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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports
America Strikes Back
Aired October 10, 2001 - 17:00 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.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Good afternoon. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington.
We're following a developing story right now. A Delta 757 en route from Atlanta to Los Angeles, following a disruption on board, has been diverted to Shreveport, Louisiana, to the airport in Shreveport. The Delta flight, escorted by two U.S. Air Force F-16 jet fighters. We don't know the details why the plane was diverted, other than there was some sort of disruption on board.
We are following the story now, taking a look at some pictures of this Delta 757. The Atlanta to Los Angeles-bound plane, once again diverted to Shreveport. We're going to be monitoring this story, getting some more details. Once we do, of course, we will be making them available to all of you.
We're also learning here in Washington of a possible new phase in the military war against terrorism in Afghanistan. We'll have details of that, too, but right now let's go to Joie Chen in Atlanta for a check of the latest developments -- Joie.
JOIE CHEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good afternoon, Wolf. The United States continues 'round-the-clock air attacks across Afghanistan. Explosions were heard around nightfall in Kabul and in the Taliban stronghold, Kandahar. A CNN source reached by telephone in Kandahar reported what he called a "very, very heavy attack," and then the line went dead.
U.S. officials tell CNN there could soon be a role in Afghanistan for U.S. ground forces. Now, the Pentagon says that more than a thousand U.S. troops now are on the ground in Afghanistan's neighbor, Uzbekistan. Elite commando units are among those sent to Uzbekistan.
CNN and other networks are halting live broadcast of statements released by the Al Qaeda, the organization headed by Osama bin Laden. These decisions followed a conference call this morning with White House National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice. Rice told the networks that bin Laden may have been using the statements to communicate to supporters and sleeper agents within the United States.
President Bush conferred at the White House this afternoon with the NATO leader Lord George Robertson. Afterward, George Robertson announced that NATO surveillance planes being dispatched to defend the U.S. mainland will be patrolling the skies by Friday. He also had this to say. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE ROBERTSON, NATO SECRETARY GENERAL: These terrorists are not 10 feet tall. They are not insufferable. They are not unvanquishable, but we are. And we can win, and we certainly will win. And I'm very, very proud that NATO and the 19 nations of the alliance are at the heart of a global coalition against the most evil criminals of our age.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHEN: At an emergency meeting held in Qatar, the 56-nation Islamic conference condemned the terror attacks against the United States. Islamic conference foreign ministers expressed concern at the prospect of civilian casualties in Afghanistan, but steered clear of criticizing the United States.
In Pakistan, thousands of protesters took to the streets of Karachi today and shouted anti-American slogans. Pakistan's military ruler vowed today to deal swiftly and firmly with agitators.
Also today, Italian authorities announced the arrests in Europe of three Middle Eastern men who may have links to Osama bin Laden. Two were arrested in Milan and one was arrested in southern Germany. Italy says the men are accused of smuggling arms, explosives and chemical agents, and falsifying documents as well.
In addition, the United States has asked Spain to search for eight Islamic extremists, including several who may have played a role in the terror attacks on September 11th.
And a late report just in, a U.S. official says several Taliban leaders are believed to have died in the first night of bombing raids over Afghanistan. Among those believed to have been killed, two close relatives of the Taliban leader, Mullah Mohammad Omar.
Now we go back to Washington and to Wolf standing by there -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Thank you very much, Joie.
And, as Joie just reported, Pakistan is taking steps to try to control anti-American protests. But as the military government was vowing today to punish so-called agitators, Islamic militants were calling for nationwide demonstrations this Friday. Pakistan, of course, is a crucial ally in the U.S. war on terror.
CNN's John Vause is in Islamabad, the Pakistan capital, where the military government's enemies may be seeking a showdown. John, tell us what's going on.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, it's been a relatively quiet day here across Pakistan. A small demonstration in the port city of Karachi, but certainly nothing like those violent demonstrations we saw earlier in the week in the border towns of Quetta and Peshawar. Here in Islamabad, the security is very tight. Overnight, we saw fortified checkpoints established by police around the city. And heavily-armed police are very visible on the streets. But the situation here could deteriorate by Friday -- that is a traditional day of prayer, it's a traditional day of protest. People do not work here on Friday, so they may be more inclined to take to the streets in protest.
Throughout all of this, the Taliban have remained defiant. Earlier today the Taliban ambassador held a press conference where he accused the White House of turning into a global bully. He also called on all Islamic nations around the world to come to Afghanistan's aid to help fight America and the West -- Wolf?
