Hawai'i moves to 'yellow' alert status as war begins
By Dan Nakaso
Advertiser Staff Writer
Hawai'i's civil defense network went to a higher alert, barriers went up around some public buildings and residents braced for an uncertain economic aftershock as America began its war with Iraq today.
At 3 p.m., the deadline for Saddam Hussein and his sons to relinquish power, Hawai'i's alert status rose from blue to yellow, the highest it has been since the year-old national terror alert system was implemented. Hawai'i military bases remained at their "bravo" alert level, where they have been for months.
Barricades in the form of 12-foot tall, variegated ficus trees in concrete planters went up around the Honolulu Municipal Building on South King Street almost immediately after reports that the military attack in Iraq had begun. Honolulu Mayor Jeremy Harris also ordered increased security around city sewer and water plants.
Raising the alert status to yellow — which is considered "elevated" and "indicates a significant risk of terrorist attack" — also triggered increased security and scrutiny at Hawai'i's airports and harbors, said Maj. Gen. Robert Lee, director of state civil defense and head of the Hawai'i National Guard. Power plants, refineries and other critical facilities may also see extra security, Lee said.
City personnel will be on-hand at some public and private gatherings with handheld air monitors to sample the air for "anthrax, botulism toxin, the plague or any other weapon of mass destruction that might be used by a terrorist," Harris said.
Less clear today is the effect that the war will have on Hawai'i's economy. Businesses worry that they will see a repeat of the hard times of the 1991 Gulf War or 2001's Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
"It's war," said Mike Fitzgerald, a member of the Select Committee on War Preparedness and president and CEO of Enterprise Honolulu. "And war creates chaos and war creates panic and war sends out ripples that cannot be understood ahead of time."
Rep. Neil Abercrombie, (D-Hawai'i), reiterated his opposition to the war while expressing support for U.S. troops and their families.
"No one needs to convince us of the horror of weapons of mass destruction or the evil intentions of Saddam Hussein," Abercrombie said. "But the Bush administration has not proved its case for war."
People throughout the Islands had joined others around the world in counting down President Bush's 48-hour deadline for Saddam Hussein and his sons to give up power and leave Iraq. Tourists in Waikiki gathered around TV sets in hotel bars and restaurants, or sat quietly in their rooms, watching as President Bush described the start of the attack.
Leimomi Stender-Jenkins of Honolulu had to force herself to keep the television off for much of today. Both her son, Sgt. Lono Stender, 27, and her son-in-law, Cpl. Michael Thomason, 22, are Marines deployed to Kuwait.
So many thoughts whipped through Stender-Jenkins mind today: The safety of her son and son-in-law. How bad will the fighting be? And will terrorists retaliate on U.S. soil?
"I didn't want to watch CNN all day long," said Stender-Jenkins, a Hawaiian history and American history teacher at McKinley High School, which is on spring break. "You can become obsessed with it. There's so much uncertainty. I'm very scared. That's why I'm cleaning house. I've got to occupy my mind."
Jandee Abraham of Honolulu and David Nichols of Hawai'i Kai watched the start of the war on television at the Sears store at Ala Moana Center.
"It makes me uneasy," Abraham said.
"But," Nichols added, :it could be over with that much sooner."
Advertiser staff writers Karen Blakeman and Robbie Dingeman contributed to this report.
