PBS NewsHour - 1999-05-04
Channel: malgent
Transcript
Language: English (YouTube automatic captions)
[0:06] Good evening, I'm Jim Lara. On the
[0:08] NewsHour tonight, extended coverage of
[0:10] the tornadoes that whipped through
[0:11] Oklahoma and Kansas, including newsmaker
[0:14] interviews with Oklahoma Lieutenant
[0:16] Governor Fallon and Joe Schaefer of the
[0:18] Storm Prediction Center in Norman. Then,
[0:21] Tom Bearden summarizes the day's Kosovo
[0:23] news. Terrence Smith explores NATO's
[0:26] decision to bomb TV facilities. Jeffrey
[0:29] Kay tells the story of some calledup
[0:31] reservists and SAS Anne Taylor Fleming
[0:34] talks about family roots. It all follows
[0:36] our summary of the news this Tuesday.
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[1:14] support from viewers like you.
[1:16] >> Several tornadoes ripped through
[1:18] Oklahoma and Kansas last night. 43
[1:20] people were killed. 38 in Oklahoma, five
[1:23] in Kansas. Officials said they believed
[1:25] more dead or injured may remain in the
[1:28] rubble. Callie Hullman has more.
[1:32] The string of twisters began its
[1:34] devastating march across central
[1:35] Oklahoma late yesterday afternoon. By
[1:38] morning, it would rank as the worst
[1:40] North American tornado event since 1985
[1:43] when 90 people died in Ohio,
[1:45] Pennsylvania, and Canada. Left in the
[1:47] twister's wake were stunned witnesses
[1:49] from Oklahoma City and farther south to
[1:52] beyond Witchah, Kansas to the north.
[1:54] >> Well, it popped your ears and throw dirt
[1:57] all in there and
[1:59] it was
[2:02] like a bomb going off.
[2:03] >> It's just unreal.
[2:06] It's not even home hardly.
[2:09] >> The most destructive tornado barreled
[2:11] through the Oklahoma City area,
[2:13] punishing neighborhoods for 4 hours. It
[2:15] might have been a mile across at times.
[2:18] Its wind speeds surpassed 200 mph.
[2:21] Police said more than 500 people were
[2:23] treated for injuries at Oklahoma
[2:25] hospitals. Nearly 2,000 homes and
[2:28] buildings were shattered, leaving a
[2:29] flattened landscape. Vehicles and mobile
[2:32] homes were tossed through the air and
[2:34] crushed. Snapped power lines left
[2:36] 150,000 people without electricity.
[2:39] Authorities compared the devastation to
[2:41] the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, but
[2:44] spread over miles instead of city
[2:46] blocks.
[2:47] >> In the light of this morning, the
[2:49] tremendous might of the storms was
[2:51] evident. Rescue workers combed through
[2:53] the rubble looking for survivors. They
[2:55] say many are not accounted for, and the
[2:57] job of finding survivors is a delicate
[2:59] one.
[3:00] >> What we'd ask for most of all is this
[3:01] community's patience. Uh it's going to
[3:04] take us a while to do that. We can't
[3:05] just rip and tear through a lot of this.
[3:07] there's a possibility that we may have
[3:09] live victims trapped in some areas. We
[3:11] don't know that, but we're approaching
[3:13] it that there's obviously that
[3:14] possibility. We want to be as cautious
[3:16] and systematic as we can in the debris
[3:19] removal so if we do have somebody
[3:21] trapped, we don't further injure them
[3:22] and we can perform a successful rescue.
[3:25] >> Meanwhile, residents searched for what
[3:27] could be salvaged. To the north in
[3:29] Witchah, the storm system spawned
[3:31] tornadoes that injured 100 people. The
[3:33] work was similarly grim. The tangle of
[3:36] trees, cars, trucks, and aluminum siding
[3:39] seemed to stretch for miles. People
[3:41] reacted with awe and bewilderment.
[3:44] >> We were at prayer meeting last night
[3:46] that we had prayer meeting here last
[3:48] night and only two of us showed up.
[3:51] Thank God because if we hadn't if they
[3:53] had all shown up with all those women
[3:56] would have been in that church. This
[3:58] afternoon, between White House meetings
[4:00] on the Kosovo conflict and during an
[4:02] event on financial privacy, President
[4:04] Clinton offered sympathy to the
[4:05] survivor. He declared 11 Oklahoma
[4:08] counties disaster areas and was expected
[4:10] to do the same for parts of Kansas,
[4:12] which will speed federal aid to
[4:14] residents and businesses.
[4:15] >> We have to make sure everyone's
[4:17] accounted for and at the beginning
[4:19] cleanup can start. Local and state
[4:22] officials, fire and police, emergency
[4:23] services, National Guard personnel have
[4:26] already worked through the night and are
[4:28] doing a terrific job of dealing with an
[4:30] incredibly difficult situation.
[4:33] We're here talking about how people feel
[4:36] when something has been stolen from
[4:37] them. Uh, a lot of our fellow Americans
[4:40] have had everything taken from them in
[4:42] those two states, and I know that they
[4:44] will be in your prayers.
[4:47] Uh the people of Oklahoma City in
[4:49] particular have suffered uh too much
[4:52] devastation in recent years and they've
[4:53] been hit very very hard by this.
[4:56] >> Throughout the day today, much of
[4:57] Oklahoma remained under a fresh tornado
[5:00] watch.
[5:01] >> We'll have more on the tornadoes right
[5:03] after this news summary. On the Kosovo
[5:06] story today, Russian envoy Victor
[5:08] Chernameir met for the second time with
[5:10] President Clinton's foreign policy
[5:12] adviserss at the White House. He then
[5:14] went to New York where he spoke with UN
[5:16] Secretary General Kofi Annen. State
[5:19] Department spokesman James Rubin said
[5:21] this.
[5:22] >> We've made clear to Russia that we uh
[5:25] welcome their efforts to try to achie a
[5:28] achieve a diplomatic solution and we
[5:31] certainly appreciated uh Mr. Chairan's
[5:34] account of his meetings with the
[5:35] Yugoslav leadership last week.
[5:38] Nevertheless, we've made very clear that
[5:40] the proposals that have been uh
[5:43] transmitted in various forms fall short
[5:46] of US and NATO uh objectives. We'll have
[5:50] more on the developments on Yugoslavia
[5:52] later in the program tonight. In
[5:54] economic news today, the Conference
[5:56] Board's index of leading economic
[5:58] indicators rose again in March. The
[6:00] index is designed to forecast economic
[6:03] activity 6 to n months ahead. On Wall
[6:06] Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average
[6:08] closed down 128 points at 10,886.
[6:12] It had passed the 11,000 mark yesterday.
[6:16] The last of Wall Street's big investment
[6:18] bankers went public. Goldman Sachs
[6:20] offered its shares on the New York Stock
[6:22] Exchange for $53 a share. It rose to 70,
[6:26] giving the company a value of nearly $39
[6:29] billion. A member of a Cuban baseball
[6:32] delegation sought asylum in the US
[6:34] today. Baltimore police said he and six
[6:37] others failed to return to Havana to
[6:39] celebrate the Cuban All-Star team's
[6:41] victory over the Baltimore Orioles last
[6:43] night. Police said the others who missed
[6:45] the flight overslept. More than 300
[6:48] Cubans accompanied the team to
[6:50] Baltimore. And that's it for the news
[6:52] summary tonight. Now it's on to the
[6:54] tornadoes. A Kosovo news summary. NATO
[6:57] goes after the TV stations. Reserveists
[7:00] get ready to go. and an Anne Taylor
[7:02] Fleming essay,
[7:13] the tornado tragedies in Oklahoma. We
[7:16] get an update from Oklahoma Lieutenant
[7:18] Governor Mary Fallon. I spoke with her a
[7:20] few moments ago for more Oklahoma just
[7:23] outside Oklahoma City. Lieutenant
[7:25] Governor Fallon, welcome.
[7:28] >> Good afternoon, Jim. We just first uh
[7:30] just an overview. What is the latest uh
[7:33] death toll there in Oklahoma from the
[7:35] tornadoes?
