Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Live Sunday
U.S. Officials Not Ready to Boost Alert Level
Aired November 17, 2002 - 17:42 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.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: We want to move on to new concerns on homeland security and criticisms of the way the Bush administration is handling it in this country. With intelligence chatter increasing about possible terrorist attacks, U.S. officials are paying attention, but they're not ready to boost the alert level yet. CNN's Frank Buckley looks at why they're holding off.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the course of just one week, hospitals in four cities were put on alert. A law enforcement bulletin suggested spectacular attacks could be coming. And a tape attributed to Osama bin Laden offered an ominous threat.
OSAMA BIN LADEN (through translator): Just like you kill us, we'll kill you.
BUCKLEY: Despite the information, the national threat level status did not change. It remained at yellow. The government's performance, a target of criticism, from elected leaders...
SEN. CHRISTOPHER DODD (D), CONNECTICUT: It looks to me as though people are trying to cover themselves here, in case something happens, they can then say, well, we warned you about all of this.
BUCKLEY: From law enforcement...
EDWARD MORRIS, BALTIMORE POLICE COMMANDER: I don't need to know if the level is orange or yellow, I need to know why it's that and what threat is to my city. Is it the same in Los Angeles as in Baltimore as is New York? So it's really -- it's not working out that well.
BUCKLEY: From the media. "The New York Times" saying that the Bush administration was issuing "chicken little alerts," that warned that "the sky was falling," that terror against the U.S. is too critical and too lethal to be handled in this ludicrous manner.
But homeland security director, Tom Ridge, defended the disseminated of the intelligence summary to local law enforcement agencies.
TOM RIDGE, HOMELAND SECURITY DIRECTOR: On a day to day basis, when we get information, we need to share with the law enforcement community or with the private sector, we're going to have to give that out. It's -- with -- sometimes it's with an abundance of caution. Sometimes it's not corroborated, and we want to go back and see if we can find it, verify it more completely.
BUCKLEY: Ridge also defended the government's decision not to raise the threat level, saying the intelligence is not specific enough.
RIDGE: If we have the specificity associated with a time, place, venue, method and means of attack, certainly we will be in a position to go out and apprehend and take action.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BUCKLEY: This week, the Bush administration is also poised to celebrate political victory on the homeland security front. That's because the Senate is expected to pass the bill that will create a new Department of Homeland Security. This's something that the president campaigned on during the midterm elections. We're told that the president's top choice for a new director of that department will be Tom Ridge -- Carol.
LIN: And despite all this chatter of al Qaeda cells around the world, the president is still insisting on traveling next week to the big NATO summit in Prague.
BUCKLEY: He will be in Prague for the NATO summit, and one thing along the lines of security, the U.S. Air Force will be controlling the air space over Prague during the NATO summit. The president is expected, while he is there, to talk about Iraq, but that is not expected to be the major focus of his visit. They're going to be talking about the entrance of seven new nations, talking about the new face of Europe. Later in the week, the president will travel to St. Petersburg to meet with the Russian president -- Carol.
LIN: All right, a busy schedule indeed. Thank you very much, Frank Buckley, live at the White House tonight.
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 November 17, 2002 - 17:42 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: We want to move on to new concerns on homeland security and criticisms of the way the Bush administration is handling it in this country. With intelligence chatter increasing about possible terrorist attacks, U.S. officials are paying attention, but they're not ready to boost the alert level yet. CNN's Frank Buckley looks at why they're holding off.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the course of just one week, hospitals in four cities were put on alert. A law enforcement bulletin suggested spectacular attacks could be coming. And a tape attributed to Osama bin Laden offered an ominous threat.
OSAMA BIN LADEN (through translator): Just like you kill us, we'll kill you.
BUCKLEY: Despite the information, the national threat level status did not change. It remained at yellow. The government's performance, a target of criticism, from elected leaders...
SEN. CHRISTOPHER DODD (D), CONNECTICUT: It looks to me as though people are trying to cover themselves here, in case something happens, they can then say, well, we warned you about all of this.
BUCKLEY: From law enforcement...
EDWARD MORRIS, BALTIMORE POLICE COMMANDER: I don't need to know if the level is orange or yellow, I need to know why it's that and what threat is to my city. Is it the same in Los Angeles as in Baltimore as is New York? So it's really -- it's not working out that well.
BUCKLEY: From the media. "The New York Times" saying that the Bush administration was issuing "chicken little alerts," that warned that "the sky was falling," that terror against the U.S. is too critical and too lethal to be handled in this ludicrous manner.
But homeland security director, Tom Ridge, defended the disseminated of the intelligence summary to local law enforcement agencies.
TOM RIDGE, HOMELAND SECURITY DIRECTOR: On a day to day basis, when we get information, we need to share with the law enforcement community or with the private sector, we're going to have to give that out. It's -- with -- sometimes it's with an abundance of caution. Sometimes it's not corroborated, and we want to go back and see if we can find it, verify it more completely.
BUCKLEY: Ridge also defended the government's decision not to raise the threat level, saying the intelligence is not specific enough.
RIDGE: If we have the specificity associated with a time, place, venue, method and means of attack, certainly we will be in a position to go out and apprehend and take action.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BUCKLEY: This week, the Bush administration is also poised to celebrate political victory on the homeland security front. That's because the Senate is expected to pass the bill that will create a new Department of Homeland Security. This's something that the president campaigned on during the midterm elections. We're told that the president's top choice for a new director of that department will be Tom Ridge -- Carol.
LIN: And despite all this chatter of al Qaeda cells around the world, the president is still insisting on traveling next week to the big NATO summit in Prague.
BUCKLEY: He will be in Prague for the NATO summit, and one thing along the lines of security, the U.S. Air Force will be controlling the air space over Prague during the NATO summit. The president is expected, while he is there, to talk about Iraq, but that is not expected to be the major focus of his visit. They're going to be talking about the entrance of seven new nations, talking about the new face of Europe. Later in the week, the president will travel to St. Petersburg to meet with the Russian president -- Carol.
LIN: All right, a busy schedule indeed. Thank you very much, Frank Buckley, live at the White House tonight.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
