Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports

New Terror Alerts Emerge; How Much Life is Left in al Qaeda?

Aired May 21, 2002 - 17:00   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.
WOLF BLITZER, HOST: Now on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS, a new alert, why New York is now on notice. The mounting chorus of warnings reaches a crescendo.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COLIN POWELL, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: The terrorists are trying every way they can to get their hands on weapons of mass destruction, whether radiological, chemical, biological or nuclear.

DONALD RUMSFELD, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: And they will not hesitate one minute in using it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: How much life is left in al Qaeda? I'll ask CNN's terrorism analyst Peter Bergen just back from Kabul and Islamabad.

What did the government know before September 11th? Closed-door meetings on Capitol Hill, one of them right now.

And as America heads back to the beaches, will this be another summer for sharks? We'll take you inside a shark tank and get the inside word from an expert.

It's Tuesday, May 21st, 2002. Hello, I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington, and we begin with a new terror threat. Landmarks such as the Statue of Liberty may be the next terror target. Sources say uncorroborated information from detainees has led the FBI to alert authorities in New York City. Security has been stepped up around well-known sites ahead of the Memorial Day weekend.

You're looking at a live picture of the U.S. Capitol as a Senate Committee meets behind closed doors with the FBI director, Robert Mueller, and Kenneth Williams. He's the agent who wrote that now- famous memo about Middle Eastern men at flight schools in the United States and their possible ties to Osama bin-Laden. No action was taken on that pre-September 11th warning, and lawmakers want to know why.

There were warnings today that future attacks may be far worse with Secretary of State Colin Powell noting that terrorists are seeking nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction, and the defense secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, saying they will acquire and use deadly chemicals, germs and radiation.

Let's go straight to the developing story about a possible New York City terror threat, a threat to those landmarks in New York City. CNN's Maria Hinojosa joins us now live from New York -- Maria.

MARIA HINOJOSA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, New Yorkers have been on edge since this weekend when reports first began to surface about another round of possible attacks. This information causing perhaps more concern, but some mixed signals as well.

Now the statement we got from the NYPD is saying that they did, in fact, receive information from the FBI about general threats to New York City, that they are taking all necessary precautions, communicating with state and federal agencies, and that, of course, they do not comment on any details relating to their response to these possible threats.

The NYPD is telling us that they did receive information from the FBI about specific threats against the Brooklyn Bridge and the Statue of Liberty, that, in fact, they were more closely scrutinizing cars coming in and out of the Brooklyn Bridge and throughout all of the other bridges in New York City, but that the tunnels have been on high alert since September 11th.

We're told by our NYPD sources that the information that they got from the FBI actually is normal information that they get from these federal sources. So it seems that the NYPD is telling us that this is normal information, that they are looking more closely into it, that New York, though, is not on a heightened state of alert across the city, but that there is more closely being scrutinized what is happening with this information that they're getting from detainees, unclear where those detainees are, whether they're in Guantanamo or in other parts of Afghanistan or the world at this point. So it's a difficult moment for New Yorkers as we try to balance the information that we're getting from both the FBI and the NYPD -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Especially, Maria, coming on the eve of the Memorial Day weekend. Thanks to Maria Hinojosa for joining us.

And to help us put this new terror threat into some sort of further perspective, let's sort out the possible ramifications. We're going to stay in New York, speak to Mike Brooks. He's a CNN security consultant.

Mike, thanks for joining us. Well, give us your perspective. How concerned should people in the New York City area be?

MIKE BROOKS, CNN SECURITY CONSULTANT: Well, again, Wolf, as Maria said, this is information that has not been corroborated. This is information about possibly the Statue of Liberty and possibly the Brooklyn Bridge. Where is it coming from? It's coming from the detainees. Are the detainees doing this just to push the right buttons of Americans coming up on a holiday weekend? There's a possibility of that. But they still have to be vigilant in what they do, going about their places of business, going to the shopping mall, and going to the beach during the holidays. It's not specific, but I can guarantee you right now that the FBI joint terrorism task force here in New York City in conjunction with the New York Police Department and the Port Authority and other federal agencies are out right now beating the bushes in New York City with their sources trying to find out if they have any additional information that they can add to this to see if they can draw any kind of a link to find out whether these threats are credible or not.

BLITZER: When I spoke to my sources at the FBI earlier today, Mike, they told me that this information could have come from detainees, maybe even from some documents that were found in Afghanistan. It went up, though, to the joint terrorism task force, and they made a decision to make the information available to the NYPD, the New York City Police Department, and the New York City Police Department made the decision to issue this alert to the public at large. Is that wise on the eve of a Memorial Day weekend to in effect potentially panic New Yorkers?

