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Prism

New Details About Suicide Bomber Who Killed 7 CIA Officers; Al Qaeda Threat in Yemen

Aired January 05, 2010 - 12:00   ET

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

STAN GRANT, HOST: Was he a double agent? New details about the suicide bomber who killed seven CIA officials in Afghanistan.

Terror fears: The U.S. says the growth of Al Qaeda in Yemen is a global security concern. In our "Prism Segment" tonight just how great is the Al Qaeda threat in Yemen?

And Google is looking to change the game, unveiling a rival to Apple's IPhone.

From CNN Abu Dhabi in United Arab Emirates, this is PRISM, where we take a story and look at it from multiple perspectives. I'm Stan Grant. :

We begin with apparent betrayal on the battlefield of Afghanistan. A former U.S. intelligence official tells CNN the man who killed seven CIA officials and a Jordanian military officer in a suicide blast last week was a double agent. A man both the U.S. and Jordan believed was a rehabilitated extremist put to work hunting Al Qaeda's number two man, Ayman Al Zawahiri.

It was on the strength of his reputation as a reliable source on high value targets that the double agent was able to get so close to so many highly trained intelligence officers.

Well, the double agent revelation offers some far-reaching implications about the militants, about intelligence gathering, and about security. Let's discuss all of that now with our Senior International Correspondent Nic Robertson. He joins us from CNN London.

And, Nic, let's look at the implications here for intelligence gathering.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INT'L. CORRESPONDENT: Well, one of the immediate implications is going to mean it is going to be very, very difficult to pick up these operatives in the field. I mean, one of the challenges for intelligence operatives who run these agents and for the agents, themselves, is how do you pick up somebody in the field without drawing attention to them? Is there somebody standing around saying why are they getting into that car? Why is he going over there? Why is that person been out of this village for a day, we didn't know where he was? So that is the sort of thing that intelligence operatives and their teams are up against.

So, whenever they pick somebody up, often it has to be done pretty quickly. And you are not going to have an opportunity to, you know, search them standing there at the roadside. So that will need to be built into operations in the future. But of course it has an implication for how much in this highly charged, highly emotive environment can intelligence officials trust all the agents. That is going to throw that back in the spotlight, Stan.

GRANT: Nic, tell us about the base, itself, where this attack was carried out, because obviously that is critical. It borders the tribal areas of Pakistan and very crucial for trying to track the movements of Al Qaeda and its leadership.

ROBERTSON: FOB Chapman is an old airstrip, or it was, certainly, when U.S. forces first sort of arrived there in any significant numbers in 2002. And it is right next to the main highway. What we have seen in that area are attacks by suicide bombers against neighboring bases, in particular, the bigger base FOB Salerno, which is around a much bigger airfield. And it has a much more complex defense system, if you will. Many more gates and checks to go through. FOB Chapman, because it is an old building, an old complex, right up against the main highway, doesn't have that kind of space to -when you are bringing somebody inside, then, to sort of search them away from the building complex. This is always an issue.

So, in terms of the structure, itself, and the way it is constructed, and the way it operates, and types of people coming and going, it presents more of a challenge for U.S. forces. Might have been chosen because it was a soft target, clearly chosen because they knew an operative could get inside and there were high value targets there. CIA people in Afghanistan would high-value targets for insurgents there.

GRANT: Nic, thank you. Nic Robertson, joining us live from London.

Well, the U.S. has reopened its embassy in Yemen's capital city, Sana'a, high security is now in place and clearly visible. The U.S. and British missions closed ever the weekend amid fears of an imminent terror attack. The U.S. says the embassy reopened after Yemeni forces conducted, quote, "successful counter-terrorism operations." But it says the threat of attack remains high.

Well, just a short time ago, Britain's home secretary spoke before the House of Commons outlining security steps in the wake of the alleged Christmas bomb plot aboard a U.S.-bound plane. Alan Johnson pointed out that British authorities knew about the 23-year-old Nigerian suspect before hand. It had no idea what he was really up to.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALAN JOHNSON, BRITISH HOME SECRETARY: We did, in line with standard working procedures, provide information to the U.S. linked to the wider aspects of this case. None of the information we held or shared indicated that Abdulmutallab was about to attempt a terrorist attack against the U.S.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRANT: Well, back in the United States President Barack Obama is delving into the investigation. He'll hear today from key aides, in a meeting at the White House . Suzanne Malveaux joins us now from the White House.

