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CNN Live Sunday
Bush to Meet With Kenya's President at White House
Aired December 01, 2002 - 17:04 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.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: President Bush is meeting with Kenya's president this week at the White House. We were just talking about that, because the question on the table is likely to be, is al Qaeda responsible for these attacks? White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux is watching things down at the White House. Suzanne, a big, important meeting in this investigation.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Oh, absolutely. We just saw President Bush arrive here at the White House, at the South Lawn, Marine One touching down. The president greeting visitors. He spent the weekend with his family doing the things he loves -- running, chopping wood, even celebrated a birthday party for his twin daughters who turned 21.
But President Bush clearly facing a number of challenges coming back here to Washington, including the threat of terror expected ahead.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(voice-over): With the twin terrorist attacks in Kenya, and the State Department's weekend warning that Americans could face the same fate in Yemen and East Africa, Mr. Bush's war on terror is front and center.
This week, President Bush will meet with Kenya's President Daniel Arap Moi at the White House, as well as with the leaders of Ethiopia and possibly Djibouti. While a previously scheduled meeting with Moi was aimed at addressing development and reform, a senior administration official says the war on terror will be a top priority.
The State Department says it hasn't yet determined who is responsible for the Kenyan terrorist attacks, but Senate Intelligence Committee leaders today said U.S. officials think it was a local group with ties to al Qaeda.
Committee Chair Senator Bob Graham said in this case, the local group is called Islamiya. It's a Somali-Kenyan group that's been in operation for about 10 years, with loose affiliations with al Qaeda.
U.S. and Israeli officials say Kenya is a very dangerous place now, because it's become both a target for terrorists, as well as a home. Administration officials are also concerned that al Qaeda may be coordinating attacks with groups sympathetic to the Palestinian uprising, like Hezbollah, which would signal a dangerous change in Osama bin Laden's strategy -- by bringing the Israeli/Palestinian conflict into the picture, it would complicate United States' ability to maintain Arab allies in the war on terror.
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI FOREIGN MINISTER: Israel is not on the top of the list. We're the little Satan. Remember, you're the great Satan. We're just an extension of Western -- the corrupt Western civilization, that is democracy in the heart of the Middle East. So we're merely a front position for you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: Also today, we got an ominous warning from Senate Intelligence Chair Bob Graham who said that if the United States does attack Iraq, Saddam Hussein thinks he's doomed, that they think there's at least a 75 percent chance there will be some sort of terrorist attack against Americans here in the United States -- Carol.
LIN: All right, thank you very much, Suzanne Malveaux, live at the White House.
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 December 1, 2002 - 17:04 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: President Bush is meeting with Kenya's president this week at the White House. We were just talking about that, because the question on the table is likely to be, is al Qaeda responsible for these attacks? White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux is watching things down at the White House. Suzanne, a big, important meeting in this investigation.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Oh, absolutely. We just saw President Bush arrive here at the White House, at the South Lawn, Marine One touching down. The president greeting visitors. He spent the weekend with his family doing the things he loves -- running, chopping wood, even celebrated a birthday party for his twin daughters who turned 21.
But President Bush clearly facing a number of challenges coming back here to Washington, including the threat of terror expected ahead.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(voice-over): With the twin terrorist attacks in Kenya, and the State Department's weekend warning that Americans could face the same fate in Yemen and East Africa, Mr. Bush's war on terror is front and center.
This week, President Bush will meet with Kenya's President Daniel Arap Moi at the White House, as well as with the leaders of Ethiopia and possibly Djibouti. While a previously scheduled meeting with Moi was aimed at addressing development and reform, a senior administration official says the war on terror will be a top priority.
The State Department says it hasn't yet determined who is responsible for the Kenyan terrorist attacks, but Senate Intelligence Committee leaders today said U.S. officials think it was a local group with ties to al Qaeda.
Committee Chair Senator Bob Graham said in this case, the local group is called Islamiya. It's a Somali-Kenyan group that's been in operation for about 10 years, with loose affiliations with al Qaeda.
U.S. and Israeli officials say Kenya is a very dangerous place now, because it's become both a target for terrorists, as well as a home. Administration officials are also concerned that al Qaeda may be coordinating attacks with groups sympathetic to the Palestinian uprising, like Hezbollah, which would signal a dangerous change in Osama bin Laden's strategy -- by bringing the Israeli/Palestinian conflict into the picture, it would complicate United States' ability to maintain Arab allies in the war on terror.
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI FOREIGN MINISTER: Israel is not on the top of the list. We're the little Satan. Remember, you're the great Satan. We're just an extension of Western -- the corrupt Western civilization, that is democracy in the heart of the Middle East. So we're merely a front position for you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: Also today, we got an ominous warning from Senate Intelligence Chair Bob Graham who said that if the United States does attack Iraq, Saddam Hussein thinks he's doomed, that they think there's at least a 75 percent chance there will be some sort of terrorist attack against Americans here in the United States -- Carol.
LIN: All right, thank you very much, Suzanne Malveaux, live at the White House.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
