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CNN Live Saturday

Interview With Tom Ridge

Aired December 27, 2003 - 18:32   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 an exlusive interview with CNN's Jeanne Meserve, Ridge warns that the threat of attack is still high.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MESERVE: We got past Christmas, nothing happened. Are you relieved?

TOM RIDGE, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: Yes, relieved, grateful, credit much of it to a continuing effort by this country at all levels to make sure that we do everything we possibly can to deter a terrorist attack. I'm relieved every day.

MESERVE: Coming up New Year's Eve, large gatherings in a number of different cities. How worried are you about that?

RIDGE: Every year around the holiday season when it does seem to be that there's a spike in the threats we worry about public events and every year in a more robust and comprehensive way every year additional, preventative, and security measures take place.

For example, you can well imagine in New York and Washington and Los Angeles and Las Vegas and there's just literally probably dozens of cities that have huge outdoor events but, again, that's the extraordinary underpinning of the whole notion of homeland security.

It's just not the federal government being there but it's your state government, your local government and everybody else providing the kind of security that's appropriate under the circumstances that do a marvelous job.

MESERVE: Would you anticipate that more flights might be canceled from France or from other countries?

RIDGE: The world community generally is interested in protecting civilian aviation and I suspect in time and from time to time we may see this occurring.

MESERVE: What was the nature of the information? What was the nature of the threat in France?

RIDGE: Well, I just can't share with you that information but we did share it with the people that could act upon it and those were the officials in France. There was great collaboration. They did the investigation.

They interviewed people that were there and they identified, obviously identifying for us who was there, who didn't show up for the flight and they're sharing all that information with us and where appropriate we then can use it as well.

MESERVE: Is there credible information about a threat from aviation in Mexico?

RIDGE: There is certainly credible information that al Qaeda would use, continue to use aircraft. It seems to be one of their preferred means of attack. You know there's always discussion about weapons of mass destruction but there's a continued threat reporting stream with regard to aviation.

And whenever we get a threat, a report of a threat regardless of where it is in the world we will share that information appropriately with people who can act on it, whether it's in Mexico, whether it's in France, whether it's in Great Britain. I mean the world again is coming closer and closer and I just won't comment on who we share specific information with. I don't think it's appropriate.

MESERVE: What do we know about al Qaeda's current dirty bomb capabilities?

RIDGE: We know that al Qaeda if they could get a hold of a chemical or biological or radiological or nuclear weapon, if they could acquire it, build it or steal it they would probably use it and we know that, you know, the science of some of these weapons is not unique and some of it is not difficult.

But so we, again, as we prepare the country, not just in response to elevating the threat to orange but as we build a response capability and a prevention capability within the country we focus on weapons of mass destruction all of the time.

MESERVE: How worried are you about the current threat level right now?

RIDGE: I have one of the most unique positions in all of government and I see the threat and then I also see how America responds to the threat and we've never been this well prepared. We've never really ramped up this quickly and as effectively.

MESERVE: Are you losing sleep over this one?

RIDGE: No. I don't know whether that's disappointing to you or not but I don't lose sleep because I know literally hundreds of thousands of people are going to work every day probably -- actually to aggregate it, it may be in the millions, who they have a role somewhere in their job description to provide an element, a piece of homeland security and they're doing a good job.

(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







Aired December 27, 2003 - 18:32   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: In an exlusive interview with CNN's Jeanne Meserve, Ridge warns that the threat of attack is still high.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MESERVE: We got past Christmas, nothing happened. Are you relieved?

TOM RIDGE, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: Yes, relieved, grateful, credit much of it to a continuing effort by this country at all levels to make sure that we do everything we possibly can to deter a terrorist attack. I'm relieved every day.

MESERVE: Coming up New Year's Eve, large gatherings in a number of different cities. How worried are you about that?

RIDGE: Every year around the holiday season when it does seem to be that there's a spike in the threats we worry about public events and every year in a more robust and comprehensive way every year additional, preventative, and security measures take place.

For example, you can well imagine in New York and Washington and Los Angeles and Las Vegas and there's just literally probably dozens of cities that have huge outdoor events but, again, that's the extraordinary underpinning of the whole notion of homeland security.

It's just not the federal government being there but it's your state government, your local government and everybody else providing the kind of security that's appropriate under the circumstances that do a marvelous job.

MESERVE: Would you anticipate that more flights might be canceled from France or from other countries?

RIDGE: The world community generally is interested in protecting civilian aviation and I suspect in time and from time to time we may see this occurring.

MESERVE: What was the nature of the information? What was the nature of the threat in France?

RIDGE: Well, I just can't share with you that information but we did share it with the people that could act upon it and those were the officials in France. There was great collaboration. They did the investigation.

They interviewed people that were there and they identified, obviously identifying for us who was there, who didn't show up for the flight and they're sharing all that information with us and where appropriate we then can use it as well.

MESERVE: Is there credible information about a threat from aviation in Mexico?

RIDGE: There is certainly credible information that al Qaeda would use, continue to use aircraft. It seems to be one of their preferred means of attack. You know there's always discussion about weapons of mass destruction but there's a continued threat reporting stream with regard to aviation.

And whenever we get a threat, a report of a threat regardless of where it is in the world we will share that information appropriately with people who can act on it, whether it's in Mexico, whether it's in France, whether it's in Great Britain. I mean the world again is coming closer and closer and I just won't comment on who we share specific information with. I don't think it's appropriate.

MESERVE: What do we know about al Qaeda's current dirty bomb capabilities?

RIDGE: We know that al Qaeda if they could get a hold of a chemical or biological or radiological or nuclear weapon, if they could acquire it, build it or steal it they would probably use it and we know that, you know, the science of some of these weapons is not unique and some of it is not difficult.

But so we, again, as we prepare the country, not just in response to elevating the threat to orange but as we build a response capability and a prevention capability within the country we focus on weapons of mass destruction all of the time.

MESERVE: How worried are you about the current threat level right now?

RIDGE: I have one of the most unique positions in all of government and I see the threat and then I also see how America responds to the threat and we've never been this well prepared. We've never really ramped up this quickly and as effectively.

MESERVE: Are you losing sleep over this one?

RIDGE: No. I don't know whether that's disappointing to you or not but I don't lose sleep because I know literally hundreds of thousands of people are going to work every day probably -- actually to aggregate it, it may be in the millions, who they have a role somewhere in their job description to provide an element, a piece of homeland security and they're doing a good job.

(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