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Security Watch -- Saudi Oil Infrastructure; Flu Season Advice

Aired December 07, 2004 - 11:33   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.


RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Well, it makes the world run.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: It does. So what would happen if terrorists targeted the world's biggest oil supplier? We will explain, coming up next.

SANCHEZ: Also, dramatic pictures from Thailand. Find out a hostage standoff -- this particular hostage standoff you're looking at right now, finally comes to an end.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Thirty-three minutes after the hour. We welcome you back. I'm Rick Sanchez.

KAGAN: And I'm Daryn Kagan. Let's take a look at what's happening "Now in the News."

The Senate sponsors an historic intelligence reform bill this hour, praised a compromise that allows passage by Congress. Senators Lieberman and Collins say the legislation is the biggest change to U.S. intelligence in 50 years. The House is expected to pass the bill today, the Senate tomorrow.

The Supreme Court is hearing arguments this morning on interstate wine sales. Justices will decide whether laws barring out-of-state shipments could violate the Constitution. A ruling could open the door to wine purchases over the Internet.

Ten defense witnesses are expected on the stand today and tomorrow in the Scott Peterson murder trial. Jurors could begin deliberating Thursday whether to sentence him to life in prison or the death penalty for killing his pregnant wife.

And Afghanistan has inaugurated its first democratically-elected president today. Hamid Karzai took the oath of office in Kabul. Among the guests, Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfield.

In our ongoing "Security Watch" for you, an upcoming trial for an alleged arms struggler in New Jersey. Legal teams are mulling over potential jurors for the trial against Hemant Lakhani. He's accused of trying to smuggle shoulder-fired missiles into the United States. The jury selection process is going take several days. The trial will continue, we understand, in January.

On potential threats to the nation's food supply, there's a new rule. The FDA will now require companies to keep permanent detailed records of the food that they manufacture and transport. The records are supposed to show the sources of all food products, where the food is going and who's supposed to receive it. The rule is going to not apply to farmers or restaurant owners. Again, it does not apply to restaurants or farmers.

KAGAN: A group that is linked to al Qaeda says it is behind the attack on the U.S. consulate in Saudi Arabia. Gunmen stormed the facility in Jeddah and briefly held hostages. Three terrorists were killed when Saudi security forces fought their way in. Saudi sources say a fourth gunman died of his wounds today, while a fifth is in critical condition. The attack left five non-American consulate employees dead. A statement on several Web sites used by militants claims the consulate attack was retaliation for the U.S. operation in Falluja, Iraq.

A terrorist attack on the Saudi oil infrastructure would likely send crude prices soaring. Senior international correspondent Nic Robertson is in Jeddah. He's investigating security at the country's oil facilities.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERSTON, CNN SENIOR INTL. CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If Saudi Arabia's life blood is oil, this is its heart. Ras Tanura, the world's largest oil refinery and the country's principal oil export facility. We saw fortified defenses, but not enough to satisfy former CIA officer, Bob Baer.

BOB BAER, FORMER CIA OFFICER: I could sit down now, with my training in the CIA, and people I know, and do a concerted military attack on Saudi facilities. Standoff attacks with rockets and take 5, 6 million barrels off the market.

ROBERTSON: So could a plane packed with explosives, if it crashed into Ras Tanura. A 9/11-style scenario that Baer says is also possible. The loss of more than one-half the desert kingdom's normal production would turn disaster here into a global economic nightmare.

ADRIAN BINKS, OIL ANALYST: If a major facility was knocked out, such as the Ras Tanura export facility, and it looked like it will be out for many months, then the market would be absolutely frenzied and prices would rise through the sky almost.

ROBERTSON: At a high-tech control room, Saudi engineers say they plan for that possibility.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We always have drills about what ifs. And therefore, even a terrorist incident, if it were to happen, it's not going to be worse than an industrial incident in a volatile industry like ours.

ROBERTSON: Indeed, on a recent tour of Ras Tanura, where oil is not only refined but shipped out to the rest of the world, Saudi officials were keen to show off the safety features of the facilities. (on camera): What you realize out at these oil-loading terminals, if terrorists were to strike against the Saudi oil infrastructure, it would have little effect. The system is spread out over a vast area.

(voice-over): But in a volatile market already jittery about terrorist attacks at Saudi oil installations, even a minor attack would rattle the global economy, the sort of pipeline attacks that are already common occurrence in Iran.