BROOKS: Well, I think it is, Wolf. I think that the New York City Police Department would be remiss if they had some information such as this, especially if we find out that it is true that it is against the Brooklyn Bridge and the Statue of Liberty. They would be remiss if they didn't put this information out.

Again, just a kind of vigilance alert, if you will, to the people of New York. They'd be remiss if they didn't, because I think they couldn't live with themselves if something did happen and they hadn't let people know. And, again, you said the information is coming from possibly information they got in Afghanistan. Information comes from human sources, signals intelligence, wiretaps, satellite imagery, and it also comes from videotapes, books, papers that they found in some of the places in Afghanistan.

BLITZER: Mike Brooks, our CNN security analyst, always with good inside information and good perspective. Thanks for joining us.

And the warnings keep on coming about the threat of more terrorist attacks and the limited ability of the government to stop them. The defense secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, added his voice to the chorus earlier today.

Here's CNN's senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): While the U.S. government has no new terrorist threats that are both credible and specific, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is the latest Bush administration official to issue an ominous warning.

RUMSFELD: Terrorist networks have relationship with terrorist states that have weapons of mass destruction, and that they inevitably are going to get their hands on them, and they would not hesitate one minute in using them.

MCINTYRE: This week, officials have warned about everything from Palestinian-style suicide bombings to the possibility al Qaeda might rent apartments to blow them up. Bush the national terrorism alert status remains in the yellow or elevated because all of the intelligence is vague.

TOM RIDGE, U.S. HOMELAND SECURITY DIRECTOR: When we get specific information with regard to a terrorist threat, we will share it. It may not be actionable -- and again, this is a very difficult environment for Americans to accept.

MCINTYRE: One problem is there are hundreds of nightmare scenarios for which the U.S. is unprepared.

SEN. HERB KOHL, (D) WISCONSIN: No security whatsoever takes place on chartered aircraft, which would allow a terrorist to charter a large aircraft, board with his friends, carry on luggage with explosives, and use that aircraft as a weapon against innocent civilians.

MCINTYRE: But even as security is tightened, administration officials continue to warn it will never be enough.

RUMSFELD: It is physically impossible to defend at every time in every place against every conceivable technique. There is no way to do it.

MCINTYRE: The White House insists the recent spate of official warnings is not intended to deflect criticism of the handling of pre- September 11th intelligence.

ARI FLEISCHER, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: There has been a recent increase in the chatter that we've heard in the system, and that was reflected in what they've said. So I think they're doing their level best to answer questions that people have.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCINTYRE: Well, one administration official conceded that some in government may be speaking up now to avoid being criticized later. Pentagon officials point out that Defense Secretary Rumsfeld has been saying pretty much the same thing sine the war on terror began -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Jamie McIntyre at the Pentagon, thank you very much.

And terrorist attacks claimed a record number of lives last year, most of them, of course, here in the United States on September 11th. Officials worry about where things are headed as we hear from our State Department correspondent, Andrea Koppel.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, you've to get out of the middle of the street.

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the first global report on terrorism since September 11th, the State Department warns future attacks against Americans could be even more deadly.

POWELL: Terrorists are trying every way they can to get their hands on weapons of mass destruction, whether radiological, chemical, biological or nuclear.

KOPPEL: Osama bin-Laden made no secret of his desire to use such weapons, calling it a religious duty. In fact, earlier this year, the head of al Qaeda operations in Italy, Sami Ben Khemais Essid, was arrested for plotting attacks using poison gas against the U.S. embassy in Rome. Italian authorities recorded Essid saying, "The product is better. It's more efficient because this liquid, as soon as you open it, it suffocates people."

Of the seven countries designated state sponsors of terrorism, the U.S. says Iran and Syria are of particular concern. While clamping down on al Qaeda, they've also increased support for Palestinian groups that use violence against Israel. The State Department also says, too, Sudan and Libya seem to be headed out of the terrorism business.

In the wake of September 11th, the U.S. has experienced unprecedented cooperation from the International community, including 1,000 arrests or detentions of al Qaeda operatives between September and December 2001. One-hundred-fifty countries and jurisdictions agreeing to freeze terrorist assets worth more than $64 million.

POWELL: In this global campaign against terrorism, no country, no nation has the luxury of remaining on the sidelines because there are no sidelines.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KOPPEL: In short, the U.S. believes that every country is vulnerable, and as a result, Wolf, has a responsibility to contribute to the campaign against terror. Call it a kind of a "Three Musketeers" philosophy to the war on terrorism: "One for all and all for one." Wolf.

BLITZER: Andrea Koppel at the State Department, thank you very much.

