Is Mideast Conflict Causing Rift Between Al Qaeda and Hezbollah?

This is a partial transcript of "The Big Story With John Gibson," July 26, 2006, that has been edited for clarity.

JOHN GIBSON, HOST: Al Qaeda and Hezbollah have a few things in common. They're both Muslim terror networks that hate America and hate Israel even more. But now that Hezbollah has taken the lead in the fight against Israel, is Al Qaeda feeling a bit left out?

Let's ask terror analyst, Robert Strang, CEO of Investigative Management, a corporate security and intelligence-gathering firm.

So Al Qaeda, Usama bin Laden, al-Zawahari, feeling left out or cheering on their brethren?

ROBERT STRANG, TERROR ANALYST: Well, it's a combination of things. Remember, you know, going back 10 years, they've fund-raised together here in the U.S. They've talked about how to make explosives. They've made weapons together. They've brought weapons over the border together.

These are really brothers, going back, when you think about what they've done in terms of continuing their underground empire. The difference is that the Hezbollah now has more of a military operation than Al Qaeda.

But when you combine the two of them, which has happened in the past, and you start to look at the fund-raising and all these other things, it becomes a very powerful organization.

And right now, one of the big things that we're worried about at home mostly is the fact that these organizations do have cells in the U.S., both Hezbollah and Al Qaeda. And we're worried about not only the cells that are active, but the followers, people that we don't know about. So it's a huge, growing problem and especially right now.

GIBSON: You've got to tell me that the FBI and the CIA know — if Hezbollah and Al Qaeda are fund-raising in this country, you've got to tell me they know who they are and they're following them and even though it may offend the judge, they're listening to their phone calls.

STRANG: John, I think it's more important than ever that we monitor these phone calls, that we check these e-mails that are transpiring all around the world. It's more important now that we focus on the immigration issues.

I don't want to forget what's happening domestically because these are the things that keep us safe, and we've got to continue these things.

GIBSON: Has Hezbollah got much of a presence in the United States?

STRANG: They do and they've been around. Actually, before Al Qaeda was here we were watching Hezbollah. We know that they're here. We know that they're organized. We know that they have cells here.

And you've got to remember, even if we make headway and even if, in fact, Hezbollah is defeated here, will they start to reach out with their counterparts, with Al Qaeda and their own network in the U.S. and European countries and start to really attack our targets and our interests around the world?

This is the real concern behind the scenes right now. So when we are watching what's happening in Israel and Lebanon, what we're really worried about is the potential for another terrorist attack on our own soil or a U.S. interest overseas.

GIBSON: If I were Mr. bin Laden I'd say, "Well, if they're looking for Hezbollah in the United States, maybe they'll stop looking for my guys. Maybe my guys will be a bit more under the radar."

STRANG: Well, we're looking in the same Dumpster, if you will. When you're mining for information, looking on the Internet for how we launder money, when you're mining information and looking for how to make weapons, how to use explosives, guess what? They come up in the same basket. You know, they're not far apart. It takes one to know one.

And from our perspective, from intelligence and from security, the way we investigate these groups is virtually the same, John.

GIBSON: Robert Strang, CEO of Investigative Management, thank you.

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