BLITZER: John, what are you hearing from your sources? I know you and our other reporters in Islamabad, and producers have been in touch with sources inside Afghanistan itself about this day four of U.S. airstrikes. What is the latest on that front?
VAUSE: Well, we heard that this was by far most intensive attack yet. In the city of Kandahar, up to 30 explosions rocked the city for about two hours, targeting military barracks, a military fuel depot, mainly the infrastructure of the city. There were reports that one of the local commanders told his men not to return antiaircraft fire because it would be useless. We were also told that there was panic on the streets at one stage, but no reports of casualties at this stage -- Wolf?
BLITZER: John Vause in Islamabad, thank you very much.
And as John just reported, all indications are that this has indeed been a day of heavy attacks by U.S. forces against targets in Afghanistan. CNN's Matthew Chance is in northern Afghanistan with the latest from there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): I'm Matthew Chance, in northern Afghanistan. Forces of the Northern Alliance are watching closely U.S. strikes against their old enemy, the Taliban, preparing, perhaps, to take advantage of the situation. Northern Alliance commanders, though, expressing frustration that the U.S.-led attacks have so far focused, in their words, too much on targets deep inside Afghanistan, and not enough on the front line positions that they are fighting.
They're of course looking for close air support to help them win their ultimate prize: the advance and seizure of the capital, Kabul. Meanwhile, flashes over the city, an indication of the level of attacks against Kabul for a fourth consecutive night. Northern Alliance forces also keeping up their pressure on Taliban front lines, pounding them with heavy artillery and rocket attacks. They're obviously watching the situation as it develops in the days ahead, even the hours ahead.
(END VIDEOTAPE) BLITZER: Our thanks to Matthew Chance in northern Afghanistan.
And you can access updated reports from the region by going on- line. Go to cnn.com and look for the "on the scene" section. The AOL keyword is CNN.
Let's go to the White House now and CNN senior White House correspondent John King, who is standing by there. John, what's happening at the White House today?
JOHN KING, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, as we focus our attention on day four of the strikes in Afghanistan, more and more from the words of the president, the secretary of state and others in this administration -- reminders that this campaign eventually will move outside to other fronts in the fight against terrorism.
We are told the administration has secured an agreement with the Philippines, for example, to use former U.S. military installations there, if necessary, to go after the Abu Sayyaf terrorist network, which operates in the Philippines. It is based in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation. There have been anti-American protests there as well, and we are told when the president met here at the White House with the president of Indonesia one week after the September 11th attacks, he made clear to her that he wanted a crackdown on the Abu Sayyaf network there.
That will be the subject of discussions when the president heads to Asia later this month. But as we heard from Secretary of State Powell just a short time ago, make no mistake about it. Phase one is Afghanistan, but eventually this campaign will expand.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: We'll take these things one at a time. And the president said we are in this for a long time. We will be persistent, we will be patient, and we'll be determined to not only get rid of the Al Qaeda network, but to deal with terrorism around the world, terrorism of a global reach that is a threat to all civilized democracy-loving nations.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: We're also told by senior administration officials there have been some -- in the words of this official -- quote -- "remarkably blunt conversations," through third parties, in some cases, directly in other cases, with the governments in Iran and in Syria. The message essentially: Watch what is going on in Afghanistan.
The president means it when he says those who harbor terrorists will suffer down the road. So the United States using this campaign as an example, and hoping countries that in the past have sponsored terrorism or turned a blind eye to terrorism will eventually come to the decision that they should cooperate with the U.S. coalition. Now, the president had breakfast here at the White House with the top four Congressional leaders. As part of that discussion, he did give them an update on his view of the four days of strikes so far. After that meeting, the House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt said the president's take is that some significant damage has been done on Afghanistan, specially on the ruling Taliban.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. RICHARD GEPHARDT (D-MO), MINORITY LEADER: Obviously they hope to have taken out some of his top leadership people. And eventually they've got to get him, and they are trying hard to do that. This is going to be a long operation. It's clear to me that you use air and you use covert and you use paramilitary operations eventually to get this done.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: A reference there as well to the lead suspect, Osama bin Laden. His name atop the list of 22 terrorists the president and FBI released today. A most wanted list, if you will, but a reminder on that list, even as the attention once again focuses on Osama bin Laden, many of those on the list are not believed to be in Afghanistan. The president serving notice, this is phase one. This campaign will expand -- Wolf?
BLITZER: John, I want to get to phase two in a moment, but tell us the headline out of the meeting that the president had with NATO Secretary-General Lord George Robertson.