And just short while ago, I spoke with Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi of California. She's the House Democratic whip and the ranking Democrat in the House Intelligence Committee. Her focus: To insure that authorities have the tools they need to protect the United States.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Congresswoman Pelosi, thanks for joining us. I know you've just come out of a briefing with the attorney general and others. First of all, on this latest threat potentially to landmarks in New York City, including the Statue of Liberty, how concerned should people in New York, indeed, people around the country be?

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: Well, you know, we've had these comments that there's a heating up of some reporting. But I think that we -- the great goal of terrorists is to instill fear and that we should live our lives. Those responsible for our protection should be ever alert, but the American people should live their lives, because these threats have come and gone.

BLITZER: But you agree that these warnings should be passed along to the public even if the information comes from uncorroborated sources?

PELOSI: I don't know. I think there has to be a weight given to it on a case-by-case basis. And if it rises to a certain level where the information has some level of corroboration or reinforcement because we collect intelligence in many different ways, and I think there should be some reinforcement. But if there is reason to believe that the public should be aware, then they should know. I don't think that they need to be have a ticker tape at the bottom of their TV screen and every piece of intelligence that we pick up.

BLITZER: Over the past three days, we've heard specific alarming warnings from the vice president, from the FBI director, today, from the secretary of defense, and the secretary of state saying that there could be terrorists acquiring weapons of mass destruction. It sounds as if there's a growing crescendo of threats out there. Is that what's happening?

PELOSI: Well, whether it's possible to happen or not, we have to prevent it from happening. What happened on September 11th was unimaginable -- and I use that word advisedly. Now we can imagine it. What was only possible before is now predictable. We must do everything in our power to keep the technology for weapons of mass destruction away from the scientists who would know how to exploit it. I don't think that there will be a chance of the use of a weapon of mass destruction. But a dirty bomb, which could use some radioactivity surrounding a bomb but which could do terrible, terrible damage to our country, is something that is possible that we must prevent and that we can prevent.

BLITZER: But you think the terrorists -- there's no doubt they're working on -- whether a dirty bomb or chemical terrorism or biological terrorism. That's going forward, and the country has to be prepared to deal with that.

PELOSI: Well, that is one of the pillars of our foreign policy, to stop the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction -- nuclear, chemical and biological -- or any radioactive situation which could have boundless damage to our environment as well as tremendous loss of life. So, yes, the -- people doing evil things are always out there, and we have to, again, separate the technology from the know-how, from the target. And we owe that to the American people. Can we be 100 percent sure? No, but let me say this: It can never happen again that we are taken by surprise in a way that the damage is not mitigated for as happened as on September 11th.

BLITZER: Are you satisfied with what you heard today from the attorney general in this closed-door briefing, that everything that could have been done was done to prevent the events leading up to September 11th?

PELOSI: Well, that didn't happen to be subject of the meeting, Wolf. We were really not talking about that today. What we were talking about today was the commitment of the president and the vice president of the United States to give the fullest cooperation of the administration to our joint House Senate inquiry into the September 11th tragedy.

BLITZER: Will they make available to you that August 6th CIA briefing that the president received in Crawford, Texas?

PELOSI: That was not the subject of our conversation, because our conversation with the attorney general really centered around information that was in the possession of the Department of Justice or the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which is under the Department of Justice. The PDP, the president's daily briefing, is a subject with the executive branch in the White House itself, so we weren't talking about that today. But in answer to your question, I do feel very assured by the attorney general that the commitment of the president and the vice president will be honored by the Justice Department in the quest for information or access to testimony.

BLITZER: Will they make available to you the so-called Phoenix memo written by that FBI agent who alarmed -- who is alarmed of all the Middle Easterners studying to become pilots at various flight academies around the United States?

PELOSI: Yes, I am certain that that memo will be available to the Committee and the joint subcommittees investigation.

BLITZER: Congresswoman Pelosi, thanks for joining us.

PELOSI: My pleasure. Thank you, Wolf.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And in a moment, the man who saw that famous FBI memo on terror is going to share with you what's in it as well as the anthrax terror attack -- is the FBI looking to for clues. Right now coming up, how the agency is stepping up its investigation.

Plus, the government says no to guns in the cockpit, but the fight is not yet over. Who may have the final word?

And keeping the shark away this summer. What swimmers like you can do. But first, our news quiz.

According to the International Shark Attack File at the Florida Museum of Natural History, Florida has seen the most confirmed cases of unprovoked shark attacks in the United States. Which Florida county has had the most shark attacks? Collier, Miami-Dade, Palm Beach, Volusia. The answer coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: A moment ago we talked about the so called Phoenix memo written last summer by an FBI agent. In it he raised questions about Middle Eastern men attending flight schools in this country.

Let's go to someone now who has actually seen the document, had a chance to study it. Richard Behar joins us from Miami. He is a reporter with "Fortune Magazine."

