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CNN Live At Daybreak
America Strike Back: U.S. Law Enforcement Agencies on High Alert
Aired October 30, 2001 - 05:00 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.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: The word from Washington this morning, watch your step. For the next week especially, it could be very dangerous to be an American anywhere in the world.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Tracking the terrorists -- was New Jersey a final staging ground?
KAGAN: Using other people's suffering as a weapon in war, understanding video as a vehicle of propaganda.
Good morning, everyone. It is Tuesday, October 30, 2001. We're at CNN Center in Atlanta and I'm Daryn Kagan.
HARRIS: And I am Leon Harris. Thank you for joining us this morning.
Here now, the latest developments. A new anthrax case reported late last night centers on a New York hospital. A 61-year-old woman who works at Manhattan Eye, Ear and Throat Hospital has tested positive for inhalation anthrax in preliminary testing. That is the most dangerous form of the disease. The woman has been put on a respirator and she is now in critical condition.
KAGAN: The Bush administration has put out an alert for a possible new terrorist attack in the next few days. The potential attack could come in the U.S. or against U.S. interests around the world. U.S. officials say they don't have any specific information as to the type of attack or specific targets.
HARRIS: An American Airlines plane en route from New York to Dallas was diverted last night to Washington-Dulles International Airport. This change came after a passenger found what an airport official called a threatening note. An FAA spokesman says that passengers were evacuated safely by way of emergency chutes. But the FBI now says the threat was just a hoax.
Well, U.S. law enforcement agencies are on high alert right now and Attorney General John Ashcroft warns that there may be, may be additional terrorist attacks in the U.S. or against U.S. interests overseas this week.
Our Senior White House Correspondent John King has more now on this warning. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The new alert is based on intelligence information senior administration officials call not only credible, but stark and compelling.
ASHCROFT: There may be additional terrorist attacks within the United States and against United States' interests over the next week.
KING: The intelligence is not specific as to targets or the type of attack. But officials tell CNN it comes from several different sources and it's not related to the current anthrax scare. This October 11 FBI alert already urged 18,000 law enforcement agencies nationwide to be on high alert. Those sources say the president approved a new alert to those agencies and a public announcement after reviewing the latest intelligence data.
ASHCROFT: We ask for the patience and cooperation of the American people if and when they encounter additional measures undertaken by local law enforcement or federal law enforcement authorities and others who are charged with securing the safety of the public.
KING: Mr. Bush convened the first formal meeting of his new Homeland Security Council and said its first mission was to review immigration policy, including the student visa program at least two of the suspected hijackers used to enter the United States.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The vast majority of people who've come to America are really good, decent people, people who we're proud to have here. There are some who are evil, and our job now is to find the evil ones and to bring them to justice, to disrupt anybody who might have designs on hurting, further hurting Americans.
KING: The president already had signed off on the new terrorism alert when he called this meeting to order.
BUSH: It's going to take a while to achieve our objectives.
KING: But the public announcement was delayed several hours so that Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge could notify the nation's governors. White House Chief of Staff Andy Card called key members of Congress, and federal agencies responsible for airports, power systems and border patrols were put on higher alert.
(on camera): The president's own words once again demonstrated the very delicate balance the administration is trying to strike between alarming and informing. Mr. Bush on the one hand urged Americans to go about their every day business. Yet on the other he warned bluntly, "our enemies still hate us." He said every American must be a foot soldier in the war on terrorism.
John King, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE) KAGAN: Let's get some reaction now to this latest announcement. At least one prominent law maker saying he wishes intelligence agencies would have been more forthcoming about this week's threat against the U.S. Senator John McCain raised his concerns on CNN's LARRY KING LIVE last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: I think that we should be warned and particularly are those who are in law enforcement and the military, etc. But I would, if at all possible, I would like to have some more specificity associated with this warning so that we would not be in fear of the unknown, which is probably one of the greatest problems that we face in this war on terrorism.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: Speaking about the military operation in Afghanistan, McCain says that ground operations may be needed to make that mission successful.
We encourage you to stay with CNN to learn what's being done in the U.S. to protect against this new threat. Director of Homeland Security Tom Ridge will join CNN this morning at 7:50 a.m.
And we invite you to cast a quick vote on this issue. Today's question for you: do non-specific terror alerts cause unnecessary alarm? To cast your ballot, you can head to cnn.com. AOL keyword is CNN. And a reminder, this poll is not scientific, but it is a chance for you to participate.
HARRIS: Well, what is likely the latest case of inhalation anthrax has a 61-year-old stock room employee of a hospital this morning. At a news conference late last night, New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani outlined the details and he emphasizes that the test results right now are only preliminary.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR RUDY GIULIANI (R), NEW YORK CITY: About an hour, an hour and a half ago, the results of the PCR tests came back and the results that came back were positive for inhalational anthrax. Now, that's a preliminary test. We won't know definitively until some time tomorrow whether it actually is anthrax. But we're advised that we have to proceed on the theory and on the assumption to protect people that it is inhalational anthrax.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Well, the woman remains in New York's Lenox Hospital, Lenox Hill Hospital, rather, where she is now listed in critical condition this morning, and she has been there since Sunday. And while she's not a postal worker, the mayor says a mail room is located next to the area where the 61-year-old woman worked and perhaps it's possible that a contaminated letter there was in contact with a letter that she had received. KAGAN: Meanwhile, some promising news about another anthrax victim. This morning health officials say that the 51-year-old New Jersey woman with cutaneous, or skin anthrax, is doing fine. The woman lives near New Jersey's Hamilton Township mail facility, where traces of anthrax have been found. She left the hospital on Sunday. And another woman just like the woman we told you about in New York is neither a postal worker or a member of the news media.
HARRIS: It's possible, though, that she received a letter, once again, that may have been in contact with one of the other anthrax laced letters that went through that one mail facility.
Now, with those two cases, here are the latest numbers in the anthrax attacks. There are 15 total confirmed cases of anthrax infection. Three people have died and six are infected right now with inhaled anthrax and six others are now being treated for skin anthrax.
KAGAN: When our coverage of America's war on terrorism continues, we'll travel inside Afghanistan for the latest on U.S. efforts to topple the Taliban.
HARRIS: And we'll go live to the Pentagon to get the newest details about the role U.S. special forces are playing inside Afghanistan. The first word on that coming out. We'll have that for you just ahead.
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