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DNA Confirms Bin Laden Death; New York's Mayor Bloomberg Comments on bin Laden's Death; Reaction to bin Laden's Death; Search and Recovery Efforts Still Underway in Alabama; White House to Hold Briefing on the Death of bin Laden
Aired May 02, 2011 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: You are looking live at ground zero in New York. The attacks of 9/11 marked the first time much of America heard the name Osama Bin Laden or heard about the terror network that he ran. Now, nearly ten years after those attacks, a worldwide manhunt is over and Osama Bin Laden is dead.
Hello, everybody, I'm Randi Kaye and I'm coming to you live today from ground zero here in lower Manhattan. CNN has learned, of course, that the DNA test confirms that -- what President Obama told the nation late last night in fact is true, it is a match. Al Qaeda's leader is dead, American troops shot him in the head.
You can see his status now on the FBI's most wanted list, deceased. A U.S. government official tells CNN that it was a kill operation. There was no plan to take him alive at his mansion in Abbottabad.
The body was buried at sea around 12 hours later. Islamic tradition says that the body should be buried within one day. A senior defense official says burial in the Arabian Sea was chosen because there was no country willing or able to accept the body for burial.
Now, here's the video shot by ABC News. Some of the first looks inside the palace where Osama Bin Laden was killed, just a quick snapshot of the successful operation. It begs the question, how did the world's most notorious terrorist build himself a mansion 60 miles from Pakistan's capital? But this is the picture most of the world will always associate with Bin Laden and Al Qaeda.
Take a look, the attack on the World Trade Center, the fiery hole on the Pentagon tearing a hole in the building, and a field in Pennsylvania where a plane was brought down by heroes. Two thousand nine hundred seventy-six people died that day.
We'll hear some of the president's announcement in a moment, but here's a statement released just a short time ago by former vice president Dick Cheney. The death of Osama Bin Laden at the hands of American forces is a victory for the United States. Today, the message our forces have sent is clear -- if it you attack the United States, we will find you and, of course, we will bring you to justice.
Now, let's get right to the heart of this story which means -- which means that we want to take you to Pakistan. That is where American forces found Osama Bin Laden after months of tracking him.
Our Nick Payton Walsh is in it Islamabad, Pakistan. Nick, if I can, if you can, set the scene for me there as news spreads of Osama Bin Laden's death.
NICK PAYTON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Actually, I mean, I think really the first thing to point is when news of this broke, Pakistani intelligence officials were pays (ph) to point out that they were on the ground during the operation by the Americans. Though was subsequently denied by the Americans and then actually been denied by the same Pakistani sources. So, there was an immediate rush, I think, from Islamabad to have seemed to have been involved really in this quite remarkable American operation, which Pakistanis are saying, in fact, actually began undetected.
The helicopters flew in, got over the compound before Pakistani air defenses were aware they had arrived. Obviously, a 40 minute gunfire then ensued, and the helicopters departed by which phase the Pakistanis were very aware of their presence. But really, I think there was an immediate rush by Pakistan to hook like it was on site, to look like this is the result of intelligence sharing. In fact, one suggesting phone records had been given by the Pakistanis to the Americans and it enabled them over a period of time to find this particular compound -- Randi.
KAYE: And Nick, if you could, tell us a little bit about the compound there, it's described as a mansion. Does it stick out in that neighborhood?
WALSH: Actually, I have not seen it, but the pictures I have seen do suggest the building quite as odds with the rest of the town. And not necessarily that central, but very high walls, significant defenses, no apparent communications in terms of telephone or Internet with the outside world. So, yes, perhaps a strange compound in that busy town. Bear in mind we're dealing with a city of that size, that many people, buildings aren't really going to stand out unless you're aware of the world's most wanted terrorist is within them -- Randi.
KAYE: And so, what we're being told, Nick, at CNN is that the Pakistani government, Pakistani officials, were not even in on this operation, they weren't aware of it. What are you hearing today from the Pakistani government?
