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CNN Live At Daybreak

Intelligence Sources Report Increased Communication within al Qaeda

Aired May 21, 2002 - 06:02   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.
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SEN. BOB GRAHAM (D), INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: ... to the point of certainty that over the next, say, three to five years that there will be another terrorist attack inside the United States.

SEN. RICHARD SHELBY (R), INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE VICE CHAIRMAN: We have to be ready for it. We are doing everything to prepare the Americans for it. We are trying to eliminate it before it ever really crystallizes.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: These warnings coming a day after Vice President Dick Cheney said a future attack against the United States is, in his words, "almost certain."

Cheney, Graham and Shelby insist they have received no specific information, but U.S. intelligence agencies are reporting increased activity and communication by suspected terrorist groups, including al Qaeda. That has led to a series of recent warnings.

The FBI has alerted real estate industry leaders that terrorists might try to rent apartment units and rig them with explosives.

BEN VENZKE, INTELCENTER: There was information that was obtained that al Qaeda was discussing the possibility of this, and there are connections between the Chechen rebels that were responsible for those apartment bombings and al Qaeda. So one could surmise there is a connection there.

BLITZER: And in Orlando, Florida, security around water purification and distribution centers has been stepped up after the FBI reported what it calls a vague, unsubstantiated threat to the area's water supply. There has been no evidence that the Orlando water supply has actually been compromised. But coupled with the ongoing controversy over what the White House knew about possible attacks before September 11, many are asking, are Americans now safer?

KELLY MCCANN, CNN SECURITY ANALYST: This is a very determined adversary, and we are safer. We are definitely safer than we were, you know, 9/11. However, as their determination and their ingenuity increases, so much ours. BLITZER: Wolf Blitzer, CNN, Washington.

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