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Passengers Face Tighter Air Travel Security; Terror Politics; Tolerance for Tighter Security
Aired December 29, 2009 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Time now for your top-of-the hour reset.
I'm Tony Harris in the CNN NEWSROOM.
It is noon in Detroit, where we are learning new details about the plane bomb suspect, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab.
It is the end of 2009 on Wall Street, where outrage over big year-end bonuses prompts some firms to retreat a bit.
And all across the nation it is brutally cold or snowy, or both. We check the forecast. Hey -- hey, just 11 more weeks of winter to go.
Let's get started.
Here is what we know right now about the attempted terror attack on Northwest Flight 253. Yemen says plane bomb suspect Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was in the country twice this decade, most recently from August until December of this year.
An al Qaeda wing in Yemen calls the attempted bombing retaliation for U.S. air strikes. The Obama administration will not confirm military operations in Yemen.
And CNN has obtained photos of the Nigerian man's explosives- packed underwear. The suspect was burned when he lit the powder, allegedly to set off an explosion to bring down the plane.
The terror attempt aboard Flight 253 means you are seeing changes at the airport and on your flight.
Here is CNN's Joe Johns.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If you fly, pay attention. Things are changing, instantly creating long lines and confusion.
On international flights headed to the U.S., passengers have the normal security screening to enter the departure zone and a second screening at the gate before boarding the plane. Once on board, the Transportation Security Administration has invoked a so-called one- hour rule, allowing airline crews to prohibit passengers from leaving their seats during the last hour of international flights.
Passengers can also be forbidden from keeping pillows and blankets on their laps. Maps viewed on in-flight entertainment screens must be disabled during flight.
The government also says it's putting additional air marshals on international flights.
(on camera): That's what's being done, but what more needs to be done, like better detection technology?
(voice-over): For years, the TSA has swabbed some luggage for traces of explosives. But it would be difficult to use that technology on masses of people, as well.
CHARLES PENA, THE INDEPENDENT INSTITUTE: It's going to be very time consuming, so if you're already looking at how much time it takes an individual to pass through airline security now, if you can imagine adding on however many minutes per person to be swabbed, multiply that by the number of people standing in line to get through security, and you can imagine, you know, what the backup is going to look like trying to get to your gate.
JOHNS: Technology also exists for TSA to essentially see through the clothes of people passing through airport security checkpoints. It's an effective way to look for concealed weapons but might not reveal a carefully-crafted and concealed explosive device.
PENA: The question is what is it that you are looking for and can you build technology that can actually help you detect exactly what you're looking for?
JOHNS: Privacy is the other big concern with so-called see- through technology allowing authorities to look underneath people's clothes, raising the age-old question of how much personal dignity and freedom from warrantless government searches we're willing to tolerate in exchange for more security.
PENA: Airline travelers in particular have given up tremendous amount of privacy and even rights, certain basic rights to get on an airplane. We are searched when we essentially when we get on an airplane, without a warrant. And that has become normal operating procedure for all of us now. We accept that.
We're willing to essentially allow authorities to be able to see us naked?
JOHNS: The sad wisdom is we are never going to get perfect airline security. But the closer we get to it, the more we will have to give up.
Joe Johns, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Checking the wire now. President Obama is ordering a top-to-bottom review of the U.S. terror watch system. It is comprised of about eight lists, each maintained by a different agency. The would-be plane bomber's name was in a broad terror database, but not on the no-fly watch list.
The president interrupted his Hawaiian vacation to assure Americans he is on the job.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The American people should remain vigilant, but also be confident. Those plotting against us seek to not only undermine our security, but also the open society and the values that we cherish as Americans. This incident, like several that have preceded it, demonstrates that an alert and courageous citizenry are far more resilient than an isolated extremist.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Well, President Bush's first homeland security secretary seems astonished the State Department did not yank the suspect's visa. His father warned U.S. officials about his son's extremist behavior in October.
Tom Ridge now on CNN's "LARRY KING LIVE."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOM RIDGE, FMR. HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: Why the State Department didn't revoke his visa immediately is beyond belief, in my judgment, either. But at the heart of this is it's a clash of cultures. It's an institutional challenge. DHS can only act on information it gets, and I'm not sure they had all the information at its disposal.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Well, the attack has reignited the partisan debate over how successfully the war on terrorism is being fought.
CNN's Jim Acosta has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Obama interrupted his vacation in Hawaii with some tough talk on terrorism.
