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CNN Live Today

Reaction to London Attacks; Heightened Fears of Global Scope of al Qaeda

Aired July 08, 2005 - 011:32   ET

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

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Getting this news from our Barbara Starr at the Pentagon that there was some indication, according to a U.S. intelligence official, that there might have been some kind of contact between Abu Musab al Zarqawi, the most wanted terrorist in Iraq, in direct or indirect contact and with some input about future activity in Europe. Of course, this information coming to light after yesterday's bombings -- subway and bus bombings in London.
At this point, the U.S. government has not concluded that Zarqawi or his network has any responsibility for the attacks on the London transport system. It's just that that possibility is being considered at this time. And our Barbara Starr is working that story from the Pentagon and I'm going to bring us more information as it becomes available.

Meanwhile, in terms of taking credit, a previously unknown group that is referring to itself as al Qaeda in Europe is claiming responsibility for the bombings. And that group's claim cannot be independently verified, but we do know this. There are growing concerns about the global reach of al Qaeda.

Here now is CNN's Barbara Starr.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Within moments of the attacks in London, the inevitable questions. Could al Qaeda be responsible? Where is Osama bin Laden and nearly four years after the 9/11 attacks, why has he not been caught?

On an Arabic Web site a little-known group referred to as al Qaeda in Europe claims responsibility, but it remains unverified.

Experts believe al Qaeda has morphed into a deadly worldwide network of cells which may be inspired by bin Laden, even if he does not directly order their attacks.

JOHN MCLAUGHLIN, FORMER ACTING CIA DIRECTOR: It is doubtful he is in some control room, however, pressing a button and causing all of these things to happen.

STARR: Just days ago, Lieutenant General Karl Eikenberry, the U.S. commander in Afghanistan said while it is still important to get bin Laden, the fight against terrorism is no longer that simple.

LTG KARL EIKENBERRY, COMMANDER, U.S. FORCES-AFGHANISTAN: No one person out there is crucial to the destruction and the defeat of that network. If we take out one financier, if we take out one person, the network adapts against us.

STARR: Even so, where is bin Laden? Why can't the U.S. get him? Many intelligence experts believe bin Laden escaped the bombing of Tora Bora, Afghanistan in December 2001 and slipped across the border into the remote mountains of Pakistan, just beyond this ridgeline.

MCLAUGHLIN: It's vast, about 10,000 square miles, and very mountainous and difficult to operate in and a very good place and easy place for someone to hide.

STARR: The U.S. cannot simply send in troops. Pakistan is an ally. But the central government of President Pervez Musharraf has little control over this border region, facing tremendous pressure from Pakistani fundamentalists, Musharraf will not allow U.S. troops to come in. Even before the London attacks, a vow from the general to pursue the world's most wanted man.

EIKENBERRY: He is important, to bring him to justice one day and our nation will not stop until he is either captured or he is killed.

STARR: The U.S. is using some of the most highly classified technologies available to try to locate Osama bin Laden, but the horrors of London, again, are reminding the world that the terrorist threat have moved far beyond the plans and actions of just one man.

Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: CNN terrorism analyst Peter Bergen joins me now from Washington. His book, "Holy War, Inc." details the rise of Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda. Peter, good morning, thanks for being here with us.

PETER BERGEN, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: Good morning, Daryn.

KAGAN: First, I want to ask you what you think about this latest bit of news coming out there's indication possibly that Abu Musab al Zarqawi might have had some kind of contact, advisory role, about future activity in Europe.

BERGEN: Well, I don't doubt that's true. Whether or not it's directly related to this London is another issue, which I'm sure Barbara Starr will be exploring today. Abu Musab Zarqawi had a group which was known as al Tawhid before he changed -- the group name to reflect the fact that he's now part of al Qaeda. The group Tawhid had quite a strong presence in Germany, for instance. And certainly, in fact, we -- there was a trial of one of the al Tawhid members in Germany in which -- in the last year or so, in which he detailed the fact that this group had a number of European connections.

So, no doubt Zarqawi's group under a different name had a presence in Europe, particularly in Germany, but also to some degree, in England. One of the spiritual advisers of the group, a guy by the name of Abu Katada (ph), who is in British custody until he was recently released, lives in London. So, the Zarqawi network certainly exists in Europe. Whether it had anything to do with the London attack is a separate matter.

