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Anthrax Investigation: Should Post Office be Shut Down for Thorough Inspection?

Aired October 24, 2001 - 08:49   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: Time now for today's "Sound Off" segment. At issue, is the anthrax threat so serious that the post office should shut down for a thorough inspection?

Well, earlier this morning postmaster general John Potter spoke to us and knocked down that idea.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN POTTER, POSTMASTER GENERAL: We have very defined incidents in four locations around the country. I don't believe that there is a need to shut down the Postal Service. You know, life is filled with risks, and, you know, you could die crossing the street, you can die driving a car, and that's not to minimize what is going on here, we did lose two of our own, but it is to suggest that you don't shut the Postal Service down. You know, if you think about it, how would you ever start it up?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZAHN: And joining me to debate this issue, Bob Beckel, political strategist and George Washington University professor. He wants the post offices closed for inspection. And taking the opposite view is Clifford May, former Republican National Committee director.

Good morning, gentlemen. Welcome back.

BOB BECKEL, POLITICAL STRATEGIST: Good morning, Paula.

CLIFFORD MAY, FMR. RNC DIRECTOR: Good morning, Paula.

ZAHN: All right, Bob, you just heard what the postmaster general had to say. Earlier in the interview, he said there were four defined locations where they found anthrax, and it is not necessary to close down the Post Office system. Why do you think it is?

BECKEL: First of all, he said you can also get killed walking across the street, except that you don't usually find anthrax in the air when you do.

Here is the bottom line on this thing. Is they find one letter in the United States Senate office building of Tom Daschle and shut down every Senate office to check it out. The House of Representatives, those great profiles of courage, didn't have any anthrax, and they said, we want to save our staff, except I noticed that the members cars were way in front of the staff cars leaving last week. The point is that it seems that here you have a station here, Brentwood, out in Washington D.C., where you knew anthrax was going through the place, you knew that people had gotten sick, and what did they do, they kept it going and held a press conference there. There is a little bit of a two-edge...

ZAHN: Yes, but wait, wait, wait, Bob, before you go any further, why would the postmaster general subject himself to potential contamination? I mean, what he essentially said this morning is that they are going by what the CDC is telling him, that you cannot get this stuff from a sealed envelope. Isn't that just a bad assumption that was made, or do you think intentionally did this?

BECKEL: Paula, if you strung together what everybody in government have said about anthrax in the next week, it would read like a Chinese dictionary. I don't get it. I went and actually got a two-hour briefing on what this stuff was.

The point is, I don't think you ought to shut down the entire system all at once, because that would be devastating for business and for other people, but you know, the idea that somehow this is going to end -- we have seen no end in sight. When George Bush and his government says there is no connection to September 11th, excuse me, I mean, I was born at night, not last night. The two letters that went to Daschle's office and one other said, "September 11th, death to America." Now I don't know about you, but I think I can some draw minor conclusion from that. And what you ought to do...

ZAHN: Let's see what kind of conclusion Clifford May draws from all of this morning.

MAY: OK, first thing is this, that the terrorists are looking to shut down this country, shut down our economy, shut down Congress, shut down the post office. We can't let them do that or they win, so we mustn't do that.

ZAHN: Yes, but, Cliff, you don't want people dying in the process, do you?

MAY: I agree with you.

ZAHN: And that's exactly what happened to those two workers in Brentwood.

MAY: And it's tragic, and there should have been better information, and there should be better information very soon. For example, as you know, Paula, I am now the director of something called the Foundation for Defense of the Democracies. This was born after September 11th. We do research on terrorism, the ideologies that drive terrorism, and most importantly, the policies that can best eradicate terrorism.

I think we should do some research on this very subject, and I called some physicians yesterday to get some lines on it. The first thing a doctor out in Denver told me, first of all, let's talk to the Israelis. They faced every kind of terrorism over the past 40 years. They probably have policies in effect in their post office to deal with this. They will share it with us, even if it is secret. Second, surgical masks, simple surgical masks, will protect workers in the postal facilities. The pathogens cannot penetrate that heavy fabric. That's why doctors wear it, and thirdly, gloves is something they can use so that they are touching it, simple rubber gloves. And then finally, if you want to get more sophisticated, you radiate the mail. Radiation, we use it on meat. You radiate the mail and kill it that way. Now that's with a couple...