WALSH: Fascinating, as I said earlier, they tried at the beginning to suggest they were involved, then the Americans denied that was the case and then the Pakistanis said, oh, that's fine, we weren't there, fair enough, but they are trying to suggest their intelligence allowed them to find this compound. There's a breakdown of trust here, really, I would have been enormously surprised given the last few months, given how the Pakistanis have been demanding Americans curtail at (inaudible) strikes here in the tribal areas.
Given the news that they're bringing data to CIA contractors shot two men dead in Lahore (ph) and the huge forral (ph) that caused publicly here in Pakistan. It would have been a huge surprise if the Americans had chosen this moment to share the intelligence and their operation about their most wanted man in the world with the Pakistanis given how they, frankly, didn't seem to be getting on at all.
I think there's an attempt now for the Pakistani government to try to seem on side, to show that they were very much involved, although as it seems from what we're hearing, the helicopters turned up undetected. The Pakistanis simply did not know this operation was happening until it had begun -- Randi.
KAYE: It is an amazing story at how they pulled this off. Nick Payton Walsh for us live in Islamabad. Nick, thank you.
The successful operation was led by the CIA, in fact. Direct, Leon Panetta, was the commander of the strike against Osama Bin Laden, an operation that they practiced, practiced to make sure that it went off without a hitch, but there were some bumps along the way.
CNN's Drew griffin takes a look at how it all went down and how the president informed the nation.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I can report to the American people and to the world that the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama Bin Laden.
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It began last August. New leads came to height about the possible whereabouts of Osama Bin Laden.
OBAMA: It was far from certain, and it took many months to run this thread to ground. I met repeatedly with my national security team as we developed more information about the possibility that we had located Bin Laden hiding within a compound deep inside Pakistan.
GRIFFIN: The key lead, tracking down one of the few couriers trusted by Bin Laden. That courier's movements led U.S. intelligence to this compound in Abbottabad, a mansion on three floors, high security walls, a place built to hide someone important. Planning intensified within the past few weeks with the president sharing five national security council meetings, the final one Thursday last week.
The following day at 8:20 a.m., as the president prepared to leave the White House for Alabama, President Obama gave the go ahead for a mission that had been rehearsed for months.
On Sunday, national security staff worked all day on the operation. A senior administration official says at 2:00 p.m., the president met with his senior staff to review final preparations. At about 4:00 p.m. Eastern Sunday, just after midnight in Pakistan, a team of Navy SEALs in helicopters raided the compound. Administrative officials called it an especially dangerous operation.
Local residents spoke of intense gunfire.
OBAMA: A small team of Americans carried out the operation with extraordinary courage and capability.
GRIFFIN: Bin Laden resisted and was killed in the firefight. According to one source, shot in the head.
The whole operation was carried out in less than 40 minutes along with Bin Laden, three other men were killed, U.S. officials believe one was Bin Laden's adult son. A woman was killed when used by one of the men as a human shield. There were no U.S. casualties, but a U.S. helicopter was destroyed by its own crew after a mechanical failure.
At 7:00 p.m., the president learned there was a high probability the high value target was Osama Bin Laden.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: The message from the Obama administration is clear, Osama Bin Laden is dead but Al Qaeda is still very much alive.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON, SECRETARY OF STATE: Even as we mark this milestone, we should not forget that the battle to stop Al Qaeda and its syndicate of terror will not end with the death of Bin Laden. Indeed, we must take this opportunity to renew our resolve and redouble our efforts.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Officials are warning that all Americans need to be vigilant, that Al Qaeda and its supporters could strike back. So, let's turn now to CNN's Pentagon Correspondent Chris Lawrence. Chris, what extra security precautions, if any, are being taken right now?
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, if you're talking about around U.S. bases here in the United States, Randi, you know, they have upped the security level, but nowhere near the highest level. The bases in Iraq and Afghanistan are already operating under tremendous security. But we've also got some new information now about what's happened, you know, when this operation went down.
As Drew mentioned, the entire operation only lasted about 40 minutes, but we're now learning that Osama Bin Laden was killed in the last 5 to 10 minutes of that operation, that two adult men lived on the first floor of that compound, and when the assault team came in, they had to fight their way through the house, through those men.
