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The Situation Room
Alleged Plot To Blow Up As Many As 10 Planes Flying from Britain to United States Foiled; Homeland Security Department Raising Terror Threat Awareness to Highest Level; Update on the Crisis in the Middle East
Aired August 10, 2006 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: And to our viewers, you're in THE SITUATION ROOM, where new pictures and information are arriving all the time.
Standing by, CNN reporters across the United States and around the world to bring you today's top stories.
Happening now, officials are calling it the biggest terror plot since 9/11, an alleged plot to blow up as many as 10 planes flying from Britain to the United States, with the goal of inflicting what officials call mass murder. Two dozen people are under arrest and airports worldwide right now on high alert.
Many of those airports are in the United States. And if you or anyone you know is set to fly, you will not be allowed to carry on hair gel, lotions, even toothpaste and lots of other liquid material. The plot tactics are very familiar, and the alleged explosives, eerily easy to use.
We're going to look at other plots that were stopped but could have gone very, very wrong.
I'm Wolf Blitzer in Jerusalem, and you're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
Had it actually happened, it could have rivaled 9/11 in terms of enormity and evil, a bloodthirsty plot whose alleged goal was this: blow up as many as 10 planes at the same time as the they flew from Britain to the United States. Officials say British Airways, Continental, United and American Airlines would have been targeted, but the plot bears all the hallmarks of al Qaeda and the terrorists hoped for mass murder.
Right now 24 people are under arrest and sources with knowledge of the British investigation say two of them had prepared what are called martyrdom tapes.
In the United States, code red, as the Homeland Security Department raises the terror threat level to its highest mark for commercial flights that begin in Britain and are bound for the United States.
All of this sending shock waves throughout the airline industry. Hundreds of flights have been canceled worldwide and air passengers boarding all flight in the United States are not allowed any longer to carry on some personal items like hair gels, lotions and other liquids.
British officials say they worked with Pakistani officials and watched for the plot for several months, but decided to bust it. to stop it, when they thought that the plot could unfold very, very soon.
CNN reporters are watching every angle of this story.
Our homeland security correspondent, Jeanne Meserve, is in Washington.
Our Mary Snow is at JFK airport in New York.
But let's begin this hour with CNN's Becky Anderson. She is at London's Heathrow airport, where this plot was allegedly about to unfold.
Becky, set the stage for us. What is the latest we know from there?
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Let me bring you up to date on the investigation.
What we know is this: that the U.K. is now in a critical state of alertness. That is the highest state of alertness after authorities say that they thwarted this plot by terrorists to blow up as many, as you say, as 10 planes Mid-Atlantic in their flights, during their flights over the Atlantic.
These were passenger planes. It could have happened any day soon.
Now, as you say, this investigation, it seems, has been ongoing since December last year. Channel 4 reporting sources here which suggests that this has been going on for months.
There are 24 men now in custody. And the focus very much back on the British Islamic community, that of which these men apparently have come from. We had the focus on that community back in July last year, 13 months ago, when 52 people were killed in the bombings in London, very much back in focus once again.
This is what we know as far as authorities tell us to date, that two of these men have traveled to Pakistan recently, and when they came back they had money wired from Pakistan. Two others, it seems, possibly others, not sure if it's the same two people, they also left what are being called these martyrdom tapes.
Now, it's been important and the authorities here and in Pakistan have made a point of underlining this has been an operation which is run alongside both the Pakistani authorities and indeed the British authorities. It was on information gleaned from Pakistan that these raids, these arrests were made at about 2:00 a.m. on Thursday morning. Arrests also made, let's remember, in Pakistan, as well -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Becky, how are the passengers in your conversations with them coping right now in London? ANDERSON: Well, let me tell you, there are 180,000 people who would normally come through. This airport behind me, one of, if not the busiest, international airports in the world.
This is Heathrow airport, of course, 180,000 would come through on a busy day like this. And some 90 percent of the flights through this airport today were either suspended or canceled.
What ha been interesting to note is that most -- or many, if not most, of those flights have been domestic or European short-haul flights. The authorities here asked European carriers to suspend their flights, and most of them did.
It's the long-haul flights, in fact, that are beginning to take off behind me. Flights would be going every 90 seconds from this airport on a normal day. They've just begun to move once again.
And we're hearing there will be two and a half hour delays for these transatlantic flights. BA, for example, says some 60 percent of its European short-haul flights will once again run tomorrow, but there will be severe disruptions, 48-hour disruptions still. And what the authorities are saying, that while this passenger traffic here is moving, do expect delays in the days to come -- Wolf.
BLITZER: What a mess. Thank you very much, Becky, for that.
