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CNN Saturday Morning News

America's New War: Continuing to Pick up the Pieces

Aired September 15, 2001 - 08:00   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.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody -- welcome back. I'm Paul Zahn reporting from New York this morning. You are looking at the rescue area where efforts are underway. Rescue workers there not giving up hope they might find someone trapped in the rubble although we are told they have seen no signs of life in the last three days.

Tons and tons of debris successfully moved out of this area -- tons more to go. City workers working around the clock -- many working 24 hours straight and then off 24 hours. Stories of firefighters actually getting an hour of sleep by putting cots on sidewalks as debris continues to fall from adjoining buildings.

And as we look at this skyline shot again it is interesting to note that even though smoke still billows from the crash site for the very first time you can actually make out some of the buildings that are south of where the World Trade Center once stood.

We've got a lot of support here this morning -- correspondents all over the world, help in major capitols. Bill Hemmer, as you've seen throughout the morning, will rejoin us from Jacob Javits Center where he is in the middle of a crush of people who want to volunteer their services.

Also joining me from Washington at the White House is Senior White House Correspondent John King. Actually he's high above a platform there with a beautiful view of the Capitol this morning. And Miles O'Brien will also be with us throughout the morning from Atlanta.

At this hour I wanted to bring you very quickly up to date on the latest developments in America's new war. The FBI has arrested what they call a material witness in Tuesday's attack. He is one of the people detained at JFK Airport on Thursday and CNN is told two men have -- who have detailed knowledge of the terrorist network were taken into custody in Texas.

They are on their way from New York -- to New York for more questioning. Authorities say the two men are moving the investigation forward.

Meanwhile the cockpit voice recorder has been recovered from the crash site of United Airlines Flight 93 in Pennsylvania. It was buried where the plane went down Tuesday near Shanksville. It is on its way to the NTSB in Washington for analysis. Investigators hope it will reveal exactly what the hijackers intended to do and what was said in the final minutes of the flight.

Meanwhile Congress has given President Bush authority to wage a worldwide world on terrorist. A Use of Force resolution was OK-ed with only one descending vote from Representative Barbara Lee of California.

Congress also approved $40 billion to fund the war against terrorists and to clean up and rebuild the damage from Tuesday's attack. Perhaps there's no one other than Martin Savidge this morning who can give us a better idea of what these rescue workers confront at ground zero.

Martin, good morning. What have you seen? What can we expect later today?

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, to you, Paula. We're at the intersection of Read and Greenwich Streets. This continues to be a major artery for the rescue operation that is underway. Support personnel going in, equipment going in as well.

And figures that are now starting to come out as we expected are staggering. They are now saying that the official death toll stands at 185. However, there are 4,717 people that have officially been reported as missing.

On top of that authorities say that there has been some 13,000 tons of debris that has been hauled away in 1,400 trucks and they admit that that is merely scratching the surface. They say only now really have they begun working around the perimeter of the debris field. There is still a great deal more that needs to be gone over.

In the background you may see -- and probably from where you are -- the vantage point -- that smoke continues to rise above the New York City skyline where those twin towers once stood. You may be surprised to know that it is still burning. They're still putting water on that debris field.

What has kept this fire burning experts say is a number of things -- it's a combination of jet fuel. It is a combination of everything that was in those two buildings is still in those two buildings, however, greatly compacted under a lot of pressure. And it's that pressure that is allowing the fires to burn very slowly and very hot. A lot of things are melting inside of there.

We're also hearing that the organization is becoming much better. One thing to point out that when it comes to the rescue operation -- the search for survivors -- this is going to become less and less a volunteer effort specifically on that site and more and more a job that will be handed over to the professionals.

The volunteers are needed -- they have a very specific role in helping supporting the effort but more and more of the work down there at the site of the search is going to be done by professionals. And also they have brought in a special team from the southwestern part of the United States. This is a team that is accustomed to dealing with the wildfires out west -- used to dealing with huge crowds of professional firefighters.

