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CNN Larry King Weekend
A Look Back at September 11 Two Months Later
Aired November 11, 2001 - 21:00 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.
KING: Good evening. I'm Larry King.
Two months ago today, terrorists attacked America. They murdered thousands of people; they changed all our lives. Tonight we're going to remember that tragic day, and we'll do it with the emotions we shared by rebroadcasting parts of our show of September 11.
It's going to hurt to watch some of these terrible images again, but we think it's important to show you our program just as it aired that evening.
Right now, a special edition of LARRY KING WEEKEND.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE, September 11, 2001)
KING: LARRY KING, HOST: Tonight: America under attack. Horrible images as terrorist strike against symbols of wealth and power. The casualty count unknown, the damage unspeakable. I'm Larry king. We will have a full hour with lots of guests. We begin with the Governor of New York, George Pataki. Governor Pataki, what can you tell us? Can you bring us up to date on statistics here? We have go through this. Firemen, policemen, people what?
GOV. GEORGE PATAKI (R), NEW YORK: Larry, we are just not looking at statistics yet. We are still doing everything in our power to do the searching and rescue efforts, because we hope there are still people that can be rescued. The city has the finest emergency forces anywhere in the world. We have augmented them with our national guard and state emergency forces as well. And there's an ongoing effort to try to rescue as many people as possible and to make sure we provide best possible care to those who have been injured.
So the time for counting is later. The time for action is now. And that action is under way.
KING: We do know, however, that 200 firemen and 78 policemen are missing, right?
PATAKI: We do know that numbers of police and fire are missing, and it's a tribute to their heroism that they went down there and risked their lives to try to protect others and try to save other lives. Larry, this is a very dark day for America. But out of the darkness, you see the spirit and you see the hope. I was at St. Vincent's hospital a little while ago, visiting some the injured firemen and the injured policemen. And they were asking if they could go back to try to do more, to help uncover their comrades and the people who are still at risk. The spirit is strong. We will get through this.
KING: Governor, you have been close to being inside and near this. Can you tell us what is going on?
PATAKI: Well, there is still very great risk downtown. A possible additional building collapses. So that's why we have ordered -- along with the mayor of New York City -- south of 14th street to be shut down. Right now it's simply a matter of trying to contain fires and work through the rubble. We have national guard heavy equipment, wreckers and tow trucks and others trying to help out with police and fire who are going through the rubble and trying to just find as many people that we can save and rescue and help those who need our help as possible.
At the same time we are making sure that the city and surrounding area is as secure as possible. Again, Larry, I have to tell you that the spirit of the people has been enormous. They haven't been intimidated by this horrible act of cowardly terror. I was just out on a block where for blocks people are lined up waiting to donate blood. Not cowed by this terrorism, but showing their faith in America and belief in tomorrow. And that is what we have to make sure triumphs here.
KING: Governor, how close have you gotten to the scene itself?
PATAKI: I've gotten downtown, but I haven't gotten all the way down to the towers themselves. Perhaps later on. What I've been trying to do is coordinate response and make that sure we have the best possible efforts, and I believe we do. And Larry, I also want to say, the cooperation not just of the city and the state, but the surrounding states, the federal officials have mobilized resources from around the country to help us out and they're here.
We've gotten expressions of support and condolences from around the world. And we're going to get through this. We are united as a people, we are strong as a people. And we will get through this and make America and New York even stronger.
KING: We know the military is on full alert and aircraft carriers are coming to your harbor. Is there fear of possibly more?
PATAKI: Larry I think the federal government is looking to reassure us by having this presence, and we're delighted to have that reassurance. There can never be guarantees. No one predicted this, no one anticipated or had advance warning of this attack. So you never know what tomorrow might bring.
My understanding from my communications with the president and the White House is that they're unaware of any additional specific threats. Obviously we are on the highest possible state of security and alert and will continue to be so. KING: Where were you when you heard of the first crash?
PATAKI: I was in the city. And I got a call to turn on the television. There was a plane hit the World Trade Center. And then I saw the second one and immediately called the White House, and spoke with the president in a very short period of time and urged him to shut down the airspace around New York.
