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FBI Confirms Disrupted New York City Terror Plot; London Bombings: One Year Later; World Waits for North Korea's Next Move

Aired July 07, 2006 - 14:30   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: New York City, again the target of a terror attack. This one, though, quashed before any damage, any deaths or any turmoil that could have been.
Here's what we know. The FBI says it uncovered a plot a year ago to blow up commuter train tunnels in the New York area, tunnels that connect New York and New Jersey, that travel under the Hudson River. The details, including how many people were involved, are becoming much more clear, with the FBI saying three of the eight principal players are in custody.

As for today, in a news conference last hour, the FBI says there is no specific or credible threats to facilities or transportation in New York City or anywhere else in the United States.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARK J. MERSHON, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, NEW YORK FIELD OFFICE, FBI: Good afternoon, and thanks for your patience.

Mark Mershon, the assistant director for the FBI, in charge of operations for greater New York.

The Joint Terrorism Task Force is, of course, comprised of a number of federal, state and local agencies all involved in this terrorism campaign, of course. Every day, these folks go out and rule out threats to the city and to America.

We're here today to discuss what we believe is the real deal.

For most of the year, we have been focusing on a group of Al Qaeda followers who have targeted the Hudson River tubes that connect New Jersey with Lower Manhattan.

We believe we intercepted this group early in the plotting and that in fact the plan has largely been disrupted. We've identified a number of the players around the globe, some of whom are in custody of foreign services.

The real story here is the symphony of cooperation and coordination not just in the New York-New Jersey metropolitan area, but, frankly, around the world with a number of intelligence and investigative services. It's beyond textbook; it's, in fact, been storybook.

And while I say that, it's probably appropriate to make a comment on the unprofessional behavior of the unknown individual who, in fact, disclosed prematurely this investigation; clearly someone who doesn't understand the fragility of international relations.

We've had a number of uncomfortable questions and some upsetment (ph) with these foreign intelligence services that have been working with us on a daily basis. Our executives at FBI headquarters and agents overseas are working to shore up those relationships.

We will note that there is one subject in custody who does face criminal charges in Lebanon. He's a 31-year-old Lebanese, Assem Hammoud.

The Lebanese authorities within the last hour issued a press release. And that press release discusses those charges, but also references this individual's confession, his adherence to the philosophy of Al Qaeda, his swearing of allegiance to Osama bin Laden, and the fact that he was the mastermind of this plot and it was to play out in later this year, October or November of '06.

We certainly want to commend the independent work and the alliance we had with the Lebanese internal security force.

Next up will be the superintendent of the Port Authority Police Department, Sam Plumeri.

SAMUEL PLUMERI, SUPERINTENDENT, POLICE DEPARTMENT, PORT AUTHORITY OF NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY: Thank you, Director.

The safety and security of those who use our facilities are top priorities for the Port Authority. All told, approximately 450 million passengers use our tunnels, our bridges, airports, PATH rail system and bus terminals annually.

As you can see here today, the Port Authority coordinates its security initiatives with the FBI, the NYPD, as well as other federal, state and local law enforcement entities. All of us share the common goal of protecting the people of this region.

Since 9/11, at all of the Port Authority facilities, we have instituted police patrols, deployment of our department's Special Operations Division, our utilization of radioactive radiation and explosive detective technologies, and random vehicle inspections.

Let me be clear: We provide this level of security day in and day out. Since 9/11, the Port Authority has invested $2.3 billion on agency-wide security initiatives.

We also want to take a moment, if we may, to remind the public that they can assist us. Citizens are encouraged to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity observed at any Port Authority facility by calling the Port Authority police at 1-800-828-PAPD, or 7273.

Thank you very much.

(END VIDEOTAPE) WHITFIELD: Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff was asked a short while ago about the terror plot involving tunnels in New York. Chertoff is in Boston to talk about threats facing the nation's transportation and rail systems. He said word of the New York plot and today's terror anniversary in London are reasons for Americans to stay alert.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL CHERTOFF, HOMELAND SECURITY SECY: So, again, it's a reminder of the fact that this type of threat remains with us. Last year's attacks in London, 2004's attacks in Madrid, and, of course, the attacks in 2001, are all reminders of the fact that we cannot drop our guard. But, at the same time, people can rest assured that we move very swiftly at the first sign of a plot, and we do not wait until the last minute to intervene.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Chertoff wouldn't comment on how the New York plot was uncovered, but he said the government's ability to intercept communications is a key weapon in the fight against terrorism.

In America, the word terrorism immediately reminds us of 9/11. But in the United Kingdom, it's 7/7 that's forever etched in grim memory. Fifty-two people died in London a year ago today as suicide bombers hit three underground trains and one of the city's famous double-decker busses. As they did on 9/11, the terrorists attacked in the midst of an ordinary morning to cause maximum loss of life.

