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American Morning
Discussion with Richard Preston
Aired December 13, 2002 - 08:30 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.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: The White House is dealing with several threats this morning, the apparent holes in Iraq's U.N. weapons declaration, and North Korea upping the stakes by claiming it will reactivate a nuclear reactor.
Let's turn to John King who is standing by at the White House with the very latest on both of those stories.
Good morning to you, John.
JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Paula.
A number of grave concerns on both fronts, although the administration still stressing it hopes to resolve both the Iraq situation and the North Korea situation diplomatically.
Let's deal with Iraq first. U.S. representatives will meet with Hans Blix and his deputies at the United Nations today to offer the preliminary assessment from the Bush administration, and that assessment is that Iraq has failed the test, that Iraq has not provided the necessary details in its filing with the United Nations about what it did with mustard gas shells, other chemical and biological weapons that Iraq conceded it had back in the previous inspections regime.
The Bush administration says its preliminary review of this document cannot find enough evidence to prove Iraq has destroyed those weapons as promised. The United States also says it does not believe there is a full accounting of Iraq's nuclear weapons program in this document.
U.S. officials say it will be another week, perhaps even two weeks, before they have a complete assessment, but so far, they are quite disappointed. They will push the United Nations for much more aggressive inspections on the ground, while they take more time to come up with a comprehensive assessment.
On North Korea, U.S. officials saying they are finding it quite regrettable and, in fact, somewhat provocative. North Korea has asked the International Atomic Inspections Agency to remove surveillance cameras and seals at a nuclear facility north of Pyongyang. U.S. officials say they view this as a serious development, North Korea saying it will restart a nuclear program it had agreed with the Clinton administration to shut down. U.S. officials urgently consulting allies in the region, and the number two official at the State Department, Armitage, was in China yesterday, and in Australia today, and he says the U.S. views it as a quite serious and dramatic development, but hopes it can be resolved peacefully.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARD ARMITAGE, DEP. SECY. OF STATE: We believe that the situation on the North Korean peninsula lends itself to the possibility of a diplomatic solution, given that the nations in the immediate area, Russia, China, Japan, South Korea and the United States, all share absolutely the same view that the peninsula must be denuclearized, and that's a pretty good basis to attempt to move forward diplomatically, and that's what we're trying to do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: The next step when it comes to North Korea, urgent round of consultations with Japan and South Korea. Bush administration officials say they hope to resolve this peacefully, but they will not negotiate with North Korea right now -- Paula.
ZAHN: So what is the White house strategy, John, for countering what critics are saying, that the administration is worried about the wrong enemy here?
KING: Well, the administration says it has to deal with all of these countries. We're talking about North Korea and Iraq. There are also new concerns about Iran's nuclear programs, all three of those countries, of course, listed among the "axis of evil," as President Bush puts it.
The administration says Saddam Hussein has proven to be much more of a provocative player, that he is much more of an immediate threat in terms of his ability and his history of using his weapons of mass destruction. That does not mean the U.S. officials don't view North Korea as an urgent crisis, but they are not threatening to use force against anybody, has no recent history of using force, so they believe they have the right approach here. They're trying to juggle a lot of difficult situations all at once.
ZAHN: John King, thank so much. Appreciate your unscrambling all that for us this morning.
Now on to the president's plan to protect Americans against the deadly smallpox virus, the program to be unveiled today includes initial vaccinations for military personnel and emergency first responders. Immunizations then will be offered to the public on a voluntary basis beginning in the year 2004.
So just how serious is the threat of a bioterrorism attack from a disease eradicated years ago? Let's turn to Richard Preston, who is the author of "The Demon in the Freezer." And I literally just have to turn to the left and he joins us.
Good morning. Welcome.
RICHARD PRESTON, AUTHOR, "THE DEMON IN THE FREEZER": Good morning, Paula.
ZAHN: Do you really believe that the threat of a smallpox attack of some sort is as serious as the threat of a nuclear attack?