And they immediately shut down the airspace around the country. And who knows what else may have happened if the president hadn't taken that step?
KING: Thank you, Governor Pataki. Thanks for giving us the time.
PATAKI: Thank you, Larry.
KING: Next we go to Washington, D.C. where James Baker, the former secretary of state is standing by. Is this -- is this, Secretary, a failure on the part of American policy?
JAMES BAKER, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: I don't think it's a failure on the part of American policy, Larry. I think that there probably were some -- perhaps lapses in security. It would be well, I think for us to consider beefing up some of our intelligence capabilities, particularly our ability in the areas of human intelligence, which we have been sorts of de-emphasizing since the mid-'70s.
But I don't think it's a policy failure. And if by that, you mean that it's linked somehow to what may or may not be happening in the Middle East peace process, I would be very leery of making too direct a connection there. You know, my favorite suspect here -- and I have no inside information with respect to this -- is Osama Bin Laden. He seems to be the favorite suspect of a lot of people. And this guy has done some things in the past that didn't depend on whether or not we were making progress towards peace in the Middle East or not.
If you remember the bombings of embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, the Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia. So I wouldn't make too direct a connection to the Middle East peace process.
KING: The president said, "We will take action and see no difference between those who committed the crime and those who harbored them." That's a direct threat against anybody around this. Do you expect to see retaliatory action soon?
BAKER: I don't know how soon you will see it. I would expect to see it. We have contingency plans. We had them way back when I was dealing with these issues for the United States, and I remember well, as a matter of fact, Larry, when I was meeting with the foreign minister of Iraq in the lead-up to the Gulf War in 1991. And I warned him against using weapons of mass destruction against American forces. I said the American people will demand retribution and we have the means to exact it. And I think they took that to heart. They didn't use weapons of mass destruction, but I think the American people following the tragic events of today are going to demand retribution. And I think the United States does have the means to exact it -- and I think we will.
KING: Mr. Secretary, when you fear terrorism, as all of us have to fear it to be logical human beings, it's around us -- did you ever think of anything like this?
BAKER: Not anything of this scale. I mean, you have to really -- you have to really be amazed -- at least I'm amazed -- at the degree of success. Four airplanes were hijacked. 75 percent, three out of the four found their targets. We haven't had a hijacking in this country in over 10 years. And yet these people were successful in hijacking the aircraft. Not only hijacking them, taking control of them, flying them into their intended targets. It really is rather surprising and rather amazing.
And I'm reminded also, Larry, of the successes that American counter-terrorism and counterintelligence forces have had through the years. I remember, again, during the time that I served, any number of instances where we would have a threat and we would catch it in time and we would roll it up. We would prevent it from happening. That happened over and over and over again. It didn't happen today, quite tragically. We didn't catch this one.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: This just in. You are looking at obviously a very disturbing live shot there. That is the World Trade Center, and have unconfirmed reports this morning that a plane has crashed into one of the towers of the World Trade Center.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Mayor, what's the situation right now?
MAYOR RUDOLPH GIULIANI (R), NEW YORK CITY: The situation is that two airplanes have attacked, apparently -- what? All right, well then let's go north then.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. MARK HEATH, WITNESS TO WORLD TRADE CENTER ATTACK: I hope I live. I hope I live. It's coming down on me. Here it comes. I'm getting behind a car.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: None of us will ever forget this day; yet we go forward to defend freedom, and all that is good and just in our world.
America was targeted for attack because we're the brightest beacon for freedom and opportunity in the world, and no one will keep that light from shining.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KING: On the morning of September 11, a quiet morning in Los Angeles, I was up and exercising on my treadmill, hit my little clicker and up came CNN and a picture of the Twin Towers, and fires and airplanes, and I though -- frankly my first thought was it was a commercial for a movie. When I soon learned what it was, I jumped off the treadmill, ran into the bedroom, awoke my wife. First told her, nothing happened to the children, and then told her what happened.
