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CNN Live Saturday
Interview With Steve Israel
Aired April 26, 2003 - 13:36 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.
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN ANCHOR: With the government seeking weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, U.S. lawmakers are trying to avert another type of homeland security threat, the targeting of commercial aircraft by missiles. It was just last Thanksgiving that this Israeli airliner taking off from Mombasa, Kenya, was the target of such an attack; 271 people were on board.
As reenacted in this animation, terrorists launched two shoulder- fired missiles at the airliner. They narrowly missed the plane.
There is a bipartisan plan in Congress to secure immediate funding of anti-missile technology for commercial jets. Representative Steve Israel is leading the push for the technology that could cost as much as $10 billion. The congressman says, quote, if God forbid, a commercial airliner is shot out of the sky by a $5,000 missile, it would represent the final collapse of America's airline industry.
So, is the hefty price tag of anti-missile technology worth it? Congressman Steve Israel thinks so. He joins us live now from New York. Congressman, what makes this an imminent threat?
REP. STEVE ISRAEL (D), NEW YORK: Well, the State Department believes it's an imminent threat. They did a report in the year 2000 that said that surface-to-air missiles were the leading cause of life on commercial airliners.
With about 30 airliners lost, the CIA believes it's a significant threat. It did a report in 1997, said that 27 aircraft were taken down because of surface-to-air missiles.
We know that al Qaeda have surface-to-air missiles; 27 different terrorist groups have them. They were tried in Nairobi, Kenya, against the El Al airliner that we just saw in Saudi Arabia. They succeeded in Chechnya.
We cannot afford to wait for success here in the United States. The Federal Government has an obligation to protect America's flying public and that's why this legislation is so vitally important.
KOPPEL: So, tell us how this surface-to-air missile technology works. Does it exist? And is this something that we can put on planes immediately?
ISRAEL: Andrea, not only does the technology exists, but it already is on planes. It's on various U.S. military aircraft. It's believed to be on Air Force One, Air Force Two. And the American public deserves the same kind of protection.
Essentially, with the technology does is it detects an imminent threat, Heat-seeking missile, and then it jams the electronics of that heat-seeking missile and sends it off course so there can be no impact to the U.S. commercial plane, saving lots of lives.
KOPPEL: I think that there's probably one concern that taxpayers might have, and that is the cost. Considering how much we've just spent for the war in Iraq, for the war against terrorism. You're saying that the estimated price tag for equipping, both retrofitting aircraft that order exists and future ones, is something between $7 and $10 billion. So who should pay?
ISRAEL: Well, what we are proposing is the federal government fund the installation of these countermeasures on every one of the 6,800 commercial planes currently in the U.S. commercial fleet. After that, it's only fair for airline manufactures to absorb the cost for new planes coming off of the production line.
Quite honestly, the $1 million per plane cost that would have to be absorbed on a $50 to $100 million plane is not economically devastating. What would be economically devastating would be somebody who takes a surface-to-air missile out of the trunk of their car within 30 miles of an airplane, fires it, brings it back into the trunk of their car, drives into the traffic with the same ease of the mobility that the D.C. snipers used, but with a far greater magnitude, not only in loss of life but at end of the aviation industry as we know it.
KOPPEL: Congressman Israel, we tried to get someone from the airline industry to join us on this program. They were unable to, but they did give this statement. This is from the Air Transport Association. They say, quote, defending against the threat of terrorist attacks has always been a fundamental government responsibility. The airline industry, having been made aware by appropriate government authorities of concerns with the potential use of shoulder-fired missiles, is doing everything within its power to assist the government in its decision making as to the proper response to these and all terrorist threats.
Considering that many of these airlines are already facing bankruptcy, how can we realistically expect them to be able it foot the bill?
ISRAEL: Well, that's why we've offered, what seems to me, to be a common sense compromise. The federal government will fund these countermeasures on every one of the existing planes on America's commercial fleet. We'll absorb that cost just, as we have absorbed the cost of putting TSA personnel in airports.
We have made a decision that we should fund the protection of our airports. We have to go one step further and fund the protection of our airplanes. At that point, when new planes come off of the production lines, then it would be the responsibility of the aircraft industry to absorb those costs. But again, $1 million or less per plane on a $50 to $100 million plane is not economically devastating. What would be devastating it would for one plane to be destroyed by in inexpensive, accessible, affordable technology and then, the aviation industry would have a very hard time getting passengers in the future. We need to guard against that.
This is a prudent, responsible, common sense investment, not only in air passenger safety, but in the ongoing health and sustainability of the aircraft industry.
KOPPEL: Representative Steve Israel, I thank you for your time today, Sir. We should say you and Senator Barbara Boxer from California are co-sponsoring a bill that is before the Congress right now.