PRESTON: Well, I think in a sense, it's more serious, in the sense that it could more easily happen. It seems more conceivable to me than, say, a nuclear bomb going off. The problem is that we really don't know who has smallpox or what they intend to do with it, but I'm pretty well convinced that Iraq and a number of other countries around the world probably have the virus. One would wonder if there were a war with Iraq whether Iraq would be capable of, say, giving smallpox to a terror group and saying go for it in the United States.
But one also wonders about Al Qaeda. Al Qaeda certainly has made attempts to get smallpox in the past.
ZAHN: Let's talk a little bit about a report in the "L.A. Times" today that suggests the scenario you are talking about is very difficult, that you would have to send someone into the country infected, the rash wouldn't show up, for, what, seven to 10 days, and by that time, that person would be horribly sick, and perhaps lying down in perhaps a lobby of an airport and making himself or herself quite obvious.
PRESTON: Well, you know, there is a big debate among the doctors about exactly how dangerous is smallpox. How fast would it spread? I tend to lean on the side of this is the worst human disease in history, and doctors who feel that they can easily control it, they, themselves, really most of them have never seen it. I think they underestimate Mother Nature, its power, and I also think that smallpox has potential to really spread very fast, faster than people probably would, you know, think.
ZAHN: The point that is made in this article this morning by Clarence Peters, who is the director of the Center of Biodefense of the University of Texas says it has to be spread through very close contact, more than merely crossing paths with a carrier.
PRESTON: Well, examples from history show otherwise. In 1972, in Yugoslavia, there was a huge outbreak. It was started by one man who had subclinical smallpox. He didn't even know he had the virus. But he spread it ultimately to something like 150 people all over the country. It began to move so fast through Yugoslavia, that they had to vaccinate everybody in the country in a period of about two weeks in order to stop the virus which came from one man with a sore throat.
So we have an example here of the way in which this virus can spread very fast.
ZAHN: This report also goes on to say that this particular scientist has concern that you could even effectively build a smallpox bomb if there was a way to weaponize this. What do you think?
PRESTON: Well, I don't want to get too specific, but smallpox can be dried, it can be freeze dried into a powder or very fine liquid form, and it can be dispersed directly into the air with certain kinds of devices, devices that I wouldn't want to talk about, but let's say they are available for a modest price from certain industrial suppliers all over the world. And so... ZAHN: So the mechanisms already there?
PRESTON: We hear a lot about these human virus missiles. These are people infected with smallpox who might be sent here to infect other people here in this country. But there are other ways to do it as well that involve technology and, you know, producing the virus into the air inside an enclosed air space like a building, a shopping mall. So one of the questions is, if there was an outbreak of smallpox, it would have to be terror, it would have to be a human accident or terror. It couldn't be natural.
How many people in the first wave would become infected? If we had just a handful of people, then the doctors from the CDC would probably be able to track the cases quickly, and might be able to stop the outbreak very fast.
But beyond some critical mass, and we don't know what the critical mass is of the human population, the virus could essentially, in effect, create a biological chain reaction and there would be too many human cases too fast that doctors could not track them, and then it would be necessary for virtually everyone to get the vaccine or to consider getting it.
ZAHN: Terrifying, I guess no matter what perspective you take on this. Quick question, do you plan to be vaccinated when it becomes available to the public?
PRESTON: Yes. Something life 25 percent of the population probably shouldn't. Before you get the vaccine, before you're offered it, check with your own doctor. I wouldn't have a hesitation with my own family, but I would certainly want to wait until we knew that smallpox was really, was really happening.
ZAHN: Dr. Preston, appreciate you dropping by. Chilling to think about everything you brought to our attention this morning, the author of "The Demon in the Freezer."
Try to have a cheerful holiday after you wrestle with these horrible issues.
PRESTON: We Americans have seen lots of trouble in the past, and we shouldn't forget that smallpox was part of our history, part of our nation, and we grew up as a nation with smallpox among us. It was a natural disease. And we thrived, and prospered, and we became a great nation, and I don't think, for one minute, think that smallpox, can, in the long run, hurt us.
ZAHN: That is excellent you add that perspective, because I think everybody heard the beginning of the segment is thinking, oh no, where do I go hide, oh, no. Appreciate it.
