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CNN Live Today
Controversial Decision Allows UAE Company to Control Six Major U.S. Ports; Could Terrorists Attack the Economy Through the Internet?
Aired February 20, 2006 - 10:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: All morning long, we've been tracking the growing fury over port management being handed over to a company that is based in the United Arab Emirates. Several members of Congress worry that security will be compromised at the nation's six largest ports. Should you be worried?
Our security analyst Clark Kent Ervin is on "Security Watch," and joins us now in Washington. Clark, good morning.
CLARK KENT ERVIN, CNN SECURITY ANALYST: Good morning to you, Daryn.
KAGAN: Want to take a step back and a step up. The bigger question of port security, a huge problem in homeland defense, is it not?
ERVIN: There's no question about that. The volume of cargo that comes into our ports is absolutely overwhelming. Tens of thousands of cargo containers every day. And only about 6 percent of those are inspected. And, of course, that's understandable because of the volume, but that's a concern, because all the experts agree that probably the easiest and therefore most likely way for a weapon of mass destruction to be smuggled to the United States would be by sea.
KAGAN: OK, so politics aside, does the idea of this company that's owned by -- will be owned by United Arab Emirates company -- disturb you that they would be doing port security here in the U.S.?
ERVIN: It disturbs me greatly, Daryn. You know, if Tom Clancy were to write something like this in a novel, everyone would find it absolutely impossible to believe, and yet this is happening. I find it absolutely incredible.
People have to understand the background of this country, UAE. Two of the 9/11 hijackers came from the United Arab Emirates. It was a source for financing for the 9/11 terrorist attacks. UAE was one of three countries, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan being the other two, that recognized the Taliban before 9/11. And furthermore, it was a key tran-shipment country for some of the nuclear components that the Pakistani nuclear scientists A.Q. Khan shipped to Iran and to North Korea and Libya. So this is a real concern.
KAGAN: President Bush calls the UAE a leading partner in the war on terror. ERVIN: We do have good relationships with the government of UAE, but what I just mentioned about the other ties that that country has had to terrorism are also part of the record. And, therefore, it seems to me that it's disqualifying. A country like this should not be in charge of any port in the United States, and certainly not six of the largest ones that are very sensitive, indeed.
KAGAN: This particular company has been doing this since 1999. It just was owned by a British company that's now been bought by a United Arab Emirates company.
ERVIN: That's exactly right. Yesterday, for example, Secretary Chertoff was on the Wolf Blitzer show, "LATE EDITION," and he said we have to balance the twin imperatives, the paramount imperative security against the need to have a robust global trading system. Certainly, we need to have a robust global trading system, but that does not mean that our ports need to be controlled by a country with ties to terrorism.
KAGAN: Should there be no foreign control? Should no foreign company be allowed to own a company...
ERVIN: Well, Senator Mendez has introduced or will be introducing legislation to that effect, and I for one would be supportive of that. It's one thing for Britain to be in control of our ports, but it's quite another for a country like UAE to be. I myself would support that legislation.
I have got to believe that this deal is going to be revisited and I ultimately hope that it's reversed. I hope the president himself will intervene in this and that there will be a full congressional investigation.
KAGAN: We will be watching it. Is there a baby on the way in your family?
ERVIN: Yes, there is. As a matter of fact, yesterday was to have been the due date. So didn't happen. So that's why I'm here with you today.
KAGAN: OK, well, good luck to you and your wife and we'll look forward to finding out who the newest little member of the family is.
ERVIN: Thank you very much, Daryn.
KAGAN: Thank you, Clark.
ERVIN: You bet.
KAGAN: CNN "Security Watch" now turns to cyberspace and fears that terrorists could be plotting to destroy the U.S. economy through the Internet.
Our Gary Nurenberg examines that vulnerability, and what homeland security is doing about that.
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GARY NURENBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Say special forces and the image of hardened fighter's and the war on terror pops readily to mind. But special forces of a different kind recently invaded the secure basement of Secret Service headquarters in Washington to stage another kind of assault, a simulated cyber attack.
ALEX WELLEN, CNN CYBERCRIME ANALYST: Are we prepared? Most of the experts say we're not prepared.
NURENBERG: In the larger cyber exercise yet, more than 100 experts from seven cabinet level agencies, foreign governments and corporations like Microsoft and Symantec simulated the kind of cyber attack that experts believe hackers, anarchists or terrorists might be planning.
WELLEN: We haven't seen what they call a Pearl Harbor, a cyber Pearl Harbor, to date. But we know that they are capable of hitting different parts of our finance or different parts of our transportation and emergency systems.