[7:36] >> The latest death toll is 40 people
[7:38] statewide.
[7:39] >> 40 people confirmed dead. What about
[7:41] injured?
[7:42] >> We have 541 people who have been
[7:45] admitted to hospitals throughout the
[7:46] Oklahoma City vicinity.
[7:49] >> And how many are still missing?
[7:51] >> Well, we haven't got a count yet. There
[7:53] are neighbors going through and families
[7:55] going through trying to determine where
[7:58] their relatives or friends may be or
[8:00] their neighbors may be. And there are
[8:01] different associations that are trying
[8:03] to keep lists of people who might be
[8:05] missing.
[8:06] >> Mhm.
[8:07] >> And we're trying to just connect
[8:09] everybody. There's so much confusion
[8:10] here with all the houses that have been
[8:12] demolished and there's so many people
[8:14] trying to get to their neighborhoods and
[8:16] there are a lot of people who fled the
[8:17] shelters last night during this storm.
[8:20] We're trying to get a good count. Is
[8:21] there is there a feeling that there
[8:23] there are many people still unaccounted
[8:25] for?
[8:27] >> There is a feeling that there could be
[8:28] some people unaccounted for, but the
[8:31] fire marshall and the police chief have
[8:33] both stated that they've been through
[8:34] the neighborhood at least two times.
[8:35] They're getting ready to make a third
[8:36] sweep.
[8:37] >> I see. And what are we looking at there
[8:39] behind us there? Behind you there.
[8:41] >> Well, behind me is one of the
[8:43] neighborhoods that was hit the hardest.
[8:45] And as you can see, it looks just like
[8:47] somebody took, you know, like a like a
[8:49] bomb and just dropped it and everything
[8:51] exploded everywhere. There's debris in
[8:53] the trees. The power lines are all down
[8:55] behind me. Uh the clothes are
[8:59] thrown throughout the land. The trees
[9:00] have just broken off from the tops. The
[9:03] power lines are power poles are broken.
[9:05] In fact, somebody was telling me a story
[9:06] a minute ago that there was a 84 and 83y
[9:09] old couple who was sitting in the
[9:10] bathroom of one of these houses on two
[9:12] stools. And when the tornado went
[9:14] through, they just went and sat back on
[9:16] the front porch and looked at all the
[9:17] damage.
[9:17] >> Oh my goodness. Wow. Where were you when
[9:20] this thing hit last night?
[9:22] >> Well, I was at my home in northwest
[9:24] Oklahoma City. It came within around 10
[9:25] miles of my house, but the sirens did go
[9:28] off and I took my children to a church
[9:29] and went down into a basement.
[9:31] >> Yeah. How much? And
[9:32] >> actually, I'll tell you something
[9:33] interesting. Being around 10 miles away
[9:36] from this disaster area, I could smell
[9:38] the gas fumes clear at my home. Could
[9:41] you see the twisters themselves?
[9:43] >> I cannot see the twisters, but there's a
[9:45] tremendous lightning storm and a lot of
[9:47] wind and some rain.
[9:49] >> What kind of areas of Oklahoma City?
[9:51] >> Yeah. What kind of warning did the folks
[9:52] have?
[9:53] >> Oh, we had a really good warning system
[9:55] last night. All the news stations were
[9:57] on live on TV and they actually had a
[9:59] map with the different sections of
[10:01] Oklahoma City and more and del city and
[10:03] the surrounding areas, Chicochet that
[10:05] were hit and they would tell the track
[10:06] of the tornado and where they were
[10:08] moving or tornadoes I should say. Mhm.
[10:10] >> There were so many and they were telling
[10:12] exactly where they were going to be and
[10:13] where the path would be and the timing
[10:14] of them. So, we had a a lot of advanced
[10:16] warning and I think it really saved a
[10:18] lot of lives because of our news
[10:19] service.
[10:20] >> In in general terms, what caused what
[10:23] was the cause of death in most of these
[10:25] cases.
[10:26] >> The cause of death,
[10:28] >> I think it was just injuries from the
[10:30] homes being flattened. And there were a
[10:31] lot of cars that were on the highway
[10:33] that time of night also, but it hit
[10:35] around the rush hour traffic time. And
[10:38] there were cars that were just blown off
[10:40] the highway. There were a lot of people
[10:41] who went up under the bridges and were
[10:42] hiding. In fact, I heard one story about
[10:44] people who were up under the bridge.
[10:45] They just had mud covering their face.
[10:47] >> Yeah. What is the what is the major need
[10:50] there now?
[10:51] >> I think the major need is going to be
[10:53] obviously the rebuilding. And with
[10:55] rebuilding, you're going to need money
[10:56] to rebuild. FEMA director is here, James
[10:59] Whit, and he said that the insurance
[11:00] will probably cover about around 75%
[11:04] maybe at the most of the cost of all the
[11:06] damages. So, there's going to be a need
[11:07] for money for these people to restore
[11:09] their lives, their homes, to get their
[11:11] clothes back, and their furniture and
[11:12] all the things they've lost. They've
[11:14] lost everything here.
[11:15] >> Yeah. What What was it? Uh you've talked
[11:18] to many of the people who were right in
[11:20] the middle of this. What What was it
[11:21] like being in the middle of one of these
[11:23] tornadoes?
[11:25] >> I think they were really frightened.
[11:26] They heard the wind. They could see the
[11:29] the trees blowing, the debris blowing.
[11:31] In fact, on our local news last night,
[11:33] they they were actually showing the
[11:35] tornado hitting in different areas. And
[11:36] you could just see the debris just
[11:37] flying, circling through the air. So, I
[11:40] think they were just really frightened.
[11:42] Majority of them were smart enough by
[11:44] following the news to know where to go
[11:46] in their homes, to get into a bathroom,
[11:47] a corridor to get down with blankets or
[11:50] with um heavy coats or whatever it might
[11:53] be that could protect them. I have heard
[11:55] a lot about injuries from debris that
[11:57] flew around and hit people and cut
[11:59] people.
[12:00] >> But they were told they were given very
[12:02] specific instructions as to what to do
[12:04] to avoid uh and what was the basic thing
[12:06] to get down and get inside some some
[12:09] something low. Well, I was watching the
[12:11] news myself to see what I needed to do.
[12:13] But basically, they told him to get into
[12:14] a corridor in the center of the house or
[12:16] get into a restroom, to get a
[12:18] flashlight, a candle, to get a a radio
[12:20] with batteries on it, to put on a heavy
[12:22] coat, to get blankets, to get pillows,
[12:23] and surround yourself. And if you're in
[12:25] a car, they said get out of your car and
[12:28] go down into a ditch. And boy, were they
[12:30] right on that. They showed one area of
[12:31] the highway last night on on the news
[12:33] and and I've seen some of the areas
[12:34] along the roads here where people uh
[12:37] fled from their cars and their cars were
[12:38] just twisted like little pieces of metal
[12:40] and just thrown head over heels on each
[12:42] other.
[12:43] >> Yeah. You know, they they say that uh
[12:46] this is the strongest tornado that
[12:48] anybody has ever heard of? Uh did was
[12:53] that known when this came? Was the
[12:55] warning that strong? Say, "Hey, wait a
[12:57] minute. This is not just a routine
[12:58] tornado. This is one really going to
[13:00] blow some people away.
[13:01] >> Well, the tornado stayed on the ground
[13:03] at least an hour for different areas of
[13:04] the state. And up to some points, it was
[13:06] a half a mile to a mile wide, which is
[13:09] absolutely huge. And they thought that
[13:10] it was around a F4, which is second from
[13:13] the highest level you can get. F5 is the
[13:15] highest. And on F5s, you get mile wind
[13:18] per mile per hour is around 250 mph. So,
[13:21] I said it could have been an F5 even
[13:24] >> 250 mph.
[13:26] >> 250 mph. In fact, just right across the
[13:28] street from me, I'm I'm looking at a
[13:30] church and it's a brick church and
[13:32] there's a piece of plywood, a ward that
[13:35] just rammed through the brick of the
[13:37] church. That's how strong the wind was
[13:39] through here.