Osama Bin Laden and his family lived on the second and the third floor, so they were the last ones that the assault team reached during this assault.
We also have a new diagram now that gives you a better perspective of exactly what the assault team was looking at when they came in. The windows were opaque, some of the outside walls 18-feet high. Even a terrace had a 17-foot tall barrier around it. Senior defense officials said right now, this house was designed to obscure the view from all angles around it.
And when they went in and after they were -- after they got the body of Osama Bin Laden, another key thing that happened here, and it really speaks to what secretary Clinton mentioned in terms of the ongoing war against terrorism, they found what they're calling a robust trove of material and information in that compound. In fact they say it was so much they've now set up a task force to exploit it and analyze it, and they're hoping to be able use some of this information that they got in the compound to find other targets of Al Qaeda -- Randi.
KAYE: Chris, it's so impressive when you think about them going in in the dark of night and these walls, as you've said, that are 18- feet high with the barbed wire on the top and coming out of there with Osama Bin Laden, it's really an incredible maneuver.
What can you tell us about the decision to bury Bin Laden at sea? I understand that he needed to be buried within a day.
LAWRENCE: Yes, you're absolutely right. Under Islamic law, the body should be buried within 24 hours. And a senior defense official told me that basically they could not find a country that was either willing or able to accept his body for burial.
So, almost exactly 12 hours ago from right now, 12 hours previously, Osama Bin Laden's body was buried at sea, the rights were conducted on the deck of the USS Karl Vincent in the Arabian sea and we're told that all this was done under Islamic law. That Bin Laden's body washed, that it was then wrapped in a white sheet, that prepared remarks were made by a military official and then translated into Arabic by a native speaker. At that point, Bin Laden's body was placed on a flat board, the board was slowly raised and typed up and Bin Laden's body was allowed to simply slide off into the sea -- Randi.
KAYE: Chris Lawrence for us at the Pentagon. Chris, thank you.
As I mentioned, I am here at ground zero. We're actually inside ground zero, the site of Al Qaeda's biggest attack bringing down the twin towers on 9/11, of course. And as you can imagine, the emotion here has been incredible since word first spread that Osama Bin Laden was dead. There were celebrations here overnight. We also saw them in front of the White House and many other places where people were touched by these latest developments. And less than an hour ago, some family members of 9/11 victims spoke about their feelings.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SALLY REGENHARD, MOTHER OF FIREFIGHTER: He will not live to inspire any more terrorists as a living person. And must thank the United States military and the present administration and all those who assisted our country in apprehending Osama Bin Laden. While we have very gratified, we are still living with the pain, the sorrow, and the grief of the death of our son, our daughters and our loved ones.
ROSEMARY CAIN, MOTHER OF FIREFIGHTER: Osama Bin Laden had the devil's blood running threw his veins, and this is a joyous day for us. Like what she said, it's not done -- the job is not done, we still have a long way to go, but we've gotten rid of one evil, evil commodity.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: Well, all the recon and all the planning amounts to nothing without, of course, precise execution. So, how does an operation like this really go down? Well, in two minutes, I'm joined by a Navy SEAL who works with a group, the very group that carried out the takedown of Osama Bin Laden an interview that you won't want to miss.
This is mayor Bloomberg I'm being told, Mayor Bloomberg is speaking right now, so let's listen in.
(BEGIN COVERAGE)
MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, NEW YORK CITY: -- and liberties. Nothing will ever return our loved ones, but we are rebuilding from the ashes and tears in monument to the American spirit. New York's way is ever forward, ever skyward. Ten terrible years ago, a terrible evil visited this place. Today, let the spirits that are all around us know some peace and justice.
Last night's spontaneous celebrations occurred here in lower Manhattan, in Time Square, at the White House, in other places, and in private homes around the country and the world. They were a tribute to the selfless valor and dedication of our armed forces and to those who have worked to prevent terrorist attacks over the past nine and a half years.
