Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live Today

Pakistan Link in London Bombings; Keeping U.S. Transit Safe

Aired July 18, 2005 - 10:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: We are learning more today about the suspected suicide bombers in the London terror attacks. Pakistani intelligence and immigration generals tell CNN that three of the four suspects traveled to Pakistan in the year before the attacks. Investigators want to know why they made that trip. Our international correspondent Nic Robertson is following the latest developments from London.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Both Pakistani intelligence and immigration officials confirm that three of the suspected suicide bombers, the three from the Leeds area, did visit Pakistan last year. They have released passport photographs and, indeed, pictures of the three as they passed through immigration control at Karachi Airport.

Shahzad Tanweer and Mohammed Sidique Khan went to -- through Karachi Airport on November the 19th last year. They arrived on a Turkish Airlines flight. We're told they spent about a week in the Karachi area before taking a train north to the city of Lahore. We're also told that they left the country on the 8th of February this year. It's not clear what they did during their stay in Pakistan. That's what Pakistani intelligence officials are telling us.

We also understand, again, from the same officials in Pakistan, that Hasib Hussain, the youngest of the suspected bombers, entered Pakistan, again at Karachi Airport on the 15th of July last year. He flew in on a flight, on a Saudi Airlines, flight from Riyadh. And again, officials telling us they're not sure how long he stayed in the country. They're not clear on what he did inside the country. Relatives and family members in Leeds say it's perfectly normal for second, third generation Pakistanis born in Britain to go back to Pakistan to visit family members.

The British police have said that they expect to find an al Qaeda link to the bombings in London. So very likely, they will want to follow-up and find out exactly what the men were doing in Pakistan, given that in Pakistan over the last few years, a number of al Qaeda operatives have been arrested there.

Nic Robertson, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: On to our CNN "Security Watch." The London train bombings have raised new concerns about the safety of buses and trains here in the U.S. Authorities have been on high alert, watching for anything suspicious. In Seattle, Washington, train service through downtown was halted for four hours yesterday after a suspicious object was spotted in the downtown tunnel. The bomb squad blew it up. Authorities say the object turned out to be an electric transformer. The delay forced hundreds of baseball fans to find another way home.

And right now in the nation's capital, the Metro subway line is conducting an evacuation demonstration. It's all part of an overall plan to improve security there.

Officials in Washington are looking at other ways to protect those who use the Metro system. They're considering a plan to conduct random searches of passengers and bags. The question is, can authorities strike a balance between security and privacy?

CNN's Gary Nuremberg has more on that plan.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY NUREMBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When bomb squads rush to investigate a suspicious package at a suburban Washington subway stop only hours after the London bombings, passengers didn't seem to mind the delay.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Fifteen minutes. That's it.

NUREMBERG: Metro knows it's vulnerable.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Metro is the only transit system serving the nation's Capitol. We are the system that serves the bull's eye, if you will, and we need to have the best safety system in the country, if not the world, for our riders.

NUREMBERG: So the system has increased security, has replaced regular trash cans with bomb-resistant ones. Cameras monitor Metro operations. Bio and chemical detectors are supplanted by explosive- sniffing dogs. Now, Metro is considering random searches of passengers' bags, an idea some customers welcome.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's not safe. It's so easy. I could have anything in my backpack or purse.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think random searches is a good idea. Because you never know what people are carrying, you know? And I don't want to be on train if it's blown up.

NUREMBERG: Other passengers worry about the inconvenience.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think they should. It wastes too much time.

NUREMBERG: And constitutional scholars say any random search program would have to be carefully structured to deal with issues of privacy and potential discrimination.

MARY CHEH, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIV. LAW SCHOOL: It's impossible toll say to your officers, go out in the a given area and randomly search people without, you know, specific instructions. That is improper, and it wouldn't be upheld.

NUREMBERG: Some terrorism experts question the merit of random searches.

RAFI RON, NEW AGE SECURITY SYSTEM: Why go for random checking that doesn't make a lot of sense and end up checking 5-year-olds as well as 82-year-olds when none of these people have ever carried out a major attack in terrorist history?

NUREMBERG (on camera): Metro thinks that passengers should do some visual screening of their own and report the unusual.

KELLY MCCANN, CNN SECURITY ANALYST: If it's summer and someone comes in inappropriately dressed, with a very heavy jacket that might be a little too long, you've got to ask, why would that person dress that way? What could they are concealing?

NUREMBERG: Metro wants what it calls, layered security.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We think it's important to mix it up so that it's never the same. You know, there's no pattern that can be detected. We think that's very important.

NUREMBERG: Random searches? Metro says it's studying how to find a system that is both legal and effective.