[13:39] >> Yeah. What's the spirit of the folks
[13:41] like?
[13:42] >> Oh, the spirit's good. It's It's
[13:45] incredible how all these people can come
[13:47] together and work and help each other.
[13:49] There's been so many people coming by
[13:51] today offering food, clothes, baby
[13:54] formula. I heard a man on the radio a
[13:56] minute ago telling that he had two
[13:58] rentous and he would be happy to give it
[14:00] to anyone that needed a place to stay
[14:02] tonight.
[14:03] >> Yeah. Well, after the uh the terrible
[14:05] bombing at the federal building in
[14:06] Oklahoma City a few years ago, are you
[14:09] all in Oklahoma saying, "My goodness,
[14:11] why us again?"
[14:12] >> Oh, it does seem like it's been awful
[14:14] soon to have a disaster. And I want to
[14:16] tell you something. I was in office
[14:17] during the bombing of the Alpha Pura
[14:19] building, and this tragedy is just just
[14:21] as big. Of course, we hadn't had as many
[14:23] deaths, but this tragedy is huge for
[14:25] Oklahoma. I heard this tornado swip a a
[14:28] mile mile area through Oklahoma County.
[14:32] It's about 12 miles long,
[14:34] >> and there's been a thousand houses that
[14:35] have been damaged. And that's just in
[14:37] the Oklahoma City, Moore, Dell City,
[14:40] Midwest City Metroplex area. But we also
[14:42] have many rural towns that were hit
[14:44] heavy last night. down in Chicochet,
[14:46] Oklahoma, which is about an hour from
[14:48] here. It totally demolished their
[14:50] airport, hit a hospital. There's some
[14:52] other little rural towns that have had a
[14:54] lot of damage.
[14:55] >> Some little communities were just
[14:57] completely destroyed, were they not?
[14:59] >> That's right. And there have been some
[15:00] deaths in some of the other rural
[15:01] communities.
[15:02] >> Yeah. Yeah. Well, look, uh, Lieutenant
[15:04] Governor Fallon, uh, my best to you and
[15:07] thank you for being with us.
[15:08] >> Well, thank you, and we sure appreciate
[15:09] the nation's support and the way they
[15:11] pull together to help us once again in a
[15:13] time of tragedy.
[15:14] >> Thank you very much. You're welcome.
[15:16] >> Bill Pon has more.
[15:19] >> For a closer look at the tornadoes that
[15:21] hit Oklahoma and Kansas, we turn to Joe
[15:23] Schaefer, director of the Storm
[15:25] Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma.
[15:27] Welcome, Mr. Schaefer. Uh I presume most
[15:29] of the tornadoes that you predict are
[15:31] far away from you personally, but uh
[15:33] that wasn't the case last night. You
[15:34] were pretty you were pretty close last
[15:36] night, weren't you, to where uh where
[15:38] some of these tornadoes touched down.
[15:40] >> Yeah, Phil. The tornadoes last night
[15:42] were within about four miles of my
[15:45] office. Uh some of my employees uh
[15:48] actually were in buildings that were
[15:50] damaged by the tornadoes and went by.
[15:52] So, you know, it was getting a little
[15:53] close to home here last night.
[15:55] >> Was it uh was that fair presumably
[15:58] fairly unnerving for you to to be doing
[16:00] your work while that was going on so
[16:01] close to you?
[16:02] uh you get uh so uh engaged in trying to
[16:08] uh track the storms and where they're
[16:10] going and uh make forecast for the
[16:13] future that really you sort of lose
[16:15] track of where you are. You just get so
[16:16] engrossed in the uh weather business
[16:19] that you lose you lose sight of holy
[16:22] mackerel. This is right here.
[16:24] >> Mr. Schaefer, let's talk a little bit
[16:26] about the size. We've heard estimates
[16:27] about one of the tornadoes being as wide
[16:29] as a half mile as possibly going up to
[16:31] to a mile. What uh what do you know
[16:34] about the size of the tornadoes that
[16:35] hit?
[16:36] >> Uh all right now the survey teams are
[16:39] still out looking at the damage, but
[16:41] from the uh pictures that were on the uh
[16:46] television last night, it's uh easy to
[16:49] see how at times some of those storms
[16:52] might have got up 3/4 of a mile to a
[16:54] mile wide. The one long track tornado
[16:58] was on the ground for almost 70 miles.
[17:00] It wasn't one continuous tornado. It was
[17:02] one storm that would drop a a f a series
[17:05] of tornadoes out. Would drop a tornado
[17:08] and the tornado would move a little
[17:10] ahead of the updraft. A new tornado
[17:12] would form and it just kept this way and
[17:15] tracked on the ground for well over 70
[17:17] miles.
[17:17] >> And how unusual is it for a tornado for
[17:20] for the path to be that wide and for it
[17:23] to be on on the ground that long?
[17:25] Uh those long track tornadoes are really
[17:28] pretty unusual. You know, back uh
[17:30] historically speaking, there's been
[17:32] reports of tracks over 200 miles long,
[17:36] but it's probably the same thing just
[17:38] these families where you get one forming
[17:41] after another under the same storm. And
[17:43] these things probably occur three, four
[17:46] times a year at the most. To get it this
[17:48] wide at the same time, that is uh
[17:50] unusual. And the real striking thing is
[17:53] this tornado went uh right through uh
[17:57] the metropolitan area where so it
[18:00] actually hit a city and that doesn't
[18:02] happen all that frequently. It's not
[18:04] that cities uh are protected. It's just
[18:08] if you take the proportion of uh the
[18:10] countryside that has metropolitan areas
[18:13] in it's just a pretty small number.
[18:14] >> So you're saying so you're saying it was
[18:16] it was just chance that it hit a city.
[18:18] It wasn't uh uh it wasn't that it
[18:21] doesn't happen. It's just statistically
[18:23] it it typically does not
[18:25] >> right. Just statistically it doesn't. So
[18:27] this one was a big long track wide
[18:30] tornado that went running right through
[18:33] the uh the outskirts or even through
[18:37] part of the inner part of Oklahoma City.
[18:40] So that was what really made the thing
[18:42] striking and caused all the damage that
[18:44] Lieutenant Governor Fowler was talking
[18:46] about before.
[18:47] >> Mr. Mr. Schaefer, we saw pictures of
[18:49] tornadoes side by side. How unusual is
[18:51] that to have several several tornadoes
[18:53] happening at the same time?
[18:55] >> Uh that's uh relatively rare. What
[18:58] happens is uh the one tornado gets uh
[19:03] the updraft starts to die and uh moves
[19:06] over to another portion of the cloud and
[19:08] then the new tornado fel develops there.
[19:11] So you can have these two two on the
[19:15] ground at the same time, but it's really
[19:17] not observed that much. What was unique
[19:19] about the thing last night is two of the
[19:22] local network affiliates had uh traffic
[19:25] cams following the tornado for 2 to
[19:28] three hours before it got into Oklahoma
[19:30] City. So, you know, we had this close-up
[19:32] marvelous photography going on for two 2
[19:36] and 1/2 hours before the storm actually
[19:38] got to uh the Oklahoma City metropolitan
[19:41] area.
[19:42] >> And we heard the lieutenant governor say
[19:43] that the warning was was pretty good.
[19:45] So, I mean, you you you feel pretty good
[19:46] about the job you did last night as far
[19:48] as predicting. Uh yeah, the unfortunate
[19:52] thing is that we had, you know, 40
[19:55] people roughly speaking in Oklahoma and
[19:57] another 3 to five up in Kansas. And you
[20:01] know, that's that's tragic that that
[20:03] happened. But really, this storm, we
[20:06] were very very lucky. We had a good job
[20:09] of forecasting. The uh media folk, the
[20:13] TV weather people uh did a good job.
[20:15] They helped us get our message out and I
[20:18] think it really went pretty good.
[20:19] >> Mr. Schaefer, can you predict what the
[20:21] storm what a tornado's intensity might
[20:24] be?
