Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

British Police Disrupt Major Terror Plot to Bring Down Planes

Aired August 10, 2006 - 09:33   ET

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

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Let's get everybody up to speed now on the very latest in this alleged plot to blow up aircraft heading from the U.K. to the U.S. It's been thwarted, according to British officials who say it would have been mass murder. The plot appears to have worked like this: Explosives would be brought onboard the plane. Maybe in an innocuous form, described -- disguised rather as a common object, like a lotion, or soda or a gel. Then those explosives would somehow be put together, detonated mid flight while the plane was over the Atlantic. Of course there are many unknowns in all of this, like how many planes would be involved? Was there a specific date planned?
But here's what we know: There have been 21 arrests in and around London. We can expect the number to go higher. British officials say, though, that the main players are under arrest. They're talking about an abundance of caution today. None of the arrests were made at the airport apparently.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff back in this country says the plot appears very sophisticated, very well organized. It was international in scope. And the administration officials behind the scenes are saying that there is very likely a connection to al Qaeda, when you consider all of that.

Passengers here at U.S. airports should expect long delays. They're being told to arrive at least two hours ahead of flights, and there's a total ban on bringing any liquids on to a plane. That includes beverages, and gels and lotions, et cetera, because of course that would be part of the plot involving liquid explosives.

Also maybe small detonators. There was word that they were taking key fobs away from people at Heathrow, and the sense is maybe those key fobs, things like this that are attached to little electronic clickers that you can unlock your car door with or your garage door with, could somehow use those RF signals instead to trigger some kind of detonation.

As you can imagine, there are massive delays right now at Heathrow Airport in London. Lucky passengers are the ones who are only delayed. Hundreds of flights, both in and out of the airport, have been canceled until at least tomorrow.

We begin this morning with Adrian Finighan. He's live at Heathrow.

Hey, Adrian. Good morning.

ADRIAN FINIGHAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.

Yes, welcome to London's Heathrow, one of the world's busiest airport. Normally 186,000 passengers a day would pass through it. Something like 1,300 aircraft movements. That's takeoffs and landings. The runway, though, behind me here eerily quiet. Normally at this time of day there would be an aircraft thundering along it once every 90 seconds or so. Now, though, hardly anything.

Over the past hour we've seen two, maybe three aircraft. There's one coming in now just as I speak.

Now, a short time ago we spoke with Tony Douglas, or we heard from Tony Douglas. He's the CEO of BAA Heathrow. He says that the earlier control chaos that we saw within the main terminal buildings here at Heathrow is now beginning to ease, although the chaos is set to continue here for several days. He advised any one who is due to travel tomorrow from Heathrow or over the weekend not to bring any hand luggage with them, apart from the permitted items. Each passenger arriving at the airport is given a flyer as they pass through the terminal doors, listing what they can and cannot take onboard the plane.

Also a short time ago I spoke with a group of Spanish kids and their teacher who have been delayed. Now get this, this is the kind of disruption the passengers are facing today, not only those waiting to fly from the airport, but those passing through it. They were inbound from Boston. They arrived nine hours ago at Heathrow, intending to fly back home to friends and family in Barcelona and got stuck. Their flight was canceled. They wandered the airport for a couple of hours before anyone told them what was happening and where they should go. They eventually ended up at the hotel, which is just here where the media circus is based at Heathrow -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Adrian Finighan for us this morning. Adrian, thanks -- Tony.

HARRIS: In the last hour, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff talked about this alleged plot and the raising of the terror threat level in this country.

Let's get more on his comments. CNN homeland security correspondent Jeanne Meserve joins us now from the federal agency.

Jeanne, good morning.

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tony, good morning.

Federal officials saying this morning that they do not as yet have hard evidence of al Qaeda involvement in this plot. But it is very suggestive of al Qaeda. Why? Because it involves aviation, and it involves multiple simultaneous attacks. The airlines that are said to be involved in this plot, according to U.S. officials, Continental, American and United, all American carriers. The flights that were being looked at, flights into New York, Washington D.C. and to California. U.S. officials say this was an extraordinarily sophisticated plot, and one that was very close to being executed, although they gave no specific date for when it might have been carried off. And although no arrests have been made in the U.S., and they have no knowledge of any plotting in the U.S. at this point in time, out of an abundance of caution, they have gone ahead and heightened threat levels in various aspects of aviation.

Flights from the U.K. to the U.S. have been raised to threat level red. That is the very highest level. In addition, air marshals have been flown over to the United Kingdom for additional presence on any flights from the U.K. into the U.S. Also all flights here in the U.S. on threat-level orange, all liquids and gels banned, at least for the time being, as the investigation continues.