And, Suzanne, obviously a focus on just how close this was to an all- out disaster.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, absolutely. I mean, he is going to be hearing from a number of agency heads. About 20 or so are going to be sitting with him in the "Situation Room" this afternoon, to get briefings, get reports, from the various agencies, from the Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, as well as the director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair, and the head of the CIA Leon Panetta. The head of the Justice Department, the FBI, all of them, essentially laying out this investigation; where things went wrong, where things could be improved.

There are a number of areas, specifically that they are focusing on. One of them is the terror watch-list, these various lists, whether or not they need to be expanded, whether or not they need to net more names of potential terrorists, or people who do harm to the United States.

The other aspect of this is the intelligence sharing process, whether agencies that should have been talking to each other, or had information, that somehow could not share that information. How could an attack like this be thwarted, again, how could they actually see some signs and signals that perhaps they missed this go around. And finally, of course, the prescreening of passengers aboard airlines, we have already seen some changes with TSA, and that is to beef up on international flights how might that change domestically.

We know that the president, Stan, is going to at least say there is some reforms that can happen right away. Some of those being those terror watch-lists, and potentially with the visas, as well. So these are going to be very concrete steps that the president is going to talk about coming out of this meeting. And this is something that, you know, he wants to show the American people that he is serious about, Stan.

GRANT: And on that point, it is interesting, too, Suzanne, because he hasn't been immune from criticism, himself. With people saying he reacted too slowly to this.

MALVEAUX: You're right. He has not been immune from criticism. There have been calls from some Republicans, some critics taking a look at specifically Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, whether or not she should go by the wayside, or fall on this one. Senior administration officials say there not going to be any announcements of resignations or Cabinet shake-up per se. He's looking for information. If there is a lack of follow up, however, that might be a different story. But right now it certainly sounds like the people who are going to be sitting at that table will be held accountable for change, but not necessarily lose their jobs.

GRANT: Suzanne, thank you. Suzanne Malveaux, joining us live there from the White House on that briefing.

Now, once under the radar the threat from Al Qaeda in Yemen has moved front and center. Terrorism analysts and observers point out the threat did not emerge overnight. In our "Prism Segment" this evening, we are asking how big a threat is Al Qaeda in Yemen? Listen to what Gregory Johnson writes. He a former Fulbright fellow, in Yemen, who watches events there and Al Qaeda closely.

He says, "Once disorganized and on the run, today Al Qaeda members are putting down roots by marrying into local tribes and establishing a durable infrastructure that can survive the loss of key commanders."

Senior International Correspondent Nic Robertson has reported on Al Qaeda extensively over the past decade. Appearing on CNN's Anderson Cooper, he offered this assessment on the threat from Al Qaeda in Yemen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INT'L. CORRESPONDENT: They have had a growing presence and a growing control and influence over some parts of the country. If you go back to 2000, the attack on the USS Cole, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, as it is known now, formed at the beginning of last year a group of Al Qaeda elements in Saudi Arabia, and in Yemen. They have had attacks against Westerners over the past couple of years, attacks against embassies in the past couple or years.

They have taken advantage of a weak government that is fighting Shiite rebels in the north. It is fighting an insurgency in the south of the country. And doing what Al Qaeda has done in Afghanistan and Pakistan, which is taking advantage of these sort of semi-autonomous tribal regions. So that the space they have operated, the number of people they have got there, the organization they have there. It is something that has been built over the past decade into what it is today. And it is significant.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRANT: Well, the Yemeni government dismisses the threat from Al Qaeda as exaggerated. In statements in recent days, top officials, including the country's foreign minister, have also downplayed the number of Al Qaeda militants in Yemen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ABU DHABI BAKR AL-KURBI, YEMENI FOREIGN MINISTER: There are a number of them, maybe 100, 200, or more. I think the important thing is that Yemeni government has taken a number of steps to really put them on the defense.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRANT: Well, the strength of Al Qaeda cannot be measured by the number of known militants, alone. Fawaz Gerges, professor of Middle Eastern Politics at the London School of Economics, says there are many other factors to consider.