She turned on the television; televisions went on all over the house, and our lives changed forever.
We begin with a segment with eyewitnesses and survivors of that day.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE, September 11, 2001)
TERESA WARD, EYEWITNESS: I was in my office, just starting my day, booting up my computer, having my coffee. And we felt the building shoulder. And at first we didn't really know what was happening, but we all sort of walked out of our offices and looked around. And as we looked out the window towards the West Side Highway, we saw nothing but paper and debris floating from the sky. It was, you know, overwhelming.
KING: Did you panic?
WARD: Actually we didn't. There were a lot of people in my office that were in the '93 bombing. So everyone just sort of decided to leave, and everybody left in an orderly fashion via the stairs. And it was very orderly. In fact, everybody was really calm. So we were fortunate in that regard.
KING: Now, is it true, Teresa, when you were outside they told you it was OK to go back in?
WARD: No. Actually what happened was we were in the stairwell, I was on the ninth floor and there was an announcement on the PA system that basically said that there was an incident in One World Trade but that Two World Trade was OK and you could return to your offices. It was OK. And at that point, a few coworkers and I jumped on the elevator and we thought for a moment about going back up, then thought better of it and decided to go down. And at that point we had no clue what was happening with One World Trade or Two World Trade. And when we got out to the street it was just pandemonium. KING: Teresa, do you know why you didn't go back up, despite the fact the announcement said you could?
WARD: Well, you know, it just seemed like there was so much going on, and we felt that it would be better, as everyone was exiting the building already, to just gather with everybody from my firm on the concourse level. So it just seemed like the sensible thing to do at the time and in retrospect, you know, it probably saved a lot of lives.
KING: Good instinct. Bill Heitman worked in World Trade Center one -- the first building hit -- where he was working on the 81st floor. What was happening? And were you also in the '93, right, Bill?
BILL HEITMAN, EYEWITNESS: Yes, I was.
KING: What happened at the moment of impact? Where were you, what happened?
HEITMAN: At the moment of impact I was knocked out of my chair and we just briefly panicked and headed towards the middle of the floor to get away from the windows. And then we headed for the stairwell and started heading down from the 81st floor in an orderly fashion. And aside from some people that were suffering from asthma -- aside from some people suffering from asthma and some injured, it was actually well spirited going down, you know, until we started getting down into the 30s and the 40s.
KING: Then what?
HEITMAN: Then the firemen started passing us and were collapsing on the stairs.
KING: The firemen were collapsing?
HEITMAN: Yes. Just from the loads they were carrying, the oxygen tanks, the hoses. It was really bad. It was tough to see these guys.
KING: Did you say to yourself, "Here we go again?"
HEITMAN: Yes, I did. But at this particular point it didn't seem like it was a bombing. And after the initial crash going down, it seemed like the worst of it was over.
KING: And you did or did not know it was a plane?
HEITMAN: We had heard when we were in the stairwell probably -- it took a total of an hour for me and the people I was with to get downstairs. We had heard when we were about halfway down that a plane had -- some kind of plane had hit, but at that point we thought it was small: a helicopter, a small craft airplane.
KING: As soon as you got out what did you do?
HEITMAN: I beg your pardon?
KING: When you got out of the building, what did you do? Did you hang around or take off?
HEITMAN: As soon as we got down the lobby level, I myself was actually surprised at the damage that there was to the concourse level of the trade center. I thought at that point the condition would look not as damaged. But as soon as we got downstairs, we were walking in ankle deep water and there seemed to be this -- an urgency to just get us out of the building, where I thought people were just going to be directed to like triage units or something.
KING: Boy.
HEITMAN: But once I stepped outside onto the street, there was something really wrong. And that's when I think the fear of the building collapsing really became apparent. And I had only been out of the building less than a minute when tower number two came down.
KING: Oh, boy. John Ivarone, you work at the World Trade Financial Center. That's next door. What did you see? Where were you?
JOHN IVARONE, EYEWITNESS: I was coming back from a coffee break. I walked under a trading desk and saw, you know, everyone watching the TV monitors, which was -- you know, I didn't know what the heck was going on. I thought the market was going to go crazy or something.
