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BIANNA GOLODRYGA: Hi, everyone.
I'm Bianna Golodryga.
And this is Yahoo News Live.
The State Department has put American travelers on notice,
issuing a worldwide travel alert for all US
citizens in the wake of the recent terrorist attacks
from Paris to Mali.
This comes just days before nearly 47 million Americans
are expected to take to the roads and skies
for the Thanksgiving holiday.
So what should Americans be thinking about
as they make their way to and from their Thanksgiving
destinations?
Laura Begley Bloom is the editor-in-chief
of Yahoo Travel.
She's here with me in the studio in New York.
And Erroll Southers is the managing director
of counterterrorism at TAL Global
Corporation, an expert in transportation security
and counterterrorism.
He's joining us from Los Angeles.
Welcome to you both.
Thank you so much for joining me.
And Erroll, I want to start with you, because this new State
Department alert reads, US citizen
should exercise vigilance when in public places
or using transportation.
You're an expert in transportation safety.
What exactly does this mean?
And given that there are no specifics,
does it take away its urgency at all?
ERROLL SOUTHERS: Well, thank you.
No, it actually doesn't.
And what this is is a 90-day alert
issued by the State Department to just add additional caution,
as we typically would, over the holiday season
for transportation modalities.
First, of course, is aviation and airports.
People should give themselves a little bit more time
when they get to the airport.
There'll be problems-- I shouldn't say problems.
But there'll be issues with enhanced security,
probably more citizens or passengers possibly being
asked to stand into secondary screening,
and those kinds of activities that may go on.
You'll probably see an increased police presence
in the way of canines and patrol officers
on bicycles or on foot.
So they should expect that.
But we should not forget the other transportation
modalities, such as rail.
And that is a very vulnerable location
as it relates to terrorism.
Rail sites have been hit around the world.
We've been very, very fortunate here in the United States.
But those persons traveling by rail,
where there are no security screening procedures,
should really exercise vigilance as it
relates to unattended bags or things that they
think may be suspicious.
And they should report them immediately.
BIANNA GOLODRYGA: And Erroll, in the press conference
that the President had with French President Hollande,
he said that the one thing he would want to implement
is insisting that the EU and US share flight manifests.
I didn't know, and I'm sure a lot of Americans
didn't know that that was already not in place.
How significant is that?
And was it some sort of breach that you think as far as what
we saw take place in Paris?
ERROLL SOUTHERS: Well, it is something
that should be in place.
And I'm surprised as well that it's not.
Those flight manifests tell us people
who are on those planes, their point of origin,
their point of destination.
That's part of the intelligence sharing and information sharing
that has to be increased if we're
going to have some kind of effective and efficient
counterterrorism against these adversaries that we face.
We've got to be able to share information
if we're going to be able to analyze it, get
the actual intelligence, and then move on it
so that we can thwart these attacks or plots that
may be in the making.
BIANNA GOLODRYGA: And Laura, this
is expected to be the busiest travel season since 2007,
nearly 42 million Americans taking to the road,
nearly four million taking to the skies.
What are the most practical tips that you
can give travellers as they're already a bit anxious
going into the holiday now?
LAURA BEGLEY BLOOM: Well, as Errol had mentioned,
I think it's really important to get to the airport,
to get to the rail station early--
a few hours for an international flight,
a couple of hours for a domestic flight.
And if you're driving, you also want
to be aware that there's going be a lot of traffic.
Today is actually going to be a huge traffic
day, although Thanksgiving, they're saying,
is going to be one of the least traffic days,
according to Waze, the traffic app.
So just to keep your wits about you, to keep an eye on things.
If you see something that is suspicious,
definitely report it.
Mention it to authorities around you.
BIANNA GOLODRYGA: And Errol, ISIS made specific threats
when it came to at least two major US cities--
New York and Washington DC.
We've seen the NYPD And other terror experts
say that the cities themselves have not
had specific credible threats that they are aware of.
Can you talk about the concerns that you may have
and what people in those significant cities, like New
York and Washington DC, that are on alert
should be doing right now?
Of course, when you walk the streets of New York City,
you do see an increased police presence.
