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France's Security Alert at Highest Level; Highly Targeted, Well Organized Attack in Paris; "Charlie Hebdo" Known for Satire

Aired January 07, 2015 - 10:30   ET

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

PETER BERGEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Yes, you would. You would expect them to take responsibility pretty quickly. So I'm sort of -- there is a group called al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb which has a lot Francophone but they have never successfully carried out an attack in France. That would be certainly one group to look at.

Another group to look at is not so much people who are part of ISIS necessarily but people who are inspired by ISIS. And then anybody who's had Syrian training.

We have had a French citizen conduct a terrorist attack in Brussels on May 14 of last year. He killed four people in an attack on a Jewish museum in Belgium so there is certainly precedent for French jihadis who have associated with jihadi groups in Syria, not necessarily ISIS itself, to get the kind of training to carry out a deadly attack. So that's another avenue that you'll be looking at right now -- Wolf.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: We're showing our viewers some video. So much of Paris does have closed-circuit TV and obviously hand-held video so there's going to be a lot more video presumably that's going to be coming out soon as a result of what happened today at the magazine -- this magazine headquarters right at the heart of Paris.

Juliette, what's your analysis of what happened here and who may have been responsible?

JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: So this is different as Peter was saying. This is an assassination that causes terror. This was highly-targeted, very well-organized, the fact they got away suggests, you know, it's not like the Boston Marathon bombing. These guys had a sophisticated plan for a get away.

So we are -- this is just different and to be honest to viewers. The good news is, is because it was so targeted there should be no fear out there in particular in the United States that random groups of men are coming in to buildings to kill people.

I mean the second thing that makes this different, and we've seen this with ISIS, although obviously we have no idea who is involved right now, is the sort of killing or the targeting of those with the microphones. I mean when you look at the beheadings by ISIS, when you look at some of these attacks, it's reporters, it is people who are able to amplify messages, whether they are news reporters or people who do satire. And so for journalists, you know, this isn't like a government stopping them from publishing but it is equivalent in the sense of raising fear about what, in fact, you are going to publish. So we're all looking to see who it is, but obviously this is a very different way than what we have been seeing the last couple years, which is this sort of whack a mole kind of terrorism where some guy with no training gets radicalized and just, you know, walks into a room and shoots people. This is more akin to what we saw in the early 2000s.

BLITZER: Yes, this is a pretty sophisticated operation and these three terrorists, they remain at large right now -- a massive manhunt under way in France for these terrorists. And they're also searching to see if they had accomplices elsewhere as well.

Juliette, stand by, I want to go to Paris right now. Christopher Dickey is joining us. Chris spent many, many years covering France for a variety of publications, "Newsweek" in the older days, now for "The Daily Beast". Chris -- give us your sense because you know a lot about what's going on, specifically the targeted attack against this satirical magazine.

CHRISTOPHER DICKEY, "THE DAILY BEAST": Well, I think one thing we're all talking about is the Islamic state, or ISIS, as if it must be related to this attack. That's not necessarily the case. There are a lot of groups that might have wanted to attack 'Charlie Hebdo", including other Islamist groups, including, by the way, al Qaeda.

Remember also that al Qaeda and the Islamic state are competing for the top of the heap in the world of international jihadist terrorism. So I don't think we should rule out or forget about al Qaeda for a minute. I think there's a real possibility it may have been involved in this attack.

I think the other thing that's obviously striking and I think other people have commented on this is just how well-trained and organized these guys seemed to be. Now, it is possible -- apparently they were speaking very good French or native French -- it's possible that they are veterans of the French army who for one reason or another became involved in this kind of attack.

It's also possible that they may have ties to the French underworld. Not because it would be a Mafia-style attack on "Charlie Hebdo" but because that's where you get things like Kalashnikovs. That's where you get the kinds of resources that they used in this attack. This is not a country where you can go down to the local Wal-Mart and buy an AK-47. It's not that kind of country at all.

So those guns come from the underworld and I would suspect that there are some links there to look at, too. But we're not going to know anything until these guys are caught -- nothing substantial until they're caught or until somebody credibly claims responsibility for this attack.