Code Red, that's how the Homeland Security Department is responding to this alleged plot, raising the terror threat awareness to the highest level for flights from Britain to the United States.
CNN's homeland security correspondent, Jeanne Meserve, is in Washington with more -- Jeanne.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, U.S. officials are calling this plot the real thing, and they are responding accordingly.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MESERVE (voice over): Liquids and gels piled up at airport screening checkpoints today after the terror threat triggered a ban from aircraft cabins.
MICHAEL CHERTOFF, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: One of the concerns we had was is the possibility of bringing on board a number of different components of a bomb that each one of which would be benign, but when mixed together, would create a bomb.
MESERVE: Experts say the government has long known of the potential explosive threat from liquids and gels, but hasn't closed the hole.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Screening for, you know, liquid explosives was something that would have not really raised any flags prior to today, and definitely would have been a gap. MESERVE: Though the Department of Homeland Security has deployed a wide array of detection devices since 9/11, it says no machine capable of detecting explosive liquids or their precursors is ready for mass deployment. Vendors like Brijeau Systems (ph) are already lining up to try to persuade the government that their technologies are the answer.
WAYNE NORRIS, DEFENDERTECH INTERNATIONAL SOLUTIONS: It would have found any type of liquid. In fact, it would have found a water bottle.
MESERVE: Meanwhile, in an unprecedented step, commercial flights from the United Kingdom to the U.S. were put on the highest threat level, red. All carry-ons were forbidden. Passenger manifests were scoured, additional federal air marshals deployed.
With other commercial aviation on threat level orange or high, Customs and Border Protection was giving all incoming international flights a closer look, and some officials took steps above and beyond what the government required, activating the National Guard and more.
GOV. MITT ROMNEY (R), MASSACHUSETTS: You'll notice at the airport that our state police personnel are carrying automatic weapons. There will also be, as there have been in the past, but now at a heightened level, roadblocks and random searches.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MESERVE: Because the terror investigation is ongoing, homeland officials cannot say how long the additional security measures will be in place or whether they will be modified or strengthened. At least one expert is suggesting the only way to absolutely protect against this kind of attack is to prohibit passengers from bringing liquids on aircraft permanently.
Wolf, back to you.
BLITZER: All right. Thanks very much, Jeanne Meserve.
There's another story that may or may not be related to all of this heightened tension involving an alleged airline terror plot. But let's bring in Zain Verjee. She's watching this story develop right now.
What are we picking up, Zain?
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN ANCHOR: Wolf, The Associated Press is reporting that an Air Canada plane made an emergency landing at about 10 past 4:00 this afternoon. It landed here. It's a very remote runway called BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport.
It made this unscheduled landing after an unknown and an unclaimed package was reported on board. An airport spokesman said to The Associated Press that he's actually not aware that there was any disturbance on board, or that any of the passengers were injured.
The plane landed. They were put on a shuttle bus and taken away.
The plane was heading from Montreal, in Canada, to here in Washington, D.C., to Reagan National Airport.
We'll bring you more details when we get them -- Wolf.
BLITZER: All right, Zain. Thank you.
The heightened response to the terror plot and new stiff restrictions are causing worry and headaches for many airline passengers.
CNN's Mary Snow is joining us from outside JFK airport in New York with more -- Mary.
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, airlines are reporting some cancellations, saying, though, at this point that they are limited. But significant delays are being reported here at JFK. This because of the strict screening process now in place.
Earlier today, we did catch up with some passengers who flew from Heathrow International Airport to JFK. Certainly, they were very anxious, but also relieved.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My wallet, my candies, my...
SNOW (voice over): Passengers arriving on an American Airlines flight from London to New York were only permitted clear plastic bags to hold their passports, wallets and essential items. Some were clearly shaken.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's scary when you're sitting in your gate and the BBC is saying that the U.S. has announced a red alert.
SNOW: Many almost didn't board.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When we finally got through to departure, there were people there crying and getting upset because we were actually watching it on the screen then, what was going on. And we thought then -- we did say that if we hear one more little thing we're going to back out because of the children.
SNOW: For those who went forward, some reassurance.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were made to feel more at rest because we'd been through rigorous security checks, plus we could see people weren't carrying things on to the plane.
SNOW: They said security was so tight, inspectors checked baby formula.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We saw a gentleman, actually, and he had a tin of baby milk and it had to be counted into a cup. He was only allowed to take a certain amount. I think he did have to taste it. SNOW: But, in the United States, the TSA says parents do not have to taste formula but should expect it to be examined. Prescription medications carried on board must match the passenger's name.
