15 April 2002
Pentagon Press Briefing Transcript
(Afghanistan/accidental explosion in Kandahar, current
situation/military operations over weekend, new DoD unified command
structure announcement this week, allegations against Secretary of
Army, Usama bin Laden/videotape on Al Jazeera/tape seen by Rumsfeld,
detainees in Guantanamo/report of unfair treatment, dual citizen
Hamdi/status, Iraq/no-fly-zone incident today/possible UN inspection
regime, Pakistan/anti-terror cooperation, Abu Zubaydah/status, al
Qaeda/capture in Spain, USA/possibility of more suicide bombers)
(5830)
Secretary Of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and General Richard Myers,
Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, briefed reporters in the Pentagon
briefing room on April 15.
Following is the Pentagon transcript:
(begin transcript)
United States Department of Defense News Transcript
Presenter: Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld
Monday, April 15, 2002 - 1200 EDT
DoD News Briefing - Secretary Rumsfeld and Gen. Myers
(Also participating was Gen. Richard Myers, chairman, Joint Chiefs of
Staff.)
Rumsfeld: Good morning. Earlier today, an accidental explosion killed
a number of U.S. servicemen near Kandahar, Afghanistan. At least one
serviceman was also wounded in the accident. And we certainly want to
express our sorrow and grief to the families of those that have been
killed and injured, and salute the brave men and women in uniform who
do in fact put their lives on the line every day to defend their
country.
In this instance it was a disposal unit that was actively working to
destroy some weapons that had been found, and for whatever reason, one
of them went off.
There have been various reports of violence in Afghanistan recently,
and while we've made good progress in restoring stability to
Afghanistan, clearly, getting a peaceful environment will take a good
deal of time. The country is fragmented politically. It does not have
a strong tradition of democracy, as we all know, and I think any
expectation that it will suddenly transform itself into a Western-
style democracy ever, let alone instantaneously, is misplaced. What
we're hoping is that as the people return to their homes from being
internally displaced, and as people from refugee camps outside and the
Afghan Diaspora return home, that there -- and as the political
process goes forward, that the combination of those things will
produce a more peaceful environment. Clearly, the development of an
Afghan national army that can help root out terrorists and crime --
criminals will be a help as well. On the other hand, it's important,
it seems to me, to remember that for the majority of the Afghan people
-- the overwhelming majority -- the difference between this year and
last year is night and day. The sporadic violence of recent days is
nothing compared to the brutal rule of the Taliban and the al Qaeda
and their terrorist allies that existed prior to the emancipation of
that country.
Last fall, with the help of Afghan allies and coalition forces, the
Taliban regime and the al Qaeda were cast out. The terrorists are
either dead, or they're on the run. They are less able to plan, less
able to finance and less able to launch attacks than they had been
previously. An interim government is in place. Peacekeepers are
patrolling in some trouble spots. The Afghan national army is
beginning to be trained. Police units and border patrol are beginning
to be trained. New hospitals have opened. Vast amounts of food and
other humanitarian relief have been supplied and will continue to be
supplied. Women are able to go outside and go to school, go to
hospitals and serve in government. The Afghan people, for the most
part, have a chance to vote and speak relatively freely. And as a
result, there is at least a hope for a brighter future.
On another matter, I might just point out that we will -- we do intend
to announce the unified command plan sometime this week. It will be a
plan which will restructure and streamline a number of aspects of the
military command which we believe will better fit it for the
challenges of the 21st century. Dick Myers has indicated to me that in
his career -- he believes this is the most significant set of changes
that we've seen -- that he has seen in his career. But we will be
presenting the details when we make the formal announcement, sometime
later this week. For the most part, the kinds of consultations that
are appropriate and necessary have been or, in one or two cases, are
still being made.
Q: (Coughs.)
Rumsfeld: I was going to give you a Heimlich. (Laughter.) Are you
okay?
Q: (Coughs.) Yeah.
Rumsfeld: You sure? Okay. You want some water?
Q: No, sir.
Rumsfeld: Okay.
(To press.) You all would've just sat there. (Laughter.)
