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U.S. Raids Terror Hideouts in Libya, Somalia; Navy SEAL Team Storms Somali House; Terror Suspect's Wife Speaks to CNN; Terror Suspect in U.S. Custody; Biker to be Arraigned in Attack on SUV Driver; Off-Duty Officer Among Bikers; Dozens Evacuated in Kentucky Flooding; Boehner Digs in Heels; Cruz Ties Obamacare to Debt Vote; Answering your Obamacare Questions; Miley Cyrus: Hannah Montana is Dead; U.S. More Vulnerable to Cyber Attack

Aired October 06, 2013 - 15:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello again, everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. A look at our top stories this hour, two top secret military raids in the dark of night.

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WHITFIELD (voice-over): One captured a wanted terrorist; the other didn't quite go as planned.

It is day six of the government shutdown and, again, no work was done to end the impasse but both sides work hard to blame each other.

And one of those bikers accused of attacking a man in front of his family is now facing charges.

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WHITFIELD: We begin this afternoon with new details of those two raids in Africa by U.S. Special Forces, 3,000 mile apart, one in Libya, the other in Somalia. U.S. Forces snatched Abu Anas al-Libi on his way to prayers this morning in the Libyan capital of Tripoli. Right now he is being held by the U.S. military in a secure, undisclosed location.

Al-Libi is wanted for his role in the twin bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania back in 1998. And on the southern shores of Somalia, SEAL Team Six, the same unit that killed Osama bin Laden stormed a house frequented by top commanders of the Somalia terror group Al-Shabaab.

The group is behind the deadly mall massacre in Kenya last month, but the mission didn't go quite as planned. We will have details on that in a moment.

But first, CNN has an exclusive interview with the wife of the captured Al Qaeda operative. Al-Libi's wife told Jomana Karadsheh that she saw Libyans not Americans capture her husband saying, quote, "What I saw were Libyans. Maybe they had Americans with them. But I didn't see them because there was more than one car. They say there were 10 people involved. But I believe there were more than 10. I couldn't count them because there were many of them.

"I can't confirm if they were Americans or not, but what I saw were Libyans," end quote.

So from Tripoli now we go to the southern coast of Somalia, where just before dawn, SEAL Team Six stormed a hideout of top Al-Shabaab commanders. A fierce firefight broke out and U.S. forces withdrew, not knowing if their target was dead or alive.

Although U.S. officials are not saying who that target was, local residents say the compound belongs to al-Shabaab leader Mukhtar Abu Zubeyr. The terror group confirms that one person was killed but they have not revealed the identity.

Right now on the line with us, Jomana Karachi.

Jomana, what more can you tell us about this?

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, we just returned from the home of Abu Anas al-Libi a short while ago and we spoke to his wife, who said that she witnessed the raids. She witnessed her husband being captured. She said she saw him off as he left for morning prayers, that she was expecting his return between 6:30 and 7 o'clock in the morning on Saturday.

She said she heard some noise outside, and when she looked out the window, she saw a number of vehicles blocking the street, blocking the roads leading to their home in this upscale Tripoli neighborhood.

And she said that what she saw, as you mentioned earlier, was men who looked like they were Libyans. Some of them were unmasked, and that's how she says that she believes they were Libyans. She heard some Libyan dialect being spoken. And her husband was taken away.

She said that she didn't realize who they were, what had happened. She thought -- she said that this country is in a state of chaos. There's a lot of criminal activity. She said that initially she thought that might have been an abduction, just criminal activity. And then later on in the day, they heard the news through international news organizations and that is how they knew that her husband had been captured.

WHITFIELD: And Jomana, what more can you tell us about what the wife is saying about her husband's involvement with Al Qaeda, how long ago she claims that he may have been involved?

KARADSHEH: Omah Abdullah Rahman (ph) said she had been married to Abu Anas al-Libi since 1991, she has been with him around the world in different parts. And this is during the time that she admits that he was a member of Al Qaeda, that he was a close associate of Osama bin Laden. She said that he was a personal guard to bin Laden during a certain time. But she said he left the organization in 1996. And since then, he has had no contact with Al Qaeda members. She says he returned to Tripoli, his home country here in Libya, in 2011 to join the revolution, to oust Moammar Gadhafi and has not been involved in any terror activity.

