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CNN Live At Daybreak
Security Pumped Up in Cities Coast to Coast
Aired December 22, 2003 - 05:01 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.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: Security is pumped up in cities coast to coast this morning in response to the new national terror alert.
And our Kathleen Koch explains why the government thinks it's necessary to raise the threat level again.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This was obviously not the sort of news that Americans were hoping to hear during this holiday season of peace and joy. And it's also not a decision that the government makes lightly, because the additional security that it means costs cities and states millions.
Still, the secretary of homeland security recommended, and President Bush agreed, that it was time for the fifth time since 9/11 to raise the nation to high alert.
TOM RIDGE, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: The U.S. intelligence community has received a substantial increase in the volume of threat related intelligence reports. These credible sources suggest the possibility of attacks against the homeland around the holiday season and beyond. The strategic indicators, including al Qaeda's continued desire to carry out attacks against our homeland, are perhaps greater now than at any point since September 11, 2001.
KOCH: Ridge says at this point the greatest concern is terrorists again using aircraft as weapons. Al Qaeda, he says, continues to probe for weaknesses in U.S. aviation security. So, both local and state police could show up on the scenes at airports, protecting both passenger and cargo carriers.
(voice-over): The Department of Homeland Security just last month put out an alert warning that terrorists could try to hijack cargo carriers, perhaps from outside the U.S., and fly them into the U.S., crashing them into strategic U.S. targets.
Now, though citing no specific threat, Ridge did say that terrorists waiting to cause maximum damage might end up targeting, might end up gravitating toward larger metropolitan areas. He pointed out, of course, that the two cities of New York and Washington, D.C. remain the highest profile target cities.
(on camera): So at this point, throughout the duration of the holiday season, the nation is expected to remain on high alert, under the highest level of security, security even beefed up at U.S. borders. Ridge asking Americans to stay alert but at the same time be assured that "extensive and considerable protections will be in place across the country."
Kathleen Koch, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CALLAWAY: And signs went up almost immediately, letting people across the country know the government had raised the threat level. And here you can see public works employees swapping out the flag at the town hall in Country Club Hills, Illinois. They took down the yellow elevated flag and hoisted the orange high flag.
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 22, 2003 - 05:01 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: Security is pumped up in cities coast to coast this morning in response to the new national terror alert.
And our Kathleen Koch explains why the government thinks it's necessary to raise the threat level again.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This was obviously not the sort of news that Americans were hoping to hear during this holiday season of peace and joy. And it's also not a decision that the government makes lightly, because the additional security that it means costs cities and states millions.
Still, the secretary of homeland security recommended, and President Bush agreed, that it was time for the fifth time since 9/11 to raise the nation to high alert.
TOM RIDGE, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: The U.S. intelligence community has received a substantial increase in the volume of threat related intelligence reports. These credible sources suggest the possibility of attacks against the homeland around the holiday season and beyond. The strategic indicators, including al Qaeda's continued desire to carry out attacks against our homeland, are perhaps greater now than at any point since September 11, 2001.
KOCH: Ridge says at this point the greatest concern is terrorists again using aircraft as weapons. Al Qaeda, he says, continues to probe for weaknesses in U.S. aviation security. So, both local and state police could show up on the scenes at airports, protecting both passenger and cargo carriers.
(voice-over): The Department of Homeland Security just last month put out an alert warning that terrorists could try to hijack cargo carriers, perhaps from outside the U.S., and fly them into the U.S., crashing them into strategic U.S. targets.
Now, though citing no specific threat, Ridge did say that terrorists waiting to cause maximum damage might end up targeting, might end up gravitating toward larger metropolitan areas. He pointed out, of course, that the two cities of New York and Washington, D.C. remain the highest profile target cities.
(on camera): So at this point, throughout the duration of the holiday season, the nation is expected to remain on high alert, under the highest level of security, security even beefed up at U.S. borders. Ridge asking Americans to stay alert but at the same time be assured that "extensive and considerable protections will be in place across the country."
Kathleen Koch, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CALLAWAY: And signs went up almost immediately, letting people across the country know the government had raised the threat level. And here you can see public works employees swapping out the flag at the town hall in Country Club Hills, Illinois. They took down the yellow elevated flag and hoisted the orange high flag.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
