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CNN LIVE SATURDAY
Interview with Harvy Kushner
Aired September 6, 2003 - 12:47 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Terrorism analyst Harvey Kushner watching the developments. He's a professor at Long Island University and with us from West Babylon, New York. Good to see you.
HARVEY KUSHNER, TERRORISM ANALYST: Good to see you.
WHITFIELD: Is there a contradiction. The FBI releases the information yet the nation's terror alert is not being raised?
KUSHNER: Well, two different issues, Fredricka. You know, there's a concern about these individuals, especially in my eyes and the people I speak to, an Mohammed Atta, he's planner. He probably has a pilot's license and probably access to this country.
But on the other hand, moving up on the anniversary next Thursday on 9/11, the two-year anniversary. Nationally, we have a yellow alert, and they're very concerned about raising it to orange without really good information that something would happen. Because we raise it so many times that we've made the public to some extent alert weary. They're ignoring the heights in alert.
WHITFIELD: And that obviously...
KUSHNER: That's a problem.
WHITFIELD: And that's a very noted concern that perhaps there is some public complacency now, that people are responding rather numbly now to any more terror alerts, the heightened threat alert. So, if that's the case and seems the observation so far, how is the government to respond or how is it to try to reassure people?
KUSHNER: Well, I think...
WHITFIELD: Especially, days now from the second year anniversary.
KUSHNER: Well, certainly, when they have these types of bulletins on the Web site, I think people are not necessarily reassured. They're concerned about it. But I think the government is lax in the educational system to the general public about what to be alert for. You know, just telling people to be alert, vigilant, means nothing. I think of one industry where people are alert, this's in the air. In the cabin of a plane or waiting to board a plane, people seem to be on edge and looking around them. And checking everything out and quite suspicious. But, you know, as they go about the daily activities, I think people understand this, supposed to be alert and have very little idea what to be alert for.
WHITFIELD: Speaking of planes, talk about Mexico and Canada being on alert sort to speak about any sort of planned attempts of hijacking any international flights.
KUSHNER: Yes. That's a concern to us because it's a concern for a variety of reasons. One, they're much more lax in terms of security, our northern neighbors and to our south. And quite frankly, our government has no control about security measures that have taken place here inside the continental United States. So that plane that takes off from Canada comes often times into American air space and can do quite a bit of damage as well as, from the south. And quite frankly, there are other carriers that have approached the United States on a routine basis hour by hour that are problematic. I was recently on a flight in which I saw shoddy security as we got into our landing pattern going to JFK.
So, this is a concern to the aviation experts out there and especially to the government. We've had discussions in recent days with the Canadian authorities, but again, I must stress, we have no control over having them institute better security.
WHITFIELD: Harvey Kushner, thanks very much for joining us this Saturday.
KUSHNER: Pleasure, Fredricka.
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