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Your World Today
Terrorist Plot Foiled; Crisis in the Middle East
Aired August 10, 2006 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We cannot stress too highly the severity that this plot represented. Put simply, this was intended to be mass murder on an unimaginable scale.
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BECKY ANDERSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Foiled. British authorities thwart a plan to blow up flights headed from the U.K. to the U.S. Authorities say an attack was imminent.
High alert, controlled chaos. Authorities on both sides of the Atlantic going to their highest state of security, causing headaches at airports around the globe.
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MICHAEL CHERTOFF, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: This operation is in some respects suggestive of an al Qaeda plot.
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ANDERSON: Sophisticated. U.S. authorities point fingers. They say the complexity of the plot had all the hallmarks of a familiar nemesis.
And preparing for a long slog, Israeli troops push deeper into Lebanon and send a warning to residents in Beirut: leave or face more bombs.
I'm Becky Anderson at Heathrow airport in London.
We welcome our viewers in the U.S. and around the world.
From London to Washington, from Beirut to Haifa in Israel, we are reporting for YOUR WORLD TODAY.
We welcome you all to CNN.
Well, let's just bring you up to date on exactly what is happening here. Security alerts at their highest both here in London, in Britain, and in Washington, after a huge counterterrorism operation thwarted what is believed to be a huge terrorist plot to commit what they are calling murder across the Atlantic at a height in plains across the Mid-Atlantic.
We are following this story for you. More on that this hour.
We are also keeping an eye for you on the Middle East.
Let's, though, get you the very latest as it stands from the situation here on the ground in London and the situation in Washington.
Well, it is organized chaos on a vast scale as airplane passengers across Britain are caught up in a serious terrorist threat on their nation. You are looking at scenes as we bring them up for you of one of many British airports scrambling to respond to a terror alert raised to critical level. But it could have been a whole lot worse.
U.K. authorities say they have averted mass murder on an unimaginable scale with a plot that involved a "simultaneous attack" on multiple targets, targeting U.S.-bound aircraft. Twenty-one people in three cities have been arrested.
And at airports, extreme measures are now in place. All liquids from water to shampoo are banned from carry-on luggage as it stands. Now, the sole exceptions are baby formula and medicines.
Travelers are being issued with plastic bags for the few essential items allowed on board. Lines of fraught passengers have slowed to a crawl as people (INAUDIBLE) through their bags for anything now deemed to be suspect.
The scare has impacted U.S. airports and connecting airports around the globe. U.K. authorities are warning, don't even think about going to airports unless it is absolutely necessary.
We are here in London. We are also live in Washington for you on this story.
Before we get to that, let's just get you up to date on what is going on in the crisis in the Middle East. And let's start off in Beirut with Hala Gorani --Hala?
HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello, Becky.
Well, for the first time since this conflict began about a month ago, Israeli airstrikes hit into the heart of Beirut, really, the Manara (ph) district, hitting an empty -- an empty lighthouse there, a communications tower there, injuring two. Also, the Israeli military dropped leaflets onto Beirut proper. In fact, the leaflets fell literally over our heads like snowflakes there.
We read the leaflet in its entirety, and it warns residents of some districts of Beirut, southern districts of Beirut, but closer to the central part of the city to evacuate because those areas might be hit. Haya Salam (ph), Shiyah, Vorge al Varagne (ph). Shiyah -- and there you see the leaflet on your screen -- Shiyah is, of course, the district that was hit on Monday, killing at least 41.
Meantime, clashes continue in the southern part of the country despite the announcement by Israel that it is delaying a deeper ground invasion into southern Lebanon to give diplomacy a chance. There have been fights, and the casualty tolls are mounting on both sides of the border.
For the latest on what's happening south of our position here in the Lebanese capital, we go to my colleague, Fionnuala Sweeney. She's in Haifa -- Fionnuala.
FIONNUALA SWEENEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Thanks indeed, Hala.
Well, air raid sirens continue to sound here in Haifa, northern Israel, less than 24 hours after Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah warned Israeli Arabs to leave the city. This, as 160 rockets hit northern Israel today from across southern Lebanon. Two people died, at least one person seriously injured, three reported to be lightly injured.
This, as the Israeli government continues to wrack up plans to launch a major ground offensive if the U.N. resolution being discussed at the Security Council fails.
