Return to Transcripts main page

Live From...

Terror Plot Foiled

Aired August 10, 2006 - 13:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, HOST: Hello, everyone, I'm Kyra Phillips at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
A huge terror plot busted. Airports around the world on high alert. The suspects, the investigation, and what you need to know if you're planning on flying today.

LIVE FROM starts right now.

A major terrorism plot shut down or at least disrupted before anyone got hurt. That's the good news. The flip side is the ripple effect. And it's rippling all over the world.

Here's what we know right now. Looks like al Qaeda. That's what the U.S. homeland security chief says about the alleged scheme to blow up airliners bound for the U.S. from Britain. Michael Chertoff says the plan was in its final stages.

This was not an overnight discovery. British investigators have been on this case for months and decided to act when their probe and the plot reached a critical point.

Are you traveling by air today? Well, it's going to be a pain. Lines are long. Patience is stretched. And here's something new, almost no liquids allowed in carry-ones. No lotions, perfume, hair gel, drinks. Baby formula and medicine will get by after they're expected.

And talk about eyes in the skies, we've got them. Watching some of the busiest American airports. Planes and passengers are moving, although behind schedule, playing catch up from earlier disruptions. We're going to go straight to any of these airports if and when any news breaks.

Now if these alleged terrorists accomplished anything, it was to throw a wrench into transatlantic air travel, at least for one day. One very long day, particularly at London's Heathrow Airport. That's where CNN's Becky Anderson is.

Becky, bring us up to date.

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it is a critical state of alert, Kyra. U.K.'s put on its highest state of alert after authorities here say they foiled what they say was a plot to commit mass murder on an unimaginable level.

Now, this state of alertedness (sic) is an increased state of alertedness (sic), announced following the arrest of some 25 people, 21 of whom have been detained.

This is what we do know at this point. The plan was to take liquid components onto flights in hand baggage, which could then be used to make explosives with detonating devices.

What the authorities, though, don't know here was the number of explosives, the destination, or, indeed, the timing of any attacks. That remains phase two of this investigation.

We were told by the home secretary, the interior minister here, John Reid, that overnight the police, with the full knowledge of other ministers here -- let me remind you, the prime minister on holiday in Barbados at present. He's been kept fully informed, we're told. With the full knowledge of ministers, the police and authorities carried out a major counterterrorism operation to disrupt what we believe to be a major threat to the U.K. and to its international partners.

And it's important to remember this, Kyra, that what authorities are saying here is that, while this plot originated here, it was a plot on a global scale with global alliances.

We're not being told any information, understandably, about those who have been arrested. What we are being told is effectively this was a well-planned, smart and sophisticated operation. At this point, what we're being told is that at least those who are under arrest are the major players, although it seems to suggest that there may be others who are still around -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Becky Anderson, thanks so much. We'll check back in with you.

And as you know, British terror alert critical. It's the highest stage. American terror alert raised from high or orange on the chart to severe or red. That's our highest stage. But it's applied today only to flights from the U.K. All other flights are on high alert.

Let's check in with CNN homeland security correspondent Jeanne Meserve -- Jeanne.

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is going to be a bear to travel today, Kyra, particularly if you're coming to the U.S. from the United Kingdom. As you said, threat level to red. The first time that has ever happened.

What are they doing? They're taking a very close look at the passenger manifest, try to make sure that there's nobody on that plane on the no-fly list. Also, more federal air marshals will be on those flights. And when any international flight arrives at the U.S., customs and border protection giving much more scrutiny, bringing in canine teams, explosive detection teams and all the rest.

Now if you're traveling domestically, or if you're traveling to the U.S. from some other destination, threat level orange is applicable here. And as you've heard, they have banned liquid and gels from carry-on bags. Also, from being hand carried into an aircraft. The reason is this plot allegedly involved bringing in relatively benign substances, liquids, and mixing them on the aircraft, detonating them in some way. And so the heightened security, the adjustment in security, specifically, regarding liquids.

Now, homeland security secretary Michael Chertoff today was asked about this decision of hiking the threat level. Here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL CHERTOFF, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: We did go to orange in the aviation system domestically and every place outside of flights from Britain to the U.S., precisely because we have no specific indication of the threat in those channels of air travel.