Richard, first of all, give us your impressions. You've actually seen it. As far as I know, you're the first reporter that has.

RICHARD BEHAR, "FORTUNE MAGAZINE": Yes, I was allowed to spend a few minutes with it and to take some notes, which I have and actually there are parts of the memo that are very troubling.

BLITZER: Well, tell us specifically what is in it that surprised you because as you know there's been a lot of reporting about the memo, but you've actually gone through it.

BEHAR: Well, the report was authored by Kenneth Williams, an agent in the Phoenix office and approved by William Kurtz, who I assume to be his boss and I think they deserve kudos because they passed it along to I'd say roughly about a dozen other people inside the FBI.

Now, what they did with that information from July until September 11 we don't know. And why this is coming out now is of course a mystery.

BLITZER: Well, I know they had been working on this issue for some time. It's not just that they wrote the memo up on a spur last July just in the middle of July and sent the memo to Washington. How long were they engaged in investigating this whole issue?

BEHAR: The memo says the probe was instituted on April 17 of the year 2000.

BLITZER: That's more than a year before they wrote it?

BEHAR: It is. And the title of the memo includes an organization I haven't heard of until now, called the Islamic Army of the Caucuses.

BLITZER: Go ahead, tell us more about it.

BEHAR: Well, I don't know very much about that organization. I mean, that's new as far as I'm concerned. I just got back from a few months in Pakistan and hadn't heard of the group there either. But the Williams memo clearly talks about supporters of Osama bin Laden attending civil aviation universities and colleges in Arizona. What happened after he sent that memo on to those dozen or so superiors is a question that we need to know the answer to.

BLITZER: And when we're showing our viewers the little synopsis that you helped our people prepare as you were talking. The most important thing is why didn't this memo cause the alarm bells that it clearly with hindsight should have caused in FBI headquarters in Washington? BEHAR: That's a question the FBI will have to answer and I think there needs to be congressional hearings and independent investigations and they're going to have to start talking. And one of the first things they should do is release that memo to the public and not just give a reporter like me an opportunity to look at it and take some notes.

BLITZER: And if the public at large has access to what you have had access to and reads the whole thing, what will be their conclusion?

BEHAR: It would be hard to conclude that September 11 could have been prevented -- it might have been prevented. More could have been done. I don't think you could read that memo and come away without thinking that more could have and should have been done.

BLITZER: Richard Behar of "Fortune Magazine," thanks for your insight, thanks for sharing that information with our viewers.

At the moment, a lot of the terrorism talk appears to focus on known groups -- one of course, being al Qaeda. It's true, the United States may have disrupted the group's operations in Afghanistan, but the experts keep saying: Don't think for a minute that al Qaeda is finished. CNN terrorism analyst, Peter Bergen, is just back from the region. We talked just a short time ago.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

Peter, there have been some suggestions, some reports out there that even a dispirited, weakened al Qaeda has capabilities, especially working perhaps with some other terrorist groups, whether Hezbollah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad. You're just there. You are back from the region. What can you tell us about al Qaeda's capabilities now?

PETER BERGEN, TERRORISM ANALYST: Well, Sadly, Wolf, if you look at what's been happening in Pakistan recently I think al Qaeda or its affiliates have been extremely active in Pakistan. Whether that was the murders of the 12 French submarine engineers in Karachi just in the last 10 days, obviously Danny Pearl, etc., etc, so I think -- and also the attack on the church in Islamabad that killed two Americans about five weeks ago -- I think al Qaeda is obviously particularly strong and its affiliates in Pakistan.

Now, the question about what its capabilities are in the United States, that's a whole other issue. But as you well know, Senator Bob Graham on your own program said there are 100 al Qaeda members still somewhere at large in the United States who might have been here for a very long time, who might have been in the United States for a very long time.

BLITZER: Are you suggesting that al Qaeda was responsible for Daniel Pearl's murder, the "Wall Street Journal" reporter?

BERGEN: The group that is responsible in my mind is a group called the Army of Mohammad. Their links to al Qaeda are very strong. Bin Laden was involved in the negotiations that sprang Omar Sheikh after a hijacking of an Indian Airlines jet, he was involved in the negotiations that got Omar Sheikh released.

The United States State Department reports on the Army of Mohammad said that U.S. officials believe that bin Laden finances this group. This is -- I believe the Army of Mohammad is one of the groups that has extremely strong links with al Qaeda.

As you know, Wolf, there are various groups that are affiliated. You mentioned Islamic Jihad earlier, the Egyptian group. That is very much part of al Qaeda. But I believe the Pakistani Army of Mohammed is one of these groups that has very strong links.

BLITZER: And what is your sense today, Peter, after spending some time in the region, where Osama bin Laden might be? Because there's been an enormous amount of speculation about him in the last few days.

