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CNN Saturday Morning News
Manhunt for bin Laden Problematized by His Intense Security
Aired October 20, 2001 - 08:31 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: He is one of the FBI's 10 most wanted fugitives.
CNN's Art Harris follows the hunt for Osama bin Laden.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ART HARRIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Osama bin Laden: Any manhunt would be a challenge to find him in a hostile country the size of Texas. Bin Laden is protected by the Taliban army and an army of security guards armed to the teeth.
PETER BERGEN, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: They're very paranoid about security.
HARRIS: Guards searched journalist Peter Bergen for tracking devices when he interviewed bin Laden in 1997.
BERGEN: They were clearly prepared to die for their leader, well motivated, battle hardened, familiar with the terrain.
HARRIS: After fighting the Soviets, bin Laden has had years to dig in an fortify hideouts, say federal agents. To run his network of terror undetected, bin Laden reportedly uses couriers, videotapes, no longer trackable satellite phones, even body doubles, and may have secret weapons.
BERGEN: The question is does he have some nasty surprises in store for us? And I think the short answer to that is I'm almost certain he goes.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There was an old poster out West, as I recall, that said "Wanted: Dead or Alive."
HARRIS: Inside Afghanistan, no rights have to be read. An executive order against political assassination has been waived to fight terror. That makes bin Laden fair game and Mullah Omar, considered commander of an enemy army. This is war. A military manhunt with different rules of engagement. Air strikes to soften things up and, officials say, U.S. ground troops trained to hunt and destroy the Taliban and al Qaeda, with U.S. commandos ready to chase fresh, confirmed leads.
GEN. DAVID GRANGE, U.S. ARMY (RET.): We're not going to waste our people unless we have a good target.
HARRIS: Once a target is found, experts say, special operations troops with vastly improved night vision gear skilled in the dark arts of war can be dispatched in an instant. While Retired General Dave Grange says even elusive leaders and criminals can be caught, what's equally effective is to kidnap, interrogate or kill.
GRANGE: Bin Laden's lieutenants and by taking them out it'll lead to bin Laden, if we don't get him first. You know, some of the al Qaeda's people and terrorist organizations have cracked before.
HARRIS: But military manhunts have failed. Somalia's warlord Mohamed Adid was alive after raids left 18 U.S. troops dead. They were elite commandos, surrounded and killed by ragtag militias trained by bin Laden's al Qaeda, says the FBI.
BERGEN: It was a complete and utter disaster. I think the situation in Afghanistan is going to be more complicated than it was in Mogadishu.
HARRIS: But constant pounding, says Grange, will keep the pressure on, make him vulnerable for payback.
GRANGE: He's going to have to sleep with one eye open, his boots on and constantly look over his shoulder. I mean you don't know when these guys are going to hit, day or night, air or ground.
HARRIS: The hunt for bin Laden will feature elite commandos trained to think and fight like a terrorist.
Art Harris, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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