And then someone just told me that a plane crashed into the World Trade Center. It sounded like a boom ,it sounded actually like a big bomb. And I mean, everyone was just calm at first, but a couple of my traders ran by me, went immediately down the stairwell and started evacuating. I just followed them. Went down to the -- right by the seaport, I guess, the seaport area right by the World Financial Center. And you could just see it was just smoke was billowing out.
KING: The booms you felt, John, were from the second plane, right? Because they were already looking at the accident from the first plane?
IVARONE: Right. Exactly. The boom was certainly from the second plane. But I mean, it was amazing, it was -- just standing across the street, because my building is right across the street from the World Trade Center and...
KING: Boy.
IVARONE: And just watching. There was people up on the 80th floor just waving.
KING: What did you see? Did any people jump?
IVARONE: I saw 15 to 20 people jump. It was -- without a doubt it was the most -- first I saw the debris coming out and then I saw -- it was definitely bodies, the way they were falling. It was something you could never, ever imagine. Even in the movies it was -- it was the saddest thing I've ever seen in my life.
KING: Was there any fear for your building and your safety?
IVARONE: Absolutely. I mean, being right across the street, of course. I guess when something like that happens you don't start thinking about your building but we -- I mean, thank God one guy I was following just started running away and I followed him. And we got to a place in Battery Park where you can actually -- we just saw people waving, waving for like helicopters, anything and then just -- and I guess in fear of getting burned or something they just leapt.
KING: So you were an eyewitness to death?
IVARONE: Yeah.
KING: You were an eyewitness to people jumping?
IVARONE: Yes, absolutely. And I didn't realize it, until, you know getting home and watching on television what I'd really witnessed, and then that's when I -- I had...
KING: Before we talk with Tim and Rose, we understand we have on the phone with us a member of the New York City Power Rescue Team. Are you there, sir?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I am.
KING: OK. What is the name of your group? What organization is it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Actually we are fugitive recovery agents and we are down here offering our assistance with federal authorities. We are waiting for the coordination and then we will go in with any other rescue teams.
KING: Can you tell us where you are right now?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were right down at the building assessing the damage from my team and it was a little bit smoggy, obviously. We are covered in soot right now and we're taking our break until we can coordinate what's going on.
KING: What early assessment do you have?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, it's a mess. It's like Beirut down there. I mean, it's really a mess.
KING: Can you describe it a little more? What do you see?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot of debris. A lot of debris all over the place, obviously. Chairs. We even saw airplane chairs all over the place.
KING: Really?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Glass buildings seven, eight blocks away smashed. It's devastation, completely.
KING: And have you seen any bodies?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not yet we haven't. Again, we are waiting for everybody else. We are waiting for the coordination to get together, for the federal authorities, and also state authorities and then we will join the team then.
KING: And what's your role?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am -- actually, we are tunnelers, really. We will go through the debris, small cracks, anything what we can do.
KING: Why do you do this?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's what we do.
KING: You've worked lots of things? Nothing comparable to this, naturally.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, nothing. I've never experienced something like this before.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, September 14, 2001)
REV. BILLY GRAHAM: I've been asked hundred of times in my life why God allows tragedy and suffering. I have to confess that I really do not know the answer.
We're facing a new kind of enemy. We're involved in a new kind of warfare, and we need the help of the spirit of God.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE, September 11, 2001)
KING: Back to the New York bureau and Tim Cavanaugh, who works about a quarter mile away from the World Trade Center. As we understand it, Tim, you were on the phone?
TIM CAVANAUGH, EYEWITNESS: Actually, my friend's brother was on the line with them and they got cut off immediately. And I was on a conversation with his brother and he told me that his brother had heard the first crash and he was informing his brother of what had happened. And then all of a sudden the phone got cut off from him. And that was the last he's heard of his brother since.
I brought his picture so that maybe if there's someone out there who can see him, who has seen him, or if he's in a hospital somewhere, maybe someone can call.
