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Foiled London Attack
Aired June 29, 2007 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everyone. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
I'm Tony Harris.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. And I'm Betty Nguyen, in for Heidi Collins today.
We are following a developing story this Friday morning out of London.
As you have been watching, a car bomb threat diffused. A terror probe under way after the discovery made in the heart of the British capital.
HARRIS: U.S. security officials closely monitoring the case. We have reporters following it on both sides of the Atlantic.
You are in the NEWSROOM.
Unfolding this hour, terror alert in London. A car packed with malice and position to kill and wound many. Here is what we know.
Security sources tell CNN the car bomb was relatively crude but deadly. Bomb teams safely diffused the threat and found the car loaded with more than 50 gallons of fuel. It also contained nails that could have been launched as projectiles. The car was abandoned in the heart of London, specifically outside a nightclub near Piccadilly Circus.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETER CLARKE, SCOTLAND YARD: It's too early to be clear and, indeed, I suggest it's too early to speculate as to who might be responsible. And we are keeping an entirely open mind.
Scientific analysis will tell us what damage or injury could have been caused by this device. However, even at this stage, it is obvious that if the device had detonated, there could have been significant injury or loss of life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: And we begin our coverage in the British capital. CNN Senior International Correspondent Nic Robertson is on the scene.
And Nic, if you would, describe that area for us, Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circus.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Piccadilly Circus is just up the street to the right from where I'm standing. If you look down the street behind me, to the very end of the street, that's where the bomb was left, just at the end of the street. You can't quite see it. It's the Tiger Tiger nightclub.
It is about four or five hours ago now that the police removed that silver Mercedes vehicle from the scene, taking it away for further forensic evidence. We are seeing a lot of people, tourists, people who live here in London literally coming up to the police cordon here to take their own photographs of what's happening, to take a look. A lot of people coming very, very close to see what they can see, but the police are keeping the security cordon here very well back.
But the police have also been appealing to people here, to members of the public, that anything that they might have seen in the late hours of last night and perhaps yesterday evening, as well. If they've seen anything suspicious going on in this area -- this area, of course, full of theaters, full of movie cinemas, full of nightclubs. A very, very popular area, and the police appealing to them.
We heard in the last few minutes as well from Britain's new secretary -- home office here. She has only been in her job for literally 24 hours. She said that this was a very, very dangerous bomb, that it could have caused many injuries. She also appealed -- Jacqui Smith also appealed to members of the public to remain vigilant and provide information when they can.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JACQUI SMITH, BRITISH HOME SECRETARY: We are currently facing the most serious and sustained threat to our security from international terrorism. This latest incident reinforces the need for the public to remain vigilant and to alert -- and alert to the threat that we face at all times. I would particularly encourage all members of the public to report to the police anything suspicious.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTSON: The home secretary there, Jacqui Smith, appealing for people to come forward with information. She did have a meeting shortly before that with the COBRA committee. This is the group of people in Britain, leading police officers, leading intelligence officials, counterterrorism officials, trying to nail down what it is they know about this bombing so far, this attempted bombing, and what they should be doing next. The COBRA group comes together at times of extreme emergency, and that is how the situation is being judged here right now -- Tony.
HARRIS: And Nic, for people who are just joining us and learning of the story, let's take a big step back. And would you tell us how officials there in London first learned of this apparent car bomb, discovered, thankfully, intact? ROBERTSON: Well, it was almost by chance that the bomb was discovered. What police have told us so far is that a vehicle was driven and parked, left outside the Tiger Tiger nightclub down the street behind me in the early hours of this morning.
Now, at that nightclub, at about 1:25 in the morning, the London ambulance service said that they received a call from the nightclub saying that somebody had been taken ill. The ambulance crew came to the nightclub to treat that person.
While they were there, they spotted the vehicle outside. That vehicle looked suspicious because it had some sort of smoke inside it. The ambulance crew immediately called the police, the bomb squad were then called, additional ambulances were called into the area.
By 6:00 this morning, the bomb had been diffused. Peter Clarke, the head of the anti-terror investigation police team here, said that it was using extreme bravery -- he commended the bomb disposal team who went and disabled the bomb, disrupted it so it couldn't go off. That happened in the early hours. And a few hours later, forensic teams completed their on-the-site work, and the vehicle removed for further forensic investigation.
But there were nails discovered in the trunk of that vehicle, about 50 gallons of fuel discovered in the vehicle. Propane gas canisters discovered in the vehicle, though it's not clear what is inside those gas canisters.
The police describe this as very dangerous, that it could have caused serious injury and death to the people it could have come in contact with. A lot of people were in this area at that time of the morning -- Tony.
HARRIS: CNN's Nic Robertson for us, covering the story from London.
Nic, appreciate it. Thank you.
NGUYEN: And we want to get some analysis now from CNN's chief international correspondent. Christiane Amanpour is in New York.
And Christiane, you're very familiar with this area, and we have talked about the cameras that have been placed around London. In a particular area like this, how important is that going to be to determine exactly how this car got there and where the driver may have gone?
