OUT OF THE BARRIER ISLAND AND SO THOSE DECISIONS NEED TO BE MADE
TODAY.
TODAY. TODAY.
TODAY. >> IMPORTANT WARNING.
THANK YOU, MARIANNA ATENCIO, AND
YOU STAY SAFE ALONG WITH OUR
COLLEAGUES.
COLLEAGUES. >>> AND NOW TO THE MSNBC SPECIAL
REPORT OF WHO MAY BE RESPONSIBLE
FOR THE MEDICAL MYSTERY THAT
SICKENED ALL AMERICANS IN CUBA
ALMOST TWO YEARS AGO.
INTELLIGENCE NOW BELIEVES IT IS
RUSSIA AND NO ACCIDENT.
ACCORDING TO THREE U.S.
OFFICIALS AND OTHERS BRIEFED ON
THE CONDITION, BACKED UP WITH
THE HIGHLY SEEKCRET INTERCEPTS.
JOINING ME ARE THE FORMER DEPUTY
SECURITY ADVISER TO GEORGE W.
BUSH, AND SENIOR NATIONAL
SECURITY ANALYST, AND POLITICAL
REPORTER JOSH LEADERMAN WHO DID
A LOT OF THE REPORTING.
JOSH, YOU AND THE TEAM HAVE BEEN
WORKING ON TO THIS FOR A LONG
TIME AND I WAS IN HAVANA LAST
OCTOBER TALKING TO INTELLIGENCE
OFFICIALS THERE, AND THERE HAVE
BEEN SUSPICIONS ALL ALONG, BUT
YOU HONED IN ON RUSSIA BEING THE
PRIME SUSPECT ACCORDING TO THE
OFFICIALS, AND NO EVIDENCE OR
PROOF TO ACCUSE RUSSIA
DIPLOMATICALLY, BUT THEY ARE THE
REAL SUSPECTS?
REAL SUSPECTS? >> YES, A THAT IS RIGHT.
RUSSIA HAD BEEN A SUSPICION FROM
THE START DUE TO THE LARGE
PRESENCE ON THE ISLAND OF CUBA
AND THE ADVANCED MILITARY
CAPABILITIES AND AS YOU REPORTED
FROM HAVANA, THE CUBANS
ACKNOWLEDGED THAT IS A
POSSIBILITY, AND NOW, ANDREA,
THIS IS MORE OF A THEORY, AND
THE MAIN SUSPECT, AND IT IS
BACKED UP WITH SOME INFORMATION
FROM SOME COMMUNICATIONS
INTERCEPTS KNOWN AS THE SIGNALS
INTELLIGENCE THAT THE OFFICIALS
TELL NBC NEWS THAT THEY HAVE
DEVELOPED.
DEVELOPED. BUT ANDREA, IT IS NOT CONCLUSIVE
ENOUGH
ENOUGH ENOUGH FOR THE U.S. TO TAKE A
DRAMATIC STEP OF FORMALLY
ACCUSING RUSSIA OF BEING BEHIND
THE ATTACKS, SO THAT THE UNITED
STATES WILL CONTINUE TO DEVELOP
EVIDENCE, AND TRY TO HUNT THIS
DOWN BOTH WHO WAS BEHIND IT, AND
EXACTLY WHAT THE TECHNOLOGY WAS
USED TO EFFECT THESE DIPLOMATS.
>> AND JOSH, I TALK DED TO FOREI
SECRETARY JOHN KERRY ABOUT HOW
RUSSIA WOULD BE INVOLVED, AND
THIS IS WHAT HE HAD TO SAY.
>> WELL, RUSSIA HAS BEEN THERE
FOR A LONG TIME, AND THAT IS
NOTHING NEW THAT RUSSIA IS THERE
FOR CUBA, AND THEY HAVE BNEEN TH
LIFELINE FOR THEM FOR A LONG
PERIOD OF TIME.
THAT IS NOT GOING TO CHANGE
EITHER.
EITHER. >> AND WHAT HE SAID IS THAT
RUSSIA IS THERE, AND WHAT HAS
HAPPENED, JUAN, IS THAT FIRST OF
ALL TO SAFEGUARD OUR PEOPLE
THERE, THEY WERE PULLED BACK,
BUT IT ALSO FIT, LET’S SAY
COINCIDENTALLY OR CONVENIENTLY
WITH THE TRUMP’S ADMINISTRATION
DESIRE TO CHANGE THE OBAMA
OPENING TO THE CUBA AND SHUT
DOWN THE RELATIONS, AND THAT IS
WHAT HAS HAPPENED A SON WE HAVE
LEFT THE FIELD, AND RUSSIA IS
ALL OVER THE ISLAND WITH
INTELLIGENCE GATHERING, AND THE
U.S. IS WITHOUT ANY REAL
WEAPONS.
WEAPONS. >> YES, THE REALITY IS THAT THE
COLD WAR NEVER ENDED FOR PARTS
OF THE CUBA GOVERNMENT AND PART
OF THE RUSSIA GOVERNMENT,
INCLUDING PUTIN.
INCLUDING PUTIN. SO THEY HAVE NEVER LEFT CUBA AND
THEY SENT SIGNALS THAT THEY WILL
NOT BE ABSENT NOT ONLY FROM
CUBA, BUT VENEZUELA AND THE
REGION.
REGION. THIS IS COMING AT A TIME WHEN
RUSSIA IS MUCH MORE AGGRESSIVE
AND ACTING WITHOUT IMPUNITY
AROUND THE WORLD.
