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Paris Terror Attacks Continuing Coverage; Potential "Imminent" Threat Puts Brussels On High Alert; Four Paris Suspects Arrested; Dozens In U.S. Monitored After Paris Attacks; France Prepares For Any Chemical Terrorism Threat. Aired 11a-12p ET

Aired November 21, 2015 - 11:00   ET

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

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There is a lot more ahead in the next hour of CNN's NEWSROOM.

BLACKWELL: Of course, we are following a lot of breaking news around the world. We turn it over to our colleague, Fredricka Whitfield. Fred -- good morning to you.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Good morning to you guys. Thanks so much -- Victor and Christi. Have a great day. Appreciate it.

All right. It is the 11:00 eastern hour. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. NEWSROOM starts right now.

All right. We begin with breaking news in the Paris terror attacks -- investigations and growing concerns across Europe. One suspect has been arrested in Belgium with suspected ties to ISIS.

And right now, a serious and imminent threat in Brussels. Belgium is raising the terror alert there to the highest possible level. Belgium's prime minister is closing the capital city's metro for the weekend and he is warning people to avoid large crowds.

The manhunt is still underway there for leading terror suspect, Salah Abdeslam who was last seen driving toward the Belgian border. Meanwhile officials have arrested three new suspects in Turkey with suspected ties to ISIS. And one of them accused of scouting the Paris venues targeted by gunmen and suicide bombers.

Let's get to CNN investigative correspondent, Drew Griffin, who is live for us now in Brussels. So what more Drew are you hearing about this serious and imminent threat? And are people taking this terror alert seriously, staying away from crowds?

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: Well people are being forced to stay away from crowds because so many of the establishments in this city, this capital city of Belgium are closed. The subway is closed. Most major events have been canceled.

But there has been really little explanation as to why in the middle of the night last night, the terror threat level was raised to four, somewhat unprecedented in the history of these threat level classifications that started back in 2006.

We do know that it came just about the time there was an early morning raid at another apartment in Molenbeek, this now famous or infamous community not a few kilometers from here where one person was arrested, some guns were confiscated, one of the Belgian newspapers reporting that this was the arrest of a friend of Salah Abdeslam. He, of course, is the eighth Paris attacker who remains on the lose so many of these terrorists have connections to the greater Brussels area -- to the Brussels area but again no explanation Fred as to why suddenly in the middle of the night this whole city has been put under a terrorist threat alert of the highest magnitude and when that might be lifted -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Drew Griffin -- thanks so much. We'll check back with you.

All right. Meantime, three suspects allegedly linked to ISIS and the attacks on Paris have been arrested. Our Nic Robertson joins me now from Paris with the very latest on that.

Nic -- what more are you learning about these most recent arrests?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, well one of the men arrested is believed to be the man who scouted out the attacks here. He is a Belgian-born Moroccan man. He's 26 years old. He was picked up in Syria in the town of Antalya. This is the town where President Obama was last week, by the way, for the G-20. He was meeting in a hotel there with two men that Turkish authorities believe were members of ISIS. They believe that they had come to meet Dahmani (ph) the man who scattered out. They believe scattered out the attack here in Paris.

They come to meet him with the aim, it appears, of moving him across the border into Syria and therefore out of the clutches of investigators here. This is a very important arrest for French authorities and no doubt the Belgian authorities as well.

This is a man who appears, as we know right now at least, to have had an important role, close connections in the attack here in Paris. And for investigators here that's going to be vital as they look for links to other cells that may be here and in Belgium as well. So that arrest by Turkish authorities is significant this time. But of course, here in Paris, there are many, many other leads being followed up for the moment -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And then that ninth attacker in Paris, what's the latest on the search?

ROBERTSON: Yes. Well, I think there are various things that can said about this. The ninth attacker can be described as Salah Abdeslam. You know, he's also being called the eighth attacker. He's the one on the run.

