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American Morning

CNN Security Watch: How Safe Are We?

Aired June 23, 2006 - 06:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Welcome back, everybody. I'm Soledad O'Brien.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: I'm John Roberts sitting in for Miles O'Brien on this Friday morning.

Right now the FBI is conducting an operation against men they believe are part of a homegrown terror group. So far, seven men have been arrested and their Miami warehouse raided. No weapons have been found, though. The matter described as an independent group with no real ties to al Qaeda. They have may have been plotting to attack FBI offices in Miami. Another possible target may have been the tallest building in America, the Sears Tower in Chicago. We have extensive coverage for you this morning, including two live reports now with CNN's John Zarrella, who's in Miami Beach -- in Miami Beach. He's in Miami, I'm sorry. He's in Liberty City. And Keith Oppenheim in Chicago.

John, let's start with you. When do we expect to see these suspects in court?

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, we expect that they will appear this afternoon, perhaps as early as 1:30 in federal court, making their first appearance here in Miami. Not sure how many will be there, if it's five, if it's six or seven, just unclear of the number that will be in court this afternoon. I am standing outside of that warehouse here in Liberty City area, the inner-city neighborhood in Miami. This is where one of those raids took place yesterday.

About 20 to 25 law enforcement federal agents descending upon this building here, a very nondescript warehouse. There are no windows on any sides of this warehouse. They came in. They broke into the building. And very shortly after came out. Apparently no one was inside. They began to show mug shots to the people, the neighbors, of these men they were looking for. And as we know, they did eventually catch these men. Where exactly is unclear.

They did not find any weapons or any bomb-making materials here. And the investigation at this location ended about 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time last night.

What's interesting is that a little later that evening, last night about midnight, just before midnight, a man came up to us, called himself "Brother Corey," and claimed to be a member of this group. He insisted that they were not terrorists, and he told me that they were just a peaceful religious group.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

"BROTHER COREY", "SEAS OF DAVID" MEMBER: We're worshipers of this temple here. And we allow certain people to come and join our prayers. But we have certain authorities that we run by.

ZARRELLA: So you're a peaceful...

BROTHER COREY: We're peaceful (INAUDIBLE) Seas of David, that I know my brother has not been treated right in this system. He's been locked up for nothing -- on the sense that he was without a license. But this brother of mine, I love him to death.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZARRELLA: He was talking there about the brother, he called him, was one of the men who was arrested. And he claimed, Brother Corey, that that man, a Haitian-American, was arrested three days ago when he referred to the system, being that this man has been in custody at least three days. One of them, according to Brother Corey, interesting, John, he told me that they were planning to open a restaurant, and that they, again, used this as a place of worship. The people in the neighborhood told us a lot of these men used to come out and stand guard, wearing black all the time. So a lot of things still to come out as this story unfolds -- John.

ROBERTS: One of the things that's changing a little, John, is that initially this group was described as radical Muslims. Then I think authorities backed off on that. And this gentleman that you spoke with last night said the group is called Seas of David, which sounds like anything but a Muslim group.

ZARRELLA: Right, exactly. And in fact, he mentioned that they read from the Bible and studied the bible. So again, yes, doesn't make a lot of sense that they would be a radical Muslim group at all -- John.

ROBERTS: All right, John Zarrella live for us in Liberty City. Thanks, John. We'll be hearing from you as the morning progresses.

Now let's to CNN's Keith Oppenheim. He's live in Chicago this morning. And good morning to you, Keith.

KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you, John.

And this morning we really don't see increased security here. We were here late last night and didn't either. Normally there is tight security at this building. So it's more like status quo. Just an interesting note that the observation deck of the Sears Tower was open until normal hours, until 10:00 local time last night. We did get an interesting statement from Sears Tower management. I'm going to read just a short bit from that. They said "Law enforcement continues to tell us they have never found evidence of a credible terrorism threat against sears tower that has gone beyond criminal discussions."

So, John, the implication, from Sears Tower management at least, was this was a plan that was, from their view, the talking phase, but not yet a plan of action.

ROBERTS: Speaking of the talking phase, Keith, this is obviously the talk of the nation this morning. What have people in Chicago been saying about it?