But given what we don't know and given the possibility of copycats, we thought it prudent to raise the alert level generally in aviation. We don't believe that logic extends to reason (ph) generally in the country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MESERVE: Now, state and local homeland officials were briefed early this morning on exactly what intelligence was available and what the threats were to them. Homeland security officials tell me that no specific additional security recommendations were made to them. However, some are acting independently, as are some airports.

You will see in some places additional canine teams, armed officers, additional traffic -- additional traffic restrictions, all these things being opposed by local and airport authorities in reaction to this threat.

The authorities are saying this is, quote, "the real thing", this was not a case of just people talking about it. Secretary Chertoff saying they were very close to carrying out this threat.

Kyra, back to you.

PHILLIPS: And Jeanne, just real quickly, we don't have any idea how long this is going to last, right? These new restrictions?

MESERVE: No. Of course, this investigation is ongoing. They are still rounding people up. They are still following leads. Until they are absolutely sure they have this buttoned up, they are not going to be relaxing these restrictions. But we don't now how long it will last at this point.

Certainly, they do not want to keep this in place permanently. I'm sure they're trying to devise some alternate screening methods. I'll sure they're trying to device some potential screening methods for this risk.

PHILLIPS: Got it. Thanks, Jeanne. Well, we're learning more about the suspected plot and the suspected plotters. More than 20 suspects in custody, possibly more to come, and we're told the White House knew about the investigation days ago, possibly longer.

CNN justice correspondent Kelli Arena with me now. What do you think, al Qaeda or not?

KELLI ARENA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we don't know. That's the short answer. But, this certainly does bear the trademark of al Qaeda.

First of all, all of the people that were arrested, we are told by the officials, were British citizens of Pakistani descent. We know that there were arrests in Pakistan that helped British investigators in this plot, that there were communications between the people that were arrested in Britain and Pakistan, which we know is a hot bed for al Qaeda.

This plot very eerily resembles a mid-'90s plot by al Qaeda to blow up jumbo jets over the Pacific using liquid explosives. As a matter of fact, al Qaeda operative Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, as you know, now in custody, actually did a test run on airplanes bringing...

PHILLIPS: Oh, in the teddy bear, right?

ARENA: No, he actually brought them in contact lens solution bottles...

PHILLIPS: Oh, wow.

ARENA: ... to see if they could get them on the plane. So very eerily similar to that. And classic al Qaeda trademark, sophisticated, more than one target, and using airplanes, which is a target that al Qaeda is very comfortable with and has done a lot of research.

PHILLIPS: Well, you think of 9/11. And the goal was for all of those planes to either consecutively hit something...

ARENA: Right.

PHILLIPS: Or explode at the same time.

ARENA: Right.

PHILLIPS: I mean, that's how they like it to go. Is that -- I mean, it looks like that's what could have happened.

ARENA: Those are the indications that that was the plan, that they were to blow up simultaneously or as chose to simultaneously as possible. And that is definitely an al Qaeda trademark.

And don't forget, Kyra, this would be a financial blow to the United States, if this group of people were able to pull this off. Because -- just think about it, five years after 9/11, everyone thinks that the airlines are secure, all of a sudden, if they were to get hit, could you just imagine how many people would just not fly?

PHILLIPS: And what does this tell us just about airline security with regard to all the money -- there was so much controversy. Should the TSA get this much money? How much should we coordinate with our allies, whatever airport it is, whether it's Heathrow or here in Atlanta.

Is this an example, are your sources saying, look this is why we've got to have the money and the resources. Otherwise we won't be able to nail down people like this.

ARENA: Well, what they're saying more than that is that this just shows there are still vulnerabilities in the system. That, as cumbersome as we believe air travel is now, that if they really were to secure it in the way that they wanted to, you would never get through the lines, that it would seriously slow down air traffic, which is something that, from a business standpoint, just cannot happen.

But another interesting thing, Kyra, is that -- what does al Qaeda even mean anymore? And what this is looking very much like is a home-grown group that was possibly inspired by al Qaeda.

PHILLIPS: Because they were British born, right, with Pakistani descent?

