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American Morning

Increased Security Still Has Cracks

Aired December 31, 2001 - 09:17   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.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Now, from big celebrations like that one to travel, tight security is a new reality in the wake of the September 11th terrorist attacks, and the question lingers this New Year's Eve, how has security changed?

Well, we have two reports on that this morning. CNN's Kathleen Koch is standing by at Reagan National Airport, and our Mark Potter is over-looking the Port of Miami. He's looking into what has changed in protecting cruise ships since September 11th, and that's a topic that maybe many people haven't thought of, so let's begin with you -- Mark.

MARK POTTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, Leon. Yes, security has changed dramatically here at the Port of Miami. This is known as the cruise ship capital of the world. You can see the cruise ships down at the end of Government Cut. They will be leaving this area late this afternoon to go out into the Caribbean. Security is definitely heightened here. It has been since September 11th.

Nearly three and a half million passengers came through this port this year, more than 8 million tons of cargo. So, security is definitely stepped up. You can see the Coast Guard Cutter out here. There's a U.S. Customs boat. Some patrol boats here, all here to protect the cruise ships and also to keep an eye on the containerized cargo. The National Guard is also here along with local authorities.

Now, the U.S. Senate recently approved a bill that if enacted would require the nation's 361 coastal and inland ports to devise a comprehensive security plan, it's the first of its kind, and one of the concerns behind this bill involves the seven and a half billion cargo containers that enter the U.S. each year, and you can see those containers right there behind the Coast Guard Cutter, the red and the blue containers. They come into this country from international ports, very few, relatively few, are inspected here, and so the fear is that terrorists could use these containers to hide or even detonate powerful weapons.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BOB GRAHAM (D), FLORIDA: In my opinion, one of the greatest threats to the United States are those 16,000 containers that come by ship into the United States every day. Only a small percentage, less than three, are subject to scrutiny. They are immediately placed on a railroad car or on a large truck and in a few hours will be any place in the United States. (END VIDEO CLIP)

POTTER: As for Senator Bob Graham who heads the Select Committee on Intelligence, he is one of the sponsors of the bill, and that bill now goes to the house. Let's turn our attention now to Captain James Watson of the Port of Miami here with the U.S. Coast Guard. Tell me first, briefly, what efforts are being made to make sure that this port is safe.

CAPTAIN JAMES WATSON, U.S. COAST GUARD: Well, we have a number of different activities involving multiple agencies here. As you can see, we've got security zone patrols. We have put into place water side security zones right after the attacks. We also increased our terminal security for the passenger vessel terminals. We're at a Level 3. We scan all the baggage, provisions, and all the carry-ons from the passengers.

POTTER: You told me that you have two major concerns here at the port. Can you tell me briefly what they are?

WATSON: Well, our major concern is the cruise ships. We have those three and a half million passengers a year coming through this port. We are concerned that there could be a Cole-type of an attack where a small boat would come alongside. We're just excluding the possibility that that could happen.

POTTER: Do you share the Senator's concern about the cargo containers too?

WATSON: Absolutely. We're very concerned about the number of cargo containers that are not inspected, so we're trying to do a number of different things.

POTTER: Now, you support the bill that he proposes also, right?

WATSON: Absolutely. It provides the much needed money and authority and these plans are just going to be very effective. We've already gone ahead with some of the planning needed to improve security here in the Port of Miami.

POTTER: Thank you for your time, and we'll talk to you later. We're going to go now to Washington, D.C., to Reagan National Airport, and CNN Correspondent Kathleen Koch.

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Mark, here at the nation's airports, some things have changed, but some things haven't since September 11th, and one of those being that weapons are still occasionally getting onto aircraft.

Two separate incidents over the weekend. One where a man was found to have .44 caliber ammunition in his carry-on bag not spotted until he was on his return leg of his flight from Jamaica to Atlanta. Then another situation where a Florida man was arrested for having a loaded 9 mm Beretta in his carry-on bag, which he brought through Atlanta, Tampa, and Memphis airports. People say this points out continuing problems with the screeners. Now all of these screeners will have to be quitting their jobs by the end of the year, all 28,000, and then re-applying, and they will have to be U.S. citizens. They will have to be better trained. They will not, necessarily, though, have to have high school diplomas. Congress gave the Department of Transportation the leeway to accept, instead, one year of applicable job experience, and that is what the federal government has chosen to do. Back to you.

HARRIS: Kathleen, let me ask you something about the security there in the wake of that incident -- Richard Reid, the man who was caught carrying explosives in his shoes. Have there been any changes there of security at Reagan National because of those reports?

KOCH: There have, Leon, both here and at airports around the nation. Sunday night after the incident last Saturday, the FAA put out a security directive telling all airlines that they had to randomly inspect the shoes of their passengers. However, as many passengers pointed out to us, what if someone has a bomb under their clothing.

So, there is technology out there, on the horizon, that can electronically strip-search people and check them for bombs and other explosives. Portals that they can walk through that would sniff any little micro-scopic bits of explosives that could then be detected, but at this point, Leon, there is no money in the Aviation Security Act that says that kind of technology has to be deployed in any U.S. airport -- Leon.

HARRIS: Kathleen Koch at Reagan National Airport in Washington. Thank you very much.

