Return to Transcripts main page

Live From...

International Flight Security

Aired December 23, 2003 - 15:13   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: Color the United States orange and on guard this holiday. There are stepped-up air patrols, surface-to-air missiles at critical points, and tougher security checks for travelers. Overseas, there's increasing scrutiny of international flights bound for the United States.
More on that now from CNN's Mike Brooks, who joins us here on set.

Let's talk about the international side of things. How is it really different, what's happening internationally and what's happening in the United States? We talked with Matthew Chance.

MIKE BROOKS, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Right.

PHILLIPS: And he said, actually, internationally, they're more used to dealing with terrorism.

BROOKS: They are. And I think they've been at a higher state of alert, if you will, and checking and talking to passengers before they board planes for years.

I was on the joint terrorism task force one time coming from London back to Washington, D.C., had my official U.S. passport. And they wanted to scrutinize me and my luggage because I had a visa from Yemen and also I had stamps from Saudi Arabia and Egypt, and in my passport...

PHILLIPS: Even if you were with the FBI?

BROOKS: I told them, I said, hey, I was here working a letter bomb case with New Scotland Yard and you're questioning me? They were that strict, and even though I was leaving the country, coming back to the United States. So they've been like on the screening of passengers before they board flights for years.

PHILLIPS: So, right now, even the police commissioner in the U.K. came out saying, we're used to dealing with this. We're not doing anything differently, but we are paying attention. They seem to be more concerned overseas with suicide attacks, suicide bombers.

BROOKS: Well, folks overseas have always been more aware of their surroundings and what's going on around them. You go to an ATM machine in the U.K. You put your card in. Instead of saying, ask us about our new low interest rates, it would say on the screen, if you see a suspicious package around this building, notify the bank manager or the metropolitan police. People have been living with this kind of terrorist threat for years, with the Provisional Irish Republican Army, other groups for years and years in London and other countries in Europe. Here, I think we get complacent. Six months to a year down the road, nothing happens, people sit back, get lulled into a false sense of security. I think this orange alert is good for the citizenry. It's kind of a poke with a sharp stick to say, hey, be aware of your surroundings. You have to play a part in this also.

PHILLIPS: So could the United States learn from international efforts? Are there, I guess, coalition forces within security?

BROOKS: Well, you look at Interpol and you look at the FBI. The FBI for years, at ever major embassy in Europe and now also in the Middle East has an ALAT (ph), or a legal attache, there as a liaison.

I think we've learned a lot from these folks. And they have passed that down over the years. Just over there working a number of cases myself over the years, I've learned a lot from the security measures that are taken by the local law enforcement in London and also in other parts of Europe. They do it -- they've been doing it for a long time. They're just more keenly aware of their surroundings than the people here in the U.S.

PHILLIPS: All right, so the flights, the aircraft, the pilots, the travelers, what are some of the, I guess, major differences you see that they do overseas?

BROOKS: Well, you see the screening, the passenger screening in different levels. You have most of the air carriers coming back to the United States, U.S. air carriers that fly internationally coming back.

Then again, you have El-Al. El-Al, they do it differently. But we have to remember, they only have about 34 aircraft and a small number of flights every year. Everybody compares our security with El-Al. Yes, they do a fantastic job, but they don't have as many flights to and from Israel every day as we do here in the United States and dealing with the volume of passengers.

PHILLIPS: All right, well, so far so good. It's looking good.

BROOKS: It is.

PHILLIPS: Your sources say yes?

BROOKS: Well, it's one of these things that, right now, they say -- my sources say it's probably the safest time ever post-9/11 to fly, with all the different layers of security we have in place. The vigilance of law enforcement and now the vigilance of people in the United States, I think, is higher than it has been in a long, long time.

PHILLIPS: Mike Brooks, thank you.

BROOKS: Thank you, Kyra. 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 December 23, 2003 - 15:13   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Color the United States orange and on guard this holiday. There are stepped-up air patrols, surface-to-air missiles at critical points, and tougher security checks for travelers. Overseas, there's increasing scrutiny of international flights bound for the United States.
More on that now from CNN's Mike Brooks, who joins us here on set.

Let's talk about the international side of things. How is it really different, what's happening internationally and what's happening in the United States? We talked with Matthew Chance.

MIKE BROOKS, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Right.

PHILLIPS: And he said, actually, internationally, they're more used to dealing with terrorism.

BROOKS: They are. And I think they've been at a higher state of alert, if you will, and checking and talking to passengers before they board planes for years.

I was on the joint terrorism task force one time coming from London back to Washington, D.C., had my official U.S. passport. And they wanted to scrutinize me and my luggage because I had a visa from Yemen and also I had stamps from Saudi Arabia and Egypt, and in my passport...

PHILLIPS: Even if you were with the FBI?

BROOKS: I told them, I said, hey, I was here working a letter bomb case with New Scotland Yard and you're questioning me? They were that strict, and even though I was leaving the country, coming back to the United States. So they've been like on the screening of passengers before they board flights for years.

PHILLIPS: So, right now, even the police commissioner in the U.K. came out saying, we're used to dealing with this. We're not doing anything differently, but we are paying attention. They seem to be more concerned overseas with suicide attacks, suicide bombers.

BROOKS: Well, folks overseas have always been more aware of their surroundings and what's going on around them. You go to an ATM machine in the U.K. You put your card in. Instead of saying, ask us about our new low interest rates, it would say on the screen, if you see a suspicious package around this building, notify the bank manager or the metropolitan police. People have been living with this kind of terrorist threat for years, with the Provisional Irish Republican Army, other groups for years and years in London and other countries in Europe. Here, I think we get complacent. Six months to a year down the road, nothing happens, people sit back, get lulled into a false sense of security. I think this orange alert is good for the citizenry. It's kind of a poke with a sharp stick to say, hey, be aware of your surroundings. You have to play a part in this also.

PHILLIPS: So could the United States learn from international efforts? Are there, I guess, coalition forces within security?

BROOKS: Well, you look at Interpol and you look at the FBI. The FBI for years, at ever major embassy in Europe and now also in the Middle East has an ALAT (ph), or a legal attache, there as a liaison.

I think we've learned a lot from these folks. And they have passed that down over the years. Just over there working a number of cases myself over the years, I've learned a lot from the security measures that are taken by the local law enforcement in London and also in other parts of Europe. They do it -- they've been doing it for a long time. They're just more keenly aware of their surroundings than the people here in the U.S.

PHILLIPS: All right, so the flights, the aircraft, the pilots, the travelers, what are some of the, I guess, major differences you see that they do overseas?

BROOKS: Well, you see the screening, the passenger screening in different levels. You have most of the air carriers coming back to the United States, U.S. air carriers that fly internationally coming back.

Then again, you have El-Al. El-Al, they do it differently. But we have to remember, they only have about 34 aircraft and a small number of flights every year. Everybody compares our security with El-Al. Yes, they do a fantastic job, but they don't have as many flights to and from Israel every day as we do here in the United States and dealing with the volume of passengers.

PHILLIPS: All right, well, so far so good. It's looking good.

BROOKS: It is.

PHILLIPS: Your sources say yes?

BROOKS: Well, it's one of these things that, right now, they say -- my sources say it's probably the safest time ever post-9/11 to fly, with all the different layers of security we have in place. The vigilance of law enforcement and now the vigilance of people in the United States, I think, is higher than it has been in a long, long time.

PHILLIPS: Mike Brooks, thank you.

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