Gary Nuremberg, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: And we are committed to bringing you the most reliable news about your security. Stay tuned to CNN day and night.

Checking of the markets straight ahead, plus the long wait for the wizard is finally over. A blockbuster book with unbelievable weekend numbers. Details, just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: The magic is still there. "Harry Potter and the Half- Blood Prince" cast a spell, setting another U.S. sales record over the weekend. According to Scholastic Incorporated, the book sold 6.9 million copies. That was just the first 24 hours, folks! It outdid book five in the series, "The Order of the Phoenix." That installment sold 5 million in the first day. An average selling price of $17 a copy, Americans spent $117 million Saturday on sales, continuing over the weekend.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

KAGAN: All right, Chad Myers can do better than that with the weekend forecast. Well, he had -- it's too early for the weekend forecast. Come on, guys. Cars underwater, roads washed out, and no, Emily is not to blame. We're going to tell you when it happened. And a mother crashes her car into a river with children trapped inside. It's a tragic story out of Alabama. We will have that for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTINA PARK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Where do you hang your hat if you're looking for a change of scenery? CNNmoney.com/bestplaces has your list of the top 10 best cities to live in. In the top slot, Moorestown, New Jersey for its schools, nice homes at reasonable prices, and its proximity to City of Brotherly Love, Philly, as well as easy access to the Jersey shore and a decent drive to New York City. Bainbridge Island, Washington, slides into second. Naperville, Illinois rounds out the top three.

For the rest of the list, click on over to CNNmoney.com/bestplaces. While you're there, you can configure your ideal place to live. Rank what's important to you: crime rate, affordability, pollution, culture, access to quality health care and we'll serve up your dream cities. So get moving. If you need a reason to stay, type in your city or state to see how it stacks up against other cities in the U.S. But don't take our word for it. Whether you're looking for home cheap home or a new adventure, CNN.com/bestplaces does all the work for you. We've got everything you need to move, except the bubble wrap, of course.

I'm Christina Park from the dot-com desk.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: A 250-acre wildfire is burning out of control along the San Pedro River, north of Tucson, Arizona. Three homes are reported destroyed and a mobile home park in Dudleyville has been evacuated.

In Jamesburg, New Jersey, more than 100 people were evacuated Sunday after thunderstorms caused creeks to rise and roads to close. There was some flash flooding. High humidity is said to be adding to the misery there.

(WEATHER REPORT)

KAGAN: All right, let's go ahead and take a look at other stories making news coast to coast.

The bodies of two young children have been recover from an Alabama river. Authorities say the children were trapped inside of a submerged car. That car driven by the children's mother, crashed into the river on Saturday. The mother escaped from the car and was rescued by some men nearby.

A youth baseball coach is charged with offering a player $25 to hit a disabled boy with a ball. The Pennsylvania boy was hit in the head and groin with a baseball and didn't play in the game. Witnesses say the coach didn't want the boy to play because of his mental disability. The coach's attorney calls the allegations totally inaccurate and says his client is innocent.

And the baby who nearly died in a building collapse is now home from the hospital. She's adorable. We were following the story life last week. You might remember the New York City rescue effort that we covered live last Thursday. The seven-month-old girl pulled from the rubble of the former supermarket. Look how good she's doing now? Four other people were injured in that collapse. And happy parents there.

Eric Rudolph's victims have their chance to confront the confessed bomber this morning. Rudolph's sentencing hearing began about 20 minutes ago in Birmingham, Alabama. He will also have an opportunity to speak today. It's not certain whether he will. Rudolph pleaded guilty in April to setting off a remote controlled bomb outside a Birmingham women's clinic in 1998. The blast killed a police officer.

The explosion also critically wounded a clinic nurse, Emily Lyons. She lost her left eye. She no longer is physically able to work. And she says she plans to tell Rudolph today that his crimes only made her stronger. Rudolph's sentencing for three Atlanta area bombings is set for next month. One of those attacks, at 1996 Olympic Games, killed a woman and injured more than 100 people. Under Rudolph's plea agreement, he will receive four life terms without parole for his crimes.

Emily Lyons spoke to CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING" last hour. She tells CNN she does believe that she thinks Rudolph deserves the death penalty.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

EMILY LYONS, CLINIC BOMBING SURVIVOR: I feel very strongly he did not and is not getting the punishment he deserved. He meticulously planned all of these bombs, and he watched at the clinic that day when he attempted to kill me and indeed did murder Officer Sanderson. So he watched his handiwork that day, and that is cruel.

So I believe the bombings that he has done, the destruction, the deaths that he's caused, they deserve the death penalty. So I think I'm getting cheated out of part of the process here. I understand why the plea was agreed upon. It doesn't mean that, you know, I feel real good about it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: You may hear more from Emily Lyons again in the next hour. She might come outside that courthouse in Alabama and speak after she makes her statements in the courtroom.