FAWAZ GERGES, PROFESSOR, LONDONG SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS: Al Qaeda appears to have merged with local conflict. And this is where the danger lies. So you not only have an Al Qaeda footprint, an alien one, you have Al Qaeda now leading the struggle in the south, against the north. And also you have, tens of thousands of Somali refugees. Somalia is a refugee state. So, you have interaction between Al Qaeda members in Yemen and Somalia.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRANT: Now one of the world's foremost experts on Al Qaeda has spent much of his life studying and tracking the terrorist group. Rohan Gunaratna is the author of "Inside Al Qaeda", and other books. And is the head of the International Center for Political Violence and Terrorism Research, in Singapore.

I started out conversation by asking him, just how big a threat Al Qaeda is in Yemen?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROHAN GUNARATNA, TERRORISM ANALYST: Yemen, only 35 percent of that country is controlled by the government. Al Qaeda in the Arabia Peninsula has shifted its operations into Yemen. So the center of gravity of Al Qaeda activities in the Arabian Peninsula is today focused in Yemen. And traditionally Al Qaeda has used Yemen to strike U.S. and other targets. For instance, the Cole was attacked, Lindbergh was attacked, and Al Qaeda in Yemen also dispatched operatives to kill members of the Saudi royal family.

But we have seen, more recently, Al Qaeda planning and preparing operations, using Yemen as a staging pad. So what we are seeing is that Yemen has developed as an important safe haven for Al Qaeda, especially because the core of the Al Qaeda that is based in Pakistan and Afghanistan they have suffered. And as a result you are seeing a dispersal of threat to various theaters of operation from Somalia, to Yemen, to some countries in Southeast Asia. And certainly Yemen has become a very important base of operations for Al Qaeda.

GRANT: You raise something very interesting, there, Rohan. And that is the ability of the government to be able to meet this Al Qaeda threat. We know that President Saleh is seen as being weakened. We know the country has enormous economic problems, on the verge of becoming a failed state. It is trying to strike back. But in your view, it doesn't have the capacity to deal with this treat?

GUNARATNA: Without international assistance, without capacity building, without strengthening the Yemeni law enforcement, intelligence and military forces, Yemen will never be able to fight Al Qaeda. In fact, the threat has escalated, and today the Yemen authorities, their reach of government is limited only to about 35 percent of the area. And that is why it is so important for the United States and other countries to help Yemen to stand up and to fight against Al Qaeda and its associated groups in Yemen.

GRANT: Rohan, already though there is criticism of that strategy, saying you are only going to be propping up what is a weak government, propping up corruption in the country. And already the United States is bogged down in place like Pakistan, Afghanistan, trying to deal with precisely with the same threat.

GUNARATNA: There is no option for the United States, but to continue to invest in Yemen. If you look at the core Al Qaeda organization, most of the members of Al Qaeda were Saudis. And this number was closely followed by the number of Yemenis that joined Al Qaeda. So, traditionally, Al Qaeda has had a presence in Yemen. And more recently, because of the ineffectiveness of the Yemeni government, the Al Qaeda threat has grown. The Saudis are very worried. The Iraqis are worried. And, of course, now with the Christmas Day attempt, the Americans and the Europeans feel very much threatened by the developments in Yemen.

GRANT: Rohan, does this also indicate the ability of Al Qaeda to mutate, to change shape, to change direction, to change location. You mentioned that the crackdown on Al Qaeda in Afghanistan, in Pakistan, but just when you think you are able to make inroads, it pops up in Somalia, it pops up in Yemen, it strengthens it position elsewhere. Is this an indication of just how difficult a challenge it is to try to root out and defeat Al Qaeda?

GUNARATNA: Al Qaeda is a very fluid organization, because of the very inability to train Westerners, Asian, Africans, and Middle Easterners, on the Pakistan/Afghanistan border. Now we are seeing that these individuals are going to two very important theaters. One is Somalia, and the other is Yemen. So, in the coming years we will see a very significant threat that will affect the globe. And that will come from Yemen and from Somalia. And that is why it is so important for the international community to invest in these two countries.