She also denied his involvement in the bombings of U.S. embassies, in Kenya and in Tanzania, saying he wasn't even involved in any bombing. All the allegations, she says, all these allegations are fabrications, she says, and that he was trying to clear his name. He is trying to reach out recently to the U.S. to try and clear his name, she says.

But, Fredricka, we did hear from Western intelligence officials here and were the first to report last year that al-Libi was spiced (ph) in Tripoli and Western intelligence forces did say they believe he was back in Libya to try and establish a presence for the organization, a foothold for them here in Libya and across the North Africa region.

WHITFIELD: All right. Jomana Karadsheh, thank you so much, from Tripoli.

So the White House has reacted to the raids this morning. It said in a statement that, quote, "This operation should be a clear reminder that the United States will seek justice against those who would attack Americans and never forget those who are victims of terrorism," end quote.

So Jill Dougherty is at the White House for us. So with this statement the White House is also I guess answering to its critics about national security, particularly in these days of a government shutdown.

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Government shutdown, Benghazi, there have been critics who have said why a year later after Benghazi is nobody in custody, things like that. And I think that you'd have to say it comes at a time where the U.S. internationally has looked somewhat distracted from its mission.

And this is a national security mission that was carried out in pretty spectacular form in two different places, as you pointed out.

The -- Secretary Kerry, who is traveling, in fact, filling in for the president because the president had to cancel his trip to Asia, made the point. He said that the U.S. will never stop going after terrorists, who carry out acts like this.

And repeating that phrase that they've used, but in kind of a slightly different way, they can literally they can run but they cannot hide.

And then we also had a statement from Caitlin Haden (ph), who is the National Security Council spokesperson here, saying that this -- these operations were the result of years of intelligence work and months of operational planning.

Fred?

WHITFIELD: And, Jill, is the White House saying anything about the timing of these missions this weekend?

DOUGHERTY: They didn't say anything specifically on the timing. Sometimes that depends on the moment of opportunity. You can be watching and then the moment of opportunity comes up and you have to take it. But they did say that the president's involvement -- President Obama did give his go-ahead. He approved the mission and that he was also kept up-to-date, very closely monitoring what was going on and then informed by his national security staff about what exactly was going on.

WHITFIELD: Jill Dougherty at the White House, thanks so much.

Now to those new charges in the case of a biker group that swarmed an SUV driver and then allegedly attacked him. One of the bikers who turned himself in Friday has been arraigned on assault charges. Police say Robert Sims (ph) stomped the driver's head and body after he was dragged out of his SUV. Police say Sims (ph) was also among the group of bikers who used their helmets to beat the driver.

Margaret Conley is outside the courthouse in Lower Manhattan.

So, Margaret, we know one biker has been arraigned. And that happened yesterday. Next on the list?

MARGARET CONLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fred, Reginald Chance (ph) -- and we just learned that the judge called him forward, but his lawyer isn't there. And the judge said they've been trying to reach his lawyer. They can't reach him. Reginald (ph) said that his lawyer was going to be on his way at 8:30 this morning.

So the judge sent Reginald (ph) back and said at some point, if your lawyer is not here, we're going to have to arraign you with or without your lawyer. So we're standing by to wait to see what happens there.

The police are saying that he could be charged with assault, gang assault and criminal mischief. Remember, Reginald (ph) is the one that we saw using helmet in the video to smash open the door -- of the window of that SUV.

Robert Sims (ph), he was charged yesterday. He was arraigned yesterday, charged with gang assault, assault and criminal possession of a weapon.

WHITFIELD: And then, Margaret, we see the video, everyone is familiar with the video now. And folks remember that the biker, there was one biker seen kind of slowing down and that is when the SUV bumped into it. Not that piece of video, but the other piece of video that we're familiar with seeing. And apparently that biker you'll see here slowing down is now telling his side of the story -- that one right there.

What is that?