PRESTON: Thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired December 13, 2002 - 08:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: The White House is dealing with several threats this morning, the apparent holes in Iraq's U.N. weapons declaration, and North Korea upping the stakes by claiming it will reactivate a nuclear reactor.
Let's turn to John King who is standing by at the White House with the very latest on both of those stories.
Good morning to you, John.
JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Paula.
A number of grave concerns on both fronts, although the administration still stressing it hopes to resolve both the Iraq situation and the North Korea situation diplomatically.
Let's deal with Iraq first. U.S. representatives will meet with Hans Blix and his deputies at the United Nations today to offer the preliminary assessment from the Bush administration, and that assessment is that Iraq has failed the test, that Iraq has not provided the necessary details in its filing with the United Nations about what it did with mustard gas shells, other chemical and biological weapons that Iraq conceded it had back in the previous inspections regime.
The Bush administration says its preliminary review of this document cannot find enough evidence to prove Iraq has destroyed those weapons as promised. The United States also says it does not believe there is a full accounting of Iraq's nuclear weapons program in this document.
U.S. officials say it will be another week, perhaps even two weeks, before they have a complete assessment, but so far, they are quite disappointed. They will push the United Nations for much more aggressive inspections on the ground, while they take more time to come up with a comprehensive assessment.
On North Korea, U.S. officials saying they are finding it quite regrettable and, in fact, somewhat provocative. North Korea has asked the International Atomic Inspections Agency to remove surveillance cameras and seals at a nuclear facility north of Pyongyang. U.S. officials say they view this as a serious development, North Korea saying it will restart a nuclear program it had agreed with the Clinton administration to shut down. U.S. officials urgently consulting allies in the region, and the number two official at the State Department, Armitage, was in China yesterday, and in Australia today, and he says the U.S. views it as a quite serious and dramatic development, but hopes it can be resolved peacefully.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARD ARMITAGE, DEP. SECY. OF STATE: We believe that the situation on the North Korean peninsula lends itself to the possibility of a diplomatic solution, given that the nations in the immediate area, Russia, China, Japan, South Korea and the United States, all share absolutely the same view that the peninsula must be denuclearized, and that's a pretty good basis to attempt to move forward diplomatically, and that's what we're trying to do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: The next step when it comes to North Korea, urgent round of consultations with Japan and South Korea. Bush administration officials say they hope to resolve this peacefully, but they will not negotiate with North Korea right now -- Paula.
ZAHN: So what is the White house strategy, John, for countering what critics are saying, that the administration is worried about the wrong enemy here?
KING: Well, the administration says it has to deal with all of these countries. We're talking about North Korea and Iraq. There are also new concerns about Iran's nuclear programs, all three of those countries, of course, listed among the "axis of evil," as President Bush puts it.
The administration says Saddam Hussein has proven to be much more of a provocative player, that he is much more of an immediate threat in terms of his ability and his history of using his weapons of mass destruction. That does not mean the U.S. officials don't view North Korea as an urgent crisis, but they are not threatening to use force against anybody, has no recent history of using force, so they believe they have the right approach here. They're trying to juggle a lot of difficult situations all at once.
ZAHN: John King, thank so much. Appreciate your unscrambling all that for us this morning.
Now on to the president's plan to protect Americans against the deadly smallpox virus, the program to be unveiled today includes initial vaccinations for military personnel and emergency first responders. Immunizations then will be offered to the public on a voluntary basis beginning in the year 2004.
So just how serious is the threat of a bioterrorism attack from a disease eradicated years ago? Let's turn to Richard Preston, who is the author of "The Demon in the Freezer." And I literally just have to turn to the left and he joins us.
Good morning. Welcome.
RICHARD PRESTON, AUTHOR, "THE DEMON IN THE FREEZER": Good morning, Paula.
ZAHN: Do you really believe that the threat of a smallpox attack of some sort is as serious as the threat of a nuclear attack?