Back to you, Tony.

HARRIS: Very good. CNN homeland security correspondent Jeanne Meserve. Jeanne, thanks.

Michael Chertoff said the plot had some of the indications of an al Qaeda operation -- organized, highly coordinated. We're expecting to hear from President Bush on this later today.

Let's get right to CNN's chief national correspondent John King. He's in D.C. this morning.

JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATL. CORRESPONDENT: Hello, to you, Soledad.

We're told we'll hear from the president in Wisconsin at a regularly scheduled event. He's supposed to talk about the economy.

Now why is it that officials think this is al Qaeda? In public, as you noted, Secretary Chertoff saying it has the fingerprints of al Qaeda, the distinctions of al Qaeda. In private, officials are being a bit stronger, in that a top official telling me earlier today, this is not a group of disgruntled homegrown people looking to make a political statement, highly coordinated, sophisticated operation. And the intelligence, we believe, outlines very strong links to al Qaeda.

Now why do they think that? As Jeanne just noted, they think it, No. 1, because of the sophistication, the use of liquid explosives, the use of other devices to essentially assemble these bombs on the airplane, small electronics to be used as detonators. One official telling me, they have watched us and what we are doing to improve airport security, and now they're trying to find ways around it. That is why officials think this is not some homegrown group of people who are getting very sophisticated training in making, assembling and detonating explosives. We are told, Soledad, by administration sources, at least a half-dozen flight, they believe, were targeted in this plot, all flights from the U.K. into the United States, and they say it was, quote, "close to operational." They won't give us, if they have it, a date for when these attacks were to be launched, but they say the British authorities told U.S. officials they decided to move in last night, because they believe it was nearing the point at which they were going to execute this plan, and again, a plan they think could have killed hundreds of people over the Atlantic Ocean. The investigation continues, but U.S. officials say they have no direct link at all to anyone operating here in the United States. But they say they will follow the leads as this goes on.

O'BRIEN: Yes, I thought it was interesting that Michael Chertoff declined to answer the question, was there a bomb, had they finally gotten the components together and there was some kind of actual explosive device and that's what caused the movement overnight? He said I prefer not to answer that.

John King for us. John, thanks.

White House Press Secretary Tony Snow says the British Prime Minister Tony Blair and President Bush have discussed the suspected plot. Let's get right to White House correspondent Elaine Quijano with more on that.

Hey, Elaine.

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Soledad.

Well, White House Press Secretary Tony Snow underscoring what CNN has, in fact, been reporting about the close cooperation, the close consultation between President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair. In a statement, Tony Snow says, "The president has been fully informed of the counter-terror and intelligence operation for several days."

The president, prime minister and their key intelligence law enforcement and security officials have been in close and regular contact. And as you would expect, he has spoken to Prime Minister Blair about these developments in recent days. The president has always been briefed on a daily basis during his intelligence briefings and homeland security briefings. Secretary Chertoff and the Homeland Security Council recommended the increases in the threat level yesterday, and they were approved.

Now, as to the nature of the threat, we heard John King laying out what he has been hearing from senior administration officials about the suspicion of al Qaeda links to this terror plot. No mention of that in this official statement from Tony Snow, saying, quote, "This is an ongoing investigation that will play out over several days and weeks. Our British counterparts have made a series of arrests in the last several hours. We do believe the plot involved flights from the U.K. to the U.S. and was a direct threat to the United States. This was as serious a threat to our country and the U.K. We commend the counterterrorism officials here and the U.K. for the cooperation and work to disrupt this plot, but it is an ongoing investigation and we will constantly evaluate the nature of the threat and adjust our measures."

So in comparison, more cautious tone being taken there. White House Press Secretary Tony Snow commenting as the president, as John noted, is making his way to Wisconsin, where later today he was scheduled to give remarks on the economy. We can expect him, no doubt, to comment on this terror plot later today.

O'BRIEN: Yes, I think there is no doubt about that. Elaine Quijano at the White House for us. Thanks, Elaine -- Tony.

HARRIS: Well, here's an important aspect of the story we should bring you up to speed on. As of right now, there are seven flights inbound from the United Kingdom to the United States. But let me underline this: each of those flights took off after the implementation of the increased security standards. The first, American Airlines Flight 115, left at around 10 a.m. British summer time, which is 5:00 a.m. Eastern time. It's headed from Heathrow to New York's JFK Airport. United Airlines Flight 923 also left Heathrow at about the same time, bound for Washington's Dulles Airport.