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 April 26, 2003 - 13:36 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN ANCHOR: With the government seeking weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, U.S. lawmakers are trying to avert another type of homeland security threat, the targeting of commercial aircraft by missiles. It was just last Thanksgiving that this Israeli airliner taking off from Mombasa, Kenya, was the target of such an attack; 271 people were on board.
As reenacted in this animation, terrorists launched two shoulder- fired missiles at the airliner. They narrowly missed the plane.
There is a bipartisan plan in Congress to secure immediate funding of anti-missile technology for commercial jets. Representative Steve Israel is leading the push for the technology that could cost as much as $10 billion. The congressman says, quote, if God forbid, a commercial airliner is shot out of the sky by a $5,000 missile, it would represent the final collapse of America's airline industry.
So, is the hefty price tag of anti-missile technology worth it? Congressman Steve Israel thinks so. He joins us live now from New York. Congressman, what makes this an imminent threat?
REP. STEVE ISRAEL (D), NEW YORK: Well, the State Department believes it's an imminent threat. They did a report in the year 2000 that said that surface-to-air missiles were the leading cause of life on commercial airliners.
With about 30 airliners lost, the CIA believes it's a significant threat. It did a report in 1997, said that 27 aircraft were taken down because of surface-to-air missiles.
We know that al Qaeda have surface-to-air missiles; 27 different terrorist groups have them. They were tried in Nairobi, Kenya, against the El Al airliner that we just saw in Saudi Arabia. They succeeded in Chechnya.
We cannot afford to wait for success here in the United States. The Federal Government has an obligation to protect America's flying public and that's why this legislation is so vitally important.
KOPPEL: So, tell us how this surface-to-air missile technology works. Does it exist? And is this something that we can put on planes immediately?
ISRAEL: Andrea, not only does the technology exists, but it already is on planes. It's on various U.S. military aircraft. It's believed to be on Air Force One, Air Force Two. And the American public deserves the same kind of protection.
Essentially, with the technology does is it detects an imminent threat, Heat-seeking missile, and then it jams the electronics of that heat-seeking missile and sends it off course so there can be no impact to the U.S. commercial plane, saving lots of lives.
KOPPEL: I think that there's probably one concern that taxpayers might have, and that is the cost. Considering how much we've just spent for the war in Iraq, for the war against terrorism. You're saying that the estimated price tag for equipping, both retrofitting aircraft that order exists and future ones, is something between $7 and $10 billion. So who should pay?
ISRAEL: Well, what we are proposing is the federal government fund the installation of these countermeasures on every one of the 6,800 commercial planes currently in the U.S. commercial fleet. After that, it's only fair for airline manufactures to absorb the cost for new planes coming off of the production line.
Quite honestly, the $1 million per plane cost that would have to be absorbed on a $50 to $100 million plane is not economically devastating. What would be economically devastating would be somebody who takes a surface-to-air missile out of the trunk of their car within 30 miles of an airplane, fires it, brings it back into the trunk of their car, drives into the traffic with the same ease of the mobility that the D.C. snipers used, but with a far greater magnitude, not only in loss of life but at end of the aviation industry as we know it.
KOPPEL: Congressman Israel, we tried to get someone from the airline industry to join us on this program. They were unable to, but they did give this statement. This is from the Air Transport Association. They say, quote, defending against the threat of terrorist attacks has always been a fundamental government responsibility. The airline industry, having been made aware by appropriate government authorities of concerns with the potential use of shoulder-fired missiles, is doing everything within its power to assist the government in its decision making as to the proper response to these and all terrorist threats.
Considering that many of these airlines are already facing bankruptcy, how can we realistically expect them to be able it foot the bill?
ISRAEL: Well, that's why we've offered, what seems to me, to be a common sense compromise. The federal government will fund these countermeasures on every one of the existing planes on America's commercial fleet. We'll absorb that cost just, as we have absorbed the cost of putting TSA personnel in airports.
We have made a decision that we should fund the protection of our airports. We have to go one step further and fund the protection of our airplanes. At that point, when new planes come off of the production lines, then it would be the responsibility of the aircraft industry to absorb those costs. But again, $1 million or less per plane on a $50 to $100 million plane is not economically devastating. What would be devastating it would for one plane to be destroyed by in inexpensive, accessible, affordable technology and then, the aviation industry would have a very hard time getting passengers in the future. We need to guard against that.
This is a prudent, responsible, common sense investment, not only in air passenger safety, but in the ongoing health and sustainability of the aircraft industry.
KOPPEL: Representative Steve Israel, I thank you for your time today, Sir. We should say you and Senator Barbara Boxer from California are co-sponsoring a bill that is before the Congress right now.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