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think it will really be crucial. We have learned, certainly since the 7th of July subway and bus bombings in London, that CCTV was the first real tangible, hard evidence of what happened.
London is perhaps blanketed unlike any other city in the world with closed circuit television cameras. And the thing is, though, that perhaps people won't have been monitoring them at exactly the point that this man drove his car up. But they may have started monitoring them as soon as the London ambulance guys got there and alerted the police that something suspicious had happened.
There are hours and hours and hours of CCTV material that they will be combing through, and they'll want to know where he was in this particular area that you're seeing on the map there, in the hours before it actually turned up outside that -- that nightclub, which was shortly around 1:00 a.m., which is when the London ambulance people alerted the police and brought in the explosive device people.
Now, you just saw the map. You have heard from Nic. This is what is to London what Times Square would be to New York.
This is the heart of the really public tourism center of London. This is where not just Londoners go to enjoy a night out at the theater, or a cinema, or to go to a restaurant, but it's where people come from all over the country, and notably where many, many people come from America, from Europe, from all over the world to see Piccadilly Circus and that whole big area, Shaftesbury Avenue, which is akin to New York's Broadway, which is lined with these incredible theaters, and all the history of the British theater goes on there.
So it's a very highly-populated area, with people mostly there to enjoy, to have fun, to go out. dancing, to theater, to restaurants, as I say. And you can see that it is in a very, very target-rich environment, if I can use that kind of terminology. Buckingham Palace is there along the Thames.
You've got the houses of parliament, you've got Big Ben. You've got -- not too far away from Haymarket is White Hall, which is the bureaucracy of government. All the government buildings are down there. And it's very, very, you know, intensely populated, not just by car, but also on foot.
HARRIS: Christiane, this is Tony Harris with Betty. And I'm curious, as you point out that environment, all of the people who frequent that area, I'm wondering, does this feel to you like the kind of -- let's use the language, target-rich environment, that an al Qaeda operation might certainly seek out?
AMANPOUR: Well, look, it's too early to know whether this is international or whether it's homegrown. Whatever it is, it's al Qaedaism, because that is sort of the brotherhood of terrorists that has grown up since 9/11. But certainly, they are going for these big- name targets.
HARRIS: Sure.
AMANPOUR: It's not an accident they went into the London subways or the buses two years ago. These are, you know, quintessentially population-rich places that people need to use on a daily basis.
Now they appear to be, whoever did this, going to soft target. For instance, a restaurant or nightclub.
This is, again, a pattern that we have seen not just in Europe, but also, for instance, let's just go all the way back to the Bali bombings, where they blew up a nightclub there. And people, law enforcement, are more and more concerned about soft targets, because it's one thing to bolster security and impose Draconian measures which we all now live with at airports and other such big -- big target areas, but it's a very different thing to be able to completely close down, you know, parts of a city, parts of -- people's every day or every night kind of life.
And the new home secretary, Jacqui, Smith, who's now being tested on her very first full day in office, has said that while we can do everything we can to minimize the threats and the danger to our people, we can never actually eliminate it. Which is why they're calling over and over again on ordinary people to be vigilant. And frankly, that is what worked...
HARRIS: Absolutely.
AMANPOUR: ... in alerting the authorities to this -- to this car laden with gas earlier this morning.
NGUYEN: Well, you know, Christiane, you did mention Jacqui Smith, the British home secretary. And there has been a transfer of power. It just recently happened.
Is this a message? I mean, I know you've been looking at terrorism. And you have followed the roots of this. Is this a message to the new government?
AMANPOUR: Well, it's not an accident that it happened a couple of days after this transfer of power. You know, if you were to be conspiratorial, to try to think like they think, you know that they have seven weeks to know this date. Tony Blair announced seven or so weeks ago that he was going to step down, and he gave the date certain on which he would hand power to his successor, Gordon Brown.
It's too early to say, you know, what the motivation was, what actually happened. But it is an incredible at least coincidence. And now Britain is getting to see their new prime minister in action, their new top cabinet people, including those responsibly for security, and to see how they're going to deal in this instance.
HARRIS: Christiane, I think we have a picture that we can show everyone, and I'm sure you'll get a look at it, as well, something that the authorities pulled out of this Mercedes. It is a cylinder. It's patio gas. I think you've been talking about it with "AMERICAN MORNING" throughout the morning.
Patio gas, we refer to it obviously as propane that is used to fuel our grills. But that kind of a gas, we know how combustible it is. And when you put that together with nails, I think we begin to see the kind of potential impact this bomb could have had.
AMANPOUR: Well, that's right. And it follows on from what the metropolitan deputy commissioner said earlier, Peter Clarke. That what they had found in this car was petrol, gas cylinders, several large containers, he said, and a large number of nails inside the vehicle. He was not going to be drawn on the exact quantities, but he did say that had it exploded, it would have caused a considerable amount of damage and loss of life.
