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American Morning

Accused Terrorist's Family Defends Him; Beefing Up Airport Security; Secret Messages of Terror from Al Qaeda Leaders?

Aired August 15, 2006 - 07:30   ET

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

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Happening this morning. The Reverend Jesse Jackson says AIDS is now black disease, and it's time to fight it as a major civil rights issue. The Reverend Jackson speaking at the AIDS Summit in Toronto, Canada.
A census out this morning finds racial diversity is on the rise in almost every state with one exception -- West Virginia -- which has fewer jobs and tends to attract fewer immigrants.

And NASA is looking for the original tapes of the moon landing back in 1969, July 20th specifically. NASA says they're not lost, just misplaced, which is what I say to my wife when I'm trying to find my keys.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: It's all a matter of semantics.

O'BRIEN: Yes, it is. They'll find them. You know, it's that "Raiders of the Lost Arc" room somewhere.

Good morning to you. I'm Miles O'Brien.

COSTELLO: And I'm Carol Costello, in for Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Investigators in Great Britain are getting one more day with terror suspects held in custody. Warrants to hold the alleged bomb plotters on those trans-Atlantic flights have been extended. Police are searching the homes of 23 people for evidence of explosives. They're searching the woods near where they lived. They think there was testing done there of makeshift explosives.

One of the suspects investigators say was key to the plot is a man by the name of Rashid Rauf. He is under lock and key in Pakistan. Police saying he is central to the plan, but his family in London painting a very different picture.

CNN's Jason Carroll, live now from London with more.

Jason, hello.

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Miles.

And they are painting a drastically different picture. Rashid's family says that Rashid and his two brothers are pious men, and they are absolutely convinced police have the wrong men in custody.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) CARROLL (voice-over): British police say the man who lived at this Birmingham house for a period of time with his extended family was a key player in masterminding the plot to bring down planes bound for the United States. Authorities arrested Rashid Rauf, 26, in Pakistan last week. His family says Rauf's younger brothers -- Tayib, 22; and Assam (ph), 19 -- were arrested in Birmingham.

SOPHIA KAHN, RAUF'S COUSIN: Where is there any hard evidence about that? What's the evidence? It just looks like a load of baloney to me.

CARROLL: Rauf's relatives are angry and worried for the brothers.

MOHAMMED KAHN, RAUF'S COUSIN: We couldn't sleep three, four nights now. So close. So innocent.

CARROLL: Relatives say Rashid Rauf is an honest man who has been working in Pakistan the past few years. Family members we spoke to could not confirm what he did there. Here in England, his brothers ran a bakery near their house. Relatives also say the brothers are deeply religious.

ABDUL RAHID QUERESHI, RAUF'S COUSIN: They are believers.

CARROLL (on camera): They are believers?

QUERESHI: Yes.

CARROLL: But not extremists?

QUERESHI: Not extremists.

CARROLL (voice-over): But Birmingham police suspect there may be a different side to the boys. A police spokeswoman confirmed the Rauf house was searched in 2002 and in 2005 in connection with two unsolved murders. And the family says accusations Rashid Rauf may be connected to al Qaeda are outrageous. They say all of the allegations result from anti-Muslim sentiment.

M. KAHN: Harmless family. Innocent family.

CARROLL (on camera): Innocent family.

M. KAHN: Totally innocent. Especially the little children, Tayib, Assam (INAUDIBLE).

S. KAHN: They're unjustly accused. Unjustly accused of broadcasting worldwide, and there's no hard evidence. Where is the evidence? I mean, we could be next. Anybody. If that's their hard evidence, anybody is subject to that, isn't it?

CARROLL (voice-over): And that, the family says, is their biggest fear -- not only for them, but for Muslims everywhere.

(END VIDEOTAPE) CARROLL: And as you heard there, Miles, what the family is looking for is that evidence, that hard evidence linking these three brothers to the terrorist plot. And, they say, only when that hard evidence is presented will some of them begin to believe that the allegations are true -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Jason Carroll in London, thank you very much -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Let's talk a little more about airport security. You know, the TSA is making all airline passengers take off their shoes so it can send them through the X-ray machines. That's supposed to help detect hidden liquid or gel explosives, but it might be a waste of time. The AP is reporting a Homeland Security report on airline security shows machines currently in use in shoe scanning have proved to be ineffective. The government ordered all airline passengers to put their shoes through X-ray machines following last week's foiled airline terror plot.

So, what exactly is being done to combat the threat of liquid explosives on airplanes, besides sending your shoes through the X-ray machines?

CNN's Drew Griffin investigates.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Put this bag through a current X-ray screening device at any major U.S. airport and all you will find, says Joe Reiss, is regular stuff.

JOE REISS, MARKETING DIRECTOR, AMERICAN SCIENCE & ENGINEERING: But here's an umbrella...

(CROSSTALK)

REISS: ... again, a very normal thing. And there's a travel alarm clock in the bag.

GRIFFIN: But that's not all that is here. And that's why this report is troubling. Inside this typical looking briefcase with typical looking stuff is an easily hidden threat that Reiss says current screening would have missed.

