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CNN Live At Daybreak
Wake-Up Call: Guarding Against Terror Attacks
Aired May 22, 2003 - 06:31 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: SWAT teams, sniper teams, anti- aircraft missiles, jet patrols; we're not talking about what's happening in Iraq, but about what's happening in Washington, D.C.
We have placed a "Wake-Up Call" to the Pentagon and correspondent Barbara Starr.
Good morning -- Barbara.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. How are you?
COSTELLO: I'm fine. All of this preparation for Memorial Day Weekend, it sounds like they're expecting trouble.
STARR: Well, part of what they're really doing, they say here in Washington, is taking reasonable precautions. And indeed here at the Pentagon, they have raised what they call the air defense posture around Washington, D.C., now beginning to very quietly deploy some of those anti-aircraft missiles on armored vehicles around the capital, stepping up air patrols over the city. Here at the Pentagon, the military police, the MPs that have protected this building since the 9/11 attacks, are back in their anti -- you know, their protective vests and helmets, their bullet-proof uniforms.
But they say it's reasonable precautions. They do have some concerns, but the feeling is this puts things in line with what the Department of Homeland Security has done.
COSTELLO: Understand. And I understand that the Memorial Day concert on the U.S. Capitol grounds, and they're going to have sniper teams and a SWAT team is going to be out there.
STARR: Well, what many people probably don't realize, in large public events in Washington, D.C. the military regularly does deploy anti-terrorism, counterterrorism teams for many, many months now. They like to keep a very quiet but very thorough eye on large public gatherings in Washington. And there is every reason to believe that on this Memorial Day weekend they will do the same thing. Again, they say it's the reasonable precautions that they feel they need to take.
COSTELLO: Understand. Barbara Starr waking up early with DAYBREAK live from the Pentagon this morning.
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 May 22, 2003 - 06:31 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: SWAT teams, sniper teams, anti- aircraft missiles, jet patrols; we're not talking about what's happening in Iraq, but about what's happening in Washington, D.C.
We have placed a "Wake-Up Call" to the Pentagon and correspondent Barbara Starr.
Good morning -- Barbara.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. How are you?
COSTELLO: I'm fine. All of this preparation for Memorial Day Weekend, it sounds like they're expecting trouble.
STARR: Well, part of what they're really doing, they say here in Washington, is taking reasonable precautions. And indeed here at the Pentagon, they have raised what they call the air defense posture around Washington, D.C., now beginning to very quietly deploy some of those anti-aircraft missiles on armored vehicles around the capital, stepping up air patrols over the city. Here at the Pentagon, the military police, the MPs that have protected this building since the 9/11 attacks, are back in their anti -- you know, their protective vests and helmets, their bullet-proof uniforms.
But they say it's reasonable precautions. They do have some concerns, but the feeling is this puts things in line with what the Department of Homeland Security has done.
COSTELLO: Understand. And I understand that the Memorial Day concert on the U.S. Capitol grounds, and they're going to have sniper teams and a SWAT team is going to be out there.
STARR: Well, what many people probably don't realize, in large public events in Washington, D.C. the military regularly does deploy anti-terrorism, counterterrorism teams for many, many months now. They like to keep a very quiet but very thorough eye on large public gatherings in Washington. And there is every reason to believe that on this Memorial Day weekend they will do the same thing. Again, they say it's the reasonable precautions that they feel they need to take.
COSTELLO: Understand. Barbara Starr waking up early with DAYBREAK live from the Pentagon this morning.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