The five others are all British Airways flights. Flight 117 left Heathrow for JFK, Flight 2193 left London's Gatwick Airport at 7:00 a.m. Eastern for Dallas/Ft. Worth. Flight 225 also leaving Gatwick,, but bound for Houston, Texas. Two other British Airways flights are headed for JFK. Flight 1503 left Manchester, England, and is scheduled to land at about 2:00 p.m. Eastern. Flight 175 left Heathrow not much later. All of these flights I've mentioned are scheduled to land this afternoon.

HARRIS: Let's get you now to AMERICAN MORNING's Alina Cho at John F. Kennedy International Airport here in New York. It is a major entry port for travelers from London and other parts of the world.

Alina, good morning.

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Tony. And one thing we should point out about those flights you mentioned is many of them are as many as two hours, 40 minutes late. Some are about an hour-and-a-half late. But we are looking at significant delays coming into JFK. And many of those flights from London do come here.

Something to keep in mind, if you are taking a flight out of any U.S. airport today, a couple of things. Get to the airport at least two hours before your flight. It will give you some extra time. You will need it. Pack lightly.

And remember that there are some severe restrictions on exactly what you can carry on to the plane. You've been hearing this morning or maybe you're just waking up and you're hearing this for the first time, no liquids or gels can be carried on to the plane. That includes beverages, hair gels, shampoos, toothpaste, even perfume. None of those items can be carried on. They must be checked in and put into your check-in baggage.

There are some exceptions to that rule. Baby formula and medications, prescription medications; in some cases some essential non-prescription medication like insulin. Those can be carried onto the plane, but you may have to verify through security the authenticity of those items. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has said that if you are planning to fly today, you do not need to cancel your plans, but keep these things in mind. And passengers we've spoke to have expressed a range of emotions. Some have expressed concern about losing their luggage. Some have questioned whether U.S. officials might be overdoing it a bit. Of course, Homeland Security officials will say they are acting out of an abundance of caution. And passengers seem to be, on the whole, Tony, taking it in stride. And so far, we have not heard anyone say that they are going to cancel their plans.

HARRIS: Very good. Alina Cho for us at John F. Kennedy International Airport.

We'll take a quick break. And more of our top story in just a moment. You're watching AMERICAN MORNING on CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Updates on the Pentagon now with CNN's Barbara Starr. Hey, Barbara, good morning.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Soledad.

While there is no direct military involvement, of course, in this unfolding situation, make no mistake: the Pentagon watching all of this very carefully. Sources confirming to us that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and General Peter Pace, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, early this morning were both on a classified conference call with national security members of the administration, getting the latest updates on all of this, watching this all minute by minute.

Now, what both intelligence officials and military sources are telling us is they were, of course, well aware of the British investigation for the last several months. We're following it very closely. Had coordination with the British. And that U.S. officials in the intelligence and military community knew, of course, that this had all intensified over the last couple of weeks and were kept very well-informed, knew when the arrests were going to happen, knew that all of this was going down over the last several hours.

The understanding is that there were a minimum of at least three airplanes -- of course, perhaps more. But a minimum of three flights from the U.K. to the U.S. that were of immediate concern, and that may well be why the British moved so quickly.

Officials also telling us that it is their understanding that of the 21 people arrested by British authorities, many of them, we don't know how many, but some of them, many of them is how it's been described to us, were British born, of Pakistani ethnicity, Pakistani descent. So that perhaps is an indicator of what the British thought might be behind some of this when they went after those people -- Soledad. O'BRIEN: It's very interesting, Barbara, to hear all the officials, though, the British officials, and even officials in this country, kind of dance around that issue, not really naming that, not really pointing it out, just saying we want to keep an open mind about this and people hide behind the religion, et cetera, et cetera, without really coming out and saying anything about that so far.

Barbara Starr at the Pentagon. Barbara, thanks -- Tony.

HARRIS: Let's get the view now from another major international airport in the country.

AMERICAN MORNING's Bob Franken is at Dulles International in Washington.

Bob, what's the scene like there?

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATL. CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, be glad you weren't here a couple of hours ago. We are about literally quarter of a mile from the gate, all the way down there, and the line stretched to here and beyond. It was a double line at some point, a massive line as they put in to effect the security matters that we've been hearing all day. People came to the airport oftentimes not knowing what they were going to encounter, and suddenly they encountered a jam, in the word of one person, worse he had ever experienced. And when they got here, they would be approached by people from TSA, the Transportation Security people, and airport workers to tell them what it is they could and could not do.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Chugging their bottles of water, like, right before they have to throw them out. We've seen like bottles of rum. We've seen like lotions, and we've had to confiscate those.

