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CNN Saturday Morning News

Analysis of al Qaeda's Recent Attacks

Aired May 17, 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.


ROBIN MEADE, CNN ANCHOR: Well, Morocco is a deadly postscript to a harrowing week. No one has claimed responsibility for the blast in Casablanca, as Anderson said. But U.S. intelligence officials say that there are some indications that al Qaeda may be planning more terrorist attacks, and possibly very soon.
Joining us now from Washington is CNN terrorism analyst Peter Bergen. Peter, thanks so much for being with us today.

So nobody's claimed responsibility, as we said. Is it too early to point the finger at al Qaeda?

PETER BERGEN, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: Well, I mean, there's a limited group of other fingers -- I mean, there's a limited number of groups you could point a finger at, and al Qaeda has a tendency to do coordinated attacks like this. We saw that in Saudi Arabia earlier this week, on Monday.

It would be very surprising if it's not al Qaeda. There was an al Qaeda in Morocco last year that was planning to attack U.S. and British navy ships in the Straits of Gibraltar. That cell was broken up. And it seems to me -- we're seeing the pictures here of Riyadh again, coordinated suicide attacks -- these attacks in Morocco directed against a combination of Western and Jewish targets seem to have the hallmarks of al Qaeda.

Al Qaeda attacked a synagogue in Tunisia last year in April. It would not be surprising if they wanted to attack other Jewish targets. They also attacked an Israeli-owned hotel in Kenya and an Israeli charter jet, they tried to bring it down with an RPG in Kenya last year...

Go ahead, Robin.

MEADE: You know, but in this case, though, it appears that right now, anyway, most of the victims were Moroccans. So what do you make of that?

BERGEN: Well, I mean, this is al Qaeda shooting itself in the foot, in a sense. I mean, seven of the victims in the attacks in Riyadh were Saudi. Al Qaeda is not a group that really cares very much about who the victims are at the end of the day. The '98 embassy bombings in Kenya killed 200 Kenyans as well as 12 Americans.

So this is not a group that really has many scruples about killing people who are bystanders. So, I mean, they're just trying to go after as -- get as many body bags as possible. And they regard, you know -- these kinds of attacks they'll regard as a success even though it appears right now that many of the actual victims are Moroccan.

MEADE: You know, is al Qaeda -- if it is working on multiple attacks that come close together, if that is the case, does it appear to be some type of new tactic by the group?

BERGEN: Well, I mean, last October and November, we saw a lot of attacks all sort of spaced together that were al Qaeda-related, an attack on a disco in Indonesia that killed almost 200 people, an attack on a tanker in Yemen that crippled it, also an attack on an Israeli-owned hotel in Mobasa, Kenya, and an attempt to bring down an Israeli jet.

MEADE: You know...

BERGEN: I think right now, we're seeing the same kind of thing. I mean, and I think this has been a concern for a lot of people who've been looking at al Qaeda. So they'll do a lot of these coordinated attacks.

What we're seeing today in Morocco, or last night in Morocco, is not the end of this necessarily, Robin. I think there might be other attacks in the next week or so around the world.

MEADE: You know, would these things, if it is the work of al Qaeda, be directed by Osama bin Laden? Or does it look like it could be the work of other people just simply following his ideology, but making their own marks?

BERGEN: Well, the latter is very possible. There are some indications that the Riyadh attack may have been instigated by Osama bin Laden. As yet, we don't know much about the Moroccan attack.

At the end of the day, though, Robin, when the bomb goes off and kills your mother or your son or your daughter, does it really matter if it's an al Qaeda attack or an attack inspired by al Qaeda?

MEADE: Very good point made there. Peter Bergen, thank you so much. Do appreciate your time.

BERGEN: Thank you.

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 May 17, 2003 - 07:05   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ROBIN MEADE, CNN ANCHOR: Well, Morocco is a deadly postscript to a harrowing week. No one has claimed responsibility for the blast in Casablanca, as Anderson said. But U.S. intelligence officials say that there are some indications that al Qaeda may be planning more terrorist attacks, and possibly very soon.
Joining us now from Washington is CNN terrorism analyst Peter Bergen. Peter, thanks so much for being with us today.

So nobody's claimed responsibility, as we said. Is it too early to point the finger at al Qaeda?

PETER BERGEN, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: Well, I mean, there's a limited group of other fingers -- I mean, there's a limited number of groups you could point a finger at, and al Qaeda has a tendency to do coordinated attacks like this. We saw that in Saudi Arabia earlier this week, on Monday.

It would be very surprising if it's not al Qaeda. There was an al Qaeda in Morocco last year that was planning to attack U.S. and British navy ships in the Straits of Gibraltar. That cell was broken up. And it seems to me -- we're seeing the pictures here of Riyadh again, coordinated suicide attacks -- these attacks in Morocco directed against a combination of Western and Jewish targets seem to have the hallmarks of al Qaeda.

Al Qaeda attacked a synagogue in Tunisia last year in April. It would not be surprising if they wanted to attack other Jewish targets. They also attacked an Israeli-owned hotel in Kenya and an Israeli charter jet, they tried to bring it down with an RPG in Kenya last year...

Go ahead, Robin.

MEADE: You know, but in this case, though, it appears that right now, anyway, most of the victims were Moroccans. So what do you make of that?

BERGEN: Well, I mean, this is al Qaeda shooting itself in the foot, in a sense. I mean, seven of the victims in the attacks in Riyadh were Saudi. Al Qaeda is not a group that really cares very much about who the victims are at the end of the day. The '98 embassy bombings in Kenya killed 200 Kenyans as well as 12 Americans.

So this is not a group that really has many scruples about killing people who are bystanders. So, I mean, they're just trying to go after as -- get as many body bags as possible. And they regard, you know -- these kinds of attacks they'll regard as a success even though it appears right now that many of the actual victims are Moroccan.

MEADE: You know, is al Qaeda -- if it is working on multiple attacks that come close together, if that is the case, does it appear to be some type of new tactic by the group?

BERGEN: Well, I mean, last October and November, we saw a lot of attacks all sort of spaced together that were al Qaeda-related, an attack on a disco in Indonesia that killed almost 200 people, an attack on a tanker in Yemen that crippled it, also an attack on an Israeli-owned hotel in Mobasa, Kenya, and an attempt to bring down an Israeli jet.

MEADE: You know...

BERGEN: I think right now, we're seeing the same kind of thing. I mean, and I think this has been a concern for a lot of people who've been looking at al Qaeda. So they'll do a lot of these coordinated attacks.

What we're seeing today in Morocco, or last night in Morocco, is not the end of this necessarily, Robin. I think there might be other attacks in the next week or so around the world.

MEADE: You know, would these things, if it is the work of al Qaeda, be directed by Osama bin Laden? Or does it look like it could be the work of other people just simply following his ideology, but making their own marks?

BERGEN: Well, the latter is very possible. There are some indications that the Riyadh attack may have been instigated by Osama bin Laden. As yet, we don't know much about the Moroccan attack.

At the end of the day, though, Robin, when the bomb goes off and kills your mother or your son or your daughter, does it really matter if it's an al Qaeda attack or an attack inspired by al Qaeda?

MEADE: Very good point made there. Peter Bergen, thank you so much. Do appreciate your time.

BERGEN: Thank you.

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