BINKS: The most likely scenario, which would be an attack on a pipeline in Saudi Arabia, then prices would spike for a very short time.

ROBERTSON: So far, Saudi al Qaeda has killed and mutilated western oil workers on at least two occasions, but has not yet targeted oil installations. The fear is that tactic could change.

BAER: These people are perfectly capable, if they got some sort of victory in Iraq, of turning south and going after the Saudi royal family and going after the facilities. I've got no doubt about that.

ROBERTSON: With internal tensions from rising unemployment, a booming birth rate and a struggling economy, the Saudi royals carry the burden of protecting not only their oil fields, but also the world's economy.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: That was Nic Robertson, reporting from Saudi Arabia. From Jeddah on the oil industry there.

This news we're getting out of the state of New York. State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer stating what some people think they've expected for some time. Eliot Spitzer saying he indeed will run for governor of New York in 2006. He is a two-term attorney general. He has won a lot of attention nationally and across the state for going after financial institutions. No word right now from the current governor, George Pataki, if he will seek a fourth four-year term in New York. Eliot Spitzer saying his hat is in the ring, he will run for governor in 2006 in the state of New York.

SANCHEZ: Here is what is making news overseas in this morning's "World Wrap" for you. An Israeli soldier was killed in Gaza today during what's described as a routine search. A small bomb went off when a soldier entered a booby-trapped chicken coop. Four other Israelis were wounded and a Palestinian died in a firefight that followed, as well.

In Thailand, a construction worker held a knife to a boy's throat for four hours outside a school in Bangkok. The man demanded a car to take him to a bus terminal. Police ended the drama by eventually shooting the hostage-taker with rubber bullets. They seem to have shot the knife right out of his hand. The suspect is in the hospital now. Police described him as drug crazed. The boy was unharmed, thank goodness. In Australia, swarms of locusts have invaded the province of New South Wales. Driven there by drought and hot winds the insects are eating their own weight in crops each day. As you can see from the pictures the bugs are making normal activities a real challenge for the Aussies these days.

In Maryland this morning, an arson investigation and suspicions of ecoterrorism, this is after 41 upscale homes were damaged or destroyed in fires in Charles County. Officials say the arson rampage was the biggest in state history. Kelli Arena has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KELLI ARENA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Residents living in this Washington suburb say they've never seen anything like it.

DAWN PHILLIPS, RESIDENT: The sky was really bright. I mean, lit up like the sun. I thought it was too early for it to be that light.

ARENA: Officials say it appears dozens of separate fires were set. Investigators say there were incendiary devices found at the scene. Some didn't go off and could provide investigative clues.

AARON TAYLOR, DEP. STATE FIRE MARSHAL: In each of the fires we were also able to determine the cause and that was incendiary, in other words, that was arson.

ARENA: The damage is estimated at $10 million. Dozens of state, local and federal investigators are looking into whether this was an act of ecoterrorism.

TAYLOR: We have discovered no evidence at this point to give us an idea as to who may or what, if any, organization was responsible for these fires.

ARENA: Environmental activists claimed construction would damage a nearby wetlands area. Some took legal action to try to stop the development. But at least one group involved in the lawsuit says that is where the protest ended, in court.

BOB DEGROOT, ASSN. FOR GREENWAY IMPROVEMENT: The environmental groups in Maryland just aren't into things like terrorism, which is what this sounds like happened down there.

ARENA: There have been no claims of responsibility, no signature spray paintings that have been used before in ecoterror attacks. Yet law enforcement officials say it bears the marking of such attacks. Like other groups have claimed responsibility for attacking housing developments before. In fact, out of all home-grown terrorist groups, the FBI says ecoterrorists pose the greatest threat.

Kelli Arena, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: Here's that story you and I were talking about earlier. What do you do when you don't feel good and you feel but you should go to work anyway.

KAGAN: Leave your germs at home. How you could help actually your company's productivity levels by staying home.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Before we do anything else, we want to take you to California. That's the president of the United States you see right there saluting and being met by some dignitaries. This is the Miramar Air Station in California not far from the president's actual destination, which is Camp Pendleton, where he'll met with military families, marines, many of whom have lost peers in Iraq. From there, the president will have lunch with military personnel. That will also take place at Camp Pendleton. We will follow this and covering it for you. We'll bring you the speech live right here at CNN. That would be 9:35 Pacific Time, where it's taking place, 12:35 Eastern Time. Again, the speech live right here on CNN.