OBAMA: As a nation, we will do everything in our power to protect our country.
ACOSTA: But it was also a chance to turn down the heat on Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, who had initially given something of a thumbs-up to the government's handling of the Detroit terror scare on CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION." JANET NAPOLITANO, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: One thing I'd like to point out is that the system worked. Everybody played an important role here. The passengers and crew of the flight took appropriate action.
ACOSTA: Within minutes, Republicans had latched on.
REP. PETER KING (R-NY), HOUSE HOMELAND SECURITY COMMITTEE: Earlier today, Secretary Napolitano said the system worked. The fact is the system did not work.
NAPOLITANO: Yes. That - that's a phrase taken out of context.
ACOSTA: When pressed, Napolitano later dialed (ph) back her remarks.
NAPOLITANO: Our system did not work in this instance. No one is happy or satisfied with that.
ACOSTA: After his own father had informed authorities his son was a potential terrorist, now members of Congress are asking questions such as how the suspected terrorist in Detroit could fly in the first place.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The threat to the United States is real. I think this administration has downplayed it. They need to recognize it, identify it. It is the only way we are going to defeat it.
ACOSTA: But one key senator who has sometimes frustrated the White House brushed off the notion the president has gone soft on terror.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you share that point? What do you think?
SEN. JOE LIEBERMAN (I), CONNECTICUT: I don't think it's fair to lay this on President Obama or the Obama administration. A lot of these practices are ones that have been going on for quite a while.
ACOSTA: The White House says those security procedures, some dating back to the Bush administration, are now under review.
ROBERT GIBBS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I think the best New Year's resolution that we might be able to make in the New Year is to make the security of the American people a nonpartisan issue, not a political football that we punt back and forth.
ACOSTA (on camera): But don't bet on it. A Senate hearing on the Detroit scare is planned for early next month, and a top Republican on that committee has already said there should have already been a big red flag next to the suspect's name.
Jim Acosta, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: So, the government has a lot of terror-related lists. Who's making sure the right people are on the right list? And maybe, just as importantly, who is making sure the right people are looking at those lists?
Where is Fran Townsend when you need to talk to her? She's actually coming up next.
First, though, our "Random Moment" in 90 seconds.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Do we need a "Random Moment of the Day" today or what? I think so. Here we go.
Kids say the darnedest things, especially if they're a little cheeky and precocious and stuck behind the sofa.
It is our "Random Moment of the Day."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Help.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How did you get back there?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't want to tell you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tell me. How did you get back there? What happened that you got behind the couch?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't want to tell you. Well, I did find the toy (ph) on this side, and I jumped back here. And now I need some help getting out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: And help did arrive. Dad pulled the boy from his tight stop. We're not sure if the toys that were back there as well were ever rescued.
There you have it, our "Random Moment of the Day." And boy, don't we need it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Well, next month, Congress will go to work to merge two health care bills into one. Right now, the House bill contains the public option, while the Senate version does not.
Now two high-ranking members of the House have said they could vote for a bill without the government insurance plan. This is big.
Congressman James Clyburn of South Carolina said he will do so as long as the bill creates more competition for insurance companies and contains costs. The chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee also said the House could drop the option if there are other methods in the bill to keep premiums down. (WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: You know, you have been hearing about terror watch lists since the attempt to bring down that Detroit-bound plane. Depending on how you count them, there are some eight lists maintained by a different agency, so it can be a bit confusing, so let's work through this together.
The suspect's name was put on a terrorist database last month. That's the least restrictive known as TIDE. It stands for Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment.
About 500,000 names are on it. Within that is a somewhat smaller group, about 400,000 people, who are on the TSDB, Terrorist Screening Database. Among those are about 14,000 names on a selectee list, which means they must undergo secondary screening before boarding a flight. And finally, there is the much-talked about no-fly list, about 4,000 people who absolutely are forbidden from flying on commercial aircraft.
So let's do this -- let's talk a bit more about these terror lists and then maybe expand the conversation a little bit.
Fran, are you good with that?
FRANCES FRAGOS TOWNSEND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CONTRIBUTOR: I sure am.
HARRIS: Let's do that. Let's bring in CNN's national security contributor, Fran Townsend, a homeland security adviser to President Bush.
OK. So, Fran, our intelligence agencies are working every day, 24/7, to identify, locate and tag the bad guys, or potential bad guys, or people having bad thoughts. How good are we really at determining who should be on a given list? And I guess the real question is, how much of intelligence work is science, how much is art?