Today, moments of silence, wreaths and memorial plaques pay tribute to the victims. Meanwhile, many are calling for the kind of public inquiry that followed 9/11 here in the states.

The London train bombings, like the Madrid attacks of 2004, highlighted the vulnerability of the rails and the U.S. took notice. Some things have changed.

CNN homeland security correspondent Jeanne Meserve took a look for "AMERICAN MORNING."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The London bombings illustrated security shortcomings with grim clarity. Transit systems and first responders in the U.S. have studied the sad lessons.

FIRE CHIEF MICHAEL NEUHARD, METRO WASH. COUNCIL OF GOVTS.: You need to expect more people than you believed would be injured, larger destruction to property than you ever believed.

MESERVE: In the years since London, Fairfax County, Virginia emergency workers, who would respond to an attack on Washington D.C.'s Metro, have purchased a system to facilitate radio communications deep underground, as well as a machine to quickly refill firefighters' oxygen tanks.

BILL ROBERTS, FAIRFAX COUNTY FIRE DEPT.: As long as we can keep our firefighters with a fresh air supply, they'll keep working, no matter what the situation.

MESERVE: New York has deployed so-called smart cameras to detect out-of-place objects that could contain a bomb. Baltimore has tested a ticket machine that could recognize explosive residue. But there is, as yet, no machine that can detect and track chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear threats in a crowded transit environment.

CHIEF JOSEPH BOBER, NEW JERSEY TRANSIT: I envision a technology interfacing with our current camera system that should something be detected, our cameras will pick it up, track the individual person or track the baggage itself.

MESERVE: There is a consensus that random bag checks, public education, new technologies and additional personnel have made transit safer, but not safe enough.

San Francisco's Bay Area rapid-transit system, for instance, got more explosive-sniffing dogs from the Transportation Security Administration, but has identified an additional $250 million worth of necessary security upgrades. That is $114 million more than the federal government is providing for the entire country in transit grants this year.

LINTON JOHNSON, BAY AREA RAPID TRANSIT: All traffic systems are full of loopholes right now, and we know the terrorists know about those loopholes, and they're itching to jump through them.

MESERVE: Johnson fears it will take another attack, one in the U.S., to focus the necessary attention and money on closing the gaps exposed so painfully in London.

Jeanne Meserve, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: More security developments weekday mornings on "AMERICAN MORNING" beginning at 6:00 a.m. Eastern.

Keeping an eye on Kim. How far in advance did the U.S. military know about North Korea's plans to launch those missiles this week? More on LIVE FROM, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: China to South Korea to Japan -- that's the path Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill is taking as the U.S. steps up diplomatic pressure on North Korea. Washington wants the North Koreans to stop missile tests and return to six-party negotiations over their nuclear program.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) CHRISTOPHER HILL, ASST. SECRETARY OF STATE: It was clear that this was quite a provocation. They tried to, you know -- it was really, frankly, a barrage of missiles and I think no one is offering them any concessions. What we're doing is telling them that they need to return to the process.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Hill says China warned North Korea before this week's missile tests, but Pyongyang ignored the warning.

The North Korea issue is about security in the states, stability abroad, the global balance of power and as President Bush sees it, it's about cooperation that so far he's not getting from his counterpart in Pyongyang.

The president and Mrs. Bush sat down with a long interview with CNN's Larry King.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If it headed to the United States, we have got a missile defense system that will defend our country.

LARRY KING, CNN HOST: Do you then fear it more?

BUSH: No. I think that's what he wants. I think he does want people to fear him. My response to him and the response of our partners is to be that, you know, it's very important for you, the leader of North Korea, to make rational decisions because the United States is not alone in making these demands.

The demand, of course, is to give up his, you know, weapons programs in a verifiable fashion. I think he would love to have the United States sit down at the table along with Kim Jong-Il. The problem is, we tried that, and it didn't work.

I think the best way to solve this problem diplomatically is for there to be other nations around the table with us so that when he looks out and he looks the table or he looks that world, he hears China and the United States speaking in one voice, or China, the United States, Russia, Japan and South Korea speaking with one voice. I am into solving problems and I'm convinced the strategy we have got is the best way to solve this problem.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: See Larry's entire conversation with the president and first lady. We'll repeat that hour of "LARRY KING LIVE" Sunday night at 9:00 Eastern.

The world is watching North Korea and wondering about its next move. CNN's Hugh Riminton This week's missile tests are just the latest chapter in a long story of isolation, confrontation and mutual distrust. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HUGH RIMINTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The current flurry of face-to-face diplomacy backed by personal U.S. presidential phone calls is running now to a script largely prepared in advance.

When North Korea fired off its seven missiles this week, U.S. agencies watched the whole thing in real-time, as the spy folks say. They have been watching the missile towers for weeks, watching the fueling up. If Kim Jong-Il delivered a provocation, he hardly sprung a surprise.