KING: Can we see it?
CAVANAUGH: Sure. KING: Where's the picture?
CAVANAUGH: It's right here in my hand.
KING: Want to hold it up? OK. So we can get a closeup of this. And he worked in the building?
CAVANAUGH: He worked for Cantor Fitzgerald on the 102nd floor. He's a guy I coach football with. I've known him my whole life. He's a great man.
KING: You probably are resorting to prayer.
CAVANAUGH: Actually, I -- I walked from my office, which is a quarter mile away, and it was desolate. It was like a nuclear bomb had gone off and there were ashes like in the street, like about a foot to six inches of ashes, if you can imagine that, walking down the street. And I walked over to Our Lady of Victory Church, which is right down the street from Wall Street.
And Wall Street -- usually they have the barricades there. And there was nothing. It was gone. And you know, I picked up a piece of paper and I saw the paper and read it. And it was from the 106th floor of the World Trade Center. And I just knew that it was -- you know, you couldn't imagine it. It was like being in downtown Beirut in America.
KING: Good grief.
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN MILITARY AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Pretty bad shape, Larry. It's nearly 12 hours after this plane slammed into the side of the Pentagon. The building is still burning. The firefighters say they have the blaze contained in an area, but it's still not under control. In fact, if you look right behind my head you can see some flames licking out of the roof there. That's part of the firefighting technique of trying to cut the roof open and let the fire burn through in order to put this out.
Nevertheless, the Pentagon is vowing -- Defense Secretary Rumsfeld and President Bush both saying that the building will open for business as usual tomorrow. That may be possible if they just open the other side of the building, where of course the secretary's office is, the Pentagon briefing room, the National Military Command Center, all on the other side of the building.
You know, in some ways there was a little bit of luck in today's incident in that this part of the building was under renovation. That meant that some of the new space that had just been renovated was not yet occupied, and it also had had improved fire retardant capabilities. And on the old side, over basically in this correction, that part of the building people had just moved out to get ready for the next phase of renovation. So there weren't nearly has many people as might have been in the building at that time of day.
Nevertheless, Pentagon officials expect the death toll to be high, but they are not saying publicly what they think that death toll will be -- Larry.
KING: And Jamie, have you been able at all to see the aircraft?
MCINTYRE: Well, you know earlier today I got right up next to the building and I took a look at some of the pieces outside. There were only very small pieces of that American Airlines jetliner. A cockpit, a window that was all smashed, part of the fuselage that was bent and twisted. But most of the parts of the plane are still inside the building, according to people have been who have been in and seen it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, October 5, 2001)
UNIDENTIFIED DOCTOR: Unfortunately, we're here to report that Mr. Stevens passed away at 4:00 this afternoon.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, October 15, 2001)
SEN. TOM DASCHLE (D-SD), MAJORITY LEADER: At about 10:15 this morning, a member of my staff opened an envelope, and it became clear from the very beginning that the envelope contained a suspicious substance.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, October 18, 2001)
DAN RATHER, CBS NEWS ANCHOR: We also pride ourselves on being classy. And class never runs scared.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP, October 21, 2001)
THOMAS MORRIS JR.: I don't know if I have been, but I suspect that I might have been exposed to anthrax.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, October 22, 2001)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have two postal workers who worked in the Brentwood mail facility that have expired.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, October 31, 2001)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're very sad to confirm that Kathy Nguyen, a 61-year-old employee of Manhattan Eye and Ear, Throat Hospital (sic), died early this morning of inhalation anthrax disease.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, September 14, 2001)
BUSH: I can hear you!
(APPLAUSE)
BUSH: I can hear you, the rest of the world hears you, and the people...
(APPLAUSE)
BUSH: ... and the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: Going through the day of September 11 was extraordinary. Talking to friends, talking to people all over the country, people calling me. I must have talked to CNN and headquarters and our producers at least 20 times. It was a day like no other; a day we would always remember. And the conversation dealt with nothing else but: What the heck was going on? What had happened in the world? What had we come to?