The ninth attacker -- that person who was in one of the -- who was the third person in the vehicle and the gun attacks on the restaurants. That was a black Seat vehicle. That was found in a suburb of Paris. Well, the ringleader, that was Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the ring leader was spotted on a subway camera video about 20 minutes after the attacks finished very close to where that car was dumped.

[11:05:02] So it looks like he was potentially that ninth attacker that he drove the car that was used in the attacks out to the suburbs and then three blocks away, gets on the metro system, the subway system here. That's where he is caught on camera. Of course he died in that police raid in Saint-Denis, the Paris suburb, on Wednesday morning.

So we can call him the eighth or the ninth. One very important one is still on the run, still being hunted down -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And then Nic, you know, one week after the attacks there in Paris, looking behind you. Still, huge crowds that come out, leave flowers, you know, pay their respects. But as people in Paris hear about the high alert in neighboring Belgium and that people are avoiding crowds, how does that translate to people there in Paris who continue to gather in large crowds to pay homage to those who were killed.

Are they expressing being nervous, being frightened or just simply showing their resolve?

ROBERTSON: You know, I think it's a combination of all of the above. It was incredibly poignant here last night when people gathered to mark that moment, 9:20 in the evening, when the attacks happened.

I think people were relieved here. Certainly the ones I told to earlier in the week when the ringleader, Abaaoud was killed.

But people are still very concerned that they know a threat lurks out there. They believe that the authorities here need to do more. On the end of the Champs Elysees you have this wonderfully beautiful Christmas market with festive Christmas trees, with fake snow and these stalls.

This time of year, you can normally expect to be really busy. I mean it's for Christmas. We're getting close to Christmas but it's almost deserted. I mean the bad weather doesn't help but the feeling here Fred is that people are happy so far, it appears with what the French are doing, the federal emergency, the arrests. Although there are some concerns about it.

They are really concerned that there is a potential for another attack. You know one other thing here. I went to the army, French army recruitment center here yesterday. They are seeing recruiting here spiking significantly. They told me much higher than after the Charlie Hebdo attack earlier in the year.

So on the one hand people here maybe nervous but you have a lot of young men and women here that are stepping up to do their patriotic duty for this country.

WHITFIELD: Something that was experienced in the United States post 9/11 as well at many military recruitment centers.

Thanks so much. Nic Robertson -- appreciate it.

Let's talk more about this. I want to bring in Benjamin Haddad, a French diplomacy and security expert at the Hudson Institute in Washington. Ben thanks so much for joining us. It has now been a week since the attack and Salah Abdeslam has not been seen since he was stopped by French police hours after that assault. How easy or perhaps difficult is it right now for Abdeslam to move about or does this speak to the support network that might be in place for him?

BENJAMIN HADDAD, HUDSON INSTITUTE: Well, it is probably very difficult for him to move. He must be hiding somewhere. But it's true that it's a wakeup call for Europeans to really step up their security cooperation in Europe. The French authorities had been very vocal in the last few days in asking their European partners to ramp up their cooperation.

Yesterday, actually European countries announced a few measures that had been pressed by the French for a long time. Just sharing the records of names of passengers in airplanes all over Europe to be able control the circulation of these jihadis more effectively to control. So external borders of the European Union especially Boris, you know, towards Turkey more effectively and to ramp up the sharing of information between intelligence agencies because what we have seen over the last week is that some of European security services, especially in country like Belgium where these attacks were organized where the weapons were acquired have been overwhelmed by the flow of radicals over the last few years.

WHITFIELD: And then U.S. security officials have been, you know, revealing holes in the visa, you know, waiver system here claiming that at least three of the known Paris attackers could have slipped through the watch list and screening programs if they had attempted to travel to the U.S. So what does that signal for you and how concerning?