KAGAN: We are talking -- we are talking about the flu today and fighting the flu. As we reported earlier, Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson announcing the U.S. is buying 4 million additional flu vaccines from Canada and Germany. But even the vaccines are no guarantee that you won't get sick this winter, if you get sick, one common question is, should you go to work? Our medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen helps you answer that question.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the old days, coming into work when you were sick was a badge of honor, but these days it's kind of a badge of stupidity. Because one sick worker can infect many others and then...

ROSLYN STONE, CORPORATE WELLNESS, INC.: You go outside of your office they get others sick, they may get sick, their children get sick, their children go to school and get your children sick. It's a vicious cycle.

COHEN: This year, especially, companies are trying to get the word out, stay home if you have the flu. That's because in years past, about 60 percent of businesses offered flu shots to their employees. But this year's shortage of shots forced companies to cancel their vaccination programs, leaving workplaces more vulnerable than usual. It may sound obvious to stay home when you're sick, but one study shows 90 percent of workers come in when they don't feel well. Roslyn Stone is chairwoman for the Centers for Disease Control workplace prevention group.

STONE: And they feel the pressure to come back to work. They know their work is piling up, other people are handling parts of their workload. They think that other people might be thinking poorly of them.

COHEN: According to one online workplace poll, 20 percent of workers said they had too much work to stay home when they're sick. 24 percent came in to work sick out of loyalty. 17 percent said they were saving their sick days for an emergency. Even when people do stay home, sometimes they don't stay home long enough.

STONE: So they come back to work when in fact maybe they should be out for a week to two weeks because they are still contagious. They are still not at nearly 100 percent.

COHEN: So next time you feel a cold or the flu coming on think about leaving work. Your boss may thank you for it.

Elizabeth Cohen, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: To get your "Daily Dose" of health news online, logon to our Web site. You'll find the latest medical news, a health library and the latest information on diet and fitness. The address, cnn.com/health.

SANCHEZ: And get plenty of sleep. A check on the financial markets is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

KAGAN: And it looks like Congress got it together and it will be passing the 9/11 reform act.

SANCHEZ: Yes, Tuesday -- today.

KAGAN: Well, it's a House vote today, Senate votes tomorrow. Wolf Blitzer standing by with more on that, the compromise they reached, what's in it, what's not.

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 7, 2004 - 11:33   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Well, it makes the world run.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: It does. So what would happen if terrorists targeted the world's biggest oil supplier? We will explain, coming up next.

SANCHEZ: Also, dramatic pictures from Thailand. Find out a hostage standoff -- this particular hostage standoff you're looking at right now, finally comes to an end.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Thirty-three minutes after the hour. We welcome you back. I'm Rick Sanchez.

KAGAN: And I'm Daryn Kagan. Let's take a look at what's happening "Now in the News."

The Senate sponsors an historic intelligence reform bill this hour, praised a compromise that allows passage by Congress. Senators Lieberman and Collins say the legislation is the biggest change to U.S. intelligence in 50 years. The House is expected to pass the bill today, the Senate tomorrow.

The Supreme Court is hearing arguments this morning on interstate wine sales. Justices will decide whether laws barring out-of-state shipments could violate the Constitution. A ruling could open the door to wine purchases over the Internet.

Ten defense witnesses are expected on the stand today and tomorrow in the Scott Peterson murder trial. Jurors could begin deliberating Thursday whether to sentence him to life in prison or the death penalty for killing his pregnant wife.

And Afghanistan has inaugurated its first democratically-elected president today. Hamid Karzai took the oath of office in Kabul. Among the guests, Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfield.

In our ongoing "Security Watch" for you, an upcoming trial for an alleged arms struggler in New Jersey. Legal teams are mulling over potential jurors for the trial against Hemant Lakhani. He's accused of trying to smuggle shoulder-fired missiles into the United States. The jury selection process is going take several days. The trial will continue, we understand, in January.

On potential threats to the nation's food supply, there's a new rule. The FDA will now require companies to keep permanent detailed records of the food that they manufacture and transport. The records are supposed to show the sources of all food products, where the food is going and who's supposed to receive it. The rule is going to not apply to farmers or restaurant owners. Again, it does not apply to restaurants or farmers.

KAGAN: A group that is linked to al Qaeda says it is behind the attack on the U.S. consulate in Saudi Arabia. Gunmen stormed the facility in Jeddah and briefly held hostages. Three terrorists were killed when Saudi security forces fought their way in. Saudi sources say a fourth gunman died of his wounds today, while a fifth is in critical condition. The attack left five non-American consulate employees dead. A statement on several Web sites used by militants claims the consulate attack was retaliation for the U.S. operation in Falluja, Iraq.

