WEYMOUTH: What was the aim of the terrorists who attacked the Cole, and who were they? SALEH: According to our information, they were targeting American ships in general. We can say with 80 percent certainty that the perpetrators of the operation were born in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, but are of Yemeni origin and were trained in Afghanistan. [We have arrested six] but we are still searching for one or two persons in order to disclose who is ultimately responsible for the crime. Is it [Osama] bin Laden, Israeli intelligence or someone else?
Do you really think it might be Israeli intelligence? We can’t confirm it, but we’re just wondering. We are looking for the man who gave instructions to the two people who executed the operation. His name is Muhammed Omar al-Harazi.
Where is he? He is at large, and the security authorities are trying to find him. He’s the main suspect who funded the operation and paid for the safe houses in Aden. He’s the mastermind, but we believe someone else was behind him. If we arrest him, he’ll tell us the links to the others.
Is he Yemeni? He was born in Saudi Arabia of Yemeni origin. He used to be in Afghanistan. He’s what we call an Arab-Afghan.
Does he work with bin Laden? We can’t confirm that bin Laden is behind it. We are still saying it might be Israel or a regional intelligence agency–those who are trying to spoil the U.S.-Yemeni relationship.
Bin Laden says he wants U.S. troops out of Saudi Arabia. Does that make him a logical suspect in the Cole bombing? Everything is possible. Israel is possible–bin Laden as well.
How is the investigation going? Shortly after the bombing, we found out that a boat carrying explosives was used to attack the Cole. The boat was lowered by a crane from a car into the sea… Within three days our security men discovered where the suicide bombers bought the car. One of the men who registered the boat recognized the car. The boat was brought from Jizan in Saudi Arabia to the west of Yemen. Then the bombers moved it to Aden. They made a test, but the boat sank with explosives–several months before the attack on the Cole.
Was that when they tried and failed to sink the USS The Sullivans? That’s right.
What is the significance of the recent arrest of an American in Jordan, reportedly in connection with the Cole bombing? We received information three or four months before the Cole incident that there was a group of extremists in Jordan, including Egyptians, Palestinians and Yemenis, who were struggling against Arab rulers and American interests in the region. They call themselves “Muhamad’s Army.”
Reportedly, the refueling of American warships in our country proved unpopular when it became known. Is that so? There was a kind of resentment, I would say…
Under the guidelines you recently signed with the United States, can American investigators sit in on interviews with suspects and pass questions to your investigators? Yes, [the U.S.] investigators can pass questions to Yemeni investigators, who will ask the questions for them.
Can U.S. investigators sit in the same room as the suspects and the Yemeni investigators? Yes, they can sit with the Yemeni investigators, but not alone with a Yemeni suspect.
The United States wants to try the people who attacked the Cole, but Yemeni law says suspects cannot be extradited. Will you let suspects go to the United States for trial? Extradition of suspects is not allowed under our Constitution.
Will you let witnesses go to the United States to testify to build a case against terrorists seized in other countries? This depends on Yemeni law. A trial will be held here in Yemen in January, and we will follow all constitutional and legal measures.
There have been reports that people high up in your government were involved in the bombing of the Cole. These are weak stories aimed to create trouble with the U.S. side. They write about this as if it were a play. One opposition newspaper… even claimed my son was involved.
I thought the accusations were against fundamentalists–some reportedly in your government. In ‘94 you fought a civil war against the Marxists in South Yemen and used [Arab-Afghan veterans from Yemen] to help you win it. Some of them are now in the security services. That is not true; it was the Yemeni Army that defeated the separatists.
After the attack on the Cole, stories in your press reported that U.S. tanks were put on the ground in Yemen. Actually, there were two U.S. armored vehicles that were brought to Aden and then taken back to the ship…
You told the U.S. to get them out of Aden? We told the Americans to take the armored vehicles back to the ships.
Did you order the FBI to go back to the ships, too? We worked with them, [but] we had problems with the number of Marines at the hotel in Aden, and [thus] we told them to go back to the ship–leaving only a few onshore.
Would you say that the attack on the USS Cole was an attempt to get at your government or to get at Washington? Of course they were targeting the Yemeni-U.S. relationship as well as the Americans.
Are you happy with U.S.-Yemeni relations? Because of the gulf war [in which Yemen was pro-Iraq], the relationship worsened. But in the last few years it has improved, crowned by my visit to the U.S. earlier this year.
You’ve said over and over again that Israel might be responsible for the bombing of the USS Cole. Given Israel’s close relationship with the United States, why would Israel bomb a U.S. ship? I didn’t say Israel did it, but Israel might be involved in such incidents. We have an attitude against Israel because it is against the peace process. Most of the Arabs try to please or flatter Israel, but in Yemen we do not flatter Israel.
From Yemen’s perspective, who is preferable as prime minister of Israel: the current prime minister, Ehud Barak, or hard-line opposition Likud candidate Benjamin Netanyahu? We used to say Barak is better, but he’s not straightforward and does not have good intentions. Netanyahu is rude, but he’s clear and straightforward. He’s better than Barak. I expect he will win.
