Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

Flying Public More Cautious

Aired July 17, 2002 - 08:21   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.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: On a flight from Chicago to New York's LaGuardia Airport, a passenger raises an alarm after noticing some fellow fliers passing notes and changing seats on board. Before it's all over, the American Trans Air flight gets a military fighter escort into LaGuardia.

But there was no crime. Since 9/11 the flying public certainly, though, has been on edge and the government has tried to tighten security. By the way, seven people questioned last night, found to be part of a traveling entertainment group.

The question we have today, though, what's working and is anything working?

Jeff Greenfield with some insights this morning. You were recently on a flight and you found what in your case?

JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN ANALYST: Well, in my case I found nothing, which is the dog that didn't bark in the night. I mean we've been talking about all the enhanced security. You know, there's a list of about 70 things you can't bring on an airplane. And some of them make sense -- no hand grenades. I'm for that. No axes. That seems like a good idea.

HEMMER: I'll take that.

GREENFIELD: Then you have other things, like, for instance, deadly tweezers. Can't bring tweezers on a flight, right? Nail clipper, right? Can't bring that because -- and my favorite as a sometimes cigar smoker, you can't bring a cigar cutter because there's a blade in here.

HEMMER: Sure.

GREENFIELD: Well, all right. So coming back from California my wife and I decided to bring back a couple of bottles of wine. This happens not to be one of them, but it's much like this. And guess what happened? Nothing.

HEMMER: You went on board?

GREENFIELD: Of course. Because you're allowed to bring wine on board. And it suddenly occurred to me without being too demonstrative, how long would it take to turn this with one swoop into a genuinely deadly weapon, right? I mean if you had to face something on an airplane, would you rather face a cigar cutter or a broken bottle of wine? Not to mention what's in this wine, I mean what's in the bottle.

HEMMER: So you're suggesting don't bring it on board, but I would say what can you bring on board other than clothes?

GREENFIELD: I'm not suggesting -- the reason I'm not suggesting that is precisely because of that reason. It is impossible, I think, to enhance security in a method of saying, of listing everything that's potentially dangerous. Ninety-four thousand airplanes take off every day in this country, right? And trying to stop everything from coming on board a plane that could be dangerous is like what happens in a city on those days when the cops try to check trucks, say, coming into New York, and there are four hour backups. Or at the Canadian border when there were like eight and 12 hour delays.

If you try to aim at that kind of solution, I think you're doomed to failure. It's an illusion.

HEMMER: So how about this, then? Don't you think -- and a lot of us are still learning all about this, especially in the U.S., when it comes to airline security -- isn't there a sense that over time all of this will settle down and it will reach a point of rationality? Personally, I see nothing wrong with a pair of tweezers on board a plane.

GREENFIELD: Well, look, I think if they don't aim at high risk fliers, that is, people who are really dangerous, if they can't figure out a system, for instance, to link airline computers with the computers of the INS and the FBI -- you know, on September 11, a couple of those hijackers checked in under their name, the same names that were on the FBI watch list. But there was no link.

And frankly, although the word is very controversial, some kind of profiling where you actually begin to get a fix on who the more dangerous passengers are rather than slapping the bureaucratic rule in which because on a random check an 85-year-old person in a walker is subject to an enhanced security check?

HEMMER: Ari Fleischer, Al Gore, they've been checked.

GREENFIELD: Yes. I mean there's something -- and you can laugh at this or sort of bemoan it, but this is what happens when you try to impose a bureaucratic solution and your point is very well taken. If you say OK, we're going to have 100 percent security, no bottles. No bottles? You want to check everybody's doc kit for shampoo bottles? It's impossible.

HEMMER: Let me give you a quick story here. I flew back from Tel Aviv about two months ago. On board the plane not only were we given full silverware with a knife, we were also given a pair of nail clippers. Which emphasizes the point that in many cases, I don't think you should have knives on board any plane, give it, unless it's plastic, which is what they're using right now.

GREENFIELD: Well, did you fly El Al?

HEMMER: Yes, I sure did.

GREENFIELD: Well, see, that's a little different. I mean once you get on board the El Al plane, which often have armed marshals on them, you're pretty secure. But I don't think that...

HEMMER: I would agree with you but it really surprised me as an American, knowing the reputation of El Al at the time, that we would even be given this material on the plane.

GREENFIELD: I think the key is El Al has security that American airlines don't.

HEMMER: That's so true.

Thank you, Jeff.

Happy flying, by the way. Good luck next time.

GREENFIELD: Yes, thank you.

HEMMER: All right.

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