Gibbons’ piloting experience gives him insight

Benjamin Grove

Thursday, Sept. 13, 2001 | 9:57 a.m.

Sens. Harry Reid and John Ensign, both of Nevada, will appear live at 1 p.m. today on "Face to Face With Jon Ralston" to discuss the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The show will be rebroadcast at 3:30, 5:30 and 8 p.m.

WASHINGTON --Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., a former Delta Airlines pilot, can imagine the horror experienced by the crew and passengers in hijacked planes that crashed this week.

But he cannot imagine a pilot would fly into a skyscraper or a nerve center of U.S. government. The terrorists who crashed into the World Trade Center, Pentagon and Pennsylvania countryside were almost certainly flying the planes, Gibbons said.

"Even if you had a gun to your head, you would say, 'Shoot me now. I'm not going to fly into that building,' " said Gibbons, also a former combat pilot.

Congress today continues to react to the terrorist attacks. Last week's arguments over a squandered budget surplus are a fading memory, and lawmakers are pledging money to rebuild the Pentagon, clean up New York, reimburse rescue efforts and bolster security. Lawmakers today and Friday expected to consider authorizing $20 billion.

The House and Senate on Wednesday passed resolutions condemning the violence and expressing support for President Bush. Some even discussed formal war declarations, but struggled with whom to engage -- terrorists, once identified; suspected terrorist Osama bin Laden; or possibly countries that harbor terrorists.

Some lawmakers favor a focus on military action rather than a criminal investigation. Others urged caution.

Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., said declaring war may be premature for now.

"We need to take the lead from the president," Ensign told reporters.

Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., toured the Pentagon grounds today with a group of other lawmakers but did not plan to go inside. Emergency teams have moved from rescue to recovery mode, she said.

"War zone," Berkley said, describing the scene from a cellular phone. "Total devastation." She said desks, computers and filing cabinets were visible in offices with fallen walls, exposed by the attack.

"You just know the people who were sitting at those desks are gone," Berkley said.

Berkley said Congress likely will allocate money in the remaining weeks of the session for anti-terrorism measures. She again will push for a proposal to establish an anti-terrorism training school at the Nevada Test Site. Berkley supported that legislation last year, but it died in the Senate.

Nevada's four lawmakers in Congress spent part of the day Wednesday in briefings with U.S. defense and intelligence officials.

Gibbons is a member of the House Intelligence Committee, a panel that meets mostly behind closed doors to oversee the Central Intelligence Agency, among other national security agencies. Committee members have been huddling since Tuesday's terrorist attacks.

Gibbons would not say how close U.S. officials are to identifying the terrorists, although FBI officials are said to be making swift progress.

Gibbons said it's not clear if the CIA dropped the ball in failing to uncover the attacks ahead of time.

U.S. intelligence officials had only "abstract" information of vague threats against U.S. targets -- nothing specific about Tuesday's attacks, said Gibbons, who is also chairman of the Intelligence Committee's panel on "human intelligence" -- spies.

The United States may need to invest more in its spy networks, Gibbons said. One point of controversy among lawmakers is whether U.S. spies should pay shady underworld operatives in foreign nations for information about possible attacks on the United States. Some lawmakers object to authorizing those payments.

"That's a small amount to pay if it is for the right information that could stop an attack like the one we had yesterday on America," Gibbons said.

Gibbons confirmed reports the terrorists likely had been planning the attacks at least a year, Gibbons said.

The terrorists clearly knew enough about complex Boeing 757 and 767 jets to navigate the planes and turn off transponders that kept the planes in contact with ground control, Gibbons said. Attorney General John Ashcroft on Wednesday confirmed at least some of the terrorists were U.S.-trained pilots.

The terrorists knew well that those specific planes would be well under capacity -- fewer passengers to control, Gibbons said.

Gibbons said a key question on the minds of lawmakers: how did the terrorists get weapons through airport security?

"Four hijackings in one day -- clearly, these are some of the questions that need to be investigated to find out what happened at these locations," he said.

Some of the airport security proposals being discussed, such as bans on curb-side check-in, knife bans and other check-in procedures, are likely permanent, Gibbons said. Air travel in America will be "slowed a bit but not impeded."

Gibbons said the eventual death toll was the most remarkable aspect of the attacks.

"We can no longer walk out and assume that we are free because no one has the courage to attack us," Gibbons said. "We are free because we are able to survive these attacks."