ZAHN: Yes, but you are talking about things that could potentially happen down the road. I mean, the postmaster general said they are already dispensing these masks. In the meantime, Cliff, what do you do to protect these postal workers. I mean, do you agree with Bob that maybe it makes sense to close down four facilities and not the whole system?

MAY: What are we going to close down next? Are we going to close down Amtrak the first time that we do something on a train. These terrorists are thinking ahead. Once we cope with one kind of atrocity they commit, they will come up with another one, worse pathogens. We cannot let them close down our society. This is a war we are in. It's going to be a long war, and as Dick Cheney said, it's going to be a unique war, because we are going to take more civilian casualties than military casualties. What we have to stop these people at the source, we have to get rid of their laboratories, we have -- and Bob is right about that. Bob is right about that, we know the Iraqis have been doing things with anthrax in secret laboratories. We have not had inspections. We have to deal with the Iraqis.

ZAHN: Bob, it's your turn. You look like you are holding back a little bit here, and that's not your normal nature -- Go.

BECKEL: I know it's not.

The fact of the matter is, they tested people in Congress when there was no anthrax, they did not do it with postal workers. Now I would suggest there is a little bit of elitism going on here, number one. Number two, they stopped all the mail going to the White House. I think that makes sense. The reason they were careful about this in the beginning, one, they didn't know a lot about it, and secondly, they didn't want to yell fire in a crowded theater. Well, guess what? We've got a fire, and so somebody better do something about it. Why is it worthwhile -- are the lives of mail personnel expendable to keep the system going because we don't want not to shut it down in front of the terrorist when we show down the Congress of the United States.

MAY: Bob, I think you'll agree with me, that shutting down the Congress was a mistake. It was the wrong message to send. It was bad symbolism. They shouldn't have shut down Congress. And now they shouldn't shut down the post office either.

BECKEL: I don't think they should shut down the whole postal -- in fact, I thin it's most important the post office stay open than Congress, if I had my choice about shutting one or the other down. But you can systematically go through the post office system and begin with any mailroom that's had anthrax. That's obvious. And then after that, systematically go through. I mean, we don't have -- it's like taking certain planes out of the air to get them fixed; you know, you don't have to do it all at one time.

MAY: And any postal worker who comes down with flu-like symptoms, they should be tested for anthrax, and they should put on masks immediately, but let's keep this economy going. We are going to have to live...

ZAHN: Wait, wait, wait, but, Cliff, before we let you go, you've got to address the question that Bob raised -- is there any way to look at what happened to these Brentwood workers without looking at it through the prism of elitism. I mean, what is the explanation?

MAY: Look, I think it's a fair charge, and again, I have to be critical, I don't think that Congress should have shut down, but I don't think that should not be the example we follow, and every time an institution in our society is hit by the terrorists, and many will be in the days ahead, we simply shut it down. I think that would be the wrong way to proceed.

ZAHN: Bob, that's where you got the last word, and I'm giving you about six seconds to do it.

BECKEL: OK, here is what makes everybody comfortable. How about this? Your mailman shows up, the good old Fred guy you know all the time, and instead of being Fred he's got gloves on and he's got a mask on. Now I'll tell you, that will make everybody feel very comfortable out in this country. Stop it at the source. Check the post office. And gloves and masks, it's a debatable issue. The fact is they checked Congress, they didn't check postal workers, and I think that was an elitist decision, and...

ZAHN: Bob Beckel, you went eight seconds over. I am going to have to take that back from you next time.

Gentlemen, thank you.

BECKEL: I'm so sorry.

ZAHN: For both of you perspectives. Cliff, you remember that.

MAY: I will. I've got two seconds coming.

ZAHN: Thank you both.

BECKEL: Thank you.

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