I think the really interesting thing to watch for over the next 24 hours or so is, as Scotland Yard hopefully puts out more statements as its investigation continues, what exactly was the nature of the sophistication of this bomb?
HARRIS: Yes.
AMANPOUR: Was it actually triggered or done up so that it could be triggered and detonated? Was it crude? Was it just there, the elements of it, or was it all done up as a bomb and was just waiting for it to be detonated? Because the word "potential" has been used...
HARRIS: There you go.
AMANPOUR: ... by these officials so far. A potentially lethal device, a potentially explosive device, as Jacqui Smith called it.
HARRIS: Yes. I think that's very interesting as we see the photo right now of the Mercedes in question here. And it's something that I've been curious to know more about, as well, Christiane.
The wording so far that we have received on this, a potentially viable explosive device, I'm curious to know if there was a detonation system, devices in the car that were attached to whatever this device was. I mean, we all know that any car is potentially a bomb. All cars are fueled with gas. So any car is a potential bomb.
Was there a detonation system attached to whatever this device was, as you can see -- make out from these photographs here?
AMANPOUR: Well, again, we just don't know that.
HARRIS: Yes. .
AMANPOUR: Except what we do know -- what we do know, as long as the -- Peter Clarke is accurate at this point -- that there was smoke seen inside the vehicle.
HARRIS: Yes.
AMANPOUR: That this tipped off the London ambulance people. When they saw that smoke, they called the explosives unit.
The explosives officers came and they manually disabled the device. We need to know what exactly that means and to what extent was that device wired to actually go off.
HARRIS: Yes.
NGUYEN: You know, and also, as you look at it, there's been some connection as to the fact that this bomb may be similar to the type that we have seen in Iraq, the suicide car bombings there. Yet, the driver of this vehicle had fled.
What does that tell you? Does that signal anything to you? AMANPOUR: Well, that he didn't want to get caught. That this was not the right time and the right place.
For whatever reason, he decided, if all of this turns out to be true and if we see this evidence on the CCTV, if he is caught and gives some kind of account of what happened, it appears that at the last minute he decided not to do what he was going to do, or maybe this was part of the plan.
HARRIS: Well, another thought here, Christiane, before we let you go. I mean, look, a lot of folks are going to immediately assume an al Qaeda-type operation, Islamic extremist.
We also understand that there was a bit of a gang problem in the London area. What about the thought of Irish Republican extremists? Will some of those suspects, some of those groups be targeted, as well, for questioning and investigation?
AMANPOUR: I would think, to be honest, that those would be at the very bottom of my list of suspects, because right now you have got a peace agreement between northern Ireland, between the warring factions, that actually Tony Blair, finally, after 10 years of hard work, hammered out and which has just come to fruition. And actually, some of those loyalists, so-called either loyalists or nationalists, militant groups there, have foresworn the use of terror.
Not to say that some splinter person may not be individually involved.
HARRIS: Yes.
AMANPOUR: But I think crucially on the minds of the intelligence, the counterinsurgents, the police, the terror squads, I think it will be the al Qaedaism that is more on their mind. Because no matter whether it's an actual al Qaeda operative from around the world, or whether it is homegrown...
HARRIS: Sure.
AMANPOUR: ... the notion of al Qaedaism is now one that you cannot separate from those who are abroad or those who are homegrown, because the ideology is the same. It's the ideology and the motivation that has cross-pollinated now and has become one. Whether or not they get the direct marching orders from a central area, which they don't, but the fact is the methodology, the ideology and what they are doing is now really a movement called al Qaedaism.
HARRIS: I think you are absolutely right on that. I was just curious as to how wide a net might be cast here.
Our chief international correspondent, Christiane Amanpour, with us.
Christiane, great to see you. Thanks for your time.
NGUYEN: And our coverage of the foiled London attack continues right after this break.
Here's some questions. How are U.S. homeland security officials responding to this incident? Well, we're going to try to answer that with the latest right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: And once again, our continuing coverage this morning.
London police and MI-5 busy right now investigating what appears to be a car bomb uncovered, intact at Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circus in London. And we have been showing you some pictures of the actual car that is being taken apart literally now for forensic evidence here. And these are the pictures. And the photographer is on the line with us.
NGUYEN: Yes, Daniel Weir took this photo. And actually, it's providing a lot of information.
Daniel, before we get to the details of it, first of all, tell us why you were in the area and how crowded the particular area was last night?
DANIEL WEIR, PHOTOGRAPHER: I was just in the area last night, literally coming home from work. Been photographing around the nightclubs and around the restaurants in -- basically in London, in town, and thought nothing of it.
I literally was on my way home to Trafalgar Square, and on the way I passed this incident. I see all the tape cordons being put up by the police and asked the police officer what the hell was going on. I just didn't understand what was going on.
I just asked him. He turned around and went, "Oh, there's a suspect package in one of the cars." And that was basically it.
NGUYEN: And then you started taking pictures. Did you get any more information as to where the driver was? Where this person fled to?
