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CNN Sunday Morning

White House Reacts to Mohammed's Capture

Aired March 02, 2003 - 07:05   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.


HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: After the arrest, White House press secretary Ari Fleischer said it was hard to overstate how significant this is. For more from the White House now, we are joined by our Chris Burns. Good morning to you, Chris.
CHRIS BURNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi. Well, superlatives is truly the buzzword here, because it's arrest of Shaikh Mohammed is being greeted with all kinds of superlatives. President Bush spending the weekend at Camp David, having reportedly said it was fantastic news. The statement by the White House says, "The United States commends Pakistani and U.S. authorities on the completion of the successful joint operation, which resulted in the detection of -- the detention of several al Qaeda operatives, including Khalid Shaikh Mohammed." It goes on to say, "Khalid Shaikh Mohammed is one of Osama bin Laden's most senior and significant lieutenants, a key al Qaeda planner and a mastermind of the September 11 attacks."

Senior administration official saying that in terms of big fishes, this guy is a whale -- Heidi.

COLLINS: All right, Chris Burns, reporting to us live this morning. We appreciate it.

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 March 2, 2003 - 07:05   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: After the arrest, White House press secretary Ari Fleischer said it was hard to overstate how significant this is. For more from the White House now, we are joined by our Chris Burns. Good morning to you, Chris.
CHRIS BURNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi. Well, superlatives is truly the buzzword here, because it's arrest of Shaikh Mohammed is being greeted with all kinds of superlatives. President Bush spending the weekend at Camp David, having reportedly said it was fantastic news. The statement by the White House says, "The United States commends Pakistani and U.S. authorities on the completion of the successful joint operation, which resulted in the detection of -- the detention of several al Qaeda operatives, including Khalid Shaikh Mohammed." It goes on to say, "Khalid Shaikh Mohammed is one of Osama bin Laden's most senior and significant lieutenants, a key al Qaeda planner and a mastermind of the September 11 attacks."

Senior administration official saying that in terms of big fishes, this guy is a whale -- Heidi.

COLLINS: All right, Chris Burns, reporting to us live this morning. We appreciate it.

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