GRANT: Rohan, appreciate your thoughts. Thank you, again, very much.

Rohan Gunaratna, sharing his thoughts on Al Qaeda and the threat from Al Qaeda in Yemen. That is our "Prism Segment" for you.

A U.S. appeals court has upheld the conviction and life sentence for 9/11 co-conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui. A three-judge panel concluded that his trial was fair, even thought Moussaoui insisted on representing himself against the advice of his own lawyers and the judge. His erratic courtroom behavior included frequent outbursts and had his legal team calling for a mistrial. Moussaoui pleaded guilty in 2005 to six charges of criminal conspiracy. He remains behind bars in Colorado.

Apple is watching its back. Online search giant Google is set to release it's IPhone rival in just a few hours. We'll have a preview.

And over 1,000 passengers frozen in their tracks as snow halts their train in China.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRANT: Welcome back.

Harsh winter weather seems to have a good chunk of the northern hemisphere in its grip. They are coping with record snowfalls in China, which left hundreds of passengers caught for a time in a snowy trap. Our John Vause has the story from Beijing.

JOHN VAUSE, CNN SR. INT'L. CORRESPONDENT: After record snowfalls Beijing is slowly returning to normal. Work crews have cleared city roads and re-opened highways, and the airport is pretty much back to normal, with all three tarmacs working on Tuesday. Temperatures are still bitterly cold though, and are expected to be that way for the rest of the week. And there have been some incredibly heavy snowfalls in other parts of northern China. Inner Mongolia has been especially hard hit.

On Monday a passenger train hit a wall of snow more than two meters deep. According to state media, all 15 carriages were partially buried, tramping inside more than 1,000 passengers for more than 20 hours. They had no light, they had no heat, and food and water were also in short supply. When emergency crews arrived, they found the doors to the train had been frozen shut. Temperatures there were around minus 28 degrees Celsius, eventually those doors were forced open and passengers were evacuated to safety.

And as this cold snap continues there has been a surge in electricity demand, and in part, coal supplies are running short and that is leading to rationing of electricity in some cities, in particular in southern China, where the forecast there for the next few days is for sleet, or maybe snow. John Vause, CNN, Beijing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GRANT: Well, it is cold in China and so far 2010 has also been bitterly cold for much of the U.S. Right now the Eastern half of the nation is locked in a deep freeze, even places unaccustomed to the cold. Citrus growers in Florida are hoping the freezing temperatures won't ruin their crops. Forecasters say the arctic air could linger throughout the week.

In the Northeast skiers are taking advantage of the weather. Parts of Vermont were buried under a record 84 centimeters of snow.

With all of that, we'll take a look at the global weather picture. Mari Ramos is at the CNN World Weather Center.

Hi, Mari.

MARI RAMOS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hey, Stan. It is definitely way too cold here. I have to tell you, people in Florida complaining about the cold temperatures, you know, they may be on a streak there, across south Florida, in particular. The coldest streak of cold weather in maybe the 15 or last 25 years or so. So, it is very significant.

Take a look at some of these temperatures. That cold blast of air coming down across the Central Plains, minus 2, right now, in Atlanta. That is the same temperature as New York, minus 8 in Chicago. Only 14 degrees in Miami, 20 in Havana. So that cold air seeping farther to the south, to the Bahamas, all the way down through the Yucatan Peninsula, and even into northern parts of Mexico, where there is also some cold weather warnings in place.

Now, if you have travel plans for this side of the world we're going to get a little bit of a reprieved, and then round two, comes down, where temperatures in some cases are going to be 12 degrees below average for this time of year. So, very significant cold air that reinforcing shot coming in, in the latter part of the week, and that is going to make things go from bad to worse.

Talk about a hike in energy consumption across much of the U.S. That is going to happen as this bitterly cold air remains a plain.

We have been talking quite a bit, of course, about the weather across Europe, the U.K, in particularly. Here is a woman cleaning out a windshield from her car. You know, if snow was the only problem -not, because there is a lot of ice, as well. Icy roads and huge travel delays expected across the U.K. and Ireland, as we head through the next 24 hours, starting tonight, well into tomorrow.