WEIR: Well, there was rumors flying about that he just fled the scene immediately. I really don't know. That was just rumors of people that were inside the club that just said that he had run. He had run and run and run and got away.
NGUYEN: Could you see the smoke at the time that you arrived on the scene?
WEIR: No. At the time that I had arrived, the police had been already been on the scene for, I would have said, some time. Not very long, about 10, 15 minutes possibly. They had already started to move people away from the area and bringing other people in, like obviously the police and the bomb squad, as well.
HARRIS: So if you would, how chaotic a scene were you witnessing? WEIR: Well, because it was nighttime, you know, it wasn't as chaotic as what you and I would think it would be in daytime, obviously.
HARRIS: Given the information that you now know, you look back on it and wonder why it perhaps wasn't more chaotic?
WEIR: Well, one as well. And two, I wonder why I was there now. I think if I had known what had been actually going on, I don't think I would have been hanging about.
HARRIS: So as we show some of the pictures you were able to snap last night, maybe you can sort of -- what caught your eye? I know that we have one of your shots -- no, go ahead.
WEIR: It was the stuff in the backseat in the car that caught my eye. It's the stuff that -- I don't know if it was obviously the person who created the attack or whether it was the police of some sort that tried covering up whatever was in the backseat of the vehicle.
And as you can quite clearly see in the photos (INAUDIBLE), there was clearly something on the back of the -- that was covered up by a rug or carpet of some sort. And I'm wondering what was underneath it.
NGUYEN: And we are looking at a picture right now, Daniel, as we're looking to try to determine, as you're questioning, too, what was in that car, we are looking at a picture of the patio gas. When you got on scene, did you know what that was? Did you have any idea that this may have been used to create a bomb?
WEIR: Well, I had an idea like it was caravan gas, or like what you'd use for a gas cooker when you're in a caravan, when you're on holiday and things like that. Or what you -- you know, just general gas, or what you put matting down on the roof with. But didn't realize it was propane.
NGUYEN: How many canisters did you see besides this one that you were able to photograph?
WEIR: The one that I photographed was the only one that I had seen. But rumors were flying about there were two or three others in the car from other people that had been around there before me. But whether that's true or not, I still don't know.
HARRIS: So Daniel, how do you feel? I mean, this is a significant event. As you see the coverage of it today and the fact that you are here with us, your pictures are important in helping us understand this story a little bit better, how do you feel?
WEIR: A bit shocked that I was in the right place at the right time. That really sums up being a photographer, to be quite honest. You know? If -- I can't really say much else to that.
NGUYEN: Well, we do appreciate your pictures. It's shed some light on what everyone is looking into today. Daniel Weir, who is a photographer there on the scene and provided us with the photographs of the vehicle and the items that were taken out of the vehicle.
Daniel, thanks for your time and your information today. We do appreciate it.
WEIR: Yes. No problem.
NGUYEN: And we're going to get some more perspective, as well, on the investigation with Clark Kent Ervin. He as the former general inspector for the Department of Homeland Security.
HARRIS: Yes. And we'll take a break and we'll be right back with more of CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Unfolding this hour, terror alert in London.
A car packed with malice and positioned to kill and wound many. Here is what we know.
Security sources tell CNN the car bomb was relatively crude but deadly. Bomb teams safely diffused the threat and found the car loaded with more than 50 gallons of fuel. It also contained nails that could have been launched as projectiles. The car was abandoned in the heart of London, specifically outside a nightclub near Piccadilly Circus.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLARKE: It's too early to be clear. And indeed, I'd suggest it's even too early to speculate as to who might be responsible, as we are keeping an entirely open mind.
Scientific analysis will tell us what damage or injury could have been caused by this device. However, even at this stage, it is obvious that if the device had detonated, there could have been significant injury or loss of life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Want to get you some perspective now from a terrorism expert. Clark Kent Ervin is a former inspector general for the Department of Homeland Security.
And Clarke, let me ask you this. With all those cameras positioned around this particular area, are you surprised that essentially this car wasn't discovered until there was smoke inside of it?
CLARK KENT ERVIN, FMR. INSPECTOR GENERAL, DHS: Well, no. I'm not surprised by that. There really was no reason to notice the car until there was something suspicious emanating from it. I think the good news, though, is London is the one city in the world that is the most blanketed by these closed circuit cameras. And they in the past have proved their worth in London in helping to identify the perpetrators of the 7/7 plot two years ago in London.
It is a key counterterrorism tool. And I hope that one of the results of this plot will be that we will rethink the deployment of more cameras here in the United States. We have spotty coverage here at home.
NGUYEN: You know, you talk about 7/7/2005. That also, you know, targeting a soft target. This was essentially the same thing, with the nightclub nearby.
What is the goal when these groups go after -- we're assuming it's a group, we don't know just yet -- go after these soft targets? Is it just to instill fear, is it to send a message to the newly- formed government?
ERVIN: I think it's really both of those things, Betty. This is really a key point.