HADDAD: Well, I mean it certainly signals that we have to ramp up the security against this once again. You know the French president said these are attacks that were planned Syria -- Syria is acting as the center of gravity, the magna, the inspiration of all these radicals. But they were prepared in Belgium and then they were executed in France with French home-grown radicals.

So you have a two-level fight in this. You have to take up the fight against ISIS in Syria and Iraq. This is why French president Hollande will actually be in Washington on Tuesday to ask Barack Obama to step up the fight and support on the ground and in air strikes against ISIS over there.

[11:10:02] But also there is a domestic fight where definitely, there's much effort to be made in terms of intelligence, human intelligence, ramping up the cultural knowledge of these networks and trying to bring other European countries on board because the terrorists of these attacks last Friday have actually exploited the vulnerabilities of the European system especially open borders.

WHITFIELD: As we just mentioned, the U.S. visa waiver program. So I wonder That was a great way for me to get the question I am very anxious to ask, which is, how concerned should bone here very one anyone and everyone be that these vulnerabilities are now being made public at a time when we already know the U.S. and European nations such as France are particularly vulnerable.

I guess the question is really about responsibility, about sharing these gaping holes publicly.

HADDAD: Well, you know, this is a threat that has existed for a long time. The United States was attacked on 9/11. You had attacks in England, in Madrid, in Paris, two times this year. You have a high alert in Belgium today, a threat against the stadium in Germany a few days ago.

We know that we have to live with this threat. We have to keep on living. The images coming out of Paris have been extremely moving over the last few days. I mean yesterday for the week after the attacks, all these young people have gone to the bars that have been attacked, into these neighborhoods to drink, to celebrate, to unite.

You know, you have to keep on living and don't give in to the terror and the pressure that these threats represent.

WHITFIELD: All right. Benjamin Haddad, thank you so much. Appreciate it -- from Washington.

HADDAD: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Still ahead: The search is on for three suspects in the Mali hotel attack that killed 19 people, including an American mother. A witness says they shot at anything and anyone that moved.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:15:08] WHITFIELD: All right. Overseas in Mali, the search is on for three more terror suspects after gunmen barged into a hotel Friday and then opened fire on a crowded people. One employee says they shot at anything, I'm quoting now, "anything that moved". At least 19 were killed in the attack before hostages were freed by security forces. Two of the attackers are also dead. American, Anita Datar, was among the victims. The 41-year-old mother was a public health worker who often traveled to Africa and Asia. Her brother says the family is devastated saying this quote, "It is unbelievable to us that she has been killed in this senseless act of violence and terrorism. Anita was one of the kindest and most generous people we know.

Robyn Kriel joining us now from Nairobi, Kenya. So Robyn tell us about the state of emergency in effect and the latest on the search for more people behind this.

ROBYN KRIEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, a manhunt underway in Mali's capital, Bamako -- Fredricka. States of emergency has been put in place for the next 10 days by Mali security forces as well as three days of mourning. We understand that Mali's president has been approached by a number of high level world leaders saying that they will stand by Mali and indeed France's president, Francois Hollande has promised to help Mali in any way possible.

Of course, a number of French, especially French citizens caught up in this attack. At least one French citizen that we know for sure was killed in this attack. Various other victims that we're hearing Fredericka; six Russians were killed, another six were freed however, as you mentioned, one United States citizen, Chinese, and at least one (inaudible) citizen as well just to name a few.

WHITFIELD: These victims, with he know primarily, from China, Belgium, the U.S. and even other places from really all around the world. Are investigators saying whether this may have been the motivation to target this hotel because it was so international?

KRIEL: Yes. This could have likely been the exact reason why the attackers would have picked the Radisson Blu Hotel because it is a western owned hotel -- it's an American owned hotel and also a number of Westerners would have been staying there at any given time. It was a very popular hotel -- 190 rooms in total and a lot of conference security type officials. The diplomats would have held a lot of meetings there. And that would have been the reason that these attackers would have struck that hotel.