CONLEY: Yes. That is Christopher Cruz, and he's speaking out -- because we talked to his attorney this afternoon, Benjamin Perez. And he says that his client, there is no way that his client was riding a 500-pound bicycle right in front of a 3.5-ton vehicle at high speed on a freeway. There is no way that he was slowing down intentionally and on purpose.

So is saying -- he's also distancing himself from the biker, saying that he doesn't know any of the bikers. And when he was hit, they say that Cruz (ph) was actually standing aside waiting for police to come and he actually got injured when that SUV driver then pulled away.

WHITFIELD: Margaret Conley, thanks so much for keeping us updated. Appreciate it.

Meantime, let's talk about some wild weather in parts of the country. We had flooding in Kentucky that hit the Louisville area and even a blizzard in South Dakota. But it's not over. Karen Maginnis with more.

KAREN MAGINNIS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Fred, you're right. Seemingly incongruous weather events taking place, from a tropical storm to the high winds, the Santa Ana winds in Southern California. But most devastating have been the floods as well as the blizzards.

Right around Kentucky we are still picking up a line of thunderstorms. And it's not over yet. In Louisville, I'm afraid you could see another inch, possibly two inches possible as a line of storms move through.

Take a look at the pictures coming out of Louisville. Devastating flooding here, between four and seven inches of rainfall fell. You could see another couple of inches before the day is done.

Hundreds of people had to be evacuated from their homes. Also cars, they're saying there were a number of power outages across the region. Well, it looks like the Ohio River Valley has been very problematic over the last 48 hours or so. But as I mentioned, a line of storms expected to move through.

All right. We take you to the blizzard. Very dramatic pictures coming up across South Dakota. And snowfall totals in feet. Exceptionally high for this time of year. Take a look at what happened out of Rapid City, South Dakota, 41 inches of snowfall there. But other snowfall totals 47 inches in Silver City. They are saying a number of people still without power. I checked some of the wind gusts. They've died down just a little bit.

But the news is that it is going to be gradually moderating as we go into the next several days. Those temperatures that are only in the 50s for today but had seen wind gusts as high as 70 miles-an-hour and whiteout conditions. They're looking at temperatures gradually warming up into the 60s.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my goodness, OK. Well, that's a little milder.

MAGINNIS: (Inaudible) for a while.

WHITFIELD: Yes it will be, but that will help quite a bit, won't it?

All right. Thanks so much, Karen. Appreciate that.

House Speaker John Boehner dug his heels in pretty deep today in the fight that has led to this government shutdown. He said on ABC's "This Week," "The House will not pass a clean spending bill." And he called for a conversation with the president and Democrats. Boehner said there may be a backroom somewhere, but no one is in it.

Erin McPike joining us live now from Washington with more on this.

So, Erin, we know the Democrats say negotiations on Obamacare should not be tied to the spending plan. But what is the Speaker's idea on that?

ERIN MCPIKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, he only wants one thing so far first, and that is to reopen the lines of communication with President Obama. He made that point repeatedly during his interview this morning. Take a listen.

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JOHN BOEHNER, SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: I'm working with my members, decided to do this in a unified way. George, I have 233 Republicans in the House. And you have never seen a more dedicated group of people who are thoroughly concerned about the future of our country. They believe that Obamacare, all these regulations coming out of the administration, are threatening the future for our kids and our grandkids.

And it's time for us to stand and fight.

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MCPIKE: SO he says that House Republicans want to stand and fight over Obamacare, but as you know, the defunding measures haven't passed the Senate and they won't pass the Senate.

But what he wants is to have a conversation with President Obama and that is what he was saying all throughout the morning, that he just simply wants to air his concerns with the president.

Here's a little snippet of that.

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BOEHNER: The American people expect in Washington when we have a crisis like this, that the leaders will sit down and have a conversation. It begins with a simple conversation. Listen, it's about having a conversation. It is time for us to sit down and have a conversation. That is what the American people expect.

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MCPIKE: So it simply looks like this fight is just beginning. And there is no end in sight. When he was asked, what is the end game for this, he said if I knew, I would tell you.

Fred?

WHITFIELD: All right, Erin McPike in Washington, thanks so much.