OPPENHEIM: Last night when we talked to folks on the street, because there are very few out here just yet, they often didn't know about it. When they did, they indicated they were somewhat nervous about it, or in some cases, more relieved that the FBI was on the case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's no guarantee. So you can't stop living just because of terrorists. So keep coming to work and hope for the best.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They attack the World Trade Center twice. We didn't think that could happen. So yes, I think it's very possible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

OPPENHEIM: I'm just going to show you the front page of this morning's tribune. Big headline, FBI: Sears Tower targeted. The photograph underneath is from Miami, where federal law enforcement officials were on the scene there. So I think it's symbolic that the action was in Miami. The reaction is here In Chicago.

And, John, we are expecting to get more reaction from Chicago police most likely after federal authorities speak this morning.

Back to you.

ROBERTS: Keith Oppenheim for us in Chicago. Keith, thanks very much.

We expect a lot more details later on this morning. In fact, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and top FBI officials are expected to discuss the plot and arrests at a news conference in 10:00 Eastern. At 11:30, the U.S. attorneys office in Miami is scheduled to hold its own news conference. And at noon Eastern, FBI director Robert Mueller will talk about the threats of homegrown terrorism. Be sure stay with CNN for live coverage of the three events, and also stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.

(WEATHER REPORT)

ROBERTS: Thirty-nine minutes after the hour. A major airline under investigation for price-fixing passenger tickets.

Coming up, Andy's "Minding Your Business," and he's got all the details.

O'BRIEN: Also the FBI's bust: An alleged homegrown terror group in Miami. We've been talking about that all morning. Makes everybody wonder, though, just how safe where are we? Up next, we're going to talk to the former Homeland Security inspector general.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Seven men suspected of being terrorists are in federal custody this morning. Most of them were picked up in raids in Miami. The FBI building there and the Sears Tower in Chicago are being mentioned as possible targets of the group.

Clark Kent Ervin is the former inspector general of the Department of Homeland Security. He's also the author of a new book called "Open Target," where America is vulnerable to attack. He joins us from Washington D.C. this morning.

Clark, nice to see you, as always. Thanks for talking with us.

And you, too, Soledad.

CLARK KENT ERVIN, CNN SECURITY ANALYST: And you, too, Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Thank you very much.

Assess this threat. I mean, some of the things that stick out is the fact they didn't go into this warehouse with any kind of bomb squad. They haven't closed off the Sears Tower. Keith told us there's no more police officers than there were two days ago there. The Miami Heat celebrations haven't been canceled. we haven't heard any word of more police officers being there. So how big a threat were these men, do you think?

ERVIN: Well, it's unclear, really. I mean, the fact that, as you say, things appear to be normal in Miami and Chicago goes back to the fact that apparently FBI has had this group under surveillance for quite some time. Based on what we know from last night, apparently there was an informant who talked to the FBI about this plot. So if this is, in fact, true, it shows the FBI has been very vigilant and proactive, which is exactly what they should be in this age of terror.

O'BRIEN: Tell me a little bit about the threat from homegrown terrorists, because it doesn't sound like they necessarily have a real definite connection to al Qaeda, at least at this point.

ERVIN: Well, we really don't know that. This brother, Corey, this shadowy figure whom John Zarrella interviewed, did not suggest that the group was linked to terrorism, that it was simply a religious group. We don't know what to make of that. It appears as though the FBI thinks that they were a terrorist group. And of course homegrown terrorists has been the biggest fear that we've had in this country. As difficult as it is fir foreign terrorists to get into the country, it's somewhat more difficult now for them to do so, the biggest fear has always been homegrown terrorists, simply because they look and act like you and me. They fly under the radar screen.

The FBI, we're told, knows of about 1,000 al Qaeda sympathizers here in the country, and about 300 extremists are under surveillance. So it's a very big threat indeed. And of course this comes against the backdrop of what the London authorities thought was a homegrown terror plot a few weeks ago, turned out not to be the case, and there certainly was a homegrown terror plot in Canada a few weeks ago.

O'BRIEN: At the same time, the descriptions and the eyewitness statements seem to contradict everything we know about al Qaeda. al Qaeda seems to want to fly beneath the radar, try to assimilate as much as possible. These guys walking around, in some cases, by witness descriptions, covered their entire faces except for their eyes, standing outside the building in a very militaristic way, almost in uniforms. All those things seem completely contradictory to what we know about al Qaeda's M.O.