Back to you, Becky.
ANDERSON: Right. OK.
Let's return to our top story. We'll get back to the crisis in the Middle East in about 30 minutes' time.
A terror plot to blow up transatlantic airliners that authorities here in Britain say was in its final stages. U.S. officials say the threat was aimed at flights to New York, to Washington, and indeed to California.
We are covering this story for you from all angles, of course. We've got Robin Oakley, our European political editor, in London, and Jeanne Meserve is in Washington.
Let's start off with Robin Oakley, who is in the CNN bureau in central London.
Robin, what do we know of the details of this foiled attack?
ROBIN OAKLEY, CNN EUROPEAN POLITICAL EDITOR: Well a painstaking operation over many weeks, Becky, tracking the suspects who were believed to have this plan for simultaneous explosions on board several airliners traveling from the U.K. to the U.S.
And it's been one of those classic dilemmas for the security authorities who badly needed a big success in Britain. How soon should they take action? Because they wanted to find as many as possible of the people who were involved in this plot to see how it was developing, to see what their contacts were. But of course there's always the danger that suddenly a plot gets critical and the public are in danger. And last night, some time late last night, the authorities decided that this plot was imminent enough for them to have to strike.
The police believe, as you were saying, that they have thwarted a potential mass murder. And their belief was echoed by that of Britain's interior minister, the home secretary, John Reid.
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JOHN REID, BRITISH HOME SECRETARY: The police, acting with the security service MI5, have carried out a major counterterrorism operation overnight to disrupt an alleged plot to bring down a number of aircraft through mid-flight explosions. Had this plot been carried out, the loss of life to innocent civilians would have been on an unprecedented scale.
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OAKLEY: What Mr. Reid and senior policemen are telling us is that they believe that they have the principals involved in this terrorist plot. What they are not certain of yet is that they've mopped up absolutely everybody concerned with it -- Becky.
ANDERSON: Another reason, Robin, one assumes why the threat levels have been raised to critical -- that, of course, the highest threat level that MI5 and the home office can establish -- one assumes that is because there may be other players connected with this plot still out there.
Is that right?
OAKLEY: That's one of the worries, that there could still be other players out there. Of course, also, the technology involved in this potential plot has changed. The measures that have been invoked at Britain's airports today are unprecedented on a far greater scale than we saw after 9/11, partly because the authorities believe that this plot was based on smuggling aboard some form of liquid explosive in people's hand baggage.
Now, there have, of course, been examples of that in the past. There was an attempt in the Pacific in the early 1990s to blow up 10 U.S. airliners on a similar technology. But this is not something we have seen in recent years. And clearly, the authorities are worried about the potential, which is why we are seeing such incredible restrictions, people not able to take contact lens solution, any kind of liquid on board, and even baby's milk having to be tasted by the accompanying adult before it is allowed on a flight -- Becky.
ANDERSON: Draconian measures here at the airports in the U.K.
Robin, we thank you.
Let's get to Washington, where Jeanne Meserve is standing by.
And Jeanne, what can you tell us about the investigation stateside?
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, here it's hats off to the British. They are saying that the British did an excellent job of investigation here and that there has been extraordinary cooperation between British and U.S. authorities.
U.S. officials are not saying definitively that al Qaeda was involved in this plot, but they're saying everything about it is suggestive of al Qaeda. The fact that they were looking at aviation, that there were going to be multiple strikes, and that the y were contemplating using this kind of technology, which they have described as highly sophisticated.
They said it involved liquids, some of them quite benign, on to aircraft and then mixing them into some sort of explosive cocktail.
There have been no arrests in the United States. U.S. officials say there are no indication of plots here. But here, too, the threat level is up.
On flights from Britain, the threat level has been taken to red. That is the highest level in the U.S. threat system. That's to bring it into coordination with what the British have done.
Domestically, flights have been put on orange. What that means practically for travelers is that liquids and gels are essentially banned from carry-on luggage. There are exceptions for baby formula and for medicines, but those things do have to be screened at the checkpoint.
Why take those steps if there were no arrests here, no plots here? Homeland Secretary Michael Chertoff explained in a press conference this morning.
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MICHAEL CHERTOFF, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: We are going to learn a lot more in the course of the investigation. And I would rather have more protection and then scale it back as we become more reassured than underestimate the problem and find out, god forbid, that we've made a tragic mistake.
