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MARIA: WELCOME BACK.
THIS WEEKEND WE WILL MARK 20
YEARS SINCE THE 9/11 9/11 TERROR
ATTACKED OUR COUNTRY, FOLLOWING
THE WITHDRAWAL OF U.S. FORCES IN
AFGHANISTAN, CONCERNS ARE RISING
ONCE AGAIN ABOUT A POTENTIAL
TERRORIST ATTACK AGAINST
AMERICA.
DEFENSE SECRETARY LLOYD AUSTIN YESTERDAY SAID THAT AL-QAIDA MAY
YESTERDAY SAID THAT AL-QAIDA MAY
ATTEMPT TO FORGE A COMEBACK IN
AFGHANISTAN.
JOINING ME RIGHT NOW IS FORMER
NEW YORK CITY POLICE
COMMISSIONER, THE CEO OF THE
GUARDIAN GROUP, RAY KELLY, A
FORMER COMMISSIONER.
GREAT TO SEE YOU THIS MORNING.
THANKS FOR BEING HERE, RAY.
FIRST, LET ME START ON --
>> GOOD TO BE WITH YOU, MARIA.
MARIA: DO YOU BELIEVE WE’RE
SAFER NOW THAN WE WERE 20 YEARS
AGO?
>> OH, WE’RE CERTAINLY SAFER.
WE’VE DONE SO MUCH DURING THE
LAST 20 YEARS TO PROTECT NEW
YORK, OTHER LARGE CITIES.
WE’VE INVESTED IN A LOT OF
BLOOD, SWEAT AND TEARS.
WE HAVEN’T HAD A MAJOR TERRORIST
EVENT IN THIS COUNTRY.
WE’VE HAD SMALLER ONES AND WE’VE
HAD THEM RIGHT HERE IN NEW YORK
BUT WE HAVEN’T HAD A MAJOR EVENT
AND I ATTRIBUTE SOME OF THAT
SUCCESS TO THE FACT THAT WE WERE
IN AFGHANISTAN AND WE WERE
KEEPING TERRORISTS BACK ON THEIR
HEELS.
THEY WEREN’T ABLE TO COME
TOGETHER.
THEY WEREN’T ABLE TO COLLABORATE
AND WE’RE LISTENING TO VIRTUALLY
EVERYTHING THEY COMMUNICATE.
SO THEY HAVE REALLY BEEN SORT OF
LOCKED DOWN.
NOW THEY’RE GOING TO HAVE A SAFE
HAVEN, UNFORTUNATELY.
SO, YEAH, I MEAN, HE I’M I’M CON
ABOUT WHAT CAN HAPPEN IN THE
FUTURE BUT WE’RE CERTAINLY SAFER
NOW THAN WE WERE 20 YEARS AGO.
MARIA: WHAT ABOUTS ABOUT THIS S
HAVEN?
WE KNOW THAT AFGHANISTAN CAN
BECOME THIS HAVEN FOR
TERRORISTS.
NEW YORK STIFFCITY OFFICIALS ARE
THE CITY IS PREPARING FOR A,
QUOTE, ELEVATED THREAT
ENVIRONMENT, TOMORROW, THE
20th ANNIVERSARY OF THE
SEPTEMBER 11th ATTACKS.
LLOYD AUSTIN TOLD US THAT
AL-QAIDA IS GOING TO POTENTIAL
GO BACK INTO AFGHANISTAN AND NEW
YORK CITY IS DISPATCHING AN
ENHANCED AMOUNT OF TOOLS TO KEEP
THE CITY SAFE.
THERE ARE NO SPECIFIC THREATS
AGAINST THE CITY, RAY, BUT
PEOPLE ARE WORRIED ABOUT ANOTHER
TERRORIST ATTACK BEING IMMINENT,
POTENTIALLY TOMORROW ON 9/11.
>> YEAH, I KNOW.
WE HAVEN’T SEEN TERRORISTS FOCUS
ON SPECIFIC DATES.
I DON’T THINK THERE IS AS YOU
SAID ANY SPECIFIC INFORMATION
ABOUT AN ATTACK.
THEY’RE DOING THIS IN AN
ABUNDANCE OF CAUTION TO
CERTAINLY GIVE THE PEOPLE OF THE
CITY A LITTLE BIT MORE
CONFIDENCE.
BUT THERE’S NO INFORMATION THAT
A TERRORIST ATTACK IS IMMINENT.