Take as much time as you need to get through that.
TOWNSEND: Sure.
Well, Tony, as you point out, it's not really science, it is art. You have intelligence agents around the world and law enforcement agents, frankly, around the world collecting information. The TIDE database, the biggest one that you went through, is really the first repository.
If you get some derogatory information and don't know very much, you put his name -- his or her name in there. The same is basically true of the Terrorist Screening Center Database, the other very large one.
What that ought to signal to folks inside the system is we need to know more about those people. What we need, Tony, is a system where, once you put a name in there, if that's not enough to -- action to tell other agencies in the federal government what to do about it, then you need to go back to the intelligence community and say we need more. We need you to go and find additional information.
That's the step that's missing. Once the names go in there, they're assessed based on what's there at the time. And they decide, well, we don't really have enough to put them on the no-fly list, we'll just wait with it.
HARRIS: Yes.
TOWNSEND: And that's the problem. I think people are rightly frustrated that once we get the initial information, there's not follow-up, it doesn't appear, at least, so far. There's not sufficient follow-up to then go out and gather additional data to decide how big a threat he is.
HARRIS: So, if you make the list, if you make any list -- if you make the list, that should say to everyone let's find out more.
TOWNSEND: Right. It seems to me that is exactly what it ought to do.
Here's the other thing, Tony. When you look at this particular case of the Christmas Eve bomber -- attempted bomber -- what we know is not only was he in that initial list, that very big list, but he paid cash for his ticket. It was a one-way ticket. He had no carry- on luggage and his visa had been yanked by the British because they deemed him some sort of threat.
And so, all of that taken together should have very easily pushed him through the system and got you on the no-fly list. So the next series of question ought to be, why didn't that happen? Why weren't those dots all connected?
HARRIS: Why do you think those dots weren't connected?
TOWNSEND: Well, because right now we have -- responsibilities are fractured, if you will. The intelligence community collects information, they go into a database. You've got the National Counterterrorism Center, but they don't get that additional information quickly, timely enough, to be able to push it back out, again, to screeners and to the Department of Homeland Security.
And so, when the president says he is going to conduct a review, we ought do it quickly. Some of the gaps here are pretty obvious to those of us who have been doing this, and so they just need to be fixed.
HARRIS: OK. We have been asking questioning about visas. Now, if the suspect's name was, say, on the smaller database of, what, about 400,000 names or so, would that have automatically triggered a review of the visa?
TOWNSEND: Well, it should have been if -- the additional sort of steps that need to be taken is, once you get that sort of most derogatory information on the most restricted list, you then have to push that information, make sure that information goes to the State Department, so that they pull his visa. You're right, Tony, that ought to happen automatically. And there's another potential vulnerability in our system.
HARRIS: Can you devise -- we're talking about fixes here, which is great. But can you devise a foolproof system? I was reminded this morning of how much of our daily lives is about the trust that we bestow upon our fellow citizens.
TOWNSEND: No, that's right. Look, in the end, I think the president and Secretary Napolitano were right to say the heroes here are the flight crew and the passengers. We shouldn't have a system where we invest so much money and time and effort that absolutely relies on them, but they are an integral part of the system, where you want to make sure that everybody is aware of their surroundings and feels a certain responsibility to protect themselves and their fellow passengers.
HARRIS: What role should privacy considerations play in any sort of recalibration of our airport security procedures, in your view?
TOWNSEND: Tony, that's a great question. I will say to you, you know, the president -- this president, just as the last one, has a Privacy and Civil Liberties Board that's appointed. It's bipartisan board that the president has at his disposal. And my recommendation to the current administration is, make use of that board.
As you go back now -- and I think we will find that we use more invasive techniques like back scanning and that sort of thing -- you have this bipartisan Privacy and Civil Liberties Board. Make sure it's fully appointed and fully empowered to work with the Department of Homeland Security and the other agencies in the federal government to provide real guidance and real oversight in how to make that balance.
HARRIS: That's good stuff. That's a good segment.
Fran, appreciate it.
TOWNSEND: Sure. No problem.
HARRIS: Good talking to you. Thank you.
TOWNSEND: Good talking to you, Tony.
HARRIS: Let's check our top stories right now.
Another U.S. citizen caught in the clutches of North Korea. The U.S. State Department says it's looking into the case of Arizona missionary Robert Park, who North Korean officials say was arrested for illegally entering the country. Friends say Park was trying to deliver a Christmas message of hope.