You know, I've been saying for a long time that we haven't done what we should do, it seems to me, in this country to harden hard targets, like airports and seaports and nuclear plants. But we have done something. Paradoxically, the harder we harden hard targets, the more appealing we make it for terrorists to attack soft targets, like nightclubs and shopping malls and sports complexes. It's very easy for terrorists to carry off an attack. And even though the loss of life would be smaller than a 9/11-style attack, I would argue that the psychic impact would be larger, because it would -- it would indicate to every single person, wherever I am, I might be the subject of a terror attack.
NGUYEN: There has been some talk that this bomb is similar to some of the bombs that we've seen in Iraq. And we're taking a good look at the area where the car was found. And it could have -- as we've heard from many officials -- caused significant injury or loss of life.
Do you see any links to the bombings in Iraq, to maybe a group that would be creating those bombings in Iraq?
Is this the work of Al Qaeda?
ERVIN: Well, I agree with Christiane Amanpour. We don't know, really, whether the perpetrator or perpetrators of this plot were actual members of al Qaeda central, the bin Laden unit. But at a minimum, it is clear that they were inspired by it, because this is a classic Al Qaeda-type plot.
And, also, speaking of Iraq, Iraq is the 800-pound gorilla in the room. There is no question that Iraq has served to further motivate and radicalize Islamic terrorists. And I think the threat to United States and to Great Britain -- Great Britain being our greatest ally in the Iraq War and generally -- are at heightened threat because of the war. There's no question about that.
NGUYEN: And very, very quickly, do bomb makers leave their own signature?
Are there specific things that these investigators are looking for to determine who placed this here?
ERVIN: Absolutely. There is no question but that forensic experts in Great Britain going over the signature issue, say, of this bomb, this device. They're seeing whether there are any links to explosive devices that have been used in Iraq, in Lebanon, in Israel, in Afghanistan, throughout the Middle East. And, also, our police forces, our authorities, the FBI, particularly the New York Police Department, are surely speaking right now with London authorities to see what they can learn from this plot and whether there are any links to plots that have been uncovered and foiled here in the United States.
NGUYEN: Clark Kent Ervin, as always, we appreciate your insight. Thank you.
ERVIN: Thank you.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And authorities here in the U.S. closely watching developments in the London bomb scare. Homeland Security Correspondent Jeanne Meserve joins us now from Washington -- and, Jeanne, good to see you.
What is the Department saying about this London scare?
JEANNE MESERVE, HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, the first thing they're saying is that they see no specific and credible intelligence indicating that there is any threat in the United States. An FBI official backs that up, saying the same thing. No indication yet of any links between what's happened in Britain and any threat here in the United States.
At this point in time, it's status quo for the threat level, which is at yellow, except for aviation, where it's at orange.
Of course, the president was apprised of this, according to Ed Henry at the White House. Stephen Hadley, the national security adviser, briefed the president early this morning on what was going on. Tony Snow, the White House spokesman, has said that the president has not called the British prime minister because the Brits appear to have this so much under control.
However, the U.S. is offering all assistance. Of course, there is no better ally that the United States has in the war on terror than the British people...
HARRIS: Yes.
MESERVE: ... and the British government. And you can be sure that they are sharing all information at this point in time. And an a FBI spokesman says that all -- all information, all leads will be followed up, no matter where they are.
One of the big questions is what's happening in response to this. The Department of Homeland Security is advising state, local and federal partners to be vigilant, to be on the lookout. I spoke to the U.S. Capitol Police. They said no change in their posture at this point in time. Of course, they already are doing some checks of vehicles going up onto Capitol Hill.
And all local departments and federal departments will really be looking for specific guidance from this investigation. There's a treasure trove here. This car did not explode. It is full of potentially valuable forensic evidence. They're going to be looking at that carefully and trying to come up with clues not only to who did this, but what they were trying to do. And that information will help guide the sorts of protective measures that will be taken elsewhere.
HARRIS: Sure.
Hey, Jeanne, if you would, stand by.
We've got a new development and maybe we can get back to you for a couple of other questions.
NGUYEN: Yes, we're getting word from the London Metropolitan Police that another area is being watched. In fact, Park Lane, which is in Central London, it has been shut down, a portion of that, due to a suspicious vehicle.
Now, we don't know the details of this suspicious vehicle or exactly where that vehicle is located and if there is a building or what is next to it. But what we do know from the London Metropolitan Police is that Park Lane in Central London is shut down due to a suspicious vehicle.
Now, we're looking at some live pictures.
Tell me, is this the particular area of Park Lane that I'm speaking of, producer?
OK. It is unclear at this hour. But we are efforting those live pictures of Park Lane in Central London which, again, has been shut down due to a suspicious vehicle. We don't know if that is in any connection to the car that was found earlier today with the possible explosives inside.
So as soon as we get more word on this, we, of course, will bring that straight to you.
HARRIS: All right.
Great.