ERVIN: That's Exactly right. So we, again, don't know what to make of that. It could be, of course, this is a homegrown terror cell that's just not very good. You know, one of the problems is that there are these cells around the country. We know that. They -- some of them are not very good as hiding. On the other hand, the fact that they were so conspicuous could, indeed, suggest that they weren't terrorists at all.

So it's going to be very important to find out exactly what the details are later today when we hear from federal authorities.

O'BRIEN: If, indeed, they are a homegrown terror group, a group, I guess, inspired by what's happening overseas, maybe inspired by al Qaeda, is this a turning point, do you think? Because as you point out, suddenly you don't need to worry about the visa issues. You don't need to worry about the language difficulties. You don't need to worry, frankly about sticking out like a sore thumb in a community.

ERVIN: Well, that's exactly right. You know, al Qaeda knows that we all, whether we admit it or not, have a stereotype in our minds about what a terrorist looks like. And so they are actively -- we know this -- seeking to recruit Anglo-Americans, Hispanic- Americans. Let's not forget that Jose Padilla grew up in inner-city Chicago and he was converted to radical Islam in prison. They have also been attracted to African-Americans, and we know that African- American males are disproportionately represented in prisons. And many of them have been converted to Islam, if not radical Islam.

So this is a major issue. And if this turns out to be a homegrown-terror plot, this may be the beginning of many more things of this nature to come.

O'BRIEN: Let me ask you a quick question, because we're really out of time, about the religion here of this group. I can't tell if they are Muslims, if they are black Muslims, as they'd commonly known in this country, if they are Rastafarians. I mean, it's unclear at this point. Or a combination of all the above? Do you have any sense from what you've heard?

ERVIN: Well, it really is unclear. If we believe what this fellow who was interviewed, Brother Corey, said, the Seas of David. This is a group I've never heard of. It's reminiscent of something back in the '80s. There was a charismatic African-American named Yahweh ben Yahweh, who claimed that he was the son of God, that American blacks were the true Jews, that they were oppressed in this country, and he was apparently involved in some plots, some very gruesome plots, to behead people, to cut off limbs, people who didn't follow this particular ideology. It was a cult, really, as opposed to a terror group. So we don't know what that to make of it. The FBI apparently believes that this was a homegrown radical Islamic terrorist program intent upon attacking the homeland, a political target, the FBI building in Miami, and an economic symbol, the Sears Tower in Chicago. We just don't know what to make of it.

O'BRIEN: A lot of questions. We're going to have a couple news conferences this morning. Maybe we'll get some more answers. CNN security analyst Clark Kent Ervin, thanks. Nice to see you as always.

ERVIN: You too.

O'BRIEN: You want to stay tuned, of course, to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.

A short break. We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: The Boss is back on tour. He's got a new sound, that's kind of an old song, American folk songs. Bruce Springsteen's performing almost exclusively from his new album. It's called "We Shall Overcome: The Seger Sessions." And it's a tribute to folk hero Pete Seger. I spoke to Bruce Springsteen exclusive last night, right before he went on stage at Madison Square Garden.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: You cover songs that Pete Seger covered, really.

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN, MUSICIAN: Yes, well...

O'BRIEN: And so in a way, you're picking songs not necessarily that you wrote, but songs that he thought were important to highlight.

O'BRIEN: Yes, well, in concert, we've played several things that he's written, you know, "Turn, turn, turn" and "Bring Them Home." But on the record, I adjust more to the music that moved me and I -- you know, I wasn't thinking about it that much.

Did Hurricane Katrina play a role in this album? I mean, did you say, you know, now is the time...

SPRINGSTEEN: No, because we cut it in '97. What was unusual was there was a little serendipity in that the guys who came down to play played in New Orleans in like a Zeidico (ph) and cajun band. And so when they came, I said, well, I'm going to play this sort of roots music. But they started to slip in a New Orleans feeling, the drummer particularly. You can hear it happen on "Pay Me My Money Down."

O'BRIEN: Right, right, you sure can, the showstopper.

SPRINGSTEEN: And so all of a sudden, that just sort of happened, you know? And the Dixieland horns. That just happened. My pals came by, and that's what felt right for them to play over top of the music we were playing. It was an unusual and sort of somewhat fright frightening thing. We were going to New Orleans and you were going to have all of this roots music that has so much New Orleans in it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: We've got much more with the boss in our next hour, at 7:40 a.m. Eastern Time. We'll talk a little politics, ask him if this album is a political album.

A short break. We're back in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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