ERROLL SOUTHERS: You do.
And the concern that I have is that a group like ISIS
has been advertising their plots before they've acted.
So on several occasions, they've actually targeted cities
and hit those cities.
So that is of concern.
The good news is that cities like New York and Washington--
no cities, other than Los Angeles,
could be better prepared for these kinds of attacks.
We've been looking for what we call a Mumbai-style attack that
happened in 2008, where attackers were active shooters
and, if you will, suicide bombers that
went from location to location.
Major cities in the United States since that time
have been training for that specific kind of attack.
And keep in mind, terrorist organizations
engage in these activities and threats for the utility of it.
They understand that we only have so many resources.
We can't protect everything all the time.
And they count on the fear factor
waging very, very high over the holiday season and, in fact,
pushing people towards not going to public places,
enjoying entertainment, enjoying sports venues,
because they're scared.
And we can't do that.
So I have to say these cities are very well prepared.
But ISIS has, if you will, advertised attacks
that they intended on carrying out in the past.
BIANNA GOLODRYGA: And you mentioned soft targets.
And of course, one thinks of Americans
going shopping, part of the Thanksgiving holiday as well.
It's a ritual, Black Friday, what
have you, people going out to the stores
at midnight in droves.
Talk about the threat.
Or is there one, in your opinion,
of something happening during these major shopping
days that we're going to have ahead of us now?
ERROLL SOUTHERS: Well, our adversaries,
these terrorist organizations, they
reverse engineer the counter-terrorism apparatus
that we put in place.
So as you mentioned, Black Friday's locations
that will have significantly increased numbers of people
are prime targets.
So people should pay attention.
It's no different than anybody who
would come there and have a bad or nefarious thought
about a shooting.
But in the way of terrorists, they
want people massed together, not paying attention.
We've got to get better at understanding that citizens are
as much a part of the security fabric as the security
organizations that are carrying these procedures out.
They've got to be more vigilant.
They've got to pay attention.
Really look around.
And do not be afraid to report things that may look suspicious
or just don't seem right to you.
BIANNA GOLODRYGA: And Laura, what about travel insurance?
We've heard of stories anecdotally.
You've even seen statistics out of Paris
that hotel reservations have dropped following the attacks.
And that's I'm sure the case for many other cities across Europe
and the world.
Do you recommend that travelers buy travel insurance?
LAURA BEGLEY BLOOM: I think travel insurance is always
a good idea if you want to protect your trip.
However, when it comes to terrorism,
you really need to read the fine print,
because, in some situations, there
needs to be a terrorist attack that
has happened in that destination before they
will protect you or reimburse you for your trip.
If it's just an alert, like we have now
from the State Department, they don't really
take that seriously.
You won't be able to get your money back for a trip.
Same thing goes for the airlines.
Right now, they really aren't reimbursing fees
if you want to cancel your travels.
That's your decision.
The hotels tend to be a little bit more lenient.
A lot of hotels have a 24 or 48-hour cancellation
plan or even two weeks.
So you can get your money back there.
But the airlines, not so much.
BIANNA GOLODRYGA: It's interesting.
We've seen airline stocks actually take
a hit following the warning from the State Department.
Erroll, you have a new article out that's pretty ominous.
The title reads, Why Planes Remain a Terrorist Target?
How much was the downing of the plane
that we saw over Egypt a wake-up call if, in fact, they
do conclude that the bomb was planted in a soda can?
ERROLL SOUTHERS: Well, it was a renewed wake-up call
on two fronts.
The first is, as I mentioned earlier,
the utility of the attack.
These are organizations that are engaged
in targeting the West in, what we call, a-symmetry.
They understand they could never win a war head-to-head.
But they can bleed us economically.
They can have us overreact with our security procedures
and policies and technology we put in place.
And so there's an economic impact
that they count on when they attack, especially aviation.
The other problem, and the other fear
that was brought to the fore, if you will,
because of this attack, is what we call the insider threat.
If, in fact, this soda can bomb was placed on the plane
by someone who worked at the airport, that's
a significant issue for us.
So as we've said over the years, the number one threat
to the aviation domain is what we call the human element.
That's the insider.
