12 September 2001
Transcript: Powell September 12 Interview with CNN on Terrorist Attacks
(Process is "well underway" of finding those responsible, he says)
(990)
The United States will use its "full resources to go after those who
are responsible" for the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United
States, Secretary of State Colin Powell said September 12 in an
interview with CNN.
"And it is not an action that will be over in a week or two," he said.
"This has got to be a full-scale assault not just by the United States
but by the civilized community against terrorism. And it has to be
fought on the political front. It has to be fought on the diplomatic
front, the military front and the intelligence front."
He added that "a sophisticated organization with a very sophisticated
planning and execution capability," had to have carried out the
attacks.
Following is the State Department transcript of the interview:
(begin transcript)
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
September 12, 2001
INTERVIEW WITH SECRETARY OF STATE COLIN L. POWELL ON CNN
September 12, 2001
QUESTION: I know you have said that the attacks yesterday constituted
an act of war, and the United States will treat this as if it is a
war. What does that mean?
SECRETARY POWELL: It means that we will use our full resources to go
after those who are responsible for this. And it is not an action that
will be over in a week or two. This has got to be a full-scale assault
not just by the United States but by the civilized community against
terrorism. And it has to be fought on the political front. It has to
be fought on the diplomatic front, the military front and the
intelligence front.
And we are deeply encouraged by the responses we have received so far
from international organizations and especially from countries around
the world who have expressed solidarity with us and who have come to
the realization, I hope, that all of us have to respond to this
because none of us is safe from this kind of attack.
Our hearts go out to those who lost their lives. This is a tragedy for
our nation. But at the same time, we are a strong nation, we are a
resilient nation, and we will come through this. And people will see
what America is really capable of doing and capable of responding to.
QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, I know you have said that you will go after
whoever is responsible for perpetrating these attacks. You will also
go after those who might have harbored others involved in this attack.
Where are you in the process of determining who was behind these
attacks yesterday?
SECRETARY POWELL: The intelligence community is hard at work. The CIA,
the FBI, and other agencies assembling information, doing forensic
work at the two sites yesterday. And a body of evidence will be
developed in the days ahead. And I don't think it will take too long,
but that process is well under way. But we don't want to start
speculating or making a judgment now before we actually have the
evidence.
QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, Senator Orrin Hatch was saying this morning
that US intelligence actually intercepted communications between Usama
bin Laden supporters discussing the attacks. What can you tell us
about these intercepted communications?
SECRETARY POWELL: We should not be talking about intelligence methods
used by the United States of America. All we do is put them at risk,
so we should not be talking about such things, and I will not.
QUESTION: Are you suggesting that Senator Orrin Hatch has been
irresponsible in floating this information?
SECRETARY POWELL: We should not be talking about how the United States
collects information in cases such as this.
QUESTION: Well, let me move on to this. What kind of group or groups
do you think actually have the sophistication to pull off an attack of
this magnitude?
SECRETARY POWELL: It has to be a group that, one, has money; two, has,
I think, a significant number of adherents, members; it has to have a
network; it has to have the ability to move people around the world.
So it is quite a sophisticated organization with a very sophisticated
planning and execution capability. And I think the fingerprints are
quite clear that it has to be an organization with that level of
complexity associated to it. So it isn't your average fly-by-night car
bomber. This is a sophisticated outfit.
QUESTION: Former Secretary of Defense William Cohen is saying this has
the blueprints of an attack by someone perhaps involved with Usama bin
Laden. Can you rule Usama bin Laden out this morning?
SECRETARY POWELL: We rule no one out, and we will be ruling the
perpetrators in, in the near future, I am quite sure.
QUESTION: One last quick question. Can you explain how four hijackers
were able to take over four airliners yesterday?
SECRETARY POWELL: No, I can not. Obviously we need to do more with
respect to security at our airports. We need to do more with respect
to tracking people within a society that is an open society. And we
have to do it in a way that protects us but, at the same time, does
not cause us to be a closed society, be the kind of society that would
not be reflective of American values. And all of those are issues are
under consideration this morning and are being studied by various
members of the Administration.
QUESTION: Secretary Powell, good of you to join us. We know how taxing
of the last 22 hours you have had, or 23 hours. Thank you so much for
being with us.
SECRETARY POWELL: Thank you.
(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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