Q: We're trained to ignore --
Q: Trained to ignore --
(Laughter.)
Q: When you speak, we just -- (off mike). (Laughter, cross talk.)
Rumsfeld: (Laughs.)
Myers: Thank you, Mr. Secretary, and good afternoon.
As the secretary said, regarding that explosive incident early this
morning in Afghanistan, reports continue to come in on this incident,
and at this point, we can't be any more precise on the numbers
involved, nor with any of the details. Central Command will update you
as additional details are confirmed.
And as the secretary also said, this tragic event highlights that even
when not actively engaged against enemy forces, that our servicemen
and women remain at risk as they perform their mission around the
world and particularly in Afghanistan.
As the secretary said, our condolences and prayers go out to the
families of those who were killed or injured in this incident.
We continue our efforts to find and destroy elements of al Qaeda and
Taliban and former Taliban in eastern Afghanistan, and on Saturday a
team of U.S. Special Forces and Afghan military forces exploited a
suspected enemy complex. During the mission, they located several
weapons storage sites containing mines, rockets, explosives, and
antiaircraft artillery pieces that we assess were used for training.
During this operation, a convoy carrying U.S. and Afghan forces was
fired upon, and an AC-130 gunship was called in to support the
friendly forces. The aircraft located and fired on the enemy position,
killing several of the enemy.
Also this weekend, there were two incidents of suspected rocket-
propelled grenade fire in the vicinity of Khost. On Saturday two
suspected rocket-propelled grenades impacted near an airfield in that
area, and although there are U.S. and Afghan military forces in the
general area, there were no injuries to friendly personnel. In fact,
it's uncertain whether the friendly forces were actually even targeted
by the weapons.
And then again, on Sunday, two more suspected rocket-propelled
grenades were fired in the same area, although these appeared to have
impacted some two kilometers away from the airfield. Again, no damage
or injuries were sustained by friendly forces, nor is it clear whether
friendly forces were actually the target.
And with that, we'll take your questions. Charlie?
Q: Mr. Secretary, Al-Jazeera is showing parts of a tape reported to
include bin Laden and a senior official -- (inaudible) -- one of his
senior aides. Have you anything to add to the possible authenticity of
that? And has the United States got that tape?
Rumsfeld: I have not seen Al-Jazeera's tape. I have seen a tape, and
whether it's the same one, I'm not sure. The one I saw was in Arabic.
Needless to say, I did not understand what was being said,
unfortunately. And I was advised that what I was watching very likely
was using a patchwork of clips from previous periods, along with some
dialogue of more recent periods -- or commentary from more recent
periods, I should say.
So --
Q: Was that tape found in Afghanistan or provided to the United States
or --
Rumsfeld: I'd just as soon not discuss its source. But I have seen it,
and to my -- anything I can tell or was told, at least thus far, the
impression is that it is not new. The tape is new, but it does not
reflect anything of UBL from recent periods.
Q: It doesn't include UBL on it?
Rumsfeld: There are shots of him and shots of him talking, but there
isn't any reason that anyone who has communicated with me can find to
believe that they are anything other than somewhat dated.
Q: By previous periods, do you mean pre-September 11th or pre- --
Rumsfeld: No, no. It comments on things post-September 11th, but the
UBL pieces appear to be from last year as opposed to this year.
Q: At the same time, Mr. Secretary --
Rumsfeld: And that is a very preliminary comment. And I would
underline again that I don't speak Arabic, so I can't -- all I can say
is what I have said.
Q: At the same time, al-Hayat newspaper says it's received an e-mail
from Mullah Omar in which he launches into criticism of the U.S. for
their support of Israel. Is there any evidence that this was
coordinated between Mullah Omar and Osama bin Laden? And do we know,
are they in communication? Are they able to coordinate something like
this at this point?
Rumsfeld: There certainly is no evidence there was any coordination.
Q: Is there any belief that Mullah Omar and Osama bin Laden are in
contact and able to coordinate anything like this since --
Rumsfeld: We don't know.
