Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Saturday Morning News
Man Suspected of Being Trained in al Qaeda Camp Arrested
Aired July 20, 2002 - 09:23 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: There's word of a new arrest in the war on terror, a man suspected of having been trained in al Qaeda camps in Afghanistan. "The Washington Post" is reporting Omar Shashani was allegedly carrying $12 million in fake cashier's checks when he arrived Wednesday in Detroit on a flight from Indonesia. Don't leave home without them, I guess.
Joining us for more details on this arrest and other homeland security issues, somebody we never leave home without, Mike Brooks, our security expert, homeland expert, law enforcement -- really, there's nothing he can't do.
Let's talk about this arrest. Do you get the sense that to the extent that there are al Qaeda operatives out there, are they sort of -- do we have a bead on pretty much everybody who's active right now? Do you -- I mean, that's a bit tough question.
MIKE BROOKS, CNN SECURITY ANALYST: It's a very tough question. Peter Bergen just a little while ago said that there might be one more planned attack, you know, already in the works before 9/11. Is there, is that a possibility? I don't know. But you get people like this coming in with so much money. Since 9/11, there's been $22.8 million that have been seized by the United States that they say was earmarked for terrorist activity and other criminal activity.
Now, you know, the amount of money this guy had, you know, is it significant? Yes, I think so. This is proactive. I think this is good, you know, you get the customs agents, you get U.S. State Department, FBI working proactively, I think that's what we've been looking for and that's what people have been asking for.
O'BRIEN: All right. Now, $22 million in this asymmetric world in which we live, where terrorism, after all, is cheap, I mean, the whole 9/11 attacks probably couldn't have cost a million, if even a half million, when you consider the cost of the flight schools, whatever the case may be...
BROOKS: Right, the planning, that kind of thing.
O'BRIEN: ... but $22 million is some real money for terrorists.
BROOKS: Yes. I think it's a good amount of money. You know, whether it be this kind of terrorism or narcoterrorism, it's still a lot of money. O'BRIEN: All right. Let's talk a little bit about the homeland security front, and subject of a lot of discussion this week is the TIPS program, institutionalizing what a lot of people would say is a nation of snitches.
Now, it seems to me that most good Americans, when they see suspicious activity, will report it, and there's no need to have this TIPS program, which just becomes a lightning rod for the ACLU and the like.
BROOKS: Well, it's basically, it's a nationwide Neighborhood Watch, if you will. You know, years ago we started the Neighborhood Watch programs and people riding around in cars during the daytime and nighttime looking for any kind of, you know, suspicious criminal activity.
This is -- we've also done the same kind of thing with cab drivers, given them CBs, you know, and set up programs with local law enforcement.
That's what I think this is. You know, I -- whether the initiative will actually work, I -- as you said, I think Americans right now, especially in this climate, if they see something that they think's out of the ordinary, they're going to let somebody know about it.
O'BRIEN: So maybe it doesn't need to be institutionalized as TIPS, and thus create a lot of criticism.
BROOKS: Well, I think maybe they can establish a TIPS program just to maybe jar someone's memory, hey, it's -- you know, remember to call in.
O'BRIEN: And don't let the mailman in in the meantime...
BROOKS: Exactly.
O'BRIEN: ... just in case.
All right. Now, let's talk -- we could universally agree that the most messed-up agency out of all of this is the INS. The incompetence of this agency is astounding to me, and only now which -- sort of coming to grips with the visa problem in this country.
BROOKS: I think they've been understaffed for years. You know, they were -- they would arrest people for being in the country illegally, and then they'd let them go and say, OK, well, show up on -- three months later for a hearing.
O'BRIEN: And imagine that, they're not there.
BROOKS: Well, and the other thing is, there wasn't enough jail space to put them in. You know, so that's -- I think we're dealing with a lot of different issues here on the corrections side and on the INS side. But, you know, we've got the visa waiver program with a number of other countries, European countries. But now, you know, it's coming out now that to Saudi Arabia, you know, they're going to as Visa Express, as they call it, who's into and a "Washington Times" article, talks about this Visa Express and that you're going to have to go in for an interview in the U.S. embassy to get a visa.
Well, that should have been done...
O'BRIEN: (UNINTELLIGIBLE), yes.
BROOKS: ... right after September 11, especially when you look at all the numbers of the terrorists involved in 9/11 that were Saudis.
O'BRIEN: It's just -- it's -- you get the sense at times that the government is not moving as quickly as it should in some areas.
BROOKS: Well, I think they're trying to play catchup. They're -- since 9/11, they're trying to be play catchup, they're trying to keep on top of things. And I think they're doing a better job than they used to. But there still can be, more can be done.
O'BRIEN: All right. It's a slow-moving, lumbering bureaucracy we're talking about.
Mike Brooks, our expert on matters relating to homeland security and law enforcement, thanks very much for being with us, as always.
BROOKS: Thank you, Miles.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