Al Mourabitoun has claimed responsibility there -- al Qaeda offshoot group. And they have attacked similar like this before in August. Did they attack the hotel has claimed responsibility there. In August, they attacked a hotel killing 17 people. That hotel in central Mali was also popular with westerners as well to gain maximum world coverage of some of the press.

WHITFIELD: All right Robyn Kriel from Nairobi -- thanks so much.

All right. Let's dig deeper into this -- what happened there in Mali. Joining me now from Washington, CNN law enforcement analyst, Tom Fuentes, former FBI assistant director. So Tom, you heard Robyn there saying, clearly going after an American-owned hotel, The Radisson. It was a magnet for many international visitors. This was very intentional.

What do you read into how this terror group was operating, how they carried out this attack, how they were able to infiltrate and cause this kind of mayhem in this very western place in Mali?

TOM FUENTES, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT AYALST: First of all, Fredricka, the hotels in that part of Africa, in many of the capital cities, in many of the major business cities, very few hotels that are the quality of western type hotels. There are not a lot of choices for western travelers, whether they are government employees, contractors, business travelers. They will typically stay at a hotel like that. They usually feature breakfast buffets that are western food, Asian food for many Chinese travelers.

So there's not a lot of choices, except for the local hotels that are a significant drop in quality by many western standards. That's easy there. If you target a hotel like that, you are bound to have westerners staying there. It's a target-rich environment for terrorists.

As far as these hotels being attacked, this is a continuous drumbeat. I know a lot of people think it is a follow up to the Paris attack. But it may not be. They have had steady terrorist activity in northwest Africa.

WHITFIELD: It is going to be obvious concern or question because of the French tie assistants to Mali for many years.

FUENTES: Well, that's true. The French ties -- formerly, Mali was a colony of France, as was Morocco and Algeria. Those significant French influence and relationships in Northwest Africa.

[112001] So you know, that would be true. I don't think it is a direct -- it may not be a direct activity based on the Paris attack from a week ago.

This has been a steady series of attacks in the region and particularly in Mali. It is only getting publicity now because it is so close after the most recent Paris attack.

WHITFIELD: So how concerned are you that terror groups, whether it be ISIS-related whether it be extensions of al Qaeda are looking to really take advantage of this time given sadly the effectiveness of what happened in Paris that there is a common threat perhaps with Mali in your view, simply because of timing. Either you're concerned that this inspires terror groups to take advantage of this moment right now. Vulnerability is exposed and really just fear being heightened by people all around the world.

FUENTES: Well, I think all that's true as far as the heightened fear and publicity recently. But again, you go back to August of '98, al Qaeda blew up two of our embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. We had the Cole bombed in October 2000 and it was in the harbor in Yemen but that's right on the coastline of Africa. We have had other attacks ever since, throughout northern Africa. So it is not a new thing to have this al Qaeda affiliated, now ISIS-affiliated or even local groups affiliated attacks throughout African countries and the northern part of Africa in particular.

WHITFIELD: All right. Tom Fuentes, thanks so much. Appreciate it.

FUENTES: You are welcome.

WHITFIELD: All right. In the chaos after the Paris attacks, Parisians rallied and tried to help those who were hurt. One nurse performing CPR in a man that he saw laying right there on the ground -- you have to hear his reaction when he found out who he was helping. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. This amazing story from the aftermath of the Paris attacks. As you can imagine in the chaos those with medical training would simply jump in to help the injured and that's exactly what they are trained to do.

Such was the case at a cafe. This video shows off-duty nurse who works at a Paris hospital trying to resuscitate a man on the ground. Then, the nurse realizes that the man she was trying to save was actually one of the suicide bombers -- Rahim Abdeslam.

The nurse who only wanted to use his first name David tells us exactly what happened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID, NURSE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): I go to this man that I could see out of the corner of my eye. I take him out of this tangle of chairs, tables and I put him on the floor. He had nothing special. He was just unconscious. He was unconscious, he had nothing special but I noticed that on the side of his body there was an enormous hole -- a large hole on his side.