Now banned as carry-on items, liquids, everything from perfume to contact lens solution, to creams and toothpaste. U.S. passengers are allowed to carry on electronic devices like laptops and cell phones, unlike passengers who flew to the states from London today.
These new security measures are not enough for many to reconsider their plans.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's in the back of your head, but, you know, it's been in the back of my head since September 11th. The odds start to add against you, and this just kind of raises it. But with extra security, like they played out, it wasn't that bad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SNOW: Now, there are many evening flights departing from JFK for points overseas, and we are seeing lines now becoming longer inside the terminals. Passengers are being advised to get to the terminals at least two hours ahead of what they normally would do.
Also, American Airlines, for example, saying it is going to be sending out e-mails to passengers in the next few days, but saying if people are questioning whether or not they can carry certain items, that they probably should leave them at home to be safe -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Mary, thank you.
Mary Snow reporting from JFK.
Let's get a little bit more on all those new travel restrictions, including where you can find the rules concerning medication.
Standing by with details, our Internet reporter, Jacki Schechner -- Jacki.
JACKI SCHECHNER, CNN INTERNET REPORTER: Wolf, the Department of Homeland Security and the Transportation Security Administration are both using their Web sites to get information out about what you can and can't bring on board. Specific to medication -- and Mary touched on this just a little bit -- if you have a prescription medication, make sure that the name on the bottle matches the name on your ticket. That's very important.
If you have something like insulin, for example, the TSA tells CNN that shouldn't be a problem. They're very familiar with insulin pumps. But you should be ready to have that subjected to additional scrutiny.
As for other liquid medications, one of the things you have to be aware of is, you have to make sure that you say it's essential. And that's really up to the TSA screener, whether or not it is essential. The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network has also updated its Web site. It has some suggestions of what might help. They suggest using a doctor's note to say something is essential, Wolf, but TSA tells us they may not necessarily advise that.
BLITZER: Jacki, thank you very much.
Today airline stocks fell sharply on the news of the alleged terror plot, but then they rebounded. Experts are speculating that airlines may cut back on jet fuel purchases as some people might cut their air travel plans based on safety concerns.
Jack Cafferty is off today. He'll be back with "The Cafferty File" on Monday.
Up ahead, what did President Bush know about the alleged terrorist plot? Our White House correspondent, Suzanne Malveaux, is with the president in Crawford, Texas. She is standing by with the latest.
Also, disturbing similarities to other terror plots more than a decade ago. One of them actually succeeded. We're going to show you the pattern that appears to be playing out, once again.
And we're also following all the significant new developments in the Middle East crisis. We're going to take you live to the Israeli- Lebanese border and to Beirut.
Stay with us. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: More now in the foiled terror plot allegedly targeting planes bound to for the United States from Britain. The White House says President Bush has been fully informed about the investigation over the last several days by the British prime minister, Tony Blair.
Our White House correspondent, Suzanne Malveaux, is in Crawford, Texas, where the president is vacationing -- Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, we have learned that President Bush first learned about this developing terrorist plot on Sunday. That is when he had a video conference call with Prime Minister Blair. It was actually on Sunday the White House released the photo of the call. It was meant to initially show the president engaged in the Middle East conflict, but they really kept that terror plot quiet.
Now, we have been told over the last four days or so that the president has been briefed by intelligence, security and law enforcement officials about the developments here, the possibility of this impending attack, and that it was yesterday that President Bush got another update from Blair. British authorities saying that they were seeing signs of something imminent and that it was time to move.
It was last night that President Bush gave the green light to the Homeland Security Council and to Chertoff, his secretary, to raise that alert level, the travel alert level, to the highest level possible. And then aides say, of course, that the president was not necessarily given a heads up on the arrests that happened overnight, or he was not woken up overnight, but he certainly was updated early in the morning
Now, today, what President Bush is doing, he's using these terrorist attacks to make two points. First, to justify his war on terror. And secondly, to make the case to Americans that they're safer under his watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This country is safer than it was prior to 9/11. We've take an lot of measures to protect the American people. But obviously, we're still not completely safe, because there are people that still plot and people who want to harm us for what we believe in.
It is a mistake to believe there is no threat to the United States of America. And that is why we have given our officials the tools they need to protect our people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: And, of course, Wolf, there's always a political component to all of this. Democrats are already crying foul, suggesting that the White House's advance knowledge of this investigation around the terrorist plot was being used to score political points.
They point to recent comments made over the last couple days by the vice president, by the press secretary, Tony Snow, by the head of the RNC, that all attack the Democrats for being weak on terror. Now, White House officials are saying that is absolutely preposterous. They say the reason they were attacking them, the essential theme of the campaign, but also, they were highlighting this, that there are divisions with Democrats over the Iraq war, and that, of course, coming out of Joe Lieberman's failed Democratic primary campaign -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Suzanne Malveaux, thanks very much.