KING: Well, these two friends standing shoulder-to-shoulder in the Rose Garden and metaphorically, if you will. The remarkable development is that by Friday of this week, NATO AWACs planes -- aerial surveillance planes -- will be flying over the United States in what is being called Operation Noble Eagle. Flying in the skies over the United States, making sure there are no errant aircraft unaccounted for, aircraft in the skies over the United States -- the first time this has ever happened.
The NATO alliance, of course, was formed to defend Europe. Now it is playing a key role in keeping a watchful eye on the United States. One of the reasons for that, Wolf, so many U.S. military assets have been deployed overseas.
BLITZER: And, John, phase two, the next step. What is next in the president's mind?
KING: Well, administration officials make clear, phase one involves diplomatic and some financial efforts that we don't see every day. We don't see the pictures of seizing assets and cracking down. We don't see the pictures of perhaps governments cracking down on terrorists. So phase one reaches out.
But the president is making clear that this military campaign right now is focused in Afghanistan, but that he is prepared, and we are told this message is being conveyed to other governments, to Syria and to Lebanon and to others, he is prepared to use the military, if necessary, in future operations against terrorist camps. The administration hoping that the focus on Afghanistan will convince those countries to cooperate.
BLITZER: John King at the White House, thank you very much.
And the next step is widely expected to include special operations forces. Joining us now from Chicago, retired U.S. Army General David Grange, himself a former member of the Delta Force.
General Grange, everybody assumes that helicopters will be involved in bringing some of those special forces to the scene. Let's go through a couple of the choppers that might be used. One, of course, is the Blackhawk. Tell us about those capabilities.
RET. GEN. DAVID GRANGE, U.S. ARMY: Well, the United States of America has the most robust helicopter force in the world, and so do some of our allies, have some great capabilities, like Great Britain. The Blackhawk helicopter is kind of the standard helicopter for the United States Army, but it also has advanced avionics and capabilities added to that helicopter for special operating forces, which gives it a great night operation capability and troop carrying ability.
BLITZER: There is another smaller helicopter, what they call the Little Bird. What about that one? What would it be able to do?
GRANGE: The OH-6s, or AH-6s, depending on if it's lift or an attack-capable Little Bird, again, is used for close-in helicopter work. You may have seen pictures of these helicopters in operations in Somalia or in a takedown in Panama. They were used expensively. They're great for surgical operations. They don't have the legs that a Blackhawk would have for distance. But they are very quiet and they are very capable aircraft.
BLITZER: If we take a look at a map of the region, General Grange, we could see that Afghanistan is sort of isolated, it's obviously landlocked, Afghanistan being right over here. But if we take a look, where would these helicopters come from? There is some speculation they could come from a carrier in the Arabian Sea, for example, or perhaps even from Uzbekistan, there's a base up there.
What is the likely scenario and how long would it take to get there?
GRANGE: Well, obviously, looking at the map, the distance is a challenge. The terrain is a challenge. Ideally, we would have a base in Uzbekistan or some other place that's closer to launch from, if we need to do this. But just so that the enemy understands that these forces are capable of striking day or night, from long distances, they have means, they have techniques to get into the country, even if they don't have a nearby support host nation.
So, if I was the enemy I'd wary about these capabilities, because they're quite good at it.
BLITZER: If, General Grange, it they're going from the Arabian Sea from a carrier -- we know the Kitty Hawk is heading towards the area -- if it's going from the Arabian Sea up, let's say through Pakistani airspace, towards Afghanistan, we're talking hundreds of miles, perhaps even a thousand miles. They could be refueled along the way, though, can't they?
GRANGE: Some of the helicopters in our fleet, like the Pavelow, some of the Blackhawk helicopters, some of the Chinooks, the H-47 helicopters do have that capability. And then there's other means. It may be that we go in and launch right out of a location inside Afghanistan, that capability exists.
BLITZER: And certainly, General, if they come in from that base in southern Uzbekistan over here, there is no doubt that that is only perhaps a hundred miles or so towards Kabul, which would certainly be a much shorter distance.
GRANGE: Well, that's ideal, and that obviously will cut down some of the other requirements to stage an operation of this distance, this magnitude. But the ability to go long distances with support along the way that would be required is there for use, if necessary.
BLITZER: The danger to these pilots from low-flying helicopters, the stinger shoulder-fired missiles that the Taliban presumably still has, the Triple A kind of artillery fire -- the danger is pretty serious, though.
GRANGE: Serious danger. However, these pilots, these army aviators, Air Force pilots, are very good at this. They practice this in the deserts in the United States of America. They know how to fly and avoid threats like this. There is still danger, aircraft could get hit. But it's rehearsed, it's trained. And their readiness posture, especially in the special operating forces, to conduct a mission like this is very high.
