News

USIS Washington File

13 December 1999

Transcript: Albright Interview on CBS's "Face the Nation" December 12

(U.S. concerned about "a variety of groups" in terrorism warning)
(3200)

Secretary of State Albright says the State Department has "an
obligation to let the American people know when there are potential
terrorist threats, and we are concerned about Americans traveling
abroad and being in large groups. And we are suggesting (in the Travel
Warning released by the State Department late December 11) that if
they do travel abroad" from now through early January 2000 "that they
be in touch with the American Embassy and the Consulate" in countries
they may be traveling in.

In an interview on the CBS television program "Face the Nation"
December 12, the Secretary of State responded to a question about such
large gatherings in the United States itself (specifically New York's
Times Square and Washington, D.C.'s National Mall) by saying, "I think
we always have to be vigilant, but the one that we put out was for
Americans abroad and it is not something that, as we see it, is
targeted against Americans here."

Told that this particular travel warning seems more ominous than
earlier ones, Albright said, "I think we are concerned, obviously,
because there are a lot of activities going on, and I think that there
are more specific indications (now). But we don't want to discourage
people. We want people to be very vigilant, and we want people to
contact our embassies.

"If people want more information," the Secretary of State said, "I'd
suggest they get in touch with our web site, which is www.state.gov."

Asked if the United States is worried specifically about Usama bin
Ladin, Albright said, "there are a number of groups that we are
watching, obviously. For some time we have been concerned about Usama
bin Ladin, but these are -- there are a variety of groups that we have
been concerned about and are watching. And we are concerned -- there
is no question about it -- and we have to be vigilant, which is why we
put out the warning."

On the subject of new Middle East talks here in Washington on December
15 between Syria and Israel, the Secretary of State said that "what is
great is this is the first time that we have had this kind of
high-level meeting between a Syrian Foreign Minister and an Israeli
Prime Minister. And I felt, when I was on my trip there last week,
that there was a sense of optimism and a desire by both parties to
stop talking about talking and get down to negotiations."

As for what has been described in news reports as a very sophisticated
listening device that the Russians installed in a conference room in
the State Department, Albright said she considers this to be "a very
serious matter" but she pointed out that "while it was on the same
floor that I'm on, the State Department is a huge square building" and
the listening device was "on the other side of the square." There was
nothing found, she said, in the most sensitive offices, "which are my
corridor."

Other issues discussed during the interview included the Cuban boy and
the Russians in Chechnya.

Following is the State Department transcript:

(begin transcript)

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman

December 13, 1999

INTERVIEW OF SECRETARY OF STATE MADELEINE K. ALBRIGHT
ON CBS's FACE THE NATION

Washington, D.C.

December 12, 1999

QUESTION:  Madame Secretary, welcome.

SECRETARY ALBRIGHT:  Thank you.

QUESTION: You're here in our studio this morning. A very troubling
thing, it seems to me: the State Department has now warned all
Americans traveling abroad to take extra security precautions between
now and the first week in January. It says there is a possibility or
you have information that there may be attacks planned where large
gatherings of people are taking place, celebrations and so on.

What can you tell us about this?

SECRETARY ALBRIGHT: Well, basically, we believe we have an obligation
to let the American people know when there are potential terrorist
threats, and we are concerned about Americans traveling abroad and
being in large groups. And we are suggesting that if they do travel
abroad, that they be in touch with the American embassy and the
consulate and take care.

QUESTION: Well, now, there will be some large gatherings in this
country, of course, on New Year's Eve, Times Square, down on the mall
here in Washington. Do you have any security concerns about those
gatherings?

SECRETARY ALBRIGHT: I think we always have to be vigilant, but the one
that we put out was for Americans abroad and it is not something that,
as we see it, is targeted against Americans here.

QUESTION: You know, you do this -- the State Department does this from
time to time, but this one seems a bit more ominous in some way.

SECRETARY ALBRIGHT: Well, I think we are concerned, obviously, because
there are a lot of activities going on, and I think that there are
more specific indications. But we don't want to discourage people; we
want people to be very vigilant and we want people to contact our
embassies. If people want more information, I suggest that they get in
touch with our website, which is www.state.gov.

QUESTION: Let me ask you, this is obviously aimed at -- you're worried
about some sort of a terrorist attack. Could it be Usama bin Ladin? Is
it anything to do with him?

SECRETARY ALBRIGHT: Well, let me say there are a number of groups that
we are watching, obviously. For some time we have been concerned about
Usama bin Ladin, but these are -- there are a variety of groups that
we have been concerned about and are watching. And we are concerned --
there is no question about it -- and we have to be vigilant, which is
why we put out the warning.

QUESTION:  More than one group?

SECRETARY ALBRIGHT:  Probably, yes.

QUESTION: Madame Secretary, peace talks start next week between Israel
and Syria. We have a wire report this morning that said that Syria's
foreign minister is so optimistic that he is confident that a peace
deal can be reached with Israel within a few months.