Q: Mr. Secretary, the snows are melting in Afghanistan, the weather is
moderating, and as General Myers told us, there were some incidents
over the weekend. It's time for a spring offensive, perhaps on both
sides. I know you don't talk about upcoming operations, but is the
U.S. planning anything soon comparable to Operation Anaconda, or maybe
even larger?
Rumsfeld: As we have said before, we don't talk about operations.
General Myers pointed out that there have been aircraft up and some
skirmishes recently in the last 24 hours. And we did not take time off
for the winter. As you may recall, we continued throughout the winter.
In fact, the spring's coming does not make much difference to the
United States. Our interest is in trying to locate numbers of these
folks, whether it's one or two or 50 to100, as the case may be -- find
them and deal with them.
Q: Well, what about the other side, though? I mean, if we're
continuing, okay. But what about the unfriendly, so to speak? Do you
expect more action from them?
Rumsfeld: Sure. You bet. We've expected it all along, and we've found
some, and we'll undoubtedly find more as we go along. And we'll have
to deal with it.
Yes.
Q: Mr. Secretary, Iraq has indicated a willingness to accept a new
delegation to search for Lieutenant Commander Scott Speicher. And
you're said to be considering sending that delegation. Can you tell
us, have you made a decision of -- would the delegation include Scott
Ritter, and when might it leave?
Rumsfeld: I don't have any information on that beyond what you've
reported from the press. And nothing's come to me as yet.
Myers: Nor to me.
Q: Have you received any new information --
Q: (Off mike) -- working with State. It has not come to you, but --
Rumsfeld: There may be -- the context thus far has been through the
Department of State, and they have not yet connected here.
Q: Have you received any new information that indicates he might still
be alive?
Rumsfeld: No.
Q: Mr. Secretary?
Rumsfeld: Yes.
Q: General Myers, this combat activity over the weekend: Do you have
any idea what it was about, who they were? And is it possible that
this team ran into one of these -- you know there are these rival
militia groups that have been going after each other in the last few
weeks. Is it possible that's what's happening here? Or do you suspect
it's al Qaeda actually organizing to be hostile to the United States?
Myers: Tom, we don't know. As I've indicated in remarks, it wasn't
clear -- particularly in the second incident, whether U.S. forces or
our Afghan counterparts were even a target of these particular
rocket-propelled grenades -- launches. And we were pretty much in
position. We were not out in reconnaissance and surveillance. So it
wasn't --
Q: Do you have any signs of offensive operations by al Qaeda?
Myers: Well, I think, as the secretary said, we've said up here for
some time that we've expected that. We expected it through the winter.
We expect it will increase as the weather gets better and as the snows
melt and so forth. We -- in terms of large operations, I'd -- I think
I'd rather just not get into that.
Q: Mr. Secretary, also, in the videotapes that al-Jazeera is showing
bits and pieces of is allegedly one of the hijackers who was killed
going into either this building or the towers in New York. Do you have
any reason to believe that this person who is alleged to be that
hijacker is in fact one of the hijackers?
Rumsfeld: I don't personally. I'm told that the tape in Arabic, when
translated, does leave the impression that they are reinforcing the
fact that they were involved in September 11th.
Q: You seemed to imply earlier that you or the U.S. government has had
possession of these tapes prior to Al-Jazeera broadcasting them. Is
that correct?
Rumsfeld: Not to my knowledge.
Q: And just to clarify on that, because I think -- (inaudible) --
you're not at this point certain that the tape that you saw and was --
Rumsfeld: Is even that same tape.
Q: -- is the same tape.
Rumsfeld: Exactly, because I've not seen their tape.
Q: It could well be -- it might be a different tape.
Rumsfeld: Could be.
Q: Sir, just to try to --
Rumsfeld: I wouldn't guess that that's the probability, but because of
my lack of certainty as to what Al-Jazeera is showing, I just don't
know.
Yes?
Q: The part of the tape that you saw -- was it Osama bin Laden
kneeling next to al-Zawahiri outside? Is that --
Rumsfeld: It was certainly shots of UBL, not standing.
Q: Do you remember if he was sitting next to someone?
Rumsfeld: From time to time, he was. And I don't remember --
Q: How long was the tape that you saw?