NURENBERG: The exercise was called cyberstorm. Participants simulated online attacks on power grids, banking, finance and retail computer system, health care records and programs that control traffic on the land and in the air.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Exercises like these are good. They teach us what the limitations are, responses, and how we can do better.
NURENBERG: The computers used in the $300 million exercise were carefully segregate from the real online world to make sure the simulated attack didn't, by mistake, become real.
(on camera): Planners know a successful attack could have a devastating effect on the economy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because, you know, think about it, the Internet and Internet activities are the backbone of our modern economy.
NURENBERG (voice-over): Exactly the kind of target al Qaeda has indicated it wants to strike. And the net may be venerable.
SEN. JOE LIEBERMAN: We've taken some steps to protect ourselves from cyber attack. We've got to do more.
NURENBERG: A May 2005 government accountability office study concludes the Department of Homeland Security "cannot effectively function as the cybersecurity focal point intended by law and national policy." This month's cyberstorm exercise is part of the effort to improve. The plan is to publish results this summer.
Gary Nurenberg, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: Be sure to stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.
Another church fire set in Alabama. The latest on the investigation when CNN LIVE TODAY returns.
And a weekend of wild winter weather, and there are problems still today. Jacqui Jeras on if you need to pack an umbrella or bundle up with a coat, right after this.
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KAGAN: Our next story deals with another attempt to set a fire to a church in Alabama over the weekend. But investigators say it may not be related to the 10 other arson attacks on churches in the state. As you'll see in the video, there was very little damage done this time. Officials say that unlike the other fires, this one started when something was thrown at the building and ignited. They also say there's no evidence of a break-in, like with the other fires.
Back in, 1963 four African-American girls were killed in a Ku Klux Klan bombing at this Baptist church in Alabama. Today, the 16th Street Baptist Church becomes a national historic landmark. Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez and Interior Secretary Gale Norton are expected to attend ceremonies in Birmingham later this morning.
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KAGAN: Well this couple hasn't told anyone yet. But it's a trip they are not likely to forget. A couple of retirees moved south. A family reunion elephant style when CNN LIVE TODAY returns.
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KAGAN: You have probably heard stories about families that for one reason or another get separated, and then years later they'll find each other again. Those images of family reunions are some of the sweetest scenes that we get to show you.
In Tennessee, our Keith Oppenheim has one of those stories. In this case, we're talking about a big, big family.
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KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the remote Tennessee hills, it is the end of a long journey. After more than 600 miles, two travelers reach their new home. The door opens and it is obvious that the passengers are curious about this strange new place.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, pretty girl. How are you?
OPPENHEIM: Her name is Mini. But there is nothing mini about her. And more than 11,000 pounds, Mini gingerly steps out of the trailer. Minutes later, Mini's traveling partner Lodi (ph) joins in. After two days in a trailer, she's ready to play...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good girl.
OPPENHEIM: ...to share a drink, to show a little love.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What are you doing? Huh?
OPPENHEIM: Mini and Lodi are in their 40s. For most of their lives, they were rented out to small circuses. Lodi is a leader, a matriarch with strong influence on other elephants. And so far she seems to like her new home, the elephant sanctuary in Tennessee.
SCOTT BLAIS, CO-FOUNDER, THE ELEPHANT SANCTUARY: I think the biggest thing that we can provide for them here is the opportunity to evolve into who they are and who they're supposed to be.
OPPENHEIM: Scott Blais and Carol Buckley founded this 27,000 acre facility more than 10 years ago, so aging elephants could roam and live their lives in freedom. The sanctuary doesn't allow visitors, but it does stream live pictures on its web site. That helps with donations.
Interestingly, there are no male elephants here as they tend to be solitary and a bad fit in the tight relationships of female elephant society.
CAROL BUCKLEY, CO-FOUNDER, THE ELEPHANT SANCTUARY: They are matriarchal by nature, which means the females live their entire life with their mother's family.
OPPENHEIM: By necessity, the elephant sanctuary is in effect also a rehab center. The founders say that many elephants were neglected in circuses or zoos.
BUCKLEY: And I tell you every single elephant is labeled as bad in some way. Something about their behavior is bad.
OPPENHEIM (on camera): And they're treated that way.
BUCKLEY: And they're treated that way.
OPPENHEIM (voice-over): In fact it was allegations of mistreatment that brought Mini and Lodi and nine other elephants from the same herd to the sanctuary by order of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
They were in northern Illinois at a facility owned by the Hawthorn Corporation, a provider of circus animals with a history of problems with elephants. The U.S. Department of Agriculture charged Hawthorn with numerous violations.