ARENA: That's right. More than they actually pledged allegiance to or went to a training camp, it looks like more of this Osama bin Ladenism that we've heard about, this growing empathy among groups of extremists to, hey, I get your cause, I'm backing you, but I'm not an official, you know, card-carrying al Qaeda member.

PHILLIPS: Kelli Arena. Thanks so much.

Barbara Starr working, obviously, the same story. Her sources, additional information to this failed plot. She joins us live from the Pentagon now.

Barbara, what do you have?

BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, what officials are looking at in the intelligence community is this very question that we've been discussing all day now, any links to al Qaeda. Could this plot have really been inspired by those loyal to al Qaeda or perhaps been a plot by the very core group of al Qaeda?

No absolute firm conclusions yet. But some of the assessments that are evolving are pretty interesting. One of the things we're hearing and here is the assessment about what it meant to possibly have nine airliners come under attack.

The -- again, it's an assessment as opposed to a conclusion. But what officials are looking at, they believe that the potential attackers would have waited for all nine aircraft to become airborne, to be in the air and on their way, before the first airplane would have come under attack, before there would have been a detonation on board for a possible explosive.

The reason for that is, they wanted all nine airlines to be airborne. If it was only one or two then, of course, had there been an attack, all flights would have been grounded and they could not have achieved their goals, which of course, they didn't anyhow.

But looking at how it might have evolved, that's the nearest assessment they can make, and that's an indication of the level of organization, timing, the al Qaeda type hallmark of near simultaneous attacks, the time of organization that would have had to have gone into this, whether it was al Qaeda core group or just people who were loyal to al Qaeda.

There's growing indications, as they look at it, at this, that there was substantial coordination and potentially organization behind this plot, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Barbara Starr from the Pentagon, thanks so much.

President Bush is wrapping up his speech this hour in Green Bay, Wisconsin. When he arrived, he said the U.S. He said the U.S. is safer than it was before 9/11 but still not completely safe. He also said that his administration is working closely with its British counterparts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF UNITED STATES: The cooperation on this venture was excellent. Cooperation between U.K. and U.S. authorities and officials was solid. And the cooperation amongst agencies within our government was excellent.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, the White House says that President Bush has been in close contact with Prime Minister Tony Blair for the past few days. We're going to hear from our White House correspondent, Suzanne Malveaux, later this hour.

Now let's get an update from New York's JFK Airport. That's where we find CNN's Alina Cho.

What's the latest from there, Alina?

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, good afternoon to you.

Patience and vigilance. Those were the words President Bush and, certainly, those were the words today, particularly if you are planning to take a flight out of any U.S. airport today.

Some things you need to keep in mind is that you should get to the airport at least two hours before your flight. I think it goes without saying that you should call ahead.

Some things to keep in mind, when you get to the airport, there are some things you cannot carry on. You can check them in, but you cannot carry on. Chief among them, liquids and gels. We're talking about drinks, lotion, shampoos, hair gels, even perfume. These are things like a toiletry kit.

If you plan to put into your carry-on baggage, think again; they should go into your checked luggage. Some exceptions to that rule: baby formula and medications. But you can only bring those on after they are inspected.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg held a news conference earlier today. He said that this city is still on high alert.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, MAYOR OF NEW YORK CITY: The city remains at a level orange security level, the same level that we've maintained since September 11, 2001. The nature of this plot doesn't lend itself to the kind of added high-profile police presence that we have instituted in the wake of other terrorist plots or attacks such as the July 2005 bombings of subways in London.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MESERVE: Now passengers we spoke to said that they were concerned, many of them, but a few said that they were actually relieved.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank God for the London police, and this whole terrorism thing is just so frightening and despicable. And I hope I have a safe flight.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's probably a good time to fly. Everybody's aware of it and hopefully it will be all OK.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHO: So a lot of passengers expressing relief. A lot of them expressing concern. Some of them saying, yes this will be inconvenient. But this is the deal, in the words of some U.S. officials.

And one thing to keep in mind, Kyra, is that homeland security official -- Secretary Michael Chertoff, rather, said that if you are planning to fly today, there is no real reason to change your plans. And passengers we spoke to, at least so far are not changing their plans.

