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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports
Americans React in Disgust to Osama bin Laden Tape; Israel Continues Strikes on Palestinian Targets
Aired December 14, 2001 - 17:00 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.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Now on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS: "America Strikes Back."
Tora Bora bombardment. The hunt for Osama bin Laden heads to higher ground as our Ben Wedeman gets the scoop directly from al Qaeda fighters,
The bin Laden tape. The U.S. reaction: near unanimous disgust.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I don't know whether we're going to get him tomorrow, or a month from now, or a year from now. I really don't know. But we are going to get him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Elsewhere, still some doubt about the tape.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's full of lies. It's only lies. I don't think it's true.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Israel strikes against Palestinians again, shunning Yasser Arafat. Where is the path to Middle East peace? Top officials from both sides face off this hour.
Hello, I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. Although they cannot and will not say for sure, there is an increasing sense, U.S. officials believe, they're closing in on Osama bin Laden. Near constant bombing is going on in the mountains of Tora Bora as al Qaeda forces refuse to surrender.
The former NATO supreme allied commander, General Wesley Clark, will join us to examine the military situation. And we'll have an extraordinary debate on the situation in the Middle East. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's senior foreign policy adviser and the Palestinian Authority's top U.S. envoy will be here, together, to hash all of it out.
First, though, today's developments.
United States special forces are in combat against al Qaeda. The United States commander reports fierce fighting in the Tora Bora region of eastern Afghanistan. General Tommy Franks says it remains unclear whether Osama bin Laden is among the al Qaeda fighters.
Tora Bora echoed today with blasts from United States airstrikes. Retreating from hill to hill, al Qaeda fired back. Reached by radio, an al Qaeda fighter refused to talk of surrender. He also refused to answer, when asked about bin Laden.
A short time ago we learned the United States citizen, John Walker, who was captured as a Taliban, has moved from Afghanistan. Walker now is being held aboard a U.S. warship in the Arabian Sea.
In southern Afghanistan, the U.S. Marines have seized the abandoned Kandahar airport, just miles from the city proper. Officials say the airport's runways are damaged, but usable. The plan is to make the airport the Marine's main base.
In the Middle East for the third night in a row, Israeli warplanes attacked Palestinian-ruled Gaza. The target: one of Yasser Arafat's security compounds. The White House said today that Arafat, himself, should not be made the target of military action.
If he's still in Tora Bora, then Osama bin Laden may be cornered. The last al Qaeda holdouts are being chased by American hunt-and-kill teams, and by Afghan militias, toward potential dead ends. To the south of Tora Bora lies Pakistan, its border now patrolled by the Pakistani Army. In all directions, either snow-covered mountains or enemy troops.
CNN's Ben Wedeman is with those troops, and he reports that al Qaeda fighters are not giving in.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's hard to believe anyone could survive this kind of bombardment, but al Qaeda fighters, and possibly even Osama bin Laden, seem to be holding on, hunkered down deep in caves and tunnels. Over an Eastern Alliance radio, I spoke with an unnamed member of al Qaeda, in Arabic.
(TRANSLATED SCRIPT)
WEDEMAN: "We are press. We want to know your opinion. We heard the opinion of the other side. We also want to know your opinion."
UNIDENTIFIED AL QAEDA FIGHTER: "We are well and good."
(END SCRIPT)
WEDEMAN: I asked about their morale. "It is high," he said. "We are well." I was also told that talk of surrender is a lie. And they refused to respond to questions about the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden. On an opposite hill, Eastern Alliance tribal irregulars await orders to move, taking advantage of a lull in the fighting to piece together a gun they claim was captured from al Qaeda...
(EXPLOSION)
WEDEMAN: ... oblivious to outgoing tank fire.
(EXPLOSION)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whoo!
WEDEMAN: A different reaction to U.S. bombs.
(on camera): Eastern Alliance commander Hazrat Ali says al Qaeda is almost finished. "Almost" is the operative word here. We just came under fire from al Qaeda snipers.
(GUNFIRE)
WEDEMAN (voice-over): Shortly afterwards, we came under fire again. Al Qaeda has been pushed deeper into the hills, but days of punishing, round-the-clock U.S. bombing haven't silenced them.
Ben Wedeman, CNN, near Tora Bora in eastern Afghanistan.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Within the past hour, the commander of United States forces said he cannot be sure whether Osama bin Laden is still in Tora Bora or has possibly slipped into Pakistan. But during that briefing, we got our best description yet of what bin Laden's fighters are up against. General Tommy Franks refused to use the words "trapped" or "cornered," but he said that al Qaeda in Tora Bora is "contained."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GENERAL TOM FRANKS, U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND COMMANDER: In the south, we see Pakistani forces on these old valleys, on these approaches that can leave Afghanistan and move into Pakistan. Then when you come out of the Jalalabad area, we have opposition commanders, who in fact are moving from north to south. And it sort of becomes a hammer and an anvil.
Now, the forces that are involved in this activity are also over on the western side, and also over on the eastern side. And so when one says that this al Qaeda pocket appears to be -- I don't know, "surrounded" probably is not a terribly good word -- but, the view of the opposition leaders on the ground is that this al Qaeda force is contained in that area that I described.