A lot of snow expected, again, across these areas. And then eventually for you a cross mainland Europe, as well, particularly into France. This area of low pressure will move out of the North Sea and into the English Channel. And as that happens we are going to get significant snow fall into some of these areas. Depending on where they move, we could get, right outside London, maybe up to 10 centimeters of snow. So those rail lines going in and out, those roadways going in and out of London would probably be affected and that low will also bring significant snowfall, we think, across northern parts of France, in some cases, 10 to 15 centimeters. And then after that, if you think that is not enough, we will see another area of low pressure coming out of the Iberian Peninsula, move across Italy, through the Adriatic, and then more snow expected across Eastern Europe, as we head through the day on Wednesday.

A couple of interesting areas? Maybe snow as far south as Madrid, possible in the next 24 hours. France, I think, will be one of the hardest areas. And of course, Stan, the U.K., will not get a break with round four of heavy snow, expected tonight. Back to you.

GRANT: Whew, not much response to any of that. Thank you very much for that, Mari. Very cold.

Well, Internet search giant Google dials up the future. Will its version of the smart phone make a connection?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRANT: Well, Goggle is hoping to make it big in the mobile phone market. In just a little while the company is expected to unveil it's Nexus One, the first mobile phone under Google's brand. With more on the phone and what it is supposed to do, Errol Barnett joins me now from CNN Center.

Erroll, what can you tell us about it?

ERROL BARNETT, CNN TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT: Well, Stan, imagine this, two of the most popular devices in the world right now are Apple's IPhone and Research in Motion's BlackBerry. Imagine that there was a device that combined the functionality of the two. Google says that that is what the Nexus One could be. This is the first device completely designed by Google. And instead of handing out devices to the press, they gave these phones to their employees. They went online, posted pictures, to web sites like Engadget (ph), that have shown us what this device will look like.

The screen is about 3.7 inches, diagonally. It is a touch screen, many people enjoy that about the IPhone. You see there at the bottom, a scrolling ball that will also be used, that will - it is very thin and sleek. It has an accelerometer and a compass. It is a global system device.

Over here on TechCrunch, they noted that for a short time there was actually video on YouTube showing what the phone could do. Let's talk about the software and hardware. The software is similar to Android 2.0, that is what they have been using already. The hardware, this is a YouTube video, is created by a Taiwanese corporation called, HTC, what makes this stand out, Stan, is that this is phone will be unlocked from a service provider. That basically means that you don't have to have one cell phone carrier. That is good news, right?

But it could also be bad news, because this is a brand new Smart Phone device, we are expecting that it could cost as much as $500. The announcement from Google is supposed to take place in about 30 minutes from now. They are in Mountain View, California.

Why would they choose today, at this time? Well, the Consumer Electronics Show, which is the largest consumer electronics expo in the world, begins later this week. So they want to get people talking about this device right away, right now. And based on what we have seen online, and what they are showing us, this is a device that will have many Smart Phone lovers very excited.

GRANT: And a lot of competitors watching and wondering what it is going to mean for them. So, what does it mean for something like IPhone?

BARNETT: Well, yes, some people actually calling this the IPhone killer. But what experts say is that IPhone has grown market share, not only in the U.S. but around the world. And one of the biggest selling points that keeps people coming back to that device are the thousands upon thousands of apps available. In fact, today they announced that some 3 billion apps have been downloaded through the I phone. How many apps does Google have available? Only about 16,000. And, of course, Apple has taken years to gain its market share.

So we don't know the specifics just yet. In 30 minutes we'll find out, we'll get confirmation from Google, exactly what the Nexus One does. How much it will cost and when it will be available. But I'm sure Apple is watching this announcement closely as well, Stan.

GRANT: And a lot of other people looking if they will shell out the $500 or so it is going to cost, Erroll, to buy one. Thank you very much for that.

BARNETT: Sure.

GRANT: Errol Barnett, there, bringing us the very latest on the Google phone. Of course, as he says, some are calling it the IPhone killer, already.

And that's it for me, Stan Grant, in Abu Dhabi. "The Screening Room" is coming up next, that is after we update the headlines.

END