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CNN Live At Daybreak
FBI Believes Suicide Bombers 'Inevitable'
Aired May 21, 2002 - 05:01 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.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: A militant strapped with explosives walks into a crowded restaurant or market or bus stop and blows himself up along with dozens around him. Just another day in the Middle East?
CNN's Kelli Arena reports the deadly scene is one U.S. officials now predict will happen here.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KELLI ARENA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The FBI director says suicide bombers like those who have attacked in Israel will almost certainly hit the United States. Responding to questions from local prosecutors, Robert Mueller said, "I think we will see that in the future. I think it's inevitable."
That echoed a warning from Vice President Cheney over the weekend.
DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think there's a real possibility that we may see that kind of thing here or in other open societies.
ARENA: U.S. officials caution there is no specific or credible information about a target or a time for a possible attack. Still, the threat is a serious one.
BRUCE HOFFMAN, TERRORISM EXPERT: The problem is is that it's very difficult to defend against. It can occur anywhere. It's essentially the sophistication is in its simplicity, that it revolves around one person who's willing to surrender their lives in the commission of an act.
ARENA: So-called walk-in suicide bombers are not the only concern. The FBI has alerted real estate industry leaders that terrorists might try to rent apartment units and rig them with explosives. And in Orlando, Florida, security around water purification and distribution centers has been stepped up after the FBI warned about a vague threat to the area's water supply.
REP. PORTER GOSS (R-FL), INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: You don't want people to think they're a hundred percent safe when they're not. That's not fair. On the other hand, you don't want to scare them so much they starve to death because they didn't go to the supermarket. So you've got to find that right balance and get people to understand and be alert.
ARENA: There is, according to one official, a greater sense of urgency in these past few weeks. That's because intelligence agencies are reporting an increase in activity and communication by suspected terrorist groups, including al Qaeda.
CONDOLEEZZA RICE, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: You have to recognize that we have more in the way of sheer volume of information now. We have detainees in custody. We have a kind of worldwide mobilization of the intelligence network. So we're just getting a lot more information and some of it may be sheer volume.
ARENA: Nonetheless, officials say the volume of information currently coming in is similar to the volume just before the September 11 attacks.
Kelli Arena, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: And we have new information for you this morning about the so-called Phoenix memo. That's the FBI memo which raised the issue of Middle Easterners in the United States flight schools two months before the September attacks. Well, the "New York Times" reports Attorney General John Ashcroft was informed of the memo a few days after the attacks. The "Times" also reports President Bush wasn't told about the memo until recently.
Now to something else the government says you have to worry about. You heard Kelli Arena mention it. The FBI is not only asking apartment building owners and property managers to watch for suspicious activity, but to report it. The request follows recent intelligence that al Qaeda operatives are discussing rental attacks.
As CNN's Michael Okwu reports, New York could be an inviting target.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAEL OKWU, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Terrorists living in the apartment next door, scheming to set off rounds of explosives in your building. The FBI says it could happen. The agency called the threat general and non-specific, telling real estate leaders there are indications that discussions were held about the possibility of renting apartment units in various areas of the United States and rigging them with explosives. The FBI has no information indicating that this subject advanced beyond the discussion stage.
(on camera): New York, the most densely populated city in the country, would be a rich target. With more than 26,400 people here per square mile, it is three times more crowded than Los Angeles.
(voice-over): New Yorkers reacted with a mix of fear...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a scary thing. It's a scary thought.
OKWU: Apprehension...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They could be blonde and blue-eyed, they could be disguised. It's just impossible.
OKWU: ... and battle ready unease.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, you have to be aware. You have to be basically on your toes.
OKWU (on camera): Does it concern you? Does it scare you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It doesn't scare me. It concerns me.
KEVIN SINGELTON, ROCKROSE DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION: It's more than water cooler conversation.
OKWU (voice-over): Kevin Singleton, a New York real estate developer, received the government warning in an e-mail.
SINGELTON: We are preparing written guidelines to our people on the front line in our various properties, including leasing agents, apartment showers, building managers and concierges. And we're asking them to be on a heightened alert.
OKWU: Landlords are prohibited by law to conduct criminal checks on prospective tenants. Off camera, several developers told us they are now more likely to refuse leases to individuals based on gut suspicions.
Authorities believe this terrorist tactic is not so far fetched. Russian officials say groups associated with Chechen rebels did just that when they damaged a Moscow apartment block in 1999. Tenants groups here are calling for vigilance.
JOE HEAPHY, NEW YORK STATE TENANTS & NEIGHBORS COALITION: A building, just like a neighborhood, can have a watch that can keep abreast of issues in the building and tenants should be speaking to each other.
OKWU: Although the advisory didn't ask apartment owners across the country to post warnings, some did. In the San Francisco Bay Area, some tenants were glad they did.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm very pleased that they did provide me with the information. One, I can be vigilant. I can be aware of my neighbors and my surroundings. And if I do see something suspicious, I can report it.
OKWU: Experts say this threat may resonate for a simple reason.
BEN VENZKE, INTELCENTER: It creates a sense of insecurity in the one last place that you have that you can go and feel comfortable.
OKWU: That's why landlords are beginning to say more than ever know thy neighbor.
Michael Okwu, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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