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CNN Saturday Morning News

Bush Requested Daily Briefings on al Qaeda Last August

Aired May 18, 2002 - 09:38   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.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Here is a pair of questions, and I want to give you just a sense of how we're hearing from people who feel very strongly on both sides of this. Cheryl Baker in Ladoga, Indiana has this: "Anyone who keeps up on world events knew a very long time ago, way before President Bush came into office, that terror was a threat. We have been threatened while other countries were feeling it. Now it hits us in a very big way, and we want to blame Bush. Hogwash," says Cheryl.

But then Jay Kramer has this: "President Bush claims that he knew nothing of terrorist activity prior to 9-11. Does it not seem coincidental that he was on a one-month long vacation? I think he knew something big was going to happen, and was in hiding."

Kelly Wallace, you want to take that one? I think Jay believes in the Grassy Knoll theory as well.

KELLY WALLACE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, some conspiracy theorists out there. You know, what we do know is that the administration saying it was definitely concerned that there was a lot of, quote, "chatter" out there, a lot of concern that something big was up. Condoleezza Rice, the president's national security adviser, coming out here fielding the questions the other night, saying there was a lot of concern that something was up last summer. Most of the concern, though, focusing on threats overseas.

Now the president, the viewer is right, was definitely at his Crawford, Texas ranch in August. He had requested, really, to be briefed, get an up-to-date briefing on the threat posed by al Qaeda, in particular the threat posed in the United States. And it was during that briefing on August 6 when he was given this 1 1/2-page memo, and in that memo did include the possibility, again, no general -- or general information, nothing specific, about the possibility of a hijacking.

You know, Miles, the administration has been saying the president was so concerned about al Qaeda, that early last year he had his aides put together an action plan on ways to dismantle the al Qaeda network, that that plan was complete, that that report was actually sitting on Condoleezza Rice's desk, the president's national security adviser, on September 10, ready to go to the president. But of course then the attack happened on September 11.

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