Next, our scene with Senators Warner, Kerry, Feinstein and Thompson that night.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE, September 11, 2001)
KING: Was this a failure of information techniques tonight and today, Senator?
SEN. JOHN WARNER (R), VIRGINIA: Well, Larry, I spent much of the afternoon with the secretary of defense and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and indeed had an opportunity to talk with the president from the Pentagon. That we assess tomorrow.
Tonight we grieve for those who have lost their lives, the wounded, their families, and we look upon this as the greatest tragedy in the history of our country, but also one of its finest hours, when we've seen this country come together like never before whether it's the firemen or the rescue operators or the military all over the world. And we stand with one voice being spoken by our president, and he did very well tonight.
KING: Senator Kerry did your -- did you committee on international operations and terrorism ever actually fear something like this?
SEN. JOHN KERRY (R), MASSACHUSETTS: Absolutely. Absolutely. But let me join John and I know all my colleagues in just expressing -- I think all of us here in Washington are feeling in very personal ways the loss of what's happened here. I know that I had one friend I know of already on that plane from Boston, and I dread the learning of perhaps others. But for thousands of families tonight, there is just a huge loss, and I think in every American there's a sense -- there's a fury, an intense, burning fury about this and a determination to do what is right about it.
KING: What are the next few days going to be like? There's going to be opinions. What's your read on what's next?
SEN. DIANNE FEINSTEIN (D), CALIFORNIA: Oh, I think there are many of us that feel this was an act of war against the United States, that its loss is going to -- our human loss is going to be extreme, that the deviltry, the cunning and the evil behind the act is extraordinary, and that we need to respond and that America needs to come together with a unity of purpose and respond. We cannot be a paper tiger. This act -- in my view it wasn't coincidence now that the World Trade Center has been the victim twice.
And I think it's a symbol of America, and it's a symbol of what we want to protect as well. And so I think tomorrow morning at 10:00 the leadership has announced that there will be a resolution on the floor of the Senate for many of us and I'm one that believes very strongly that rather than arguing over missile defense, the asymmetric threat against the United States is the most serious one. And we have had a good indication of that today.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, October 20, 2001)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Speaker: the president of the United States.
BUSH: Great harm has been done to us. We have suffered great loss. And in our grief and anger, we have found our mission.
The Taliban must act, and act immediately. They will hand over the terrorists, or they will share in their fate. Whether we bring our enemies to justice, or bring justice to our enemies, justice will be done.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, September 17, 2001)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ladies and Gentlemen, our heroes will now open the marketplace. The green button.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: Finally, on September 11, I got to work. And in Los Angeles, work is about 4:30 in the afternoon Pacific time, going on at 6:00 Pacific time. I got here about 3:30 and everyone was in a fog -- the producers, the technicians, the engineers, the cameramen, the people downstairs in the building, security being set up. This feeling of disbelief; this feeling of questioning and wondering. And it wouldn't go away. And you sensed that life would never be the same again.
Here's more with Senators Warner, Kerry, Feinstein and Thompson.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE, September 11, 2001)
KING: Senator Thompson, President John F. Kennedy once said, when asked about his own safety, "If someone is willing to give up their own life, that is almost impossible to protect against." What do you do when you have people like today -- obviously in numbers more than 10 over the total four planes -- who died for this? How do you counter that?
SEN. FRED THOMPSON (R), TENNESSEE: It's very difficult. I think there will always be a window of vulnerability that we will have. We're living in a different world now. I think we let our defenses down a bit after the Cold War and wanted to enjoy the peace dividend. But the fact of the matter is the world is a more dangerous place in many respects than it has been in times past.
We're now seeing the other side of the technology coin. Technology's been a wonderful thing for us, but it also allows bad people to do bad things that they couldn't do a short time ago. We saw one form of that today probably in the communications area.
There are several other threats out there though. The missile threat is one of them. It is real. The cyberterrorism that could shut down our computers and our communication networks and our transportation system and all that, is very real. We simply have to get about implementing the policies, appropriating the funds necessary to address these across the board.
