Is the United States Truly Safe from Terrorist Attacks?
Aired January 31, 2001 – 1:32 p.m. ET THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED. NATALIE ALLEN, CNN ANCHOR: Are you safe from terrorism? Well, a bipartisan report released today warns that the government must make major changes to protect Americans against the threat of a catastrophic attack. CNN national security correspondent David Ensor reports on the grim conclusions of a two-year study. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Move it out of here! Let’s go! DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The U.S. is lucky, says the blue-ribbon panel report, that there have not already been more incidents on American soil, like the New York World Trade Center bombing of 1993. It says the U.S. homeland is vulnerable to “catastrophic attack.” WARREN RUDMAN, COMMITTEE ON NATIONAL SECURITY: If we have a disaster, and we think it’s quite probable we will in the next 20, 25 years, we’re not prepared to deal with it. LEE HAMILTON, COMM
