an act of terrorism or an accidental explosion aboard the ship, that after a day in which French military sources and French diplomats said it had all the appearances of a terrorist attack, the same kind of attack that took place just a few hundred miles away two years ago against the USS Cole that left 17 American Navy men dead.

Whether or not it was a terrorist attack remains to be seen, it's something investigators will start looking at right now. All but one of the crewmen have been rescued; the captain has been accounted for. So there will be some people who can contribute to telling the story.

Everybody seems to agree on the basic outlines. The Limburg was approaching the coast, headed for port, 400,000 barrels of oil when a small boat approached, and the ship suddenly exploded.

Now, the conspiracy theorists say the small boat was carrying explosives in a copycat attack similar to the USS Cole. However, the Yemeni government says that it was simply a pilot boat that was carrying a pilot who was going to take the tanker safely into port. So, in fact, two different versions of the same facts. It will probably be some time before there's any kind of investigation that determines the real cause, but now Yemeni officials are dealing with their most immediate problem, and that is a huge oil slick which is being blown toward the Yemeni shore -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Now, Jim, you said all but one has been rescued. What kind of condition do we think the other crew members on board are in?

BITTERMANN: Well, we heard that there's some conflicting reports. We heard there were about 17 crewmen that have been taken to the hospital. Eight of the crewmen are French and the remaining 17 are Bulgarian. It is unclear who is in the hospital, and who's been saved and whatnot, but the captain has been saved, according to reports that we've heard here.

Most of the crew, 24 of the 25 crew have been accounted for. So they should be able to get some pretty good information off the crewmen as soon as they're able to talk to them -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And Jim, you mentioned this pilot boat would have been one that would take the tanker in. Is that something that would ordinarily take place, and perhaps from the beginning it didn't seem like that would be unusual?

BITTERMANN: It would be absolutely normal, especially in any kind of tricky waters. Pilot boats come out to these supertankers and take over for the captain. They basically sail the supertanker the last few miles into port, because they know the local waters and they can sail the supertankers and other kind of ships into port without having any kind of problems. So it would be absolutely normal.

However, it is the Yemeni government that describes it as a pilot boat. Other sources say it was more like a fishing boat, or maybe even a smaller boat than that, suggesting the kind of boat that was used in the attack against the USS Cole -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Jim Bittermann, from Paris, thank you very much. Of course, we're going to be talking more about this very topic.

On to Washington now, where CNN security analyst Kelly McCann is keeping a close watch on this story. And Kelly, you just heard from Jim. While the Yemeni government says that they believe it was a pilot boat, others describe it as perhaps a fishing boat. It is normal for a pilot boat, as Jim explained, to lead in a tanker as it was heading into port to fill up for more -- more oil, but perhaps might it also be a case of a wandering boat that would accidentally get in the wake of a tanker and potentially cause an accident like this?

KELLY MCCANN, CNN SECURITY ANALYST: As with all stories, Fredricka, as we learn more, of course, we're going to vector kind of the interest, and just the fact that that may have been identified as a pilot ship now starts to vector us a direction.

For example, that is totally normal that that would happen. It would go to the report of others who said that it was a smaller vehicle, and were those others, those people that reported that, were they people who would have reasonable knowledge about what a pilot ship looks like? And what are they making their determination on, whether it was or was not a fishing vessel or whether it was or was not smaller in size?

So, still, the facts are so sketchy, it could be any number of things. Certainly when you get close to a ship that large that displaces that much water, there is a significant threat of being sucked into the wake, and that's why there's maritime laws preventing that, other than pilots and tugs. So as we start to watch this closer even yet, we're going to get more information. Critical is the eyewitness accounts of the crew members and what they can let us know.

WHITFIELD: Now, this took place about six miles or so off the coast. There are some eerily similar factors in this case just as in two years ago involving the USS Cole. What are the similarities that you see that raise the red flag for you?