BLITZER: And we do know that at least some eyewitnesses, Chris, on the scene, they said they heard these terrorists utter these words apparently in French, "We have avenged the prophet." And then we also know there were eyewitness accounts of shouts "allahu akbar" "god is great" in Arabic. What does that say to you?

DICKEY: Well, it says that the likely that these are anything other than Islamically-oriented terrorists decreases dramatically. And it also suggests that they are also tying this attack to Charlie Hebdo's publications of cartoons that parody Islam and parody the prophet, Mohammed.

But then again, we don't know that those are reliable reports and we're not absolutely sure that that was the motive even if the attackers claim it is the motive. You know, not only "Charlie Hebdo" but France have been in the line of fire for radical jihadists for issues like, for instance, the ban on the Niqab, the full-faced veil that exists in this country.

When French have been kidnapped in North Africa by al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, one of the demands for the release of the hostages has been to roll back that law. So there are whole plethora of issues that jihadists may focus on when they plot a bloody attack like this and "Charlie Hebdo" was a very high-profile and a very soft target at the end of the day, which is exactly what they were looking for.

BLITZER: Christopher, the police spokesman in Paris says the editor of this satirical magazine, Charlie Hebdo, the editor Stephane Charbonnier is among those killed as well as three well-known cartoonists who went under the pen names Cabu, Wolinski, Tignous. You've been in Paris for a long time, did you know these journalists?

DICKEY: No, I didn't know them personally. I'm familiar with their work. "Charlie Hebdo" is one of the better known publications on the newsbeat -- always some outrageous sometimes rather scurrilous cover. You know it doesn't have a huge readership but it's always had a very controversial approach to the news.

So to see it silenced this way, especially after it had survived a firebombing of its headquarters some three years ago is really reprehensible. And I think that one of the things that this is going to become about, very much about, is freedom of expression which plays out in a lot of different ways in Europe.

Freedom of expression is one of the things that Islamophobes use to attack normal Muslims, saying that Islam itself is against freedom of expression. All of that gets very mixed up and very ugly as we've seen in countries like the Netherlands. I think it's going to get very mixed up and very ugly here, too.

In fact, there's a novel being published here today expected to be the number one best-seller which is "What France would be like if it had a Muslim president in 2022". So I think there's a lot going on.

BLITZER: Yes, there certainly is. All right. Christopher Dickey, I want you to stand by. Juliette, please stand by. Peter, stand by as well.

Momentarily we're going to be hearing from the U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. You see the microphones there over at the State Department. He's going to be speaking together with the visiting foreign minister of Poland but we anticipate that Kerry will open up his remarks with a comment, a statement about what happened in France today.

Let's take a quick break. John Kerry, the Secretary of State, much more coverage coming up right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: We're waiting to hear from the Secretary of State of the United States, John Kerry. You see they're getting ready over there. He's got a meeting with the visiting foreign minister of Poland. We do anticipate he will open though his comments with a statement on the terror attack in France, a terror attack killed 12 people, injured others, three terrorists remain at large, a massive manhunt under way right now. Very sophisticated operation at the satirical magazine "Charlie Hebdo." These journalists were killed along with police officers and others in France.

We know that there's an emergency meeting under way over at the Elysees palace, the French president, Francois Holland -- you see him in the middle, the picture there. He's convened this emergency cabinet meeting together with the prime minister, the interior minister, the justice minister, the foreign minister, other cabinet members -- they are considering next steps.

In the meantime, the first immediate step is to find these three terrorists. The vehicle that they escaped in, apparently, has been recovered but it was empty and they're looking now for these three terrorists and potentially other accomplices if, in fact, there are other accomplices. There's the vehicle in which they escaped.

Christiane Amanpour, our chief international correspondent is joining us now from London. Christiane, this is going to send shockwaves -- already has been sending shockwaves all over the world. Give us your analysis.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, first of all shockwaves through our profession, shockwaves through the journalistic profession, particularly in the free democracies where freedom of expression is a right, even freedom to satirize. This has been really at risk. Obviously today was the worst attack that we've seen in a long, long time.

But in the post-9/11, post-ISIS days, the amount of satire has been directed at Islam and there have been paybacks. Charlie Hebdo's offices itself as we know were firebombed a few years ago and there had been a police presence around them.