Britain is strongly condemning China for its execution earlier today of a British citizen who was convicted of smuggling nine pounds of heroin into the country. The man's family says he was mentally unstable, and U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown says he is concerned no mental health evaluation was carried out. China says the British interests are duly noted.
And more tough talk coming out of Iran today following deadly anti-government protests this weekend that left at least eight people dead. Iran's parliamentary speaker says authorities should punish demonstrators severely and show them no mercy because they disrupted the Muslim observance of Ashura.
Another check of your top stories in 20 minutes.
If you are flying this week, the rules are changing by the minute. We are following the changes and getting your reaction.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: After the botched terrorism attempt on Christmas, some airports are reporting longer lines due to tighter security measures. Just how much inconvenience will Americans tolerate to protect their safety?
CNN's Allan Chernoff reports from Detroit.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SR. CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The lines are long. The security measures, at a minimum, an inconvenience. And the time loss substantial and seemingly as long as ever following the Christmas Day bombing attempt.
(on camera): You got here three hours before your flight.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
CHERNOFF: And its domestic?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. Yes.
CHERNOFF: Normally would you get here three hours before a flight?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.
CHERNOFF (voice-over): But in the aftermath of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab's apparent attempt to destroy a Northwest Airlines plane, it seems no inconvenience is too great for the safety of the skies.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'd rather be safe than, you know, than, you know, them take the extra precautions.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's what it has to be, and it's unfortunate that we have to go to these measures, but I guess it's understandable. CHERNOFF: As if body and luggage scans, shoe removal and liquid disposal weren't enough, now passengers on some international flights must abide by strict flight rules. These passengers who arrived in Detroit from Amsterdam had to remain seated for an hour before landing with nothing on their laps.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's just like a small house arrest on the last leg of the flight. It was pretty good. It felt really secure.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Unfortunately, this is in the day and age where we have to do these extreme things.
CHERNOFF: Extreme as in serving as the last line of defense if all security measures fail. Just as Casper Schuringa sprang into action to grab Abdulmutallab on flight 253, others say they're prepared to do the same.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We all hope so that everyone wants to be that sort of hero.
CHERNOFF: But will the thoughts of heroism and tolerance for inconvenient security last? Psychologist Jeff Gardere says they won't if there are no further incidences in the coming months. Memories are short.
JEFF GARDERE, PSYCHOLOGIST: I think as time goes on, they'll start being a little less agreeable, a little bit more irritable especially if they feel that the rules are being delivered in a way that is draconian.
CHERNOFF: But what Americans remember right now is the fact that someone came close to blowing up a plane on its way to Detroit.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just press on, you know. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst, and everybody stay vigilant.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHERNOFF: After 9/11, the country had a wartime mentality. Near misses like Friday's attempted bombing quickly revived that kind of vigilance and tolerance -- Tony.
HARRIS: All right, Allan. Appreciate it. Thank you.
And many of you have been through airports across the country since Christmas Day and are experiencing long delays and security searches. We've got some blog comments to share with you.
This one comes from Max. "I recently flew from San Jose, Costa Rica, to Atlanta. The added security measures I encountered were bomb-sniffing dogs. We went through a manual body and bag search at the gate, and the one-hour rule was enforced. And although the one- hour rule was inconvenient and somewhat unnecessary, in my mind, none of these added security measures caused any major delays."
And this is from Brad T. "I travel weekly. And actually, as I type this message, I am 37,000 feet above Arizona."
Dude.
"Security at my originating airport was no different than the norm. I always say thank you to them, and everyone else should as well. In the event body scans become mandatory, then so be it. If you are opposed to such levels of security, I suggest you choose another mode of transportation."
OK, Brad. Appreciate it.
Let us hear from you. Leave us your comments on my blog at CNN.com/Tony.
The subject of profiling is always controversial. How do you balance security and personal privacy?
We will show you quite the debate.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Once again at this time we like to direct your attention to CNNMoney.com.
Let's take you to the New York Stock Exchange for a look at the big board. Three hours into the trading day. And as you can see, we're so-so. We're in positive territory, mostly flat. And the Nasdaq at last check was down. So a mixed day so far, down three points. We're following the markets throughout the day with Alison Kosik right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Greater security, fewer civil liberties. Are we, as a nation, willing to trade personal rights for the sake of preventing terrorism? It is a question being asked again following the Christmas Day incident in Detroit. And a point, some might argue, takes us, the United States, one step closer to xenophobia. It was a heck of a conversation. CNN's Rick Sanchez moderated last night "Campbell Brown." I want you to have a listen and consider the potential costs and consequences of profiling.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Who should and who should not be screened and how much should they be screened when arriving at airports? Listen to what some Americans are saying in light of this terrorist scare. This is a viewer who called my show earlier today.