A terrorist attack on the Saudi oil infrastructure would likely send crude prices soaring. Senior international correspondent Nic Robertson is in Jeddah. He's investigating security at the country's oil facilities.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERSTON, CNN SENIOR INTL. CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If Saudi Arabia's life blood is oil, this is its heart. Ras Tanura, the world's largest oil refinery and the country's principal oil export facility. We saw fortified defenses, but not enough to satisfy former CIA officer, Bob Baer.

BOB BAER, FORMER CIA OFFICER: I could sit down now, with my training in the CIA, and people I know, and do a concerted military attack on Saudi facilities. Standoff attacks with rockets and take 5, 6 million barrels off the market.

ROBERTSON: So could a plane packed with explosives, if it crashed into Ras Tanura. A 9/11-style scenario that Baer says is also possible. The loss of more than one-half the desert kingdom's normal production would turn disaster here into a global economic nightmare.

ADRIAN BINKS, OIL ANALYST: If a major facility was knocked out, such as the Ras Tanura export facility, and it looked like it will be out for many months, then the market would be absolutely frenzied and prices would rise through the sky almost.

ROBERTSON: At a high-tech control room, Saudi engineers say they plan for that possibility.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We always have drills about what ifs. And therefore, even a terrorist incident, if it were to happen, it's not going to be worse than an industrial incident in a volatile industry like ours.

ROBERTSON: Indeed, on a recent tour of Ras Tanura, where oil is not only refined but shipped out to the rest of the world, Saudi officials were keen to show off the safety features of the facilities. (on camera): What you realize out at these oil-loading terminals, if terrorists were to strike against the Saudi oil infrastructure, it would have little effect. The system is spread out over a vast area.

(voice-over): But in a volatile market already jittery about terrorist attacks at Saudi oil installations, even a minor attack would rattle the global economy, the sort of pipeline attacks that are already common occurrence in Iran.

BINKS: The most likely scenario, which would be an attack on a pipeline in Saudi Arabia, then prices would spike for a very short time.

ROBERTSON: So far, Saudi al Qaeda has killed and mutilated western oil workers on at least two occasions, but has not yet targeted oil installations. The fear is that tactic could change.

BAER: These people are perfectly capable, if they got some sort of victory in Iraq, of turning south and going after the Saudi royal family and going after the facilities. I've got no doubt about that.

ROBERTSON: With internal tensions from rising unemployment, a booming birth rate and a struggling economy, the Saudi royals carry the burden of protecting not only their oil fields, but also the world's economy.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: That was Nic Robertson, reporting from Saudi Arabia. From Jeddah on the oil industry there.

This news we're getting out of the state of New York. State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer stating what some people think they've expected for some time. Eliot Spitzer saying he indeed will run for governor of New York in 2006. He is a two-term attorney general. He has won a lot of attention nationally and across the state for going after financial institutions. No word right now from the current governor, George Pataki, if he will seek a fourth four-year term in New York. Eliot Spitzer saying his hat is in the ring, he will run for governor in 2006 in the state of New York.

SANCHEZ: Here is what is making news overseas in this morning's "World Wrap" for you. An Israeli soldier was killed in Gaza today during what's described as a routine search. A small bomb went off when a soldier entered a booby-trapped chicken coop. Four other Israelis were wounded and a Palestinian died in a firefight that followed, as well.

In Thailand, a construction worker held a knife to a boy's throat for four hours outside a school in Bangkok. The man demanded a car to take him to a bus terminal. Police ended the drama by eventually shooting the hostage-taker with rubber bullets. They seem to have shot the knife right out of his hand. The suspect is in the hospital now. Police described him as drug crazed. The boy was unharmed, thank goodness. In Australia, swarms of locusts have invaded the province of New South Wales. Driven there by drought and hot winds the insects are eating their own weight in crops each day. As you can see from the pictures the bugs are making normal activities a real challenge for the Aussies these days.

In Maryland this morning, an arson investigation and suspicions of ecoterrorism, this is after 41 upscale homes were damaged or destroyed in fires in Charles County. Officials say the arson rampage was the biggest in state history. Kelli Arena has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KELLI ARENA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Residents living in this Washington suburb say they've never seen anything like it.

