Sept. 11 Masterminds Revealed
CTV Television, Inc. - Canada AM
March 6, 2003
[transcript]
ANCHOR: Seamus O'Regan
GUEST: Yosri Fouda, Journalist
O'REGAN: We move now from the war on Iraq to the war against terrorism, and to a man shrouded in secrecy. This week's capture of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the mastermind behind the Sept. 11 attacks, thrust him into the international spotlight. Only one journalist has ever interviewed the al-Qaeda commander, and that journalist is Yosri Fouda. He joins us from London, England.
Good morning, sir.
FOUDA: Good morning.
O'REGAN: First of all, tell me about that meeting briefly. It seems from your reports that there was such a cold professionalism about this man. I'm just wondering if you found it unsettling, what you learned about him.
FOUDA: Yeah, well, that was back in April of last year. I was invited for an exclusive. I had no idea where I was being led to or who I would be meeting. As it turned out, I was led blindfolded. And I arrived at what I discovered later to be a safe house where somebody removed my blindfolds. And it was the man himself, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed. He tried to reassure me. And then he immediately introduced himself as the head of the military committee of al-Qaeda, and then introduced Ramzi Binalshibh as the coordinator of 9/11. That was my first shock.
O'REGAN: At that point did you fear for your life?
FOUDA: No, because I feared for my life only until I took the decision to take a risk. From that point on, I decided to at least look confident. It would have been very wrong on my part to send the wrong message. They needed to feel that from my side. And I needed to acquire their confidence, at least until I got back with what I went for.
O'REGAN: Well, you have met this man, this man who calls 9/11 "Holy Tuesday". Now that he's captured, do you believe that he will cave under interrogation?
FOUDA: It's going to take some time, in my opinion. He is very strong-willed. He knows what he wants. And I think all that he bargained for is some more time to give his people, his associates and his aides and his [unintelligible word] some more time to change a few things about themselves -- their locations, identities and the rest of it. But he knows that in the end he will have to talk.
O'REGAN: Do you think that his capture could spur more terrorist attacks in desperation?
FOUDA: I am sure. And I think it already happened. The very first of it really happened a couple of days ago in the Philippines. And what I'm not sure about, whether this operation was actually one of his ideas and he never saw it through, or it was a standby plan that was pulled out of one of the bags. But I am almost certain that the Philippines operation is linked directly to the arrest of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed. And maybe more will come.
O'REGAN: There are reports this morning, too, that he has said to Pakistani authorities who have been interrogating him that he believes that he has met Osama bin Laden, that Osama bin Laden is living somewhere on the Afghan-Pakistani border. Apparently, Osama bin Laden chose you for that interview last year because he watches you on al-Jazeera. I'm wondering, do you think, in your opinion, is Osama bin Laden alive?
FOUDA: He probably is alive. I mean, from the audiotapes that he sent out I don't have much doubt, or many reasons to doubt, that he indeed is alive. If we assume, for argument's sake, that those tapes were played with, electronically modified, why should you send a 52-minute audiotape if you can get away with only a one- minute or two-minute audiotape? So, he probably is alive.
But, referring to the first part of the question about some intelligence leaks, I always get butterflies when I come across intelligence leaks. Maybe he started to sing. Maybe he hasn't started yet. But I certainly, during my 48-hour encounter with him and Ramzi Binalshibh, I got the feeling that probably Khalid Shaikh Mohammed did not know where his boss was.
O'REGAN: Well, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed has now been caught. Ramzi, the No. 3, has been caught based on a voice print taken from the interview that you did with him. I'm wondering, do you think that Osama bin Laden can be caught?
FOUDA: Well, just before I answer the question, I'm not sure that they caught Ramzi Binalshibh based on a voice fingerprint that they took out of the interview that he did with me.
I think, first of all, according to the Pakistani officials, they arrested a dozen people in Karachi. A day or two later they discovered, they found out that one of them was Ramzi Binalshibh. So, this is a fact.
Fact No. 2. I think that Khalid Shaikh Mohammed was sold out from within, rather than hunted down. It's nothing about the bravery of the Pakistanis or the cleverness of the Americans. But the unceremonious manner of the arrest of such a high-profile guy who is very much security-conscious tells me more about what's happening inside al-Qaeda rather than what's happening with the Pakistani and the Americans.
O'REGAN: Yosri, we're out of time. I just have to ask very quickly: Do you think that Osama bin Laden can be caught?
FOUDA: Well, he is very much catchable. But at the same time I think it's going to take some time. And I think even if the Americans put their hands on Osama bin Laden they will go back and consider Khalid Shaikh Mohammed to be their biggest catch ever.
O'REGAN: Thank you very much for your insight this morning. We appreciate it.
Copyright 2003 CTV Television, Inc.
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