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CNN Sunday Morning

Security Heightened For Fourth of July

Aired June 30, 2002 - 10:01   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.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: As Independence Day approaches, there is a heightened security about the possibility of a terrorist attack. We begin this hour with CNN law enforcement analyst Mike Brooks.

If you have any questions, you can e-mail to us right now. We're monitoring the computer here at wam@cnn.com. We'll bring them right to you, or actually we'll try to answer them right now as Mike and I are talking. Good morning.

MIKE BROOKS, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Good morning.

PHILLIPS: All right, let's talk first of all about what's happening in Washington, D.C. You were talking earlier about that, just the heightened security and the extra patrols.

BROOKS: We're just going to be -- you've got a number of different police departments, 21 different police departments in Washington, D.C. I can guarantee you just about everyone of them is going to be working that day.

You'll have close to 2,000 officers on the Mall itself, and around the Mall in the U.S. Capitol building you're going to have double snow fences, you know, the little red finances you see all the time, usually in Washington. They're going to have about 20 checkpoints around the different perimeters they have set up.

So, it's going to be -- people are going to have a lot of patience, they're going to be checking coolers, back packs. So if there's something you don't want to be found, don't bring it to the Mall on the Fourth of July.

And you're also -- the FBI is also going to be prestaged. They're going to have some of their assets prestaged. SWAT, their national Capitol response team, they can monitor weapons of mass destruction: chemical, biological, radiological. And don't be surprised if there's also some monitoring going on of the air in Washington, around the -- around the Mall area. That wouldn't surprise me at all either.

PHILLIPS: Well, on that note. This first e-mail that came across, and you and I were talking about this. It comes from Dale. He says, "Hope you can pass this on to someone who can look at it, if they haven't already. Has anyone looked into fireworks as a way to spread weapons of mass destruction? Deliver them to people all over the U.S. at almost the same time, even though the effects may not be seen for days."

BROOKS: Well, most of the fireworks companies that the government has been using for some of the large displays in the country, they've been using them for years. The Grucci brothers and then other companies such as that, are very small, independent companies.

Also the days prior to that, when they're setting the fireworks up in Washington and New York city, the bomb squads from those police departments are there right along with the people from the fireworks company, making sure that everything is done properly, and making sure that they are safeguarded. And they're guarded -- once they bring it in, they put it them on the barges, they set them at the base of the monument. Also in New York city, on the barges, they're guarded 24 hours, seven days a week to make sure something like this does not happen.

PHILLIPS: All right, e-mail No. 2. This comes from Dennis: "How will the Civil Air Patrol, the Auxiliary of the USAF, be used in homeland security?"

BROOKS: That's a good question. The Civil Air Patrol is another -- it's a more eyes and ears in the air, if you will. I equate the Civil Air Patrol similar to the Coast Guard Auxiliary in the water. During the holiday seasons like this, you're going to see Coast Guard, and you're also going to see Coast Guard Auxiliary, which are citizens like you and me that have extra training, that possibly were in the Coast Guard before, that are out there helping to enforce some of the maritime laws, and some of the boating safety laws.

But the Civil Air Patrol can also be used in the same way. They're used for search and rescue in areas like Arizona, Utah, Colorado, when planes are missing, people are missing. Again, they're another useful tool and a way that citizens can help to volunteer, as the president's been talking about. Volunteerism is strong, that's another way that people can volunteer.

PHILLIPS: OK, Dan Black (ph) wants to know, from Chicago: "Why are we soft on Syria, Lebanon, Iran and the Saudis?"

You spent a lot of time in Saudi Arabia.

BROOKS: Yes, I spent time there in 1996 after the bombing of the Khobar Towers complex. And back then there was talk that the Saudis weren't being totally cooperative. Well, I have to agree with them on a certain extent.

Now, I think we have been tough on Iran, we've been -- all the sanctions we have against them in Syria, Lebanon -- here in the United States, we've been trying to cut the funding of Hezbollah, which is based in Lebanon. We've cut their funding, we've put sanctions against them, even put people in jail and deported them out of the U.S. for supporting terrorism in, you know, in Lebanon, Syria.