BERGEN: Well, I mean your guess is as good as mine I think, Wolf. I mean, we have -- I've always believed that he's in Afghanistan and that's just based on my own kind of understanding of him. And I don't believe he would risk leaving a country that he knows so well. But I have to say, Wolf, that Operation Anaconda was supposed to mop up al Qaeda.

Now we're Operation Snipe and then Operation Condor. These operations don't seem to be going particularly well. I mean, in the sense of actually finding anybody significant. So it seems that wherever bin Laden is, the operations directed at al Qaeda and the top leadership do not appear to be doing very well at the moment.

BLITZER: Peter Bergen we'll look forward to talking to you once you're back in Washington. Thanks as usual for joining us.

BERGEN: Thank you, Wolf.

BLITZER: Our Web question of the day: Do you consider al Qaeda the greatest terrorist threat to the U.S.? Vote at cnn.com/wolf. While you are there, let me know what you are thinking. Send me your comments and I'll read some of them on the air each day. Also, read my daily on-line column at cnn.com/wolf.

The government says no to guns in the cockpit, but pilots are not taking no for an answer. Why they may win this battle.

Also, anthrax terror: Who is the FBI lining up to interrogate? Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: In our "News Alert," the FBI is urging New Yorkers to remain vigilant following a new terror warning. Sources say the agency received uncorroborated from detainees that New York City landmarks, such as the Statue Of Liberty and the Brooklyn Bridge could be the next target. No word on when the attack could occur.

European Union officials have decided where 13 Palestinian militants will live at least for the next year. They were expelled from the West Bank after a lengthy standoff at Bethlehem's Church Of Nativity and flown to Cyprus. One will stay there. The other 12 leave tomorrow morning for one of six countries in Europe.

Twenty thousand protesters in the streets of Berlin, today, just a day before President Bush is scheduled to arrive. German authorities say 10,000 police will be on duty to help contain demonstrators. That's the largest police presence in Berlin since World War II.

And there's word today from Afghanistan that U.S. special forces raided a compound near the spot where one of their comrades was ambushed and killed on Sunday. A spokesman says troops never fired a shot and didn't capture anybody but they did, quote, gain some intelligence. More on that mission live from Afghanistan tonight, 8:00 Eastern, 5:00 Pacific, of course, only here on CNN.

Frustrated by a lack of leads in the anthrax investigation, the government is asking hundreds of federal workers, perhaps even thousands of them, to take lie detector tests. The tests will be administered at Fort Detrick, Maryland and Dugway Proving Ground in Utah where anthrax is kept.

I spoke a short while ago with Congressman Chris Shays, he is chairman of the national security subcommittee about the investigation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

Congressman Shays, thanks for joining us. No one in Congress knows more about bioterrorism threats than you do. As far as you know, where does the anthrax investigation stand right now?

REP. CHRIS SHAYS (R), CONNECTICUT: Well, I think there are a number of labs around the country, anywhere, 15 give or take, that could have the Ames strain. In that same process, the FBI has asked these labs to do some of the research to help them solve it. And so they have got this challenge that the education, experience and access to the Ames strain is in the very labs that is doing some of the investigative work.

So there is a question or people are being taken polygraph tests being asked to? Absolutely, and I would hope and imagine that it is in other facilities as well.

BLITZER: Is this just a sense of overprecaution to have these various lab workers take these polygraph tests or is there a specific suspicion that someone might have been on the inside and decided to spread this deadly anthrax?

SHAYS: Well, I think there is a real concern that it could be on the inside. The person has to have the education, the experience and access to this incredible virus and so then the question is, it's probably in one of the labs that has helped them try solve the problem. So, in order to, you know, get at this in a constructive way, I think it would be logical to have people take the polygraph test and we're talking probably about 1,000 people, potentially that have real expertise. But you could even have a lab technician who, over time might have developed it. That's even beyond the thousand.

BLITZER: I know there is still a debate. Most of the federal law enforcement authorities think it was domestic terrorism behind the anthrax letter attacks. Although there are some that see foreign terrorists behind it. What do you see?

SHAYS: I think it could be any of the above. I probably line on thinking that it was domestic, just because it just seems to logical. Unfortunately, that the expertise and the experience is right here and the strain is right here as well. And so this bacteria is something that a lot of our people have worked with.

BLITZER: And there is also the continuing debate over an anthrax vaccine. Should the military resume this kind of vaccination and should civilians in general be receiving this vaccine? Where do you stand on that?

SHAYS: Well, if the military says that they are going to have a mandatory program, it takes six shots to do it properly, at least to the protocol. There won't be much for the civilians. I have a real problem with requiring people under order to take a vaccine that is supposedly prophylactic for a weaponized agent. I think that in the theater where you suspect they might be exposed to it, then in other cases have it be voluntary.