So we are following the developments on that U.S. raid targeting terrorists in two different African nations, next Navy SEALs (inaudible) inside look at what a mission like this might have looked like.

And later we'll find out why some security analysts say the government shutdown could make the U.S. vulnerable to the cyber attacks.

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WHITFIELD: So a member of Al-Shabaab may be dead and a big player in Al Qaeda is under lock and key.

But what does this mean for the U.S. given these two U.S. raid operations this weekend? Let's bring in CNN national security analyst Peter Bergen in Washington and former Navy SEAL Rorke Denver.

Good to see both of you, Rorke also an author of this book on your experiences.

So, Peter, let me begin with you. Two big raids this weekend. Tell us more about Abu Anas al-Libi; that was the person connected to Al Qaeda apprehended in Tripoli this weekend.

What kind of role might he have played in Al Qaeda? Because his wife saying he hasn't been involved in years?

PETER BERGEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: That may well be true. I mean, his role may be really historical. Sadly, the government alleges that he was involved in surveying the U.S. embassy in Nairobi in the '94, '95 time period.

He then moved to London, disappeared from there before 9/11 ,went to Afghanistan then was in Iran for a long period of time.

During that period he was under some form of house arrest in Iran and along with other members of Al Qaeda who were living in Iran. They were not active. So it is quite conceivable that his role is more historical than current in the organization.

WHITFIELD: And how might this have impacted Al Qaeda in any way, even if not just symbolically?

BERGEN: Well, I mean, yes, I think it shows that the United States is capable of conducting operations long after an incident like the embassy attack on Nairobi happened. This is 15 years later. And I think that speaks for itself.

WHITFIELD: And so Rorke, what defines a Navy SEAL operation? Why is it that Navy SEALs may be involved in either one or both of these missions?

RORKE DENVER, FORMER NAVY SEAL: The units that get called into these missions are really kind of our top operators in the country. So when you launch a daring raid into enemy battle space in a place that we don't have a significant footprint, there's only a few units in our arsenal that are uniquely positioned to do that.

And SEALs and other top SOF operators are those units that are capable of getting that accomplished in this type of battle space.

WHITFIELD: And would these Navy SEALs operate independently or would they be working with other U.S. military Special Forces or even with other special forces in country?

DENVER: I think you're seeing a glimpse into the future of warfare. I wrote about this in "Damn Few," that there is going to be small, nimble creative teams of operators that are going to be executing missions across a broad spectrum of geography to kind of bring the fight to our enemy.

And so the independence of the unit will be depending on the mission requirement. There's a tremendous focus on the intel folks. That is the real story is the 15 years that Peter talked about, that it took to identify and then actually put a location to this target, and then that is when the operators can go in and do that job.

WHITFIELD: And so, gentlemen, just to remind people who are just now joining us, we are talking about two different operations. Al-Libi who is believed to be linked to Al Qaeda, he was captured there in Libya. And is believed to be connected to the U.S. embassy attacks in Tanzania as well as Kenya.

And then you've got the Somalia operation, where it's believed that a safe house may have been raided, it being connected, the Al-Shabaab, it being connected to the massacre at that shopping mall in Kenya just a couple weeks ago.

So Peter, as it pertains to Al-Shabaab and what may have been a safe house, what do you believe the real objective may have been? Because it's unclear whether this was mission accomplished, whether it was considered a successful mission or if the Navy SEALs left empty-handed ,what message that sends.

BERGEN: Well, I think the effort was to go after people who were involved in the mall attack and probably the leader of Al-Shabaab who went onto Al-Shabaab's official Twitter account shortly after the mall attack and delivered a speech in which he took full credit for the operation and explained that the mall was targeted because of Kenyan operations in Somalia.

And the fact that a lot of Westerners, you know, were frequenting the mall.

But the U.S. Navy SEALs are pretty -- have a long history of operating in Somalia. We think about the Capt. Richard Phillips (ph) rescue, which was in 2009, was conducted by Navy SEALs, also assume that kind of raid on the same town, Tukhil (ph), a leader of Al Qaeda in Africa four years ago. So it's an environment in which they're comfortable ,but it's not clear if this was a successful operation as you say.

