so much. that is one theory. o course another theory from a former fbi agent we just spoke with is that the explosives would be smuggled into russia, into sochi to wreak halvoc ther. there is much of the story we don't know. wolf blitzer continues in "the situation room." mr. blitzer, take it away. jake, thanks very much. a possible terror threat involving explosives hidden in tooth tpaste tubes. there are new details coming in. mitt romney is in "the situation room" this hour. after running the salt lake winter olympic game, is he repo worried about the safety of americans in sochi? and does he really mean "no, no, no" when he says he won't run again in 2016? i'll go one-on-one with him live this hour. and is this what it like when hell freezes over? across the country, more than 120 million people battling ice,

snow, and bitter cold. billions right now without power. thousands of flights already have been grounded. we have full team coverage. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." >> possible terror threats only hours before the start of the winter olympic games in sochi. the united states is arriving airlines with direct flights to russia to be aware of toothpaste or cosmetic tubes that could be concealing explosive materials. nick paton walsh is standing by in sochi. let's get the latest from our justice correspondent evan perez on the story in washington. evan, what are you learning? >> wolf, this is a very big alert that just went out to airlines that are flying in to russia. this is not something that they're concerned about being directed here in the u.s., but as you mentioned the olympics

getting under way on friday, they're very concerned about airliners that are flying into russia and the concern is about the possibility of explosives being hidden inside toothpaste tubes and cosmetic tubes and about whether or not that could be used to detonate a bomb on board airliners. now, this is obviously something that has been a concern with law enforcement and with airline security experts for some time. as you know, every time we travel, we now have to put our liquids into small containers before we put them on board. but this is a very extraordinary thing to be issuing this very big alert right ahead of the olympics. now, dhs sent us a statement that they wanted us to be aware of. they said out of an abundance of caution, dhs regularly shares relevant information with domestic and international partners, including those associated with international events such as the sochi

olympics. our security apparatus includes a number of measures, both seen and unseen, and dhs will continue to adjust security measures to fit an ever-evolving threat environment. >> evan, stand by. i want to go to sochi. nick paton walsh is on the ground for us. i assume they're very familiar with these threats, russian security forces having received this information from the united states. set the scene for us. what's going on? >> reporter: it's quite possible the information came to the united states from the russians. i mean, they put in advance here a clear ban on all liquids in hand luggage inside planes. you can't even take the 100 mill liters, which obviously plague many frequent fliers at the moment. the russians have a long history with this. back in 2004, before the school hostage crisis that killed 300 people, two planes were blown

out of the sky ten days before that, almost simultaneously by two female suicide bombers. nobody quite knew how those blasts occurred, but a lot of speculation at the time was that explosives were brought on perhaps in a large tub of face cream. now, that was before those 100 milliliter restrictions were brought in. that was more linked to a threat emanating out of london. but certainly after both blasts the russians brought in those full-body scanners that many now complain about as an invasion of privacy in other parts of the world, but they're appearing at russian airports very quickly after that. there's a decade of look agent this here. i know some suggestions are that perhaps toothpaste tubes be used to transport the explosives into this part of the world in sochi. i find that highly unlikely given how frequently it is to find explosives in this particular part of the world in southern russia, much more likely. if they're worried about that, they're worried about something occurring on the plane itself, wolf. >> walk us through what it was like. you flew into sochi from moscow.

what was it like? >> reporter: much like any other flight, of course you have restrictions, that i have give you advice, but one clear change, no liquids at all, not even duty free, a blanket ban. in one separate instance a colleague of ours flying down recently did appear to get some liquids on the plane so it's not entirely clear how hermetically tight that ban necessarily is. but you're supposed to put all your liquids in the hand luggage. that clearly is because i think perhaps the russians are aware of this threat or deeply concerned of the experiences they had ten years ago being repe repeated. perhaps to repeat the words we heard from the department of homeland security's statement, this is out on abundance of caution. maybe moscow has their own version of that. >> stand by, nick. barbara starr is getting some information over at the pentagon as well. barbara, a lot of rus very familiar with other efforts to try to blow up a plane including the so-called underwear bomber.

what are you hearing? >> reporter: wolf, that's right. what the u.s. government will be doing now clearly is looking at known bomb makers, where are they, where have they been, what training and capability might they have spread to these elements in southern russia. it is al qaeda and yemen, there are bomb makers there that have considerable expertise in this very issue of putting hard-to-detect explosives into devices. we saw in 2009 with the attempt of so-called underwear bomber to bring down a u.s. plane on christmas over the united states. we saw wit that the same bomb-making circles put explosives inside printer cart riblgs. there -- cartridges. there's a lot of information available on website, chat rooms. this is the type of bomb making

information that has truly spread across these jihadists and fundamentalist circles. no question about it. and what's so interesting, wolf, it was just yesterday, the head of u.s. counterterrorism, matthew olson, testifying before the house intelligence committee, said that the u.s. was investigating a number of specific threats of varying credibility, he said, and working to disrupt them. there is a lot of cooperation at this point in information between the russians and the u.s. the u.s. view so far has been that they believe the venues, the olympic venues, are so heavily guarded by the russians right now, they will be safe. it's concern about outside of the venues. we've talked about it, the so-called soft targets --