DAWN PHILLIPS, RESIDENT: The sky was really bright. I mean, lit up like the sun. I thought it was too early for it to be that light.

ARENA: Officials say it appears dozens of separate fires were set. Investigators say there were incendiary devices found at the scene. Some didn't go off and could provide investigative clues.

AARON TAYLOR, DEP. STATE FIRE MARSHAL: In each of the fires we were also able to determine the cause and that was incendiary, in other words, that was arson.

ARENA: The damage is estimated at $10 million. Dozens of state, local and federal investigators are looking into whether this was an act of ecoterrorism.

TAYLOR: We have discovered no evidence at this point to give us an idea as to who may or what, if any, organization was responsible for these fires.

ARENA: Environmental activists claimed construction would damage a nearby wetlands area. Some took legal action to try to stop the development. But at least one group involved in the lawsuit says that is where the protest ended, in court.

BOB DEGROOT, ASSN. FOR GREENWAY IMPROVEMENT: The environmental groups in Maryland just aren't into things like terrorism, which is what this sounds like happened down there.

ARENA: There have been no claims of responsibility, no signature spray paintings that have been used before in ecoterror attacks. Yet law enforcement officials say it bears the marking of such attacks. Like other groups have claimed responsibility for attacking housing developments before. In fact, out of all home-grown terrorist groups, the FBI says ecoterrorists pose the greatest threat.

Kelli Arena, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: Here's that story you and I were talking about earlier. What do you do when you don't feel good and you feel but you should go to work anyway.

KAGAN: Leave your germs at home. How you could help actually your company's productivity levels by staying home.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Before we do anything else, we want to take you to California. That's the president of the United States you see right there saluting and being met by some dignitaries. This is the Miramar Air Station in California not far from the president's actual destination, which is Camp Pendleton, where he'll met with military families, marines, many of whom have lost peers in Iraq. From there, the president will have lunch with military personnel. That will also take place at Camp Pendleton. We will follow this and covering it for you. We'll bring you the speech live right here at CNN. That would be 9:35 Pacific Time, where it's taking place, 12:35 Eastern Time. Again, the speech live right here on CNN.

KAGAN: We are talking -- we are talking about the flu today and fighting the flu. As we reported earlier, Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson announcing the U.S. is buying 4 million additional flu vaccines from Canada and Germany. But even the vaccines are no guarantee that you won't get sick this winter, if you get sick, one common question is, should you go to work? Our medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen helps you answer that question.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the old days, coming into work when you were sick was a badge of honor, but these days it's kind of a badge of stupidity. Because one sick worker can infect many others and then...

ROSLYN STONE, CORPORATE WELLNESS, INC.: You go outside of your office they get others sick, they may get sick, their children get sick, their children go to school and get your children sick. It's a vicious cycle.

COHEN: This year, especially, companies are trying to get the word out, stay home if you have the flu. That's because in years past, about 60 percent of businesses offered flu shots to their employees. But this year's shortage of shots forced companies to cancel their vaccination programs, leaving workplaces more vulnerable than usual. It may sound obvious to stay home when you're sick, but one study shows 90 percent of workers come in when they don't feel well. Roslyn Stone is chairwoman for the Centers for Disease Control workplace prevention group.

STONE: And they feel the pressure to come back to work. They know their work is piling up, other people are handling parts of their workload. They think that other people might be thinking poorly of them.

COHEN: According to one online workplace poll, 20 percent of workers said they had too much work to stay home when they're sick. 24 percent came in to work sick out of loyalty. 17 percent said they were saving their sick days for an emergency. Even when people do stay home, sometimes they don't stay home long enough.

STONE: So they come back to work when in fact maybe they should be out for a week to two weeks because they are still contagious. They are still not at nearly 100 percent.

COHEN: So next time you feel a cold or the flu coming on think about leaving work. Your boss may thank you for it.

Elizabeth Cohen, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: To get your "Daily Dose" of health news online, logon to our Web site. You'll find the latest medical news, a health library and the latest information on diet and fitness. The address, cnn.com/health.

SANCHEZ: And get plenty of sleep. A check on the financial markets is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

KAGAN: And it looks like Congress got it together and it will be passing the 9/11 reform act.

SANCHEZ: Yes, Tuesday -- today.

KAGAN: Well, it's a House vote today, Senate votes tomorrow. Wolf Blitzer standing by with more on that, the compromise they reached, what's in it, what's not.

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