And if the details of the alleged plot sound familiar, there's good reason. They're almost identical to another foiled plot more than a decade ago.
CNN's Brian Todd is live in Washington with details -- Brian.
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, experts say the two plots and an earlier one that might have inspired both of them were extraordinary for their sophistication and ambition.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TODD (voice over): A foiled plot to blow up several intercontinental flights at once, all heading to the United States, using liquid-based explosives and detonators. Former counterterrorism officials and experts say it's chilling, but familiar.
PAUL CRUICKSHANK, NYU CENTER ON LAW AND SECURITY: It really has to do with, from a terrorist perspective, the attractiveness of the target.
TODD: January, 1995, authorities break up a plot code named Bojinka. The objective, to simultaneously blow up 12 U.S.-flagged carriers flying from Asia to the United States. The mastermind, Ramzi Ahmed Yousef, convicted for engineering the first attack on the World Trade Center in 1993. On Bojinka, intelligence officials believe he works with his uncle, Khalid Sheik Mohammed, who would go on to oversee the September 11th plot.
Familiar names, familiar tactics.
ROBERT GRENIER, FMR. HEAD, CIA COUNTERTERRORISM CENTER: The liquid explosive was put into a bottle which would normally contain -- which would normally contain the liquid for a contact lens solution.
TODD: Bojinka is thwarted when terrorists, apparently mixing chemicals, accidentally set a Manila apartment on fire. Yousef is later captured.
But they had already killed one passenger on a test run. And prosecutors claimed if the plot had been successful, they would have killed about 4,000.
Experts believe they could have been inspired by another plot seven years earlier that was successful.
November 1987, Korean Air Flight 858 blows up over South Asia. All 115 on board are killed. The methodology, liquid and plastic explosives concealed in liquor bottles smuggled into the cabin, detonated by remote.
This time, a former CIA official says it was government- sponsored.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two individuals who were North Korean agents -- they were actually North Korean nationals, although, of course, they were traveling on false documentation, and they were highly trained.
TODD: One method, one deadly success, but two high-profile failures. Why did the attackers keep coming back to the same MO?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They continually go back after an area to show that they are -- they're on that mission to bring the aircraft down, to have that splash effect.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TODD: And for that reason, experts say terrorists will almost certainly try this method and this type of target again. Failure only hardens their resolve. The World Trade Center attacks, they say, proved that -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Brian Todd reporting.
Thank you.
And to our viewers, please stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.
Coming up, the alleged airline terror plot already becoming a political football. We're going to show you how both sides are trying to use it to their advantage.
Plus, the latest on the Middle East crisis. Could the United Nations finally be on the verge of passing a resolution?
Stay with us. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Welcome back.
We're going to have much more on the foiled airline terror plot in just a few minutes, but there are significant new developments happening right now in the Middle East crisis, including the British prime minister, Tony Blair, now saying a United Nations resolution on ending the fighting potentially could come in the next 24 hours.
Diplomatic sources tell CNN the United States and France now agree on the main points of the resolution, including a call for Lebanese and United Nations forces to deploy to southern Lebanon at the same time that Israeli forces and Hezbollah militants withdraw from the region.
Standing by with all the latest developments for us, our senior international correspondent, Matthew Chance. He's live along the Israeli-Lebanese border.
CNN's Jim Clancy, he's live in Beirut.
But let's go to CNN's Richard Roth for all the latest diplomacy unfolding at the United Nations.
And Richard, it could be very, very significant diplomacy. Update our viewers.
RICHARD ROTH, CNN SR. U.N. CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, after days of stalled approaches and language and back-and-forth action, it does appear that the Security Council could be on the verge of a vote as early as Friday. Ambassador John Bolton saying he expects that a vote could happen.
The Arab League secretary-general, Amr Moussa, just moments ago saying, "Well, I can't speak of a deal," he says, "but I can speak of progress."
You mentioned the sequencing. That's been the tough stumbling block under possible worked out language now. Diplomatic sources saying an expanded U.N. peacekeeping operation, along with Lebanese government forces, would now patrol the south, and then Israel would withdrawal. Simultaneous actions.
British Foreign Secretary Beckett is flying here. She may be here for a vote some time tomorrow.