REISS: What you're missing, though, on this image is a bottle with hydrogen peroxide concealed right behind it, which is exactly one of the substances that was of concern from the events of last week, here, again, not displayed by the conventional transmission X-ray.

GRIFFIN (on camera): But shows up right there.

REISS: But, clear as day, it just pops off the screen in the backscatter X-ray image.

GRIFFIN: Reiss is the head of marketing for American Science and Engineering outside of Boston. His company is using something called backscatter technology that he says would find organic material, liquid explosives, any explosives, that, until now, could easily be carried on an airplane.

Take a look at this image, which appears to be just a couple of wireless e-mail devices called BlackBerrys. And that's exactly what it is, until you see the image through new technology. One of the BlackBerrys appears to glow.

REISS: And it doesn't really matter, for this technology, if it's a liquid or a solid. It really makes no difference. Here's a solid explosive simulant that has been concealed on the back of that BlackBerry device. You will never find it with that conventional X- ray image.

GRIFFIN: American Engineering is using the same technology to do full body scans. Its CEO says, secondary screeners would be able to find just about anything concealed on someone's person, without even touching them.

ANTHONY FABIANO, CEO, AMERICAN SCIENCE & ENGINEERING: It's the backscatter advantage. We will find explosives. We will find organic material. And we will identify them more clearly.

GRIFFIN: Critics warn, this could violate a person's privacy, but that hasn't stopped Anthony Fabiano and others across the country and across the world in a terror technology race, trying to come up with a foolproof system that will remove the threat.

The Ahura Corporation is marketing a handheld device, which CEO Doug Kahn says can almost instantly determine if this bottle of wine really is a bottle of wine, even without opening the bottle.

DOUGLAS KAHN, CEO, AHURA CORPORATION: The FirstDefender fires its laser.

GRIFFIN: The laser can read the chemical fingerprint of what's inside almost anything. This mouthwash bottle held acetone. So did this water bottle. And the wine, in just a few seconds, turned out to be gasoline.

KAHN: Gasoline, 82 percent.

GRIFFIN: The problem, say security analysts, is, technology is only part of the solution. Relying exclusively on it will have us constantly chasing new inventions, instead of chasing terrorists.

BRIAN RUTTENBUR, SECURITY TECHNOLOGY ANALYST, MORGAN KEEGAN: I actually think the -- the best solution is intelligence, stopping the terrorists before they even get to the airports, what we did this time. And that's with communications intercept. That's human intelligence. That's a variety of things that I think is much better off than trying to catch the terrorists once they're there.

GRIFFIN (on camera): According to analyst Brian Ruttenbur, there are 20 or so companies trying to develop the one machine that will protect us from liquid explosives, but even if the perfect machine emerges, they are expensive, slow to put in place and become outdated the moment terrorists change their tactics. Drew Griffin, CNN, Boston.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: And Drew's report first aired on "PAULA ZAHN NOW." Catch Paula weeknights at 8:00 Eastern.

O'BRIEN: Now nearly a year almost since Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, and the clean-up's still under way there in earnest, but without a controversial dump. Mayor Ray Nagin shut down the dump. Residents were worried it was contaminating ground water in a nearby wildlife refuge. State regulators say that closure could delay the clean-up of the city by a year or more.

More controversy over those government-issued trailers housing hurricane victims in the Gulf. FEMA announcing as many as 110,000 may need new locks. The reason, a single key -- one key, a master key, whatever, can open many of those trailer doors. So far, no reports of any break-ins because of the duplicate locks.

And the majority of Louisiana residents whose homes were damaged by Hurricanes Katrina or Rita will have a little extra time to settle their claims. Most insurance companies offering homeowners another year to settle or file their lawsuits.

And here's a little interesting tidbit on Katrina evacuees. People who left flooded areas on their own after Katrina are faring better than those who were rescued and relocated. Now, the study was done by seven law firms enlisted by a nonprofit. Of course, there's a lot of potential flaws in this study, as there might be a self- selecting group of people.

COSTELLO: It's kind of common sense, though.

O'BRIEN: Socioeconomic, all that...

COSTELLO: Right. Because the people who left had the means to find somewhere safe, and the people who had to be rescued are kind of stuck still.

O'BRIEN: I think we figured that one out, didn't we?

COSTELLO: Yes.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: Still to come on AMERICAN MORNING, the latest message from Osama bin Laden's top lieutenant. Did he secretly pass the word to activate the alleged plot to blow up jetliners heading toward the United States?

Also, the money trail. Find out why money meant for Pakistani earthquake aid may have been funding terrorism instead.

O'BRIEN: Plus, one small step for man, one giant mess up for NASA. How could they lose the original moon landing tapes? We'll do some sleuthing of our own ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Subtle messages, secret codes. Could taped messages from two of the world's most wanted terrorists be a call to arms for al Qaeda sympathizers?

Octavia Nasr is CNN's senior editor for Arab affairs. She joins us from the CNN Center in Atlanta.

Good morning, Octavia.