BLITZER: General Grange, thank you so much for joining us. We always appreciate your insight.
And up next: tracking the terrorists to southeast Asia.
Also, the White House wants the media to exercise judgment when airing statements from Al Qaeda, Osama bin Laden's organization. And there's concern that the statements could contain secret messages.
And in Florida, preliminary results are in from the investigation of the anthrax case there. Those stories and much more coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Welcome back. For the third day in a row, anti-U.S. protests took place in Indonesia. About a thousand Islamic students stormed the grounds of Parliament in Jakarta, protesting the airstrikes in Afghanistan. Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim country.
In the Philippines, the Muslim guerrilla group Abu Sayyaf is believed to have ties to Osama bin Laden. The Philippines says the U.S. will provide intelligence and training to help fight those rebels. But the Philippines will not allow U.S. troops to take part in the fighting there.
Anti-American demonstrations in southeast Asia today, the Middle East. Are they triggered by the fiery statements of Osama bin Laden? If they are, do they mean his message has widespread appeal? Joining us with insight on this, Tony Karon of Time.com.
Tony, thanks for joining us. How widespread is this sentiment in these Muslim countries in southeast Asia, the Muslim groups against the United States?
TONY KARON, TIME.COM: Well, Wolf, it's a different question between support for bin Laden and the Taliban, and opposition to the United States. There is probably considerable sentiment that stay hostile to the United States on a lot of very local grievances, and then a much smaller core of support for bin Laden and the radical option.
Bin Laden's trick, of course, is to try and lure the larger group behind him by trying to sound as much as possible as a champion of all Islamic grievance.
BLITZER: Is there any sense, though, that this anti-U.S. sentiment in these countries could reach a boiling point and endanger the governments there?
KARON: I think it's very much based on local conditions. I think Indonesia is quite a worrying situation -- and worrying, less because of any direct support for bin Laden, but perhaps because the politics of Indonesia has been so precarious in recent years. And there is a real danger that some of the more mainstream Muslim parties decide to use these conditions as an opportunity to wage some sort of political battle against President Megawati.
BLITZER: And as we're speaking, Tony, I want to point out to our viewers, we are seeing some nightscope pictures from inside Afghanistan. We're seeing some flashes, obviously grainy pictures. These are live pictures from inside Afghanistan, showing some flashes. Clearly, the U.S. airstrikes are continue. Other than that, possibility of ground fire of Triple A fire, Taliban antiaircraft fire being launched. We'll keep those pictures up on the screen.
But as you look at the Muslim populations in southeast Asia, Tony, and you look at the specific support that some of these groups out there have had for Osama bin Laden and his Al Qaeda group, how significant has the support been?
KARON: Well, I think the support has been very significant, in the case of the Philippines and the Abu Sayyaf group, for example. Of course, that's a very small group and it doesn't threaten the power of Manila. Essentially, it's a secessionist group that is trying to break away from Manila and trying to take the southern islands with it.
In a place like Malaysia, you see a difficult situation, where the largest political opposition party has criticized the U.S. for the strikes. They may not be supporting Osama bin Laden, but they're not prepared to support the United States either.
So, as the strikes wear on there is a real danger that hostilities grows. And this is a very precarious situation that everybody is going to have to watch very carefully.
BLITZER: We know that some individuals associated with Al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden have been picked up, arrested in Philippines, elsewhere in southeast Asia. Are these areas considered almost like safe havens for some of these individuals?
KARON: Well, certainly, if you look at any of the travel records of any of the major figures in Al Qaeda, they're clearly passing a lot of traffic through Malaysia through the Philippines and so on. They clearly have been a theater of operations for a long time. This really dates back to the Afghan jihad, where a few volunteers from those countries actually fought alongside bin Laden, and the Arab Afghans, as they were called.
And then those links were later cemented by bin Laden, offering financial and training and logistical support to some of those local insurgencies. And yes, I think it's very clearly going to be an important theater of the war against terrorism.
BLITZER: Tony Karon from Time.com, our sister Web site. For more information, obviously, on this particular aspect of this war, please go to Time.com. Read Tony's information, his articles there, as well as other good insight.
Thank you very much, Tony, for joining us.
President Bush has unveiled the list of the most wanted terrorists. Our look at who is on that list, what they are wanted for and what this means in the U.S. campaign against terror when we come back. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Welcome back. A new list of the world's most-wanted terrorists, released today. President Bush traveled to the FBI headquarters to unveil the list, declaring it's the nation's calling to wipe out terrorism around the world. Twenty-two names are on the list, headed by Osama bin Laden and top deputies in his Al Qaeda network.
