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American Morning
Anthrax Terror
Aired September 30, 2003 - 09:15 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 ANHCHOR: Two years ago today the terror began on anthrax. A photo editor at the "Sun Tabloid" in Florida, Bob Stevens, fell ill and later died of anthrax poisoning. All this in the shadow of 9/11, in the weeks and days afterwards. He was the first victim in a series of attacks. Four others would later die before it stopped as mysteriously as it all began. Twenty-four months later, where are we on the anthrax matter?
Judith Miller has been covering this story at "The New York Times" and is our guest now here on AMERICAN MORNING.
Nice to see you. Where are we? Basic question on this matter.
JUDITH MILLER, "THE NEW YORK TIMES": We're still wrapped in mystery. We still don't know the perpetrators. We know who carried out 9/11. We don't know who carried out what we call 5/11. That is a reference to the five people of the 11 who died who were infected with pulmonary anthrax.
HEMMER: You know this issue as well as anyone. Why is it so difficult to pin this down?
MILLER: It's partly inherent in the use of a biological weapon. These weapons take a long time to take effect. You're exposed to anthrax, and then you contract the disease several days later. That gives the perpetrator a chance to get away. If you send anthrax in a letter, you have a lot of time to cover your tracks and get away. That's why the use of biological weapons has long concerned federal law enforcement officials.
HEMMER: Some people are saying the lack of an arrest in this case only fuels the fire for terrorists overseas watching from afar.
MILLER: Well, I think it's just can you not argue with the fact that Al Qaeda, for example, was a group -- terrorist group that was watching very carefully the United States and watching how it reacted to various challenges. And the inability to solve this crime clearly worries law enforcement officials, because it gives terrorists ideas about how to hurt America.
HEMMER: There is a theory floated a while back that came up again this week. I know you're familiar with it. That perhaps the person who is responsible was doing this as a wake-up call, not to hurt or kill anyone, but just to make people aware that the system has flaws and holes. Do you buy that?
MILLER: Well, I think the FBI buys that, and this is a theory which has constantly re-emerged, because since they seem unable to find the perpetrator, at least charge the perpetrator, the notion is that because the person who sent the envelopes sealed them and said, take penicillin now, the person might have been attempting to alert Americans to the danger of bioterrorism. It fits in with the theory about who might have done this.
HEMMER: Let's talk about another mystery, WMD in Iraq right now. David Kay is going to issue this report possibly this week. We're told there is not, let's say, a whole lot of conclusive evidence in there regarding the hunt right now and the search in Iraq. You were there during the war. You've written about it extensively. Some people have criticized some of the reports you've given out based on what's been found and what's not been found. What do you think we can anticipate based on this finding of David Kay so far?
MILLER: I think as my colleagues and I reported last week, the report will be inconclusive. But so far, it appears that Mr. Kay has not found any actual weapons of mass destruction. That is to say biological or chemical. Because nobody thought he was going to find nuclear weapons. No one assumed Iraq had nuclear weapons. But I think what Mr. Kay is saying is that this kind of investigation takes a long time. It takes a long time to get people to come forward and talk honestly about what they did or did not do. And the fact of the matter is Saddam Hussein is still alive, presumed to be alive and is still out there. And the government believes -- and I'm not sure if this is accurate -- that many people are simply frightened to come forth until he is dead or under arrest.
HEMMER: What do you make of this -- or just accounted for simply. What do you make of this "Time" magazine report that now suggests that perhaps this just all just falsified from the beginning, Saddam Hussein was perhaps lied to by the people who worked under him to keep him pacified? Is there truth to this, do you believe or not?
MILLER: You know, I think right now you have to look at a wide variety of theories. It is a great mystery. What happened to the WMD that not only the Bush administration, but senior officials in the Clinton administration believed existed. I mean, many people say it could have never -- maybe the weapons never existed. Well, we know that isn't true, because the U.N., UNSCOM, Said they did. And largely the Clinton administration, the Bush administration, depended on international inspector numbers about unaccounted for weapons, and that's what the inspectors are trying to -- the American inspectors are now trying to find.
HEMMER: In a world or two, based on the sources you have right now on this story, are they convinced that they will find them and account for them?
MILLER: The administration maintains that it is still convinced that it will find weapons of mass destruction. I think the experience that we've had so far, and certainly that I had on the ground, raises some questions about whether or not that is so.
But what we do know about Iraq is that it had an extraordinary mechanism for concealment. That is, they were really good at hiding things, in plain English. And it took five years, in between 1991 and 1995, to get them to admit that they had a biological program that included weapons. So when the administration says, patience, you need patience in this kind of hunt, that's what it's referring to.
HEMMER: From the "New York Times," Judith Miller. We'll talk again, OK. Nice to see you again on this side of the world.