[20:25] >> Ah, I wish we could. That is one of the
[20:27] things that uh our friends in the
[20:30] twister movies can do that we can't.
[20:33] What we can do is we'll forecast
[20:36] tornadoes
[20:38] and uh the more intense tornadoes
[20:41] typically 92% of them are in inside
[20:45] tornado watches. So when we put out a
[20:47] watch we will catch the more intense
[20:49] tornadoes but we're not yet smart enough
[20:51] to be able to say hey this is an F2
[20:54] tornado. This is going to be an F5
[20:56] tornado one of these days maybe.
[20:58] >> And again you're referring to the
[20:59] severity of the tornadoes. Speaking of
[21:01] tornado watches, what is the latest? Is
[21:03] the area still under a tornado watch?
[21:05] >> Uh the tornado watches in the Oklahoma
[21:08] City area
[21:10] uh ended the threat essentially ended
[21:12] about 11:00 this morning and moved
[21:14] eastward. We now have a large watch that
[21:18] runs till I think it's 10:00 tonight
[21:20] that covers the eastern third of
[21:23] Oklahoma, the western 2/3 of Arkansas
[21:26] and the uh north the northeast corner of
[21:31] Texas and a little bit of Louisiana. We
[21:33] had reports of a 70mi long track again
[21:37] down in Texas with this watch and there
[21:40] was one person died with it. So, the uh
[21:44] system is still producing tornadoes as
[21:46] we go into this evening for the second
[21:48] day in a row.
[21:48] >> Mr. Schaefer, I thank you very much.
[21:50] >> Thank you.
[22:00] >> Now, the today's news from the bombing
[22:02] war against Yugoslavia. Tom Bearden has
[22:05] our summary.
[22:09] NATO says the last 24 hours have seen
[22:11] the heaviest strikes since the war
[22:13] began, concentrating on tanks and
[22:15] artillery and fixed targets ranging from
[22:17] airfields to command posts. I'm very
[22:20] pleased to report that since yesterday,
[22:23] we have experienced one of our most
[22:26] successful
[22:28] military operations against field forces
[22:31] in Kosovo.
[22:33] We hit the 125th motorized brigade in
[22:38] western Kosovo
[22:40] and the 233rd in eastern Kosovo.
[22:44] Especially hard we engaged various
[22:47] fielded forces including many armored
[22:50] vehicles and artillery positions,
[22:53] military vehicles, command posts,
[22:57] two radars
[22:59] and surfaceto-air missile support
[23:01] vehicles.
[23:03] A US F-16 shot down a Yugoslav Air Force
[23:06] Mig 29, both seen here in file footage,
[23:09] after the Russian-built fighter rose to
[23:11] challenge the American plane near the
[23:13] border between Bosnia and Serbia. It was
[23:16] the first air-to-air combat since the
[23:18] early days of the war.
[23:21] Yesterday, Yugoslavian media reported
[23:23] that some 20 civilians died as the
[23:25] result of a NATO missile or bomb attack
[23:27] on this bus. This morning, NATO
[23:29] spokesman Jamie Sheay denied
[23:31] responsibility.
[23:32] >> We spent all of yesterday afternoon and
[23:34] all of the night doing uh a check on
[23:38] this. Uh we interviewed all of the
[23:40] pilots who were flying over that area
[23:42] yesterday. We looked at all the cockpit
[23:44] video tape available. We looked at all
[23:47] of the intelligence available and we
[23:49] have and we still have no indication
[23:52] linking NATO to that incident.
[23:56] She said NATO has been quick to
[23:57] acknowledge responsibility in six
[23:59] earlier incidents where civilian
[24:01] casualties resulted. NATO sources said
[24:03] the bus might have been ambushed by
[24:05] Kosovo Liberation Army forces.
[24:07] Meanwhile, Yugoslavia sharply raised its
[24:10] estimate of casualties, saying 1,200
[24:12] people have been killed in the bombing
[24:14] campaign and 5,000 wounded.
[24:17] The outgoing chairman of NATO's military
[24:19] committee said the air war has been
[24:21] hampered by NATO's avoidance of
[24:23] collateral damage. German General Klaus
[24:25] Nman said not using overwhelming force
[24:28] at the outset has prolonged the
[24:30] campaign.
[24:31] >> We need to find a way to reconcile the
[24:33] conditions of a coalition war with the
[24:36] principle of military operations such as
[24:39] surprise and the use of overwhelming
[24:41] force.
[24:43] We did not apply either in Operation
[24:45] Allied Force and this cost time, effort
[24:49] and potentially additional casualties
[24:52] and the net result being that the
[24:55] campaign is undoubtedly prolonged.
[24:59] >> The United Nations says the refugee
[25:01] crisis along Kosovo's southern border
[25:03] worsens as each day passes. People are
[25:06] arriving much faster than shelters can
[25:08] be constructed.
[25:10] UN Refugee Commission spokesman Ron
[25:12] Redmond says Serbs are forcing people to
[25:14] board trains that dump them near the
[25:16] border with Macedonia.
[25:18] >> Last night we had uh 11 more than 11,000
[25:21] people show up here for the first time
[25:24] since the beginning of this crisis when
[25:26] a huge number was pushed out. We saw
[25:29] three trains turn up in one day. One
[25:31] very early in the morning, another one
[25:33] at midday, and then another one late
[25:35] last night. So it appears to us that the
[25:39] Serbs in Kosovo are working overtime to
[25:42] push these people out, particularly from
[25:44] areas up around Christina and some of
[25:47] the cities to the south.
[25:49] >> Relief workers are reluctantly preparing
[25:51] to move people out of Macedonia and into
[25:53] Albania to relieve overcrowding,
[25:55] something they had hoped to avoid.
[25:57] >> NATO has agreed to build a campsite for
[26:00] approximately 60,000 people in Albania
[26:03] in Korcha. So we may have to consider
[26:05] this option as long as we can guarantee
[26:07] that the movement is a voluntary one and
[26:09] one that's very clearly organized so
[26:11] that families are not separated.
[26:15] >> But Albania has its own human flood.
[26:17] Thousands are arriving at Cucus on foot
[26:19] in tractors and cars. Many exhausted and
[26:22] in extreme distress.
[26:27] >> They talk of Serb forces demanding money
[26:29] and gunning down those who don't comply.
[26:31] of the people that are doing this.
[26:35] I hope I'm not too strong, but I
[26:37] wouldn't kill them people.
[26:40] I I cannot believe that a human being
[26:42] can shot and killed old man just on the
[26:45] head without nothing, just asking for
[26:48] money or jewelry or I don't know what
[26:51] and just because they are back.
[26:53] >> The first batch of some 20,000 Kosovo
[26:56] refugees the US has pledged to accept
[26:58] will depart tomorrow. About 400 people
[27:01] will be flown to Fort Dicks, New Jersey
[27:03] for processing before being released to
[27:05] relatives in the interior of the
[27:07] country.
[27:08] >> On Capitol Hill, the Senate tabled a
[27:10] resolution authorizing the use of all
[27:13] available force in the Balkans. Its
[27:15] sponsor, Arizona Republican John McCain,
[27:17] who is a presidential candidate, blasted
[27:20] President Clinton just before the vote.
[27:22] The resolution was viewed as an effort
[27:24] to push the administration toward the
[27:25] use of ground troops. The president of
[27:27] the United States is prepared to lose a
[27:29] war rather than do the hard work, the
[27:31] politically risky work of fighting it as
[27:33] the leader of the greatest nation on
[27:35] earth should fight when our interests
[27:37] and our values are imperiled.
[27:40] We all know why this resolution is going
[27:41] to lose in a few minutes. It's going to
[27:44] lose because the president and members
[27:46] of his cabinet have joined with the
[27:47] opponents to the war and lobbyed hard
[27:51] for the resolution's defeat. Senate
[27:53] Minority Leader Tom Dashel pushed to
[27:55] table the motion.
[27:56] >> It isn't just the president.
[27:59] It is all of his joint chiefs of staff.