OCTAVIA NASR, CNN SR. EDITOR, ARAB AFFAIRS: Good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: This is really fascinating. I want to play for our audience first a bit of a tape -- a bit of a tape from Ayman al- Zawahiri, Osama bin Laden's number two. This is the most recent one we've gotten.

Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AYMAN AL-ZAWAHIRI, BIN LADEN'S SECOND-IN-COMMAND (through translator): All the world is an open field for us. As they attack us everywhere, we will attack them everywhere. As they gang up on us to wage war on us, our nation will fight them and wage war on them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: OK. I hope our audience paid close attention to what was behind him and exactly what he said. Is there a secret message in that, Octavia?

NASR: Well, first of all, Carol, history tells us that al Qaeda says what it does and it does what it says. And looking at that video now in retrospect, with the alleged plot that was foiled in London, this picture tells terrorism experts around the world a different message. It says that perhaps -- perhaps -- Zawahiri in this video, as you're looking at it now, you see the World Trade Center in flames behind him. You see the two men that masterminded the 9/11 attacks.

And basically, back then, when we were analyzing this video, some experts said that perhaps this was a tape that was made for 9/11 anniversary. But then Zawahiri saw an opportunity to talk about Lebanon and talk about attacks, and basically he changed his subject a little bit and released the tape early. Well, today experts are saying something else. They're saying perhaps that video behind him was meant to basically wake up a sleeping cell or perhaps put some action into motion -- Carol.

COSTELLO: So this British group, you know, arrested in Britain for this alleged jetliner plot, we don't really know if they are connected at all to al Qaeda. What in there might tell experts that they are connected? NASR: Well, we do not know that they are connected, but even back then, when we were analyzing this tape, we did talk -- if you remember, on this show, we did talk about the possibility that a tape like this is made to inspire, to recruit. So even if there were no sleeper cells waiting for Zawahiri to give them orders, this could have been a tape that was meant for propaganda purposes to send out the message that,hey, there's something to be done here. This is a good time for action.

Remember, we're talking about a time when the Lebanon crisis was raging. And if you remember a couple years ago when Osama bin Laden talked for the first time about when he was inspired to organize the 9/11 attacks, he did talk about the Israeli invasion of Lebanon back in 1982. And he said that that invasion and watching the buildings collapsed and damaged and destroyed, that's what gave him the idea that he needed to hurt the West and he needed to do the same thing to the West. So the parallels are amazing, as you said.

COSTELLO: But Octavia...

NASR: But again...

COSTELLO: Couldn't we be overthinking this? I mean, these are educated guesses, right? I mean, these hidden messages may not mean anything at all, specific at least?

NASR: It could be a coincidence, absolutely. No one is saying that this is an absolute truth or anyone has proof. But it is very interesting -- when you look at the history of al Qaeda, every single attack, they announced it ahead of time. Whether we analysts knew it or not, those who carried out the attacks knew it for sure. They used the Internet to communicate and organize themselves and basically put actions into motion.

And also, if you remember even back during the Africa bombings, the U.S. embassy bombings in Tanzania and Kenya, Osama bin Laden had given an interview to ABC. And back then he was sitting in front of a map of the world. No one paid attention to that map, except after the fact when they went back and looked at that map. He was sitting in front of Africa.

COSTELLO: OK, so that begs the question, why are we continuing to show these tapes on television?

NASR: You know, many people are asking this question. Of course,, this is a decision that is made by networks on a case-by-case basis. You have to understand that this is news. And, for example, CNN is not the main conduit of these messages. We're not the number one choice, media choice, of al Qaeda.

Remember, those messages are posted on the Internet first or they appear on Al-Jazeera first. We're like the third recipients of these tapes, and basically we do not run these tapes in their entirety. You're talking about messages that are 35, 45, sometimes an hour long. CNN, of course, does not air the entire message. We choose any things that are news-worthy elements to share with our audience. Sometimes we don't even run any of those messages. We only show voice-overs, only show the video, but we do not run the speech by those terrorists. So, of course, it's a choice that networks make. And there is always a debate in every network about what to show, what not to show, and why and why not.

COSTELLO: And they are very heated debates. Octavia Nasr, thanks for joining us this morning. Our senior editor for Arab affairs.

Coming up, we are "Minding Your Business." Google's got a new online partner, but it's a familiar name if you're annoyed by junk mail. We'll explain just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BUSINESS HEADLINES)

O'BRIEN: A look at some of the stories we're working on right now.

Lebanese forces are preparing to move in to southern Lebanon as the tentative cease-fire in the region continues to hold -- shakily, but holds.

On the money trail in British terror plot, a possible connection to last year's earthquake in Pakistan, believe it or not.

Allegations of wrongdoing by U.S. military recruits. Some recruiters are breaking the law to meet their quotas.

And on the front lines in the fight against AIDS. An international conference now under way in Toronto. A lot of cutting edge science there.

And get your gator. It is hunting season in Florida, folks. We're on the trail, trying to learn about these things that are swamp things and how do you bag a gator, anyway? Very carefully, right?

Back with more in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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