Do you agree with that assessment?

SECRETARY ALBRIGHT: Well, you know, what is great is that this is the
first time that we have had this kind of high-level meeting between a
Syrian foreign minister and an Israeli prime minister, and I felt when
I was on my trip there last week that there was a sense of optimism
and a desire by both parties to stop talking about talking and getting
down to negotiations. There clearly are very hard decisions to be made
and they are going to be talking about four basic areas; that is,
withdrawal from the Golan Heights, the mutual security arrangements,
the content or character of the peace, and the timetable.

And what we hope will happen while they're here this week is that they
will set out the agenda for -- obviously, there will be more talks.
And I had a sense of optimism after I had my meeting with President
Asad, but nobody should underestimate this is going to be tough going,
but this is an amazing moment and there is a sense that a historic
opportunity is present.

QUESTION: Do you think this is the closest they've ever come right
now?

SECRETARY ALBRIGHT: Well, certainly they've never met at this level
and I think that that is very hopeful, but I think there are lots of
things that are going to have to be talked about.

QUESTION: Let me also ask you, we have a wire story that says that
this morning Israel signaled that it would look to United States
taxpayers to bankroll any pullout from the Golan Heights. Would we be
willing to finance that?

SECRETARY ALBRIGHT: First of all, I think it's kind of premature to
discuss it, but as a matter of record --

QUESTION:  They're saying it.

SECRETARY ALBRIGHT: Well, but I think that as a matter of record we've
seen that after Camp David that the United States Congress and the
administration came forward with some assistance after Wye. And I
think we've got to remember that if we manage this, this would be 50
years of work that will have been accomplished for a comprehensive
peace that I think everybody will cheer and be happy to contribute to.

QUESTION: You just called this an "amazing moment." Tell me why it's
an amazing moment. What made it so?

SECRETARY ALBRIGHT: Well, I think on my trip what was interesting was
even from the minute that I landed in Saudi Arabia and met with the
King and Crown Prince Abdallah, there was a sense there that they
wanted -- they also, the Saudis, saw this as a time for moving forward
and a time that we had to seize the opportunity.

And when I met with President Asad, I got a sense some 20 minutes into
the meeting, that we were going a somewhat different direction, that
there was -- again, that people were tired about negotiating about
negotiations. And Prime Minister Barak has had such energy about
getting into the peace process issues and obviously has set deadlines
for the Palestinian track. And then when I met with Chairman Arafat,
he also wanted to see that track move forward.

And what I have made quite clear is that we can do -- or they can --
we are there as the honest broker; the parties themselves have to make
the decisions. But this is a time when the tracks can move forward on
their own speed and we are not going to do one track at the expense of
another.

QUESTION: Would we be interested in participating or leading an
international peacekeeping force?

SECRETARY ALBRIGHT: I think that is a premature question, and I think
that we'll see how it develops. Neither party has asked us to do that,
and I think we've got a ways to go before such questions can be
answered.

QUESTION: Madame Secretary, I have to ask you about this thing that
happened last week. We all learned about that somehow or another the
Russians apparently put a very sophisticated listening device in a
conference room on the very floor of the State Department where your
office is.

Do you know yet how it got there or how long it's been there?

SECRETARY ALBRIGHT: Well, first of all, let me say I consider this a
very serious matter and we have worked very hard -- the Diplomatic
Security Service has worked very hard with the FBI. I was briefed
about this a couple of months ago. They had been working on this, and
we stopped it; we discovered it. And I think that that's very
important.

The other point I think is important for your viewers is, while it was
on the same floor that I'm on, the State Department is a huge square
building and this is on the other side of the square and the most
sensitive offices, which are my corridor, none of those have been --
we've swept those and there was nothing there.

QUESTION: But as yet, you don't know how it got there or how long it's
been there?

SECRETARY ALBRIGHT: Well, this is under investigation and I do not
know the specifics of that, but I think that we are going about it
just the right way. We are very concerned about how this happened and
tightened security, obviously.

QUESTION: In a broader sense, does this say in some way that perhaps
the Russians are stepping up their spy activities now?

SECRETARY ALBRIGHT: I wouldn't characterize that. I think the thing
that we have to remember is that spying is an old form, that it's
always been going on. It's our responsibility to protect ourselves
against it. We have to do a better job. I have been consistently
tightening security from where I found it. We have specifically
tightened a whole host of policies.

Our problem, to a great extent, is resources because at the same time
that we're doing this we've got the problem with trying to make our
buildings overseas secure against terrorists.

QUESTION: Is it possible that there is a mole in the State Department?

SECRETARY ALBRIGHT: I'm not going to speculate on that. They are
questioning people in terms of trying to find out, you know, witnesses
to things, but I'm not going to speculate on something like that.