[28:02] It is everybody in the Pentagon who
[28:04] advises the president who has said this
[28:06] is not the time. We do not want to
[28:09] commit the resources. Mr. President,
[28:11] don't request them. And he has not.
[28:15] >> Majority leader Trent L also moved to
[28:17] kill the measure and many Republican
[28:19] senators were also opposed. President
[28:21] Clinton flies to Europe tonight to hold
[28:23] talks with NATO officials in Brussels.
[28:26] Just before he departed, he repeated the
[28:28] conditions that Yugoslavia would have to
[28:30] meet to end the bombing.
[28:31] >> This is not a defeat for Serbia. We're
[28:34] seeking. What we're seeking is the
[28:36] simple right of the Kosvar Albanians to
[28:38] live in peace on their own land without
[28:41] fear of cleansing because of their
[28:42] religious or their ethnic background.
[28:45] And a simple statement that in Europe
[28:48] there will be no more ethnic cleansing.
[28:50] We will not usher in the 21st century
[28:52] with the worst nightmares of the 20th.
[28:54] >> Clinton's 48-hour trip includes a visit
[28:57] to a US air base in Germany where he
[28:59] will meet with pilots and the three
[29:00] released PS.
[29:03] >> Still to come on the NewsHour tonight,
[29:05] NATO's targeting of TV outlets, reserve
[29:08] their way, and an Taylor Fleming essay.
[29:15] Our
[29:21] media correspondent Terrence Smith has
[29:24] the TV target story.
[29:26] >> Another night of NATO bombing in
[29:28] Yugoslavia. Another strike against
[29:30] Serbian television and radio facilities.
[29:34] And last night, more bombing in
[29:35] Novvisad. This time, a Serbian TV
[29:38] antenna and building. RTS, Serbia's
[29:42] radio and television network, has been
[29:44] knocked off the air by allied aircraft
[29:46] repeatedly over the last two weeks.
[29:49] NATO's rationale for the attacks is that
[29:52] the stations are what it calls principal
[29:55] instruments of the Mallovich war machine
[29:58] and therefore fair game. Spokesman Jamie
[30:01] Sheay justified the strikes during the
[30:04] NATO summit in Washington.
[30:06] >> RTS is not media. It's full of
[30:09] government employees who are paid to
[30:11] produce propaganda and lies. To call it
[30:14] media is is
[30:16] totally misleading and therefore we see
[30:19] that as a military target. It is the
[30:21] same thing as a military propaganda
[30:23] machine integrated into the uh armed
[30:25] forces. We would never target legitimate
[30:29] free media.
[30:30] >> The strikes have not been without
[30:32] casualties. The April 23rd attack on RTS
[30:35] studios in Bgrade killed at least 11
[30:38] people. RTS has been virtually the only
[30:41] means Western broadcast journalists
[30:43] could use to transmit pictures from
[30:45] Yugoslavia. Now broadcasters must ferry
[30:48] tape out of the country to be
[30:50] transmitted. The Serbs exercise absolute
[30:54] control over what is seen, heard, and
[30:57] taped.
[30:57] >> We can't videotape anywhere without a
[30:59] police escort. Despite the bombing,
[31:02] Serbian television has managed to
[31:04] continue transmitting its own images of
[31:06] the situation in Yugoslavia. These, in
[31:09] turn, are being picked up and replayed
[31:12] by many international news
[31:13] organizations.
[31:15] US and European broadcasters and
[31:17] advocacy groups have protested the
[31:20] bombing of media targets as a violation
[31:22] of the Geneva Convention and a threat to
[31:25] journalists of all nationalities.
[31:28] The debate over targeting Serb TV
[31:31] continues with retired Marine General
[31:33] Richard Neil, who was deputy for
[31:36] operations at the US Central Command
[31:38] during the Gulf War, and with Robert
[31:40] Levitt, associate director of the New
[31:42] York University Center for War, Peace,
[31:45] and the News Media. Gentlemen, welcome
[31:47] to you both. Robert Levit, uh, is NATO
[31:50] justified in striking Serbian television
[31:54] and radio?
[31:55] >> No, I don't think so. Uh there really
[31:57] are two reasons here that we need to
[31:59] think about. The first is that this is
[32:02] really a deliberate targeting of
[32:03] civilians which is questionable in any
[32:05] circumstance. This is not a military
[32:08] target no matter what NATO says. The
[32:11] second is that it really creates a very
[32:13] dangerous precedent with regard to
[32:16] freedom of the press. Once we start
[32:18] defining journalists as legitimate
[32:20] targets, it becomes very hard for us to
[32:22] criticize any other attacks on media,
[32:25] including those of Malassovich himself,
[32:28] on his own independent media.
[32:30] >> General Neil, do you agree with that as
[32:32] his deliberate targeting of civilians?
[32:34] >> No, I don't. Um I think it was brought
[32:37] up during one of the um telecast u on
[32:40] your show telling about um these are
[32:42] government employees um a school in the
[32:45] art of disinformation and
[32:46] misinformation. They're a propaganda
[32:48] tool that has been used to Mallovich's
[32:51] advantage to keep the populace in
[32:53] support of him and giving only one side
[32:55] of what's going on in the war. I think
[32:58] also it's a little bit disingenuous by
[33:01] Bob to talk about the uh the deliberate
[33:04] the targeting turning against the media
[33:07] on a routine basis. Obviously target
[33:09] selection had been very carefully
[33:11] scrutinized by 19 countries not one
[33:14] country and it took the vote of those 19
[33:16] to determine that this was a legitimate
[33:18] military target giving military
[33:20] advantage to Mallosvich's forces and and
[33:23] they take took away that advantage by
[33:25] striking those targets.
[33:26] >> Uh Mr. Mr. Levit, what about that? Does
[33:28] it matter uh to you if these are in
[33:31] effect paid propagandists, arms and
[33:34] employees of the government?
[33:36] >> Well, look, most of the people in in
[33:38] Serbia are employed by the government.
[33:40] Uh most of the people working for radio
[33:42] uh TV Serbia are are regular people who
[33:45] are doing their jobs. Many of them don't
[33:47] like meas. Many of them don't like what
[33:49] they're doing. Uh it's a whole media uh
[33:53] operation that uh does include some very
[33:56] nasty propaganda. Uh and yet this is
[33:59] really crossing a dangerous line.
[34:01] >> General Neil, what about the point of
[34:03] crossing the line? Where is the line? In
[34:05] other words, are schools a target
[34:08] because they educate people who might
[34:10] fight? Are hospitals? What where is the
[34:12] line?
[34:13] >> No, I think the lines are very carefully
[34:16] drawn and and I think I would add that
[34:17] they're a case-byase basis. Um in this
[34:20] particular case uh the the target list
[34:23] has been reviewed and and and discussed
[34:26] at great length from what I've told. Uh
[34:28] basically that line is is drawn uh that
[34:32] in in fact doesn't give uh the opposing
[34:34] side this the enemy as as NATO and the
[34:37] US call it right now Mallosvich's
[34:39] forces. Um he's crossed the line by
[34:42] using the media to his advantage. We're
[34:44] only getting uh the people of uh of
[34:47] Bosnia are only getting one one side of
[34:49] the story of Yugoslavia are only getting
[34:51] one side of the story. And I think
[34:52] that's critically important to remember.
[34:54] Our press are not able to wander freely
[34:57] about the battlefield and to report both
[34:59] sides of the story. They only get one
[35:01] side and that's the side that the
[35:02] Yugoslav forces want to want to send out
[35:05] of the country.
[35:06] >> But isn't that usually the case in a
[35:07] country at war,
[35:09] >> General?
[35:10] >> I'm having trouble with my earpiece, but
[35:12] I think um Uh, as you say, there's
[35:15] restricted targets uh that are not
[35:17] allowed to be struck. Uh, and they're
[35:19] they're carefully crafted. Schools,
[35:21] historical sites, hospitals, all of
[35:24] those things are on restrict restricted
[35:26] target list. Obviously, the enemy uses
[35:28] that to their advantage because they
[35:29] know that in fact NATO and US forces are
[35:33] very concerned about collateral damage
[35:34] and so they take into serious
[35:36] consideration what targets to strike.
