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American Morning
Americans Can Expect New Level of Terror Alert to Accompany Military Strike
Aired March 13, 2003 - 07:36 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: We want to get back to Iraq quickly now. If it comes to war, the security stakes here in the U.S. will certainly be raised. "Newsweek" magazine now reporting that Americans can expect a new level of terror, a terror alert, anyway, to accompany a military strike.
Let's get to Washington right now, the new shade of danger, and "Newsweek's" Michael Isikoff, who co-wrote the piece.
Michael, good morning.
Welcome back to A.M.
MICHAEL ISIKOFF, "NEWSWEEK": Good morning.
HEMMER: We're talking about dark orange and just so our viewers get an idea about what you're reporting, in the event of war, dark orange means extremely tight security at nuclear plants, bridges, dams and borders. National monuments may be shut down. You describe these ninja squad and snipers to patrol the U.S. Capitol.
Is this done as a precaution, Michael, or are they acting on information?
ISIKOFF: Precaution and also sort of sending a message, both to the public and to the terrorists. Look, here's the background of this. The intelligence community has been warning for months that once we go to war in Iraq, the threat environment, already higher, will be even greater. There is a widespread expectation that either Iraqi interests and/or terrorist groups, will use the opportunity to strike back against U.S. interests. And, in fact, some people expect that the threat will be much, much higher than anything we've seen in recent times.
We went from...
HEMMER: Let me stop you right...
ISIKOFF: Sure.
HEMMER: If I could just stop you. What are they talking about in terms of Saddam Hussein and plans of hitting Americans within our own borders?
ISIKOFF: Well, there has been speculation about suicide bombers. There has been information that Iraqi diplomats abroad may be planning operations against the United States. And then there is the very clear warnings from, indications from bin Laden and al Qaeda interests that they would use the opportunity to strike against U.S. interests either working in league with Iraqi intelligence or operating on their own.
Given that sort of backdrop, we went for 20 days in February at code orange. And a lot of people thought that that was sort of precursor, when we went to code orange in February, it would stay that way through war. There was an expectation, I think, in some, that we might have been going to war a lot more quickly than, in fact, we turned out to have done so. And so when we went back, we left, went back to code yellow on February 27th. Now the expectation from homeland security is that once hostilities begin, we will probably go right back to orange, but it will be a dark orange. In other words, this will be much closer to code red than we saw the last time...
HEMMER: You know, and, if, Michael...
ISIKOFF: Sure.
HEMMER: And if that's the case, you're just a notch below the highest level -- just a couple of seconds here left right now -- how long can the U.S. right now maintain that level of vigilance?
ISIKOFF: That is exactly the question that's being debated in law enforcement and security circles, that the kinds of security measures being called for and contemplated now are so strong and so costly in terms of extra patrols and overtime shifts and all that, and costs to the economy, as well, that there is a real concern that if the war drags on, it could get quite costly to the economy and to local and state governments.
As one police chief said to me, you can't stand at attention forever, and that's the concern, if this thing, if the war does drag on.
HEMMER: You can't stand at attention forever without your knees starting to bend and break and get tired.
Michael Isikoff, thanks a lot, "Newsweek" magazine, with that report there.
ISIKOFF: Thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Accompany Military Strike>
Aired March 13, 2003 - 07:36 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: We want to get back to Iraq quickly now. If it comes to war, the security stakes here in the U.S. will certainly be raised. "Newsweek" magazine now reporting that Americans can expect a new level of terror, a terror alert, anyway, to accompany a military strike.
Let's get to Washington right now, the new shade of danger, and "Newsweek's" Michael Isikoff, who co-wrote the piece.
Michael, good morning.
Welcome back to A.M.
MICHAEL ISIKOFF, "NEWSWEEK": Good morning.
HEMMER: We're talking about dark orange and just so our viewers get an idea about what you're reporting, in the event of war, dark orange means extremely tight security at nuclear plants, bridges, dams and borders. National monuments may be shut down. You describe these ninja squad and snipers to patrol the U.S. Capitol.
Is this done as a precaution, Michael, or are they acting on information?
ISIKOFF: Precaution and also sort of sending a message, both to the public and to the terrorists. Look, here's the background of this. The intelligence community has been warning for months that once we go to war in Iraq, the threat environment, already higher, will be even greater. There is a widespread expectation that either Iraqi interests and/or terrorist groups, will use the opportunity to strike back against U.S. interests. And, in fact, some people expect that the threat will be much, much higher than anything we've seen in recent times.
We went from...
HEMMER: Let me stop you right...
ISIKOFF: Sure.
HEMMER: If I could just stop you. What are they talking about in terms of Saddam Hussein and plans of hitting Americans within our own borders?
ISIKOFF: Well, there has been speculation about suicide bombers. There has been information that Iraqi diplomats abroad may be planning operations against the United States. And then there is the very clear warnings from, indications from bin Laden and al Qaeda interests that they would use the opportunity to strike against U.S. interests either working in league with Iraqi intelligence or operating on their own.
Given that sort of backdrop, we went for 20 days in February at code orange. And a lot of people thought that that was sort of precursor, when we went to code orange in February, it would stay that way through war. There was an expectation, I think, in some, that we might have been going to war a lot more quickly than, in fact, we turned out to have done so. And so when we went back, we left, went back to code yellow on February 27th. Now the expectation from homeland security is that once hostilities begin, we will probably go right back to orange, but it will be a dark orange. In other words, this will be much closer to code red than we saw the last time...
HEMMER: You know, and, if, Michael...
ISIKOFF: Sure.
HEMMER: And if that's the case, you're just a notch below the highest level -- just a couple of seconds here left right now -- how long can the U.S. right now maintain that level of vigilance?
ISIKOFF: That is exactly the question that's being debated in law enforcement and security circles, that the kinds of security measures being called for and contemplated now are so strong and so costly in terms of extra patrols and overtime shifts and all that, and costs to the economy, as well, that there is a real concern that if the war drags on, it could get quite costly to the economy and to local and state governments.
As one police chief said to me, you can't stand at attention forever, and that's the concern, if this thing, if the war does drag on.
HEMMER: You can't stand at attention forever without your knees starting to bend and break and get tired.
Michael Isikoff, thanks a lot, "Newsweek" magazine, with that report there.
ISIKOFF: Thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Accompany Military Strike>
