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American Morning

America Recovers: Some Strategists Advocating Nonlethal Weapons as Part of Arsenal

Aired October 04, 2001 - 09:32   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: They are actually already experts in these areas, but they are just reviewing and becoming even better with their skills. Let me show you what soldiers have been doing. They just got back from working on their PMI, which is the primary marksman instruction, and that's where they went over the 9 millimeter handgun M-9 for these soldiers, talking about safety issues and tactics, and now what's going to happen is the live fire, and we are going to begin the operation right now as practice with live fire.

Let's talk about what just happened here.

As they go and score the cards from the shooting that we just did, why is accuracy so important in a time like this?

FIRST SGT. MIKE HURNDON, OPERATOR, SKY GUARD: OK, ma'am, the Guardsmen you are seeing here today are going to be members of operation Skydog at the airports throughout Georgia, and they are all going to be armed, and one of their primary missions is presenting an armed presence to re-ensure the traveling public that they are in good hands through the government for taking their safety and traveling, and also to present real-world security aspect and supporting the FAA at all the airports.

PHILLIPS: Now, first sergeant, not only are they qualifying on their handguns, but their are other procedures that they are going through, arrest scenarios. Let's talk more about other things they are doing here today in the training.

HURNDON: Yes, ma'am. One of the primary aspects of the training they've been going through all week, the bulk of the training is 16 hours of Federal Aviation Administration Training, which basically trains these soldiers and airmen on the aspects of the SOP, standard operating procedures, at the airport through the FAA. Additionally, we've also gone through background checks through every soldier and airmen. They've also went through screening, as far as health records go. And also they went through some mechanics of arrest and self-defense procedures, to prepare them fully and wholeheartedly for this mission upcoming.

PHILLIPS: So all of this is taking place here today with the National Guardsmen. Why should it make me, you, my photographer, all Americans comfortable when they go flying starting tomorrow, Saturday and beyond? HURNDON: OK. All the soldiers and airmen on operation Sky Guard, number one, are professional soldiers and airmen. In addition to that, as Guardsmen, they are trained for procedures such as this. But this one week of intensive training had thoroughly prepared them for the operation upcoming, and I think everyone including the chain of command all the way up feels very confident they are going to be prepared to this mission wholeheartedly and effectively, to reassure the public they are in good hands.

PHILLIPS: Sgt. Mike Hurndon, thank you so much, sir.

HURNDON: Thank you, ma'am.

PHILLIPS: OK, and, Miles, as we take it back to you in New York, just to let you know, we can't shoot the classes with the FAA, of course. That's all classified information. But what's happening is the FAA is integrating with the soldiers here and teaching them the specifics about the airport, the checkpoints, their security issues, et cetera. And hopefully, all these soldiers will be in place by Saturday.

O'BRIEN: Well, Kyra, let me ask you this. Obviously they're going through training on handling of weapons, but they are not necessarily trained as law enforcement officers. Are they getting much of a grounding in that?

PHILLIPS: Absolutely. That's what they're coordinating here. They have to sort of put aside that kind of warrior mentality and incorporate the police procedures, and that involves all types of things from negotiations, to proper procedures and arrest procedures, and coordinate the two, so it all happens. It happens very safely and very effectively, and basically doesn't scare anybody at the airports. I mean, they're trained with patience and discipline, with all of those tactics in mind.

O'BRIEN: All right, CNN's Kyra Phillips is at the Combat Readiness Training Center in Savannah, Georgia.

We want to see that target a little later, please, so we'll check in with you and see how you did.

PHILLIPS: All right, Miles.

O'BRIEN: The campaign to target terrorist may be the first battle in future wargames against an enemy that can cannot be seen. Precise intelligence will be required by the people on the frontlines, and so will some new technology, and some strategists are advocating nonlethal weapons as part of the arsenal.

We're joined now by one of them, John Alexander, is retired U.S. Army colonel who has written a book called "Future War."

Colonel Alexander, thanks for being with us.

COL. JOHN ALEXANDER, AUTHOR, "FUTURE WAR": Thank you having me.

O'BRIEN: All right. Nonlethal weapons, sounds like a contradiction in terms to me. Explain it.

ALEXANDER: Well, nonlethal weapons start with things that you know about, pepper spray, rubber bullets, stun guns, and things like that. However, there's a continuum of weapons here that go all the way up to what we call strategic paralysis, things that will take down a nation's state. For instance, you heard about in Bosnia when we dropped carbon fiber across the electrical system to take out the entire infrastructure.

O'BRIEN: I'm sorry, Mr. Alexander, I can't hear you right now. If -- I apologize -- I missed the last part of question, so my apologies.

I'm just curious, what is the appropriate time and place to use a nonlethal weapon?

ALEXANDER: Well, first of all, the military perspective, we are going to will mix lethal and nonlethal weapons, so it's never one or the other.

In the coming war against terrorism, however, while we're focused on Afghanistan at the moment, a good bit of this is going to take place in major metropolitan areas around the world. We are going need the capability to separate terrorists from hostages and innocent civilians, and it's under those circumstances that nonlethal weapons will be primarily used.

O'BRIEN: All right, well how much of this is fanciful notions and how much of this is reality? Are their actual weapons in the arsenal right now that, say, special operations might be using, which could be employed in this situation?

ALEXANDER: Well, again, the situation, we're talking about Afghanistan. I don't believe we are going to use nonlethal weapons. However, the weapons do exist. Law enforcement agencies have been using them for a long time. Certainly they've been used in Israel, in Northern Ireland, and they were added to the U.S. Army inventory or the U.S. military inventory, in the past several years. We actually have a directorate under the Marine Corps that coordinates the use of these systems, used heavily in Bosnia and the peace support operations that we've been involved in.

O'BRIEN: So Afghanistan may not be the time of place to use them, but still you feel important when you look at big picture, looking at -- engaging terrorist one way or another.

ALEXANDER: Correction. This war is going to be fought across the world. We're focused on Afghanistan, and that'll be a very bloody, brutal kind of conflict, and that's just, again, not against the Afghan people, but against selected terrorist camps, and areas such as that.

However, as we root out terrorism across the world, there's going to be minor conflicts, many of which will not be seen. This is not going to be the Nintendo war of Desert Storm. O'BRIEN: Colonel John Alexander, U.S. Army retired, and an expert on nonlethal weapons, who's out with a book called "Future War," thank you for being with us this morning.

ALEXANDER: Thank you.

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