CNN's Mike Boettcher has been digging up information on some of those on the list. He joins us now -- Mike?
MIKE BOETTCHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, you've seen this list, but one person in particular on this list is very important to terrorism experts and investigators. His name is Imad Mughniyah. Until bin Laden appeared on the radar screens of terrorism and counterterrorism agencies around the world, he was considered the world's most dangerous terrorist. In fact, before the September 11th attacks, he is believed responsible for killing more Americans than anybody else in the world. For example, he was behind, according to U.S. intelligence authorities, behind the 1983 bombing of the Marine barracks in Beirut. He was responsible and indicted for, they say, the hijacking of TWA 841, bombings in Argentina, hijackings of Kuwaiti airplanes, bombings of the U.S. embassy in Beirut. The list goes on and on and on.
This summer we went to Beirut in search of Imad Mughniyah.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(voice-over): Officials believe he is one of these men, responsible for the hijacking of TWA 847 in 1985. But he has kept his identity well-hidden for almost 20 years. And he is believed to have had at least two plastic surgeries since the photo posted on the wanted list was taken.
He is the unknown terrorist. But incredibly, before September 11th, Mughniyah was considered by the United States to be responsible for killing more Americans than anyone else in the world.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Imad Mughniyah is very much the opposite of bin Laden. He has the skill, he is much more professional. He operates as, really, a faceless terrorist, because we don't know what he looks like. We don't really know where he is.
BOETTCHER: They only know him by his fingerprints, and some intelligence sources see those fingerprints on the September 11th attacks. They point to his experience in hijacking, as demonstrated in 1985 when that TWA flight was hijacked to Beirut during a flight from Athens to Rome. And they're trying to find out if his experience was tapped by Al Qaeda.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
JOHN TESTRAKE, PILOT: They are beating the passengers. They are beating the passengers. They are threatening to kill him now.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
BOETTCHER: Pilot John Testrake pleads for the authorities to comply with the hijackers' request for fuel during the 1985 hijacking.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
JOHN TESTRAKE, PILOT: We want the fuel now, immediately! Five minutes, five minutes at the most, with fuel now -- five minutes or he is going to kill passengers.
He will open the door and throw the killed passengers out onto the ramp. Immediately.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
BOETTCHER: The hijackers, Imad Mughniyah believed to be among them, carry out their threat and dump the body of U.S. Navy diver Robert Stethem onto the tarmac. He had been beaten and shot to death.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BOETTCHER: Now, Western intelligence agencies believe they can make the links between al Qaeda's bin Laden and Imad Mughniyah. That would be a very dangerous alliance indeed, Wolf.
BLITZER: And, Mike, give us a couple other examples of some of the more notable, if you can use that word, terrorists on this most wanted list.
BOETTCHER: Well, Wolf, also on the list is this man, Ayman al- Zawahri, who is the head of Egyptian Islamic Jihad. He is the No. 2 in al Qaeda. Basically, he plants the ideological seed for al Qaeda. He has an apocalyptic view of a future conflict, which may be now between the West and Islam. And he is considered one of the main people in the group.
Also on this list, was the No. 3 man in al Qaeda, that is Muhammad Atef. He is the military commander for al Qaeda. He is an Egyptian. Now he appeared on the radar screen suddenly, really. He was an Egyptian policeman, fought with the mujahideen, met bin Laden and then all of a sudden became military commander.
It is thought that if something happened to bin Laden, it would be Atef who would take over the group -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Mike Boettcher, thank you very much for that update.
And you can expect the most -- excuse me -- the most wanted terrorist list and learn more about the men who are on it. Just go to CNN.com and look for the link on our home page. The AOL keyword: CNN.
What did they find out in Florida? A report on the anthrax investigation and a look at the most recent developments in the campaign against terror - -that's coming up right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Welcome back to America targets terrorism. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington.
Let's get a check of the latest developments. Here's Joie Chen in Atlanta -- Joie.
CHEN: Wolf, thank you.
A U.S. official tells CNN that several Taliban leaders are believed to have been killed Sunday night during the first air strikes in Afghanistan. The official says that two of them are believed to be relatives of Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar.
U.S. warplanes, meantime, continue round-the-clock strikes against targets in Afghanistan. A CNN source in the Taliban stronghold, Kandahar, says that city today experienced its most intense attack since the air campaign began on Sunday. Panicky civilians took to the streets. Targets included military fuel depots, barracks and heavy armor. There are increasing signs U.S. ground troops may see action in Afghanistan. U.S. officials say that if that happens, special operations forces would most likely take part. Pentagon sources say more than 1,000 U.S. troops, including special operation forces, are already at a military base in Uzbekistan, about 100 miles from the Afghan border.