KAGAN: I want to ask you about a piece that you write in today's "New York Times," something that really has not been explored, I don't a lot, in the media, about a challenge in this investigation and something that could face us here in the U.S., and that is, simply put, British citizens.

BERGEN: Yes. Well, British citizens and European citizens generally. I mean, we've had, since 9/11, British citizens who have tried to blow up American airlines. Richard Reid, the so-called shoe bomber, is a Brit. We've also had a British citizen orchestrate the kidnapping/murder of Daniel Pearl, the American journalist who worked for "The Wall Street Journal" in Pakistan. Last year, a British citizen who went by the alias of Al Britani was arrested in London, planning -- he had been scoping out financial targets inside the United States, in Washington and New York and New Jersey.

So, you know, there is quite a pool of -- I mean, we're not talking about enormous numbers, but British government estimates that there are something like 10,000 sympathizers of al Qaeda or affiliated, like-minded groups in England. And this is a problem. Now, how many of those are willing to do damage, terrorism, is a hard question to ask. But because of the fact they have British passports, in many cases, they benefit from something called the visa waiver program, which means they can come to this country without an interview with an American embassy official. I'm not saying we need to radically change the program, but it's simply a fact.

And it's not just British citizens. It's also citizens of other European countries. And we've seen attacks in Spain and attacks in the Netherlands. We've seen that there are, yes, really kind of important terrorist cells in these countries. So I think, as an American national security problem, it's not -- we shouldn't just say, it's just an English problem or a Spanish problem or a Dutch problem when events happen in those countries. The fact is, these people can also come to the United States under certain circumstances.

KAGAN: It's definitely something to look at. Peter Bergen, thank you. And people can read more what you're talking about in today's "New York Times." Thank you.

BERGEN: Thank you, Daryn.

KAGAN: President Bush is flying home this hour, following the G- 8 Summit, a meeting that was overshadowed by terror. When he arrives in Washington, the president will pay condolences at the British embassy. At their three-day meeting, G-8 leaders pledged to provide $28 billion dollars, additional dollars, in aid to Africa by 2010. They also agreed to cancel debt for 18 of the world's poorest nations, most of them in Africa.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: This is a huge uplift in aid. Now, let's celebrate that and go out and make the most it and make sure that when that aid then flows -- and, yes, it's going to start flowing now -- but, true, it is, it will build up over the next few years. But when it flows and as it's used, let's make sure it's used in order to liberate people and help them and make their lives better.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: One disappointment, though, for Prime Minister Blair, he failed to convince President Bush to set mandatory targets or timetables to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BLAIR: My fear on climate change, which is why I put this on the G-8 agenda.

If it is impossible to bring America into the consensus on tackling the issue of climate change, we will never ensure that the huge emerging economies, particularly those of China and India, who are going to consume more energy than any other part of the world -- we will never ensure that they are part of a dialogue.

And if we cannot have America as part of the dialogue on climate change, and we can't have India and China as part of the dialogue, there is no possibility of us succeeding in resolving this issue.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: The G-8 leaders promised to work even closer together to prevent another attack on a mass-transit system.

So what are Americans here at home saying about the deadly attacks in London? I'll be reading some of your e-mail just ahead.

Hurricane Dennis gaining strength. Will NASA have to rethink its next launch date? A live hurricane update is next.

(WEATHER REPORT)

KAGAN: What about NASA, expected to decide today whether the Shuttle Discovery needs protection from Hurricane Dennis. If the shuttle is rolled back in the assembly building at Kennedy Space Center, that could delay Wednesday's scheduled launch. The shuttle mission would be the first since the Columbia disaster two-and-half years ago.

You can keep tabs on Hurricane Dennis and learn more about these dangerous storms at CNN.com.

Veronica De La Cruz has a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Gulf coast is bracing for Hurricane Dennis. CNN.com has more on the first official hurricane of the 2005 Atlantic season. Dennis is the fourth named storm of the year. The National Hurricane Center says July 5th is the earliest date in recorded history when four named storms had already been identified in the Atlantic. You can track Dennis' projected path by clicking on this interactive.