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MESERVE: U.S. officials making the point that they are not absolutely certain that everyone has been arrested who had a connection with this plot. They are also very concerned about the possibility of copycats. That is, people who might hear these reports and choose to replicate what they are hearing about. So this adjustment in screening here.
Back to you.
ANDERSON: Jeanne, we know that the raids and the arrests of the 21 in the U.K. were the results of a month's long investigation. We know that there was something that triggered this about 2:00 on Thursday morning that led to this investigation being ramped up as it was.
How long -- or do we have any details as to how long the U.S. authorities have known about this investigation?
MESERVE: Officials indicate that they have known about the investigation in general terms for some time. They aren't being specific about how long, but that within the last several weeks it became apparent that there was this U.S. link, that it was flights to the U.S. and U.S. carriers that were being targeted. It's at that point that they ramped up the level of cooperation between the two countries -- Becky.
ANDERSON: Jeanne Meserve from Washington for us.
Coming up on YOUR WORLD TODAY, you're watching CNN. We do welcome our viewers in the U.S. and around the world.
As British authorities bust a travel plot, airline passengers are paying the price.
Also ahead, continuing hostilities in the Middle East with a cell phone tower in Beirut. The very latest target. We'll have an update on that after this.
Do stay with us.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All the flights to London Heathrow are canceled. I wanted to go with my daughter today to London. Tonight we have a musical there. And, yes, it's pity. We don't go now, I'm afraid.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Heathrow is on high alert. No planes are going in or out of Heathrow.
So they are trying to get all of us who were going to go to Heathrow and make connections. Some are going to Hong Kong. Some are going to the United States. All over. So they are going to try and get us direct flights to wherever we're going.
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ANDERSON: Welcome back to CNN. I'm Becky Anderson at Heathrow airport.
We're bringing our viewers in the U.S. and around the globe up to speed on the most important stories, international stories of the day.
And let's remind you exactly where we stand. Britain is in the grip of a crippling terrorist threat which has brought her to a state of apparent paralysis, at least at the airports.
This is the scene at Britain's Heathrow airport after authorities say they foiled a plot to blow up several aircraft destined for the United States. Now, if you absolutely must travel, be prepared, is what we are being told. All liquids are now banned from carry-on luggage. Only exceptions will be medicine and baby formula.
All the new rules and the regulations are creating chaos, as you can imagine, at Heathrow airport. This all started about 2:00 this morning. As you can imagine, this is one of the busiest days. The summer holidays have started for kids and their parents, and things are extremely difficult.
Isha Sesay talked to some passengers to see how they were handling the added hassle and, indeed, the stress.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ISHA SESAY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There are scenes of organized chaos at London's Heathrow airport this Thursday. British officials earlier in the day announced that they foiled a plot to blow up a number of aircraft mid flight between the U.S. and the U.K.
Now, the situation inside one of the terminals of the airport is one of frustration and resignation among the passengers.
And joining me now to give me some sense of how they are feeling is a family that has been stranded here.
Now, tell me where you are from and where you were going.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are from the states and we are going to Entebbe, Yuganda. On our way home. That's where we live.
SESAY: And how long have you -- how long have you been stranded here?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, we were going to go into London. And instead, we have all of our bags with us. But frankly, I'm thankful that the...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're safe.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... the people that are trying to protect our society figured it out ahead of time.
SESAY: And as you were saying, frustration and resignation. How surprised were you by this entire episode?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, the biggest frustration was we would have to go collect our 14 bags. And then...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Recheck.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... recheck it all. And it's all being through security. And then we have to check in. There's seven of us, so we have to check in all of our hand luggage and all of our backpacks. So -- and those aren't secure.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So it's all the big boxes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All this stuff.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have to collect them from the carousel and recheck them, even though they were checked through. So that's the only hassle.
SESAY: And you have five little ones with you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Five -- five kids, yes.
SESAY: Five kids with you.
Now, tell me how you're finding this situation. Tell me how you're feeling.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Basically the same thing, we've got to wait here instead of going into London and carry all our bags with us.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. At least we're not out there...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, we're not out there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... in the street.
SESAY: Do you feel you're getting enough information?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you ask for it.
If you ask for it, you can get it.
SESAY: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, they're pretty clear (ph) with it.