During that time, New York City's police department has built the most sophisticated counter terrorism operation of any police department in the world. Today, as it does every day, Commissioner Kelly and our counterterrorism experts will adjust their strategies and deploy their resources based on the latest information. As of now, I'm happy to say, there are no new immediate threats against our city. But there is no doubt that we remain a top target and the killing of bin Laden will not change that, nor will it distract us from a mission that remains our absolute highest priority, defending our city and country against all those who use violence to attack freedom.
On behalf of all New York residents, I do want to congratulate our commander in chief, all the men and women in our armed forces and in our intelligence community for accomplishing this mission. I also want to recognize, as President Obama did, the leadership of his predecessor, President Bush. In the days after 9/11, President Bush came here to Ground Zero and stood on the rubble shoulder to shoulder with our rescue and recovery workers and used a bull horn to tell the world that we would bring justice to those who attacked our city and our country. He never wavered in that mission and his leadership was crucial to yesterday's victory.
Today we are joined by a number of family members who lost loved ones in the 9/11 attacks, as well as Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, Fire Department Commissioner Sal Cassano, and Port Authority Executive Director Chris Ward. I also want to acknowledge Joe Daniels, the executive director of the 9/11 Memorial and Foundation, as well as two leaders who played such important roles in helping our city and country heal us in the immediate after attack -- aftermath of the attacks, Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Governor George Pataki. I'd now like to ask Chris Ward to say a few words.
Chris.
CHRIS WARD, PORT AUTHORITY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Thank you, mayor.
This morning in a conversation with Governor Cuomo, the state was placed on high alert in coordination with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey throughout this region and throughout the rest of the state. His message on that conference call this morning, much like the mayor, a sense of relief, perhaps even a sense of joy, but more importantly a sense of vigilance and our challenges going forward.
As you can see behind us, the World Trade Center site is rising. It is no longer a pit. But there is must perseverance it must remain to complete this site. And the work of this country and President Obama to bring Osama bin Laden to justice reflects the kind of perseverance and endurance that this nation has always demonstrated and now, today, this city and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey are demonstrating behind you.
Thank you very much.
BLOOMBERG: Chris, thank you.
Our speaker of the city council, Christine Quinn, is with us today.
Madame Speaker.
(END COVERAGE)
KAYE: All right, you've been listening -- you've been listening there to Mayor Michael Bloomberg here in New York City speaking with other officials and also speaking with some of the family members of the 9/11 victims. He was quick to say there's no immediate threat to New York City, but obviously even just making my way down here today, you could see all the families gathered by the memorial, many of them in tear, many of them taking pictures. So this is a very important day for the country, but especially a very important day for New Yorkers and the city of New York.
We'll have much more right after a quick break, live from Ground Zero.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CROWD: USA! USA! USA!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: As we've mentioned, U.S. Navy SEALs carried out the mission that resulted in Osama bin Laden's death in Pakistan. The secretive raid occurred in Abbottabad, about 60 miles north of the Pakistani capital of Islamabad. SEAL is an acronym for Sea Air And Land. The SEAL's official web page describes them as, quote, "a special breed of warrior who conduct special operations in any environment, but who are uniquely trained and equipped to operate from around and in maritime areas."
So joining us now to talk more about the SEALs and the operation that killed bin Laden are two SEAL veterans and both are lieutenant commanders in the U.S. Navy Reserves. Kaj Larsen is a CNN correspondent and joins us from Los Angeles today. And Eric Greitens is in our New York studio.
Thanks for joining us, both of you.
Kaj, let me start with you. And Eric, of course, you can feel free to jump in at any point. But, Kaj, tell us a little bit about the SEAL training and how they might have trained for a mission like this one.
LT. CMDR. KAJ LARSEN, U.S. NAVY RESERVES: Sure, Randi.
Well, SEAL training is often considered the most arduous training in the entire U.S. military. It takes approximately 18 months to become a bona fide SEAL operator. And then beyond that, many years of additional training.
To train up and to practice for this raid, this isn't -- this is not weeks in the making. This is months and years of dedicated training.
KAYE: And, Eric, you once served as the commander of an al Qaeda targeting cell. You actually write about it in your new book, "The Heart and the Fist." Tell us about the targeting cell and the training that may have been similar, actually, to the bin laden mission.