(on camera): It said that from 2001 to 2003 Hawthorn repeatedly violated the Animal Welfare Act by not providing good veterinary care and by treating the elephants in such a way that they were stressed and traumatized.
In 2004, Hawthorn entered into an agreement with the USDA to pay a $200,000 fine and to donate its elephants to other facilities. (voice-over): Hawthorn officials declined to speak to CNN on camera but sent us this written statement: "Hawthorn has been focused on finding fitting homes for its elephants and ensuring that they continue to receive the best possible care."
In all, over two years, Hawthorn has released 11 elephants to the sanctuary. Carol Buckley says all of them have been exposed to tuberculosis, and so the sanctuary staff wear face masks as a precaution.
Today, in Illinois, Billy and Freida (ph) are the last to make the trip to Tennessee. The company tries to block our view, but the elephants load up surprisingly quickly and then hit the road. We follow along, stopping whenever they do for an elephant picnic.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There you go.
OPPENHEIM: Carrots, apples, bananas and hay. After more than seven hours of traveling, the two elephants get a break.
BLAIS: We're about done for the night. We're just checking on them one last time.
OPPENHEIM: In a rest area in Kentucky, Billy and Freida stand in the back of the trailer and get some sleep. In the morning, Billy gets going with a gulp of water. Freida starts the day with carrots and potatoes.
(on camera): So they're comfortable back there?
BLAIS: Oh, they're very comfortable back there. We have a heating unit that is keeping the trailer right around 60 degrees, 65 degrees.
OPPENHEIM (voice-over): Their arrival has been anticipated. Staff line up to meet the last of the Hawthorn herd. Freida is first off the trailer. A veteran of the circus, her health isn't great. She's underweight with built up dead skin all over her body.
At 53, Billy is the oldest of the herd, and she carries scars from captivity, chain marks that go an inch deep on her legs.
Freida trumpets. Normally a positive sign, but she's a little out of sorts after the trip and in no mood to share with billy. She steals part of Billy's grain.
Outside the other elephants from the Hawthorn herd play in the creek, but they sense the new arrivals. Some of them have been separated from Freida and Billy for years. They line up, crowding each other for a view.
Inside, Freida feels shy and stays behind. Billy ventures outdoors. At Hawthorn, Billy and Freida were considered aggressive, often kept apart from the other animals. So here they are reintroduced slowly to the rest of the herd, putting them in separate corrals. But clearly these elephants care for each other. The emotion easily carries over a big fence.
BUCKLEY: We weren't sure if they were going to be friendly toward each other, but look at that, I mean, they just, you know, reached over the fence, touched each other...
OPPENHEIM (on camera): There is love going on?
BUCKLEY: Oh, gosh, yes.
OPPENHEIM (voice over): It is true. An elephant never forgets. Her sisters smother Billy with affection. Moments like this make the effort worthwhile.
(on camera): How many elephants are you going to have, do you think, or do you want?
BLAIS: We have no idea.
BUCKLEY: He has no idea. I know how many.
OPPENHEIM (voice-over): With the new arrivals, Carol Buckley now takes care of 19 elephants. She says she has enough land for as many as 100.
BUCKLEY: Good girl.
OPPENHEIM: It sounds like a dream. But for Mini and Lodi and their sisters who found a better life here, it is already a reality.
Keith Oppenheim, CNN, Tennessee.
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KAGAN: Thank you, Keith. Enjoyed that story.
One more thing, a continuing trend at zoos around the country. New York's Bronx Zoo recently announced that once one or two of its three elephants die, it will shut down its elephant exhibit.
A reminder, you can see stories like that one weeknights on "PAULA ZAHN NOW" at 8:00 p.m. Eastern.
In hurricane-battered New Orleans the crowds aren't as big as usual, but revellers are still turning out for Mardi Gras. This first carnivale season since Katrina got rolling over the weekend with several parades. After a break, they got picked back up on Thursday. Some New Orleans residents who fled from the storm may feel there's little reason to celebrate this year, but city officials say Mardi Gras and the money it brings into New Orleans will help the city recover.
Another day, another country with bird flu. The question on the minds of many Americans: how much time until it turns up here in the U.S.? We'll talk about that with a World Health Organization expert. Also in the medical front, the new phenomenon of health coaches. Find out what they do, what they don't do and what they cost. The second hour of CNN LIVE TODAY begins after a quick break.
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