They're setting up showers mainly for the emergency workers and they expect on Sunday to open up the kitchens to begin serving meals for the professionals that are here.

They estimate that they will be serving about 6,000 meals a day. We started with numbers. We'll finish with one other disturbing number. On average in the City of New York before all of this they would get usually authorities say about six bomb threats a day. Since Tuesday that number has skyrocketed to on average about 100 bomb threats a day.

They warn anyone who makes a false report could face federal charges. Those charges, by the way, are a $250,000 fine and up to 10 years in prison -- Paula.

ZAHN: Martin, Bill Hemmer has been interviewing people all morning long who have been lined up for three days to volunteer in some way. You made it clear that in some of these more dangerous areas their help cannot be used. But you said that the city can use them in a supporting role. What specifically does the city need from these thousands and thousands of people who are willing to stand there for three days in a row to pitch in?

SAVIDGE: Well, it's really where do you begin to try to tell? There's all sort of things that need to be done -- the delivery of food, the delivery of supplies into the rescue area -- into the work site specifically, helping to clean up, helping to serve meals, helping to perhaps provide first aid and comfort to the rescue workers out there. It's still a dirty and difficult job for them. There are many, many areas in which volunteers are needed. And keep in mind now...

ZAHN: OK, Kathy, tell them hold the rubble pictures as I mentioned.

SAVIDGE: ...as money comes around these workers are going to be going back those volunteers that have been working so far. So it's like a new shift change that needs to come in of volunteers. They're still needed here -- Paula.

ZAHN: Martin, thanks so much for that update. Once again we're going to try to give you a close up look now at what the rescue operation looks like at this hour. Cranes and bulldozers are picking away some of the heaviest pieces of what is left of the World Trade Center. But other work is being done on a much smaller scale.

You actually have rescuers down there with plastic pails who are toiling in the muck and hundreds of volunteers continue to slosh through the tons of rubble. I think we mentioned this but it's worth mentioning again that already 10,000 tons of rubble have been removed.

Unfortunately though after another day of effort no new survivors have been found -- 124 bodies recovered with 59 identified. More than 4,700 people missing.

Among those are the husband of Wendy Doremus who joins me now. Welcome.

WENDY DOREMUS: Thank you.

ZAHN: Thank you for joining me this morning. Your husband was a photojournalist. Was he...

DOREMUS: Is a photojournalist.

ZAHN: Is a photojournalist. I know you still hold hope.

DOREMUS: Yes.

ZAHN: And you have good reason. Have the -- city officials you've spoken with say there is still a chance that your husband could still be alive.

DOREMUS: There have been a number of people that have not been identified. He was down there. I spoke to him on Tuesday morning at 10:15 and he said he was safe. He was with the firemen. And I was supposed to meet him at his studio in 20 minutes. I haven't heard from him since. I did hear -- he said he was with the firemen and I've been passing his photo -- a copy of his photo to everyone.

And somebody called me on Wednesday evening and said he had seen my husband trying to get back down there -- could be amnesia because he's not listed anywhere so far among the survivors.

ZAHN: Put his into context for this morning. Was -- is his studio downtown not far from the World Trade Center? What was he doing downtown?

DOREMUS: We live downtown. He's a photojournalist. He saw the smoke and he went to the story.

ZAHN: That would be his natural instinct.

DOREMUS: That would be his natural instinct. He left about 9:00 a.m.

ZAHN: We're going to show pictures...

DOREMUS: OK.

ZAHN: ... that you husband has taken throughout his career.

DOREMUS: Right.

ZAHN: So he has worked in many dangerous situations before?

DOREMUS: Yes.

ZAHN: Give us an idea of what he's confronted on the job? DOREMUS: He was at the Berlin Wall. He was at Gaza Strip during the intifada. He's been in Northern Ireland. He does locally floods, disasters, airplane crashes. He knows how to go to a story. I wouldn't think he'd be foolish and go beyond it.

ZAHN: He knows how to exercise caution?

DOREMUS: Yes.