And we've got an opportunity now, let's bring back in our homeland security correspondent, Jeanne Meserve -- Jeanne, just a follow-up question as we continue to watch this situation in the Park Lane area of London. The Department of Homeland Security -- how concerned is that Department over the possible threats that terrorist groups might turn to car bombs as a way to target some of these what we call soft targets like nightclubs in the United States?
MESERVE: I'll tell you frankly, Tony, there's a great deal of surprise that it hasn't happened already. Likewise, surprise that there haven't been suicide bombers in this country already. They've been making an effort to learn what they can about both of those techniques. We know that law enforcement personnel have gone to Israel, for instance, and looked at how they handle these situations, paying particularly attention to the forensics of this, how if something does explode, how you go in afterwards and what information you can glean from...
HARRIS: Yes.
MESERVE: ... from what remains.
So it has been a very big and very longstanding concern. Of course, as has been mentioned repeatedly, these techniques have been perfected in Iraq. There has been concern that they would migrate from there elsewhere. Also, there's the fact of the Internet, the fact that you can log on and get very specific information about to do -- about how to do all sorts of nasty things. And that's allowed people elsewhere around the globe to benefit from the knowledge being gained in Iraq and elsewhere.
HARRIS: Hey, Jeanne, has the Department of Homeland Security lobbied openly, actively, for a more pervasive use of security cameras, such as the system in London?
MESERVE: You know, I haven't heard much about the Department's involvement in that debate. I can tell you that there's been a very active debate here in the District of Columbia about their usage.
As you know, as has been mentioned, closed circuit television cameras are all over London.
HARRIS: Yes.
MESERVE: Some people here, some critics have said one, it's an invasion of privacy. Two, it really hasn't done much to curtail terrorism. Yes, they were useful in the London subway bombings, but after the fact they helped identify who was responsible.
So a very active debate about how broadly they should be deployed here in this country. Oftentimes, you will find law enforcement saying they were a valuable tool, we can use them to monitor events. And you will find people on the civil liberties side saying, no, no, no, they are not effective; they are an invasion of privacy; they should not be deployed in greater numbers.
HARRIS: Our homeland security correspondent, Jeanne Meserve, with us this morning.
Jeanne, thank you.
MESERVE: You bet.
HARRIS: We'll talk to you.
And CNN Security Watch keeps you up to date on safety. Stay tuned day and night for the most reliable news about your security.
ROBIN OAKLEY, EUROPEAN POLITICAL EDITOR: I'm Robin Oakley reporting from Downing Street, London. And I'll have the latest on the London car bomb and the political reactions.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: And good morning again, everyone.
Welcome back to the CNN NEWSROOM.
I'm Tony Harris.
NGUYEN: And I'm Betty Nguyen in for Heidi Collins today.
Well, unfolding this hour, terror alert in London. A potentially deadly car bomb found. And just a short time ago another development.
Take a look. We have word that a stretch of Park Lane Road near Buckingham Palace has been closed due a suspicious vehicle.
Now, there is no word on whether it is related to the car bomb discovery. A car packed with fuel and nails was abandoned outside a busy nightclub. Here's a picture of the Mercedes there. An ambulance crew responding to a call actually noticed smoke coming from the car. Explosives experts were called in to disable it and police say if it had exploded, if it had exploded, the outcome could have been disastrous.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETER CLARKE, SCOTLAND YARD: It is too early to be clear and, indeed, I would suggest it's even too early to speculate as to who might be responsible. And we are keeping an entirely open mind. Scientific analysis will tell us what damage or injury could have been caused by this device. However, even at this stage, it is obvious that if the device had detonated, there could have been significant injury or loss of life.
Threat from terrorism is real, it is here and it is enduring. Life must go on. But we must all stand up to the threat we face as we go about our daily lives.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Well, the bomb scare poses a major security challenge for Britain's brand new prime minister.
CNN's Robin Oakley joins us now live from Downing -- and, Robin, what a way for Prime Minister Gordon to start his job.
OAKLEY: Absolutely, Betty.
A very stark reminder of the harsh realities of modern politics. In his very first day as prime minister, while he was putting together his cabinet, Gordon Brown heard of the deaths of three more British soldiers in Iraq. Today, the first day that those cabinet ministers have been in their posts, including the new home secretary, Jacqui Smith, a major security incident of this kind. And Mr. Brown was soon out himself this morning, warning that the public have got to be very careful.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GORDON BROWN, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: The home secretary will be chairing a Cobra meeting, after which she will report to a meeting of the cabinet this morning. The first duty of a government is the security of the people. And as the police and security services have said on so many occasions, we face a serious and continued security threat to our country. We should allow the police to investigate this incident and then report to us. But this incident does recall the need for us to be vigilant at all times and the public to be alert at any potential incident. And I will stress to the cabinet that the vigilance must be maintained over these next few days.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
OAKLEY: Interesting that he said over the next few days. And that indicated that security chiefs believe that it won't necessarily be an isolated incident, the car bomb that was found outside the Tiger Tiger Nightclub. And, indeed, the closing off of Park Lane now suggests that perhaps there are worries about another potential incident, though, of course, there is no confirmation at this stage, Betty.