There is a meeting going on right now among the five permanent members of the council to go over the resolution -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Do you get a sense, Richard, based on your conversation with the diplomats at the U.N. Security Council and others who have convened on New York that Israel's threat, the threat from the Israeli cabinet to dramatically unleash a new round of ground forces into south Lebanon, moving Israeli troops, perhaps, all the way to the Litani River, 25 or 30 kilometers into Lebanon, and maybe even further into Lebanon over the next month or two of military operations, is putting enormous pressure on all the diplomats to come up with a diplomatic solution?
ROTH: Well, I've also heard diplomats say that that Israeli announcement was also a way for national consumption and for -- perhaps for its neighbors to also know that that was a possibility, to allow, if the U.N. Security Council vote took -- happened, that this way Israel would have a position in which to back off from and say, look, we were ready to go in, but now we're ready to accept this expanded U.N. force because it really does not like the U.N. presence at all.
It's been highly critical of the UNIFIL operation and this resolution would have UNIFIL be apart, along with the Lebanese government force to be in the region. The same thing with the Lebanon announcement, Wolf, a week ago of 15,000 troops. Each key player made their big aggressive military statement.
BLITZER: Richard, thank you very much. We'll follow the diplomacy over the next 24 hours and beyond. Let's go to Beirut, Jim Clancy standing by with the latest from there. Jim?
JIM CLANCY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Very interesting developments that we're listening to tonight. But first let me run down some of the news because tonight 200,000 people here in Beirut and in some of the southern suburbs have to decide stay or go. The marching orders came from the sky. Let me show you what I mean. Israeli jets rained down leaflets all across Beirut.
Those leaflets warned people the residents of Shia (ph), Berja Berajna (ph) and Hiaselum that they should leave, that expanded military operations in Beirut would jeopardize their lives. They have looked at the destruction elsewhere in the city. Some of them are deciding to go. There's some defiance voiced but at the same time, many people just don't want to take that risk.
Another important development, down at the port of Beirut, aid finally getting in, two ships docked at the port of Beirut. Inside their cargo holds were boxes and boxes of humanitarian aid. There are 100,000 people stranded across the south, there's a lot of people like we're discussing just now in these southern suburbs that are outside of their homes, all of them need help.
Unfortunately, none of the routes to the south are yet open. Another major development, an Israeli air strike right in the pinnacle of Beirut I would call it, right on the tip that jets out into the Mediterranean. A historic lighthouse was hit. But sources and many observers here in the Lebanese capital say this target had no military value, except for one thing.
It is in within hundreds of meters of Saad Hariri's house, Saad Hariri, the son of the former prime minister Rafik Hariri, and the foremost politician here in Lebanon who's really been pushing for this plan calling for an immediate Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon and the insertion of Lebanese troop there on the border. Some people think it was a warning shot to him.
That's the view from here, Wolf. These developments that we're seeing unfolding at the United Nations, though, very significant for Lebanon. A lot of Lebanese believe that this is the time to try to push for Hezbollah to disarm. And they see this as a multiple step thing. You think for a moment, you say well why would Hezbollah agree to this deal to allow the Lebanese army to deploy on the border and then they pull back and disengage a deal that could ultimately lead to their disarmament.
But Sheikh Nasrallah, Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, his claim to fame, Wolf, for the past six years has been, I drove the Israelis out of Lebanon. Today, he can fairly claim that he's the man that brought them back and did billions of dollars in damage to the infrastructure of this country in the process. He's under a lot of pressure.
He has to agree to this kind of a deal in order to salvage some kind of, something at least of his situation. The Israelis, of course, are opposed to that because they don't want to throw him any kind of lifeline and they don't want to be seen as pulling out of Lebanon so quickly after sacrificing so much blood and treasure -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Thanks very much, Jim Clancy reporting from Beirut. Matthew Chance is in northern Israel right on the border with Lebanon. He's joining us now live with more from what he's seeing and hearing. Matthew?
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Thanks very much, Wolf. Well, over the past few nights, as you know, we've been talking against the backdrop of that thumping barrage of Israeli guns pounding at targets at Hezbollah strongholds across southern Lebanon. From this position, just a few hundred yards from the Lebanese frontier, but, as you can hear, at the moment the guns have fallen silent.
That doesn't mean there's no military activity taking place in sites of Lebanon and, indeed, over the past several minutes there are sporadic artillery shots being fired off and tank rounds being fired off, as well. But nothing like the kind of intensity of fire that we've been witnessing over the past several days or, indeed the past several weeks.
Now Israelis defense officials reject the idea that there has been a lull in fighting. I have spoken to them about this over the course of the past few minutes. They've been saying that clashes have still been continuing inside southern Lebanon and indeed a number of Israeli soldiers have been killed today, at least two. Many others injured. That follows, of course, the casualties of yesterday when 15 Israeli soldiers were killed. That was at the height of this intense upswing in fighting.