PHILLIPS: Ken, United States Marine Corps, you know this is going to be hard core: "I am very upset at all the talk I hear about stepping up security on the 4th. Security is a 24 hour, 365 day a year job. 9/11 was not a holiday. We're becoming complacent in degrading security. Why have we degraded security? Because nothing has happened in so long. We stood down the jets and could have had another plane crash. Why must we always be reactive instead of proactive?"

He makes a strong point.

BROOKS: He sure does and I think on the proactive side of things, that's what we're talking about, with the reorganization of the FBI.

But one of the things, too, you know, I say this all the time: Americans traditionally will become complacent if something doesn't happen -- if something doesn't happen six months to a year down the road after a major event, people kind of get lulled back into a false sense of security. I say that all the time.

Sometimes we need to be poked with a stick. People in Europe, you know, in England they live with the threat of terrorism all the time. Same as in Israel. And I think things have changed since 9/11 and Americans are going to have to change the way they think things, and they're going to have to have more of a security mind-set. And complacency can get you killed.

PHILLIPS: All right, Margaret wants to know: "When are we going to stop issuing visas to persons living in countries on the terrorist watch list. According to the State Department, 50,000 visas were issued to Middle Easterners in the six months following 9/11."

We can't confirm those numbers, but this is what Margaret is writing to us.

BROOKS: Well, they're taking much more scrutiny on the front end of things, at the U.S. Embassies in the different countries. They're not just giving visas out the way they used to. They're also -- there's a number of countries where we had a visa waiver program, such as Germany, England.

They still can travel freely within those countries, but they are scrutinizing much more -- much more scrutiny of the people they're giving visas to.

And you look at the countries that are on the -- that are considered to be state sponsors of terrorism: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Sudan, North Korea and Cuba. You're not getting visas -- people from those countries are not getting visas to come to the United States.

PHILLIPS: All right, when you think about what happened at the Olympics, now I can relate. This e-mail coming across from Candice (ph) right now: "I'll be attending the Atlanta, Georgia, Fourth of July baseball game with the Braves." I'm going to be there, too. Candice I'll be looking for you. "What are the chances of terrorists trying to make an attack against the stadium?"

It's true, we think about sporting events, gathers a lot of people...

BROOKS: Sure, there have been movies made about it...

PHILLIPS: "The Sum of All Fears."

BROOKS: Exactly.

PHILLIPS: There you go.

BROOKS: Exactly. And there's always that possibility. But it's just like at the Fourth of July celebrations, people are going to have to be vigilant, people are going to have to realize if they see something, an unattended package, to report it to the police, report it to security personnel there.

Also, coming to the game, make sure you get there early, because I'm sure that they will be scrutinizing people's packages and backpacks. They tell you don't bring backpacks and coolers, and those kind of things.

You know, just -- if there's any problem at all, go on the Web site for the Atlanta Braves and they can tell you what kind of items are prohibited and what not to bring to the game. And allow yourself enough time. And don't get mad at the security personnel and the law enforcement people, they're there doing a job and they are there to protect them.

PHILLIPS: Good point. Also, a side note, you probably know about this, but last year I did a story on the weapons of mass destruction team with the National Guard, and they practiced -- they used the Braves stadium as a place to practice so, you know, that's even a little added bonus for the folks coming here.

BROOKS: Absolutely, I know that morning -- I remember when it was going on...

PHILLIPS: OK, you remember the training? It was incredible. The helicopters and the ground troops, the whole bit.

BROOKS: The folks at (UNINTELLIGIBLE) they do a good job and that's one of the -- region four team, if I'm not mistaken. And they have exercises like that all around the country. The National Guard, they do an excellent job, especially with their response teams.

PHILLIPS: All right, Mike Brooks, thanks again.

BROOKS: Kyra, good to see you.

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