SESAY: Well, I really hope you guys get home some time soon.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you. Thank you very much.
SESAY: Now, let's put this into context for you.
Heathrow airport is one of the world's busiest international airports. It deals with on average 186,000 people daily. Now, as a result of the heightened and increased security measures, hundreds of flights incoming and outgoing have been canceled.
Well, British airport authorities are telling us that they hope to have the situations return to some kind of normality by tomorrow. And, you know, I think we can safely say that's a sentiment shared by many of the weary passengers stranded here.
Isha Sesay, CNN, Heathrow airport.
(END VIDEOTAPE) ANDERSON: Well, there are a number of flights that are in the air between the U.K. and the U.S. as we speak.
Chad Myers is in the bureau, and he's trying to work out exactly where things stand at the present. There are some, I know, at least one flight due to land from the U.K. at JFK airport, for example.
Chad, give us a sense of what's going on in the air, if you will.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: That was American Airlines 115, and it did land just a few moments ago. It did come off the Flight Explorer, so we do know that actually did make a landing there at JFK.
For a while there, for a long stretch of time, eight hours, 10 hours, there were no planes in the air to the U.S. Then they released some planes, and United Airlines 115 was one of the first.
We've got a couple British airlines planes coming out -- Airways planes coming out. And now I want to show you what the U.S. airspace looks like, then we'll go across to what it really looks like across the Atlantic, over into Europe as well.
This is what the United States airspace looks like. It's a very confusing map. But the United States in the middle, Canada to the north, and also Mexico.
I'm going to zoom in here just a little bit closer to the Northeast United States, and I want you to notice how many planes. Every blue dot is a plane in the air. Now I'm getting into New York City proper, and notice how many planes are in the air.
Now, you have to realize that the planes are not as large in real life as they are here on the map. But all the planes surrounding the JFK airport, LaGuardia airport, and also into Newark.
I'm going to click on one plane here going from EGL to IAD, or Dulles, as we know it here in the U.S. The plane here coming across the southern sections of New York. Here's the southern part of New York, and Long Island here, part of Connecticut as well.
I'm going to take the view and filter all of the planes that they only came out of EGLL, the international symbol there, for Heathrow. There's the one plane we've been looking at, United Airlines Flight 923. It is there.
Now I'm going to zoom out and show you all the other planes that are in the air coming out of Heathrow. There aren't very many. Only this one blue dot there going to Dulles.
Another plane up here over Nova Scotia, that is going to JFK. The plane over here going to YYZ. And for all of you that don't realize that that's -- YYZ, that's Toronto. That's the Canadian airport there. And another EGL plane, United Airlines Flight 929, it is headed now to Chicago.
I'm going to pan over to the east, and we'll take you a little bit farther to the north so that we can actually find -- we'll zoom out here -- we'll find a couple more planes, because now it's getting a little bit busier across Europe and also the northeastern sections of the Atlantic.
A few planes here lined up. Let's figure what that plane is. That is an EGLL plane, a British Airways Flight 207 to Miami on its way there. That 320 and rising means 32,000 feet and getting higher, and 523, 523 miles per hour. And that service is a B744, or as we know it, a Boeing 747 -- Becky.
ANDERSON: Chad Myers there with a view from the air, what's going on above us, above the Atlantic, and, indeed, above the East Coast of the states.
You can see that there are planes beginning to move here at Heathrow airport. There's certainly a lot more movement than there was a couple of hours ago. They're trying to get some of these planes in and out, although they have still canceled these short-haul flights, at least from Europe.
We will take a very short break here on YOUR WORLD TODAY.
More news from here from this failed terror plot, and, indeed, more on the crisis in the Middle East after this.
Do stay with us.
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ANDERSON: You are watching YOUR WORLD TODAY.
And live pictures of a plane just coming into LaGuardia airport there in the states.
There's been chaos, absolute chaos at the airports both in the U.K. and indeed in the U.S. today after U.K. authorities foiled a terror plot. Expected that those involved in that plot were plotting to blow up more than one, possibly as many as 10, planes over the Mid- Atlantic.
Well, U.S. authorities are now examining links, possible links to al Qaeda in this plot.
John King is in Washington, and he has more on that -- John.