WHITFIELD: All right.

And Rorke, if the objective was to apprehend somebody, somebody from that Al-Shabaab organization and they didn't, is it likely that they would try to make another return or is it just that mission done; there has to be another route in which Navy SEALs or intelligence takes in order to try to crack that case?

DENVER: Yes, that becomes the real work that is involved behind the individual mission sense. These are living targets and living intelligence packages that are constantly moving, constantly changing and adapting. And so when the opportunity is present and can launch a team to go have an impact on our enemies, then that is that rare opportunity to do it.

And assigning percentage of mission success and failure is very, very difficult. Basically a team went in and was able to disrupt this enemy. If the specific target was a killer capture mission and that wasn't achieved, I think some of the operators might feel like it wasn't a success. But they got in, they got out safely and certainly disrupted our enemies. And so hard to quantify exactly how that works. (Inaudible) engage if the opportunity presents itself.

WHITFIELD: Yes. You're echoing the same sentiment as Chad Williams, who we talked to earlier, a former Navy SEAL, who said, you know what, if it appears as though all Navy SEALs are OK, fine; no one injured, killed, then mission very successful.

All right. Thanks to both of you gentlemen, Rorke Denver, Peter Bergen, thank you.

Week two now of the U.S. government shutdown. But a bigger deadline is approaching over the government's credit limit. And one senator, Ted Cruz, is telling the White House no unless they get rid of Obamacare.

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WHITFIELD: Republican Senator Ted Cruz says raising the country's borrowing limit should be tied to defunding Obamacare. On October 17th, the government could default on loans if Congress does not increase its credit limit to pay for bills already racked up. Even as some Republicans are backing away from defunding the health care law, on the "STATE OF THE UNION" today, Cruz was standing firm on the issue.

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SEN. TED CRUZ (R), TEXAS: The debt ceiling historically has been among the best leverage that Congress has to reign in the executives.

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN HOST: So yes?

CRUZ: Yes. Yes.

CROWLEY: And what else?

CRUZ: But my point is -- my point is there is great historical precedence. Since 1978 we have raised the debt ceiling 55 times.

A majority of those times, 28 times, Congress has attached very specific and stringent requirements, many of the most significant spending restraints, things like Gramm-Rudman, things like sequestration came through the debt ceiling. And so the president's demand jack up the nation's credit card with no limits, no constraints, it's not a reasonable demand.

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WHITFIELD: The government has attempted to explain exactly what the president's health care law is and how it works. Here now is Tom Foreman.

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TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Despite all these monumental changes to health care, most of us who have insurance probably won't see much change, maybe some modifications.

But this is really about the 48 million people who are uninsured, about half of whom are now expected to buy insurance through these health care marketplaces.

And let me point out, about 7 million are expected to do so by the end of the year. That's how fast this is happening.

So, how do we imagine these marketplaces? Think about a store where you can buy one of four different insurance plans, bronze, silver, gold or platinum. Here's the difference between them. Look at the bronze plan over here.

If you buy this, you're going to have a lower monthly premium, but when you go to the doctor, your co-pay, your deductibles, your other fees will be higher.

At the other end of the spectrum, if you buy the platinum plan, you're going to spend more on your monthly premium, but when you go to the doctor, you'll pay less money.

This won't be exactly the same state to state to state because local companies are involved, so you can't call a family member living up in New Hampshire, for example, and say, what are you doing, because it may be different in Mississippi.

But this should be the same no matter where you live, there should be no higher premiums if you get sick. There should be no denial of coverage if you have a preexisting condition.

And you should have no fees for preventive care. If you get inoculations for your kids, if you get a mammogram, if you get a routine physical, you shouldn't be paying for that under this new plan. Still, there is money to be paid.

And for a lot of people who don't make much money, this may seem very expensive; that's why the government is going to help out. If you make $46,000 a year as an individual or $94,000 a year as a family of four or less, the government is going to give you a refund to help pay for your insurance under this new plan. But no matter what happens, you're going to have to get involved.

Even if you live in one of the dozens of states that have said they want nothing to do with Obamacare, you're still going to be involved. All that means is your state government will not be involved in organizing this health care marketplace. The federal government will do it there, instead of your state government.