But there again, I don't think at all that it is a suicide bomber. At that point, for me, it is a client like others who suffered from a gas blast and who must have hurt himself with something. His wound was huge.

I put him on the ground and I start performing CPR. The other guy who was with me takes over from me. And at that point we just unbuttoned the jacket that's all -- we had kept his T-shirt on. He was not really thick.

When I was performing CPR, I did not feel anything. At some point the guy performing the resuscitation with me tells me, maybe we should remove the t-shirt. It is better.

I tell him, yes, you are right. Then I ripped the t-shirt, and when I ripped his t-shirt I saw some wires. I looked up again at the lamps -- these heating lamps. I noticed that there was nothing wrong with them. They are made of a material that becomes distorted quite easily. I saw there was nothing there -- nothing wrong with the three of them. On the ground, there was blood and I noticed the first bullets on the ground. Then I understood immediately. I told myself it is an explosion that made the wound on his side. It is a suicide bomber. And I knew it was him. At that precise moment when I realized what he was, the emergency services arrived.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Oh my gosh that is heart-pounding. So when David, the nurse told firemen the man he had been trying to save had a lot of wires on him, the emergency crew immediately evacuated the area.

The 46-year-old lives in the neighborhood and was having dinner with a friend when the explosions happened. David says he realizes he is lucky to be alive.

Coming up, we'll go live to Brussels, Belgium which has been placed on a high terror alert.

All the latest developments next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:31:30] WHITFIELD: All right, hello again, everyone. Thanks so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

Let's get back to Belgium now where one suspect has been arrested with suspected ties to ISIS. Officials say they are investigating a potential serious and imminent threat in Brussels.

Belgium is raising the terror alert to the highest possible level. The capital city's metro is closed for the weekend and people are being warned to avoid large crowds.

CNN investigative correspondent, Drew Griffin, is back with us now live in Brussels. Drew, what more are you hearing about why this terror alert is being raised?

GRIFFIN: We really don't know other than it coincides with the arrest of a man last night in the Molenbeek district, which is not far from where we are, which, of course, is where many of these Paris attackers came from or planned in.

One person was arrested. Some guns confiscated, but no explosive devices found, and no explosive belt according to the authorities, which they specifically said.

But Fred, it has been a very intense day. There are, of course, military patrols all across this city. A scene just played out right in front of us where there was some kind of a threat to the subway system. It turned out to be a bit of a false alarm.

These kinds of things have been going on all day. You hear bursts of sirens. Lots of police presence. They clear the area. All of the sudden, it is all clear. Everybody wants to know where this one last eighth attacker is, Salah Abdeslam. He is from Brussels, which is why here in Brussels they have such a high alert threat and why the intense search continues to go on night after night here -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: The country of Belgium has had its share of terror attacks in recent years so why Belgium?

GRIFFIN: You know, that's a question many, many people have been asking. Why has this country emerged as the weak link in Europe's counterterrorism and especially why are terrorists so comfortable in this one neighborhood not far from here.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GRIFFIN (voice-over): This mostly Muslim community in Brussels is quickly becoming synonymous with terror in Europe. At least a half dozen terror attacks have links to Molenbeek. Local prosecutors say dozens of Islamic foreign fighters in Syria have come from here and more and more terrorists come here to shop in the black market that specializes in the tools of their trade.

KOEN GEENS, BELGIAN JUSTICE MINISTER: False papers, false passports, and weapons trades are flourishing in certain suburbs of Brussels like in Molenbeek and we absolutely have to counter these things with the help of local services, but also with the help of criminal justice.

GRIFFIN: Bilal Benyaich, a senior fellow at a Brussels think tank focusing on immigration and security says illicit trade especially guns has put Belgium and Molenbeek on the terror map.