LT. CMDR. ERIC GREITENS, U.S. NAVY RESERVES: Yes. So one of the things that SEALs were doing in places like Afghanistan and Iraq was to actually work very closely with intelligence professionals in order to develop and then hit targets on the ground. And it takes a tremendous amount of hard training, as Kaj said, but that training is not just in the fist, it's not just about courage and physical strength and tactics, these are -- the training is also intended to create warriors who have a real heart for public service. And SEALs are a group that we can all be very proud of.
KAYE: And, Kaj, what would you say may have been the most difficult aspect of carrying out a mission like this one, given what you know about the SEALs and how they work?
LARSEN: Well, I think the entire package from start to finish is what's difficult. One, maintaining the operational security around such a high profile operation, developing the right intelligence and targeting packages to then go out and actually execute the raid and the mission. And then, finally, executing it as we saw flawlessly without taking on any American casualties. It's a pretty extraordinary event and pretty good day for the SEAL community and for the nation.
KAYE: And, Eric, can you just talk about -- you know, we think about these guys huddling at this compound knowing that this is it. This is the moment that they have been training for, for months, for years perhaps. Can you talk just briefly about that adrenalin that they're feeling at that moment?
GREITENS: Well, as Kaj said, SEALs train for years in order to become a Navy SEAL. And prior to this operation, these men, and a very elite team, would have undergone practice numerous, numerous times in order to develop their specific tactics for hitting this target. And when they were on the target, all of them knew that this was a very important mission, but they've also been trained for years. And they were able to rely on that training that the American people have made a tremendous investment in all of these SEALs. And we saw yesterday that that investment paid off.
KAYE: Yes, and certainly have been able to keep their cool on such an important mission as this one is certainly impressive. Obviously they do have some pretty intense training over the years.
Both of you, thank you so much for your insight. Appreciate it.
Meanwhile, Osama bin Laden is dead, but the question is, how is that affecting the markets? We're going to tackle that question next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: When the attacks happened on September 11, 2001, it was in part an attack on the U.S. economy itself and, to a degree, it worked. Trading on U.S. stock markets was suspended after the first plane hit and remained closed for almost a week. European markets plunged. And by week's end, the Federal Reserve had pumped billions into the economy in an attempt to overt a meltdown. Both gold and oil spiked after the attacks and the airline industry in the U.S. and tourism industry in New York were all but decimated. But 10 years later, the reaction by markets reflects more the passage of time than the man behind these original attacks. CNN's Rich Quest is at the New York Stock Exchange for us today to talk more about what we're seeing there.
Richard.
RICHARD QUEST, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I suppose we'd all arrived to work this morning feeling that there would be a feel good rally. And indeed the futures index had suggested that. But the truth of the matter is, markets deal in facts, not sentiment of emotion. They deal with what's happening. And from that point of view, they decided that the rally should peter out. And that is very much where we are.
Just to give you an overview, the Dow Jones is just up about 20 points, barely changed, 0.1 percent. The Nasdaq composite is actually off just a fraction.
The core point, though, Randi, is not so much what the numbers are showing, it's what the people here are telling you. Because the people here were the ones who lived through it in many cases. They were the ones who were just blocks away when the World Trade Centers came down. And here there is a quiet satisfaction in the killing of bin Laden. There's not the rah-rah. Here they lost friends, colleagues, in some cases family.
So Randi, what they're feeling today is that a feeling of mission accomplished, job done, justice done, rather than tub thumping and shouting from the tree tops.
KAYE: Absolutely. And Richard, why do you think we're seeing more reaction in gold and oil than the stock markets?
QUEST: Our old friend gold. I mean, gold is supposedly the harbinger and last safe haven of value. When things go bad, gold goes up. When things get better, gold goes down. I think it will be a rash and perhaps foolish person that sees today's movements in gold as being anything other than a knee jerk. The underlying problems of gold remain. The underlying economic issues are there. Gold will be back up again and before too long.
KAYE: All right, Richard Quest watching the markets for us.
Richard, thank you.
