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Terror Concerns Over the Holidays
Aired December 26, 2003 - 15:01 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: Tougher-than-normal security measures are being taken across the country to guard against possible terror attacks. One of the biggest concerns, flights coming into the U.S.
CNN's Mike Brooks has the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MIKE BROOKS, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST (voice-over): The Air France cancellations were the clearest sign that security officials in the U.S. and around the world are on high alert this holiday season. French police sources tell CNN several passengers were questioned from those flights, but no one was detained.
Why stop the flights? Credible intelligence of a threat, say U.S. officials. Also, interrogations of detainees, say intelligence sources, suggest that Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda still hoped to pull off a large scale attack in the U.S. and that interest remains in using airplanes as a weapon, just like on 9/11.
PETER BERGEN, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: Al Qaeda has always been interested in aviation, right. Long before 9/11 people affiliated with al Qaeda were planning to blow up a dozen American airline flights in Asia in the mid-'90s. So this has been a sort of obsession with them for a long time.
BROOKS: U.S. officials are also working with Mexican security officials to make sure flights entering the U.S. from there are safe. But these are not the only signs of code orange. Security at Los Angeles' LAX, mentioned in the intelligence, is extra tight. Curbside check-in is not allowed. The Energy Department's NEST teams, Nuclear Emergency Search Teams, are on high alert. Anti-aircraft missile batteries are positioned around Washington, D. C. , all critical and costly symbols of a nation on high alert for the holidays.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROOKS: U.S. officials were concerned that there was others that did not show up at the airport to make their flight, either because they knew that the flight has been canceled or for other reasons. One U.S. official says that it's too early to say whether or not a terrorist act was actually thwarted.
PHILLIPS: Now, let's talk about the air marshals, domestically, internationally. Is there a difference? How does that work?
BROOKS: The air marshal program here in the United States is the FAMs before 9/11, there were 31 federal air marshals that only flew on international flights, no domestic flights at all.
Right now, the number is classified. My sources tell me there's somewhere close to 4,000. And they're now with the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. So they have even more agents from that whole bureau to draw on. And I hear that they are on board flights while we aren't at orange. So there's probably more air marshals both on domestic and international flights.
Now, on international flights coming into the United States, on not U.S.-flagged carriers, there are very, very few air marshal programs. There are a number of countries. Most of the countries that have them don't like to talk about them. But there's been talk that they may not allow some airlines into the country unless they come up with a federal air marshal plan.
There's been a lot of talk on that, but there's not many federal air marshals. And some countries feel, well, we've got reinforced cockpit doors now. We've got other security measures in place.
PHILLIPS: Don't need them.
BROOKS: We don't need the federal air marshals. But I think it's -- it makes me feel a little bit better, knowing that there's some FAMs flying on board. And you know every time you go into Washington's Reagan National Airport, whenever you land or take off, there's still that 30 minutes where you can't get up out of your seat or you can't get up once you're 30 minutes coming into Reagan.
And there's usually at least two federal air marshals on most of the flights.
PHILLIPS: Mike Brooks, thank you.
BROOKS: You're welcome.
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 26, 2003 - 15:01 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Tougher-than-normal security measures are being taken across the country to guard against possible terror attacks. One of the biggest concerns, flights coming into the U.S.
CNN's Mike Brooks has the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MIKE BROOKS, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST (voice-over): The Air France cancellations were the clearest sign that security officials in the U.S. and around the world are on high alert this holiday season. French police sources tell CNN several passengers were questioned from those flights, but no one was detained.
Why stop the flights? Credible intelligence of a threat, say U.S. officials. Also, interrogations of detainees, say intelligence sources, suggest that Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda still hoped to pull off a large scale attack in the U.S. and that interest remains in using airplanes as a weapon, just like on 9/11.
PETER BERGEN, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: Al Qaeda has always been interested in aviation, right. Long before 9/11 people affiliated with al Qaeda were planning to blow up a dozen American airline flights in Asia in the mid-'90s. So this has been a sort of obsession with them for a long time.
BROOKS: U.S. officials are also working with Mexican security officials to make sure flights entering the U.S. from there are safe. But these are not the only signs of code orange. Security at Los Angeles' LAX, mentioned in the intelligence, is extra tight. Curbside check-in is not allowed. The Energy Department's NEST teams, Nuclear Emergency Search Teams, are on high alert. Anti-aircraft missile batteries are positioned around Washington, D. C. , all critical and costly symbols of a nation on high alert for the holidays.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROOKS: U.S. officials were concerned that there was others that did not show up at the airport to make their flight, either because they knew that the flight has been canceled or for other reasons. One U.S. official says that it's too early to say whether or not a terrorist act was actually thwarted.
PHILLIPS: Now, let's talk about the air marshals, domestically, internationally. Is there a difference? How does that work?
BROOKS: The air marshal program here in the United States is the FAMs before 9/11, there were 31 federal air marshals that only flew on international flights, no domestic flights at all.
Right now, the number is classified. My sources tell me there's somewhere close to 4,000. And they're now with the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. So they have even more agents from that whole bureau to draw on. And I hear that they are on board flights while we aren't at orange. So there's probably more air marshals both on domestic and international flights.
Now, on international flights coming into the United States, on not U.S.-flagged carriers, there are very, very few air marshal programs. There are a number of countries. Most of the countries that have them don't like to talk about them. But there's been talk that they may not allow some airlines into the country unless they come up with a federal air marshal plan.
There's been a lot of talk on that, but there's not many federal air marshals. And some countries feel, well, we've got reinforced cockpit doors now. We've got other security measures in place.
PHILLIPS: Don't need them.
BROOKS: We don't need the federal air marshals. But I think it's -- it makes me feel a little bit better, knowing that there's some FAMs flying on board. And you know every time you go into Washington's Reagan National Airport, whenever you land or take off, there's still that 30 minutes where you can't get up out of your seat or you can't get up once you're 30 minutes coming into Reagan.
And there's usually at least two federal air marshals on most of the flights.
PHILLIPS: Mike Brooks, thank you.
BROOKS: You're welcome.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
