Ailing Iraqi President Undergoing Medical Tests
CLANCY: Hello, everyone and welcome back. You're watching YOUR WORLD TODAY on CNN international.</s>GORANI: All right. We're seen live in 200 countries across the globe including Afghanistan and Pakistan.</s>CLANCY: Now with reports of the Taliban and al Qaeda militant activity on the rise there, the Bush administration again turning to regional leaders to get some help.</s>GORANI: Vice President Dick Cheney met with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf on Monday. The U.S. wants more preemptive action from Pakistan and Afghanistan to help disrupt Taliban and al Qaeda activity.</s>CLANCY: Now analysts insist both groups are reenergized and inflicting casualties possibly preparing for a major spring offensive.</s>GORANI: Anderson Cooper looked at the evidence offered up by a terrorist monitoring group.</s>ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Crude and chilling. You're looking at what is purportedly videotape of al Qaeda fighters building a bomb. The nails are put into the IED to create maximum destruction. According to Intel Center, a terrorism monitoring group, this terror tape was made by al Qaeda in Pakistan, along the Afghanistan border in early 2006. U.S. intelligence officials say al Qaeda's influence in the area is increasing and they're teaching their deadly bomb building and suicide bombing techniques to the Taliban. The flash point for both groups is an area known as Waziristan (ph), a province in Pakistan. It's a haven for al Qaeda and the Taliban, a base U.S. military officials say to conduct cross border raids into Afghanistan. Pakistan says it's an ally in the war on terror but recently signed a peace deal with Waziristan's pro-Taliban militants. This after dozens of Pakistani soldiers and tribal elders were killed in this area. On the tape, we see what purportedly are members of al Qaeda openly conducted training exercises in Afghanistan. Guns are fired and rocket propelled grenades are launched. Then at night they leave their position for what Intel Center says is an attack on a Pakistani military outpost. First we hear the pops of gun fire. They're followed by explosions. Then the apparent aftermath. We see what appears to be the bodies of Pakistani soldiers as al Qaeda fighters take weapons and ammunition. The tape ends with al Qaeda setting fire to the outpost. The flames and the bodies a bloody testament to al Qaeda's growing strength. Anderson Cooper, CNN.</s>GORANI: Let's get reaction now directly from the White House. Dana Perino is the deputy White House press secretary and she joins us now live. Thank you for being with us Dana. I'm going to start with the vice president's trip to Pakistan and Afghanistan. There are reports that the U.S. is saying we'll cut financial aid unless you, Pakistan and the president of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf don't do more to destruct al Qaeda activity on that border region there.</s>DANA PERINO, DEP. WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: There were reports of that earlier, in I think late January coming from Congress, not coming from the White House. As recently as two weeks ago, the president gave a speech talking about how important it is that we continue to support President Musharraf and the Pakistanis. The vice president went to Pakistan on his way home from his trip to Asia in order to talk about U.S. policy and to reiterate our commitment to making sure we're doing all we can, to make sure that we dismantle and tackle al Qaeda, try and track them down before they track any of us down and try to kill us.</s>GORANI: So there was no threat made or a trade-off discussed that unless you sort of try to tackle that al Qaeda, resurgent al Qaeda on the border region, then perhaps U.S. financial aid won't be as forthcoming as it was. The vice president didn't discuss that with President Musharraf?</s>PERINO: Of course I wasn't there in the room having the private discussion between Vice President Cheney and President Musharraf, but I can tell you that we have made a commitment to making sure that this strong ally in the global war on terror has what it needs in order to tackle these border regions that Anderson Cooper was just talking about.</s>GORANI: All right. Now I'm sure you heard over the weekend, Seymour Hirsh, the "New Yorker" reporter saying the White House has developed a plan to attack Iran within 24 hours. Before I ask you about that, let's listen to what Seymour Hirsch told us right her on CNN on Sunday.</s>SEYMOUR HIRSH, "NEW YORKER": They are planning very seriously at the president's request to attack Iran and as I wrote in the article, one of the assignments they've been given contingency assignments - there's no operational order, no order to hit anything. But one of the contingency assignments would enable the president to at 2:00 in the afternoon say I want to hit and within 24 hours targets would be struck.</s>GORANI: You heard it there from Seymour Hirsch, within 24 hours an order from the president would put this whole machine into play and Iran would be attacked. Is that accurate?</s>PERINO: One thing I can say about Seymour Hirsch is that he definitely has a wanton disregard for the truth. The president has said from the beginning and is reiterated by all of his cabinet officers and his military advisers, that we're on a diplomatic path with Iran. We believe we can solve this diplomatically and that's exactly what the advisers are doing right now, talking with the UN Security Council about next steps in terms of the UN Security Council resolutions.</s>GORANI: So can we say with finality that this is completely inaccurate, the White House and these plans to attack Iran within 24 hours, this is inaccurate?</s>PERINO: I know of no such plans. What I can tell you is that we're on a diplomatic path. And we want to make sure that we solve this in a reasonable way. Iran has exactly what it needs to do. This weekend Iran said that they were on basically a run away train. No I don't know anybody who would hop on that train, but we are definitely on the right track with our approach. Of course no government would take any option off the table. But that is not anything that we are considering right now. What we are working on is the diplomatic solution.</s>GORANI: Right. A quick last question about Jalal Talabani, the Iraqi president. Is the White House in permanent contact there with Jalal Talabani and his advisers and his family to keep up to date on his health condition?</s>PERINO: I know that we do get reports. I don't know how extensive that contact is in terms of as you described it. But I can tell you that President and Mrs. Bush offer their hopes and prayers for a full and speedy recovery for the president.</s>GORANI: All right. Dana Perino, the deputy White House press secretary, joining us live from the White House, thank you.</s>PERINO: Thank you.</s>GORANI: We're going to take a short break. YOUR WORLD TODAY will be back after this.