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CNN Live Sunday
Where Are Terrorist Threats Coming From?
Aired December 22, 2003 - 18:03 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 LIN, CNN ANCHOR: In the meantime, a senior administration official says the threats are coming from known sources. What they don't know is exactly where the threats are coming from, or where a possible attack could take place. But we have a special guest join us who. Has got a lot of experience. He's investigated -- led investigations into events as the Akililouro attack (ph) as well as others. Don Clark is a former FBI agent and he joins us now from Houston. Don, thank you very much for joining us on this important day.
DON CLARK, FRM. FBI AGENT: Thanks, Carol. It's good to be with you.
LIN: What do you make of the raising of the terror threat level? How serious is this? Tom Ridge used some pretty serious words, saying that it could be even greater than the 9/11 threat.
CLARK: Well, they have used some pretty serious words, Carol. And I think we've got to suspect that during the conversations or the interrogation, if you will, with all of the prisoners and other sources of information that they've come up with something that substantiates that terrorist activities or terrorist attacks are in the making.
But I must caution that these raising of threat levels simply apply to the government entities from green all the way to red. It applies to the government entities, the level of preparedness that they should be and I think that's what they're really trying to do is to make sure that the government entities are at an appropriate level of preparedness and readiness to either prevent or be able to respond should something happen.
LIN: Well, if the threat is so great why not just go all the way to red, the highest level of alert?
CLARK: I think information has a lot to do with it. I suppose intelligence that they may not have at their hands at this point really dictates specifically a location that may be targeted right now. So we're still dealing with generallities in some sense, because we've not heard of a particular city or facility. We've talked in general about a number of things that could be hit and that's probably true, but no specifics to that point to say let's go to red, because that's really serious when you go to red.
LIN: Is it possible that by issuing this announcement to the American public that it can actually deter an attack? CLARK: I think what it does, it really puts the American public on alert that, you know, this thing, we're not out of the woods and we probably won't be out of the woods for awhile. And I think the American public needs to continue to be educated and aware of all of these types of activities that can go on and we cannot afford to become complacent as we were, say pre-1993, before the first World Trade Center.
So that in and of itself will help to prevent some of these things from happening, Carol, because any time there's a crime and terrorism is a crime that's going to occur, usually more than one person knows about it. If they do, then the likelihood is that some information can get to the authorities.
LIN: So hWhat exactly happens now? What machinery starts being put in place? What is going to change?
CLARK: Well, we probably -- those of us on the outside, Carol, won't see very much change. But I can assure you that the governmental officials inside in charge of carious organizations, even at the local and the state level, will start to reposition, will start to really make sure that the places that they would relocate to in the event of something serious are up and operational and ready to go.
LIN: Such as, what places for example, Don?
CLARK: Such types of operational command centers that they have set up. We have them here in Houston and other cities -- New York City, that I've worked in and I'm sure you'll hear from the mayor and the police chief. They have certain operational centers that will be set up so they can formulate all of the coordination between the various agencies that's going to be involved.
So I think that's what they're really trying to do with the raising of these color codes.
LIN: So what happens at airports, train stations, bus depots, a lot of holiday travelers are going to be hitting to the road and taking to the skies.
CLARK: Well they are, Carol. And I think you're going to see local police departments adding more resources to that. Constable units, where those who have such type of law enforcement entities, you'll probably going to see more cars and things around the roadways. And we've done something here in Houston and of course, you can do that here in Texas, with the horse patrol around the major airport that we have here. So you're going to see those types of activities, just to have extra pairs of ears and eyes that will be out there just in case to try to prevent.
LIN: Have you -- we keep hearing about the chatter between suspected terrorists that often contribute to the raising of the threat level. I mean, have you ever been part of those discussions with government officials, and if so, take us into the room. I mean Homeland Security has been meeting throughout the night and throughout the day. What is it that they're analyzing what is it they're hearing? What's the conversation in the room in order to make this determination to raise the threat level?
CLARK: Well, Carol I have to go back to my experience, because obviously now I don't have the ability to be in those rooms with them, but we went through the same things back in my time in the FBI, and you've got a lot of information coming in from a number of different directions, and the key is to be able to quickly analyze and try to sort out the good information from some that's perhaps not so good, and then decisions have to be made once that analytical process has taken place as to where do we go? What more resources do we need? And now you've got to bring in other entities.
LIN: I ask you this, because you were part of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing investigation, and I'm wondering what might happen now, in that closed door room that didn't happen before that bombing attack.
CLARK: Well, you know, other than the fact that have you this large umbrella organization called Homeland Security, I think you're going to see a fairly similar process that we pulled into our command center back in New York City in 1993 with every conceivable agency.
Perhaps now with some of these agencies under one roof such as Homeland Security, then you might see less people in that particular room, but you're going to have the same type of setting, with a command structure so that everybody can add to a piece to the puzzle, because everybody needs to contribute.
LIN: And everybody having the same conversation exactly. Thank you very much. You have a safe holiday.