[35:39] Are they of military advantage? And only
[35:41] after they have passed that litmus test
[35:43] are they really then put on the target
[35:45] list to be struck.
[35:46] >> All right, Mr. Levit, you were talking
[35:47] before about a precedent, a dangerous
[35:50] precedent from your point of view. Are
[35:52] you concerned that journalists per se
[35:54] become targets?
[35:56] >> Yes. I mean, we know journalists are
[35:57] targets in many countries. They have
[35:59] been in Serbia, independent Serbian
[36:02] media. Uh we really need to do
[36:04] everything we can to support freedom of
[36:06] the press. There is an active debate
[36:09] about whether there are some incredibly
[36:11] extreme situations uh perhaps in Rwanda
[36:14] during the genocide there uh where
[36:17] journalists actually have been indicted
[36:19] by the international tribunal for
[36:21] inciting genocide. I don't they have not
[36:24] ruled on that yet and I don't think you
[36:27] can really look at what's happening in
[36:29] Serbia in that way. Uh certainly the
[36:32] media is propagandistic. it has been a
[36:34] very destructive force and yet it's very
[36:38] difficult to draw a line and say that
[36:40] this is no longer media. Uh there are
[36:43] many governments around the world who
[36:45] are very happy now that uh NATO has said
[36:48] it's legitimate to target journalists
[36:50] and they uh will be doing that in the
[36:53] future.
[36:54] >> Uh General Neil, what about that
[36:55] standard? Who is to determine? After
[36:58] all, one man's propaganda is another
[37:00] man's information. I don't think NATO
[37:02] has has said that now it's legitimate to
[37:04] target media. I think that they have
[37:06] very carefully crafted the explanation
[37:09] that this is not media. That in fact is
[37:11] a tool of Mallosovich's government uh to
[37:14] control the activities of its citizens
[37:16] and to make sure that he keeps the
[37:18] morale high for the folks down in Kosovo
[37:21] province that are rack wrecking havoc
[37:23] among the Albanian population. I don't
[37:27] think that these these these people or
[37:29] this institution falls under what I
[37:31] would call a classic definition of
[37:33] media.
[37:34] >> I wonder uh Mr. Le go ahead. I'm sorry.
[37:36] >> I was going to say, you know, Jamie Shay
[37:38] in your in your leadin piece here said
[37:40] we would never target free legitimate
[37:42] media. I think it's very difficult to
[37:45] take on that power to say we will define
[37:49] what is legitimate media. We really need
[37:52] to do everything we can to support
[37:54] independent media to really take the
[37:56] opposite tack here. Instead of bombing
[37:58] media as we've done, do as much as we
[38:01] can to build up independent and
[38:03] alternative media if we're worried about
[38:05] uh the effect of that media.
[38:07] >> General Neil, the classic approach to
[38:09] propaganda is to counter it with more
[38:12] information, more reporting. Why
[38:14] wouldn't that work?
[38:15] >> Well, we've done some more reporting.
[38:17] We've had some different uh aircraft
[38:19] that are used to get some of the word
[38:21] out down to the province and also into
[38:23] Yugoslav uh Yugoslavia airspace. But I
[38:27] think uh basically if we don't control
[38:30] uh the medium that is disseminating the
[38:32] information out to the Yugoslav people
[38:34] so that they can determine which is the
[38:36] right side and which is the wrong side.
[38:38] Instead, they get a constant feed of
[38:40] rhetoric from the Mallosvich government
[38:44] uh that is saying that NATO is the
[38:45] threat, that NATO is the enemy, that
[38:47] there's nothing going on down in Kosovo,
[38:49] a few isolated incidents. If this is
[38:52] media, uh then I'm afraid we've got a
[38:54] we've got a contradiction in terms as
[38:56] far as I'm concerned.
[38:57] >> Mr. Levit, is there in your view any
[38:59] danger of a of a backlash here? In other
[39:01] words, if the people don't know what's
[39:04] going on, if they can't see what's going
[39:06] on in their country, the Yugoslav Pipio
[39:09] people, I wonder how that might affect
[39:10] their attitude towards the government.
[39:13] Well, what we've seen so far really is a
[39:16] a growing support from Losich,
[39:18] unfortunately. I mean, that's been the
[39:20] predominant effect of the bombing, and I
[39:22] think bombing uh media will only add to
[39:25] that. The media in in Serbia, the state
[39:28] media is not directly contributing to
[39:30] the war in a military sense. Certainly,
[39:33] it's giving a distorted view of what's
[39:35] happening. Uh but look, you know, there
[39:37] are a lot of sophisticated people in
[39:39] Belgrade who can watch CNN, who can
[39:41] watch BBC. They think they're seeing
[39:43] propaganda from the US and Britain. And
[39:46] so again, uh you know, propaganda is to
[39:49] some extent in the eye of the beholder.
[39:50] I think the backlash really is against
[39:53] NATO. That's the result of that.
[39:56] >> One question, General Neil, goes to the
[39:58] effectiveness of the bombing of these of
[40:01] these television and radio
[40:03] installations. Generally, they've only
[40:05] been off for a few hours and then
[40:07] they're back on the air and they seem to
[40:08] have multiple transmission points. U you
[40:11] know, is it doable?
[40:13] >> Uh is it doable to knock out the uh
[40:16] transmission? Well, obviously it's a
[40:17] challenge and obviously they have
[40:19] redundant systems uh that are allow them
[40:21] to come back up online fairly quickly,
[40:24] but I think the message is being sent. I
[40:26] think that um you know when the
[40:28] postmodms have done on this campaign,
[40:30] there might be some soularching saying
[40:32] that perhaps um the phase three as they
[40:34] call it might have been more appropriate
[40:36] early on. I think there was a lot of
[40:39] hope that a few bombs or a few
[40:41] activities on the part of NATO forces
[40:43] might bring Mallosovich to the peace
[40:45] table. Right now, the people in
[40:47] Belgrade, they haven't got a clear
[40:48] picture of what's going on down in
[40:50] Kosovo because of the media in quotes uh
[40:53] lack of of legitimate reporting. And so
[40:57] the only way I hope the BBC is getting
[40:59] through, I hope that CNN is getting
[41:01] through and that the Bgrade population,
[41:03] mostly the intelligencia, are getting uh
[41:06] a feed of what's really going on and
[41:08] hopefully they'll bring pressure to bear
[41:09] on Melvich
[41:10] >> from International Broadcasting. All
[41:11] right, gentlemen. Thank you both very
[41:13] much.
[41:14] >> Yes, sir. Thank you.
[41:24] Next, the Kosovo War comes home to some
[41:27] Americans. Jeffrey K of KCT Los Angeles
[41:30] reports.
[41:32] Yesterday, one UPS driver showed up at
[41:35] work in uniform, but not in the usual
[41:38] dark brown clothes he wears to deliver
[41:40] packages.
[41:43] Larry is an Air Force reservist from
[41:45] Sacramento, California. We were asked
[41:47] not to use last names of reservists for
[41:50] security reasons. He came to collect his
[41:52] last paycheck before shipping out to
[41:54] help fight the war in Yugoslavia.
[41:57] >> Got a couple checks for you.
[41:59] >> Okay. Also, can I um turn in I have one
[42:01] week's vacation left in the books. I
[42:02] want to turn that in so I can get that
[42:04] paycheck before I take off. Just
[42:05] >> Okay, I'll turn that in now. Double
[42:08] >> make it in this week.
[42:09] >> Yeah, we can make it this week.
[42:10] >> Okay. Okay.
[42:11] >> Yeah. Under federal law, Larry will have
[42:14] a job at UPS to come back to when he
[42:16] returns, possibly in as long as 9
[42:19] months. Larry says his employer has been
[42:22] supportive of his imminent deployment.
[42:24] >> He even said, "If your wife needs
[42:25] anything, you know, feel free to have
[42:26] her call us. If anything goes wrong with
[42:28] the house, you know, we can get someone
[42:30] over there." So, they've been absolutely
[42:32] fantastic.
