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CNN Live At Daybreak
Heading Into Holiday Weekend Under High Terror Alert Status
Aired May 23, 2003 - 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.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: We head into the Memorial Day weekend under a high terror alert status.
CNN's Jeanne Meserve gathered some thoughts on homeland security and holiday fun.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At the Capitol as elsewhere, preparations are being made for Memorial Day festivities. The forecast? Rain and continued threat level orange through the holiday. In fact, setting the terror threat is not unlike predicting the weather.
TOM RIDGE, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: It is as much art as it is science.
MESERVE: Administration officials say there is still a lot of so-called intelligence chatter and no indication al Qaeda's operational capabilities of planning have been disrupted. As a result, big events this weekend will see a surge in security. Air space will be closed over the Indianapolis 500, for example. And because Memorial Day means travel for a lot of people, the transportation sector will see stepped-up security, including increased combat air patrols over Washington.
The advice for the public? Keep your eyes and ears open for anything suspicious.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've got to pay more attention when they change it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're more aware now. I think we look at things with a more critical eye.
MESERVE: It was a tip from the public that led to the arrest this week of a New York cab driver, who allegedly tried to purchase C4 explosives, bullet-proof vests and night-vision goggles. Officials say he does not appear to have ties to a terrorist group, but some citizens say the yo-yoing threat level no longer holds their interest.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think we probably are growing a little bit complacent here. I feel that myself I have. You just hear it go up, you hear it go down, you hear -- and it just -- you carry on as usual.
MESERVE: At the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, emergency personnel drilled for possible terrorist attacks. More protection for a symbol like this is a no-brainer at a time of high security, but some officials elsewhere in the country said they have gotten only vague information from the federal government about what to protect. Some members of Congress say local officials must be told more.
SEN. JOSEPH LIEBERMAN (D), CONNECTICUT: And all of the federal agencies continue to keep state and local first responders and first preventers, as I call them, at arms-length.
MESERVE (on camera): But administration officials say in this instance they don't have any specific information to share. The intelligence does not give a time, location or means of attack, just indications that an attack could be imminent.
Jeanne Meserve, 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.
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Aired May 23, 2003 - 06:02 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: We head into the Memorial Day weekend under a high terror alert status.
CNN's Jeanne Meserve gathered some thoughts on homeland security and holiday fun.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At the Capitol as elsewhere, preparations are being made for Memorial Day festivities. The forecast? Rain and continued threat level orange through the holiday. In fact, setting the terror threat is not unlike predicting the weather.
TOM RIDGE, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: It is as much art as it is science.
MESERVE: Administration officials say there is still a lot of so-called intelligence chatter and no indication al Qaeda's operational capabilities of planning have been disrupted. As a result, big events this weekend will see a surge in security. Air space will be closed over the Indianapolis 500, for example. And because Memorial Day means travel for a lot of people, the transportation sector will see stepped-up security, including increased combat air patrols over Washington.
The advice for the public? Keep your eyes and ears open for anything suspicious.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've got to pay more attention when they change it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're more aware now. I think we look at things with a more critical eye.
MESERVE: It was a tip from the public that led to the arrest this week of a New York cab driver, who allegedly tried to purchase C4 explosives, bullet-proof vests and night-vision goggles. Officials say he does not appear to have ties to a terrorist group, but some citizens say the yo-yoing threat level no longer holds their interest.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think we probably are growing a little bit complacent here. I feel that myself I have. You just hear it go up, you hear it go down, you hear -- and it just -- you carry on as usual.
MESERVE: At the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, emergency personnel drilled for possible terrorist attacks. More protection for a symbol like this is a no-brainer at a time of high security, but some officials elsewhere in the country said they have gotten only vague information from the federal government about what to protect. Some members of Congress say local officials must be told more.
SEN. JOSEPH LIEBERMAN (D), CONNECTICUT: And all of the federal agencies continue to keep state and local first responders and first preventers, as I call them, at arms-length.
MESERVE (on camera): But administration officials say in this instance they don't have any specific information to share. The intelligence does not give a time, location or means of attack, just indications that an attack could be imminent.
Jeanne Meserve, 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.
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