KING: Senator Warner, what do you say to Americans in their grief about what they should do? You try not to let terrorism affect you, but people are not going to go easily to airports tomorrow. What do you say to them?
WARNER: Have faith in this great a country. We've survived. Although this is the worst, we've survived other crises. I see tonight in Washington among my colleagues, we're no longer Democrat, Republican. We're united as a Congress behind our president. And we're going take every step.
Number one, to find out what happened and see that it cannot be repeated. And secondly, we're a nation under the rule of law, but we will relentlessly pursue and hold accountable those who perpetrated this crime against our citizens.
KING: And when we pursue that, Senator Kerry, do we as a -- does America as a nation pursue it legally? Does it go through world courts? Or does it take off? KERRY: There are three ways to pursue it, Larry. One is multi- laterally, which takes more time. That's the way George Bush, the father, did it in the Gulf War. You can do it bilaterally, you and another nation. You can you reach an agreement. You can work together. And you can do it unilaterally when the circumstances call for it.
I personally believe this is a circumstance because of the nature of it. As Dianne says, many have said today this is an act of war. The difficulty is, unlike Pearl Harbor, this is a stealth enemy.
Japan was identifiable. We knew where to find them ultimately, you know, after chasing around and we could identify. Here, we know pretty much. I mean, there's had a great certainty among many people about where the fingers point. But ultimately, we don't want to be a terrorist ourselves.
We have to do what we do with the knowledge and the certainty that we can determine, but we must be prepared, absolutely, to move unilaterally if we need to, to protect the honor and the civility that we stand for. And I think everybody in this country would support that based on the proper response with the proper information.
KING: Senator Feinstein, what if? What if it's bin Laden? If it is bin Laden, if, what do you? You go into Afghanistan? You look for him? You bomb? What do you do?
FEINSTEIN: I don't think America can be a paper tiger in this instance. This was a major attack and let's face it, there isn't going to be chaos. We're not going to bend down. We are going to rise up as one people.
And it's got to be stopped. And you have to ferret it out. I agree with what Dick Holbrooke said on this network earlier. You've got to work or our allies, the NATO allies, particularly Russia, China, and the moderate Arab countries. That's Egypt. That's Jordan. That's the Saudis.
And we have to make a statement that is so strong, that any country that harbors, that trains, that gives money to, that supports becomes an enemy of the civilized world. Because if this can happen here, it can happen in other places.
Terrorism, as our report will say very shortly, isn't a crisis. It's an ongoing condition. And we've got to change the condition. So I must say, I feel very strongly about this that the United States must respond.
Those of us that have had the classified briefings over a period of time understand some of the networks that are functioning out there even in this country, as a matter of fact. And it's not too difficult to put together two and two and I think get four.
KING: All right. Senator Thompson?
WARNER: Larry, may I just say? KING: Quickly.
WARNER: I have to say that Putin was one of the first heads of state to call our president and the Secretary of Defense this afternoon, colleagues. I was there when he talked with the Russian Defense Minister. That's an example of the type of support we're getting. The world has got to come and help us solve this problem because terrorism is a common enemy to all of us.
KING: And Senator Thompson, if the state that harbors them is as responsible as those who commit it therefore, are those civilians in peril?
THOMPSON: Yes, they are. The powers that be in those nations have put them in peril. Saddam uses his civilians as we know. There's no way around that, but we've got to face up to it. I agree with Dianne that the greatest deterrent that we can have is the knowledge in the minds of potential terrorists around the world that there will be swift, accurate retribution. Unfortunately, there's just no way around that.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, October 7, 2001)
BUSH: The name of today's military operation is Enduring Freedom. We defend not only our precious freedoms, but also the freedom of people everywhere to live and raise their children free from fear.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE, September 11, 2001)
KING: Joining us from Washington is senator -- former senator, former Secretary of Defense, William Cohen, Chairman and CEO of the Cohen Group. Were you shocked or was there an expectancy of something like this?