YOU HAVE THE NERVE AGENT ACTS IN
LONDON AND THE CYBER ATTACKS ON
OUR ELECTION SYSTEMS IN EASTERN
EUROPE, AND THE PROVOCATIVE
MILITARY EXERCISES HAPPENING
NOW, AND THE LARGEST IN RECENT
MODERN MEMORY, AND EASTERN
RUSSIA, AND SO, THIS IS ANOTHER
DEMONSTRATION.
DEMONSTRATION. IF IT PROVES TO BE RIGHT, AND IF
JOSH’S REPORTING IS CORRECT THAT
THE RUSSIANS HAVE TAKEN ANOTHER
STEP TO USE ASYMMETRIC ATTACKS
TO EFFECT U.S. INTERESTS WHETHER
IT IS SONIC WEAPONS, AND
ELECTROMAGNETIC WEAPON SS OR
MICROWAVE WEAPON, YOU HAVE THE
U.S. HAVING TO CONFRONT ANOTHER
VECTOR OF ATTACK FROM THE
RUSSIANS.
RUSSIANS. >> AND ANOTHER THING THAT IS
COMING OUT OF THE NEW REPORTING
IS THAT THIS IS NOT AN ACCIDENT
OR A MICROWAVE LISTENINGING
DEVICE GONE BAD, BUT IT IS AN
ATTACK THE AGAINST AMERICAN
DIPLOMATS AND INTELLIGENCE
OFFICERS.
OFFICERS. AND IT WAS TARGET INGING THEM.
>> ABSOLUTELY.
>> ABSOLUTELY. THERE ARE A NUMBER OF FACTORS
THAT YOU RARE LOOKING AT, ANDREA
AND ANY INVESTIGATIVE OR
INTELLIGENCE OFFICER WOULD LOOK
AT.
AT. SO YOU HAVE THE NUMBER OF
ATTACKS THAT HAPPENED IN 2016
AND BEGAN TO REOCCUR IN 2018 AND
SO IT IS NOT RANDOM.
IT IS ALSO NOT PART OF SOME
ROGUE OPERATION THAT WE HAVE
INDICATIONS THAT IT MAY HAVE
HAPPENED IN CHINA AS WELL.
YOU HAVE A NUMBER OF OFFICIALS
TARGETED AND THE FACILITIES
TARGET AND THE DIPLOMATIC FACILE
FACILITIES AND THE INTELLIGENCE
OFFICIALS, AND SO THIS IS NOT AN
ACCIDENT AND THOSE WHO THINK
THAT IT IS A ROGUE OPERATION,
YOU ARE OPERATING IN A FANTASY
WORLD.
WORLD. THIS IS TARGET AND LED BY A FIST
SOPHISTICATED LIKELY STATE
ACTOR, AND IF JOSH’S REPORTING
IS RIGHT, ALL ROADS LEAD BACK TO
MOSCOW ON THIS.
>> AND JOSH, ONE OF THE THINGS
THAT YOU AND I HAVE BOTH SEEN
AND COVER IN CUBA FOR YEARS AND
THE U.S. DIPLOMACY OR LACK OF IT
IS THAT AFTER THE OPENING, THERE
IS MAY WELL HAVE BEEN SOME
HARDLINERS AND IS SECRETARY
TILLERSON IS SAYING THAT WE ARE
NOT BLAMING CUBA, BUT THAT CUBA
BEING THE KIND OF THE GOVERNMENT
THAT IT IS, IT MUST HAVE KNOWN.
AND SO THEY COULD HAVE HAD SOME
HEL
HEL HELP, AND IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN
THE INSIDE JOB FROM SOME PEOPLE
IN HAVANA WHO WERE NOT HAPPY
WITH THE OBAMA AND RAY YULE
CASTRO --
CASTRO -- RAUL CASTRO OPENING.
>> RIGHT.
>> RIGHT. SOME SAY THAT IT IS NOT POSSIBLE
FOR RUSSIA TO CARRY THIS OUT
ENTIRELY ON THEIR OWN WITHOUT
SOME COOPERATION OR THE TACIT
CONSENT FROM THE CUBAN
GOVERNMENT GIVEN THAT IT IS A
SMALL ISLAND, AND THEY ARE A
HEAVY SURVEILLANCE ON THE ISLAND
AND THE FACT THAT, YOU KNOW,
THIS WOULD HAVE HAD TO HAVE BEEN
PRETTY, WITH THE KNOWLEDGE OF
THE CUBAN GOVERNMENT FOR IT TO
TAKE PLACE IN THE HOTELS SUCH AS
THE HOTEL NACIONAL.
>> AND ONE QUICK QUESTION, JUAN,
WHERE WERE YOU ON 9/11?
>> ON THE TREASURY DEPARTMENT,
LOOKING OVER THE POTOMAC
WATCHING THE SMOKE RISE.
WE WERE WATCHING WHAT WAS
HAPPENING IN NEW YORK ON THE TV
AND EVACUATED FROM THE TREASURY
DEPARTMENT.
DEPARTMENT. WE RACED AND A CORE GROUP OF US
RACE FOD
RACE FOD RACED TO THE SECRET SERVICE
HEADQUARTERS AND FRANKLY
WATCHING THE SKY, PRAYING TO GOD
THAT ANOTHER PLANE WAS NOT
HEADING TOWARDS THE CAPITAL OR
TOWARDS THE WHITE HOUSE.
>> AND AS WE LATER LEARNED THAT
ONE WOULD HAVE BEEN IF IT
WEREN’T FOR THE HEROISM FOR THE
CREW AND THE PASSENGERS ON THE