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Interview With Gray Davis, Bernard Kerik

Aired February 07, 2003 - 14:45   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.


KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: The terror threat level is high. So what does that mean to some of the larger states and cities in the U.S. that could be possible targets for terrorism?
Joining us now to talk about that is Governor Gray Davis of California and former New York Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik. Thank you both for being with us.

Governor, I'll begin with you. It was just a few weeks ago you and I were talking about the State of the Union address. I told you what you wanted to hear -- or asked you, rather what you wanted to hear from the president.

You said you were concerned about your budget and money received to take care of security concerns and resources. Are you still concerned?

GOV. GRAY DAVIS (D), CALIFORNIA: Yes, I am concerned, although the first order of business is to do our best to keep California safe, and I'm sure all 50 governors feel the same way. We're spending state money to do that. We are spending county and city money to do that. We do it without hesitation, but we think at some point we should be compensated.

KAGAN: And you just opened up an office for homeland security in Los Angeles. Is that correct?

DAVIS: Actually, I called for it in my state of the state speech, Kyra in January. We have been working on the details, and just coincidentally, the lawyers approved it today, so we are formally unveiling it today. But that just happens to be a coincidence.

KAGAN: Well, why don't you tell us what it means? That is a coincidence. What could folks in L.A. expect?

DAVIS: Well, this is statewide. The office is statewide, and it works with local law enforcement, works with Secretary Ridge, the FBI, and all the relevant agencies to help enhance security here in California, and it will just better coordinate and provide better dissemination of information.

One point I've been making a long time is that we're more secure if we can get all 90,000 sworn police officers in California on the same page of protecting us from terror and crime, and the more information you can get, the more secure we'll be.

PHILLIPS: Commissioner Kerik, you were police commissioner in New York during 9/11. Do you feel that you were prepared for that?

KERIK: I think, under the circumstances, we were prepared for -- the best we could be. What happened on 9/11 was something that nobody could imagine. I think we did the best we could. There were a number of lessons learned as a result, and I think, first and foremost, as the governor mentioned, intelligence. Intelligence is going to be the key to the success of combating terrorism in the future. We have to tie in the 700,000 police officers in this country to the federal agencies that will now be responsible for investigating terrorism, and that is how we are going to get through this. That's how we're going to combat terrorism in the future.

PHILLIPS: And Commissioner, looking at the status now, looking at New York and the resources and the extra money, and facilities that have been built -- looking at what you have now and what you had pre- 9/11, do you feel good about the resources?

KERIK: Absolutely. I think what the president has done in the last year, I think he's done more in a year to combat terrorism than we had done in the prior 10. Should have been no surprise when these people hit the towers. They had been there before. They hit the Cole, they hit the Khobar towers in Dharan. They hit the embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. This shouldn't have been a big surprise. We have to move forward from there. We are preparing. I think what New York City has done is enhancing the assignments to counterterrorism in this city, and around the country is a benefit to us, and a benefit to the rest of the nation.

PHILLIPS: And Governor, now that the threat level has been raised, what's taking place in California? What have you come out and said, OK, this is what I want, this is what I want to see, this is the protection that I'm demanding starting right now in California?

DAVIS: Well, we work very closely, as I said, with Secretary Ridge and with the attorney general, and we were in touch with them this morning, and they have encouraged us to work with the private sector, particularly in transportation, energy, and financial services to enhance their security and to vary the rhythm of the security, so any would-be terrorist can't predict how much security there would be at any given moment.

We've already started on that process early this morning. In addition, I've asked all my people at the state level to ensure the security of our information technology systems. So when the federal government says snap to, we're doing it.

PHILLIPS: What about critical infrastructures like roads, bridges, tunnels, power plants?

DAVIS: We already do that on a normal basis, and we will be even more vigilant. We want average Americans to go on with their lives, but also, if they see anything out of the ordinary, anything suspicious, they'll let local law enforcement know about it as soon as possible.

PHILLIPS: Commissioner, in New York, obviously, you hear something like the threat level being raised. In New York, I'm sure that is very unnerving, even more so to the people of New York than probably many other places around the country. What do you know that's taking place as of today that should make them feel more secure?

KERIK: Well, I think the police department is much more -- they are much more vigilant today when these -- when the threat level rises. The government buildings, the tourist sites, the -- any areas where there is a lot of people and can be possible targets, what we call soft targets, all those areas are enhanced with coverage, and a number of other things that the police department is doing.

I think the people in New York City should feel safe. They know what happened after 9/11, how we got through that process, and we're just better prepared today than we were then.

PHILLIPS: Commissioner, I am just curious. Do you have any advice for the governor?

KERIK: No, I think the governor should continue doing what he's doing. I think we should follow the lead of Governor Ridge and the president. I think what they've done in the last year has been phenomenal. I think we have to continue in that direction.

PHILLIPS: And Governor Davis, finally, now that the office of Homeland Security in Los Angeles has been set up, it's going to reach the entire state. What's the next move for this department?

KERIK: Kyra, I'm never fully satisfied that we're secure enough, and every day we look for ways to become even more secure. As the commissioner said, we work very closely with federal agencies. We're all on the same team. We can't prevent absolutely everything, but we can get better at preventing it every single day, and so our job is just to think hard each and every morning what we can do to make this country even more secure than it was the day before.

PHILLIPS: Governor Gray Davis, former New York Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik. Gentlemen, thank you so much for your time.

KERIK: Thank you.