If it is not voluntary, then our military is basically going to use what should be also available in case of emergency for civilians.

BLITZER: Congressman Chris Shays, thanks for joining us.

SHAYS: Thank you.

BLITZER: The Transportation Department says no to guns in the cockpits. After months of deliberation officials shot down requests today to let pilots carry handguns. Our Patty Davis has more from Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a hijacking! This is a hijacking!

PATTY DAVIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Pilots have been fighting for months to carry guns like these federal air marshals in training. More than eight months after the September 11 hijackings, the pilots got their answer -- No.

JOHN MAGAW, TRANSPORTATION SEC. ADMIN.: I will not authorize fire arms in the cockpit.

DAVIS: The rational -- pilots should concentrate on flying and getting the plane to the ground during an attempted hijacking.

DUANE WOERTH, AIRLINE PILOTS ASSN.: Of course we need to concentrate on flying, but if we are being attacked by terrorists, let's take September 11, they were concentrating on flying, but they were attacked by terrorists who killed them. We can take a few minutes to defend ourselves.

DAVIS: The pilots vow to press their case on Capitol Hill where a bill in the house would overrule the Bush Administration decision and give pilots guns and the same training as air marshals.

REP. DON YOUNG (R-AK), TRANSPORTATION CHAIRMAN: This is not going to be a wild west show. Someone is not going to come out and say yahoo and shoot pistols off. In fact, he is going to use it to deter someone from invading the cockpit. That's his job.

DAVIS: Transportation officials are worried pilot's guns could misfire and hurt passengers or worse, fall into hijackers hands. What's more...

MAGAW: You now have the hardened doors, even more highly technological doors coming on board next year.

DAVIS: Magaw says those reinforced cockpit doors along with beefed up passenger security make guns unnecessary.

(on camera): Still under active consideration, stun guns or tasers like this one for pilots, while pilots say these nonlethal weapons are helpful, they say they don't take the place of a real gun when it comes to stopping terrorists.

Patty Davis, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Their predators of the sea but you are not meant to be the pray. Coming up, reducing your risk of shark attack. Why understanding them will help keep you safe. We will go live inside a shark pen.

Also a man with no fear of falling. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Now to the decades-old murder case involving the deadliest act of violence against the civil rights movement. Right now, it is in the hands of a jury in Birmingham, Alabama. CNN national correspondent Gary Tuchman is just outside the courthouse, joins us now live -- Gary.

GARY TUCHMAN, NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, the 12-member jury, six men, six women, three African-Americans, is now debating the fate of former Ku Klux Klan member Bobby Frank Cherry.

Deliberations began exactly one hour ago. Cherry has been free on bond this whole time. He has been walking in and out of court since this trial began last week.

As a matter of fact, a short time ago I saw him in the men's room. I asked him what he thought about his fate, and he didn't give me any response but he seemed calm as he was awaiting the first minutes after the jury went out. Prosecutors during their closing arguments today said that "Bobby Frank Cherry and Klan brothers were the forefathers of terrorism."

Cherry is accused, with at least two other men, of planting the bomb outside a Birmingham church on September 15, 1963. That bomb went off and killed four young African-American girls. Two other men have already been convicted of their parts in the case. Tom Blanton was convicted last year, serving a life sentence. Robert Chambliss, convicted 1977, died in prison eight days later.

Prosecutors said for almost 39 years Bobby Cherry has mocked justice. The time for justice is here. But defense attorneys say that this man may have been a Ku Klux Klan member, he may be a racist, but he is not guilty by association. Just because he was friends with those two men does not mean that he is guilty.

Defense attorney Mickey Johnson said, "We are not going to let the state convict purely on guilt by association." Now we are always asked what do we think the verdict will be, how long do we think it will take? We have absolutely no idea, and prosecutors talked to us a short time and neither do they.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DOUG JONES, PROSECUTOR: We can't predict what that verdict will be. I can't tell you -- if any lawyer tells you that when a case goes into a jury that they feel good, they would be lying to you. We felt like our case tried as well as it could possibly try. I'm proud of the people behind me for what they've done, and now we are just going to wait.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TUCHMAN: So this crime happened nearly four decades ago. You may be wondering why it has taken so long to bring to bring two men to justice, and the possibility of this man to justice.

Well, prosecutors state it is mostly because of J. Edgar Hoover, who was the leader of the FBI back then, who said there just was not enough evidence back then to prosecute. Wolf, back to you.

BLITZER: Thank you very much, Gary Tuchman. Of course you will be standing by. If there is a decision, we will get that first here on CNN.

Also from our justice files today, the lawyer for Tonya McCarter says the case against her is one of mistaken identity, and she will fight extradition to Tennessee.