If a hurricane warning is in effect in your area, complete your preparations by clicking through this gallery of tips, from planning an escape route to preparing a safety kit and security your home. You can also learn the differences between hurricanes, cyclones, tropical storms and depressions with this glossary. Or see how hurricanes form with our animated gallery. Read about the top 10 worst hurricanes to hit the U.S. mainland, like the Galveston, Texas hurricane in 1900, the deadliest in U.S. history, killing more than 8,000 people.

The National Weather Service predicts up to 15 named storms this seasons. To stay informed, you can log on to CNN.com/hurricane.

From the dot-com newsdesk, I'm Veronica De La Cruz.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

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KAGAN: For more now on the terror in London, U.S. intelligence analysts are helping the British investigate those attacks. Our national security correspondent David Ensor took an exclusive tour of a new counterterrorism center. His report for you now, only here on CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID ENSOR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The National Counterterrorism Center in Northern Virginia, created in response to the 9/11 attacks, is in high gear since the London bombings. John Brennan is the center's director.

JOHN BRENNAN, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL COUNTERTERRORISM CENTER: As far as we can tell, all the bombings took place within the course of one hour, so they were very closely timed with one another and that type of well-coordinated attack really does indicate a degree of sophistication and so there have been some early indications in fact that maybe timing devices were used to maybe set off some of these explosives.

ENSOR: So that wouldn't be suicide bombs then. It was timers. It was people who planned to survive and attack again?

BRENNAN: Well that's right and that's one of the things we're concerned about. ENSOR: Just hours before the London blast, Brennan showed us the center and how it is supposed to work in situations like this.

BRENNAN: This is truly a world-class facility that we might have up there classified imagery that we would have as well as the information that comes from clandestine sources. They will overlay on top of that imagery to show us where the threats are merging and to correlate the information that comes from technical sources, U.N. sources, imagery and other things.

ENSOR: Next door to the op-center is a high-tech, secure conference room that is in heavy use on days like this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And so twice a day, we have a secure video teleconference with the White House, and CIA, FBI, Department of Homeland Security, and the other departments and agencies.

ENSOR: With the touch of a button, the participants can look at classified intelligence or imagery in real-time on separate screens.

(on-screen): About 300 government employees work here at the NCTC, all of them on loan from other agencies, CIA, FBI, Homeland Security. And addition to them, there are more than 400 private contractors, many of whom who work on the extraordinarily complex IT structure that they need here in order to bring in 26 different data systems to this one place.

(voice-over): The op-center has its eye on London, seeking to help the British and looking for any signs of plans to attack this country.

BRENNAN: But there's no indication right now that there's going to be an attack, but, again, we are scrubbing the intelligence very, very carefully. We're doing the analysis. We are interacting with our colleagues. We are leaving no stone unturned at this point.

ENSOR: They are looking at the new evidence from London, working to connect the dots.

David Ensor, CNN, at NCTC in Northern Virginia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Yesterday, the lived the nightmare. Today, Londoners are reading about it as they sit on trains and buses taking them around the British capital. The headlines scream "Carnage in London" and "London Under Attack," while editorials praise the calm and resolute manner in which Londoners responded to the crisis. The more aggressive headlines speak the public mind.

Well, we want to share with you some of the e-mail that we're getting on the London bombing.

Matt in London writes: "I hope the country can get some assurance that at least we are prepared. People are also determined to carry on as normal and not let it affect their day. I don't believe the terrorists achieved their goals, as we are more determined to beat them now."

Also from London, 17-year-old Jack writes: "I'm not sure what's been said on your news network, but I want to put one thing straight. We are not scared of these cowardly people who would choose to attack innocent men and women. And from my whole school, I can tell you that we are standing as one and even more determined to put a stop to terrorism."

And Ron in Lincoln, Nebraska, says: "I'm planning to visit the U.K. and London in the fall. My plans have not changed. If they were, the terrorists would win. People everywhere should condemn these acts."

We'd also like to hear from you. You can e-mail your personal experiences, your thoughts and pictures of the London bombing at CNN.com/londonterror.

That's going to do it for me. I'm Daryn Kagan. Right now, I hand it over to my colleague, Wolf Blitzer, live from Washington, D.C. Hello.

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