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CNN Live At Daybreak
Agency Created to Spy on Others Now Keeping an Eye on This Nation
Aired December 11, 2002 - 05:39 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: An agency that was created to spy on others outside of the United States is now using its satellites and aircraft to keep an eye on this nation.
From Washington, CNN's David Ensor reports on these secret map makers.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID ENSOR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Heidi Smith works in a nondescript building in the Washington Navy Yard for an intelligence agency that normally focuses on the rest of the world, not the United States. Her assignment at NIMA, using satellite photos to help police and firemen respond to natural disasters such as hurricanes and earthquakes.
On September 11 last year, the job suddenly mushroomed.
HEIDI SMITH, NIMA IMAGERY ANALYST: What you'll notice is the large smoke plume emanating from ground zero.
ENSOR (on camera): But you can't actually see very well, can you? I mean there's so much smoke.
SMITH: You're right.
Once the smoke plume had cleared, we can look at some Aconos (ph) commercial imagery from the 15th.
It's pretty clear the main buildings that were impacted. I mean it was the World Trade Towers. What FEMA was really interested in from us is what's the periphery of that damage, which buildings surrounding that complex had been impacted.
ENSOR (voice-over): It was a disaster, all right, but not a natural one. Heidi Smith and others worked with satellite photos to produce real time maps of the damage for fire and rescue crews. Since 9/11, an agency that once focused on national security threats outside the country and at home only on natural disasters, now uses its spy satellites, aircraft and analysts to help secure the nation.
SMITH: So we're no longer knee jerking just to disasters, but we're planning and also responding to homeland security initiatives as well.
ENSOR: For the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics last February, NIMA prepared tools for the Secret Service, local police and FBI to help them secure the venues of the games.
JOANNE ISHAM, NIMA DEPUTY DIRECTOR: We also provide fly-throughs and three dimensional types of models as well as CDs that will help a person feel like you're in the area.
ENSOR: With NIMA's products, law enforcement could see where their spotters needed to be and which buildings had to be secured so no terrorist sniper could get a line of sight on an event. On July 4, when a man started shooting passengers at Los Angeles Airport, NIMA instantly provided key logistical help to the FBI.
DONALD GOOD, FBI AGENT: They were able within minutes of that shooting at the terminal in the airport to depict a picture of the airport and the exact location with latitude and longitude of where that shooting occurred. And it was exceptionally helpful.
ENSOR: Despite all this, make no mistake about it, NIMA is an intelligence agency, created to spy on others.
(on camera): Under U.S. law and the constitution, the agency must get special permission before it can train powerful surveillance satellites on targets inside the United States. Not even tough post- 9/11 laws like the Patriot and Homeland Security Acts have changed that.
JOHN PIKE, GLOBALSECURITY.ORG: I think that the big challenge for NIMA is going to be to make sure that the regulations that are in place on the one hand make the imagery quickly and readily available to homeland security agencies when needed, but that the spy satellites don't turn into some sort of big brother in the sky.
LT. GEN. JAMES CLAPPER (RET.), NIMA DIRECTOR: We have very rigorous processes that we must go through if we're going to, for example, use national technical means in a domestic context.
ENSOR: But the satellite photos Heidi Smith uses to help first responders in this country are commercially made by private companies so there are fewer restrictions. The commercial imagery she uses turns into pixels at about one meter resolution so it would not be able to read license plates or identify individuals, as America's classified spy satellites reportedly can. It is good enough, though, to make a difference.
(on camera): Do you think you may have saved a life somewhere along the way?
SMITH: Definitely. I would say so.
ENSOR: And how does that make you feel?
SMITH: Proud.
ENSOR (voice-over): David Ensor, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Nation>
Aired December 11, 2002 - 05:39 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: An agency that was created to spy on others outside of the United States is now using its satellites and aircraft to keep an eye on this nation.
From Washington, CNN's David Ensor reports on these secret map makers.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID ENSOR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Heidi Smith works in a nondescript building in the Washington Navy Yard for an intelligence agency that normally focuses on the rest of the world, not the United States. Her assignment at NIMA, using satellite photos to help police and firemen respond to natural disasters such as hurricanes and earthquakes.
On September 11 last year, the job suddenly mushroomed.
HEIDI SMITH, NIMA IMAGERY ANALYST: What you'll notice is the large smoke plume emanating from ground zero.
ENSOR (on camera): But you can't actually see very well, can you? I mean there's so much smoke.
SMITH: You're right.
Once the smoke plume had cleared, we can look at some Aconos (ph) commercial imagery from the 15th.
It's pretty clear the main buildings that were impacted. I mean it was the World Trade Towers. What FEMA was really interested in from us is what's the periphery of that damage, which buildings surrounding that complex had been impacted.
ENSOR (voice-over): It was a disaster, all right, but not a natural one. Heidi Smith and others worked with satellite photos to produce real time maps of the damage for fire and rescue crews. Since 9/11, an agency that once focused on national security threats outside the country and at home only on natural disasters, now uses its spy satellites, aircraft and analysts to help secure the nation.
SMITH: So we're no longer knee jerking just to disasters, but we're planning and also responding to homeland security initiatives as well.
ENSOR: For the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics last February, NIMA prepared tools for the Secret Service, local police and FBI to help them secure the venues of the games.
JOANNE ISHAM, NIMA DEPUTY DIRECTOR: We also provide fly-throughs and three dimensional types of models as well as CDs that will help a person feel like you're in the area.
ENSOR: With NIMA's products, law enforcement could see where their spotters needed to be and which buildings had to be secured so no terrorist sniper could get a line of sight on an event. On July 4, when a man started shooting passengers at Los Angeles Airport, NIMA instantly provided key logistical help to the FBI.
DONALD GOOD, FBI AGENT: They were able within minutes of that shooting at the terminal in the airport to depict a picture of the airport and the exact location with latitude and longitude of where that shooting occurred. And it was exceptionally helpful.
ENSOR: Despite all this, make no mistake about it, NIMA is an intelligence agency, created to spy on others.
(on camera): Under U.S. law and the constitution, the agency must get special permission before it can train powerful surveillance satellites on targets inside the United States. Not even tough post- 9/11 laws like the Patriot and Homeland Security Acts have changed that.
JOHN PIKE, GLOBALSECURITY.ORG: I think that the big challenge for NIMA is going to be to make sure that the regulations that are in place on the one hand make the imagery quickly and readily available to homeland security agencies when needed, but that the spy satellites don't turn into some sort of big brother in the sky.
LT. GEN. JAMES CLAPPER (RET.), NIMA DIRECTOR: We have very rigorous processes that we must go through if we're going to, for example, use national technical means in a domestic context.
ENSOR: But the satellite photos Heidi Smith uses to help first responders in this country are commercially made by private companies so there are fewer restrictions. The commercial imagery she uses turns into pixels at about one meter resolution so it would not be able to read license plates or identify individuals, as America's classified spy satellites reportedly can. It is good enough, though, to make a difference.
(on camera): Do you think you may have saved a life somewhere along the way?
SMITH: Definitely. I would say so.
ENSOR: And how does that make you feel?
SMITH: Proud.
ENSOR (voice-over): David Ensor, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Nation>