The news of Osama bin Laden's death was heard around the world. How the story unfolded here at CNN. Well, we're going to take you behind the scenes and show you. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: We've covered and reported on Osama bin Laden for years now. He has been the face of terror, his name synonymous with September 11th. His death, like the attack he masterminded on 9/11, is one of those rare, defining events, even for us as veteran journalists.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: And the breaking news here on CNN tonight. We're awaiting President Obama to speak --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: As we broke news last night, we were glued to our phones and our e-mails working furiously to bring you the very latest on the situation. So we want to take a few minutes today to give you a glimpse of how this all unfolded for us behind will the scenes.
Of course one of the first to know the truth about bin Laden's death was our very own Wolf Blitzer who joins me now from D.C.
Wolf, you have covered pretty much every major event, I would say, over the past 30 years. So tell us, how did you first find out about this? Where were you, and what were you doing it at the moment that you learned this?
WOLF BLITZER, HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM": Well, I suspected it immediately once I heard that there was going to be a statement from the President of the United States at 10:30 p.m. Eastern. I got a call from our Washington bureau -- our political director Sam Feist who got a call from the White House saying the president would be in the East Room, 10:30, would make a statement for about 10 minutes. And I said on Sunday night, 10:30 p.m. Eastern he's going to be in the East Room? I suspected something was going on.
My initial instinct was maybe Gadhafi, maybe Libya, something involving that. I made some phone calls and I was quickly told it had nothing to do with Libya, nothing to do with Gadhafi. My sources were saying this is much, much more important, that it was a bigger, bigger story. That's when I suspected that we're talking bin Laden, because otherwise why would the president go out at that point, an extraordinary moment.
And when I began to suspect it, Randi, I was in my kitchen at home just getting the word and I began -- I recall I was almost exactly 10 years earlier when the planes went into the World Trade Center, I was almost in the same spot in the kitchen beginning to see what was happening and I thought, wow, this was eerie, it was chilling for me.
I got a shirt and tie and a jacket, drove down to the bureau and by 10:15 I was on the air. We originally thought 10:30. It then slipped to 10:45, 11:00, 11:15. Finally after 11:30, the president eventually showed up. We had learned earlier, we had confirmed that bin Laden had indeed been killed. But it was, as you say, I've been a journalist for a long time. It's one of those dramatic moments you'll never forget.
KAYE: Sure. And you were on air when the president made his statement last night. So what was the mood would you say?
BLITZER: Well, it was, you know, something that -- we just -- over the years, I had interviewed so many U.S. officials, so many Afghani officials, so many Pakistani officials and experts on that part of the world. And I would always say where's bin Laden? Is the U.S. any closer to finding him? Do you know?
And usually they would come up with he's probably hiding out in some cave in some remote mountainous area in the north western part of Pakistan, in some of those tribal areas as they're called. It's hard to get, he's protected. You know, I was pretty surprised when I heard he was living in a mansion about an hour's drive from the capital of Pakistan in Islamabad, basically in plain sight of almost everyone.
This is an area, by the way, that has a lot of retired Pakistani military officers living there, relatively affluent. And here bin Laden and some of his colleagues were hiding out. And, you know, that was pretty surprising to me. I thought that he was probably in some remote area whether on the Afghani or the Pakistani side of that border, it wasn't clear to me. But I was surprised to hear he was almost in plain sight, he was hiding out. KAYE: Yes, I think a lot of people were when they think about him living in this mansion that I think was built about five years ago, according to what we've learned. It has these 18-foot walls and they burned their garbage instead of taking it out like the rest of the neighbors. Very interesting to learn how he's been living, Wolf.
Certainly thank you for your perspective and all of your hard work as the news first broke last night.
BLITZER: Thanks, Randi.
KAYE: Good to talk with you.
KAYE: Well, we are waiting for the White House brief to go start at any moment. There is sure to be some new details on the mission to it take down Osama bin Laden. We're expecting to hear from Jay Carney, as well as members of the national security team, so we do hope to bring you some new details today.
So be sure to stay with us. Keep it here, live from Ground Zero. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Well, we're not going to get too far away from the historic news of Osama bin Laden's death. At any moment the White House briefing will begin and we'll bring to you live for sure right here on CNN.