FRANKEN: So what's the rule?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Basically you cannot bring any liquids. You cannot bring shampoo, lotion, basically anything that could be used, a liquid, can be used for an explosive. That's the whole warning that's been put out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FRANKEN: Now people were remarkably good humored here, almost amazed at what they were seeing. Obviously a lot of people were concerned about the news. Dulles Airport was one of those airports that had been listed as a potential target by officials, and now everybody is waiting to see what happens. As I said, things have really sort of cleared down to normal now. This is a lull period for Dulles. It will pick up later in the day, and particularly in the early evening hours when there are lots of flights to Europe, and of course, London. We don't know yet what that is going to be like, but I don't think it's going to be fun -- Tony.

HARRIS: No, it doesn't sound like it. Bob Franken for us at Dulles International Airport in Washington. Bob, thank you.

(BUSINESS HEADLINES)

O'BRIEN: We've got to take a short break. When we come back in just a moment, we're going to update you on the very latest that we are learning from both the United Kingdom and here in the U.S. on this alleged plot thwarted. We're back in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: We're back with former FBI official Bill Daly. He's now with Control Risks Group. Let's talk a little bit more about this liquid. Is it possible, in fact, to take a liquid, or several liquids, combine them all together. And one would have to imagine, you're not talking about giant size; we're talking about something you could sneak on in a lotion or some kind of gel bottle, something that wouldn't attract attention. Put them all together and make an explosive you could detonate with a key fob.

BILL DALY, CONTROL RISKS GROUP: Right. You know, and, Soledad, you mentioned about large quantities. Of course we know that ammonium nitrate and diesel fuel was used at the World Trade Center in 1993 and has been used in the past for major explosions.

O'BRIEN: But you need a truck size.

DALY: But there are other chemical components, more concentrated forms, that would not be ones that are restricted in any -- to any great degree.

O'BRIEN: Wouldn't be hard to get.

DALY: We're not talking about buying nitroglycerine, which is a substance which is used for explosions, which is already a very volatile fluid, but taking other probably -- as Mr. Chertoff said, some more benign substances, mixing them together, creating a chemical solution, which is a concentrated explosive material, and that's very doable, and people with a level of sophistication, training, knowledge of the chemicals and knowledge of ways to explode them, perhaps remotely, if there's a trigger mechanism by using a small little transmitter we use in our key chain or something similar to that. These all can be brought on in a very innocuous form. Therefore this ban on fluids, hair gels, hair sprays, other things which may appear on the visual inspection to be what they are, but they may have contain those components that can be mixed together.

O'BRIEN: The president -- in 1994, Ramzi Yousef tried to blow up nitroglycerin on a plane, sort of a dry run to do it on a bunch of airliners. They ended up killing one guy, but they were able to land the plane safely. It has all the hallmarks of this -- I think, of al Qaeda when they sort of revisit the same theme over and over again. They see a little bit of success, even in a plot that's been foiled or maybe failed and come back tote again and again, to tweak it, frankly.

DALY: Yes, Ramzi Yousef. And now let's got to end of 2001, December 2001, right after 9/11, we have Richard Reid the famous, or infamous, shoe bomber, who was suspect of perhaps even doing one of these test runs of trying something on a plane. His was more rudimentary. He had explosives in his shoes. He was going to light them on fire, and he was quickly succumbed by all the passengers on the plane. But it is something that al Qaeda focuses in on. They see an opportunity, World Trade Center in 1993, try it come back in 2001, the aircraft...

O'BRIEN: Try it, tweak it, try it tweak it, try it tweak it.

DALY: They are looking at explosions.

O'BRIEN: Planes make a statement, too, for al Qaeda.

DALY: Making a statement, saying as much as you think you're increasing security, we're still going to be able to get to you. So they're looking very closely, Soledad at the way we go through our screening. And for us to take it lightly, you know, five years later to say, well, it's over, it's not.

O'BRIEN: And I'd just like to also say one other thing, is that we have to give tremendous credit to the law-enforcement agencies over in the U.K. After last July's attack on the subways, you would have thought it would have much more difficult -- and it probably was -- to conduct these investigations, because people would have gone very (INAUDIBLE) on this, and they have been able to put together an investigation, and I think that's what we have to say in this world, post-9/11, investigations, intelligence gathering, connecting the dots is the key to keeping us all safe.

O'BRIEN: Billy Daly, thank you. Thanks for being our guest this morning. We certainly appreciate it. We are going to hand over coverage to Daryn Kagan. She's the CNN Center, going take you through the next couple of hours on CNN LIVE TODAY.

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