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And Becky, for a number of reasons, U.S. officials and intelligence sources telling us they are beginning to look to possible al Qaeda links. Some even privately going stronger and saying they think the intelligence already shows very strongly it leads to al Qaeda.
The number one reason they say is because of the sophistication of this, the effort to use relatively everyday common liquids and materials you can buy at any store, any hardware store, perhaps a garden store, and concoct them into a cocktail using electronic devices, then to detonate them over the Atlantic Ocean. They say the sophistication of this leads them to believe these terrorists had very sophisticated training.
They also say the fact that those in custody are of Pakistani origin makes them suspicious that they have received training in Pakistan or elsewhere in that part of the world.
Now, publicly, officials are only saying they suspect al Qaeda links. But they are also saying they are grateful for the fast action of British authorities in arrests -- making these arrests overnight. As the top U.S. Law enforcement official put it, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, he said the information leads everyone to believe that these attacks were imminent.
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ALBERTO GONZALES, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: The perpetrators who were arrested overnight were extremists who had gone beyond just stating a desire to kill Americans. Their plotting turned to action as they took several steps to carry out their deadly plan. Their focus appears to have been on the use of liquid explosives.
We are still assessing the links to al Qaeda.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: You hear the attorney general there saying still assessing the links to al Qaeda. Again, counterterrorism officials here in the United States, other intelligence sources in private, say they are confident that they will be able to trace the dots back to al Qaeda or an al Qaeda-affiliated operation. And Becky, again, they say that because of the sophistication.
One official telling me what makes this frightening is the sophistication to turn relatively common materials into a dangerous IED, improvised explosive device. Now, we often here of IEDs in the daily violence of Iraq. Those are much larger devices, of course, car bombs and other things used to destroy things, but what we're talking about here, U.S. intelligence sources tell us, are beverages, small containers containing liquid, with several terrorists, each carrying a piece on to the plane. They mix them on the plane and use an electronic device to detonate them.
The goal of this alleged plot, we are told, to detonate six, perhaps as many as 10, planes out over the Atlantic Ocean, causing structural damage to the airliners or causing catastrophic fires on board the airlines in a place where it would be almost impossible for the pilot to get to ground safely -- Becky.
ANDERSON: John, what we know then is how, how these terrorists were plotting to blow up these planes. What we don't know, certainly on this side of the Atlantic, is when, and in what sort of numbers.
Do you have any more details on what U.S. investigators are aware of so far as when this plot might have been effected?
KING: They won't give us exact details, although they do say they are getting quite a bit of information from British intelligence sources and from the U.S. intelligence officials who were involved in this investigation in the past two weeks. They say they don't want to give us more information publicly, because even though there were 21 people in custody and they believe they have all the major players in custody, they are of course interrogating those suspects. They are searching homes, they are looking at documentary evidence. And they say that it is entirely possible they will come up with other leads and other links.
They're saying they don't believe there's anyone here in the United States involved in this plot. But again, they're saying they need to look at the evidence. So they don't want to tip their hat too much to the evidence now in public, as the investigation continues.
But I tell you, Becky, the intelligence official I talked to said, of course, if the British could have kept this investigation going on longer, they would have. Because you get more and more valuable intelligence. But I was told they had to quote, "bring down the hammer," if you will because they thought they saw something in the intelligence that led them to believe this terrorist cell was allegedly about to execute its plot, ready to go, in the words of one U.S. intelligence official.
ANDERSON: Well, John, we'll be getting more information, of course, as the hours go on. John King for now in Washington. We thank you very much indeed.
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ANDERSON: All right. Let's bring you back up to date on exactly what has happened here in the U.K. and indeed in the U.S. over the past 24 hours. British authorities say that they have averted what they are calling mass murder on an unimaginable scale. But the nation's airports are in a state of chaos. The police uncovered a terror plot aimed at blowing up aircraft en route to the United States.
Well, extreme security measures are now in place on both sides of the Atlantic. All liquids are banned from carry-on luggage, with the sole exceptions of baby formula and medicines.
And in Iraq, a suicide bomber strapped with explosives blew himself up at a police checkpoint near a holy shrine in the southern city of Najaf. Police say at least 34 people were killed and 108 were wounded. Najaf is a predominantly Shiite city, and it was crowded with Shiites from throughout the country for a religious ceremony. Sunni and Shiite Muslims have been fighting in Iraq for months.