Time to check the time around the country. It is 10:51 in the nation's Capitol. That's where we're minutes away from a news conference with President Bush and India's prime minister. And it is 9:51 in Cancun, Mexico. That's where clean-up after Hurricane Emily is underway, up next. It started out with a simple picture, but has become much more. Jeanne Moos shows us how some Americans are delivering a message to terrorists. The message -- we are not afraid.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Well, here's a good answer back. A Londoner has a Web site answer to terrorists who struck his city 11 days ago, and thousands of other people are also on that message.

CNN's Jeanne Moos has a story of fighting back.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Want to tell terrorists that you're not afraid? Not afraid at all? Pah, so not afraid. Let your toes do the talking. Spell it out with alphabet soup.

ALFIE DENNEN, CREATOR, WERENOTAFRAID.COM: It's such a simple way of getting the message across that's quite a deep message.

MOOS: Londoner Alfie Dennen dreamed up the web site werenotafraid.com right after the bombings. Since then, over 11,000 photos have been submitted from all over the world, a rush of photos from Mt. Rushmore to Hollywood.

DENNEN: I did it at first because it was a really personal kind of effect on me. You know my friend was involved.

MOOS: This friend, who took his own picture fleeing one of the underground bombings, Dennen reacted by posting this photo of himself. And look where it went from there, from home-made signs to elaborate graphic design.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That just sums it up, man.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Terrorist Advisory. We're not afraid.

MOOS: The sky's the limit. Photos pour in, sometimes at a rate of five or six a minute. Baby pictures are big, but not any bigger than pets. It seems as if the entire animal kingdom is free from fear, from fluffy, to super squirrel. Do I look afraid? Do I look afraid? Do we look afraid? New Yorker Richard Ghazarian doctored his driver's license to reach out to London the way London reached out to New York after 9/11.

RICHARD GHAZARIAN: What a better way to show who you are and where you're from than your driver's license?

MOOS: Pregnant women are not afraid. Even fetuses are showing remarkable courage. Middle fingers seem to be getting a lot of exercise, even the littlest of middle fingers. Dennen and a dozen of his friends manage the site. Editing out anti-Muslim hate e-mail. Does he think his site makes a difference to the terrorists?

DENNEN: No. No. I think it makes a difference to us.

MOOS: Dennen even quit his job at a streaming video company to devote himself to the site. It's identical in concept to another Web site. Remember "Sorry, Everybody," when those who voted against George Bush apologized after his re-election?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It says, "Sorry, World, We Tried."

MOOS: The creator of that site contacted Dennen.

DENNEN: You know, he e-mailed me and he said, you biting my style? I said, yes, you were a total inspiration.

MOOS: Many use humor to defy the terrorists.

DENNEN: The Scared-O-Meter. Terrorists, squirrels, paper bags, flying, spiders.

MOOS: And remember the Iraqi information minister who told the opposite of truth? You have my word, they are all very, very afraid. Despite Dennen's sign, he's frightened by his own Web site.

DENNEN: It's frightened me because it's the huge amount of attention.

MOOS (on camera): But I'm afraid, afraid that's all we have time for except for one final photograph.

DENNEN: He was in the carriage which had a bomb in it.

MOOS (voice-over): In the middle of the night, this photo of someone named Mark arrived.

DENNEN: He sent in an image with stitches on his head, sutures on his head, just with we're not afraid.

MOOS: Mark and Dennen ended up talking.

DENNEN: I told him that he was the bravest person I'd ever spoken to and he just went off kind of laughing.

MOOS: Laughing away terror seems to help. The contents of our diapers are scarier than you. Take that, terrorists!

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Jeanne, don't you be afraid. We will also make time for your excellent stories.

You might hear a similar message in just a few minutes. Two sisters from Tennessee who were injured in the London bombings. They are being treated at Duke University Medical Center. A news conference, taking place there right now. That's their mother in Knoxville, Tennessee talking about her daughters' recoveries. And more inspiration from a couple that hands out special books to some special kids in honor of their special son. I'll be speaking with them about their work and their personal story, coming up as the second hour of CNN LIVE TODAY begins right now.

Let's take a look at what's happening "Now in the News." President Bush welcomes the prime minister of India to the White House. The two leaders are expected to discuss several key issues, including India's home for a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council. In about 15 minutes, we'll take you live through a joint news conference with the two leaders.

There are new developments in the London terror investigation. CNN has learned three of the four suspected suicide bombers traveled to Pakistan last year. Investigators are now looking into why they made those trips. All three men were British citizens of Pakistan origin, born in the United Kingdom.

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