BILAL BENYAICH, SENIOR FELLOW, ITINERA INSTITUTE: Although Belgian has very tough gun laws, still, there is a big black market of weapons in Brussels that comes from everywhere in Europe and also from the Balkan countries and it is very easy for criminal gangs or for terrorist groupings to find weapons, even war weapons here in our city.

GRIFFIN: Benyaich says Kalashnikov rifles, the gun of choice in recent attacks, can be purchased on the Belgian black market for as little as $1,000.

(on camera): You are actually getting a good deal here.

[11:35:02] BENYAICH: You're getting a good deal here -- indeed, yes, that's a problem.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): There is another problem says Benyaich that may be much bigger.

BENYAICH: What we see the last three, four, five years, is that there is a merge between the jihadi radical world and the criminal world because lots of jihadists meet with criminals in prison.

I think the role of the branch of Islam with these young people is that it is like a mental detonation mechanism so some of them are hard core Jihadis who were socialized in this branch of Islam since they were young. Some of them are not that Muslim at all.

GRIFFIN (on camera): That appears to be the case for the man who operated this bar, Ibrahim Abdeslam was known as a petty criminal here. The bar he ran shut down a week before because of drugs and elicits activity. Family and friends say his involvement in radical Islam came as a shock.

(voice-over): Last week, he blew himself up in Paris wearing a suicide vest. His family was stunned. His brother is still on the run. He, too, has a criminal past from Molenbeek. In 2011, he spent time in prison with another prisoner, Paris attack ringleader, Abdelhamid Abaaaod. Three criminals turned jihadists.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GRIFFIN: Fred, this small country of Belgium has sent 400 fighters to ISIS in Syria. It may not sound like a lot, but that is the highest per capita in all of Europe -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Drew Griffin, thank you so much from Brussels. Let's talk more about this. With me now is CNN military analyst, Retired Army Lieutenant General Mark Hertling in Orlando. Good to see you. Back with us, CNN law enforcement analyst, Tom Fuentes, former assistant director of the FBI.

So General, you first, you know, many of these militants are from Europe. They train in the Middle East and come back and attack. I mean, many of them are born there or raised there and then they leave and they come back and exhibit this kind of anger. So what kind of military strategy is there to stop or intervene?

LT. GENERAL MARK HERTLING, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: I think we have been applying much of that recently, Fred. It has to do with the stopping of Jihadist across borders. That's a very simplistic approach to what we are doing.

You also have to look at other ways to do this. First of all, you can't lump all terrorists in one group. There are certain elements of ISIS that are affecting things in Syria and Iraq.

There are other home grown terrorists, and even though they are taking on the name of ISIS, they have different ideology and different approaches although they have some of the same methods.

So stopping the financing like you have to stop the gun running in connection with the criminal activity. You have to stop the support in the logistics chains, which means no more curriers or mules that get these terrorists from one area to the other.

There are multiple ways to attack this organization other than just bombing in Iraq and in Europe it's a different set of circumstances. I would suggest in Belgium, which I know very well, you have populations of Muslims in certain areas that are supporting one another.

In many of the other countries in Europe, they have been integrated as opposed to being put into one town and having that mutual support agreement.

WHITFIELD: OK, you know, Tom, we just heard in Drew Griffin's piece, you know, that many of these terrorists have been petty criminals. How does law enforcement in any of these jurisdictions, you know, anticipate whether someone who gets into the system is, indeed, whether they are influenced or radicalized or recruited?

How does law enforcement get in between that that may have happened while in prison for petty crimes and preventing them from going off into following the footsteps of what many of these terrorists who carried out these attacks in Paris did?

TOM FUENTES, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: A great deal of the intelligence activity that should be going on there isn't. A lot of people don't realize why. I have dealt with European law enforcement for more than 25 years.

One of the biggest issues there and I was also on the executive committee of Interpol. The biggest issue they have had over time has been the post-Nazi policies of not having intelligence gathering and not being able to wiretap and not being able to operate informants.