But certainly this is causing shock for other reasons around Europe as well. We do not know if this is ISIS-related but we do know that western European governments have been on extra high alert ever since the last several months when ISIS started to really gain territory, break out in Syria into Iraq and cause such a lot of mayhem in those two countries.

They are also there have safe havens and what law enforcement in the west has been so worried about is any kind of blowback. In other words, attacks from fighters who go from Europe of which there are thousands who've been going from Europe who may come back. We do not know if this is related to that. But what happened today in France comes inside this atmosphere of heightened terror alert across Western Europe -- Wolf.

BLITZER: And we know that the editor of this satirical magazine, "Charlie Hebdo", was among those killed -- Stephane Charbonnier, along with three cartoonists for the magazine -- Georges Wolinski, Jean Cabu and Bernard Verlhac.

This is -- as you say this sends shockwaves to journalists all over the world when you see these journalists who were not only killed but they were targeted. This was not just a random attack, Christiane. These journalists were specifically targeted because of some of the satire, some of the articles, the cartoons that were written about the prophet, Mohammed, presumably, in the magazine.

AMANPOUR: Well, indeed. We will hopefully find out a lot more when these people are caught and when they're able to be debriefed if in fact that does happen. But what we understand from fragmentary sort of eyewitness and sort of evidence so far is that this was clearly aimed at this particular magazine for the very reasons that we've been talking about.

This magazine for you know, many, many years -- many, many years has been poking fun at the absurd extremes of militant and violent Islam. And it has done that even under threat to itself, even under threat to other journalists around the world, even under criticism from its own president, Jack Chirac, back in 2006, even the White House criticized some of the magazine's cartoons back in I believe it was 2012 after there was a huge amount of violence created around parts of the Middle East because of some of these cartoons.

So this is a very, very targeted magazine and it's tragic that Stephane Charbonnier and the others have been killed. Stephane himself was quoted as saying just not too long ago "We are not the killers, we are not the people who are violent, we just operate with our pens and with our satire and with our intellect. Those who are the extremists and who react in an extreme way, they are the killers."

Well, most unfortunately, the staff at "Charlie Hebdo" have been singled out and have been the victims today along with the two police, as far as we know. And this is something that, you know, many, many in the free press world have to grapple with as we try to do our jobs in a very, very difficult environment.

BLITZER: We certainly do. These journalists were targeted, they were assassinated, they were murdered because of the satire, sometimes maybe over the line but they were journalists, they were exercising their freedom of speech and then they were killed as a result of this.

I want to bring in Jim Sciutto, our chief national security correspondent who's been watching and gathering more information. You're picking up some specific information from experts, Jim, who have watched the video, right? JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: That's right,

Wolf. You know, we said earlier that U.S. counterterror officials note the training that is apparent, the sophistication in this attack, just the way the fighters moved and fired and killed, frankly.

So I spoke with Jim Reese, he's former Delta Force commander. He looked at the video. What specifically do they mean? What specifically indicates training?

One, the fighters were carrying vests with extra ammunition, extra magazines to continue attacking as they went forward. Two, he noted that they were uniformly dressed. Their masks, their weapons -- their weapons vests that carried that extra ammunition indicates in his view military training. This is crucial. And we just showed this picture there as one of these soldiers -- one of these attackers rather killed the policeman. Jim Reese, the former Delta Force commander in that shot right there noted that he used single shots. He wasn't set on automatic. That shows discipline -- again, an indication of military training. And then this also gets to just the pure brutality. When you look at that video there the cop apparently says "please don't" but there is no hesitation from the attacker. He fires several more bullets that kill him. He'd been injured earlier.

Also another indication, Wolf, of military training, there's a moment there when the attackers, two of them or one of them hides behind a van as one of the other attackers lays down cover fire against the police before his counterpart can advance. That, again, indicates military training as well. So a lot of indicators as you watch that video that these weren't your typical run-of-the-mill terrorists who had no training. Might have just read a magazine or something and decided to carry out attack. They had training, they had planning, and they had sophistication.

One other detail -- you know, we've noted on this broadcast, Wolf, that the attackers did not drive away fast. When security experts look at that, that makes them think again, that these guys were thinking, you drive away fast in a panic that draws attention to you. You drive away slowly with the flow of traffic, it's much easier to blend in.

