Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live At Daybreak

America Strikes Back: New Warning is Vague, But Appropriate

Aired October 12, 2001 - 08:14   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.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Right now, I'm going to check in with Bill Daly, who is a former FBI investigator who is now a security consultant to give us some more insight as to exactly what this FBI warning means.

Good morning -- welcome back, Bill.

BILL DALY, SECURITY CONSULTANT: Good morning, Paula.

ZAHN: What did you glean out of this warning?

DALY: Well, first of all, it struck me that we're dealing with very substantive, credible information no matter how nonspecific it is. And I think that what we're looking here is information that goes well beyond -- and we're talking about these alert lines or hotlines into the FBI. We're talking about international cooperation. We're talking about perhaps electronic interception of communication or information gleaned from interviews or all of the above.

So I think we're talking about very serious information, and I think it's important -- it's important that the American people hear that the government is doing things and trying to tell people, let's be as aware as we can.

ZAHN: You gave a number of possibilities there. Is there one of those sources you would weigh more heavily than others? Do you think this is more likely to -- this information to have come from our allies or from better monitoring of conversations from terrorist networks?

DALY: Well, you know, in my gut feeling here is that I think we have -- usually in the intelligence business, you don't accept information on face value. You need to confirm it from several different sources -- independent sources. So I believe here that we have confirmed things most likely through our allies, as well as information that we have gleaned, either through interviews or through some type of an electronic interception. So I think it's a combination of several of these.

ZAHN: And what do you make of how vague the warning actually is?

DALY: Well, you know, I think it comes from probably -- the text of it might be compared to what we heard after the 11th incident, where bin Laden was allegedly talking to his mother saying something big is going to happen. You know, it could have been something along those lines, where they hear a known terrorist communicating, but yet don't have the information to know where.

But I think it's important also, Paula, to know that as we release this information, what we're also doing is we're trying to drive a wedge -- we're trying to tell them that, you know, we are on to you, that we're all being extra aware, and we hopefully will also give ourselves some time. Maybe it will be deflected. It will be deterred from an extra few days, and it will give us more of a chance to investigate and find out who is out there.

And I think it also couples with the announcement given today of more people added to the list of organizations that have been used to move money around for bin Laden and his organization. I think the more we tell people, the more we make things aware, the more we perhaps will neutralize their efforts.

ZAHN: But then, again, there's a risk, because I have talked to so many people, who were very frightened by this warning. It's one thing to tell people to look out for something that's unusual; it's another thing to arm them with information that will make them safe.

What kind of advice do you give Americans this morning? I know we're supposed to look out for trucks that are backfiring and unusual activities at ticket counters in airports and that kind of thing. What else should we be doing?

DALY: Well, you know, Paula, it really boils down to looking at those things in your everyday life, whether it's around where you live or you work that you see that are different than a few days before -- people, vehicles, people asking questions, what have you.

You know, we've seen in the past from, you know, these shows "America's Most Wanted" they catch people is that it's eyes and ears -- additional eyes and ears that help law enforcement. We're not saying it's solely the American population's responsibility.

ZAHN: Sure.

DALY: But we're saying that you can be of help here. And what people should be looking out for are just those things. Those things that they say were different from the day before or just don't feel right, and a lot of times your intuition can help a great deal.

ZAHN: You're giving us an awful lot of credit this morning, Bill Daly -- thank you -- always appreciate your perspective.

DALY: Thanks, Paula.

ZAHN: Good luck.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.