Rumsfeld: I didn't watch the whole tape, so I can't answer your
question.
Q: When did --
Q: And when did it come into your possession?
Rumsfeld: I don't remember.
Q: Can you remember when you saw it?
Q: Today?
Rumsfeld: Very recently, yeah.
Q: So today or over the weekend? Today's Monday.
Rumsfeld: Hm. It's Monday all day, I bet. (Scattered laughter.)
(Chuckles.)
I think I saw it yesterday.
Q: When you say, Mr. Secretary, that it reinforces their involvement
in the September 11th attacks --
Rumsfeld: No, I didn't.
Q: Oh. I'm sorry.
Rumsfeld: I said the people who understand Arabic --
Q: Say that --
Rumsfeld: -- have left me with the impression that one of the purposes
of it was to reinforce UBL's relationship to September 11th. That is a
big difference from what you said I said.
Q: Did they have any opinion as to whether this was pre- September
11th or post-September 11th -- that tape?
Rumsfeld: If it tries to reinforce or suggest a relationship with
September 11th, it has to be post-September 11th, or else they could
look into the future. I mean, you don't know when the pictures were
from. All you know is that there is reference to September 11th.
Therefore, one would think it was after September 11th. But what kinds
of pictures or words might have been juxtaposed with it, I don't know.
Yes?
Q: Mr. Secretary, because those clips of bin Laden appear to be from
last year, as you said, have you drawn any new conclusions about bin
Laden's fate --
Rumsfeld: As I was told.
Q: As you were told.
Rumsfeld: Yes.
Q: Have you drawn any new conclusions about bin Laden's fate, whether
he's alive or not?
Rumsfeld: I haven't. I'm still -- I mean, as far as I know, I've not
seen anything about his activities, any videotapes of him that are
reasonably certain to have been in this year. Maybe they exist; he may
exist, but I just don't know it.
Yes?
Q: There was some concern with previous tapes, the government asking
networks not to broadcast them for fear they might contain hidden
signals, hidden messages. Is there still that concern? Is that no
longer a concern?
Rumsfeld: I don't know. I can't speak for the government. For myself,
it -- my attitude is that the people who make those tapes give those
tapes to networks and networks play them, and it's out of my control.
And therefore, I don't spend a lot of time trying to decide if I would
like to try to not have them play them, because they do play them, and
life goes on.
Yes?
Q: Mr. Secretary, on another issue, Amnesty International, in London,
has issued a 62-page report saying that it regards the treatment of
the detainees in Guantanamo as cruel, and particularly cites the
inability of the detainees to get legal counsel. Do you have any
reaction to that?
Rumsfeld: I have not seen the report. And I have seen the people in
Guantanamo, and their care and treatment is exactly the opposite of
what you have said they have said.
Q: What about the criticism in some quarters that the U.S. government
ought not to be holding an American citizen indefinitely without
placing some sort of charges against him? And I'm referring to Yasser
Hamdi.
Rumsfeld: The individual, as I recall, that you're talking about is a
person with dual citizenship, and he is the one, probably, that was
moved from Guantanamo Bay to Norfolk. I don't know how long
"indefinitely" is, but he clearly has not been held indefinitely; he
has been held a relatively short period. And what the lawyers will
decide they intend to do with him remains to be seen, and when and on
what basis. However, it has been generally accepted, I'm told by
lawyers, that people who are captured on battlefields and who you have
been fighting -- and that is certainly the case with that individual
-- a country has every right to keep them off of the battlefield and
detained so that they do not go right back out and engage in battle on
behalf of the al Qaeda or the Taliban, as the case may be in this
instance, and try to kill Americans or Afghans or other people.
Q: A follow-up on Iraq.
Rumsfeld: I'm assuming those lawyers are correct. I'm assuming that
the fact that that has been done historically is correct.
Q: Just a second question on Iraq. Iraq has been somewhat quiet lately
in terms of action in the no-fly zone, but we did have another
incident today in which U.S. forces struck an air defense site. Is
there any evidence that Saddam Hussein is gearing up his -- or
renewing his efforts to try to down U.S. or coalition pilots? Are you
seeing any evidence of a new offensive by Iraq or more defiance of
enforcement of the no-fly zones?