QUESTION: But the fact that they're questioning people, it makes you
think that this could have been an inside job because they hid this
bug in molding and --

SECRETARY ALBRIGHT: I can't comment on the details of it, but the
questioning is not in terms of questioning suspects; it's mainly
trying to find out who saw what and trying to piece the story
together. And what I've done is, my Assistant Secretary for Security
is not a diplomat. I can't disparage diplomats, but I now have a
27-year veteran of the Secret Service who is my Assistant Secretary,
David Carpenter, and he is going about this in a very, very systematic
way.

QUESTION: Just one more question about this. Do you know, or is it
possible to know, if serious security leaks came out of this? I mean,
were there discussions in this room that we wouldn't have wanted the
Russians to know about?

SECRETARY ALBRIGHT: This is not, as I said, in the most sensitive part
of the State Department and, as far as we can tell, a lot of the
meetings there were not the kind that would be the most secret or
sensitive, as far as we know.

QUESTION: Let's talk a little bit about this young boy that's become
the center of this diplomatic situation between Cuba and the United
States. What's going to happen here, Madame Secretary? Shouldn't this
boy be sent back to his father? I mean, in any court in this country
when there is a father there, wouldn't he have rights over anyone
else's rights?

SECRETARY ALBRIGHT: Well, first of all, we have to remember that this
is a case where there's a little boy involved in it and then, also,
there are various legal provisions. The Immigration and Naturalization
Service is going through processing. We have sought, or the INS has
sought, to interview the boy's father and there has been no response
from Cuba on that. And I think that what we have to do is follow
through the legal parts of this, and that is what we're doing.

QUESTION: Will you return the boy without an interview? Do you have to
have an interview?

SECRETARY ALBRIGHT: I think that we believe that INS is doing the
processing; they are the ones that are in charge of it. I'm not going
to speculate on that, but I think that the boy -- I mean, Bob just
said that often the parental rights -- and what has to be established
here are the parental rights and the father needs to be interviewed.

QUESTION:  Do you have any message to Fidel Castro on this?

SECRETARY ALBRIGHT: Well, the main thing that I have is just a general
message, is to remember that this is a little boy and not a political
football.

QUESTION: Let's talk a little bit about Russia. Mr. Yeltsin this week
said perhaps the United States has forgotten that we are a country
with nuclear weapons. Is that a threat? Is that something you take
seriously? It sounds kind of scary on first hearing.

SECRETARY ALBRIGHT: Well, we don't take it as a threat and Prime
Minister Putin indicated that it was not. I think that we clearly are
watching a very difficult situation in Russia -- a country that has
been a superpower, our major adversary that is going through a very
difficult time.

I think that was President Yeltsin was doing was basically reminding
the world that Russia counts. We met with President Yeltsin --
President Clinton and I -- in Istanbul. He is a fierce defender of
Russian national interests and energetic and, at the same time, we
have a lot of business to do with Russia.

QUESTION:  Some people say that maybe he was just drunk.

SECRETARY ALBRIGHT: I'm not -- you know, I think that he was stating
the case that Russia needs to be recognized. And one of the problems,
if you think about it, here was a country which for 70 years was out
there as a superpower that's going through very, very difficult
changes, and I think we have to recognize that.

QUESTION: Realistically, Madame Secretary, what can we do about
Chechnya? You have a situation where the top Russian commander has
said we won't allow these people to survive the winter. What can you
do?

SECRETARY ALBRIGHT: Well, let me just say the Chechnya issue is,
again, a very difficult one. The Russians were concerned about
terrorist threats. They had buildings that were bombed in Moscow.
There was an attack by rebels from Chechnya into Dagestan. And they
were concerned about that.

The international community -- we, as leading it -- have made very
clear that while they may have a terrorist problem they can not deal
with this by indiscriminate bombing of civilians and that they need to
understand that the only solution to this is a political solution.

What has been hopeful in the last day is that Prime Minister Putin has
indicated that they are beginning to talk to some of the
representatives of the Chechen leader Maskhadov. There is a mission
going from the OSCE in the next couple of days and the international
community, the Europeans with us, have been talking about a political
solution. It is very bad -- there is no question -- and we're very
concerned about the civilians.

QUESTION: But you seem to see just a glimmer of maybe good news here?

SECRETARY ALBRIGHT: Perhaps. I want to be very realistic about this.
They have a goal: they want to make sure that Chechnya does not keep
causing them problems. On the other hand, I think that they have
understood the international pressure to some extent and there is a
sense that Russia is becoming isolated. We're having meetings next
week in Europe. I'm going to be in Berlin where we're meeting with the
G-8. The Russians are the eighth member of that. And, clearly, this is
going to be a topic of discussion and so they know that this is on our
minds.

I have talked to Foreign Minister Ivanov practically every day. We are
either talking about resolutions at the UN or about Chechnya or
various things, and they know how seriously we take this.

QUESTION: Madame Secretary, thank you so much. It's an understatement
to say you've got a busy week ahead of you.

SECRETARY ALBRIGHT: Well, thank you. It's great to be with you both.

(End of interview.)

(end transcript)

(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State)