The Bush administration is urging the news media to show caution in broadcasting prerecorded communications from Osama bin Laden. Officials say those statements may contain coded instructions for new terror attacks. In a statement, CNN said it will no longer air live messages from bin Laden's al Qaeda organization. CNN will first review the material before deciding how to handle it.
President Bush today unveiled a new most wanted list of 22 terrorists. The list includes bin Laden and his top deputies of the al Qaeda network. Mr. Bush says the list is America's calling to wipe out terrorism around the world.
A Delta jetliner flying from Atlanta to Los Angeles was diverted to another airport this afternoon after the pilot reported a disturbance in the cabin. Two F-16 jet fighters escorted the plane to a safe landing at the Shreveport, Louisiana airport. We'll keep you updated on this story as more information becomes available to us.
Now back to Wolf in Washington -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Thank you very much, Joie.
And preliminary results have now been made public in the investigation of the anthrax incident in Florida. CNN's Ed Lavandera is covering the story for us.
He's in Palm Beach County. He joins us now live with the latest -- Ed?
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, initially we have heard that the home of Robert Stevens, the gentleman who died last week from the anthrax disease at his home, has been cleared. And inspectors had gone through the home and found no traces of anthrax there.
We are also understanding that investigative crews that have been scouring over the American Media Incorporated building in Boca Raton, Florida, that they are wrapping up their work there as well. We understand that they are hoping up here -- to finish up, perhaps today, maybe as early as tomorrow as well, so that work continues.
Of course, these lab tests also are being completed on the hundreds of employees who either worked at the building or had visited the American Media Incorporated building in the recent weeks. So a lot of that information will take a couple of days to come out as well.
Here at the Emergency Operations Center in Palm Beach County, we are awaiting word perhaps -- we are told now from folks here at this building that they might have some new information to reveal here at some point today, although we are kind of in a holding pattern waiting to hear exactly what that might be.
But, as we've mentioned, the American Media Incorporated building is still closed off as crews there continue their work. Tests on the samples that have been taken here are being conducted at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, we understand.
So a lot of this -- we are told from sources, that it is a highly complicated -- highly complicated and high-tech medical investigation that is happening here on several different fronts. The FBI is the lead agency here. They're working on one level, as well the crews here, working to make sure that all of the people who are tested get their results back as soon as possible -- Wolf, back to you.
BLITZER: And very briefly, Ed, what's the mood among the people around there? How concerned are they?
LAVANDERA: Well obviously, people around here have a tremendous sense of anxiety waiting to hear the results, especially the people who have gone through the testing.
They have taken nose swabs and some people have even had blood tests taken. So in the next couple of days, maybe, perhaps, those fears will be calmed down a little bit. But health officials here quick to point out -- and trying to ease the tension -- reminding people it's an isolated incident.
And, so far, anthrax has only been found on the keyboard of Robert Stevens and -- in Robert Stevens -- and one other gentleman who's in stable condition. And we're told that his family -- from his family -- that he is doing well and talking with the FBI now.
BLITZER: Ed Lavandera, in Palm Beach County, thank you very much.
And at a lab in Arizona, tests are reportedly being conducted on the anthrax found in Florida to compare it with other strains of the bacteria.
CNN medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us now with some background on these tests.
What are the procedures? How accurate are they, Dr. Gupta?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's really a quite -- an amazing task, really.
What we're talking about here is actually cataloging every known strain of anthrax ever. And this comes from classified sources. This may come from veterinary sources and every country in the world really. And you develop a catalog of all these strains.
Then you bring in these strains now, these as of yet unidentified strains, bring them to this laboratory and try and identify them. And what that involves usually is genetic testing. They have to actual genetically test it, and try and find the fingerprint which may link this particular strain of bacteria to (a) the time that it was actually developed and (b) the location.
Now, I want to be very careful here in the language. What we're talking about: If the catalog bacteria was developed at a certain time, we might actually be able to find the strain that matches one another. That could provide some very valuable information.
We also know before 1972, Wolf, in this country anthrax was being produced. It was being produced for offensive purposes. But since 1972, since the Biological Warfare Treaty, anthrax hasn't been produced officially in this country for offensive purposes.
The database that we do have at Los Alamos, at Northern Arizona University, which we've been hearing so much about, does contain every known strain of anthrax. So a comparison should be fairly easy.
But that may take some time. They may need to do the test more than once and in a few different laboratories.