But what the Israeli government, what the Israeli military say they're doing at the moment, is holding back from that planned offensive to push deep into southern Lebanon. Perhaps as we've been reporting as far as the Litani River, some 20 miles in places away north of the Israeli border to hold back from that offensive, to give some space to the diplomats in New York, around the world and the international community, to try and find a diplomatic solution to this.
To try and broker some kind of cessation of hostilities that would see a robust, perhaps a multi-national force be deployed into southern Lebanon that could do the job of making sure Hezbollah is disarmed, that it doesn't rearm and that it doesn't attack Israel again.
Now, if that multi-national force is not formed, if a robust force is not in place in southern Lebanon, Israel has made it quite clear it has a military option that it is prepared to use. It's giving this process a few days, but if it doesn't happen, then Israeli politicians insist they will go in full arm in south Lebanon -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Matthew, thank you. Matthew Chance reporting.
And coming up, we're going to have the latest developments on the alleged terror plot foiled by British police, including our airline travel is now being disrupted around the world and how air travelers are being affected. And how did British officials stop the alleged plot? Our Kelli Arena standing by with new details. Stay with us. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: On the alleged terror plot involving planes taking off from Britain, coming to the United States. John King is standing by, he's learning some incredible new details. What are you picking up, John?
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, we're told by two U.S. officials, one of them a counted terrorism official that what British officials are conveying to them about this plot is that the terrorists were allegedly going to use a peroxide-based solution as their propellant in the explosives, the flammable matter they would use on the plane. We're told this peroxide-based solution could come in liquid form and in a paste-like form. That is why we have seen today the banning of toothpaste, hair gel, any liquid containers by the TSA, the Transportation Security Administration here in the United States where passengers were also told in a briefing for members of Congress and key Congressional staffers earlier today that intelligence officials here in the United States said it also could have involved a British sports drink. Something like a Gatorade.
Now it's a bit unclear, some officials think that the actual ingredients of that sport drink would be used as part of this concoction. Others say perhaps just the containers being used to carry it. But we are told now by two U.S. sources, again, one of them a counter terrorism official, that what they are being told by British officials is the bomb in question that they were trying to concoct, a cocktail, if you will, on these aircraft, had they carried out this plot was a peroxide-based substance.
And we know from talking to bomb experts throughout the day, they say that unfortunately, Wolf, this is relatively easy to do, once you get used to the chemistry and you can do this in a very compact way. So again, because this can be used in liquid containers or in a paste- like substance, that is why we are seeing the ban on hair gels, toothpaste, anything like that.
A personal item you could carry on a plane, any liquids being carried on a plane. And it's also, Wolf, while tonight more members of Congress are briefed on this, we're hearing new calls for updated screening procedures many members of Congress saying at airports here in the United States, they simply do not have the equipment that can detect these materials.
BLITZER: And just to be precise, John, basically all the various ingredients for an explosive device or a bomb would be brought separately onto the plane and it would be put together, assembled onboard, is that what you're hearing?
KING: That's exactly what British officials are telling U.S. officials that several terrorists on each plane, each carrying an ingredient or two, they would assemble this on the plane. And they're talking about Wolf, nine or 10 planes, a cascade of terror over the Atlantic Ocean. That is exactly what they're talking about.
BLITZER: A lot of dead people, potentially, if you do the math. Thanks very much. John King reporting for us on that.
Lou Dobbs is standing by with a preview of what's coming up right at the top of the hour. Lou, what are you working on?
LOU DOBBS, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you Wolf. Coming up at 6:00 p.m. eastern here on CNN, we'll have the very latest for you tonight on the breakup of that terrorist plot in Britain to destroy as many as 10 airliners over the Pacific and over the Atlantic rather. We'll be live in London, Washington and New York. And a former Department of Homeland Security inspector general joins us to assess the terrorist threat to this nation, now five years into the global war on terror. Also, Israel warns of a painful expansion of its campaign to defeat Hezbollah if diplomatic efforts to end the conflict fail. Three leading Middle East analysts join us to assess whether a peace deal is likely and what the outcome will be of any war that is escalated.
And members of Congress are demanding answers now in the case of two border patrol agents who face up to 20 years in jail while a Mexican drug smuggler they were pursuing is free to commit more crimes. We'll have that special report, we hope you'll be with us for all of that and a great deal more at the top of the hour here on CNN. Wolf, back to you.
BLITZER: We'll be with you Lou, thank you very much.
We're following all the developments in this alleged terror plot involving planes, maybe 10 of them, coming to the United States from Britain. Kelli Arena, our justice correspondent, she's collecting more information, as well. Kelli?
KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, you know this group has been under surveillance for a long time but it was only recently that it became clear that the U.S. was the target and authorities decided that now was the time to act.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARENA (voice-over): Nearly all of the men arrested in Britain were British citizens, most of Pakistani descent. But were they al Qaeda? The short answer is maybe.
MICHAEL CHERTOFF, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: This operation is, in some respects, suggestive of an al Qaeda plot, but because the investigation is still under way we cannot yet form a definitive conclusion.
ARENA: Officials say arrests in Pakistan helped provide investigators in London with some specifics to move in on the alleged plotters. Those officials say at least two of the suspects recently traveled to Pakistan and received money from contacts there.
PETER BERGEN, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: The fact that it's British citizens of Pakistani decent is very reminiscent of the July 7, 2005 plot. Two of those guys went to Pakistan, they trained there, they hooked up with al Qaeda.
ARENA: The alleged plot was sophisticated with plans to attack more than one target, an al Qaeda trademark. It allegedly targeted airplanes, an al Qaeda obsession. What's more, the British plot closely resembles a 1995 al Qaeda plan to bomb a dozen U.S. jumbo jets over the Pacific during a two-day span. Officials say al Qaeda leader Khalid Sheik Mohammed who oversaw that plot, told interrogators he planned to use liquid explosives.
STEVEN SIMON, COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS: Among the points in common between this conspiracy and that one are, the weapon, this kind of liquid, but stable explosive.
ARENA: While the alleged plot looks like one hatched by al Qaeda, this may be a prime example of the so-called home-grown terrorist threat. Terrorism experts say al Qaeda is more of a movement these days than an organization, instead of being official card carrying members of al Qaeda, individuals share a common ideology and act out on their own. But, still, al Qaeda remains a threat.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ARENA: That's nearly five years after the September 11th attacks. An FBI warning to state and local partners sounds very familiar. In it, it says al Qaeda remains committed to conducting another spectacular attack in the United States -- Wolf.
BLITZER: How worried is the FBI, Kelly, about supporters of these alleged terror plotters, supporters in the United States?
ARENA: Well, you know, Wolf, they've had a couple hundred FBI agents who have been pursuing leads passed on by British authorities for the past few days. Nothing has turned up yet. Of course, in the course of this investigation, more information comes forward, phone numbers, for example, in the United States are being tracked down, just to make sure there was no one here in the U.S. who was involved in that plot.
We're also told by officials that the number of FISA warrants, the secret warrants and terrorism investigation has spiked dramatically in the last few days as a part of this investigation, Wolf. So, very worried, really wanting to make sure that nothing, not one trail leads back here in terms of personnel.
BLITZER: Kelli Arena, thank you very much.
Still to come, passengers are being inconvenienced big time by the new rules. We're going to show you some of the personal stories they're posting online.
And in our 7:00 p.m. eastern hour, my interview with the Homeland Security Secretary, Michael Chertoff. I'll ask him if he thinks al Qaeda is behind the plot and if he thinks the planned terror rivals 9/11. Stay with us. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Welcome back, we're following all the latest developments in this hour's breaking news story, the alleged terror plot targeting airliners bound from Britain to the United States. Want to bring in CNN's Tom Foreman, he's watching this story very closely. Tom?
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, security and terrorism analysts I have been talking to today suggest one of the reasons these planes might have been planned to blow up over the ocean is a very practical one. Relatively small explosives, highly pressurized planes at high altitude would blow up, but what if they came all the way over to this country, once again, what if we ran into al Qaeda pursuing airplanes as we were talking about a moment ago as weapons and they tried to bring them in once again to strike cities. Are we any better off than we were five years ago at 9/11?
Well, people I talked to today suggest probably. And that's because of something out in Colorado. The military and defense people got together after this, government people, as well, and said, let's come up with a unified system so there would not be the confusion there was on 9/11 about what to do about airplanes, civilian airplanes that are being used as weapons.
Now, at NORAD, the center where they monitor missile launches all over the world, which really was designed essentially for that, for missile attacks, they're monitoring all over this country and keeping track of defensive flights being flown by military planes and where planes are.
So, if a plane came in or a series of planes came in to the U.S. coast anywhere, and they felt it was a real threat, NORAD is in contact with military bases all over, this is just a sampling of them. We're not giving away any secrets here, just some of them from which planes might be scrambled and put into the air to intercept these planes.
There is now a chain of command in which the shoot down of one of these planes, if it was thought to be a weapon, a civilian plane whether we're talking about a commercial jet or, more importantly, a charter jet, which has been one of the big questions, there is a chain of command in which it could be shot down. There's always, I'm told, at least a two-star general in place here who can make that decision, but it may even go all the way over here to the east coast to the White House.