Another thing to mention is that the first flight from London's Heathrow to JFK is on the ground. That is American Airlines Flight 115. It is on the ground now, more than two hours late. We are working to speak to passengers on that flight. And of course, we will bring that to you as soon as we get it -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Alina Cho, thanks so much. The governor of Massachusetts is calling up the National Guard to help secure Logan International Airport in Boston. Mitt Romney says that the Guard troops are just part of a wider security plan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. MITT ROMNEY (R), MASSACHUSETTS: The measures that are being taken relate to both visible deterrents, as well as detection of possible devices that could be harmful. The visible deterrents include the fact that you'll notice at the airport that our state police personnel are carrying automatic weapons.

There will also be, as there had been in the past, but now at a heightened level, road blocks and random searches, as well as trunk searches from time to time in and around the airport.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Two of the airplanes used in the 9/11 attacks took off from Logan Airport.

So you're flying today what could do you need to know? Here's a reminder: bottom line on the new rules for carryons. No liquids or gels. That includes beverages, lotion, creams, toothpaste and hair gels. You can take these items on board: baby formula, breast milk or juice if you have a child traveling with you. Prescription medication, as long as the name on the bottle matches the name on your ticket, also insulin or any essential nonprescription medication.

We know passengers with medical needs may have other questions, so we'll check in with CNN medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen in the next hour of LIVE FROM.

Now when we're covering breaking news, you are the eyes and ears of CNN. If you capture a great pictures or video on your camera or cell phone, send it to us. Just log on to CNN.com or punch "iReport" at CNN.com right there on your cell phone.

Straight ahead, a troubling turn in the war on terror: liquid explosives. How hard are they to detect and how much of a threat do they pose? We're going to talk with former law enforcement Mike Brooks as CNN's coverage of this latest security scare continues.

And today's foiled plot has earmarks of al Qaeda. So where is Osama bin Laden? Now more than you ever need to know. Watch a special "CNN PRESENTS", "In the Footsteps of bin Laden". That's Wednesday night, August 23, 9 p.m. Eastern.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, if today's news from Britain weren't chilling enough it reminds us of the threat from liquid explosives, easily hidden, easily portable, hard to detect.

Mike Brooks is a law enforcement expert, former member of a joint terrorism task force with the FBI. He's here to talk about explosives and this investigation. So you weren't surprised because this has been used in the past. I mean, the shoe bomber, prime example.

MIKE BROOKS, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Yes, exactly. Richard Reid, the shoe bomber. We've heard -- now what he used, though, wasn't liquid. He had it in a solid form.

But what they were trying to do and what my sources are telling me, Kyra, is that they were still experimenting with different kinds of chemicals, peroxide-based chemicals similar to triacetone triperoxide, TATP. Some people are, "What is TATP?" It's very simple. You take an acetone like fingernail polish remover, that kind of thing, and hydrogen peroxide. Mix them together, and it makes -- it's a very, very volatile explosive that's very susceptible to heat, shock and friction.

Now Richard Reid, he had it in his shoe. It was in kind of a solid form. And it can be -- it's almost like crystallized. But they were trying to make something in liquid form.

PHILLIPS: So what they were trying to do today -- I was reading this quote. It's somewhere in my notes, about what's so worrisome about this is because it was so sophisticated and it was -- it could have been as powerful as an IED.

BROOKS: Absolutely. And that's basically what it is. We see -- Richard Reid, the shoe bomber, he had basically an improvised explosive device in his shoe. He had a fuse; he was trying to light it.

Now we've seen things like this before. You know, they're talking about bringing it down -- up to nine, ten airliners.

You go back to 1994. Ramzi Yousef, the mastermind of the World Trade Center, who actually built the bomb and drove it to the World Trade Center in 1983 -- 1993, he was involved in something very similar. He wanted to bring down 12 U.S.-flagged carriers coming from the Far East to the United States.

And he actually made a dry run on a Philippines airline. He had taken -- he used nitro cellulose, which was liquid nitrogen. And then use that with -- actually, nitroglycerin and used a cotton, took the stuffing out of a doll, put this explosive material in there, this nitrocellulose, stuffed it in there. Then used a Casio databank watch as the timing device and also as the power source because of the watch. And you could set it for months down the road.