MCCANN: What more raises the red flag for me are the dissimilarities. It's not a military target, number one. Number two, it is, you know, the Cole was time and place predictable through the port in order to set up the kind of service that needed to go on. Now, whether this is a regularly scheduled oil pick-up point, whether that was actually determined by anybody yet, it had an itinerary, that's key. So I have a tendency more to look more at the dissimilarities than the similarities.

National attack against the U.S. makes sense. Does a national attack against a French asset make sense? Probably not as much. What would be the value of that target at five miles out to sea? Letting loose oil doesn't spoil the port, it doesn't even really decrease shipping lines. So there are more dissimilarities, I think, than similarities.

WHITFIELD: So does that mean you're leaning more toward this is some kind of weird freak accident and not perhaps an intentional attack?

MCCANN: I'm standing erect right now. I'm not leaning either way, because we don't know enough information yet to determine exactly -- a couple of key elements could sway us one way or the other, so we're just looking at it critically.

WHITFIELD: Kelly McCann, thank you very much, I appreciate it.

MCCANN: You bet, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: The Bush administration is keeping a close watch on this developing story as well in Yemen, and we turn now to CNN White House correspondent Kelly Wallace, and what is the president saying, if anything, at this point, Kelly?

KELLY WALLACE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, so far no reaction from the White House to that French tanker explosion. A senior White House official saying the administration is still gathering the facts, but U.S. military officials telling our colleague Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr that right now their information is not pointing at terrorism, but at an electrical fire that could have sparked that explosion.

Now, as for President Bush, he's continuing to focus on Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. He is wrapping up a getaway weekend up at Kennebunkport, Maine, spending some time with his father, the former president, who also dealt with Saddam Hussein more than a decade ago.

Now, the current president will be delivering a speech before the American people Monday evening. This is part of his PR strategy to put pressure on lawmakers to vote on a resolution this week giving him the authority to use military force, if necessary, against Saddam Hussein.

The Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle saying today he hopes that lawmakers narrow the president's authority solely to use it to deal with Saddam Hussein's chemical, biological and nuclear weapons programs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TOM DASCHLE (D-SD), MAJORITY LEADER: The biggest concern we have is just what the specific effort would be directed toward in terms of the -- of our purpose in using force itself. We want to tie it as directly as we can to the question of weapons of mass destruction. The resolution as it's currently drafted cites the 16 U.N. resolutions. Among those 16 resolutions is the return of prisoners from Bahrain -- to Bahrain and the return of property to the Kuwaiti royals. I think those are questionable reasons for the use of force.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALLACE: And this past week we saw the administration indicate it would not be upset if Saddam Hussein was sent into exile or assassinated by his own people.

Now "The Washington Post" is reporting that senior intelligence officials believe that Saddam Hussein's inner circle could go ahead and oust him from power if faced with an imminent ground invasion by U.S. forces. And Senate Republican leader Trent Lott saying that is a definite possibility.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TRENT LOTT (R-MS), MINORITY LEADER: As the administration looks at a number of different scenarios and as we are briefed by intelligence sources, there are a lot of possibilities. And, of course, we're hoping that the people in Iraq will rise up and there will be a regime change on their own. So there is a possibility that Saddam Hussein would have to leave, or there'd be some sort of a coup attempt. We don't know that, we can't count on that, but it's one of the options that certainly would have to be considered.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALLACE: But the president's critics say if there is a military invasion, Saddam Hussein could go ahead and do what the president is trying to prevent, and that is use chemical and biological weapons. The debate will fully get under way this week. Votes could be possible in the House and in the Senate before the week is out. Fredricka, back to you.

WHITFIELD: And before their recess begins on the 11th. Thanks very much, Kelly Wallace, from the White House.

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 6, 2002 - 11:01   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: We begin now with today's explosion aboard a French tanker in the waters off Yemen. The incident happened just off a port in the Arabian Sea 342 miles east of Aiden (ph). The tanker was carrying almost 400,000 barrels of oil and 25 crew members. The French officials say the crew reported seeing a small boat near the giant tanker just before the blast. And a French embassy official in Yemen calls the blast "a copy of the attack on the USS Cole" two years ago this month, but U.S. officials say so far they have no information to support that theory as yet.
French President Jacques Chirac is said to be following the situation in Yemen very closely, and for the latest from Paris, we check in with CNN's Jim Bittermann. Hello, Jim.