But first, we want to bring you up to speed on the huge tornado outbreak in the southeast. Our Rob Marciano is in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, with the very latest.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hello again, Randi. Today, what we've seen differently across the area is a lot of power lines have been going up. I don't know what they're stringing the power to, but trying to connect some of the communities that are outside of the disaster zone. And that has really locked up traffic to some of these areas and vital supplies that are trying to get into some of these outposts of volunteers giving away some of these lifesaving stuff like just food and water. So that's one thing that's happened today.
And some of those people have come in just from out of town randomly.
Take a listen to one operation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARCIANO: So you're just a random group of people, unorganized, that decided we want to come down here and help.
LORINDA RODRIGUEZ-MITCHELL, TUSCALOOSA VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR: Absolutely.
MARCIANO: And this is your operation. RODRIGUEZ-MITCHELL: This is it.
MARCIANO: How many people do you think you've served so far?
RODRIGUEZ-MITCHELL: At least 10,000. At least in the last these days. At least.
CHRIS ENGLAND, ALABAMA STATE REPRESENTATIVE: When I met Ms. Lorinda Mitchell who's from Talladega, not from here and she's got a group of folks she'd never met. They came to Tuscaloosa and they were just bonded by the desire to help people. I mean, it's inspiring. I've been trying to do whatever I can to make sure they've got whatever they need.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARCIANO: Certainly that part of the story is inspiring, the amount of people and good energy that's here. But the cold, hard facts remain that this mess will is going to be here for months, if not years to recover.
Search and rescue operations still continue, or search and recovery, I should say. There hasn't been any much good news on that front. The number of unaccounted for has dropped to just over 300 people. There are still 300 people, Randi, that are considered to be unaccounted for in this area and that particular number is frightening.
Back to you.
KAYE: All right, Rob Marciano for us in Tuscaloosa.
Rob, thank you.
Once again, we want to remind that you that we are waiting for the White House briefing to start any moment. Press Secretary Jay Carney is expected to be joined by members of the national security team. We do expect some new details on how they got Osama bin Laden overnight.
So we'll have much more from Ground Zero. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: It was the mission from the beginning. Get Osama bin Laden dead or alive. Well, yesterday, almost ten years after the deadly attacks on ten September 11, 2001, the al Qaeda leader was killed by U.S. forces inside a mansion in Abbottabad, Pakistan. They swept into the compound by helicopter, and bin Laden was among the five people killed in a firefight.
So, what does his death mean for the future of al Qaeda? A lot of folks are asking that. So, joining us now from the Time Warner center here in New York, CNN terrorism analyst Paul Cruickshank.
Paul, thank you. Appreciate you being on the show. First, with bin Laden dead, what's left of this terrorist now organization?
PAUL CRUICKSHANK, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: Well, I mean, quite simply, al Qaeda without bin Laden. But al Qaeda without bin Laden is not the al Qaeda it was before. Bin Laden is absolutely crucial to al Qaeda. He's provided the strategic direction for al Qaeda, not only before 9/11 but after 9/11 through all these audiotapes and videotapes. He's really the linchpin of al Qaeda, a key unifying figure in an organization which has strong centrifugal forces. There's lots of different factions within al Qaeda, lots of disagreements between different people underneath him. Different ideologies, different agendas.
And with Bin Laden gone, there's a real risk from al Qaeda's perspective that this organization may fracture, Randi. So, they've lost their leader, and this is a really big deal for them.
KAYE: And when you say fracture, do you mean will this could be the end of al Qaeda?
CRUICKSHANK: I think that this could accelerate the unraveling of al Qaeda. And this has come at a very bad moment for al Qaeda because that's been a backlash over the last few years in the Muslim world against it because of it barbaric tactics, its killing of civilians and many Muslims. There's been an emerging jihadist critique of al Qaeda. And there's been this whole Arab Spring where al Qaeda in most of these countries has been reduced to virtual irrelevance. A lot of the core grievances that they were able to exploit are no longer there in the way that they were.
