12 September 2001
Transcript: Powell on the Fox Morning News Show, September 12, 2001
(Says U.S. will respond to perpetrators of terrorist attacks) (1510)
The United States is working on many levels to find and respond to the
terrorists who attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon
September 11, Secretary of State Colin Powell said in a September 12
televised interview on the Fox Morning News Show.
"And that response has to be diplomatic. It has to be political. It
has to be going after their means of support. It has to be going after
nations and states and other organizations that give them harbor and
haven and support. And it has to be military, as well, if targets can
be found that are actionable. And it has to be justice, too -- if that
is possible to bring somebody to justice. But it has to be a complete
comprehensive response. It is not just one action that is going to be
taken," said Powell.
"Diplomatically we can start right away and we are contacting nations
around the world," the Secretary said. "We're very, very pleased with
the response we have gotten from Russia, from China, from the UN, from
NATO, from the European Union.
"And this will all be part of our strategy," said Powell. "The
important point is that we suffered terrible losses yesterday. And our
hearts go out to all of our fellow Americans who are in such pain."
But the terrorists, "didn't get our spirit. They didn't understand the
resiliency of this great nation of ours. And as the President said
last night, we will be back, we will respond. And they will regret to
their death what they perpetrated against us yesterday."
Following is the State Department transcript of the interview:
(begin transcript)
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
September 12, 2001
INTERVIEW
Secretary Of State Colin L. Powell
On Fox Morning News with Tony Snow
September 12, 2001
QUESTION: Mr. Powell, welcome and thank you for joining us.
SECRETARY POWELL: Thank you, good morning, Tony.
QUESTION: We have an international terrorist network. There is no way
we can negotiate with these people, is there?
SECRETARY POWELL: No. They have to be rooted. They have to be
destroyed. And we are hard at work on that this morning. We are trying
to make sure that the world understands that this was an assault not
just on America, but on civilization -- upon all of the nations of the
world. And it requires a worldwide response.
And that response has to be diplomatic. It has to be political. It has
to be going after their means of support. It has to be going after
nations and states and other organizations that give them harbor and
haven and support. And it has to be military, as well, if targets can
be found that are actionable. And it has to be justice, too -- if that
is possible to bring somebody to justice. But it has to be a complete
comprehensive response. It is not just one action that is going to be
taken.
QUESTION: Secretary Powell, last night the President said that we will
make no distinction between terrorists and nations that harbor them.
Let me read you a list of nations and see if you can pick out any that
have not offered aid and comfort to terrorists: Iran, Iraq, Syria,
Libya, Sudan, Afghanistan. Are any of those off the list?
SECRETARY POWELL: No.
QUESTION: We also have in the past -- Saudi Arabia certainly has not
cut off the spigot of funds for Usama bin Laden. Is that a problem, as
well?
SECRETARY POWELL: Well, we'll look at all possibilities of support to
terrorist organizations in the course of our review of this particular
situation as part of our ongoing struggle against terrorism.
QUESTION: You have said a number of times today in previous interviews
that you think we're pretty close to getting a perpetrator. As soon as
we get that, what is the timeline -- do you think -- between now and
the time that you think we will have pretty secure knowledge of who is
responsible?
SECRETARY POWELL: I don't know, Tony, so I would rather not speculate
or predict. But there is a body of evidence that is starting to
develop and come together that is starting to point us in certain
directions. But that really is the purview of our intelligence
community. So I would rather not speculate or predict as to when we
can make an announcement or when we can let the world know.
QUESTION: To make diplomacy credible and also to send a message to
terrorists, one presumes that we would need to respond rather
forcefully and rather quickly. Again, how swiftly should the United
States respond once it knows who is responsible?
SECRETARY POWELL: I would say that you respond as quickly as you can
once you know who is responsible and once you have something to
respond to. And this may take some patience. I'm quite confident it
isn't going to be within a day or so. You have to get something that
is actionable and then put in place forces that can conduct whatever
strikes may be appropriate.
And I know that my colleague Don Rumsfeld and the Joint Chiefs of
Staff are examining all the options that are available to them, and
then, of course, available to the president. Diplomatically we can
start right away and we are contacting nations around the world. We're
very, very pleased with the response we have gotten from Russia, from
China, from the UN, from NATO, from the European Union. And this will
all be part of our strategy. The important point is that we suffered
terrible losses yesterday. And our heart goes out -- our hearts go out
to all of our fellow Americans who are in such pain. But they didn't
get our spirit. They didn't understand the resiliency of this great
nation of ours. And as the President said last night, we will be back,
we will respond. And they will regret to their death what they
perpetrated against us yesterday.
QUESTION: When we tried to respond to the Munich disco bombing some of
our NATO allies did not allow us to do over-flights in order to strike
back at Muammar Qadhafi. Do we now have assurance from our European
allies that they will give us their full support when it comes to
fighting whoever is responsible?
SECRETARY POWELL: I have had expressions of full support from European
allies and other allies. Now, we haven't gone to them with any
specific requests yet. But I sense there is a good deal of leaning
forward based in the calls I've had this morning in recognition of the
fact that this could have happened to any one of them.
QUESTION: Secretary Powell, did we learn yesterday that we need more
intelligence and more military power?
SECRETARY POWELL: You always need more intelligence. You always need
the best, strongest armed forces that a nation can afford. And we can
afford the best and strongest.
But our intelligence community does a rather outstanding job. They
have thwarted many attacks over the years. But it is not a perfect
science. And someone who is determined to strike at America, an open
society, can always find a way to do that. And they found the worst
possible way yesterday and we are all suffering and in pain as a
result.
QUESTION: Final question, sir, many Americans today are filled with
anxiety. Could you tell them that you think that the attacks are over
for now?
SECRETARY POWELL: Well, I can't say that. I simply don't know. We have
no indication that anything similar to what happened yesterday is
afoot in the country. But at the same time, this is a time for caution
and vigilance. But it is also a time for us to get back to work. It is
also a time for us to show the world that America is working, to show
the world that America is coming back from this tragedy and not to
hide in bunkers, but to get back to work -- as we are here in the
State Department and as we are all over Washington and our facilities
around the world.
QUESTION: Secretary Powell, I beg your indulgence for one last
question. You've been working very hard on trying to work for Middle
East peace. Yesterday Americans saw pictures of Palestinians dancing
in the streets of Nablus, handing out candy. How did that make you
feel?
SECRETARY POWELL: Awful, deplorable. And it just shocks me that people
would find this something to celebrate. And it is an image that is
seared in my mind.
QUESTION: All right, Secretary of State Colin Powell, thanks for
joining us this morning.
(end State Department transcript)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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