[42:33] Larry is one of 33,000 members of the
[42:36] National Guard and reserves who can be
[42:38] called to active duty under a
[42:40] presidential order signed last week. He
[42:42] is one of about 2100 specialists in
[42:45] eight air refueling units around the
[42:47] country who are moving out this week in
[42:50] support of NATO bombing raids over
[42:51] Yugoslavia.
[42:53] Since the weekend, Larry's unit has been
[42:55] preparing for deployment. He is a member
[42:57] of the 940th Air Refueling Wing at Beal
[43:00] Air Force Base in Northern California.
[43:03] It is deploying 250 personnel and up to
[43:06] eight air tankers to Europe. Adding more
[43:09] mid-air refueling tankers to the region
[43:11] will allow NATO planes to stay in the
[43:13] air longer and to carry out more bombing
[43:16] raids. Colonel Vik Maring is the unit's
[43:19] wing commander. the supreme allied
[43:21] commander uh General Clark has requested
[43:24] more uh fighter bomber support and to go
[43:26] along with that of course uh is tankers
[43:29] operationally with the fighters and the
[43:30] bombers um they can reach their targets.
[43:34] They usually would come up and and get a
[43:35] little bit of fuel probably before they
[43:37] would go to their target, come off of
[43:39] the target and get what we call a post
[43:40] strike refueling. And that allows them
[43:43] uh to uh to fly from a main operating
[43:46] base and uh in return without having to
[43:50] stop for fuel someplace. Saves a lot of
[43:51] time. You can get a higher sorty flow
[43:53] rate, more bombs on target.
[43:55] >> The planes operated by the 940th KC
[43:58] 135Es are gas stations in the air. Each
[44:02] tanker carries up to 185,000 lbs of fuel
[44:06] and a crew of four. Besides two pilots
[44:09] and a navigator, there is the boom
[44:11] operator who funnels gas into the planes
[44:14] that need it. That's Larry's job.
[44:16] >> And where do you sit?
[44:17] >> We sit We actually lay on our stomachs
[44:19] in the back of the aircraft.
[44:20] >> Looking out.
[44:21] >> Looking out. Well, this whole window
[44:22] will be raised. So, this whole thing is
[44:24] on hydraulics, which you can see the
[44:26] >> Looking out the window, Larry inserts
[44:28] the nozzle, the boom into the gas tank
[44:30] of the receiving plane. This file
[44:32] footage provided by the Pentagon shows
[44:35] how midair fueling is accomplished.
[44:37] Here, an F-16A pulls alongside a tanker
[44:41] as the boom operator inserts the nozzle.
[44:44] >> How long does it take
[44:46] >> to do a refueling?
[44:47] >> Yeah.
[44:47] >> Um, not very long. We have a transfer
[44:49] rate of about
[44:51] 6,000 lbs per minute. Uh, roughly around
[44:53] 1,000 gallons max. It takes a few
[44:56] minutes.
[44:56] >> A few minutes.
[44:57] >> A few minutes. You probably feel
[44:58] something and then they're off and
[44:59] running.
[44:59] >> And then they're off and doing their
[45:00] thing. While the actual refueling takes
[45:03] minutes, the KC135
[45:05] can circle around for hours waiting for
[45:07] planes in need of fuel.
[45:09] >> How long are you in this position? How
[45:11] long have you spent in this position?
[45:12] >> We're in this position over there. Um,
[45:14] probably I I'm guessing around 3 hours,
[45:17] 3 to 4 hours.
[45:18] >> Three or four hours.
[45:19] >> Correct. Correct. Waiting waiting for
[45:21] the people to come up. Waiting for the
[45:22] the receivers to come up. The planes
[45:25] themselves, military versions of Boeing
[45:27] 707s, are kept in a state of readiness.
[45:30] Technicians have been performing
[45:32] maintenance and lastminute repairs.
[45:35] They've also tested communication
[45:37] systems which keep them in touch with
[45:39] each other and their base.
[45:41] >> Test one. Test one. How's the facility?
[45:43] >> Okay, good.
[45:44] >> I got you loud and clear. Also,
[45:46] >> reserveists make up 1/ half of US
[45:48] military forces. Most of the air force's
[45:52] air fueling capability is staffed by Air
[45:54] National Guard and reserves.
[45:56] >> A lot of the missions uh have shifted
[45:58] over to the uh reserve forces. Uh we can
[46:02] do it cheaper and uh in fact and for the
[46:05] KC135s, the tankers that we're flying,
[46:08] >> we're the majority stockholders. We have
[46:10] over 55% of the tankers uh that are in
[46:13] the Air Force. And so the Guard Reserve
[46:15] were flying those. reserveists we
[46:17] interviewed said they were proud to
[46:19] participate in the NATO mission.
[46:21] >> We're where we should be. Um, looking
[46:23] back on, you know, the Hitler, and I'm
[46:25] sure this has been referred to several
[46:26] times, that whole genocide, ethnic
[46:28] cleansing thing, you know, we look back
[46:30] on that and say, why didn't we step in
[46:31] sooner? You know, that's something that
[46:33] we don't want to do in this day and age.
[46:35] We shouldn't be able to say, well, we
[46:36] should have done this. We should go and
[46:37] do it and then say, you know, and deal
[46:39] with the naysayers and everything else
[46:40] after the fact. So
[46:43] >> Ronald is a navigator and a former
[46:45] active duty air force officer.
[46:47] >> I was telling some friends last night at
[46:49] church that you know how would you like
[46:50] it if somebody were to come in in our
[46:52] community you know commit atrocities
[46:54] against you? Wouldn't you want somebody
[46:55] to come protect you from another nation
[46:57] if that came down to it. So I I think
[47:00] you know you we definitely should be
[47:01] over there.
[47:02] >> Good morning.
[47:03] >> The increased prominence of reserves
[47:05] means the US military must be more
[47:08] sensitive to the needs of their
[47:09] families. A lesson learned in Desert
[47:11] Storm is uh for family readiness, we
[47:14] really weren't prepared very well to uh
[47:16] to take care of the families that were
[47:17] left behind. There's a lot of stress
[47:19] involved in that. Uh this time around,
[47:21] we've actually added manning positions
[47:23] in the unit. We have a family readiness
[47:25] section as well as the active duty here
[47:27] at Beal. Uh they'll be providing a lot
[47:29] of support for the folks left behind,
[47:30] which is really, really important. At
[47:32] the Beal Air Force Base's family
[47:34] readiness office, a logistics plans
[47:36] officer, Barbara, got some last minute
[47:39] advice.
[47:40] >> So, this is a quick reference guide for
[47:42] your family to know where everything is
[47:44] so that they don't have to rumage
[47:46] through the house to try to find it in
[47:48] the in the time of need.
[47:49] >> As she made preparations on base at
[47:52] home, she's been preparing her family,
[47:54] her husband, her 12-year-old son, and
[47:56] her six-year-old daughter for her
[47:58] deployment.
[47:59] >> I think my son, he's older. she's aware
[48:01] that, you know, bad things happen. I
[48:04] don't know if at that six year really,
[48:06] you know, thinking, although she did ask
[48:08] me the other night if she if I was going
[48:09] to die. And my answer was not if I can
[48:12] help it.
[48:14] But you can't just say no, that's not
[48:16] going to happen because it very no, you
[48:18] know, very well may happen. And then
[48:20] you've just your last act has been to
[48:22] lie to your child and say you're not
[48:23] going to die. And then something
[48:24] happens. So you want to try to prepare
[48:26] them for the worst without needlessly
[48:29] scaring them.
[48:32] As for Larry's family, this weekend they
[48:34] had friends over for a going away party.
[48:36] >> Good morning. I think Dad, we got Diet
[48:38] Coke out there also. We've got more than
[48:39] just beer.