You'll go to a federal website to sign up. But you will have to do something, otherwise the federal government is going to fine you for not having insurance. That's what this is all about. And that's why it really is decision time coast to coast.

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WHITFIELD: Welcome back. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Here are five top stories that are crossing the CNN news desk right now.

First up, those two daring raids in Africa by U.S. Special Forces in Libya and Somalia. Anu Anas al-Libi's wife told CNN that she saw Libyans, not Americans, capture her husband. Right now al-Libi is being held by the U.S. military in a secure, undisclosed location. He is wanted for his role in the twin bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania back in 1998.

And SEAL Team Six stormed a house in Somalia frequented by top commanders of the terror group Al-Shabaab. The group is behind the deadly mall massacre in Kenya last month. The terror group confirms that one of its fighters was killed in the raid. But the identity has not been revealed.

And number two, one of the bikers accused in that beating of an SUV driver last Sunday has been arraigned on assault charges. Police say Robert Similar stomped on the driver's head and body. They also say that Sims and six other bikers used their helmets to attack the man on a street in New York.

Sims was one of the two bikers who turned himself in Friday. The other biker, Reginald Chance, is expected to be arraigned today.

Number three, President Obama says the federal government could reopen immediately if House Speaker John Boehner would allow it. The president told the Associated Press he thinks there's enough bipartisan support to pass a clean budget bill. But Tea Party Republicans insist on linking government spending to changes in the president's health care law.

And number four, a zoo worker in Oklahoma is recovering after being mauled by a tiger. Doctors were able to save the woman's arm. Zoo officials say she broke safety rules by sticking her hand through a 4- inch hole in the tiger's cage. They say the 14-year-old male tiger will not be euthanized.

And number five, despite multiple security checkpoints, a 9-year-old boy was able to sneak onto a Delta flight headed from Minneapolis to Las Vegas. According to our affiliate KARE, the boy got past attendants without a ticket or a guardian. Police believe the boy is a runaway from the Twin Cities. Delta says, quote, "We are investigating the incident and cooperating with the agencies involved."

And we'll have much more on the significance of those U.S. raids in Libya and Somalia plus reaction on the operations from the top U.S. diplomat. That is next.

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WHITFIELD: The United States' top diplomat says the two U.S. raids carried out this weekend in Africa are significant.

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JOHN KERRY, SECRETARY OF STATE: We hope that this makes clear that the United States of America will never stop in its effort to hold those accountable (inaudible) attacks occur, and those members of Al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations literally run but they can't hide.

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WHITFIELD: One of the raids ended with the capture of a top Al Qaeda operative.

Our senior international correspondent Ben Wedeman joining me live now from Rome.

So how significant is this capture of al-Libi?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's significant on two fronts. On the one hand, that the United States is finally catching this man who they believe was involved in the twin bombings of U.S. embassies in Tanzania and Kenya back in 1998 certainly means that they have been pursuing him for quite a long time.

In the meantime, he was spotted in places like Manchester, England, among other things. But what is interesting was this man, according to my Libyan sources, was living openly in an upscale neighborhood of Tripoli now for well over a year.

Now what is also interesting -- and this relates to the September 11th, 2012, attack on the U.S. diplomatic outpost in Benghazi that left four people dead, including U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens, is that this is the first military operation by the United States in Libya since the downfall of the Gadhafi regime in late 2011.

And it certainly does signal that the U.S. may be taking a more forward approach to pursuing those they believe, the U.S believes was involved or were involved in that attack on the diplomatic outpost in Benghazi.

It's important to stress, Fredricka, that since the fall of the Gadhafi regime, the Libyan government, to the extent that it functions, that it operates, has really been unable to extend its authority throughout the country.

Equally interesting, the Libyan government, even though a U.S. official told CNN that this was an operation in coordination with the Libyan authorities, we have a statement from the Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zeidan saying that they want clarification about what they called the kidnapping of a Libyan citizen by foreign forces, Fredricka.