KOCH: You're welcome.

HARRIS: We will continue our look at airline safety with an insider's opinion, now. From Los Angeles, joining us is Linda Powell. She is a commercial airline pilot. Linda, thank you very much, and happy holidays to you. Appreciate you taking time during the holidays for us.

LINDA PAUWELS, COMMERCIAL AIRLINE PILOT: Thank you, Leon, and happy New Year to you.

HARRIS: Thank you. Now, what do you make of the question I just asked Kathleen there about this report Richard Reid, the man who had the explosives in his shoes. Are you confident that the measures that you've seen enacted in your travels to different airports around the country, that if that had happened in the United States, he would have been caught before he had gotten on that plane?

PAUWELS: Well, I really think that we will have to concentrate on these layers of security. And, yes, I am confident that even after this transition period, the security implemented will be greater. Now, on the incident involving Flight 63, I know that we will have many people dissecting what went wrong with Flight 63, but we also have to concentrate on what went right. We have to look at the actions of the flight crew and understand that the flight crew truly is the last line of defense in the post-September 11th world.

HARRIS: You're absolutely right. That crew did a -- did react quite strongly and correctly. Let me ask you about a comment that you've made in the past. You've said that you believe the ball is being dropped in the information transfer amongst the crew members and security forces. What do you mean by that?

PAUWELS: Well, I think that Flight 63 raised some serious concerns amongst pilots. December 11th, the FAA issued a security warning basically informing airline security that there was a possibility of hijackings from the United States or Europe, and that terrorists would be attempting, possibly, to bring disassembled bomb onboard, possibly in shoes, and that December 11th warning seems to not have been disseminated to the flight crews. So, that is a concern, and that concern was raised -- the task force Secretary Mineta had recommendations from.

HARRIS: So, you believe -- is that just one of many other things that are not information -- pieces of information, critical information that is not passed along to pilots like you?

PAUWELS: I think it is possible. That is one of the shortcomings we have to concentrate on. I believe that pilots require up to date security information, and there will have to be commitment to provide us with that. For example, during the time that Flight 63 was undergoing this incident, it appears that other flights in the air were not advised that Flight 63 was having these problems. Those are concerns that we have, and they must be addressed.

HARRIS: What do you think, then, about the new security measures that have been implemented here in the States, particularly those regarding the screeners that are being put in place in each of the airports. You don't think that the standards have been set high enough?

PAUWELS: I think they had higher expectations when the Aviation Security Act was passed. Most of us felt that we would be upgrading the workforce. Now, it appears that we're starting to decrease some of the requirements, and I don't know the type of message that this sends to the public or to airline employees. I really believe that our expectations have to be set a bit higher. Let's not forget that the screeners are an integral part of enhanced security process.

HARRIS: Let me ask you about incident that we've talked about a little bit -- that happened on Christmas day in Baltimore. There was a Secret Service agent who was onboard on plane, and from what I hear, from what I've read about it, everything was done properly. He was going onboard with his gun and everything, and there was no problem with the arrangements that had been made to allow that to happen, but the fact that this man appeared to be of Middle Eastern descent actually caused the pilot of this plane to demand that he be taken off the plane. Would you, as a pilot, have done the same thing, knowing this was a Secret Service agent?

PAUWELS: Well, Leon, this is a very complex issue, and I really think the issue is one of captain's authority. It is not one of profiling. We have over 100 agencies who are allowed to fly armed onboard commercial aircraft, and last year there was a report that was widespread that the FBI and the GAO seized over 200 fake security badges and credentials that had been used to gain access to Federal Buildings and also to fly armed onboard aircraft.

Pilots are very vigilant when they have someone who is armed onboard the aircraft, and we should be, and we are even more vigilant after September 11th. So I really don't believe that it's an issue of profiling, even though I don't have any direct knowledge of the incident. I really do think that it is an issue of the authority that the FAA gives the pilots in command to basically operate flights the safest possible way.

HARRIS: Let me ask you one final question. I had a conversation -- a long conversation with some other airline personnel anywhere -- from all ranks.

Some pilots, some folks that worked at the ramps, some folks that worked onboard the plane as flight attendants, and the suggestion was made that perhaps the best way to address the security issues would be for the companies that are doing these -- I believe that Argenbright is the company doing most of the security at the airports right now -- if they were hire furloughed airline workers, many of them have been laid off since September 11th, and it was suggested that they could perhaps be the best at this position because they know how -- they know where the cracks in the system are, they know the planes and they have a vested interest in protecting the guys that work onboard these planes.

What do you think of that idea?

PAUWELS: Well, I think it's a very valid point. Now, I remember listening to an interview yesterday, a U.S. Senator was discussing what the view is for the screeners, and the upward mobility of the career path. I really think we have to look at that, and it would be a very good idea to give some type of priority to furloughed airline employees who understand the system in depth.

HARRIS: Yeah, and from what they told me, it would be like protecting their families, so they would take it quite that seriously.

PAUWELS: Absolutely.

HARRIS: Linda Pauwels, thank you very much. We appreciate the time.

PAUWELS: Thank you, Leon. And again, happy New Year.

HARRIS: Same to you. Take care.

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