BLITZER: And the fact, Sanjay, that this -- this anthrax was found in an office setting, we heard from Dr. Susan Bailey, a former assistant secretary of defense for public health, on Monday on this program that that would clearly suggest it wasn't the natural kind of anthrax that could you contact from some sort of animal, that this was not -- this was not an innocent kind of anthrax, but it was a deliberate kind. Is that your sense as well?
GUPTA: Well, I'll you, Wolf -- and I heard Ms. Bailey's comments as well. I've heard comments that don't necessarily, aren't quite as strong as that either. I think that a lot of people are still taking the side of caution. It sounds very unlikely, especially in light of the fact that you have a second person who's exposed, that this represents some sort of naturally occurring phenomenon.
But there are people who are still sort of clinging to the fact that maybe this gentleman actually coughed into his hand or somehow was able to contaminate his own keyboard, and that's why the spores were only found there.
This is all speculation, Wolf, I have to say that, and it's very hard to infer anything at this point.
BLITZER: Sanjay Gupta, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, thank you very much, our CNN medical correspondent, for joining us.
And looking now at some of the other stories in the -- on the ongoing terrorism investigation. Police in University Park, Maryland, a Washington suburb, disarmed what they described as a "sophisticated and elaborate" car bomb last night. The owner of the car called authorities after he saw components of the device dangling underneath his vehicle. As a matter of routine, the FBI and the ATF were notified.
The FBI is investigating a break-in of a utility truck near San Francisco. Someone stole several items from a utility district truck last night. Among the stolen items, equipment that's used to turn on and shut off water valves as well as documents showing where those valves are located.
Are the incidents in California and Maryland somehow related to terrorism, or are they just getting a lot of attention because of the crisis? Joining us now for some perspective, Donald Hamilton. He's deputy director of the Oklahoma National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism. He also served in the State Department's office of counterterrorism.
Mr. Hamilton, once again, thank you for joining us. And what's your sense? Is this just a jittery nation right now on a hair trigger pace or could there be some terrorism in the works right now?
DONALD HAMILTON, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, OKLAHOMA NATIONAL MEMORIAL INSTITUTE FOR THE PREVENTION OF TERRORISM: I think we have to look at it in two ways: First, the United States has suffered the greatest number of violent deaths in this century in one of the few -- in one of the most -- in one day there. On the other hand, most people are not immediately at risk from terrorism.
We have to take this seriously, but we have to keep some sense of perspective about it.
In terms of the car bomb in Maryland, I think that both the car bomb -- I don't know anything about the specifics of these. Purely speculative, I mean, they'll be investigated very thoroughly. I think the FBI is probably the best investigative organization in the world. I'm sure this will be run to ground.
But in terms of links to al Qaeda, that seems extremely unlikely. They have blown up the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, the USS Cole, the U.S. embassies. This seems much too small to be part of their attacks.
Can it be -- can it be terrorism? I mean, we're a nation of 260 million people. If 1 in a million is willing to and capable of doing something like this, you can have that kind of an episode happening.
It's a question of balance and perspective. I doubt very seriously it's al Qaeda. Is it terrorism? I think that we don't have enough information to know.
BLITZER: If you were working looking at al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden, his group, his network, where would the sort of targets of opportunity for them be here in the United States or against U.S. targets, U.S. interests around the world?
HAMILTON: Well, they have shown, and they have threatened and they've shown the capacity to attack high-visibility targets and to inflict great numbers of casualties. So far, they have stay -- so far, they have stayed away from symbolic targets. There seems to be a willingness -- a willingness and the aim of inflicting great numbers of casualties. If symbolism were the goal, the Statue of Liberty and the Washington Monument were available with far fewer deaths. So I think that there's an intention to inflict great numbers of casualties.
As to where and how, there are so many different ways in which a country like ours, free for 200 years, is vulnerable. You almost have to get on the inside track and get some intelligence to shorten that list.
You do what you can to protect the high-value and high-visibility targets, but there's so many that it's impossible to protect everything completely.
BLITZER: What about the fear of copycats, whether other international terrorist groups or perhaps home-grown individuals here in the United States wanting to copy some of these incidents? How concerned should the American public and U.S. law enforcement authorities be of copycats?
HAMILTON: I think copycats are a real possibility, and not just copycats with political motivations. I mean, I know to a certainty from when I was in El Salvador that there were a lot of common crimes masquerading as political crimes. There were kidnapping-for-profit rings set up made to look like political kidnappings.
There could be score-settling. There's the possibility people will try to settle scores out there and make it look like political terrorism. So, yes, there's a possibility of that.
