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CNN Sunday Morning
Will New Airline Security Procedures Change the Way We Travel?
Aired August 03, 2003 - 07:06 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.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Will those new procedures and warnings really change the way we travel? For that, let's bring in CNN security analyst Kelly McCann. He's joining us now from Washington.
Kelly, let's just start by asking why were these changes brought in? Is this a realistic threat? And where is this threat coming from?
KELLY MCCANN, CNN SECURITY ANALYST: Well, I'll go backwards with you, John. The threat basically comes from a couple of different sources.
Of course, there's an ongoing signals intelligence, communications intelligence and human intelligence sourcing that's been then all fusion, intelligence, bounced against what we know from Guantanamo Bay.
But also, I mean, from a targeting standpoint, it makes sense that when there are more travelers, summer vacation, you'd go into a higher target profile than you would say in another part of a year where there weren't so many travelers.
And as far as the changes that were made, they were vulnerabilities that in study and analysis, TSA, in conjunction with the FAA and other regulatory agencies and enforcement agencies identified, that could be exploited by people who would want to get on aircraft in another location, where there is less security, and then transit an area perhaps with weapons or marry up with somebody, to execute an operation on that leg of the travel.
So it's an ongoing security effort.
VAUSE: OK, just tell us. We've heard some reports in the last week or so that terrorists may plan to use things like cameras or other items which passengers are currently allowed to take on board a plane. Once again, how can airlines deal with this? And how realistic is that threat?
MCCANN: You know, John, this is a source of irritation to a lot of us in the industry because it really doesn't have to do with the implement. It has to do with the attitude and the intent. In other words, it doesn't really matter what you put in somebody's hand. If they have the intent to use a heavy object, if they have the intent to use a blunt object or a sharp object, then they're going to use that to produce violence. So it really is a much larger issue than what they might have in their hand. Now as far as putting devices in one of these cameras or something like that, all explosives, Semtex, C-4, things like that, RDX, Peten, p-e-t-e-n, which is a military explosive, they're malleable. So you can basically form them in any shape you want, but the redundancy that exists right now in airport screening, where they will basically run things through a magnetometer and sniff it, and look at you in your computer aided passenger screening system, is designed so that, you know, none of that can get through.
However, it isn't zero defect. And I don't think that it ever can be.
VAUSE: Well, I want to ask you that. It's almost two years now since 9/11. How good is the security? And where would you say are the areas that need to be improved?
MCCANN: Well, I think just driving in this morning, I heard on the radio, it was reported on a D.C. station here that a woman bypassed all the security measures, and actually got into a terminal just yesterday.
Now they shut three terminals down as a result. So hurray for them that they found that there was a person that bypassed security, but she was able to do it.
And that's going to be a dynamic ongoing situation. You're always going to have those things. But let's look at it overall, John. There are more U.S. marshals. They are not depleting the U.S. marshals as it was erroneously reported, not by our network, but by others earlier. There are better screening of people who have access at the flight line. In others words, those people who can get on the plane and could perhaps put something on a plane are vetted much -- to a much better degree now.
You have better magnetometers. You have better qualified operators. You have U.S. marshals on the flights. So all in all, travel by air is safer now than it has ever been.
VAUSE: Yes, Kelly McCann, security analyst in Washington. I still remember, Kelly, the comment that was made shortly after 9/11 that the only thing that limits the terrorists is the terrorists' imagination. So a lot of work to do. Thanks, Kelly.
MCCANN: Absolutely, John.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Travel?>
Aired August 3, 2003 - 07:06 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Will those new procedures and warnings really change the way we travel? For that, let's bring in CNN security analyst Kelly McCann. He's joining us now from Washington.
Kelly, let's just start by asking why were these changes brought in? Is this a realistic threat? And where is this threat coming from?
KELLY MCCANN, CNN SECURITY ANALYST: Well, I'll go backwards with you, John. The threat basically comes from a couple of different sources.
Of course, there's an ongoing signals intelligence, communications intelligence and human intelligence sourcing that's been then all fusion, intelligence, bounced against what we know from Guantanamo Bay.
But also, I mean, from a targeting standpoint, it makes sense that when there are more travelers, summer vacation, you'd go into a higher target profile than you would say in another part of a year where there weren't so many travelers.
And as far as the changes that were made, they were vulnerabilities that in study and analysis, TSA, in conjunction with the FAA and other regulatory agencies and enforcement agencies identified, that could be exploited by people who would want to get on aircraft in another location, where there is less security, and then transit an area perhaps with weapons or marry up with somebody, to execute an operation on that leg of the travel.
So it's an ongoing security effort.
VAUSE: OK, just tell us. We've heard some reports in the last week or so that terrorists may plan to use things like cameras or other items which passengers are currently allowed to take on board a plane. Once again, how can airlines deal with this? And how realistic is that threat?
MCCANN: You know, John, this is a source of irritation to a lot of us in the industry because it really doesn't have to do with the implement. It has to do with the attitude and the intent. In other words, it doesn't really matter what you put in somebody's hand. If they have the intent to use a heavy object, if they have the intent to use a blunt object or a sharp object, then they're going to use that to produce violence. So it really is a much larger issue than what they might have in their hand. Now as far as putting devices in one of these cameras or something like that, all explosives, Semtex, C-4, things like that, RDX, Peten, p-e-t-e-n, which is a military explosive, they're malleable. So you can basically form them in any shape you want, but the redundancy that exists right now in airport screening, where they will basically run things through a magnetometer and sniff it, and look at you in your computer aided passenger screening system, is designed so that, you know, none of that can get through.
However, it isn't zero defect. And I don't think that it ever can be.
VAUSE: Well, I want to ask you that. It's almost two years now since 9/11. How good is the security? And where would you say are the areas that need to be improved?
MCCANN: Well, I think just driving in this morning, I heard on the radio, it was reported on a D.C. station here that a woman bypassed all the security measures, and actually got into a terminal just yesterday.
Now they shut three terminals down as a result. So hurray for them that they found that there was a person that bypassed security, but she was able to do it.
And that's going to be a dynamic ongoing situation. You're always going to have those things. But let's look at it overall, John. There are more U.S. marshals. They are not depleting the U.S. marshals as it was erroneously reported, not by our network, but by others earlier. There are better screening of people who have access at the flight line. In others words, those people who can get on the plane and could perhaps put something on a plane are vetted much -- to a much better degree now.
You have better magnetometers. You have better qualified operators. You have U.S. marshals on the flights. So all in all, travel by air is safer now than it has ever been.
VAUSE: Yes, Kelly McCann, security analyst in Washington. I still remember, Kelly, the comment that was made shortly after 9/11 that the only thing that limits the terrorists is the terrorists' imagination. So a lot of work to do. Thanks, Kelly.
MCCANN: Absolutely, John.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Travel?>
