CNN CONNIE CHUNG TONIGHT

Aired November 7, 2002 - 20:00 ET

CHUNG: In a moment, we are going to talk about the man who appears to be America's No. 1 priority, Saddam Hussein.

But what about al Qaeda? A new article in "Vanity Fair" raises the disturbing specter of al Qaeda training camps in a terrorist haven closer to the U.S. than many have imagined, right in South America, in the region where Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil meet, known as the Triple Border. How long has American intelligence known about this? And could information from the region have prevented September 11?

Well, joining me now is the article's author, "Vanity Fair" contributing editor Sebastian Junger.

Thank you so much for being with us.

SEBASTIAN JUNGER, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR, "VANITY FAIR": My pleasure.

CHUNG: All right, based on your reporting, what can you tell us about Triple Border?

JUNGER: Well, it's an area with a lot of black market activity, a large Muslim population. And Hezbollah has been in there for about 10 years. They mounted two attacks in Argentina from there in the early 90s. And now it looks like al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations from around the world are there as well.

CHUNG: Did the United States know about this Triple Border?

JUNGER: Yes and no. My understanding -- it's always a murky story, of course -- but the CIA asked Argentine intelligence to infiltrate Triple Border in the mid-'90s to find out about Hezbollah. And what Argentine intelligence came back with was not only Hezbollah, but al Qaeda. And that was so incredible to the CIA, they basically -- they dismissed it. They said, "That's not possible."

Now they have picked it up quite vigorously, of course. But, for a while, they lost a couple of years there. CHUNG: And you connected with a former Argentinian intelligence officer. And the most shocking thing, I think, is that, seven months before 9/11, he wrote a letter to U.S. authorities.

JUNGER: Yes, he wrote a letter. He claims he wrote a letter to Ambassador Walsh in Argentina, warning of attacks on September 11. He didn't say September 11, but he said in the next half-year or so that suicide pilots will fly planes into buildings.

That is corroborated by a young Moroccan who was an al Qaeda operative in Brazil named Abdel Fatah (ph), who, one week beforehand, had a change of heart and tried to get a letter to U.S. authorities warning about September 11. Clearly, he was ignored. Clearly, that information was on the street in South America in the months preceding September 11. Why would that be? Well, obviously, al Qaeda is there.

CHUNG: Well, did this former intelligence officer, Argentinian, specify even the buildings and what would be hit?

JUNGER: Yes, he had a list. He said White House. Obviously, they weren't all hit. But he said possible targets are White House, Congress, Twin Towers, Pentagon.

He also said the planes would have explosives in them, which, apparently, they didn't. But, obviously, his information is not perfect, but he had an extraordinary amount of detailed knowledge, and also about who was in Triple Border. He has names, surveillance photos of Hezbollah and al Qaeda agents who have passed through there.

A lot of this information I've actually confirmed through other sources. So, in my mind, his credibility rises practically every day, actually.

CHUNG: Well, but, then, why did the United States not consider him credible? Why didn't authorities here take it seriously?

JUNGER: Well, to be fair, I think U.S. authorities get a lot of sort of crackpots who contact them about sort of catastrophic warnings. I think they get a lot of that. My contact down there also has a very complicated history with his own government. He tried to warn his own government about terrorist attacks. They ignored him. He spent some time in jail. He's a complicated figure.

I also think, ultimately, they couldn't imagine that it could be true. That al Qaeda could be in South America I think was so inconceivable, they basically didn't want to know about it. That's a very cynical interpretation.

CHUNG: Now, you mentioned that he also provided photographs that you were able to examine.

JUNGER: Yes. He has dozens and dozens of photographs of men who he says are al Qaeda and Hezbollah operatives down there.

CHUNG: And did he pass this along to U.S. authorities as well?

JUNGER: He passed them along to me, and I sent them along.

CHUNG: And what did they consist of? Were they people that are now identifiable or prospective terrorists?

JUNGER: He's identified them, including American right-wing extremists who are down there, who have been down there since the mid- '80s.

CHUNG: You mean Aryan Nations?

JUNGER: Yes, Aryan Nations, Michigan Militia, photos and names of these guys. One was ex-special forces.

CHUNG: An ex-special forces?

JUNGER: Yes, Vietnam era.

That is not unheard of. There was an ex-special forces American soldier who was providing security for bin Laden in Sudan in '94, I believe it was. So, that kind of crossover from sort of alienated American military or right-wing extremists is not unheard of.

He has identified these men to me. The U.S. government, of course, is quite careful about what they confirm and don't confirm. So I haven't gotten anything back from this side. But there's an enormous amount of evidence that this activity is happening.

CHUNG: I guess the burning question -- and just in the last 15 seconds -- is: Do you know of any specific potential terrorist attack against the United States based on this Argentinian's information?

JUNGER: Well, a contact of his who was trained in these al Qaeda training camps says that he has been monitoring meetings they've had in the past month about attacks in the U.S. I've also had that confirmed from other intelligence sources. So, it really looks like something is happening down there.

CHUNG: So frightening.

Thank you.

JUNGER: Thank you.

CHUNG: We appreciate your help and your reporting as well, Sebastian.