I think a copycat of simultaneous airline hijackings is unlikely. That's a years in planning, highly skilled thing.
But smaller things made to look like terrorism, both for criminal purposes and political purposes, I think are -- are a possibility that we have to deal with.
BLITZER: Donald Hamilton, thank you very much for joining us. We, of course, appreciate your insight as well.
And up next, we'll update you on a developing story we're covering: the Delta 757 diverted to Shreveport en route from Atlanta to Los Angeles. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Welcome back. I want to update you on that Delta 757 diverted en route from Atlanta to Los Angeles, diverted to Shreveport, Louisiana. That plane has now taken off, left Shreveport. We're looking at this tape of the Delta 757 leaving Shreveport.
This is what we know: The Delta plane was diverted to Shreveport after what was described as a passenger incident involving one person. Nobody was hurt onboard. But the pilot and the crew decided that it was serious enough for F-16 jet fighters to go into the air to escort the plane to bring it down in Shreveport, where it was thoroughly checked. And now, as we can see, that plane has resumed its course to Los Angeles after being down in Shreveport for a while. Everyone is fine. And we don't have additional details. As we get additional details precisely on what this passenger incident involved onboard, we'll bring those to you as well.
When we come back, while the nation copes with terrorism, what is next politically for President Bush? CNN senior political analyst Bill Schneider will be along in a bit with some perspective on how Washington functions during these unusual times. Stay with us.
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BLITZER: There was a time, not long ago, when political fighting here in Washington was the norm. That was before September 11th. What's happened since then on the political front? For that, let's go to CNN senior political analyst Bill Schneider. He has a report.
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, Wolf, before September 11, the Democrats thought they had President Bush cornered. They were going to make him break his promise not to touch the Social Security lockbox. Then they were going to force the president to back down on prescription drug coverage and a patients' bill of rights and maybe even modify his tax cut. That was then. This is now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SCHNEIDER (voice-over): In the new political world, politics has acquired a new gravity. It's about important things like life and death. Politicians who were tiring of the game now see an opportunity to make a difference.
SEN. FRED THOMPSON (R), TENNESSEE: Now, it's clearly not the time to leave.
SCHNEIDER: For the time being, politics has been suspended. Petty bickering and ideological posturing are bad form. What's good form? Bipartisanship...
REP. DENNIS HASTERT (R-IL), HOUSE SPEAKER: Democrats and Republicans will stand shoulder to shoulder to fight this evil that's been perpetrated on this nation.
SCHNEIDER: ... and more government.
SEN. TOM DASCHLE (D-SD), MAJORITY LEADER: We, Republicans and Democrats, House and Senate, stand strongly united behind the president, and will work together to ensure the full resources of the government are brought to bear in these efforts.
SCHNEIDER: More government to deal with terrorism and more government to deal with the economy.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm confident we can work with Congress to come up with an economic stimulus package. SCHNEIDER: The nation's agenda is, No. 1, terrorism, and No. 2, the economy. Anything else?
REP. RICHARD GEPHARDT (D-MO), MINORITY LEADER: Important priorities, like prescription drugs, securing Social Security and Medicare, strengthening education, paying down the debt, or giving a sensible tax cut to the middle class.
SCHNEIDER: Nope. Those are not priorities right now. As a result, the playing field has tilted back toward the Republicans and toward incumbents. At a time of crisis voters want stability, not change.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NARRATOR: Mark Earley, experienced leadership we know and trust.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHNEIDER: For eight months, President Bush has been dogged by questions about his legitimacy and his competence. Those questions have been laid to rest.
BUSH: We will not waver, we will not tire, we will not falter, and we will not fail.
SCHNEIDER: War is above politics. A war president is above politics. But underneath it all there is still politics.
The record shows that even popular presidents fighting popular wars still face setbacks at the polls. Abraham Lincoln's grand new party, the Republicans, lost ground during the Civil War. Franklin Roosevelt's Democrats were handed a big setback at the polls just a year after Pearl Harbor.
And how did a grateful nation show its thanks to President George Bush a year after the Gulf War? They fired him.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SCHNEIDER: The war on terrorism certainly changes the political agenda. But you know what? It does not put an end to politics.
BLITZER: Thank you very much, Bill Schneider, always good.
SCHNEIDER: Thank you
BLITZER: That's all the time we have. I'll be back in one hour with Senator John Edwards, a member of the Intelligence Committee. Until then, thanks very much for watching.
For Joie Chen, I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington.
CNN's coverage of "America Strikes Back" continues next with "LOU DOBBS MONEYLINE."
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