BUSH: And I had been at Fort Bragg speaking to our troops and, you know, the system worked well. Donald Rumsfeld called me and said, look, he's fired, you know, rockets, some of them scuds that, you know, went in the Sea of Japan. Looks like he fired his long-range rocket that tumbled out of the sky. But we responded very quickly. We had a plan in place to respond if he were to fire these things.

KING: Were you prepared to shoot it down?

BUSH: If it headed to the United States, we have got a missile defense system that will defend our country.

RIMINTON: The U.S., the world has long had reason to watch North Korea. The war in 1950s cost two million lives and came close to sparking nuclear holocaust.

Two North Koreas have developed: the domestic version where people endlessly celebrate their inspired leadership; and the reality seen from outside of a deluded and hungry people, fed little but lies.

Twelve years ago, when President Kim Il-Sung died, he had met the U.S. envoy, former President Jimmy Carter. It said Kim was looking for a way to end his country's isolation. If such a trend was emerging, his son, the "Dear Leader" Kim Jung-Il, ended it.

BUSH: Axis of evil arming to threaten the peace of the world.

RIMINTON: Since he was famously bundled with Iran and Iraq, Kim Jong-Il has worked full speed to develop nuclear weapons as a deterrent to the U.S. Six party talks to disarm him are stalled. North Korea asserts it has a sovereign right to test its missiles, and is now threatening stronger action as Japan pushes for international sanctions.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): There is no guarantee North Korea will not launch any more missiles. Rather, it's better to think there could be another missile.

RIMINTON: As to motivation, no spy apparatus yet has penetrated the deepest mystery in North Korea: the tactical thinking of its leader.

Hugh Riminton, CNN, Hong Kong.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Well, this just in. The FBI had called it the real deal, that plot to target tunnels in New York. Well, here now is -- who was accused to be the mastermind, a man who is in Lebanon in custody, Assem Hammoud. He's a 31-year-old. Investigators had released earlier today in a press conference coming out of New York that he is believed to be the mastermind of this plot to target these tunnels -- these conveyances, as they put it -- into New York by the way of the Hudson River.

More on this story as we continue to get bits and pieces of information on this plot that was foiled. Again, this 31-year-old, Assem Hammoud. More of LIVE FROM next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A Hollywood premiere and a debut of another kind top today's entertainment news. Let's go to A.J. Hammer in New York. A.J., how are you?

A.J. HAMMER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Fred, I'm good. And I bid you yohoho on this Friday. It is, indeed, a pirates' life...

WHITFIELD: Pirates weekend.

HAMMER: As "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" sails into theaters today. Johnny Depp is at the helm of this sequel, of course, and it caused quite a raucous celebration at Hollywood's legendary El Capitan Theater overnight. They had round-the-clock showings that began at midnight. Now, fans of the film who stayed up all night long to be among the first to see the action flick say it was more than worth the lack of sleep.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I thought it was awesome. I can't wait for number three.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The ending was perfect, you know, but the whole thing was good. Everything I expected. You know, I mean, you had Johnny Depp in there, how can you ask for anything more, you know?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Major cliffhanger at the end, too. It makes you want, like, the third one to come out tomorrow. Yes. It's real serious. I'm going to tell everybody to see this. We should probably see it again, too.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I think might harm my friends if they don't see it, it's that good.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's more special effects with the...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The new evil characters are awesome, yes. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We stayed awake until -- what time is it? I don't even know. All right.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) and now it's daylight. It's kind of depressing. I'm going to go to sleep for about eight hours now, and then go see it maybe -- give me 24 hours and I'll go see it again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HAMMER: Captain Jack Sparrow and his band of merry man are certainly expected to dominate the box office this weekend, with some industry insiders actually estimating that the film could take home a booty near the $100 million mark. But how is the film really? The official review tonight on "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT."

Well, Oscar-winning actor Russell Crowe and his wife, Danielle Spencer, have one more mouth to feed today. The couple welcomed their second child, a boy, on Friday in Australia. Tennyson Spencer Crowe weighed in at a healthy eight pounds and is said to be doing extremely well. He'll join 2-year-old brother, Charlie, at home. The couple tied the knot in a star-studded Australian ceremony that happened back in 2003.

Now, coming up tonight on "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT," we're going to be getting into star scandals, certainly something Crowe is familiar with. We'll be talking about how some of Hollywood's biggest stars are able to brush off serious scandals and remain popular. What's their secret? We'll get into it tonight on TV's most provocative entertainment news show, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT," 11:00 p.m. Eastern on CNN Headline Prime.

Fred, have an excellent weekend.

WHITFIELD: You, too. And I'm just thinking, boy -- two more boys in that Crowe family. That's a lot of testosterone in that house.

HAMMER: Yes, you think? You think with a dad like that?

WHITFIELD: Yikes, all right. Thanks so much, A.J., have a good weekend.

New developments in the case of a minister's wife who is accused of murder. That story when the next hour of LIVE FROM begins right after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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