CLARK: Thank you. You too, Carol.
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 - 18:03 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: In the meantime, a senior administration official says the threats are coming from known sources. What they don't know is exactly where the threats are coming from, or where a possible attack could take place. But we have a special guest join us who. Has got a lot of experience. He's investigated -- led investigations into events as the Akililouro attack (ph) as well as others. Don Clark is a former FBI agent and he joins us now from Houston. Don, thank you very much for joining us on this important day.
DON CLARK, FRM. FBI AGENT: Thanks, Carol. It's good to be with you.
LIN: What do you make of the raising of the terror threat level? How serious is this? Tom Ridge used some pretty serious words, saying that it could be even greater than the 9/11 threat.
CLARK: Well, they have used some pretty serious words, Carol. And I think we've got to suspect that during the conversations or the interrogation, if you will, with all of the prisoners and other sources of information that they've come up with something that substantiates that terrorist activities or terrorist attacks are in the making.
But I must caution that these raising of threat levels simply apply to the government entities from green all the way to red. It applies to the government entities, the level of preparedness that they should be and I think that's what they're really trying to do is to make sure that the government entities are at an appropriate level of preparedness and readiness to either prevent or be able to respond should something happen.
LIN: Well, if the threat is so great why not just go all the way to red, the highest level of alert?
CLARK: I think information has a lot to do with it. I suppose intelligence that they may not have at their hands at this point really dictates specifically a location that may be targeted right now. So we're still dealing with generallities in some sense, because we've not heard of a particular city or facility. We've talked in general about a number of things that could be hit and that's probably true, but no specifics to that point to say let's go to red, because that's really serious when you go to red.
LIN: Is it possible that by issuing this announcement to the American public that it can actually deter an attack? CLARK: I think what it does, it really puts the American public on alert that, you know, this thing, we're not out of the woods and we probably won't be out of the woods for awhile. And I think the American public needs to continue to be educated and aware of all of these types of activities that can go on and we cannot afford to become complacent as we were, say pre-1993, before the first World Trade Center.
So that in and of itself will help to prevent some of these things from happening, Carol, because any time there's a crime and terrorism is a crime that's going to occur, usually more than one person knows about it. If they do, then the likelihood is that some information can get to the authorities.
LIN: So hWhat exactly happens now? What machinery starts being put in place? What is going to change?
CLARK: Well, we probably -- those of us on the outside, Carol, won't see very much change. But I can assure you that the governmental officials inside in charge of carious organizations, even at the local and the state level, will start to reposition, will start to really make sure that the places that they would relocate to in the event of something serious are up and operational and ready to go.
LIN: Such as, what places for example, Don?
CLARK: Such types of operational command centers that they have set up. We have them here in Houston and other cities -- New York City, that I've worked in and I'm sure you'll hear from the mayor and the police chief. They have certain operational centers that will be set up so they can formulate all of the coordination between the various agencies that's going to be involved.
So I think that's what they're really trying to do with the raising of these color codes.
LIN: So what happens at airports, train stations, bus depots, a lot of holiday travelers are going to be hitting to the road and taking to the skies.
CLARK: Well they are, Carol. And I think you're going to see local police departments adding more resources to that. Constable units, where those who have such type of law enforcement entities, you'll probably going to see more cars and things around the roadways. And we've done something here in Houston and of course, you can do that here in Texas, with the horse patrol around the major airport that we have here. So you're going to see those types of activities, just to have extra pairs of ears and eyes that will be out there just in case to try to prevent.
LIN: Have you -- we keep hearing about the chatter between suspected terrorists that often contribute to the raising of the threat level. I mean, have you ever been part of those discussions with government officials, and if so, take us into the room. I mean Homeland Security has been meeting throughout the night and throughout the day. What is it that they're analyzing what is it they're hearing? What's the conversation in the room in order to make this determination to raise the threat level?
CLARK: Well, Carol I have to go back to my experience, because obviously now I don't have the ability to be in those rooms with them, but we went through the same things back in my time in the FBI, and you've got a lot of information coming in from a number of different directions, and the key is to be able to quickly analyze and try to sort out the good information from some that's perhaps not so good, and then decisions have to be made once that analytical process has taken place as to where do we go? What more resources do we need? And now you've got to bring in other entities.
LIN: I ask you this, because you were part of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing investigation, and I'm wondering what might happen now, in that closed door room that didn't happen before that bombing attack.
CLARK: Well, you know, other than the fact that have you this large umbrella organization called Homeland Security, I think you're going to see a fairly similar process that we pulled into our command center back in New York City in 1993 with every conceivable agency.
Perhaps now with some of these agencies under one roof such as Homeland Security, then you might see less people in that particular room, but you're going to have the same type of setting, with a command structure so that everybody can add to a piece to the puzzle, because everybody needs to contribute.
LIN: And everybody having the same conversation exactly. Thank you very much. You have a safe holiday.
CLARK: Thank you. You too, Carol.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