Myers: Well, Jamie, as I think most people are aware, the efforts in
both Operation Northern Watch and Southern Watch have continued. We
have not changed to a substantial degree our patterns, and our forces,
our airmen and aircraft, continue to be fired upon when they fly. And
they respond appropriately to those firings. And that's what happened
today. Two F-16s dropped some laser-guided bombs on a radar site when
it illuminated the aircraft. It's not a change. It's the way -- it's
the way we've been conducting operations there for quite some time, in
self-defense.
Rumsfeld: Yes?
Q: It was reported today that Army Secretary White is under
investigation by the FBI for possible insider trader charges. I'm
curious if you can confirm that, and also tell us --
Rumsfeld: I can't.
Q: You don't know?
Rumsfeld: Don't know.
Q: And also tell us if you remain confident in his ability to do his
job, given some of these investigations?
Rumsfeld: There's no question but that he's performing his job and
performing it well. There's also no question in my mind but that he
has been forthcoming and responded to every inquiry that's been made.
Yes?
Q: To go back to Hamdi for just a second, you said a number of times
that it's up to the lawyers to decide what to do with him. Isn't it up
to --
Rumsfeld: Unless there's a policy issue that they then come -- what
they do is they talk to me about broad principles, and then they take
individuals as to how those individuals might fit within those
categories. And what we then do is we deal with the Department of
Justice, in some cases the White House, because the military order is
a presidential order, and the Department of Defense, and discuss in an
interagency manner -- the lawyers do. And then at some point, they
surface these up to the political level, the principals' level, where
they are then looked at from a policy standpoint.
At the moment, there has been nothing that the lawyers have surfaced
up on this subject of the Saudi who has dual citizenship in the United
States.
Q: So it might still be that he might leave the control of the
Department of Defense and go elsewhere?
Rumsfeld: Oh, sure. He could very well end up being taken by the
Department of Justice. Or he could -- if someone decides he's not
worth any more information, he could be let go or he could be
transferred to his other country of citizenship, dual citizenship.
There's -- the same options exist for him as exist for anybody.
You have to appreciate the difficulty and the magnitude of the job.
We've had to interview thousands of people for intelligence- gathering
purposes in the first instance. We've had to interview thousands of
people -- let me change that to hundreds of people for law-enforcement
purposes. And that takes time. And the idea that he's being held
indefinitely, as though he's now in his fifth year, of course is just
silliness. We've had him a relatively short period of time.
We're deeply concerned about getting intelligence from these folks.
They were captured on the battlefield. We want to try to prevent
further attacks. And it makes all the sense in the world to be doing
exactly as we are doing. And all the fussing around the edges about it
I find a distraction.
Yes?
Q: It hasn't worked its way up to your desk or --
Rumsfeld: Has not.
Q: Mr. Secretary, has the U.S. government asked permission to launch
raids over the border into Pakistan? And if so, has President
Musharraf granted permission?
Rumsfeld: From the outset, I have indicated that I prefer to allow
other countries to characterize the ways that they are assisting us in
the global war on terrorism. And you, sir, have just settled on
exactly one of those instances.
Q: Has the U.S. asked permission?
Rumsfeld: If I wanted to answer that portion of your question, I
probably would have, and I didn't. (Scattered laughter.)
Q: But do you --
Rumsfeld: What we have -- what -- I will say exactly what I want to
say about this, and it is this: We are getting wonderful assistance
from a lot of countries around the world. It is very much in their
interest that they be the ones to characterize how they are helping
us. They have different perspectives, different laws, different
political circumstances, different neighbors, different views of
threats, and we want the maximum help we can get as a country to stop
terrorism and to root out the terrorists and to stop the sanctuaries
that exist. There is no question but that that decision on the part of
the United States government was exactly the correct decision to let
those countries characterize what they are doing to help -- full stop.