So, al Qaeda will find it more difficult to recruit people moving forward. Bin Laden was the one individual who did have the aura, the charisma amongst these jihadists to sort of fight back and to start some momentum again for the organization, but he's for longer there now, obviously.
KAYE: And is there anyone do you think, just quickly, who might be able to step forward and lead al Qaeda?
CRUICKSHANK: Well, it looks like al Qaeda's number two, Ayman Al- Zawahiri, will step up to the number one position. And Al-Zawahiri is certainly a skillful strategist. In some respects, he's an intellectual, but he's not got the charisma of bin Laden or his track record as a jihadist. Bin Laden really made his name in Afghanistan the 1980s fighting the Soviets. Al-Zawahiri just did not fight in the same way. He's unpopular with a lot of the jihadists. And so, he will be not as effective a leader for al Qaeda as bin Laden, and that will hurt the recruiting opportunities in the future quite hard, I think.
KAYE: Paul Cruikshank, great insight. Thank you so much. Appreciate it.
So, bomb Bin Laden's compound or send in the Navy SEALs. How and why the president made the decision that he did is next.
Plus, any moment now, the White House briefing is scheduled to begin, and we will bring that to you live. So, keep it here.
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KAYE: Welcome back to our coverage here live at Ground Zero.
When the president made the call to go after the compound in Pakistan, he decided to use a targeted approach instead of just dropping a bomb on the compound. That was a decision fraught with risk. Senior political analyst Gloria Borger has been following the national security elements of this story for us. She joins us now for our political update in Washington. Gloria, how involved was the president in coordinating this operation?
GLORIA BORGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Very personally involved. Talking with senior administration officials, they do make it clear as one said to me that this was a CI operation, that the CIA did all of the detective work. But pretty soon after Obama became president in June 2009, he signed a memo ordering his CIA director to put a huge effort into finding Osama bin Laden. And by August of 2010, they kind of knew what they were looking at.
But in piecing this together with the administration officials, what is very clear to me is that they -- as one said to me, you are not absolutely certain that Osama bin Laden was in there. It is not like we had 100 percent clear evidence, so therefore, if they had decided to just bomb the place, he said, you could have gotten out of there not knowing who you had killed, without any DNA evidenc, and also killing some other people that perhaps you would rather not do.
So, they decided to do this really targeted approach so that they would be able to know beyond a shadow of a doubt who it was they were killing, and they found out it was Osama bin Laden.
KAYE: It is amazing. They were certainly trying to limit the casualties as well. All right. Gloria, thank you. Appreciate it.
BORGER: Sure.
KAYE: We will have another political update for you in just about an hour from now right here on CNN.
Meanwhile, U.S. officials knew that they had their man. But to eliminate doubt, they did a DNA match on the body of Osama bin Laden. We will tell you about that coming up next.
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KAYE: Right now, you are looking at a live picture of the briefing room at the White House. Any minute now, we are expecting to hear from press secretary Jay Carney along with the president's national security team. We are expecting to get new information on the attack on the Bin Laden compound in Pakistan, which may explain, of course, why this is a packed house. So many reporters, so many members of the media hoping to get new details. We will, of course will get right to that and bring it to you life as soon as it happens here on CNN. U.S. officials say that there is no doubt that Osama bin Laden was one of the five people killed during yesterday's raid in Pakistan. They based that on a DNA match that was conducted today.
Senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins us now to tell us more about this. Elizabeth, what do we know specifically about this test?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, a DNA test is actually pretty simple, Randi. And the way that it works is that they would have DNA from his dead body. And then they would need to match it with something, and that something would either be a relative or DNA from Osama bin Laden that was obtained from him when he was still alive. And then you would run your tests and you'd see if they match up.
KAYE: So, how would they have gotten DNA samples from bin Laden when he was alive?
COHEN: Right. We don't know that they did, but if they did --
KAYE: Oh, Elizabeth - we're going to have to - Elizabeth. Sorry to interrupt you, Elizabeth. We want to take you right to the White House where the briefing that we were just telling you about has begun. So, let's listen in.