Does that mean that -- that this cordon is not porous and that no one can escape? No, it certainly does not mean that.
(END VIDEO CLIP) BLITZER: General Franks went on to say -- quote -- "We can wait longer than they can, and we'll wait until they're ours." Joining us now for more on all of this, the former NATO supreme allied commander General Wesley Clark. He's a CNN military analyst. He joins us from Little Rock.
General Clark, is Osama bin Laden effectively cornered right now in the Tora Bora reigning?
GEN. WESLEY CLARK (RET), FMR. NATO SUPREME COMMANDER: I think General Franks was careful to avoid raising expectations. It is possible that Osama bin Laden may be out of there. The al Qaeda, the phrase he used was "contained." As he said, it's still porous.
You know, this is very, very tough terrain. And anybody who's been out hiking in the Rockies or out west somewhere can just imagine what this would be like, trying to prevent single individuals from slipping through a net. You'd have to have people locked arm to arm, and of course, that's not the case.
But, bit by bit, as the opposition forces and special forces are closing in around them, they're drawing fire, they're calling in airstrikes. And they're are punishing the al Qaeda, and that group is contracting into a smaller and smaller space. And that makes the attacks each more effective.
BLITZER: Wouldn't you say, General Clark, that it's unlikely that Osama bin Laden has left his aides, his security guards? That he is, in effect, traveling with a relatively big chunk of security? And that, as they say in the intelligence community, leaves a pretty big footprint.
CLARK: I would think that's the most likely possibility, Wolf. I would. But it's unpredictable. And so far there have been a lot of surprises on what Osama bin Laden has failed to do. He's fought a very bad operation, from his perspective. He hasn't been successful against Northern Alliance. He must have been surprised at how the Afghan people turned against him. He must have been surprised at how effective our special forces were and our aircraft were, against him.
He may well not get out with a small group, but try to take a large group out. But if he does, as you say, he'll have a large footprint, we'll detect it, and he won't get away with it.
BLITZER: So, basically what you're saying, what General Franks is saying, is the area within which the U.S. military believes Osama bin Laden may be hiding is increasingly shrinking, and that eventually, he's presumably going to be found over there -- is that right?
CLARK: I think the area is shrinking. But we've got to avoid raising expectations that he is absolutely certainly in that, and that he will absolutely, certainly be found. He is certainly going to -- I would guess the odds are very high that he will try to elude the special forces at the end. He is going to want to make as much of a stand and make as much of a fight as he can, but when he sees defeat is really at hand, my guess is he is going to try to get out of there, if he hasn't already.
BLITZER: Were you surprised that General Franks seemed to suggest that, yes, it's very possible he may already have slipped into Pakistan?
CLARK: No, I wasn't surprised, because we've been saying every day that this is a really tough problem. And the other thing that is important here is, we've got to measure our own response. We can't let our expectations get built up here, only to have them dashed. This is a very, very tough military problem. It's very difficult terrain. We may well get him, but then again, we may not. And we've got to be patient and prepared to take this fight forward, for as long as it takes.
BLITZER: You may also, if you were listening to General Franks' briefing, have learned, as we did, that John Walker, the American Taliban fighter captured by the Marines has now been moved from Camp Rhino, the Marine base in southern Afghanistan, to a ship in the Arabian Sea. What's the general -- the procedure right now, the standard procedure in dealing with a U.S. citizen who fought for the other side. What happens, presumably, to John Walker aboard that ship right now?
CLARK: Well, as General Franks said, he's been given prisoner of war status. But I don't think there is a standard procedure in this case. On the one hand, this is a man who is, on the face of it, guilty of treason. And on the other hand, he's every parent's worst nightmare, a young man who has gone astray and ended up on the wrong side.
And I think it's going to have to be sorted out in a court of law. I think the evidence is going to have to be presented, the charges weighed, and someone is going to have to determine how the circumstances are mitigated. In the meantime, he's wounded, he's been brought back, presumably, to the United States, in our custody.
BLITZER: General Clark, thanks very much as usual for joining us.
CLARK: Thank you, Wolf.
BLITZER: And this program note: We'll talk about the hunt for Osama bin Laden and analyze the videotape here in the CNN "WAR ROOM." That's at 7:00 p.m. Eastern, 4:00 Pacific. You can participate by going to my Web page, cnn.com/wolf. Click on "Send Questions." I'll try to get to as many of those questions as possibly for our panel. And when you're there, by the way, check out my daily on-line column. That's also, of course, at cnn.com/wolf.
Hear some of the doubts raised about the authenticity of the Osama bin Laden videotape later this hour. And, who is bin Laden talking to on that tape? We I.D. the mystery sheik.
At the half hour, also, the mess at Logan Airport in Boston. What's being done to tighten security there? And what can you expect for your holiday travel plans? Next here, Israel's crackdown and the future of peace in the Middle East. The chief Palestinian representative to the United States and a top adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Sharon, face to face, when we come back. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: We'll get back to the war in Afghanistan shortly.