Pakistan is a separate case -- no question but that they have been
wonderfully helpful and cooperative from the outset of this global war
on terrorism. They have been, they are today and I have every reason
to believe they will be prospectively.
Q: Are you satisfied with the way the last wave was handled, with FBI
and perhaps CIA, as opposed to using U.S. military? Are you satisfied
with that kind of way of handling the problem -- arresting these
people?
Rumsfeld: Well, Charlie, when you have a country that is cooperating,
and you develop a combined and joint effort, and you are able to go to
something like eleven different locations and successfully apprehend
something in excess of 60 people in those locations -- and among them
is a individual who is very senior in al Qaeda -- and then have the
opportunity to go over all of the things you collect from those 11
locations and have the opportunity to sit down and visit with the
60-plus human beings that were captured -- I don't see how anyone
could describe that as anything other than a enormously successful
effort.
Q: Can I do a follow-up on that?
Rumsfeld: And the idea of using military people for what is obviously
a law-enforcement task -- it seems to me it wouldn't fit. You're
looking at 11 different locations. That isn't what we're organized and
trained to do. So it was a very successful effort. It started. It
ended. And it has been useful.
Q: Mr. Secretary, can I do a follow-up on that, please? You are
reported to have said yesterday that Abu Zubaydah is "talking,"
quote-unquote. Is he singing like a canary? Are you getting good,
useful information?
Rumsfeld: No.
Q: Give us some --
Rumsfeld: All I can say is what I've said. Look: We have him. His
health is getting better. It is, I think, very clear that he's going
to live. And I'm not going to give daily reports on his situation.
Q: What about the one --
Q: Mr. Secretary --
Q: What about the one you captured in Spain over the weekend? Is he a
key figure?
Rumsfeld: Pardon me?
Q: I'm a wounded veteran. Don't I get a follow-up, Mr. Secretary? The
one you caught in Spain over the weekend -- is he a good catch -- the
one the Spanish people caught, the so-called finance minister for the
al Qaeda?
Rumsfeld: At the moment, he is thought to be.
Q: I'd like to ask your thinking on a completely different subject --
Americans looking at what's been going on in Israel, of course, for
the last weeks here. As a member of the national security team, not as
Defense secretary, broader portfolio, what's your thinking about the
concerns that some Americans have that the behavior of suicide bombers
could be exported -- irrespective of September 11th, the worries,
concerns that the behavior of suicide bombing could at some point be
exported to this country? Is it your sense that that -- is there an
assessment of that possibility? Do you think it's a legitimate concern
on the part of Americans? Is it something that people should be
worried about, or is it really unlikely?
Rumsfeld: Well, I mean, the reality is that we're a free people and a
free country, and we tend to not be living in basements and hiding and
carrying weapons from day to day. And as a result, free people are --
tend to be vulnerable. And there's no question but that terrorists'
attacks in the United States have occurred before. They've occurred
against Americans elsewhere in the world. The attack in this building
and the World Trade Centers were certainly terrorist attacks, suicide
attacks. And there are any number of ways that people can do those
things, and what we need to do is exactly what we're doing, and that's
trying to extract all the intelligence information we can and try to
find and root out these terrorist networks and stop countries from
harboring those people.
Yes?
Q: Mr. Secretary, on --
Q: There is a report in the Washington Post today that Secretary
Wolfowitz had asked for a report from the CIA on the capabilities of
the U.N. inspection team to do a reasonable assessment of Iraq's
ability to create weapons of mass destruction. Can you confirm that
that report was carried out at DOD request and give us your opinion of
whether the U.N. is up to this task, provided they're allowed back in,
inspecting --
Rumsfeld: Let me think how I want to respond to that. First of all,
what an official of government asks of another official of government
on a classified matter is obviously no business of anyone else's, one
would think.
The article I saw characterized something as having been requested --
something of a kind with an investigation. That, I know, is not the
case. And to what extent somebody may have asked somebody about this,
that or the other thing, I probably ask different intelligence
elements, as I'm sure Dick Myers does, every single day, probably
eight, 10, 12, 15 questions, asking people to look into this, amplify
on that, please undertake a study of this -- and I'm sure it's 12 or
15 a day of one or more intelligence agencies. I'm sure the other
senior people in the department do as well.