Much of the things that we take for granted that were developed in our organized crime program over the last few decades, they haven't allowed. They have been in denial that they have had organized crime or issues where that would be required.

Now that's coming back to haunt them. Look at the Paris attack. A week-ago attack group, they had no idea that was happening, six or eight people.

[11:40:03] Usually, in the U.S. when we have had six or eight people do something like that, the FBI has been informed throughout reach and local intelligence investigations, being able to stop it.

That's been the weak link here in the U.S. is that a one or two-person lone wolf or wolves can do an attack because nobody is going to know about it. As soon as they reach out to recruit more people, it becomes known to us and it is stopped.

But in Europe, they don't have that intelligence gathering. So you had almost eight people in the first attack and then several days later the second cell where they had the apartment shootout. They didn't know about that apartment or that group.

So that tells you how many other groups and cells are operating in Europe that they have no clue. We talk about the visa waiver. If they don't have a clue, there is no way to put them in a database for sure to keep them from coming here or they can get a visa and come here.

That's not the issue. The issue is that they don't know all the people that are up to this type of activity and planning to do more attacks. They still don't have the bomb-maker. They have called Abaaoud the mastermind. We give them all these titles. I don't think he is. I think there are senior masterminds operating in France and Belgium controlling many of the cells. Many of the al Qaeda cells that have been for decades have kind of change flags and affiliate with ISIS. This has been going on in Europe for decades.

WHITFIELD: Interesting. General, what's been going on for a long time. We heard it from Drew Griffin's reporting that, you know, getting these weapons, particularly in Belgium on the black market is fairly simple, $1,000 for Kalashnikov.

So what is the strategy or is there strategy in terms from a military standpoint to stop the flow of these weapons in places like Belgium so that they are not on the black market?

HERTLING: Likely not, but from a security force strategy, I think you'll see some changes in the European footprint in the next few months, Fredricka. You're going to see -- when I was a young lieutenant in Europe, and you would travel from country to country, you would literally have to go into border outposts and have your trunk open.

A lot of these are flowing from Eastern Europe, from the former Balkans. These are former Soviet weapons, AK-47s, RPGs that were found in Paris. Those are flowing very easily on the black market.

There is a distinction between the terrorists ideology versus the criminal who is just trying to make money selling weapons. We learned that in combat situations. If you can separate the criminals and put them out of business and stop the weapons flow, it has a tremendous effect on the terrorists being able to execute their operations.

I think you are going to see an illumination of the free trade agreement and start seeing some increasing borders coming up. Truck routes are going to be limited throughout Europe, which are currently used.

You see trucks from the Czech Republic going all the way to Amsterdam without being checked at all. Some of these things have to be taken care of. It is really more a part of the security force linked to government intelligence just like Tom said that will stop the weapons flow and stop the terrorism.

WHITFIELD: All right, General Mark Hertling and Tom Fuentes, thanks so much to both of you, Gentlemen. Appreciate it.

HERTLING: Thank you, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, still ahead, officials say some of the Paris attackers could have slipped past the screening process and then right into the U.S. without being noticed. Details on that straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:47:16]

WHITFIELD: Welcome back. In the wake of the Paris attacks, there is growing concern that the U.S. watch list and screening systems aren't strong enough. U.S. national security officials tell CNN that several of the suspected Paris attackers could have been able to pass through the screening process and get inside the U.S.

But there is no indication that any of them actually tried to travel to the U.S. CNN investigative correspondent, Chris Frates is live for us in Washington. So Chris, how many attackers could have gotten in and why would they have been flagged?

CHRIS FRATES, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Fred. So national security officials tell us that at least one of the Paris attackers would have been able to travel to the U.S. and as many as three of them could have slipped the U.S. watch list and screening program.