But first, another day of dramatic violence in the Middle East. Israeli warplanes struck Gaza City for the third straight night, damaging a Palestinian security complex. The assault apparently was in retaliation for Palestinian mortar attacks earlier in the day. In the West Bank, eight Palestinians were shot dead during an operation against suspected militants. Thirty-five people were arrested.
Today's violence follows a resurgence of attacks in the region that's threatening to further topple any efforts that may still remain for peace. Both sides are trading claims as to who is responsible for all of this escalating violence.
Joining me here in Washington to debate this issue are Daniel Ayalon, he's a senior foreign policy adviser to Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. And Hasan Abdel Rahman, he's the chief Palestinian representative to the United States.
Gentlemen, thank you so much for joining us. Mr. Ayalon, let me begin with you. The Israeli government has declared Yasser Arafat irrelevant. Why have they done that, if he is the elected leader of the Palestinians? Who else is there for the Israelis to negotiate with?
DANIEL AYALON, ISRAELI SR. FOR. POLICY ADVISER: The reason is because we defined the problem. And the problem right now is Yasser Arafat. Not only does he not prevent terror, as he was committed to, you know, sign agreements since the Oslo Agreement. But he's actively engaging in masterminding the terror campaign that we run against.
So we have no choice but to isolate the problem, to call a spade a spade. And we stand by this determination.
BLITZER: Mr. Ambassador, Mr. Rahman, what about that? Yasser Arafat, in the past few days, has clamped down on Hamas and Islamic Jihad, but a lot of Israelis say that's too little too late. Why didn't he do that a long time ago?
HASAN ABDEL RAHMAN, CHIEF PALESTINIAN REP. TO U.S.: It seems there is nothing that the Palestinians can do that is satisfactory to the government of Prime Minister Sharon. I believe that the real reason behind the standard was taken by the Israeli government, that Mr. Sharon is opposed to the peace process. He is against Oslo. He is against anything that came out of Oslo, including the Palestinian National Authority. And he wants to destroy the Palestinian National Authority.
BLITZER: Mr. Ayalon, respond to that. Does the prime minister of Israel oppose Oslo? Does he want to destroy the Palestinian Authority.
AYALON: No. We are committed to a political solution. We are committed to any kind of dialogue. We have been accepting the Tenet and the Mitchell, and indeed, we were very welcoming the Zinni mission. But since Zinni arrived...
BLITZER: That's General Zinni, the U.S. special envoy.
AYALON: Exactly. Since he arrived, we buried 44 Israelis, children -- all civilians -- women. We had a numerous, brutal terror attacks, and I would take issue with what Mr. Rahman said. They do not do anything against cracking down. they are not making arrests, they're not dismantling the terror organizations, as they promised.
And I think it was President Bush who said that anybody who harbors terror, who supports them. is a terrorist himself.
BLITZER: What about that?
RAHMAN: Well you know, we have a small fringe of Palestinians who are engaged in acts of violence against Israel. And we are trying our best to control them and arrest them. On the Israeli side, violence is carried on by none other than the Israeli government itself. Mr. Ayalon is saying that 43 Israelis were killed.
But at the same time exactly, 57 Palestinians were killed. Among them are children and women, including in Hebron yesterday, two little children were killed. Yes. So here, Israeli lives are not better than Palestinian lives. And security has to be for both.
That is why we are telling Israelis: You have to change your behavior towards the Palestinians, so we can control those Palestinians.
BLITZER: Is there no hope right now? Because the way the two of you are suggesting the situation, means that neither side appears ready to give that concession which could jump-start a resumed round of negotiations.
AYALON: Well, Wolf, there is a hope. But there is no hope with Arafat.
BLITZER: In other words, are you ruling out any negotiations ever, your government, with Yasser Arafat?
AYALON: We have given him ample chances throughout the years, and he betrayed every one of them.
BLITZER: So you're ruling him out as a future negotiator?
AYALON: Exactly. What we say is...
BLITZER: So what's the alternative?
AYALON: Well, the alternative, hopefully, we have to engage the Palestinian people. We have to engage somebody who is pragmatic, somebody who is realistic, somebody who is conciliatory, somebody who is really dedicated to peace. And we have not found that in Arafat.
BLITZER: Is there any -- let me ask Mr. Rahman. Is there a Palestinian out there that's an alternative to Yasser Arafat?
RAHMAN: Listen, Yasser Arafat was elected by the Palestinian people. Yasser Arafat is the only Palestinian leader who signed an agreement conceding to Israel 78 percent of historic Palestine, and accepting 22 percent of what was ours as a homeland for the Palestinians. If the Israelis are looking for an alternative to Arafat, they will have to look for a long period of time.
But I believe that the reason behind the position that Israel is taking is really that this Israeli government is not for peace. It is -- I call it the Jewish Taliban, because most of it are extreme religious people, who are calling for what? Calling for transfer of Palestinians.
BLITZER: Is that true?
AYALON: No, not at all. And I would like to say here, and to mention that 50 percent of our casualties are done not by Hamas and Jihad, but by Palestinian forces under Arafat's control. So this tells you that now if the Palestinians continue with this attitude that they have given us concessions by giving up 78 or 82 percent, this is totally false and a distortion of history. And if this attitude continues, no wonder we will never get a concession.