Authorities there say she is really Margo Freshwater, a convicted murderer who escaped from prison 32 years ago. She was arrested yesterday in her hometown of Columbus, Ohio.

Scotland Yard detectives say they have solved the case of the Heathrow heist. They arrested a dozen people overnight at various London locations. Also discovered, almost $1.5 million in cash. About twice that much was stolen from an airport cargo area in March as it was being transferred from a plane to a security van.

Merrill Lynch is paying $100 million to settle conflict-of- interest charges. New York State argued analysts at Merrill Lynch hyped some stocks because the firms were doing business with the brokerage. Merrill Lynch, the nation's largest investment firm, is not admitting wrongdoing, but is putting reforms in place.

Scientists want to teach you how to avoid becoming fish food. Learn the lesson when we go live into the shark tank. You are looking at a live picture.

Later, agony on the high seas. What happened after a boat took on water? Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Earlier we asked, "Which Florida county has had the most shark attacks?" According to the International Shark Attack File, Volusia County, which includes Daytona Beach, has had the most confirmed unprovoked shark attacks. There have been more than 100 attacks since 1882.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

It is almost summer, and you know what that means. It is time to head to the beach. But experts warn as more people venture into the water the chance of being attacked by a shark rises. However, there are ways to protect yourself.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE BURGESS, INTL. SHARK ATTACK FILE: The main thing is to use common sense. If you avoid certain areas in certain times -- for instance, staying out of the water between dusk and dawn hours, when sharks are most active, we can cut our already small chance to even lower chance.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Today the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued guidelines for reducing your risk of a shark attack.

Among the steps you can take are these: stay in groups because sharks are more likely to attack a solitary figure; do not wander too far away from the shore because this can isolate you, place you further away from assistance; avoid being in the water during darkness or twilight hours -- that is when sharks are most active; and get this -- don't wear shiny jewelry because the reflected light resembles fish scales.

Sharks like to eat those fish scales. Joining us now to help us get a little bit more perspective on what is going on and help you avoid becoming a statistic this summer is Paige Newman. She is a shark expert at SeaWorld in San Antonio, Texas.

Paige, thanks for joining us. First of all, tell our viewers where are you right now?

PAIGE NEWMAN, SEAWORLD: I am actually at our shark exhibit. It is a wonderful exhibit. We educate people about sharks, get them over that fear, and you know, with Memorial weekend coming up, I am getting a lot of question about these shark attacks.

So I just want to calm everybody down and tell them a couple of things on how they can prevent being attacked by a shark.

BLITZER: All right. Go ahead. You heard the advice that NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration gave. What else you got?

NEWMAN: Exactly. Well, like you were saying, do not wear shiny jewelry. It mimics a fish scale. Also the time of day that you get in the water -- you know, sharks are active in the twilight into the evening hours. So the daytime you are a little bit safer, so get in the water with groups. What are you wearing? Use good common sense.

If there's fishermen in the area fishing, you don't want to be swimming there. You want to get into water, also, with groups of people. Also, if you see shrimp trollers around, you know that there's probably bait in the water and there's probably sharks around there, so you want to stay away from that.

Talk to the local authorities. Have they had a shark attack? If they have you probably want to go to another location.

BLITZER: Yes, we're looking at some live pictures of the sharks near you. What are we looking at? What kind of sharks are they?

NEWMAN: Well, actually, I can't see the pictures you're seeing, but we have got hammerhead sharks, we have got black tip sharks, we've got sand tigers. We have got all types. We actually have a shark program where we teach people, our guests, about sharks. It's pretty much like a shark 101.

BLITZER: What are the most common misperceptions that we, the general public, has about sharks?

NEWMAN: Probably the No. 1 misconception is that sharks are man- eaters. Actually, we're not a part of their diet. They have specialized diets, depending on what type of species you are. It depends on what you eat. A lot of these attacks are just out of defense mechanisms. You could be in an area where there's a lot of bait in the water when you get attacked or you could be in a middle of some type of portship (ph) that's going on.

BLITZER: Last summer, as you remember, we in the news media called it the summer of the shark. Was that unusual last summer, or were we being fair?

NEWMAN: You know, actually, the numbers that we see each year have been about the same. Worldwide, you get probably 80 to 90 shark attacks. And actual fatalities are probably eight to 12 fatalities worldwide.

BLITZER: Is there any effective repellent that people can purchase, some spray or lotion or cream that they can put on their body that will repel sharks?

NEWMAN: Well, you know what? The best repellent is knowledge. Just arm yourself with knowledge. Learn about sharks, and you're going to get over that fear. I think just because sharks aren't warm and furry and cuddly, a lot of people are fearful of them. And it's pretty much unjustified. Once you learn about sharks and shark behavior, you realize, well, there's really nothing to be worried about.