And the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah goes on unabated. Israeli rockets say the lighthouse being used as a cell phone tower in the heart of Beirut. Israel continues dropping leaflets warning people in southern suburban neighborhoods of Lebanon to evacuate. Meantime, a Hezbollah rocket attack has killed at least two civilians, one a child. It happened in the town of Deir el Assad in northern Israel.
Let's get back to the foiled terror plot by U.S. and U.K. investigators here this Thursday. I want to get Alina Cho, who is at JFK, where the very first flight that has taken off from here, Heathrow Airport in London, and will arrive shortly in New York at JFK, is now expected.
Alina, before we talk, I want our viewers to just get a sense of what has happened today. There would normally be 118,000 passengers through Heathrow, taking off and arriving on a regular basis. Six and a half million passengers every month; 6.7, for example, in the month of July. And it is an extremely busy time of year, as the kids are on school holidays. A lot of them would be going stateside.
You're waiting on what is effectively the first plane in from the U.K. today.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, and Becky, in fact, as we speak right now, I am just getting the information that the first flight from Heathrow to JFK has just landed. We believe it's an American Airlines flight. Yes, and it has just landed. So that indeed would be the first flight from Heathrow to New York on the ground. We are going to be speaking to passengers momentarily.
I should point out that President Bush earlier today urged airline passengers to be patient and vigilant. That is certainly good advice, especially today. Some things you need to keep in mind: if you're going to be getting onto a flight out of any U.S. airport today, including JFK, is that you need to get to the airport as much as two hours in advance.
And remember, you've been hearing this this morning and afternoon over in London, you will not be able to bring any liquids or gels onto the plane as a carry-on. So essentially, if you're planning on packing a toiletry bag with shampoo, lotion, perfume, hair gel, into your carry-on bag, you will have to think again. That will have to go into your checked bag.
Some exceptions to that rule: baby formula and medications. But you may have to, as you go through security, verify the authenticity of those items. Passengers we spoke to today, a lot of them are expressing concern, but a few of them actually are expressing relief.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank God for the London police. And this whole terrorism thing is just so frightening and despicable. And I hope I have a safe flight.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's probably a good time to fly. Everybody is aware of it, and hopefully it will be all OK.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has urged U.S. airline passengers to go ahead with their plans today. If you are planning to fly, you should do so, according to Chertoff. But remember that there will be delays today; particularly, Becky, among flights coming into JFK. Not so much flights going out, fortunately. But one thing to keep in mind is there are severe delays with flights coming into New York from London. And as we mentioned just a moment ago, we believe that the very first flight, American Airlines flight from Heathrow to JFK, has just gotten on the ground -- Becky.
ANDERSON: Alina Cho there at JFK in New York.
Well, this major counterterrorism investigation culminating about 2:00 a.m. Thursday morning in the London and in the suburbs around London, with the arrest, at the time, of 25 people. Twenty-one have now been detained.
Very few details of the investigation are coming out. We've heard from the deputy police commissioner here in the U.K., indeed from the head of counterterrorism, and from the interior minister. But, as would be expected at this stage of the investigation, they can give us very few details.
So let's find out what else we can glean from the investigation stateside. And for that we go to Andrea Koppel, who is in Washington.
Andrea, what do we know?
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Becky, we're getting more details now. According to a senior congressional source that I spoke with, the U.S. and British authorities believe that that liquid that they're advising people not to bring on the planes today in their carry-on baggage.
They believe that the terrorists had been planning to use, according to this source, a British version of Gatorade, planning to have that liquid in a British version of Gatorade, and then, once on the plane, mix it with that gel-like substance. They believe perhaps electronic devices like an iPod or like a cell phone could have been used. There may have been other devices that they had planning on using.
Another point this source brought out was the fact that they were going to be operating in cells and in teams, much as the 9/11 hijackers were. There were four or five to every plane. They don't know how many of these terrorists were going to be on those U.S. carriers. But again, operating in teams.
And finally, the significance -- one of the points they raised -- the significance of the background of these terrorists who were arrested in great Britain and in Pakistan. Pakistani Brits in great Britain and Pakistanis. They believe that there is the al Qaeda link there, because as the source said, one of the remaining central points for al Qaeda is in the northwestern frontier of Pakistan.