ZAHN: OK, so the phone call came through at 10:15, which means what? By that time Tower I had collapsed.

DOREMUS: Actually I was trying to get him on his cell phone. And I had seen the first tower fall. And I had called him and told him. I said, "Bill, the first tower has fallen. I heard on the news that the Pentagon had also been hit. So it wasn't just a plane crash. It wasn't just an accident." I told that to him. He said he was safe with the firemen and he would meet me at his studio in 20 minutes.

ZAHN: Before we go any further I wanted to put up on the screen now...

DOREMUS: OK.

ZAHN: ... a picture that he had actually take of the World Trade Center...

DOREMUS: Right.

ZAHN: ... before this horrific attack. When was this taken?

DOREMUS: This was some years ago. He's an avid sailor. We sail the Hudson. And on his sailboat he took this one sunny summer afternoon.

ZAHN: Now at the time that your husband called you or you had this conversation and he said he was safe with firefighters do you know his exact location?

DOREMUS: I didn't ask him. He did not tell me.

ZAHN: Did he give you enough information about what he had seen to help you better determine where he was?

DOREMUS: No, he didn't tell me anything. I heard a little bit of coughing at the end of the conversation but it didn't sound as if he was in the middle of the rubble.

ZAHN: And, once again, we're going to put up a close up picture of your husband. And this is something that CNN.com would like everybody to do who is missing a family member because if you log onto their Web site and you download a picture we are hoping that doctors and nurses and triage folks who perhaps . . .

DOREMUS: Correct.

ZAHN: ... have seen some of these victims will be able to link up with family members like you.

DOREMUS: I've been trying to get his photograph everywhere in the city so that somebody might recognize him and call.

ZAHN: What have you done to find him?

DOREMUS: I have gone to St. Vincent's -- has the comprehensive list of all of the patients in the city hospitals. I have faxed his photo -- his press photo -- to all of the major agencies. I've talked to the "Photo District News." I've talked to all his press friends trying to get his photo around. I have gone to all the fire departments that I've been reading about that were down there and trying to give his photo to the firemen. And, as I said, somebody called me on Wednesday.

ZAHN: You described your husband as a very cautious and sensible man because of what he has faced on the job before. Based on what you told him about the first tower going do you think that was enough of a warning to him to get out of there?

DOREMUS: I think so. He didn't sound as if he was in danger. He does have two, you know, teenage kids and I know he wouldn't put himself in danger needlessly to get the story. He tries to get to the story, tell the story but I don't think he would try to go beyond it.

ZAHN: Other than looking at the master list that St. Vincent's has -- and I should explain to those of you who don't live in New York City -- that is the hospital where most of the patients were initially transported because it's the closest.

DOREMUS: I had no idea that in New Jersey -- a lot of the patients -- the first people who were injured were taken to New Jersey by ferry because it was a faster way to evacuate. And I have had very little information from New Jersey. I have friends who live there who have connections and I'm hoping to get there and find out.

ZAHN: We have heard these heartbreaking stories from other people we've interviewed over the last several days that told us they literally have gone from hospital to hospital in New York City to try to track down their loved ones.

DOREMUS: Right.

ZAHN: Do you -- do you need to do that now or do you think you have enough contacts in these other areas that...

DOREMUS: I'm hoping -- I don't want to hinder the rescue efforts of the doctors and the nurses so I don't want to go into the hospitals. I've been trying to go to whatever centers there are and work through the press.

ZAHN: You seem hopeful. You seem very determined. Give us a closing thought of this nightmare that you are living through and that thousands and thousands of other folks all over the world are living through this bizarre state of limbo. DOREMUS: It is a horrendous situation. We have always been New Yorkers. I love New York. This will not stop this country or this city. And I'm just hoping that everybody can work together. And they have been marvelous throughout. They're so cooperative -- all the volunteers. And I know we're going to get through this and I'm going to find my husband.

ZAHN: And the truth is you probably have more reason to have hope because you had that conversation at 10:15.