Like you said, there is no indication that any of the attackers ever tried to travel to the U.S., but some law enforcement officials are concerned that the watch list wouldn't have picked them up.

Others in the intelligence community are insisting that human and other intelligence could have filled those gaps. But going forward, FBI officials say they are closely watching dozens of people who pose the highest risk of carrying out a copycat attack.

More than 100 of the investigations into ISIS sympathizers were, quote, "taken up a notch following the Paris attacks." FBI Director James Comey and Attorney General Loretta Lynch says no relationship exist between the Paris attackers and anyone in the United States.

Comey also said that the trend of Americans leaving the U.S. to join ISIS has slowed down. He says that could because ISIS has told its followers to stay in the U.S. and quote, "kill here" or because words have gotten around about the terrible living conditions in ISIS- controlled territory.

The other thing that was going on a lot in Washington and on the campaign trail, Fred, was a discussion around how to handle the 10,000 Syrian refugees coming to America even though some of these refugees get the toughest screenings, a process that could take up to two years.

The House passed a bill that could limit Syrian refugees. President Obama says he would veto that bill. What's starting to happen in the latest few days is a visa waiver program is getting a lot of attention.

This is the program that one of the Paris attackers could have used to get into the U.S. It allows people from 38 countries mostly people in Europe to travel to the U.S. without visas. It was used by about 20 million people last year.

There is a bipartisan bill in the Senate that would end the waivers for anyone who's gone to Iraq or Syria during the last five years. It was sponsored by Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein of California, Jeff Flake of Arizona. And it's an area where the president has expressed interest in reforming. Talks are already underway between the White House and those senators. Fred, I think we'll see some more action on that front after the Thanksgiving holiday.

[11:50:02] WHITFIELD: Yes, I wonder how difficult that would be, too because going into Syria, it's not like you're getting a stamp on your passport.

FRATES: That's absolutely right. They'll sort that out on Capitol Hill after Thanksgiving holiday.

WHITFIELD: All right. Chris Frates, thanks so much in Washington.

FRATES: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, meantime, France is on alert for any kind of possible future attacks by ISIS and the French prime minister isn't ruling out the possibility of a chemical weapons attack. Next, what hospitals are doing to prepare.

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WHITFIELD: A week after the deadly attacks in Paris, the French prime minister says there could potentially be a threat of chemical and biological weapons attacks in the future. He warns ISIS is constantly evolving their methods and France should be prepared for anything. Some critics accuse the prime minister of creating unnecessary fears. Our Frederik Pleitgen has more.

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[11:55:03] FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After the carnage of the Paris terror attacks, French authorities fear in the future, terrorists could go even further. Possibly launching chemical attacks.

While the possibility appears remote, the government is ordering first responders to be prepared. At this hospital near Versailles, Dr. Francois Gonedon is updating an antiserum for nerve gas.

Before, we had a civilian dosage, he says, but from now on, we will use military grade atropine. It's used, for instance, in cases of serine poisoning. Serine gas was used in Damascus in 2013, killing around 1,400 people, according to the State Department.

The emergency medical personnel here say they're well prepared, with respirators and special protective suits for at least 75 first responders.

(on camera): Just in case there should be a chemical attack, the hospital is equipped with three of these state of the art ambulances that can deal with almost any emergency.

(voice-over): It was France's prime minister who first warned of possible chemical terror plots. I say it with all the precautions needed, he says, but we know and bear in mind that there is also a risk of chemical or biological weapons.

That drew criticism from some accusing the prime minister of stoking fear, but the doctor in charge says it's better to be safe than possibly one day sorry.

The risk isn't major, he says, but it exists. It's part of our job as emergency doctors to be prepared for these kinds of attacks. After the attacks France has faced this year alone, this nation wants to make sure its first responders are as ready as they can be for any scenario, should terror strike again. Fred Pleitgen, CNN, France.

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WHITFIELD: And we'll with back with much more on the terror investigation, coming up.

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