BLITZER: But realistically, there is no alternative right now to Yasser Arafat as a spokesman, as a leader of the Palestinian people, is there?
AYALON: I don't know. I don't want to meddle with internal affairs, political affairs of the Palestinians. But what we say is that, you know, we cannot and we will not negotiate with somebody who is utterly committed. And Arafat is utterly committed for the destruction for the state of Israel. He is not committed to peace. He signed...
BLITZER: Well, let me ask Mr. Rahman. Is Yasser Arafat committed to the destruction of the state of Israel?
RAHMAN: Absolutely not. He signed an agreement with Israel, recognizing Israel. The problem is, listen, we have a government in Israel that we don't like. It is -- Mr. Sharon is, in our views, a terrorist. He was engaged in war crimes, he continues. But he was elected by the Israeli government. We don't tell them whom to elect. They cannot tell us who our leaders are.
BLITZER: Let me ask Mr. Ayalon. They did elect Yasser Arafat. Those elections were monitored by the international community.
AYALON: Here we come to the real issue. There are signatories, it is true. He signed the Oslo Agreements, he committed to prevent terror. He committed not to execute any terror attacks. But there is a large gap between words, between signatures and between deeds. And this is the real problem, that Yasser Arafat is the only Arab leader who very blatantly broke a written commitment, a written contract with Israel.
BLITZER: Let me ask Mr. Rahman...
RAHMAN: You know, listen, if -- everyone knows, including the United Nations and international community, that Israel reneged on all the commitments that -- not all, most of the commitments that Israel made under the Oslo Accord, including not to build Jewish settlements...
BLITZER: Let me get back to the first question I asked. Why did Yasser Arafat wait so long to crack down on Hamas and Islamic Jihad?
RAHMAN: Yasser Arafat -- first of all, Hamas, as you know, was encouraged by no other than the Israeli government. Hamas is the creation of the Israeli government...
BLITZER: Let's let Israeli government respond to that.
AYALON: I take issue with that. Again, it's distortion of history, distortion of fact. If, again, we will start with this recriminations, there is no real effort by the Palestinians to really crack down.
BLITZER: Did Israel create Hamas?
AYALON: No. The Palestinians created Hamas, but this is beside the issue. Right now the Hamas is carrying out terror activity and they should be cracked down. The Palestinian Authority and Yasser Arafat, not only doesn't prevent terror, but he supports it.
BLITZER: But they have taken steps in the past few days to crack down. You have to admit that, right?
AYALON: Not really. Not really. Arrests are not really arrests, and this is one of the problems. Again, here...
BLITZER: The Bush administration wants to give the Palestinian leadership of the Authority a chance now to crack down. The Israeli government won't support that?
AYALON: We all wanted it, and we gave them chances after chances, only to bury more and more Israelis. So chances time is up. Now it is time for deeds, and it's not for Arafat. We have given hope with Arafat. It's time to for the Palestinians to crack down, and we can hopefully sometime go back to political negotiations.
RAHMAN: First of all, we are trying our best. But in order to succeed, we need from the Israelis to change their behavior. Remember that the problem, the original sin in all of this conflict, is Israel 's occupation of the Palestinian territory that is going on for the last 35 years.
BLITZER: Let me ask Mr. Ayalon, why not simply withdraw from those areas that you don't think you need anymore and let the Palestinians have their state, and build that fence that some Israeli commentators have suggested? AYALON: Well, first of all, because there is no real recognition of the Palestinians, of Israel right to exist. And whatever...
BLITZER: Yasser Arafat signed an agreement with Yitzhak Rabin on the lawn of the White House in '93.
AYALON: Yes, he signed that no terror will take place, and to fight terrorism. He did not do that. In fact, we give General Zinni and the Palestinians a list of ticking bombs, of terrorists who are ready to explode, and they have not done anything. Two of those on the list were the ones committing this heinous crime against the bus two days ago, killing 10 Israelis.
BLITZER: What about that?
RAHMAN: Well, Mr. Ayalon, obviously, is not interested in answering any of the issues that we are raising. I'm raising the issue of Jewish settlements the Palestinian territories. The number of Jewish settlers doubled since Oslo. that was not in Oslo.
Today, Israel demolished 57 homes, leaving 57 families homeless. Israel did not carry on the third redeployment. There are many things that Israel did not...
(CROSSTALK)
BLITZER: What about the demolishing of homes? Did you?
AYALON: Well, any acts we take is only as last resort, because the Palestinians do not make good on their promises to fight terrorism. When they don't make the arrests, we have to do it. When they don't crack down, when they don't dismantle the organizations, we have to do it. And this process, unfortunately, we have to go in because they are shirking their responsibility.
RAHMAN: I don't see how demolishing 57 homes today, leaving 57 families homeless, will assist Israeli security. I don't see how destroying a radio station assists Israel. How to keep 3.2 million Palestinians under a state of siege -- how does that help Israel security?