BLITZER: Which areas, though, may be more dangerous, which beaches around the United States and other areas? Is there a specific area that's more dangerous, areas to avoid, for example?

NEWMAN: Right. Actually, in the surf, in the surf zone. A lot of the attacks happen during the summertime, and that's when a lot more people are in the water. And that is -- a lot of the bait fish come in. People are fishing. There are surfers, when they're on surfboards, a lot of times the outline of a surfboard looks like a seal or a sea lion or a marine animal that could be a part of the shark's diet and they mistake you as being one of those other animals.

BLITZER: All right. Paige, you live in and breathe these sharks all the time.

NEWMAN: I sure do.

BLITZER: What are your bottom-line recommendation to our viewers who want to go to the beach and have a good time this summer?

NEWMAN: Go to the beach and a have good time. Just use good common sense again. If you want to go down to the Web site and find out about the international shark attack file, they have got great advice there on the time of day, what to wear. And, you know, check with local authorities, what's going on in the area.

BLITZER: All right. Paige Newman, looks like you're having a good time over there at SeaWorld. We'll come down and visit you in San Antonio the next time.

NEWMAN: Great. Thanks for having me.

BLITZER: Thank you very much for the good, practical advice.

And a dramatic high-seas rescue off North Carolina. Responding to a distress call, the U.S. Coast Guard dispatched this helicopter to retrieve three crew members from a troubled sailboat. Strong winds and 20-foot waves were swamping the boat. It is the third rescue off the East Coast this week alone.

A tight-wire act in Niagara Falls earlier today. A high-wire walker, Jay Cochran (ph), successfully traversed this steel cable extended between two buildings on the Canadian side of the Falls. He was more than 100 feet above the ground. Cochran will repeat the performance several more times this summer. He's got guts.

Certainly an unlikely pairing, but rock singer Bono and Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill are in Ghana as part of a fact-finding mission about how Western aid is put to use in Africa. They'll be visiting four countries. CNN's Daryn Kagan spoke to them about their mission.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BONO, SINGER: I like to think that what the secretary understands is that the scale of this problem on the continent of Africa is so huge, that if we're to deal with it, we have to explain it to people before they can contribute. I think Americans are generous people. They have over the years, the last years, they've grown suspicious of aid because a lot of it, as Secretary O'Neill says, is being wasted and ineffective. So, the purpose of this trip might want to do is to try and, you know, show people effectively and how it can transform the lives of people. Was that fair?

PAUL O'NEILL, TREASURY SECRETARY: It's fair by me. I agree with Bono that the problem that exists in the world, in Africa with the AIDS problem -- it's unforgivable for civilized people not to pay attention to and figure out a way to solve this problem.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Bono and Paul O'Neill with our Daryn Kagan earlier today. Very interesting. We'll continue to follow Daryn's reporting throughout this tour of Africa.

Let's go to New York now, get a preview of "LOU DOBBS MONEYLINE." That begins right at the top of the hour. Jan Hopkins is filling in tonight for Lou -- Jan.

JAN HOPKINS, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks, Wolf. Coming up on "MONEYLINE," the FBI alerts New York City to possible terrorist attacks on the city's defining monuments. We will have the latest.

Terrorism concerns continue to weigh in the markets. Stocks falling for the second straight session on Wall Street. We'll have the complete market coverage.

And Merrill Lynch agrees to settle conflict of interest charges with New York's attorney general. I'll talk with the CEO of Merrill Lynch, David Komansky. All that and a lot more at the top of the hour -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Thank you very much, Jan. We'll be watching.

And you have only two minutes left to vote on our Web question of the day: Do you consider al Qaeda the greatest terrorist threat to the United States? The results when we come back. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BLITZER: Earlier, we asked you, do you consider al Qaeda the greatest terrorist threat to the United States? Most of you, 63 percent, said yes, while the other 37 percent said no. Remember, this is not a scientific poll.

Time now to hear from you. Roger writes this: "I'm not sure the Bush administration gets it. Telling us that there will be more terrorist attacks doesn't get them off the hook. Why do they think this? Where are the threats coming from and why haven't we wiped out al Qaeda? We've been in this war seven months now." It's actually eight. "Where are the results?"

Gerald does not agree: "Why does the administration continue to predict when suicide bombers will strike the U.S.? I'm tired of the continual reminders from the FBI, CIA and Cheney that these attacks are inevitable."

That's all the time we have right now. Tomorrow on this program, "The Sum Of All Fears" goes to the big screen. Is the plot about a bomb going off in the United States realistic? I'll find out.

Until then, thanks very much for watching. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. "LOU DOBBS MONEYLINE" begins right now.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com