NGUYEN: Well, yes, there's no confirmation. But let's just take a look at the situation, as we look at live pictures right now.
How far away is this suspicious vehicle that investigators are looking into right now from where the vehicle was found earlier this morning?
OAKLEY: Well, that would be less than a mile away, really. The first -- the car bomb that has been clearly identified was in the Haymarket theater district of London, found in the early hours of the morning when a lot of late night revelers would have been enjoying themselves in a cosmopolitan city like London.
Park Lane, a smarter area -- big, classy hotels alongside the park there. And not so much of an obvious target area, you would think, in terms of large numbers of people being congregated. But, obviously, this suspicious vehicle has to be investigated. And I think we may get a whole range of incidents like this because once you've had one security alert of this kind confirmed, everybody is looking out very carefully and nobody wants to take any chances. And certainly the police and security authorities are not doing so -- Betty. NGUYEN: Yes, that does make sense, because everyone, obviously, is going to be on high alert right now.
But as we look at this particular area there in Park Lane, how close is that to Buckingham Palace?
OAKLEY: Oh, not -- not very far away at all from Buckingham Palace. It depends on which end of Park Lane it is. But it's certainly well within range of the palace. You would not think that the palace would be directly hit by any detonation actually in Park Lane. But it's certainly not very far away, Betty.
NGUYEN: OK.
CNN's Robin Oakley providing some insight and perspective for us today, as we continue to follow this breaking story.
Thank you, Robin.
HARRIS: Investigators are scrutinizing video from closed circuit security cameras installed on streets throughout the area. They're hoping to spot who parked the car. These cameras are all over London, as we've been telling you this morning. For residents, they're proving to be a benefit and a concern.
The story now from CNN's Paula Newton.
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PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The entire country, especially London, seems to be in a constant state of surveillance. There are more than four million cameras trained on almost every corner.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You twist it clockwise to zoom in.
NEWTON: That's one camera for every 15 people. On any given day here, you can be caught on camera more than 300 times.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Crossing Great Wilnor Street (ph), continuing on Shroudsbury Avenue (ph) toward Piccadilly Circus.
NEWTON: On a random walk through Central London, they could track and trace my every move with a better view than most police officers walking the beat.
Most recently, suspected terrorists were caught after being captured on camera. The men blamed for launching suicide attacks in London last summer showed up on more than a few CCTVs.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We've seen a reduction of 33 percent in street crime in the area. And that's fantastic. People are crying out to have CCTV. They feel secure. They feel they can wander their streets at night, that somebody's out there keeping an eye open for anything wrongdoing.
NEWTON: But critics warn the viewing of surveillance video should be left to the professionals, not your next door neighbors.
JEN CORLEW, LIBERTY: This is a bit -- a bit voyeuristic. It's a bit like a little Big Brother in the community. So there's a lot of room for abuse and I don't think that putting it in civilians' hands rather than police hands is really effective.
NIGEL DAWES, SHOP OWNER: And one of our -- one of these shopping trolleys is actually perched on the railings.
NEWTON: And Nigel Dawes has a little story for every person who believes a camera will make them safer. He was robbed last spring and the whole thing was caught on a CCTV camera outside his shop. He called police and they said they just didn't have the time to look at the video.
DAWES: They can't put -- spend this money putting these in and then saying, well, we haven't -- we haven't got the funds to review the footage.
NEWTON: Still, this surveillance service will be rolled out to as many as 70,000 homes next year.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Suspicious use.
NEWTON: And as far as many residents are concerned, seeing is believing. They just feel safer knowing someone is watching.
Paula Newton, CNN, London.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
HARRIS: And, once again, London police and MI-5 are busy now investigating what appears to be a car bomb uncovered intact at Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circus in London. Right now you're looking at Park Lane Road, not very far from the area in question here, as London police, we believe, are checking out either a car or a bus right now. That is a scene we are still following and still developing information on.
But if we go back to the scene that was uncovered Thursday night, Friday morning, there was a Mercedes in question that was filled with gas and nails, and, we understand, a means to detonate this potentially deadly cocktail. Right now, that Mercedes in question is being taken apart, as investigators and forensic experts go through it with a fine-toothed comb looking for clues.
We will keep an eye on this location, that is, the Haymarket theater district.
And we will also keep an eye on the Park Lane Road area, as well.
When we come back, we will talk with our CNN terrorism analyst, Peter Bergen, right here in THE CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) NGUYEN: We are getting new information in the investigation of a car bomb found right there where you see the tape being marked off, the Haymarket theater district in London. And as that investigation is underway, our Nic Robertson -- we'll be talking with him shortly.
But in the meantime, we have learned from White House Spokesman Tony Snow that the president was briefed early this morning by National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley on the British terror situation and the White House is monitoring that situation.