CALLER: Hi Rick. I think if your name starts or ends with Abdullah, Habib, Ahmed, Ahmajad, any of those names, you should not be allowed to fly into America. And if so, you should be taken into a private room and do a body search and x-rays so they totally know that you're clean.
SANCHEZ: Some of you would say that you agree with that gentleman. Others of you would say, nope, that's profiling. And joining me from Washington, Cliff May of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, who takes a hard line on this issue. And in Los Angeles, Edina Lekovic, of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, who says, hold on a minute before you start pre-judging people.
My thanks to both of you for being with us.
Edina, let me begin with you. What do you think of that gentleman's message you just heard?
EDINA LEKOVIC, MUSLIM PUBLIC AFFAIRS COUNCIL: Look, I think it's understandable that people are jittery in these times, but we can't allow fear and paranoia to cause us to engage in bad policing. And that's exactly what racial profiling is. It don't work, it's unconstitutional and it's discriminatory.
And on top of that, it's got two fatal flaws. The first is that, that it actually undermines our security because it lulls us into a false sense of confidence. That because we've profiled people based on name, that we think we've got our bases covered. Well, Richard Reid, Timothy McVeigh, Jose Padilla, that wouldn't have worked for any of them.
Two, it undermines . . .
SANCHEZ: Let me bring Cliff into the . . .
LEKOVIC: Hold on. Let me bring up the second point, which is that the second fatal flaw is that it undermines the trust in law enforcement by the very people who we need most, which is those communities that are being profiled or that are potentially being targeted.
SANCHEZ: OK. Fair enough.
Cliff, your shot.
CLIFF MAY, FOUNDATION FOR THE DEFENSE OF DEMOCRACIES: Yes, nobody who is serious is saying what that caller is saying. Racial profiling, I totally disagree with.
What I do think we have to do, it's only practical, is terrorist profiling. In other words, if you look at terrorists, you will find they have certain characteristics in common. And that should raise alarm bells.
SANCHEZ: OK, like what?
MAY: Take . . .
SANCHEZ: OK, like what kind of characteristics? Name some for me.
MAY: Well, OK. For one thing, they are going to be young. For another thing, they're mostly going to be male. For another thing, they're going to have spent time in countries were Islamist terrorism is being preached and practices. Places like Yemen, where Farouk Abdul Mutallab had spent from August, I believe it was, until December. That should have been a big sign. Will they be Muslim? Yes, because al Qaeda doesn't recruit many Catholics, Lutherans or Jews for obvious reasons.
SANCHEZ: OK. Well, you just named religion, you named ethnicity and you named geography.
MAY: And let me add this, and behavior as well. When you take the whole mix, you can find certain things about the terrorists and how they act.
SANCHEZ: So you're saying -- so let's be clear. Let's be clear in this conversation because that's I think that's what we owe to our viewers. You're saying that someone who arrives at an airport and is from a certain country and is from a certain religion should be screened extra based upon the fact that . . .
MAY: Not necessarily. Well, you've got to add in a few things. For example, in this particular case, you had somebody who bought his ticket with cash. That should have been a sign. Who had no luggage. That should have been a sign. By the way, in this case, his father said he had been radicalized.
SANCHEZ: OK.
MAY: In other words, you've got to put all this into the mix.
LEKOVIC: Yes, let's go back to the original signs.
MAY: Look, let me -- well, look, we're not -- look, no one is saying we should racially profile and no one is saying that it should only be about religion.
SANCHEZ: I understand.
MAY: But let me tell you what a friend of mine, who's a Muslim, who I travel with said. His name happens to be Talibani. He says with a name like mine, they should ask me a few questions because it doesn't take a Sherlock Homes to figure it out.
LEKOVIC: That's just not the . . .
SANCHEZ: Well, what do you make, Edina, of what Cliff just said? And, you know, he's not saying just go after people at infinita (ph), but he said there are certain classifications that we should check and people should be OK with that. You say what?
LEKOVIC: Right. The minute that you nail down race, religion, ethnicity, country of origin as factors that lead to profiling, is the minute that you spell out exactly what the violent extremists need to avoid in order to plan their next terror attack. First we started . . .
SANCHEZ: But -- but, Edina . . .