JIM BITTERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Fredricka. Well, the very latest is that the owner of the Limburg says that he is convinced that it was terrorism that caused the explosion aboard his ship. He said his ship was only two years old and not the kind of thing that would contribute to any kind of accidental detonation that would have caused the Limburg to explode.

The French government, however, saying officially that it's still too early to tell whether this was an act of terrorism or an accidental explosion aboard the ship, that after a day in which French military sources and French diplomats said it had all the appearances of a terrorist attack, the same kind of attack that took place just a few hundred miles away two years ago against the USS Cole that left 17 American Navy men dead.

Whether or not it was a terrorist attack remains to be seen, it's something investigators will start looking at right now. All but one of the crewmen have been rescued; the captain has been accounted for. So there will be some people who can contribute to telling the story.

Everybody seems to agree on the basic outlines. The Limburg was approaching the coast, headed for port, 400,000 barrels of oil when a small boat approached, and the ship suddenly exploded.

Now, the conspiracy theorists say the small boat was carrying explosives in a copycat attack similar to the USS Cole. However, the Yemeni government says that it was simply a pilot boat that was carrying a pilot who was going to take the tanker safely into port. So, in fact, two different versions of the same facts. It will probably be some time before there's any kind of investigation that determines the real cause, but now Yemeni officials are dealing with their most immediate problem, and that is a huge oil slick which is being blown toward the Yemeni shore -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Now, Jim, you said all but one has been rescued. What kind of condition do we think the other crew members on board are in?

BITTERMANN: Well, we heard that there's some conflicting reports. We heard there were about 17 crewmen that have been taken to the hospital. Eight of the crewmen are French and the remaining 17 are Bulgarian. It is unclear who is in the hospital, and who's been saved and whatnot, but the captain has been saved, according to reports that we've heard here.

Most of the crew, 24 of the 25 crew have been accounted for. So they should be able to get some pretty good information off the crewmen as soon as they're able to talk to them -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And Jim, you mentioned this pilot boat would have been one that would take the tanker in. Is that something that would ordinarily take place, and perhaps from the beginning it didn't seem like that would be unusual?

BITTERMANN: It would be absolutely normal, especially in any kind of tricky waters. Pilot boats come out to these supertankers and take over for the captain. They basically sail the supertanker the last few miles into port, because they know the local waters and they can sail the supertankers and other kind of ships into port without having any kind of problems. So it would be absolutely normal.

However, it is the Yemeni government that describes it as a pilot boat. Other sources say it was more like a fishing boat, or maybe even a smaller boat than that, suggesting the kind of boat that was used in the attack against the USS Cole -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Jim Bittermann, from Paris, thank you very much. Of course, we're going to be talking more about this very topic.

On to Washington now, where CNN security analyst Kelly McCann is keeping a close watch on this story. And Kelly, you just heard from Jim. While the Yemeni government says that they believe it was a pilot boat, others describe it as perhaps a fishing boat. It is normal for a pilot boat, as Jim explained, to lead in a tanker as it was heading into port to fill up for more -- more oil, but perhaps might it also be a case of a wandering boat that would accidentally get in the wake of a tanker and potentially cause an accident like this?

KELLY MCCANN, CNN SECURITY ANALYST: As with all stories, Fredricka, as we learn more, of course, we're going to vector kind of the interest, and just the fact that that may have been identified as a pilot ship now starts to vector us a direction.

For example, that is totally normal that that would happen. It would go to the report of others who said that it was a smaller vehicle, and were those others, those people that reported that, were they people who would have reasonable knowledge about what a pilot ship looks like? And what are they making their determination on, whether it was or was not a fishing vessel or whether it was or was not smaller in size?

So, still, the facts are so sketchy, it could be any number of things. Certainly when you get close to a ship that large that displaces that much water, there is a significant threat of being sucked into the wake, and that's why there's maritime laws preventing that, other than pilots and tugs. So as we start to watch this closer even yet, we're going to get more information. Critical is the eyewitness accounts of the crew members and what they can let us know.