DOREMUS: At 10:15. And if he wasn't in the rubble of the first building he has to have been smart enough to leave. So we're just looking for him. And any help anybody can give us would be greatly appreciated.

ZAHN: Well, our thoughts are with you, Wendy. Good luck. Thank you...

DOREMUS: Thank you.

ZAHN: ...for sharing your story this morning.

Time to go back to Washington, D.C., which is exactly where we find John King again this morning. John?

JOHN KING, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Thank you, Paula. You will remember, our viewers will remember, one of the reasons former President Bush -- so successful in building the coalition to fight Saddam Hussein and the Persian Gulf War more than 10 years ago with strong support from moderate Arab nations that could prove critical as well this time as the current President Bush tries to build an international coalition to fight terrorism.

We are fortunate to be joined this morning live in Cairo, Egypt by Mr. Amre Moussa, a long time Foreign Minister of Egypt -- now the General Secretary of the Arab League. Good day to you, sir.

Let me start with the simple question, will the Arab nations, including your home of Egypt and a key country, Saudi Arabia, stand with President Bush if he launches military strikes against Afghanistan and the Bin Laden organization?

AMRE MOUSSA, SECRETARY GENERAL, ARAB LEAGUE: Well, thank you very much. The Arab nations do stand with the -- with President Bush, with the United States, with all other countries against international terrorism.

We are very clear in our position that we do reject any international crime of terrorism against anywhere and in particular what happened a couple of days ago against the United States.

We do understand and appreciate the stand taken by President Bush that the United States will not let go after what happened. That we do understand and appreciate. But what could be done and what should be done we stand ready to listen, to hear, to be consulted. And until now we don't have the contact or the consultations on what will be done. That is one.

Two, the -- we listened carefully to what Secretary of State Powell has said the other day about actions to be taken by the U.S. against terrorism. And he called it an all out war and not necessarily military but also economic, diplomatic, political, financial, et cetera.

I believe this kind of definition is very important and we stand ready to cooperate after proper consultations on what would be the action to come.

KING: Let me follow up on that point. So we are told by sources that in his conversation with Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia the other day President Bush was quite blunt in asking for the support of Saudi Arabia. And we understand he wants it from other Arab nations as well but Saudi Arabia are perhaps the key in cutting off financial support -- any financial support to Mr. Bin Laden and his organization. And also asking for Saudi Arabia and other Arab nations to take a tougher stance against the Taliban government in Afghanistan.

Do you believe Saudi Arabia and others will do that? And, as you answer, sir, do you believe that there is leverage to do so? That there are significant resources in the Arab world that could isolate Mr. Bin Laden?

MOUSSA: Well, Mr. Bin Laden is not -- does not represent the Arab society or our people in whatever he does. We do condemn any terrorist activities that Mr. Bin Laden would undertake or has undertaken. Therefore the actions referred to by Mr. Powell as to take actions on the financial side, on the economic side, on the diplomatic and political will always be welcomed provided we understand and know exactly what kind of actions are going to be taken.

But certainly I agree with you that to dry up the sources of support of any terrorist groups would -- should be done.

KING: Sir, I know in your conversation with Secretary of State Powell earlier in the week you raised a concern. You were worried that because many of the suspect hijackers here are of Arab descent that there would be violence against Arab Americans here in the United States. You asked the administration to speak out forcefully against that. Are you satisfied the administration has done that, sir?

MOUSSA: I am, in fact, that's why -- very much that's why -- with what Colin Powell has told me that this is the stand to be taken by the administration. And that President Bush and his help and others in the administration have undertaken to protect or to stand firm against any action on ethnic grounds.

All America -- you know, America is the collection of so many people from different origins. So we believe that Arab Americans like Irish Americans like Hispanics like all others do stand firm as Americans against what happened to the country. We do... KING: OK, sir, I need to stop you there unfortunately. Sir, I'm sorry we need to end the interview there -- we're losing our satellite time to Cairo, Egypt. My apologies to Mr. Moussa. We appreciate his thoughts though on this continuing crisis.

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