LEKOVIC: Hold on. First we started with Richard Reid and . . .
SANCHEZ: Well, no, no, you hold on. I want to ask you a question. I want to ask you a question very directly. I think people will understand this.
LEKOVIC: Sure.
SANCHEZ: If the preponderance of people on a terrorist watch list are from country x, is it not smart to check people from country x a little more carefully?
LEKOVIC: But there is no preponderance. That's the -- that's precisely the point. Look at the list of people who we -- who have been engaged. Richard Reid from the U.K. One after another there.
SANCHEZ: You don't think -- you don't think people from the watch -- on the terrorist watch list tend to be from the parts -- countries in the Middle East, for example.
LEKOVIC: No, that's precisely what the violent extremists want to us to buy into.
MAY: Look, anybody who . . .
LEKOVIC: The reality is, if we had paid attention to the parents in this case, and this is the pattern that we've seen these last three cases. The case -- the five men out of Virginia, the case of the Somalis in Minnesota, and this case, you have parents who are reporting suspicious activities and suspicious thoughts for their children.
SANCHEZ: But we're not talking about parents.
LEKOVIC: They're stepping forward and we're ignoring them. And that's a problem.
SANCHEZ: We should have -- we should have followed up. But that's not the question. Cliff, you get the last word.
MAY: Well, here's the main point, Rick. Right now what we're doing at airports, everybody knows, is we're looking for weapons. And if they're sewn into underwear, it's going to be pretty hard to find them. Looking for weapons is not the way you do this. Looking for terrorists is the way you do this. And so you have to know as much as you can about terrorists. And if you've got a lot of behavioral, background, geographic and other signs that somebody may need more questioning and more screening, then you give them a little more questioning and screening and no reasonable people (INAUDIBLE) will mind that.
LEKOVIC: Right. To focus on behavior, not on race or religion.
SANCHEZ: We'll leave it at this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: All right. The name Goldman Sachs sparks strong emotion as the economy suffered an earthquake. This company found a way to keep making giant profits. Will the Goldman example mean changes for everyone else?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Let's get you caught up on our top stories now. House Democrats say they may drop the highly contested public option when they merge the House and Senate health care bills together. The reason, just not enough support. Negotiations begin next week.
The leaders of Egypt and Israel meeting today. The two discussed efforts to free an Israeli soldier who was captured by Palestinian militants in 2006. Egypt has been helping negotiate his release. Its president and Israel's prime minister also discussed ways to restart Mideast peace talks.
And Johnson & Johnson is now recalling all Tylenol arthritis caplets sold in the 100 count bottles with an easy open cap. The recall comes after some users reported a moldy smell that caused nausea and stomach pains.
If their business was as shaky as their public relations, we wouldn't be talking about Wall Street powerhouse Goldman Sachs. But the bailouts and bonuses have stirred public outrage once again. Here's CNN's Maggie Lake.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CROWD: The banks got bailed out. We got sold out.
MAGGIE LAKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): From outraged Americans, to lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you won't give the bonuses back, we will tax them back.
LAKE: All the way up to the president of the United States.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I did not run for office to be helping out a bunch of, you know, fat cat bankers on Wall Street.
LAKE: This was the year that anger over Wall Street bonuses and bailouts reached the boiling point.
ANDREW ROSS SORKIN, "NEW YORK TIMES": There's been public outrage about athletes and their people's incomes, but now it's really focused on Wall Street in a new way.
LAKE (on camera): As 2009 progressed, much of that outrage was directed at one investment banking firm, Goldman Sachs. While its headquarters here on Broad Street is nondescript, its plans to pay out billions of dollars in bonuses is among the richest on Wall Street.
LAKE (voice-over): Just one year after receiving government assistance, Goldman's 2009 bonus pool is on track to hit $21 billion, matching 2007's record levels. Rolling Stone reporter Matt Taibbi, who famously described Goldman as "a great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity," says the public has a right to be anger.
MAT TAIBBI, ROLLING STONE: And there was sort of an implicit agreement that Wall Street was going to be rescued and they, in turn, were going to loosen the reins on credit and help stimulate the growth of real business. Well, what ended up happening is just the first part happened and the second part didn't. We gave them a whole bunch of money and then they just kept it and turned it into bonuses.
LAKE: In a bid to quell some of the backlash, Goldman announced 30 of its senior executives would receive restricted stock rather than cash bonuses this year. But the move has done little to put to rest the perception that at Goldman Sachs profits come before everything else.