DAVIS: Thank you.

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 February 7, 2003 - 14:45   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: The terror threat level is high. So what does that mean to some of the larger states and cities in the U.S. that could be possible targets for terrorism?
Joining us now to talk about that is Governor Gray Davis of California and former New York Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik. Thank you both for being with us.

Governor, I'll begin with you. It was just a few weeks ago you and I were talking about the State of the Union address. I told you what you wanted to hear -- or asked you, rather what you wanted to hear from the president.

You said you were concerned about your budget and money received to take care of security concerns and resources. Are you still concerned?

GOV. GRAY DAVIS (D), CALIFORNIA: Yes, I am concerned, although the first order of business is to do our best to keep California safe, and I'm sure all 50 governors feel the same way. We're spending state money to do that. We are spending county and city money to do that. We do it without hesitation, but we think at some point we should be compensated.

KAGAN: And you just opened up an office for homeland security in Los Angeles. Is that correct?

DAVIS: Actually, I called for it in my state of the state speech, Kyra in January. We have been working on the details, and just coincidentally, the lawyers approved it today, so we are formally unveiling it today. But that just happens to be a coincidence.

KAGAN: Well, why don't you tell us what it means? That is a coincidence. What could folks in L.A. expect?

DAVIS: Well, this is statewide. The office is statewide, and it works with local law enforcement, works with Secretary Ridge, the FBI, and all the relevant agencies to help enhance security here in California, and it will just better coordinate and provide better dissemination of information.

One point I've been making a long time is that we're more secure if we can get all 90,000 sworn police officers in California on the same page of protecting us from terror and crime, and the more information you can get, the more secure we'll be.

PHILLIPS: Commissioner Kerik, you were police commissioner in New York during 9/11. Do you feel that you were prepared for that?

KERIK: I think, under the circumstances, we were prepared for -- the best we could be. What happened on 9/11 was something that nobody could imagine. I think we did the best we could. There were a number of lessons learned as a result, and I think, first and foremost, as the governor mentioned, intelligence. Intelligence is going to be the key to the success of combating terrorism in the future. We have to tie in the 700,000 police officers in this country to the federal agencies that will now be responsible for investigating terrorism, and that is how we are going to get through this. That's how we're going to combat terrorism in the future.

PHILLIPS: And Commissioner, looking at the status now, looking at New York and the resources and the extra money, and facilities that have been built -- looking at what you have now and what you had pre- 9/11, do you feel good about the resources?

KERIK: Absolutely. I think what the president has done in the last year, I think he's done more in a year to combat terrorism than we had done in the prior 10. Should have been no surprise when these people hit the towers. They had been there before. They hit the Cole, they hit the Khobar towers in Dharan. They hit the embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. This shouldn't have been a big surprise. We have to move forward from there. We are preparing. I think what New York City has done is enhancing the assignments to counterterrorism in this city, and around the country is a benefit to us, and a benefit to the rest of the nation.

PHILLIPS: And Governor, now that the threat level has been raised, what's taking place in California? What have you come out and said, OK, this is what I want, this is what I want to see, this is the protection that I'm demanding starting right now in California?

DAVIS: Well, we work very closely, as I said, with Secretary Ridge and with the attorney general, and we were in touch with them this morning, and they have encouraged us to work with the private sector, particularly in transportation, energy, and financial services to enhance their security and to vary the rhythm of the security, so any would-be terrorist can't predict how much security there would be at any given moment.

We've already started on that process early this morning. In addition, I've asked all my people at the state level to ensure the security of our information technology systems. So when the federal government says snap to, we're doing it.

PHILLIPS: What about critical infrastructures like roads, bridges, tunnels, power plants?

DAVIS: We already do that on a normal basis, and we will be even more vigilant. We want average Americans to go on with their lives, but also, if they see anything out of the ordinary, anything suspicious, they'll let local law enforcement know about it as soon as possible.

PHILLIPS: Commissioner, in New York, obviously, you hear something like the threat level being raised. In New York, I'm sure that is very unnerving, even more so to the people of New York than probably many other places around the country. What do you know that's taking place as of today that should make them feel more secure?

KERIK: Well, I think the police department is much more -- they are much more vigilant today when these -- when the threat level rises. The government buildings, the tourist sites, the -- any areas where there is a lot of people and can be possible targets, what we call soft targets, all those areas are enhanced with coverage, and a number of other things that the police department is doing.

I think the people in New York City should feel safe. They know what happened after 9/11, how we got through that process, and we're just better prepared today than we were then.

PHILLIPS: Commissioner, I am just curious. Do you have any advice for the governor?

KERIK: No, I think the governor should continue doing what he's doing. I think we should follow the lead of Governor Ridge and the president. I think what they've done in the last year has been phenomenal. I think we have to continue in that direction.

PHILLIPS: And Governor Davis, finally, now that the office of Homeland Security in Los Angeles has been set up, it's going to reach the entire state. What's the next move for this department?

KERIK: Kyra, I'm never fully satisfied that we're secure enough, and every day we look for ways to become even more secure. As the commissioner said, we work very closely with federal agencies. We're all on the same team. We can't prevent absolutely everything, but we can get better at preventing it every single day, and so our job is just to think hard each and every morning what we can do to make this country even more secure than it was the day before.

PHILLIPS: Governor Gray Davis, former New York Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik. Gentlemen, thank you so much for your time.

KERIK: Thank you.

DAVIS: Thank you.

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