MILLER: Very good to be back.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired September 30, 2003 - 09:15 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANHCHOR: Two years ago today the terror began on anthrax. A photo editor at the "Sun Tabloid" in Florida, Bob Stevens, fell ill and later died of anthrax poisoning. All this in the shadow of 9/11, in the weeks and days afterwards. He was the first victim in a series of attacks. Four others would later die before it stopped as mysteriously as it all began. Twenty-four months later, where are we on the anthrax matter?
Judith Miller has been covering this story at "The New York Times" and is our guest now here on AMERICAN MORNING.
Nice to see you. Where are we? Basic question on this matter.
JUDITH MILLER, "THE NEW YORK TIMES": We're still wrapped in mystery. We still don't know the perpetrators. We know who carried out 9/11. We don't know who carried out what we call 5/11. That is a reference to the five people of the 11 who died who were infected with pulmonary anthrax.
HEMMER: You know this issue as well as anyone. Why is it so difficult to pin this down?
MILLER: It's partly inherent in the use of a biological weapon. These weapons take a long time to take effect. You're exposed to anthrax, and then you contract the disease several days later. That gives the perpetrator a chance to get away. If you send anthrax in a letter, you have a lot of time to cover your tracks and get away. That's why the use of biological weapons has long concerned federal law enforcement officials.
HEMMER: Some people are saying the lack of an arrest in this case only fuels the fire for terrorists overseas watching from afar.
MILLER: Well, I think it's just can you not argue with the fact that Al Qaeda, for example, was a group -- terrorist group that was watching very carefully the United States and watching how it reacted to various challenges. And the inability to solve this crime clearly worries law enforcement officials, because it gives terrorists ideas about how to hurt America.
HEMMER: There is a theory floated a while back that came up again this week. I know you're familiar with it. That perhaps the person who is responsible was doing this as a wake-up call, not to hurt or kill anyone, but just to make people aware that the system has flaws and holes. Do you buy that?
MILLER: Well, I think the FBI buys that, and this is a theory which has constantly re-emerged, because since they seem unable to find the perpetrator, at least charge the perpetrator, the notion is that because the person who sent the envelopes sealed them and said, take penicillin now, the person might have been attempting to alert Americans to the danger of bioterrorism. It fits in with the theory about who might have done this.
HEMMER: Let's talk about another mystery, WMD in Iraq right now. David Kay is going to issue this report possibly this week. We're told there is not, let's say, a whole lot of conclusive evidence in there regarding the hunt right now and the search in Iraq. You were there during the war. You've written about it extensively. Some people have criticized some of the reports you've given out based on what's been found and what's not been found. What do you think we can anticipate based on this finding of David Kay so far?
MILLER: I think as my colleagues and I reported last week, the report will be inconclusive. But so far, it appears that Mr. Kay has not found any actual weapons of mass destruction. That is to say biological or chemical. Because nobody thought he was going to find nuclear weapons. No one assumed Iraq had nuclear weapons. But I think what Mr. Kay is saying is that this kind of investigation takes a long time. It takes a long time to get people to come forward and talk honestly about what they did or did not do. And the fact of the matter is Saddam Hussein is still alive, presumed to be alive and is still out there. And the government believes -- and I'm not sure if this is accurate -- that many people are simply frightened to come forth until he is dead or under arrest.
HEMMER: What do you make of this -- or just accounted for simply. What do you make of this "Time" magazine report that now suggests that perhaps this just all just falsified from the beginning, Saddam Hussein was perhaps lied to by the people who worked under him to keep him pacified? Is there truth to this, do you believe or not?
MILLER: You know, I think right now you have to look at a wide variety of theories. It is a great mystery. What happened to the WMD that not only the Bush administration, but senior officials in the Clinton administration believed existed. I mean, many people say it could have never -- maybe the weapons never existed. Well, we know that isn't true, because the U.N., UNSCOM, Said they did. And largely the Clinton administration, the Bush administration, depended on international inspector numbers about unaccounted for weapons, and that's what the inspectors are trying to -- the American inspectors are now trying to find.
HEMMER: In a world or two, based on the sources you have right now on this story, are they convinced that they will find them and account for them?
MILLER: The administration maintains that it is still convinced that it will find weapons of mass destruction. I think the experience that we've had so far, and certainly that I had on the ground, raises some questions about whether or not that is so.
But what we do know about Iraq is that it had an extraordinary mechanism for concealment. That is, they were really good at hiding things, in plain English. And it took five years, in between 1991 and 1995, to get them to admit that they had a biological program that included weapons. So when the administration says, patience, you need patience in this kind of hunt, that's what it's referring to.
HEMMER: From the "New York Times," Judith Miller. We'll talk again, OK. Nice to see you again on this side of the world.
MILLER: Very good to be back.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