Bethany McLean, a contributor for "Vanity Fair," who used to work at the firm, says criticism of Goldman isn't just coming from main street, but the inner circles of Wall Street.
BETHANY MCLEAN, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR, "VANITY FAIR": In the 1980s, Goldman didn't do hostile takeovers. The firm was all about servicing clients. Investment bankers kind of ruled the place. And it has really changed to a place where Goldman is much more involved in committing its own capital, which means Goldman has an interest in what's taking place. And it's a firm that's really ruled by the trading side of the business now. And that's a big cultural transformation at Goldman. And you have some wariness among former bankers as to whether that transformation is a good one.
LAKE: One pension fund has made its views on Goldman's pay packages very public. The Security, Police and Fire Professionals of America Retirement Fund, which says it has money invested in Goldman, has filed a suit which claims this year's compensation levels are excessive and not in the best interest of the company or its shareholders. Goldman says the case does not have merit and vigorously defends its pay structure saying it's needed to attract the best in the business.
And even the firm's harshest critics admit that Goldman's investment in top-notch talent shows. Though it did receive government help along with the rest of the industry, Goldman has rebounded more strongly than its piers. Profits have soared and so has its share price. But as lawmakers consider new regulations for banks, many are taking a hard look at the cost of that success.
MCLEAN: The real question, is this notion, what do Goldman Sachs' profits mean for the rest of us? I think before this whole crisis hit, we all might have said, well, profits are in and of themselves a good thing. And now I think after this crisis, you look at those profits and you say, but what do they mean for society? Does this mean that Goldman Sachs is providing a service that is fundamentally good for the rest of society? Or are they providing -- doing something that means the people at Goldman get really rich?
LAKE: Money and morality. Major issues that power brokers on Wall Street and in Washington will be grappling with throughout 2010.
Maggie Lake, CNN, New York. (END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: That is -- that's good stuff.
Our Poppy Harlow has found an economic success story in the Middle East. Will it last?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: You know, I got to tell you, this summer, the International Monetary Fund called the Republic of Lebanon resilient in the face of a global economic crisis. For a country that has been no stranger to political and economic turmoil, 2009 was remarkably stable.
CNNMoney.com's Poppy Harlow was in Lebanon last week and joins us live from New York.
Good to see you, Poppy.
So how would you describe the economic situation in Lebanon, especially I'm thinking in the wake of the Dubai debt crisis?
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: That's a great question, Tony. I mean, the Middle East has sort of been rocked in the last few weeks after we saw what happened in Dubai. And in Lebanon, they're really effected because a lot of Lebanese leave the country to go work in the Gulf.
And when you look at Lebanon as a country, it's a pretty small country, just over 3.5 million people, but the CIA says their unemployment rate is about 9.2 percent. That's actually lower than our country right now. It's a big improvement, Tony, from just a few years ago when unemployment in Lebanon actually topped 20 percent.
And what we've seen there, as you've said, an uncharacteristically politically stable year. Their GDP is expected to grow about 7 percent this year. That's much more than the United States. But you've still got the threat of war there. And I spent a week with the people there last week and they kept talking about the fact that it's so unstable and that weighs on their economic situation. So take a listen to what some folks said to me, some similarities and some big differences, to our economic situation in this country.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's not easy with the unstable political situation in Lebanon. It has been always a problem.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The money is there. It's the way the government disperses things around here that's a little fishy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Rents are going higher.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Prices of the products that you need to buy daily are increased.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And the salaries are too low here in Lebanon. That's the problem.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Unemployment problem has -- definitely has trickled over to here. A lot of the individuals that were working in the gulf are now back and unable to find jobs and are having settle for, let's say, $600 a month with no benefits.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can see many people who are graduated and very qualified, and they're working -- and now they're working in jobs that are not related to their majors, or simply they're not working.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's hard to find some jobs here because we have no big firms and companies. So we -- if you want to work in a big company, we should go to the gulf or Europe or the United States.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We hope that they would create a better opportunity for them to find jobs here and to settle again in Lebanon, because we are also losing the great Lebanese intelligence.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: And, you know, Tony, what she's talking about there, losing the great Lebanese intelligence, that's sort of the brain drain phenomenon. A lot of those workers leaving and going to the gulf. And you also look at them and they say they have an unemployment issue as well, a problem finding jobs.
They also have a similar debt issue that we do in this country, but it's even worse. They have a much greater problem with their national debt than even we do here in this country.
