Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Live Sunday
U.S. Government has More Ammunition to Convince Doubters of Osama Bin Laden's Guilt
Aired December 09, 2001 - 18:03 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.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: The U.S. government has more ammunition to convince doubters of Osama bin Laden's guilt in the September 11 attacks. CNN's Kelly Wallace is at the White House following the story and other news regarding bin Laden. Kelly, what's the latest on this so-called ammunition?
KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT : Well, Catherine the ammunition is a new videotape. The vice president says he has seen portions of that tape and he says that tape makes clear that Osama bin Laden was definitely involved in the September 11 attacks.
Now according to the vice president, on the videotape bin Laden is seen talking in Arabic about the terrorist attacks. What you are looking at now is not that videotape, but just some file footage CNN has of Osama bin Laden. U.S. officials say on the tape bin Laden is seen boasting and bragging about the attacks.
Unnamed U.S. officials telling the "Washington Post" that bin Laden, on the tape, was pleasantly surprised about the extent of the damage at the World Trade Center, and also said that more destruction was coming after he learned the first plane hit the north tower.
The vice president saying today on one of the Sunday morning talk shows that this videotape should put to rest any doubts that might exist in the Muslim world about Osama bin Laden's involvement.
DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Pretty clear, as it's described to me, that he does in fact display significant knowledge of what happened, and that there is no doubt about his responsibility for the attack on September 11. We known that all along. There has been some dispute in some quarters about it, but this is one more piece of evidence confirming his responsibility for what happened on 9/11.
WALLACE: Now the question is, will the administration release that tape to the public? The White House is saying it is trying to balance protecting intelligence information with providing as much information as possible to the American people. And also the deputy defense secretary, Paul Wofowitz, saying earlier today, that even before getting its hands on this tape, U.S. officials had plenty of evidence against bin Laden.
PAUL WOLFOWITZ, DEPUTY DEFENSE SECRETARY: We think the evidence is very clear before this. It is not as though we needed a smoking gun. Smoking guns have been all over the place, including his own words, not quite as direct as on this tape. I think the question is simply, concerns how we got this tape, whether the release of it will compromise our ability to get other information.
WALLACE: Now Wolfowitz would not say, but U.S. officials reportedly found that tape during a search of a private home in Jalalabad in Afghanistan. Another concern, Catherine, weather releasing the tape would send out any coded messages to any al Qaeda cells around the world, and then there is the concern whether the administration simply doesn't want to see bin Laden on the air waves.
The vice president saying earlier today, quote, "we have not been eager to give the guy any extra television time that he can obtain for himself."
Catherine, back to you.
CALLAWAY: You know, also Kelly, we heard today, Britain's defense secretary say that there may be some strings attached in extraditing Osama bin Laden to America, to the U.S., should British forces actually get to Osama bin Laden before U.S. forces. What's the administration's reaction to that?
WALLACE: Yes, the strings attached, that coming from the British defense secretary in an interview saying that if the British get their hands on bin Laden, that they would extradite him to the U.S., but only if they are guaranteed that bin Laden would not face the death penalty.
Well, a senior administration official saying simply that the U.S. will sort of take up the issue of bin Laden when and if U.S. officials get their hands on him. We heard the vice president saying earlier today, Catherine, that the U.S. definitely expects bin Laden, the Taliban supreme commander, Mullah Muhamed Omar, and any al Qaeda senior leaders to be turned over to U.S. authorities, but this is setting up a definite diplomatic challenge for the administration.
Britain is one of a handful of countries, such as Spain and Germany, waging concerns about the U.S. using the death penalty, and also the U.S. possibly using these military tribunals as opposed to civilian courts, to try a suspected terrorist. A diplomatic challenge, but right now, the U.S. is saying their first concern is finding and capturing bin Laden.
CALLAWAY: CNN's Kelly Wallace, from the White House, Thanks Kelly.
Of course any talk of extraditing bin Laden putting him on trial is academic until someone catches him. Let's go to CNN's Jeff Levine. He is at the Pentagon keeping tabs on the search and certainly U.S. forces are concentrating on that Tora Bora region in the search for bin Laden.
JEFF LEVINE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Catherine, there are reports that Osama bin Laden could be making his last stand and that could come in eastern Afghanistan soon. Now meanwhile, U.S. planes do continue their focus on the Tora Bora region. That's where Osama bin Laden and about 1,000 of his followers are thought to be in a readout, hiding out, keeping away from U.S. forces.
On Saturday the Pentagon says more than 80 aircraft, led by B-52 bombers, were involved in strikes in the region. Opposition forces assisted by U.S. troops are also engaged in that man hunt. But even with this intense effort, General Richard Myers, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, says destroying the al Qaeda terrorist network is not yet at hand.
GEN. RICHARD MYERS, CHMN., JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF: I think our chances of getting that leadership are still good. Although they are going to have opportunities to hide and to run. That's the big effort in Tora Bora is putting the pressure on the al Qaeda. They are dug in fighting fiercely.
What we'll do with them, of course, will be determined, not by the military, but by national command authorities. This is a war on terrorism. And they are the enemy. So there are lots of options with them, and we'll just have to wait and see until it comes.
LEVINE: Now if bin Laden were captured, or Mullah Omar, the Taliban leader, were captured, they would be leading candidates for the military tribunals that President Bush has authorized. That from Vice President Cheney today. However, even if the leadership of al Qaeda were captured, Catherine, the search for the rest of the al Qaeda terrorist network would continue perhaps in as many as 60 countries.
CALLAWAY: Wow! Big search. Thank you CNN's Jeff Levine, from the Pentagon. Thanks, Jeff.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