[48:40] >> Larry has been deployed in the past in
[48:42] Europe, in the Persian Gulf, and in the
[48:44] States on stints lasting no longer than
[48:47] a month. When his wife Christina found
[48:49] out last week that this time Larry could
[48:52] be gone for up to 9 months, she said the
[48:54] news was hard to take. for probably day
[48:58] and a half. I couldn't I can't even
[49:00] explain. I couldn't I couldn't even talk
[49:02] without crying and my work dealt with me
[49:04] that day when I I think it it probably
[49:08] took about a day and a half to get over
[49:09] the initial shock. I mean, it still
[49:10] hurts and not looking forward to it long
[49:13] as I've been away from him. My biggest
[49:15] worry, I think, when I'm gone is just
[49:16] seeing things get done around the house,
[49:18] you know, not not so much that something
[49:19] goes wrong on an emergency basis. Um but
[49:21] fortunately we got a lot of good friends
[49:22] that are in the house tonight that that
[49:24] you know they all definitely volunteer
[49:25] to take care of her and if something
[49:27] goes wrong or the toilet breaks or
[49:30] something like that you know I know that
[49:31] she's in good hands here. I'm extremely
[49:34] worried about him just for the fact it's
[49:36] dangerous and everything and I know I
[49:38] know what's going on. You know I'm not I
[49:40] watch the news I know everything that's
[49:42] going on and every time he gets in the
[49:43] plane that's dangerous. you know, just
[49:45] going up whether they're in conflict or
[49:47] not and making it 10 times worse now
[49:51] that what they're going into or 100
[49:52] times worse, let's say. Next Monday is
[49:55] Christina and Larry's third wedding
[49:57] anniversary. Larry's unit is expected to
[50:00] leave sometime this week.
[50:13] Finally tonight, essaist Anne Taylor
[50:15] Fleming considers her family roots.
[50:18] >> At least there was never a for sale sign
[50:21] out front. Somehow that would have made
[50:23] it worse. But the lack of a sign did not
[50:26] change the fact. The Santa Monica house
[50:28] my father had lived in and loved with
[50:31] two wives and the children from both was
[50:33] finally being sold. He'd been there for
[50:36] half a century in a big old mockt house
[50:39] blocked from the ocean till his death
[50:41] just after Christmas.
[50:44] My sister and I were babies there.
[50:47] Later brides,
[50:50] finally mourers.
[50:53] It was our family homestead, our tribal
[50:55] headquarters, my father's kingdom.
[50:58] In turn, when I married, I settled but
[51:00] half a mile away. And I too have stayed
[51:03] put now for 28 years, carrying my
[51:06] husband and his children and now his
[51:09] children's children back to my father's
[51:11] house for many an important occasion.
[51:15] In short, I come from a family of heavy
[51:17] nesters, an anomalous thing in America,
[51:20] where studies show that one quarter of
[51:22] Americans are in constant motion. We're
[51:25] a restless lot, our imaginations tickled
[51:27] by the allure of the frontier and new
[51:30] beginnings. a desire to shed a past, be
[51:33] it persecution or poverty abroad or
[51:36] family or divorce at home.
[51:39] Ever since we got here, we've been a
[51:41] kaleidoscope of movement. A blur of
[51:44] covered wagons and trains and mobile
[51:46] homes and moving vans heading out loaded
[51:50] down for somewhere new. That's been our
[51:53] time-honored habit, our pridefilled
[51:55] self-image. A nation of intrepid
[51:57] pioneers striking out for somewhere
[52:00] else.
[52:01] So, am I just an oldworld throwback? The
[52:04] deeply rooted daughter of a deeply
[52:06] rooted man? In some ways, yes. But in
[52:09] some ways, we represent a decisive, if
[52:11] subtle, shift away from the pioneer
[52:13] myth. More and more people, it turns
[52:15] out, are going home. Of all the people
[52:18] out there on the road now, one are
[52:20] actually return migrants. People going
[52:22] back to some previous, if not original,
[52:25] dwelling place. True. Mostly they are
[52:28] older people who having spent part of
[52:30] their lives elsewhere want to return
[52:32] home for the final act to re nest among
[52:35] old friends and old memories. I know
[52:38] people who have moved back to small
[52:39] towns in Oregon or Kansas where they
[52:41] were young and couples who have left
[52:44] deepest suburbia now that the kids are
[52:46] grown and moved back to the heart of New
[52:48] York City, their original meeting place.
[52:54] Even among younger people who are still
[52:56] on the move, you sense a hunger for a
[52:58] home base and the family that goes with
[53:00] it. The TV sets of America are full of
[53:04] sitcoms full of hybrid families. Friends
[53:07] cobbled together week after week in the
[53:09] same place on the same set. A comforting
[53:12] virtual reality homestead, the updated
[53:15] hippie commune of Yore. There now are
[53:18] national shared domestic touchstones.
[53:22] Even here in the disjointed sprawl of
[53:24] Southern California, people are moving
[53:26] back to their old neighborhoods,
[53:28] Westwood, Mount Washington, South
[53:30] Central, raising kids where they were
[53:33] kids.
[53:34] Or they're building these retro
[53:36] megascaled Cape Cod houses that weak of
[53:39] new money and nostalgia, faux roots. But
[53:43] contrary to popular opinion that no one
[53:45] is actually from here, the truth is that
[53:47] one out of three Southern Californians
[53:49] is now like me a native.
[53:53] There is nothing foe about my roots.
[53:56] They go deep into the slice of Western
[53:58] Los Angeles at the continent's end.
[54:00] Living where you've always lived makes
[54:02] you both timid and tough. Timid because
[54:05] you live in comfortingly family
[54:06] surroundings. tough because you do daily
[54:10] battles with the ghosts who live there,
[54:11] too.
[54:14] My father's house has just been sold.
[54:16] We're packing up. It is unbearable and
[54:19] necessary this seeding of turf to the
[54:22] next settlers.
[54:23] We will not go lightly down this
[54:25] driveway the final time. Not a one of
[54:28] us.
[54:30] I'm Anne Taylor Fleming.
[54:34] Again,
[54:40] the major stories of this Tuesday.
[54:42] Tornadoes ripped through Oklahoma and
[54:44] Kansas last night. On the NewsHour,
[54:46] Lieutenant Governor Mary Fallon of
[54:48] Oklahoma said 40 people were killed
[54:50] there. She said many residents were
[54:52] saved because broadcast reports warned
[54:54] them of the path and timing of the
[54:56] storms. And Russian envoy Victor
[54:58] Chernameiran kept up his Kosovo peace
[55:00] initiative. He met a second time with
[55:02] White House advisers and then in New
[55:04] York with the UN Secretary General Kofi
[55:07] Annen. We'll see you online and again
[55:09] here tomorrow evening. I'm Jim Lara.
[55:11] Thank you and good night.
[55:15] Brought to you in part by ADM. Feeding
[55:18] the world is the biggest challenge of
[55:19] the new century. ADM is promoting soil
[55:23] conservation so history doesn't repeat
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[55:53] On tomorrow's Morning Edition, some of
[55:55] the obscure songs of Frank Sinatra. Join
[55:58] us between 3 and 9:00 a.m. on OPB radio.
[56:23] Video cassettes of the NewsHour with Jim
[56:25] Ler are available from PBS video. Call 1
[56:29] 800 328 PBS1.
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[56:46] Funding for local broadcast of the
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[56:59] quality of life in Oregon.
[57:11] This is the real story of the leaders,
[57:14] the soldiers, the weapons, the
[57:16] strategies and tactics from Genian Fu to
[57:20] the fall of Saigon.
[57:24] Battlefield Vietnam
[57:26] >> on OPB. Thursday at 10:00,
[57:31] >> we head to the beautiful Wawa Mountains
[57:33] in search of the elusive mountain goat,
[57:36] Oregon's rarest big game animal. Then we
[57:39] turn our attention to the honeybee and
[57:41] its fight against the deadly parasite.
[57:44] >> And finally, we do a little digging for
[57:47] some helpful tips on how you can bag
[57:49] your limit of clams.
[57:50] >> They go down two foot a minute, so you
[57:52] got to be quick.
[57:54] These stories and more on Oregon Field
[57:56] Guide Thursday night at 8:30.
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