And to peg it also, they are tied to the U.S. dollar very directly, Tony. The whole week there I was spending U.S. dollars. So they're really tied to our economy and the state of our currency as well.
So it was interesting to hear some of the similarities and major differences that the folks there are dealing with right now when it comes to the economy.
Tony.
HARRIS: Look at you traveling on holiday, taking a little flip cam and doing some extra work for us.
HARLOW: I took a flip camera.
HARRIS: Yes, you did.
HARLOW: It's the easiest -- it's the easiest thing. Honestly. (INAUDIBLE) my first time.
HARRIS: That was terrific. Good enterprising there, Poppy. Appreciate it.
HARLOW: Thanks.
HARRIS: And still to come in the NEWSROOM, because they have so many other worries, a special school is helping homeless children shine. That is today's "Giving in Focus."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: "Giving in Focus." Today we are highlights a non-profit that tutors homeless children grades K through 12. Photojournalist Greg Kanes (ph) introduces us to the School on Wheels.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are 1.5 million children that are homeless in the United States.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are 290,000 kids homeless in California.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Homeless children are the most vulnerable children in our society.
MARANDA SESSION, HOMELESS STUDENT: I mean it's a lot going on, because you have -- you're struggling to do good in school and you're worried about where you're going to stay, how -- where you're going to go.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Homeless children move around all the time. Sometimes three or four, five times a year. The longer they're homeless, the further behind they fall in school.
AGNES STEVENS, FOUNDER, SCHOOL ON WHEELS: It's the job of every child in America to go to school and learn. It is also the job of every homeless child.
Now, out of all these schools you've been to, do you like this one the best?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The kids were making fun of me because they have beds and I didn't.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you tell me something that's gigantic.
Homeless children do not keep up in school and they fall through the cracks. Many of them will become homeless themselves.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The School on Wheels is a non-profit organization that provides free academic tutoring for homeless kids from kindergarten up until 12th grade.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And how many you got all together?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ten.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sweet.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Structure arguments.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And we have volunteer tutors that go to where the child is living at, either in the shelter, the motel or a foster group home.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, my name is Rachel.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm a documentary filmmaker.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am a chief financial officer.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've been a volunteer for three years.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And it's my first year as a tutor.
SESSION : She helps you understand and tells you -- she encourage you to do good in school.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My tutor's like a friend to me and a teacher.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Volunteer tutors are the heart and soul of School on Wheels. Just to help them with their schoolwork, but to tell them that they can be successful. That just because they're in this situation now doesn't mean that they always have to be.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm doing better in all my subjects and I am getting straight A's.
JOI JOHNSON, HOMELESS STUDENT: My name is Joi and I am 10 years old. And when I grow up, I want to be a lawyer.
ALI BABIKER, HOMELESS STUDENT: My name is Ali. I'm 9 years old. And when I grow up, I want to be a doctor.
SESSION: My name is Maranda. I'm 14 years old. I want to be a crime scene investigator.
MOSES OLVERA, HOMELESS STUDENT: My name is Moses. I'm five. I want to be a rock star.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: And for more on the stories, the people that we are showcasing in our "Giving in Focus" series, just go to cnn.com/giving.
We're back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Well, four days after the failed attack, passengers are still coming forward with their accounts of the chaos and courage aboard the Christmas Day flight. With no air marshals on board, passengers quickly subdued 23-year old Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab. The Nigerian man is charged with trying to detonate explosives hidden in his underwear.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KURT HASKELL, PASSENGER ON NWA FLIGHT 253: When this was going on, I was more focused on the fire and she witnessed more of the altercation between the terrorist and the passengers.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And, Lori, he seemed to be subdued pretty quickly.
LORI HASKELL, PASSENGER ON NWA FLIGHT 253: Yes, he was. Everything happened, it seemed like, in less than a minute. We saw smoke. We then saw flames going up the side of the plane near the seat where he was sitting. At that point, two people, one from behind him and one from the side of him, tackled him to the ground and that's -- that's pretty much the last time we saw him. We were pretty freaked out by the fire, so we weren't paying attention to that. We were paying attention to the fire going up the side of the plane.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: And listen to this, CNN sources say that if the explosives had detonated, they could have ripped a large hole in the plane and brought it down. Three hundred people were aboard the flight.
Time to go. You're rocking with the best now, Kyra Phillips, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Rock it, man (ph).
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Have a great rest of your day.
HARRIS: Yes, you too.
PHILLIPS: All right, Tony.