And so I have always been an advocate for renewing
background checks on aviation personnel, security screening
procedures for aviation personnel
that work at the airport, have access to the aircraft.
Those are things that I've brought out in the article
that I think people are going to have to look at in airports
around the world.
Although it can be costly, although it
can slow the process down, but it
is going to make the domain safer.
BIANNA GOLODRYGA: And it's interesting.
Last time we had you on, you actually
brought up an incident about a potential terrorist
in Minneapolis, who was stopped, who worked at the airport
there.
So of course, something nefarious and deadly
could have actually happened had he not been caught.
So you make a good point.
Laura, but let's do a reality check,
because we're not here to fearmonger
as people are getting ready to celebrate the holiday.
Putting things into perspective, you're
still more likely to get struck by lightning
than to be hit in a terror attack.
Correct?
LAURA BEGLEY BLOOM: Yes, you do have
to be aware of the statistics.
It's actually a very, very small chance
that you could be injured or killed in a terrorist attack.
You're much more likely to die from falling in the tub,
from getting in a car accident.
And you're much more likely to be struck by lightning.
And if you think about that, how often does that happen?
BIANNA GOLODRYGA: Not very often.
But of course, this is an important conversation to have,
Errol, especially during these tense times
in the past few weeks and months.
We're gearing up for the annual Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Three million people expected to line the streets here
in New York.
Talk about concerns you may have from a lone wolf perspective
and from an orchestrated terror attack perspective.
And is security, in your mind, adequate,
and is it prepared for Thursday's parade, given
the circumstances this year?
ERROLL SOUTHERS: Well, Laura, you
hit on a very, very important point with the lone wolf.
And I have always said, although we should be concerned
about people that may be traveling,
immigrating from overseas, our greatest concern
is the homegrown threat.
And as you saw in the Boston Marathon,
the Tsarnaev brothers were not two people
that came in from overseas and plotted to attack the marathon.
They were two individuals that had lived in the Boston
area for well over a decade.
So what the authorities are going to be looking at,
especially in New York at the parade,
are people that they have on their radar, people that are,
I call it, on the grid, that they know may be a problem.
They're going to be looking for people that know the area.
There's going to be an enhanced presence, obviously.
But they'll be looking for, as we
saw with the Tsarnaevs, people that just didn't fit in.
I mean, you don't typically go to a marathon dressed the way
that they were.
And so those are the kinds of things
that they will want New Yorkers and people enjoying the parade
to report.
But I will say this.
They are well-prepared for that parade.
They have carried it off for decades.
It's going to be a wonderful event.
People should enjoy it.
But people should really pay attention to their surroundings
as they would anyway.
BIANNA GOLODRYGA: Yeah.
And, Erroll, one thing the President touched on
was that ISIS does win if, in fact, it disrupts
our daily lifestyles and plans.
Do you advise that Americans should go on with their plans
here, whether it be to attend a football
game, whether it be to go shopping,
whether to attend a parade?
Do you find that our security here
is adequate in handling Americans
continuing their day-to-day basis and lives?
ERROLL SOUTHERS: I do find that our security is adequate.
And I'd like to take this moment to thank the men
and women for their service that actually
carry those duties out.
People should go on with their lives.
You know, I travel to countries where
terrorism is a daily threat.
It is not something that crosses our minds every time
we hear something that happens overseas.
It is a daily threat.
And in those countries, people, they respond.
They recover.
They're resilient.
And they go on with their lives.
And the way to defeat this threat
is to put the fear aside.
Pay attention.
And proceed with our lives, and enjoy living.
BIANNA GOLODRYGA: Enjoy living.
But, of course, be vigilant.
And of course, pay attention to your surroundings.
Erroll and Laura, I really appreciate
you joining us today.
Thank you so much.
And happy holidays to you both.
ERROLL SOUTHERS: Thank you very much.
Same to you.
BIANNA GOLODRYGA: And we always look forward
to hearing what you have to say.
You can follow me on Twitter @biannagolodryga,
and use #yahoolive to let us know
what you think about safety in this busy travel season.
I'm Bianna Golodryga.
Thanks for watching.
And Happy Thanksgiving.