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CNN Live Today
Capital on Alert for Fourth
Aired July 02, 2002 - 10:18 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.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: We move on here to the United States, where it is about stars, stripes, and security this Fourth of July. The nation is on alert for possible acts of terrorism on this holiday. Nowhere is that more evident than in the capital.
Our Bob Franken is live on the Mall in Washington.
Bob, good morning.
BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn.
With the jersey barriers in back of me and the snow fence, this would look like fortress America, but it is on purpose, a very open fortress for standing on the mall.
As you pointed out, where hundreds of thousands of people are expected on July Fourth to witness the big fireworks display that has become part of the Washington tradition. Up the road a little bit, there will be the concert by the National Symphony Orchestra, all of it within the monuments, including the one where I am, which is the Washington Monument.
Now for a few Cliff Clavin facts for you Cheers fans, 555 feet, 5 5/8 inches high is this Washington Monument. It was built in two stages, so the coloring of the stone is different in about half of it. Now you know more than you wanted to know about the Washington Monument, but we wanted to make a point about the celebrations around the country.
There are going to be many ignoring the terrorist threats in one way to hold the celebrations. Dallas, Texas for instance is going to have its largest celebration. In Dallas, about 150,000 people are expected. There is going to be, of course, very heavy security in Dallas.
It is not such a happy story in San Diego, California, which, as you know, is the home to the large naval base there. The military festivities that are the tradition of July Fourth have been canceled. But here in Washington, D.C., the celebration is going to on. Its going to go on under increased security, some of which youll see, some you wont.
You will certainly see the snow fences that are being put up everywhere. You will certainly see the 2,000 or so security people on the ground. There is much you will not see, the security that, of course, is in place because of Washington, D.C., being such a sensitive area, such a desirable target for the terrorists. But theres still going to be the open celebration.
The whole idea is, is to come here to be welcomed to celebrate, to defy the terrorists, so to speak, to even go with the concept, as Ronald Reagan used to say, "trust, but verify," when he was speaking about negotiations with the then-communists. But now, the concept here will be welcome, but be ready to be searched. Thats whats going to happen: quite a bit of security here, but still the celebration.
And the one thing that one would have to observe is it is quite a shame that perhaps, those many, many people who invested in MCI didnt invest instead in some snow fence manufacturer.
Speaking of MCI, with all its troubles, another monument to the United States system, its going through such trouble right now that it has to withdraw its sponsorship of the fireworks display here. That will be replaced, were understood, by other corporate money -- Daryn.
KAGAN: Thats good. What about in San Diego? Do we know why they canceled it there? Why that celebration has been canceled?
FRANKEN: Well, there have been terrorist threats, and they just decided that with all the military aspects of this, it was probably just not worth doing. There is always a benefit-cost ratio that people decide on, and in that particular case, they decided that the costs, the danger, outweighed the benefits.
KAGAN: All right, Bob Franken, at the Washington Monument, thank you so much.
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