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American Morning

State Department Warning Americans in Japan and South Korea to Watch Out for Possible Terrorist Attack

Aired September 07, 2001 - 11:34   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.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: The State Department is warning Americans in Japan and South Korea to watch out for a possible terrorist attack.

Military affairs correspondent Jamie McIntyre is at the Pentagon -- Jamie.

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN MILITARY AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Leon, that warning went out to cover both Japan and South Korea, Americans living there the State Department saying that they had received unconfirmed information, that terrorist actions could be taken against U.S. military facilities or establishments frequented by U.S. military personnel, and warned all Americans in those countries to beware. What is not clear is the genesis of this particular warning from the State Department.

Pentagon officials telling me privately that the U.S. military forces in the region are on a routine state of alert, that the alert status was not raised because of whatever this information was. And they seemed a little unclear about why the State Department had issued the warning.

One official speculated it might having to something to do with the upcoming APEC conference that President Bush is scheduled to attend. Another official said that there has been continuing intelligence, suggesting that operatives of terrorist kingpin Osama bin Laden were looking for a public venue of which to attack U.S. military interests, or perhaps Americans abroad, and that might had had something to do with the warning. But at this point, the source of the warning is unclear. The message, though, to Americans living in -- U.S. military personnel operating in both Japan and South Korea is to be advised, there is a threat of possible terrorist activity -- Leon.

HARRIS: All right, thanks for that, Jamie.

Let me ask you before you go, what is the latest word we're getting about the retirement of some aged and venerable veterans there?

MCINTYRE: Well, yes, a distinguished war record is coming to an end today. The Army announcing that its UH-1 Iroquois helicopters, better known to people as the Huey, is going to be retired after more than a quarter of a century of service. The Huey, of course, was used in Vietnam. It is still part of the U.S. Army inventory and part of their modernization plans. Now they'll be phasing all of the Hueys out of the fleet over the next couple of years. Along with the Cobra attack helicopter. That was also a staple of U.S. forces in Vietnam. Those two helicopters being retired, as the army moves to a smaller number of types of helicopters and reduces their fleet by about a thousand, to try to save some money to get the helicopters to be better maintained and better ready for the 21st century -- Leon.

HARRIS: All right. Thank you very much, Jamie McIntyre at Pentagon.

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