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CNN Live At Daybreak
America Strikes Back: Bush Limits Attendance at Congressional Briefings
Aired October 09, 2001 - 07:26 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.
ZAHN: Congressional leaders from both parties are backing President Bush in the war on terrorism. But Mr. Bush is tightening the list of members of Congress who are given classified information on the war on terrorism after some secrets were leaked.
One of the four leaders who will still be getting top level briefings is Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, who joins us from Washington this morning. Good to have you with us, sir.
SEN. THOMAS DASCHLE (D-SD), SENATE MINORITY LEADER: Thank you, Paula.
ZAHN: So what do you think of the smaller list of you who will be getting these top level briefings? Is that fair?
DASCHLE: Well, I don't, I think it is fair. Under these circumstances, we really have to be concerned about national security and one of those issues that continues to threaten national security is the unfortunate release of very sensitive information. So I think the president, the administration was correct in making this decision and I support it.
ZAHN: So does anybody know to this day how that information got leaked about the hundred percent chance of America getting attacked if, in fact, America and its allies launched attacks against Osama bin Laden?
DASCHLE: Well, I haven't been involved in the investigation and I do know that there are some inquiries taking place and I don't know if any conclusions have been made at this point. But without a doubt I think it's the reason why the clampdown is necessary. Clearly, information of that kind in the wrong hands makes exactly the problem we're facing even more difficult and challenging.
So without a doubt we've got to find out if it's possible how it happened and try to prevent it in the future.
ZAHN: Do you see a situation where the government will intentionally lie to Americans?
DASCHLE: Oh, I would hope not. I think it would be a terrible tragedy and another victory for the terrorists if we found our government lying. We've been through that. I think we've learned the lessons the hard way and I would hope we could avoid that at all costs in the future.
ZAHN: But given the level of secrecy that you say must be maintained, are you fearful that the president might ultimately have too much leeway in all this?
DASCHLE: Well, I think there has to be proper congressional oversight, first of all, Paula. I don't think there's any doubt that Congress has a very important constitutional role to play here and I think we're playing it on a daily basis.
I think we have to find the balance between proper oversight and the accountability that's required in government and the need to protect our forces, the need to protect our strategy as we continue to conduct our war on terrorism.
ZAHN: Americans are so concerned about their safety right now. What can you tell them this morning? You know, we know that report was leaked that there was a hundred percent chance of another terrorist strike here. That doesn't make people feel too comfortable. What should they be thinking?
DASCHLE: Well, I think that first of all, I have never seen this country more prepared for the kinds of things that are now possible than we are right now. And we're just getting started. Our airports are more secure. Our transpo -- modes of transportation are more secure. We're doing better at our counterintelligence and counter- terrorism activities. I think we're doing all that we can at this point to understand the network and find it worldwide.
All of those things are under way and as I say, we're just getting started. Our country is going to continue to be more secure and people ought to be more confident.
ZAHN: So do you think people should feel a hundred percent safe either getting on an airplane, getting on a train, getting on a bus in this country?
DASCHLE: I don't know that anybody ever has felt 100 percent safe. There have always been possibilities of incidents of all kinds. So I think we do have to start feeling as if we can return to normalcy. That is a process that is going to take some time. But we're taking every precaution. We're doing all that we can to put the building blocks in place and I don't think the American people have a right to feel a lot more confident than they did just a couple of weeks ago.
ZAHN: I know you've got to move along, but just your quick reaction to the U.N. vote to put Syria on the national -- or U.N. Security Council?
DASCHLE: Well, I'm troubled by that, frankly. I think we've got to be very concerned about the kind of degree of cooperation, and frankly the support that we're going to get from Syria and that's something I'm going to want to review a lot more carefully as we look to the ramifications in the future.
ZAHN: As you review it, what are your chief concerns?
DASCHLE: Well, I think our chief concern is the degree to which they are able to work with the other nations of the world to establish the kind of peaceful coexistence that we want, the degree to which they'll work with us to clamped down on terrorist activity even within their own borders, the degree to which they are perhaps even harboring those who are part of this network today.
All of those questions are ones we've got to look at very carefully and hopefully we will see even more cooperation than we've gotten so far from the Syrian government.
ZAHN: All right, Senator Daschle, as always, good to see you. Appreciate your joining us this morning.
DASCHLE: Thank you. My pleasure.
ZAHN: We are going to be talking with other members of Congress throughout the morning about the U.S. military action. And later on in this hour, Arizona Senator John McCain will be joining us. And we'll also be talking with Senator Max Cleland of Georgia during the nine o'clock Eastern time hour.
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