AYALON: I think the cabinet decision was very clear in stating that we would like to help the Palestinian population, to the extent possible. The problem is with the leadership. And, once the leadership doesn't take care of their population, you know, unfortunately, we cannot do. But I would like to say here, that we -- Abdel Rahman is talking about occupation.
Ninety-seven point five percent of the Palestinians live under Palestinian authority, full sovereignty. And secondly, they had the best chance to do away with a real settlement and to come to a real settlement. They reneged.
BLITZER: Let's let Mr. Rahman respond.
RAHMAN: That is not true, because every single town and village in the West Bank and Gaza is under Israeli control. So what Mr. Ayalon is saying is absolutely untrue. It is not factual.
BLITZER: We only have a few seconds. Let me ask, very briefly, both of you. Do you see any possibility of resumed negotiations under the auspices of General Zinni any time soon?
RAHMAN: We are ready to sit today with the Israelis, and we challenge Mr. Ayalon...
BLITZER: All right, he challenged you. Are you ready?
RAHMAN: Sit down and negotiate a firm and complete political settlement for the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
AYALON: Well, they are ready to sit with us on the one hand, and on the other hand to stab us in the back with terrorism. We will not allow that. We have had this experience before. First of all, terrorism has to stop. This is the...
BLITZER: General Zinni might as well come back to Washington. Is that what you're saying?
AYALON: No, no. Actually, we welcome his mission. We would like it to succeed. But not with Arafat.
BLITZER: OK, unfortunately we have to leave it right there. Good debate between the Palestinian representative and the Israeli representative...
RAHMAN: The Israelis are not interested in negotiation.
BLITZER: Well, we'll see what happens soon. Hopefully those peace negotiations can get back on track. Thank you very much.
AYALON: Thank you.
BLITZER: And I'll update today's developments in America's new war, next. We'll also identify the so-called mystery man, seen here on the right, speaking to Osama bin Laden. And, find out how the tapes's being playing around the Islamic world. What do many there say? Many -- at least some suggesting it's a fake. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Could you believe the tape?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't believe it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why not?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because the thing I told you, that it was not a surveillance tape. And nobody talking about such a big plan would let a person with a video camera in his hand into the room.
(END VIDEO CLIP) BLITZER: That's one Pakistani's opinion of the Osama bin Laden tape. We'll examine the reaction in the Islamic and Arab world. We'll also hear from President Bush after a quick check of today's developments in America's new war.
United States special forces are in combat against al Qaeda. The United States commander reports fierce fighting in the Tora Bora region of Eastern Afghanistan. General Tommy Franks says al Qaeda is contained. He also said says it remains unclear whether Osama bin Laden is among the al Qaeda fighters.
Tora Bora echoed today with blasts from United States air strikes. Retreating from hill to hill, al Qaeda fired right back. Reached by radio, an al Qaeda fighter refused to talk of surrender. He also refused to answer when asked about the fate of Osama bin Laden.
The American found fighting for the Taliban has been taken out of Afghanistan. The U.S. military was holding John Walker in this storage container at Camp Rhino, south of Kandahar. Today, the U.S. commander, General Tommy Franks, said Walker was transferred to the USS Peleliu, which is currently in the Arabian Sea. Franks said he did not know when Walker might be transferred to United States soil.
And earlier this afternoon, U.S. officials revealed the possible identity of a major player on the bin Laden videotape.
With that, here's CNN national security correspondent David Ensor -- David, what's going on?
DAVID ENSOR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, U.S. officials say that they believe the man on the tape with Osama bin Laden is probably Ali Ben Said Al-Ghamdi, a former professor of Islamic theology who was briefly jailed.
Officials have also been quoted as identifying the man. I'm sorry. Wait a second here. I've lost my place.
He is from a southern tribe close to the border of Yemen. And he is a militant cleric, they say. He has the same tribal identity as four of the hijackers of September 11. It's a tribe from the Asir Province north of the Saudi border with Yemen. On the transcript of the tape released by the U.S. government, the man is identified only as "Sheikh." On the videotape released by the U.S. government Thursday, the man thought to be Al-Ghamdi flatters bin Laden and repeatedly praises him for organizing the attacks.
The man also suggests on the tape that he is aware a further attack may be planned before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which, of course, ends Sunday. The sheik appears in the pictures to be crippled from the waist down. And Saudi analysts have said to me that that may be the result of injuries received in fighting either in Afghanistan or Chechnya, although neither U.S. nor Saudi officials could confirm that detail.
Outside analysts said they think he is a minor figure, although some have suggested he may have been bringing a substantial sum of money to bin Laden on this trip here. U.S. officials have said, however, Wolf, that, minor or major figure, they are very interested in talking to this man and learning more about that meeting and more about what he knows about bin Laden.
BLITZER: And they clearly have no idea where this sheik is right now.
ENSOR: I think it can be said he is being looked for.
BLITZER: They are searching for him.
Do they have any better explanation why he was allowed to videotape that meeting? And clearly Osama bin Laden knew it was being videotaped.
ENSOR: Well, I don't know that he was involved in the videotaping. Someone did. And clearly bin Laden did know that.