Oh, interesting. So, Ben, Abu al-Libi, you said he was living out in the open in an upscale neighborhood. You listened to his wife in an exclusive interview and she says that he hasn't been involved in Al Qaeda in a long time.

That he was living out in the open, does that mean, does that really speak to he was no longer connected to Al Qaeda or does it simply mean that a lot of people didn't know that in the neighborhood?

WEDEMAN: Well, certainly there are sources that indicate that he was no longer an active member of Al Qaeda. But I suspect that being a former member of Al Qaeda is being a bit like a former member of the CIA. You're never really former. You always have your connections.

And the fact that he was living out in the open really speaks more to the fact that the Libyan government doesn't really have the ability to crack down. What you have in Libya is a government that coexists with militias armed -- heavily armed militias of leftover from the uprising against Moammar Gadhafi.

And in a sense they control the streets of Tripoli, of Benghazi, of other Libyan cities and the government really just doesn't have the power to round up any potential terror suspects.

Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: All right, Ben Wedeman, thanks so much, from Rome, appreciate that.

Straight ahead, she has been stealing the headlines ever since that music award performance; Miley now taking over late night as well. But this time she's not twerking. But she did give her take on the government shutdown.

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WHITFIELD: Miley Cyrus trying to win fans back after her twerking fiasco, now hosting "Saturday Night Live". Last night she spoofed lawmakers, the government shutdown and of course herself. Victor Blackwell has the rewind.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Live from New York, it's Saturday night.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST (voice-over): Love her or hate her.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ladies and gentlemen, Miley Cyrus.

BLACKWELL (voice-over): Miley Cyrus took the stage once again, this time taking aim at herself.

MILEY CYRUS, PERFORMER: In case anyone is concerned you should know there will be no twerking tonight. I used to think twerking was cool but now that white people are doing it, it seems kind of lame.

BLACKWELL (voice-over): And Cyrus spoofed her "We Can't Stop" video, playing a sexy singing Michele Bachmann and poking fun at the government shutdown.

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BLACKWELL (voice-over): This is the latest public appearance from Cyrus as the 20-year-old star continues to grab headlines wherever she goes.

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BLACKWELL (voice-over): Few can forget Miley's controversial performance recently at the VMAs.

CYRUS: Every VMA performance, anyone that performs, anyone that performs, that is what you are looking for. You're wanting to make history.

BLACKWELL (voice-over): And most recently her war of words with Irish songwriter Sinead O'Connor. O'Connor, if you recall, sent Cyrus an open letter, warning not to let herself, quote, "be prostituted by the music industry."

Then again, O'Connor made her own "SNL" headlines in 1992, when she did this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't want my daughter acting like that. But at the same time, she's an adult. She's got to make her own choices.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, hopefully, she can fix her image. But then that's up to her. So I think if she's going to strike while the iron is hot, she might as well do it now since everyone is talking about her.

BLACKWELL (voice-over): No matter the outcome, her fans who waited for hours to see Cyrus on "SNL" said they cannot wait to see what she's going to do next.

CYRUS: Thank you guys, so much. Thank you, for -- everybody at "SNL" for having me this week. It has been awesome. Good night, everybody.

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WHITFIELD: Coming up next, could the government shutdown be a threat to national security? Why some analysts are worried about a cyber attack.

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WHITFIELD: One of the consequences of the government shutdown is reduced cyber security staff across federal agencies. The CIA and other possible targets may have fewer eyes on the computer networks. As Jim Sciutto explains, that means more vulnerabilities.

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JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The government may be shut down for you and me but, for cyber attackers, it is open, even more open for business. Adversaries from foreign governments to terror groups, says the former head of the CIA, are almost certainly looking to take advantage.

MICHAEL HAYDEN, FORMER CIA DIRECTOR: I would have been anticipating this and I would have been saying, what is it that we want to do against this adversary that's against us now? What is it that would be helped by doing it while they're shorthanded? What gives us a higher probability of success?

SCIUTTO (voice-over): Many government agencies' cyber teams are relying on skeleton crews to police attacks in cyberspace. And a successful attack now could do damage even after full staffs return to work.

Tim Erling, a cyber security expert who advises agencies across the government, explained how.