Also, Becky, remember 9/11, 15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudis. In this case, you would have had the majority being from Pakistan. It damaged the U.S./Saudi relationship. There may have been the same consequences if these terrorist plots had been carried out.
Now since this story broke, we've been getting a flurry of reaction from Congress people and from senators. We know that the leadership in the House and Senate were briefed on this last nigh, as well as relevant chair persons of the terrorist committees, Homeland Security and the like, and we also know that the statements that have been issued from a number of offices, Republicans immediately drawing the link to the war on terror. And the necessity of continuing the vigilance in fighting the war on terror.
Democrats interestingly, in particular, the Democratic leader Harry Reid, drawing a link to the war in Iraq, saying the latest plot demonstrates the need for the Bush administration and Congress to change course in Iraq. Remember, Becky, it's an election season here in the United States -- Becky.
ANDERSON: Andrea Koppel in Washington.
We will take a very short break at this point. you are watching YOUR WORLD TODAY. Do stay with us here on CNN.
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ANDERSON: Seen live in more than 200 countries around the globe, you're watching YOUR WORLD TODAY. I'm Becky Anderson at Heathrow Airport in London covering this major story for you, the foiling of a huge terror plot, a plot that may have resulted in mass murder on an unimaginable scale. That is what we are being told by the authorities here. More on that shortly.
First, let's get to the Middle East. And for more on the ongoing crisis there, another major story for you. Hala Gorani is in Beirut, in Lebanon.
Fionnuala Sweeney, of course, is of course in Haifa, in Israel. Let's start in Beirut and with Hala -- Hala.
GORANI: Well, Becky, a few hours ago, the Israeli military dropped thousands and thousands of these leaflets over central Beirut, warning residents of three southern districts to evacuate, because they are saying they will widen their military operation to some of these districts that haven't been hit before, notably Shiyah (ph), which on Monday took a strike, leveling a building, killing at least 41 people. The other two districts, Hay El Soulom (ph) and Borj El Barajheh (ph).
This leaflet saying the continuous activities by Hezbollah will lead to more operations by the Israeli military.
Also on this day, and this was significant, an Israeli strike hit an empty lighthouse in western Beirut. This is really in the heart of Beirut. Two people were injured as a result. But this, again, was a neighborhood that hadn't been struck before.
Meantime, clashes continue to intensify in Southern Lebanon, although the Israeli military has said that it is delaying its wider and deeper ground defensive into the southern part of this country to allow the diplomatic process to move forward in New York.
All right, that is the latest on the ground.
But now, Brent Sadler, our bureau chief takes a look at how this conflict that has really dragged on for almost a month now is taking an increasing toll on ordinary Lebanese residents.
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BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The trauma of war turns to tears on this little girl's face, one of many faces inside this Beirut school, now home to over 700 homeless Lebanese. Some faces appear vacant. Others show exhaustion. But they all tell matching stories. Israel, they claim, bombed or threatened to bomb their neighborhoods, driving them out.
Asaf Hab (ph) fled Beirut's southern suburbs, the target of repeated Israeli airstrikes. She has fed her children on local charity for more than a month.
"My children were terrified," she explains. They were screaming from the sound of bombs. It feels much safer in the schoolyard. But apparently not. Older children shrug off a nearby explosion, praising Allah for staying alive.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All the kids we have, have some certain psychological problems. Some of them witnessed their parents being killed in front of their eyes. Some of them witnessed their home destroyed just the minute they fled out of it.
SADLER: Every one of Beirut's more than 150 schools are now filled mostly with destitute Shia Muslim families, like this.
(on camera): The massive displacement with as many as a million Lebanese have inflicted misery on about a quarter of the country's population. And the ripple effect of coping with the acute needs of so many seems to have already reached a point where international help to alleviate the severe hardship and suffering is overwhelmed by the sheer scale of this crisis.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): There are enormous tensions appearing, and people are trying to survive. But they're being traumatized by what happened and by living so close, on top of each other.
SADLER: Like many here, Asaf Hab holds America and its closest regional ally, Israel, equally to blame.
"We say to America, that if god made you so powerful and strong, do not use this against the people."
Brent Sadler, CNN, Beirut.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Well that's the picture as it stands in Beirut this Thursday. We are, of course, nearly a month into this conflict.