Snow went on to add that the president did not feel the need to reach out to the British prime minister at this point, because British authorities are on top of the situation. So no need for the U.S. to get too involved, though Snow noted that the British will get "anything they need if they ask for help from the FBI or any other U.S. agency or entity."
Now, what we're showing you in this live picture is another investigation that is also underway in Britain today, not far from where the car bomb was found in the very early hours of the morning, about three quarters of a mile, we understand.
This is Park Lane, near Buckingham Palace, where, we understand from Metropolitan Police that a suspicious vehicle has been found there and an investigation is underway to determine what is inside that vehicle and if it was deemed to do any kind of damage to the nearby structures. Again, this is very close to Buckingham Palace. And a portion of Park Lane has been closed off, from Hyde Park corner to Marble Arch, if you're familiar with the area. It is in the heart of London.
And as soon as we get more on this, of course, we'll bring it straight to you.
HARRIS: And now, CNN terrorism analyst, Peter Bergen, joins us from Washington this morning -- and, Peter, good to talk to you.
What does this feel like to you, Al Qaeda -- an Al Qaeda-inspired group, perhaps?
PETER BERGEN, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: I mean it could be either of those. I mean you were discussing earlier, could it be, perhaps, Irish extremists.
HARRIS: Yes.
BERGEN: That seems unlikely because if this bomb had gone off, it was designed to be a mass casualty attack. It would have, you know, if it had succeeded in going off, you know, you would have killed a lot of people.
That has not really been a signature of the IRA. They tend to phone in warnings. They do want -- you know, when they have attacked in London, they haven't aimed to kind of create mass casualties.
So Al Qaeda-directed, Al Qaeda-inspired. We've seen Operation Crevice, which was a very similar plot to attack targets in London in 2004. They thought about attacking the Ministry of Sound, which is a big London nightclub. They thought about attacking a shopping mall outside London.
These guys had 1,300 pounds of explosives -- or fertilizer. None of them had gardens. It was clearly intended -- the fertilizer was going to be used in a bomb.
They were trained by Al Qaeda, the leaders of that plot. So that's a sort of analogous plot. We've seen other attempts by al Qaeda affiliates to blow up nightclubs. We had the Bali attack in 2002 directed at a couple of nightclubs. It killed 200 people, mostly Western tourists.
So this idea of attacking a nightclub is an Al Qaeda-like idea, obviously, the idea of mass casualty attacks.
Now, the fact that this Park Lane investigation is going on is quite interesting because, as we know from the 7/7 plan in London, the attack was of multiple areas in London.
HARRIS: Four different, yes.
BERGEN: There were four different attackers. So police -- and, again, there was the 7/21 plot which didn't work out, two weeks later. Again, there were four potential targets. So police obviously very interested in is this just one incident or are there -- will there be two or even more?
And, of course, they'll also be looking for who else was involved, because to do this kind of operation, Tony, it's not -- this is not a one-man band type of thing. If you go back to the Operation Crevice plan, there were five -- five -- between five and seven plotters who had some role in that plan. So they'd be looking for who this guy's confederates are; if indeed, it is an Al Qaeda-directed or an al Qaeda-inspired plan, was anybody involved traveling to Pakistan, for instance, to get training?
Four hundred thousand British citizens go to Pakistan every year. A tiny minority have gone for training. This is something that is particularly worrying for the British police, because it's one thing to read about this stuff on the Internet, but frankly, that really is not the way that you are -- that you become a successful terrorist. You really need to go to the training camp. You really need to be taught these things, meet the like-minded individuals, etc.
HARRIS: Peter, are car bombs in Iraq -- car bombs throughout the Middle East, is it just a matter of time before that is a tactic that is used in more and more big Western cities?
BERGEN: Yes, I mean, it's -- you know, unfortunately when Iraq is over, the kinds of terrorists who are doing things there that survive the war are going to import those techniques to other places. I mean, I think it's going to be a while before it happens in the United States. We -- the United States really has a much smaller problem with this thing than Britain does, where you've got a much more radicalized Muslim population. You've got, you know, a group of people who are radicalized by the Iraq War.
We really don't have that problem in the United States. So I think the problem is going to be much greater in London. Every year now in London we either have a successful terrorist plot or a plot -- a very serious plot that was averted. I mean really -- the really big one that we're not talking about is in August of 2006, the plan to bring down as many as 10 American airliners with liquid explosives...
HARRIS: That's right.
BERGEN: ... involving something like 16 planners. Six of the planners, Tony, had actually filmed suicide videotapes.
HARRIS: Yes.
BERGEN: So they clearly were planning, you know, to attack and die in this operation. That would have been, you know, a catastrophic 9/11-style attack. And, of course, that's directed from Al Qaeda in Pakistan and it involved British citizens. So that's a -- unfortunately, we've seen this pattern very, very often.
HARRIS: Well, Peter, let's do this.
Let's have you stand by.
We need to work in a quick break here.
But when we come back, I want to ask you about the homegrown terror threat in London.
But let's take a quick break.
BERGEN: Thanks.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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