He took it. He stuffed it under the seat, where you pull out the little inflatable vests. He stuffed it under the seat there.

PHILLIPS: This was the teddy bear episode that I was trying to remember.

BROOKS: Right.

PHILLIPS: Right, yes. BROOKS: That's exactly what it was. And it wound up killing a man on that particular flight. But that was his dry run to see exactly what kind of an effect this bomb would have on an aircraft.

PHILLIPS: So what's different about what we saw today? Because they're not talking about the exact chemicals. And a lot of law enforcement experts are saying I hope they don't talk about those chemicals.

BROOKS: Right, right.

PHILLIPS: Because we don't want other people to know why this was, you know, quote/unquote, "so good," I guess.

BROOKS: Right.

PHILLIPS: So what's different from this situation versus these other attempts?

BROOKS: Well, you know, it's very similar. And we saw an orchestrated attack back in the '90s. We saw an orchestrated attack now. All the earmarks of al Qaeda. Go back to the embassy bombings in 1998, Darsalantes (ph) in Nairobi Kenya, an al Qaeda attack. Nine- eleven, same kind of thing, an orchestrated attack with multiple targets.

PHILLIPS: So same kind of chemicals, though. We're talking about liquids.

BROOKS: Basically the same.

PHILLIPS: Is it all the same stuff. It's just different mixtures? They're creating different mixtures and seeing what can work?

BROOKS: Well, as I said, my sources are telling me -- my law enforcement sources are telling me that they were still experimenting. And you know, one of the things when you're dealing...

PHILLIPS: They didn't know this was actually going to work? I mean, we're talking more than -- we're talking about more than half a dozen aircraft.

BROOKS: Right.

PHILLIPS: I mean, it seemed pretty sophisticated, the plan.

BROOKS: It would work. But if you're using a nitro-based, like TATP, a peroxide-based explosive like that, the problem is, it's very volatile: heat, shock and friction. And when you're mixing it up, it can become very, very unstable and you have to keep it very, very cool. And you know, we saw this kind of same explosive...

PHILLIPS: What would they have done in the airplane? Go back into the bathroom, mix it up in the sink, somehow create some heat? I mean... BROOKS: They were trying to figure out exactly if they were going to put it in, like, a syringe or a tube, that kind of thing. Have it already premixed and try to take it through or to try to mix it on the plane.

But again, very, very volatile mix. We saw the same kind of explosives used back in July of 2005 with the London transit bombings. They had these kind of explosives in a rucksack. We saw that with Richard Reid. We saw it again a number of times.

PHILLIPS: So basically, they just keep doing the same thing over and over again, trying to make it work? It shows that there are gaps.

BROOKS: There are, but one of the other things, too. Aviation security, people say, oh, you know, nothing's going to happen. We shouldn't focus so much attention on aviation security again. When it comes to terrorists, Kyra, having worked terrorism...

PHILLIPS: They want airplanes. They want airplanes.

BROOKS: They want airplanes. They want something that's spectacular and something that could hurt the U.S. economy. Look at the shape the airlines are in already.

PHILLIPS: Sure. After 9/11, it killed us.

BROOKS: Absolutely. And look -- and drove many airlines to bankruptcy. They want something that is going to be visual. They want something that can damage the economy. And also psychologically dampen the psyche of the American citizens.

PHILLIPS: Mike Brooks, appreciate it. We'll be talking a lot.

BROOKS: Thank you, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Thank you.

Well, one of the homes raided by British police is not far from Heathrow. Police say the neighborhood was home to potential terrorists. I'll talk with a lifelong resident. He's also a council member there. We'll hear what he had to say as soon as those raids began.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, a busy day for police, a long day for air travelers. Here's what we know right now.

British police have staged raids in and around London all day long. They say they've foiled a plot to blow up airliners bound for the U.S. Twenty-one suspects arrested so far.

U.S. homeland security says that the plot was in its final stages and has the hallmarks of al Qaeda. Homeland security chief Michael Chertoff says the plot envisioned liquid explosives and detonators in airline cabins disguised as drinks or other common objects. A U.S. government source says that nine planes were targeted.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com