Q: What does release of the videotape in the last few days --
Q: Hang on! (Laughs.)
Rumsfeld: Oh, I'm sorry.
Q: The inspection -- do you have an opinion on the inspection, the
ability of the U.N. to conduct reasonable inspections of Iraq?
Rumsfeld: Well, if you're willing to take your original question and
set it over there --
Q: Sure.
Rumsfeld: -- and then start with a fresh question, the way you just
phrased it --
Q: You bet.
Rumsfeld: -- and not connect it to the individuals or the U.N. --
Q: (Laughs.) Yes, sir!
Rumsfeld: You're sure you're willing to do that?
Q: I am willing to do that.
Rumsfeld: All right.
Q: You're leading the witness!
Q: Careful! It's a trap!
Rumsfeld: It's not a trap! (Laughter.)
The answer is that there were inspectors in that country for a long
time, and they did a lot of looking around and they found some things.
But for the most part, anything they found was a result of having been
cued to something as a result of a defector giving them a heads up
that they ought to do this, that or the other thing.
There now has been a long period of years without inspectors in there.
The inspection regime that existed originally, which was not able to
find much, other than what defectors mentioned and cued them to,
coupled with the long period without inspectors, coupled with the
enormous amount of dual-use equipment that's been going in there,
enabling them to become more mobile, enabling them to go underground
to a greater extent than they had been previously, suggests to the
reasonable person, one would think, that it would have to be an
enormously intrusive inspection regime for anyone -- any reasonable
person to have confidence that it could in fact find, locate and
identify the government of Iraq's very aggressive weapons of mass
destruction program, which has been going on for years.
Q: So you're fairly unoptimistic about it?
Rumsfeld: I just can't quite picture how intrusive something would
have to be that it could offset the ease with which they had
previously been able to deny and deceive, and which today one would
think they would be vastly more skillful, having had all this time
without inspectors there. So it's hard for me to -- you know, what one
would want is an inspection regime that could give the rest of the
world reasonable confidence that in fact Saddam Hussein was not doing
that which everyone knows he has been trying to do; that is to say,
develop nuclear capability and continue to enhance his other weapons
of mass destruction, meaning biological and chemical weapons.
Q: When you said underground, did you mean physical underground or a
clandestine --
Rumsfeld: Both.
Q: What does release of yet another videotape by bin Laden, apparently
an old one, tell you about their -- bin Laden's organization's level
of confidence, desperation? Does it send you any signals?
Rumsfeld: First let me take your question and disagree with it. We
have no evidence that this was released by UBL. So your comment, what
does the release by Osama bin Laden of yet another videotape, it seems
to me -- unless you know something I don't know. We have no evidence
that he released it. There's no question it was released with that --
trying to make it seem that way. Whether -- somebody released it,
trying to make it seem that way. Whether it's UBL who wants the world
to know that, or whether he wants anything at this stage, I just don't
know. But clearly, somebody thought it would be useful to fashion this
tape and give it to some network and let them play it.
Why might they do that? I don't know. Maybe they are anxious to inject
some more energy into what they're doing. Maybe they're trying to let
the world know that the senior people are still alive and well. Maybe
they're trying to pretend to the world that they're still alive and
well even though they're not. Maybe they're trying to take advantage
of the concern about Palestinians in the Arab world by trying to play
off that and think that it might benefit their terrorist organization
in terms of recruiting or fundraising. I have no idea. Those are just
the obvious speculations as to why one might do something like that.
Q: Is this possibly a very personal response to your comments of the
last couple of weeks that you found it curious there had been no tape
for several weeks or months? Do you think these people are responding
to you personally?
Rumsfeld: Well, I don't know. That would be a reach. I'm without an
opinion on that subject.
And our time has expired.
QOn the Middle -- one question more, a question on the Middle East?
Rumsfeld: I think our time -- unless it's for Dick Myers; otherwise --
(Cross talk and laughter.)
(end Pentagon transcript)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
|
NEWSLETTER
|
|
Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list
|
|
|