This is where, ultimately, the decision might wind up being made because it's obviously a very, very serious one. The question now is, we have the mechanism in place, they've got the chain of command in place but all the folks I talked to today said if you really have a plane coming at the coast here, you have a very, very serious decision to be made and there will be big political considerations. That's the test that can't be made until it actually happens and, of course, Wolf, the test we hope we never have to see.
BLITZER: That's an awful, awful choice. Thank you very much for that, Tom Foreman reporting.
We're getting some incredible stories from very frustrated, angry travelers out there. I want to bring Jacki Schechner, our internet reporter, who is trying to pick up some of these stories online. Jacki?
SCHECHNER: Wolf, this is what BWI airport in Baltimore looked like at about 9:00 this morning. We get this photo courtesy of a man named Glen Fellman who lives in Rockville, Maryland. He sent it to CNN's new I-report system where you, too, can be a reporter for CNN. He says he travels about once a month and these are the worst lines he's seen since 9/11. He said people though were particularly considerate and calm considering they had to deal with the new regulations and all of the delays.
We are also seeing people post photos online at like flickr.com, one of the popular photo blogs. This guy named Leon who was trying to get from San Diego to Salt Lake City for work. He said he waited in a security line for two and a half hours and just gave up on the trip. We're also seeing photos coming out of London, this is Heathrow terminal one during the security alert this morning. And some photos taken of the board. You can see all of the cancellations -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Jacki, thank you.
Much more of our special coverage coming up, we're following this important story. This terror plot uncovered by Britain with the assistance of Pakistan, presumably and the United States. Much more on this story coming up.
And terror politics, as we take a closer look at what's going on what about the impact on the midterm elections. We're going to show you what both parties are saying and doing right now.
And coming up in our 7:00 p.m. eastern hour, my interview with the Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff. Stay with us, you're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Let's check in with Zain Verjee, she's following some other important stories making news on a very, very busy day. Zain?
VERJEE: Wolf, the FBI has now found six of the 11 Egyptian students who were supposed to attend a summer college program in Montana, but never showed up. Authorities arrested two of the men in Maryland today. Chicago police detained a third man at O'Hare International Airport. The FBI says the students are not considered terrorists and there is no link between them and the alleged plot to bomb U.S.-bound planes from the UK.
Iraq's prime minister is condemning a suicide bombing which killed almost three dozen people today as a barbaric massacre. A suicide bomber blew himself up at a crowded market near a revered Shia shrine in Najaf. That's just south of Baghdad. Iraq's defense ministry says a Sunni insurgent group has claimed responsibility in a web message which calls Shia's quote, "venom."
The attorney for the man accused of going on a deadly shooting spree at a Jewish charity in Seattle, Washington says that his client apparently wants to plead guilty. One woman died and five others were injured in last month's attack. Navid Abzal Haq (ph) was arraigned on first degree murder and attempted murder charges today. He is expected to enter a plea next week -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Zain, thank you.
Up next, the politics of terror. How might politicians be trying to use threats like the one exposed today to their advantage? Stay with us, we'll be right back. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Welcome back. With a crucial election just three months away, both republicans and democrats are trying to use news of the foiled terror plot to their advantage. Let's bring in our senior political analyst Bill Schneider, he's joining us in Washington. What is the effect of this latest alleged terror plot on the political landscape looking down the road, Bill?
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well Wolf, typically when voters become fearful their support for the president goes up, and, certainly, President Bush and the republicans used the security issue to their advantage in the last two elections. But will it work this time? Terrorism is still the number one issue of concern to voters, but take a look at this poll result from our CNN poll last week.
People who said terrorism is extremely important to their vote plan to vote for the democrat by a small margin over the republican. Now, this is in their vote for Congress. This is still one of the republican's very best issues but their advantage on the terrorism issue has simply vanished in this poll taken, of course, before the recent news of the arrests in Britain.
BLITZER: The -- you know, as we take a look at all of that, Bill, I want to just understand the reason for that assessment.
SCHNEIDER: Yes, well, here's a clue, as of last week only 31 percent of Americans said they think the United States and its allies are winning the war on terrorism. The prevailing view is that neither side is winning that war. And one reason, of course, is disillusionment with the war in Iraq.
Most people polled say that the war in Iraq has made the terrorism situation in the world worse, not better. Only five percent think that Iraq has decreased the dangers of terrorism. For democrats, all issues are Iraq, for republicans it's all terrorism.
BLITZER: Bill Schneider thank you very much. And remember, one hour from now my interview with the Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff. That's it for us.
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