You know, many of bin Laden's -- much of bin Laden's life has been videotaped on amateur camcorders by one person or another in his retinue. There have been other tapes that have surfaced in the past, none, of course, as damning as the one that came out yesterday, though.
BLITZER: David Ensor, thank you very much for that good information. Appreciate it.
And a day after its release, President Bush today defended his decision to make public the bin Laden videotape. And he dismissed what he calls preposterous claims that the tape may not be the real thing.
We get more reaction now from CNN White House's correspondent Kelly Wallace -- Kelly.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, senior administration officials say the response to the tape so far has been good. They are encouraged by comments coming from moderate Arab leaders, such as the Saudi Arabian ambassador in the United States, a spokesman for the United Arabs -- both countries speaking out against bin Laden and that tape.
They also say that the broad impact of the tape might not really be known until after the Muslim holy month of Ramadan comes to an end on Sunday. Now, U.S. officials, Wolf, also say they knew all along there would be many in the Islamic world who would say that this tape has been doctored. And President Bush spoke out strongly about this issue today during an Oval Office meeting with the prime minister of Thailand.
He said he could not understand how anyone could think this tape was a fake. And he also said bin Laden's words definitely speak for themselves.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Those who contend it's a farce or a fake are hoping for the best of about an evil man. I mean, this is bin Laden unedited. This is bin Laden, the bin Laden who has murdered people. This is the man who sent innocent people to their death.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALLACE: And we also learned for the first time a little bit about the thinking that went into releasing the tape -- Mr. Bush saying he had mixed emotions about making the tape public, that on the one hand, he was concerned about the impact it could have on the victims' families. But, on the other, he felt, in the end, it would be a -- quote -- "devastating declaration" of Osama bin Laden's guilt -- now, Mr. Bush also speaking out rather strongly about bin Laden himself, Wolf.
You remember Mr. Bush speaking back in September, saying he wanted Osama bin Laden dead or alive. Well, the president was asked about that today and asked if he had a preference about bin Laden's fate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: I don't care, dead or alive, either way. I mean, I -- it doesn't matter to me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALLACE: And the president also saying it could happen tomorrow, it could happen a month from now, or it might take a year. But he said he is confident that the U.S. will eventually get bin Laden -- Wolf, back to you.
BLITZER: Thank you very much, Kelly Wallace, at the White House.
And that videotape was released in part to win over the minds of Arabs, many of whom do remain skeptical of bin Laden's involvement in the terror attacks. Did it work?
CNN's James Martone reports from Cairo.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAMES MARTONE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Egypt state television has been showing the bin Laden tape, sometimes in its entirety.
MOHAMED KAMAL, CAIRO UNIVERSITY: I am sure the Egyptian government and some other Arab governments who support the U.S. war efforts were happy that they received that tape. And they wanted to show their public opinion that they were right from the beginning.
MARTONE: Moderate Arab governments, such as those of Jordan and Egypt, have supported the U.S. attacks on bin Laden and al Qaeda, despite popular opposition. But the tape the U.S. says incriminates bin Laden beyond a doubt has so far met with suspicion in the Jordanian and Egyptian capitals.
Some men at this cafe in Amman said the video was a U.S. fabrication.
"In my opinion, it's a fabrication. The film was made to condemn him. I don't think it is evidence," says Faras Abohejena (ph).
Reactions to the tape's contents were similar among some of Cairo's upper class, like this Ph.D. in international economics.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it is full of lies. It's only lies. I don't think it is true. That's all.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (OFF-MIKE) Osama bin Laden is guilty or not guilty?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I really don't think that Osama bin Laden did anything at all.
MARTONE: But this Egyptian professor of political science says the tape could produce more understanding for the U.S. war effort, especially if it is soon backed with more details.
KAMAL: The U.S. needs to provide more information about how it got the tape and if bin Laden knew that he was being taped or not, so people will not say it is totally a fabrication.
MARTONE: Aligned with this, say analysts, must also be a U.S. government effort to show it wants to understand Arab and Muslim countries and their concerns.
(on camera): Even those here sympathetic to the U.S. war on terrorism say that the United States is against Arabs and Muslims and in favor of Israel at all costs. This perception, say analysts, must change before any U.S. effort to win Arab or Muslim hearts can succeed.
James Martone, CNN, Cairo.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: And with many Arabs simply passing this off as more propaganda from the United States to justify the bombing campaign in Afghanistan, what specifically does the U.S. have to do to prove its case that bin Laden is guilty?
Joining me here in Washington, an old friend: Mohammed Wahby, a columnist for "Al-Mussawar" magazine. That's the oldest weekly news magazine in the Arab world.
Mohammed, thank you very much for coming in.
Why is there such doubt amongst some people in the Arab world that Osama bin Laden was responsible for the September 11 attacks?
MOHAMMED WAHBY, "AL-MUSSAWAR": I think some people made up their mind right from the beginning.
They actually do not look at bin Laden, as such. They look always at what America has been doing to the Palestinians. So they confine that attitude to only one angle. They do not have a wider angle to see the entire picture and then judge bin Laden in this wider picture, not only from one angle. But just because bin Laden has been pretending, actually, to defend the Palestinian cause, you have to take sides with him whatever he does. So that is one aspect. And I think...