Now let's get to Haifa, northern Israel and find out what the state's play is there. Fionnuala Sweeney is standing by -- Fionnuala.
SWEENEY: Well, Becky, the air-raid sirens have been going off throughout the day intermittently here in Haifa, northern Israel, less than 24 hours after Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, made an ultimatum to Arab-Israelis to leave this port city of Haifa, this following three rocket attacks last Sunday in which two people -- three people rather, all Arab-Israelis, were killed.
So people here in Haifa really bracing themselves for another onslaught from Hezbollah across the border.
Meanwhile, the rockets continue to fall across northern Israel, with 160 at least falling this day across towns and communities. Two people were killed. One person was seriously injured.
On the political front, the decision made yesterday by the cabinet in Jerusalem to expand the ground offensive is still on hold, pending the outcome of negotiations for a U.N. draft resolution to try to end this conflict. But even Dan Gillerman, the Israeli ambassador to the U.N. now saying that hope is very slim that an agreement will be reached soon.
And the conventional thinking here, Becky, is that within a couple of days, pending the lack of any result from New York, a major Israeli ground offensive will begin -- Becky.
ANDERSON: Fionnuala Sweeney there in Haifa in Israel. I'm Becky Anderson at Heathrow Airport in London. Police here in the U.K. have uncovered a terror plot aimed at blowing up aircraft mid-Atlantic, trans-Atlantic aircraft, as many as 10 some experts are saying -- and we don't have the figures for you at this point from the investigators.
We will have more on this story from the U.K. and, indeed, from the U.S. after this. Stay with us.
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The recent arrests that our fellow citizens are now learning about are a stark reminder that this nation is at war with Islamic fascists who will use any means to destroy those of us who love freedom, to hurt our nation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Say that those plotting to blow up aircraft mid-flight across the Atlantic were planning to use liquid explosives. Does this then expose a new vulnerability in air security that people haven't necessarily considered in the past, air security that is already dramatically heightened, of course, after the 9/11 attacks?
Let's bring in our security consultant now, John Magaw, former Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms officer, and currently adviser to the U.S. Homeland Security Council. John, what do you know, what do you understand from what we've heard today about the nature of the sort of explosives that those plotting these attacks were proposing to use?
JOHN MAGAW, HOMELAND SECURITY ADVISORY COUNCIL: Well, the liquid explosives that they were proposing to use has not been made exactly public yet, and I kind of hope they aren't, because there are a number of those that can be put together fairly easily.
You know, we made kind of fun sometimes at Richard Reid. Had he been successful with the heat to that device that he had, that airliner would have come down. And, you know, we're talking about this is something new. It's not something new. This was also planned in the Philippines.
And I think as we look, and the British executives find the details of this plan, that it's going to be pretty much mirror that one of 1995 and 1996, when we went through that, was to bring 10 or 12 airliners down coming from Asia to the United States, using, in some cases, liquid explosives.
Had there not been a fire, we would not have discovered it. And they still feel that this is feasible, and this is not unusual for the terrorist groups -- the Islamic terrorist groups -- to bring back a plan, use it again, refine it. I believe that's what we are seeing.
ANDERSON: How easy is it effectively to devise an explosive, once you get on the plane and you have some sort of detonative device as well?
MAGAW: Well, once you have a detonator device, generally you are talking about heat. So you -- there are many devices that will create the heat, create the friction that will cause this liquid explosive to go off. It's very unstable.
So you find -- if you look throughout the world, you find time after time that these terrorists, those would-be bombers, actually blow themselves up in preparing materials like this. So they have to be very, very careful. And you can also do it with a remote device, so there's very, very many ways that it can be done.
ANDERSON: Very briefly, can you see liquids and gels being allowed on planes in the future?
MAGAW: Well I think now that the British government and their investigative units have been successful, we'll do more than what we did after 1995 around the world to protect ourselves against this. And we have to be very careful as we go along that we don't talk too much about how we resolve these things.
If you remember, not a few months ago when one of the leaders of the terrorist groups in Iraq was assassinated, was killed, we, at that point, said it was done by following the cleric. We can't give away all of these means because we will stop that effort and go to another one.
ANDERSON: And so we are going to have to leave it there. We thank you very much indeed for joining us.
You have been watching YOUR WORLD TODAY. I'm Becky Anderson at Heathrow in London. Good-bye.
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