IS THE THREAT RAISED AS A RESULT
OF WHAT’S HAPPENED IN
AFGHANISTAN?
MY OPINION, YES.
NO QUESTION ABOUT IT.
AS I SAID, THERE WILL BE -- THEY
WILL BE ABLE TO COME TOGETHER IN
A SAFE HAVEN ENVIRONMENT AND
PLAN AND PLOT, WHICH THEY REALLY
HAVEN’T BEEN ABLE TO DO FOR 20
YEARS.
MARIA: RAY, WHAT’S THE BIG AND
MOST SIGNIFICANT THREAT FROM
YOUR STANDPOINT?
I KNOW YOU HAVE FOCUSED OVER THE
YEARS A LOT ON CYBER.
YOU KNOW, INTERESTINGLY, EVER
SINCE AUSTRALIA STARTED RAISING
ITS HAND IN TERMS OF WANTING
ANSWERS ON COVID-19, THE CYBER
ATTACKS FROM CHINA HAVE
INCREASED IN AUSTRALIA.
SO I MEAN, YOU KNOW, THE BAD
ACTORS AND THE ADVERSARIES ARE
IN MANY PLACES, NOT JUST THE
MIDDLE EAST, GIVEN THIS
AFGHANISTAN DEBACLE.
LOOK AT CHINA AND RUSSIA AND THE
CYBER ATTACKS THAT WE’VE BEEN
UNDERGOING.
>> YEAH, YOU’RE ABSOLUTELY
RIGHT.
WE NEED A 360-DEGREE DEFENSE.
WE HAVE TO BE CONCERNED ABOUT
LONE WOLVES.
WE HAVE OF TO BE CONCERNED ABOUT
AS I SAY YOUR TERRORIST GROUPS C
TOGETHER AND CYBER CERTAINLY --
OUR LIVES ARE SO DEPENDENT ON
CYBER AND WE KNOW THAT OUR
ADVERSARIES CAN UNFORTUNATELY
CLOSE US DOWN PRETTY EASILY.
WE HAVE THE SAME CAPACITY TO DO
IT OF TO THEM BUT UNFORTUNATELY
IT MAY NOT BE A DETERRENT.
SO, YEAH, IT’S A DANGEROUS TIME.
WE HAVE TO BE VIGILANT.
I THINK THINGS ARE GOING TO GET
A LITTLE DICEY AS FAR AS THE
TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS.
AL-QAIDA, ISIS WILL BE -- THEY
FEEL EMBOLDENED NOW AND FEEL
THAT THEY HAVE VICTORY AND THEY
WANT TO COME HERE STILL AND KILL
AMERICANS.
THAT’S SOMETHING THAT THEY’VE
ALWAYS WANTED TO DO.
SO WE HAVE TO BE ON OUR GUARD
AND NO EASY ANSWER.
MARIA: UNFORTUNATELY, THOSE
TERRORISTS MAY BE USING OUR OWN
WEAPONRY SINCE WE LEFT
$86 BILLION IN WEAPONS AND
ARMAMENT AND BLACK HAWK
HELICOPTERS ON THE GROUND WHEN
WE CUT AND RUN OUT OF
AFGHANISTAN.
REAL QUICK BEFORE YOU GO, RAY,
IS THERE ANYTHING YOU CAN TELL
PEOPLE IN TERMS OF HOW THEY
MIGHT BE VIGILANT THEMSELVES,
THIS WEEKEND, FOR EXAMPLE, THE
WEEKEND OF 9/11.
SHOULD WE BE STAYING OUT OF
URBAN AREAS? YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE IN TERMS OF
YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE IN TERMS OF WHAT BEING VIGILANT MEANS ON A
PERSONAL LEVEL?
>> WELL, I THINK YOU HAVE TO BE
AWARE OF YOUR SURROUNDINGS.
BUT AGAIN, THERE’S NO SPECIFIC
THREAT.
AND WE HAVEN’T SEEN ANY ATTACKS
THAT TOOK PLACE ON A PARTICULAR
HOLIDAY OR PARTICULAR DATE THAT
WAS SIGNIFICANT.
MARIA: OKAY.
>> I WOULD SAY PEOPLE GO ABOUT
THEIR BUSINESS AND BE AWARE OF
YOUR OWN INDIVIDUAL ENVIRONMENT.
MARIA: OKAY.
WE’LL LEAVE IT THERE.
RAY KELLY, IT’S ALWAYS A
PLEASURE.
THANKS VERY MUCH FOR BEING WITH