BLITZER: But he was a late-comer to the Palestinian cause, as you well know.
WAHBY: He was. He was. He was. There is no question about that.
But the fact that also many people see what the Israelis have been doing to the Palestinians, they make up their mind. They have made up their mind from the beginning. And, therefore, their mind has become impenetrable, actually.
BLITZER: All right, so you have been monitoring how this videotape has played in the Arab world over the past 24, 36 hours or so. Is there a real serious element out there that believes this is a fake?
WAHBY: Not so, actually. I have been watching most of the Arab satellite television stations, which usually now have the most of the impact on Arab minds, are made by these stations.
And most of them have either, like Al Jazeera, for instance, said as the United States says, that this proves bin Laden's guilt. But, for instance, you have the Egyptian broadcasting station. And you have also the Egyptian satellite television. And this has made it very clear.
BLITZER: They played the whole thing in the original Arabic, which was understood to the average Arab?
WAHBY: Yes, because, luckily, luckily, the most audible parts of the tape were also the most damning parts. And when you listen to it in Arabic, it is far more chilling than listening to it, then reading the subtitles.
BLITZER: Did they play the whole thing on official television in Saudi Arabia?
WAHBY: I haven't seen, because Saudi Arabia does not have -- I mean, Saudi Arabia does not have a satellite television, as such. But they have got MBC, based in London.
BLITZER: Middle East Broadcasting.
WAHBY: Middle East Broadcasting.
And most of these stations actually have played the most important parts of the tape, those parts which are audible in Arabic. And, as I said before, if you listen to them, it is really most chilling, much more chilling than when you read the subtitles.
BLITZER: So, basically, when all is said and done, the Bush administration, as far as you believe, did the right thing in releasing this videotape and playing it freely throughout the Arab and Muslim world.
WAHBY: Absolutely, because anyone who has kept an open mind who wanted to know the truth, any skepticism in his mind must have been eliminated.
BLITZER: So what do you think now? Will attitudes really change in favor of the U.S. war against al Qaeda?
WAHBY: Not overnight. Not overnight, because it takes some time. And I think now you have an undersecretary of state for public policy. And she has been doing a good job, except for one fact. Today, she was talking only about Al Jazeera. There are so many other stations, so many other satellite stations. And even Al Jazeera, actually, has been taking a line which is not that sensational. A bit of sensationalism is there.
But, still, whenever they say, they say this -- "As the United States has been saying, this proves the guilt of bin Laden." So they don't say it the way, for instance, that Cairo has put it on its radio and its television, that this has proved the guilt.
BLITZER: Mohammed Wahby, thanks for joining us.
WAHBY: Thank you.
BLITZER: And we will switch gears when we come back. One Boston airport security firm prepares to leave. Will a changing of the guard result in an increased amount of security? A look at what's being done to improve Boston's Logan Airport.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Welcome back.
The airport where the hijacked planes that crashed into the World Trade Center originated has a reputation for lax security.
But CNN's Bill Delaney reports that yesterday's terminal shutdown at Boston's Logan Airport was actually a sign of beefed-up safety there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BILL DELANEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Nearly 1,000 passengers on US Air flights at Boston's Logan Airport Thursday deplaned, rescreened. Three months ago, 10 hijackers sailed through -- this time, six flights canceled, 24 delayed, all because FAA inspectors decided some employees at two US Air checkpoints weren't behaving sufficiently well-trained.
CAPT. THOMAS ROBBINS, INTERIM SECURITY CHIEF, LOGAN AIRPORT: We want everyone to be safe and comfortable when they fly. The landscape has completely changed. We are as secure airport as you can get right now.
DELANEY: And the company that ran the US Air checkpoints, as well as Delta and America West at Logan, well, for weeks now, it's already been on its way out.
(on camera): Argenbright Security Incorporated ceased operations here at midnight Friday, forced out by the state police, a company that's come to represent, to some, the leaky sieve so much airport security around the country has amounted to.
(voice-over): Argenbright is accused, among other things, of checkpoint employees slipping away for a smoke and of hiring former criminals, replaced now at Logan by three new companies for the crucial, though basically low-tech, work of checkpoints -- elsewhere at Logan, high-tech.
BILL THALHAEIMER, IMAGING AUTOMATION: This particular document actually generated an alert.
DELANEY: A company showed off its scanners, set for a first U.S. trial run at Logan in January. The border guard authenticates documents like driver's licenses, passports.
(on camera): How likely is it that your technology could have presented the two hijackings from Logan Airport September 11?
THALHAEIMER: If there was a false document or the person was on a watch list -- and it's represented that several of them were on a watch list -- we'd have caught them.
DELANEY (voice-over): A once-porous airport more airtight than ever.
DOROTHY FISHBURNE, PASSENGER: A lot of military walking around with some very big guns, but it doesn't bother me at all. They confiscated a few things, but -- that I had forgotten that I put in my makeup case, but...
(on camera): What did they confiscate?
FISHBURNE: A corkscrew, a wine corkscrew.
DELANEY (voice-over): She won't get it back. But at Logan, she won't be watching her back either.