PRESTON: Well, I think in a sense, it's more serious, in the sense that it could more easily happen. It seems more conceivable to me than, say, a nuclear bomb going off. The problem is that we really don't know who has smallpox or what they intend to do with it, but I'm pretty well convinced that Iraq and a number of other countries around the world probably have the virus. One would wonder if there were a war with Iraq whether Iraq would be capable of, say, giving smallpox to a terror group and saying go for it in the United States.
But one also wonders about Al Qaeda. Al Qaeda certainly has made attempts to get smallpox in the past.
ZAHN: Let's talk a little bit about a report in the "L.A. Times" today that suggests the scenario you are talking about is very difficult, that you would have to send someone into the country infected, the rash wouldn't show up, for, what, seven to 10 days, and by that time, that person would be horribly sick, and perhaps lying down in perhaps a lobby of an airport and making himself or herself quite obvious.
PRESTON: Well, you know, there is a big debate among the doctors about exactly how dangerous is smallpox. How fast would it spread? I tend to lean on the side of this is the worst human disease in history, and doctors who feel that they can easily control it, they, themselves, really most of them have never seen it. I think they underestimate Mother Nature, its power, and I also think that smallpox has potential to really spread very fast, faster than people probably would, you know, think.
ZAHN: The point that is made in this article this morning by Clarence Peters, who is the director of the Center of Biodefense of the University of Texas says it has to be spread through very close contact, more than merely crossing paths with a carrier.
PRESTON: Well, examples from history show otherwise. In 1972, in Yugoslavia, there was a huge outbreak. It was started by one man who had subclinical smallpox. He didn't even know he had the virus. But he spread it ultimately to something like 150 people all over the country. It began to move so fast through Yugoslavia, that they had to vaccinate everybody in the country in a period of about two weeks in order to stop the virus which came from one man with a sore throat.
So we have an example here of the way in which this virus can spread very fast.
ZAHN: This report also goes on to say that this particular scientist has concern that you could even effectively build a smallpox bomb if there was a way to weaponize this. What do you think?
PRESTON: Well, I don't want to get too specific, but smallpox can be dried, it can be freeze dried into a powder or very fine liquid form, and it can be dispersed directly into the air with certain kinds of devices, devices that I wouldn't want to talk about, but let's say they are available for a modest price from certain industrial suppliers all over the world. And so... ZAHN: So the mechanisms already there?
PRESTON: We hear a lot about these human virus missiles. These are people infected with smallpox who might be sent here to infect other people here in this country. But there are other ways to do it as well that involve technology and, you know, producing the virus into the air inside an enclosed air space like a building, a shopping mall. So one of the questions is, if there was an outbreak of smallpox, it would have to be terror, it would have to be a human accident or terror. It couldn't be natural.
How many people in the first wave would become infected? If we had just a handful of people, then the doctors from the CDC would probably be able to track the cases quickly, and might be able to stop the outbreak very fast.
But beyond some critical mass, and we don't know what the critical mass is of the human population, the virus could essentially, in effect, create a biological chain reaction and there would be too many human cases too fast that doctors could not track them, and then it would be necessary for virtually everyone to get the vaccine or to consider getting it.
ZAHN: Terrifying, I guess no matter what perspective you take on this. Quick question, do you plan to be vaccinated when it becomes available to the public?
PRESTON: Yes. Something life 25 percent of the population probably shouldn't. Before you get the vaccine, before you're offered it, check with your own doctor. I wouldn't have a hesitation with my own family, but I would certainly want to wait until we knew that smallpox was really, was really happening.
ZAHN: Dr. Preston, appreciate you dropping by. Chilling to think about everything you brought to our attention this morning, the author of "The Demon in the Freezer."
Try to have a cheerful holiday after you wrestle with these horrible issues.
PRESTON: We Americans have seen lots of trouble in the past, and we shouldn't forget that smallpox was part of our history, part of our nation, and we grew up as a nation with smallpox among us. It was a natural disease. And we thrived, and prospered, and we became a great nation, and I don't think, for one minute, think that smallpox, can, in the long run, hurt us.
ZAHN: That is excellent you add that perspective, because I think everybody heard the beginning of the segment is thinking, oh no, where do I go hide, oh, no. Appreciate it.
PRESTON: Thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