TIM ERLING, TRIPWIRE: What may happen as a result of the shutdown is that that first incident, which may have been detected previously with a full staff, might be missed, allowing a compromise to go deeper into an organization to get at more critical assets or critical data.

SCIUTTO (voice-over): Another risk? While staff that monitor computer networks are still on the job, many staff who maintain them are not, meaning those networks are not being updated to resist new kinds of cyber attacks, which can change by the second.

The shutdown comes as cyber attacks are transforming from spying on computer networks to destroying them.

The chairman of the House Intelligence Committee says it's a serious concern across the intelligence community.

REP. MIKE ROGERS, (R-MI), CHAIRMAN, HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: It's very concerning to me we would allow any part of our national security structure, knowing what's coming at us every day, not just from cyber. None of that is going away. You can imagine our adversaries are trying to fill the hole.

SCIUTTO: We asked a cyber security firm advising the government if the number of cyber attacks had increased since the shutdown started, and the answer we got was telling. We're told they simply don't have the staff to count, that right now, they're focused on defending against attacks with fewer resources to keep the government's computer systems safe -- Jim Sciutto, CNN, Washington.

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WHITFIELD: Joining us live from Washington is Clark Kent Ervin, the former inspector general at the Department of Homeland Security, now director of the Aspen Institute's Homeland Security program.

Good to see you.

CLARK KENT ERVIN, FORMER I.G., HOMELAND SECURITY DEPARTMENT: Good to see you, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: So the defense secretary just announcing that he's recalling about 400,000 defense employees -- civilians to return to work starting next week.

How has this government shutdown and the reduction of personnel put the nation at a risk, national security?

Well, it certainly has done that, Fredricka. The Defense secretary's announcement is a step in the right direction. But you know, terrorists watch CNN and other cable networks. They read our newspapers. They know that we are distracted by these budget crises. And it's a self-inflicted wound and as Secretary Rumsfeld used to say, weakness is provocative.

And I would add to that the perception of weakness is provocative because we have skeleton crews manning our national security apparatus, there's no question but that we are at greater risk today of attack than we would otherwise be.

WHITFIELD: How concerned are you about that?

ERVIN: Well, I am concerned. I want to stress, of course, that there are people who are working very, very hard despite these difficulties to protect us. They're doing everything possible, but only one mistake on the part of our national security apparatus could result in catastrophe, whereas terrorists are added 24/7. And they are bringing their full team to the field.

So we need to get this budget crisis resolved just as quickly as possible. Particularly concerned that the Department of Homeland Security, our TSA screeners who are working, CBP inspectors are working, border patrol agents are working, Secret Service is working. But they're working without pay now.

They're going to be paid once the shutdown is over, the House passed that bill I'm sure the Senate will do likewise and the president's already said that he's going to sign it into law. But for now, they're not being paid. That's got to be a cause for concern for them.

Morale is already low at the Department of Homeland Security in a number of critical positions, about 15 or so, including cyber positions, most importantly the position of Secretary and Deputy Secretary.

So this is no time to have a B team on the national security field.

WHITFIELD: And you mentioned terrorists, potential terrorists are watching, paying attention, they're watching this network and any other news outlet to learn of the state of affairs as it pertains to our government.

How concerned are you or what do you suppose the message is that's being sent on that world platform about this nation's readiness, its vulnerabilities?

Well, the message is that we're distracted. The message is that we're dysfunctional. There's a tendency on our part, the part of Americans, to compartmental and to say, well, this is just a political matter. It's just an economic matter. But politics and economics and our military strength and the perception of our military strength are intertwined.

I think it's very notable that the president had to cancel his Asia trip for example, at a time when the new president of China is courting and trying to win friends and influence people in that part of the world. We have crises with Iran. We have crises in Syria. And we've talked about the terrorist threats.

So for all these reasons, it's absolutely essential that Democrats and Republicans come together, solve this particular budget crisis, the debt ceiling and sequestration so that we can put the full panoply of American resources to bear on the national security threats that we face.

Clark Kent Ervin, thanks so much. Always good to see you. Appreciate it, from Washington.

ERVIN: You, too, Fredricka.

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