Bill Delaney, CNN, Boston.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: There's a Web site, www.airsafe.com, that tracks airline fatalities, hijackings and other aviation security matters. Aviation safety analyst Todd Curtis developed this Web site. He joins us now live from Seattle.
Todd, thank you very much.
Is the flying public safer today than it was three months ago?
TODD CURTIS, AIRSAFE.COM: Yes, I would say that clearly they are safer.
One of those reasons is the screening situation has radically changed. We obviously are much more aware of that. Plus, the average passenger is keenly aware what can go wrong in the air and they're willing to react.
BLITZER: How much more, though, needs to be done to really improve the overall security situation?
CURTIS: Well, whether we are talking about the current privately run screening situation or federalized employees later on, there has to be, if nothing else, more standards throughout the country that are more uniform, no matter what size the airport, so that any passenger in any airport can be assured of being properly screened.
BLITZER: You have confidence that this new system that is being implemented now, federalizing these screeners, 28,000 or so, at all U.S. airports, that that is going to do the job?
CURTIS: The federalization of the employees I'm not as concerned about. What I find really, really heartening is that the management of those employees are now going to be more directly as a result of what the federal government would like to see and not decided individually by the airlines.
BLITZER: Will the training for these screeners be any better?
CURTIS: It will be. Part of the changes that are coming down the pike are going to be enhanced training for those screeners, as well as enhanced levels of requirements for those people to be screeners.
BLITZER: A lot of people getting ready to travel, getting ready for Christmas travel, New Year's travel. Are there any recommendations, any steps you believe that people who are going to be flying should be taking to increase their own sense of security?
CURTIS: One of the basics things we recommended at airsafe.com is that the flyers be aware of what their airline's policies are, especially if they're doing something like having an unaccompanied child or carrying extra packages. Be sure that you are complying with the individual airlines' rules for that.
BLITZER: Well, are you saying there are different standards? Different airlines have different security standards as far as passengers are concerned? CURTIS: Not security standards as much as standards for things such as unaccompanied children. Some airlines allow them on only nonstop flights. Others allow them on flights that go through a hub. Sometimes the airlines will allow someone to escort that child to the gate. Other times, you have to call up maybe a day ahead of time and get a special pass for that.
BLITZER: Are airports generally, basically, the same as far as security? Or, in your research, have you discovered that some airports in major cities are more dangerous than others, potentially?
CURTIS: Well, the GAO has had a number of reports over the last few years that detailed some of the problems that have been in airports around the country. The basic infrastructure, the basic technology hasn't changed since before September 11. So, the ability of X-ray machines to pick up items hasn't really changed. The ability to pick up bombs and other explosives hasn't gotten much better across the country.
BLITZER: OK, Todd Curtis, I want to thank you very much. And that Web site, of course, that you have created, the Web site is airsafe.com. I'm sure you will be getting a lot of hits in the coming days. Thanks so much for joining us.
CURTIS: Thanks, Wolf.
BLITZER: The rest of the news still ahead, including proof of how lying on your resume can still come back to haunt you no matter how many years later. And it can happen at the most inopportune time.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Let's go to New York and get a quick preview of "LOU DOBBS MONEYLINE." That, of course, begins right at the top of the hour -- Lou.
LOU DOBBS, "LOU DOBBS MONEYLINE": Wolf, thank you.
Coming right up: Fighting continues in the Tora Bora region, the area where Osama bin Laden may be hiding. We'll have a live report for you from Afghanistan. And I will be talking with former Defense Secretary William Cohen. If Osama bin Laden is not in Afghanistan, what are his options? We'll have a special report for you. And I will be talking with CNN's terrorism expert, Peter Bergen.
And, as retail sales plunge, sales of one logo are soaring: the letters FDNY in fashion. But the New York Fire Department isn't happy. We'll have that story for you, a lot more, coming up at the top of the hour. Please join us.
Now back to Wolf Blitzer in Washington -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Thank you very much, Lou. Sounds good. And we'll have a major drug bust in Chicago. Wait until you hear who was used to smuggle cocaine and heroin right in the United States -- and why the new football coach of the Fighting Irish left without a fight.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Checking now today's "Newswire": Federal authorities in Chicago say they have broken up a drug-smugglers' ring that used infants as young as 3 weeks old as decoys; 35 suspects are under arrest; 18 have pleaded guilty. Some parents allegedly rented out their children to smugglers bringing cocaine and heroin into the United States from Panama and Jamaica.
George O'Leary is the head football coach at Notre Dame no longer. O'Leary resigned today after less than a week on the job. The former Georgia Tech head coach admitted to a selfish and thoughtless act in putting false information in his biography.
Lynne Cheney, the vice president's wife, has donated the $50,000 advance on a new children's book to the American Red Cross. The gift goes into the organization's disaster relief fund. The book, called "America: A Patriotic Primer," will be Mrs. Cheney's seventh.
And I'll be back in one hour here in the CNN "War Room." Among my guests: the Saudi foreign policy adviser, Adel Al-Jubeir.
Until then, thanks very much for watching. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. "LOU DOBBS MONEYLINE" begins right now.
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