WHITFIELD: Now, this took place about six miles or so off the coast. There are some eerily similar factors in this case just as in two years ago involving the USS Cole. What are the similarities that you see that raise the red flag for you?

MCCANN: What more raises the red flag for me are the dissimilarities. It's not a military target, number one. Number two, it is, you know, the Cole was time and place predictable through the port in order to set up the kind of service that needed to go on. Now, whether this is a regularly scheduled oil pick-up point, whether that was actually determined by anybody yet, it had an itinerary, that's key. So I have a tendency more to look more at the dissimilarities than the similarities.

National attack against the U.S. makes sense. Does a national attack against a French asset make sense? Probably not as much. What would be the value of that target at five miles out to sea? Letting loose oil doesn't spoil the port, it doesn't even really decrease shipping lines. So there are more dissimilarities, I think, than similarities.

WHITFIELD: So does that mean you're leaning more toward this is some kind of weird freak accident and not perhaps an intentional attack?

MCCANN: I'm standing erect right now. I'm not leaning either way, because we don't know enough information yet to determine exactly -- a couple of key elements could sway us one way or the other, so we're just looking at it critically.

WHITFIELD: Kelly McCann, thank you very much, I appreciate it.

MCCANN: You bet, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: The Bush administration is keeping a close watch on this developing story as well in Yemen, and we turn now to CNN White House correspondent Kelly Wallace, and what is the president saying, if anything, at this point, Kelly?

KELLY WALLACE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, so far no reaction from the White House to that French tanker explosion. A senior White House official saying the administration is still gathering the facts, but U.S. military officials telling our colleague Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr that right now their information is not pointing at terrorism, but at an electrical fire that could have sparked that explosion.

Now, as for President Bush, he's continuing to focus on Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. He is wrapping up a getaway weekend up at Kennebunkport, Maine, spending some time with his father, the former president, who also dealt with Saddam Hussein more than a decade ago.

Now, the current president will be delivering a speech before the American people Monday evening. This is part of his PR strategy to put pressure on lawmakers to vote on a resolution this week giving him the authority to use military force, if necessary, against Saddam Hussein.

The Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle saying today he hopes that lawmakers narrow the president's authority solely to use it to deal with Saddam Hussein's chemical, biological and nuclear weapons programs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TOM DASCHLE (D-SD), MAJORITY LEADER: The biggest concern we have is just what the specific effort would be directed toward in terms of the -- of our purpose in using force itself. We want to tie it as directly as we can to the question of weapons of mass destruction. The resolution as it's currently drafted cites the 16 U.N. resolutions. Among those 16 resolutions is the return of prisoners from Bahrain -- to Bahrain and the return of property to the Kuwaiti royals. I think those are questionable reasons for the use of force.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALLACE: And this past week we saw the administration indicate it would not be upset if Saddam Hussein was sent into exile or assassinated by his own people.

Now "The Washington Post" is reporting that senior intelligence officials believe that Saddam Hussein's inner circle could go ahead and oust him from power if faced with an imminent ground invasion by U.S. forces. And Senate Republican leader Trent Lott saying that is a definite possibility.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TRENT LOTT (R-MS), MINORITY LEADER: As the administration looks at a number of different scenarios and as we are briefed by intelligence sources, there are a lot of possibilities. And, of course, we're hoping that the people in Iraq will rise up and there will be a regime change on their own. So there is a possibility that Saddam Hussein would have to leave, or there'd be some sort of a coup attempt. We don't know that, we can't count on that, but it's one of the options that certainly would have to be considered.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALLACE: But the president's critics say if there is a military invasion, Saddam Hussein could go ahead and do what the president is trying to prevent, and that is use chemical and biological weapons. The debate will fully get under way this week. Votes could be possible in the House and in the Senate before the week is out. Fredricka, back to you.

WHITFIELD: And before their recess begins on the 11th. Thanks very much, Kelly Wallace, from the White House.

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