WILLIAM COHEN, FORMER DEFENSE SECRETARY: Well, I, like every American, every person watching this the world over, was shocked to see the act of terror actually being perpetrated on the screen and the horror that we all witnessed.
Was I surprised? The answer is no. We have known for some time that Osama Bin Laden and other organizations have targeted the United States abroad and at home. We have formed the so-called Hart-Rudman Commission several years ago. And they filed three reports, the last of which was quite prophetic, indicating that we should anticipate acts of terrorism on American soil by terrorists who may, in fact, use weapons of mass destruction and engage in nearly simultaneous types of multiple attacks. And so, it doesn't come as a surprise.
It comes as a surprise or shock to see the horror that we have witnessed today, but we have got to take more measures. I agree with much of what has been stated this evening, but we also have to take care that we don't engage in the wholesale slaughter of innocents abroad. We have to go after those and those who support those groups in terms of our responses.
KING: So we don't go in and bombs away. What do we do?
COHEN: Well, first of all, we have to make sure we have the right information. And we don't want to prejudge the matter, although those footprints of guilt would seem to lead in one very certain direction. I think we go to those who are harboring the suspected groups and serve them notice. I think President Bush did that very forcefully tonight, and that they must produce those individuals.
And certainly, they will face a number of consequences. And I don't think we have to spell them out. They will be certainly diplomatic, economic and perhaps even military action, but we should await for the president and his National Security team to deliver that particular message.
KING: You worked there for a long time. Were you a little surprised that the Pentagon wasn't better protected?
COHEN: Well, the Pentagon, as you know from its proximity to the airport, really cannot be better protected in terms of aircraft flying near the airport and passing over the Pentagon itself.
It's been one of my worst nightmares over the years to be out on the parade ground or in my office and know that at any time, a plane could through either accidentally or be directed into the Pentagon itself. There is virtually no way that one could protect the Pentagon against that type of attack, unless you banned all flights going into National itself, but even that might not be sufficient. So it's almost impossible to protect against an airplane engaged in that type of activity.
KING: What do we do about a bin Laden? We've heard the name. We've seen him occasionally. He's obviously been involved in acts of terrorism over the year, but what do you do about someone like this?
COHEN: I think the first thing that we should resist doing, and that is focusing solely on him. To the extent that he is responsible, he will be held accountable and he will receive just punishment. But there may be other bin Laden's out there. And they'll be more following.
What we have to do is to eliminate the climate under which they're allowed to train, to be funded, and to perpetrate these acts. Senator Warner talked about President Putin calling President Bush today.
I was in Moscow a year ago when one of the bombs went off, destroying one of their buildings. I went on national television, pledging the United States to work hand in hand with the Russian people because they were being terrorized. So this is an international problem. We have to gather our allies and say this transcends all borders. When America is wounded, the rest of the world bleeds as well. And what happens here can have a dramatic impact on the life and the lifestyles of so many the world over. So we are in this together. And every American is in this together, much like we came together after Pearl Harbor, we're coming together now as we will respond as one nation.
KING: And Mr. Secretary, it must be asked, how did they get on these airplanes?
COHEN: Well that's to be determined. Obviously, they were able to slip through the security. They may have had inside assistance. You may have had a situation in which bin Laden or another group has been placing sleepers for a year or so or less. We don't know exactly, having assistants to allow them to get on. There are many ways in which that could have happened, but that's going to have to await the investigation by the FBI and others.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, September 23, 2001)
(Bette Midler singing "Wind Beneath my Wings")
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, October 28, 2001)
("Amazing Grace")
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: In 1918, an immigrant American, Irving Berlin, wrote a song, and didn't like it, and didn't publish it, and didn't release it. In 1938, when war clouds started to loom over Europe, Kate Smith, a very famous singer in America at that time, asked Berlin if he had a good patriotic song to sing, because she felt America was going to be involved in World War II. He gave her that song.
And now it is still available on RCA records. We're going to set it to veterans' images on Veterans Day. It is the most famous patriotic recording ever made anywhere.
It is Kate Smith, and "God Bless America."
(Kate Smith singing "God Bless America")
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