BLITZER: I'm sure they're going through all the closed circuit TV cameras, the video that was in Paris, this entire area, there's a lot of closed circuit TV. I'm sure they're going through it to take a look and to see if they can get some shots of what was inside, who were inside that car to see if they can get some images of the three terrorists who managed to escape. We're going to be watching that very closely.

We're standing by once again to hear from the Secretary of State of the United States John Kerry. Once he speaks we'll have live coverage of that.

Much more of the breaking news here on CNN and CNN International right after this.

(VIDEO OF TERROR ATTACK IN PARIS) (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Secretary of State John Kerry, the U.S. Secretary of State once again, he should be speaking momentarily, opening up we are told with a statement on what happened in Paris today. 12 people were killed, they were murdered as a result of a terror attack, others injured. Those three terrorists, at least three terrorists there are still at large, a massive manhunt under way right now. Among those killed the editor-in-chief of the satirical magazine "Charlie Hebdo." The editor-in-chief Stephane Charbonnier -- he spoke out. This is when he spoke out in 2012. I want you to listen to what he said then about the threats to him and his magazine.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHANE CHARBONNIER, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, CHARLIE HEBDO (through translator): We do provocation. It's been 20 years since we've been doing provocation and it's being noticed only when we talk about Islam or this part of Islam which raises problems and which is a minority. And when the government asks us not to do any provocation, we have the impression that three idiots who demonstrated in the streets represent all of Islam.

It's the government who insults Muslims by saying that. You have to take them as they are. One has to mock them using humor, disarm them with humor and not give them any credit. By taking them seriously and sending regiments of riot cops to hold them, one takes them seriously.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Stephane Charbonnier among the journalists who were murdered today at that magazine. They were in an editorial meeting when these terrorists started firing and killing 12 people, mostly journalists, some police officers. Once again, those terrorists, the three of them, are on the loose right now. They remain at large.

Let's bring in a fellow journalist, Paul Ackerman is joining us now. He's the editor of chief of the Le Huffington Post, that's the French version of the American Website.

Hold on for a moment because the Speaker of the House John Boehner is speaking on the terror attack -- well, he was speaking on the terror attack but we're going to recue that. But here's John Kerry.

JOHN KERRY, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: I'm very pleased to welcome the Polish foreign minister in here to Washington today. He's come here especially to meet with us and talk about the important relationship between Poland and the United States -- very important NATO member. And we are working on many, many issues in a very, very close, bilateral way.

Before I do talk, however, about our relationship, both of us were just talking about the horrific attack in Paris today, the murderous attack on the headquarters of "Charlie Hebdo" in Paris. I would like to say directly to the people of Paris and all of France, each and every American stands with you today not just in horror or in anger or in outrage for this vicious act of violence, but we stand with you in solidarity and in commitment both to the cause of confronting extremism and in the cause which the extremists fear so much and which has always united our two countries -- freedom.

No country knows better than France that freedom has a price because France gave birth to democracy itself. France sparked so many revolutions of the human spirit borne of freedom and free expression and that is what the extremists fear the most.

They may wield weapons, but we in France and in the United States share a commitment to those who wield something that is far more powerful. Not just a pen but a pen that represents an instrument of freedom, not fear. Free expression and a free press are core values, they are universal values. Principles that can be attacked but never eradicated because brave and decent people around the world will never give in to the intimidation and the terror that those seeking to destroy those values employ.

I agree with the French imam who today called the slain journalists martyrs for liberty. Today's murders are part of a larger confrontation. Not between civilizations, no, but between civilization itself and those who are opposed to a civilized world. The murderers dared proclaim "Charlie Hebdo" is dead. But make no mistake, they are wrong. Today, tomorrow, in Paris, in France or across the world, the freedom of expression that this magazine, no matter what your feelings were about it, the freedom of expression that it represented is not able to be killed by this kind of act of terror. On the contrary, it will never be eradicate by any act of terror.

What they don't understand, what these people who do these things don't understand is they will only strengthen the commitment to that freedom and our commitment to a civilized world. I'd like to just say a quick word, if I may, directly to the people of France.

(SPEAKING IN FRENCH)