restaurants, shops, railroads, transportation. outside of sochi and the venues, these are the vulnerable areas. this warning goes to that point. >> the u.s. military has deployed equipment, hardware, troops in the area in case of an emergency. >> reporter: well, they have, wolf. there are two navy warships in the black sea now, but we are being cautious. that that is really a just-in-case kind of measure. the military is very strongly making the point it will be the state department that would be working with the russians directly if there is an attack, if there is a crisis. but the u.s. military also is going to put a number of transport aircraft on stand by n germany hopefully not to be used but to be used to evacuate a

large number of americans out of russia if it came to that, wolf. >> i want to go back to sochi. nick payson walsh is our man on the scene. are folks there, athletes, tourists, speck tay ttators, to are they nervous about a potential terror attack? >> reporter: at the airport this afternoon we saw the us a rhee trooeian ice hockey team, big guy, not scared of much, but their two female many members received that letter yesterday threatening them of kidnap. they were relaxed but one said they were going to take a decision as a group if they were going to leave the olympic village during the time they're around. i think that's the point the decision comes for so many people visiting here. it's pretty clear inside that ring there won't be many efforts. but when you move out into the town where the venue is, perhaps to the town of sochi itself, that's where the dragnet softens and the problems arise.

to talk about also the kind of device people might be concerned about here. i mean, it's sophistication of the bomb makers in this part of the world has increased significantly. we're seeing videos of insurgents about eight years ago making huge bombs out of fertilizer in paint tubs. that has since changed and the more recent videos involve quite small, sophisticated suicide belts which security videos show them destroying when they're found. there is sophistication here certainly. and one of the more recent bomb makers named by the security services is an ethic russian thought to have some sort of military training caple of building quite sophisticated devices. i'm sure there's a lot of concern within russian security circles about what they could be facing. that's perhaps where this toothpaste tube and cosmetic warning stems from. a long history of devices on aircraft like that and perhaps the russians having their own abundance of caution here. if that turns out to be they were the source of this american

warning. >> and in recent months i've been told repeatedly some of these terrorist bomb makers are becoming increasingly sophisticated, learning new techniques all the time. nick, don't go too far away. we'll stay atop the breaking news out of russia. mitt romney knows a lot about olympic games. he ran the winter olympic games in salt lake city. what does he think about the latest threat to sochi? we'll have that. he's standing by. when jake and i first set out on our own, we ate anything. but in time you realize the better you eat, the better you feel. these days we both eat smarter. and i give jake purina cat chow naturals.

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we're continuing to follow the breaking news. word of a possible new terror threat only tours before the start of the winner olympic games in sochi, russia. the united states is advising all airlines with direct flights to russia to be aware of what is described as toothpaste or cosmetic tubes that could potentially be concealing explosive materials. mitt romney was the chief executive of the winter olympic games called in to stave salt lake city games back in 2002. he's joining us now, the republican presidential nominee in 2012. governor, thanks for coming in. i want to get to the breaking news. you know a lot about winter olympic games and these potential terror threats. when you hear the report that the u.s. is advising airlines, passengers, be on the lookout to for toothpaste containing explosive material, what do you

think? >> of course you begin by saying it's a grave concern to hear a report of this nature and you basically want to know more. it cries out for saying give me more information, because in a setting like this what is the airline or the tsa or a passenger to do with regards to toothpaste? are we going to put in place immediately restrictions on any kind of tubes or kos metsics going in flights towards russia? as individuals, as airlines, people are concerned with the nature of this threat and the fact there's nothing they can do to prevent something of this nature being put onto an aircraft. it's a great concern and we're asking for more information. >> you organized -- you came in to help organize and really did rescue those winter olympic games in salt lake city in 2002. that was after 9/11. i assume you were deeply concerned potentially about security threats at that time.

what advice -- it's late in the game right now, only a day or two away from the friday night opening ceremonies, but what advice would you give the russians? >> i think we can see the key to any kind of security for a major event like the olympics is intelligence work. the fact there has been the kind of uncovering of specific threats you've seen indicates the russians and other of their friends or if they're collaborators trying to stop terrorism, have come together and have identified threats, that's a good sign. you also see by virtue of the hardened area they put around the venues and specific transportation hubs and so forth that they've made a very major investment to secure the games themselves and the athletes and spectators. i believe the games will be safe, but we're in a very different setting in sochi than we were in salt lake city. sochi's a very dangerous neighborhood. and there are people who have relatively easy access to a

place like sochi that didn't have easy access to a place like salt lake. so what we did was extraordinarily intensively focused on intelligence work to see who was coming into the city, where they were, who might represent a threat. that's very difficult to do in a city like sochi. but i certainly hope and base on what i've read that the russians have used every possible effort to make sure that that sort of work is being done. >> would you go? would you be willing to go or let your family members go to sochi at this late date? >> the answer to that is yes. i'm not going to be able to make it to sochi myself given my calendar, but i believe the games will be safe. i would feel most confident in the hardened venues, if you, will the place where is athletes are competing, the olympic village, olympic hotels, and the official olympic transportation system i believe will be so substantially guarded that those areas will be safe. but of course even there there's no such thing as a 100% guarantee. but nonetheless, you can't walk

through life fearing the buildings are going to fall on you or that terrorism is going to strike at any moment. in my view, the games and the specific hardened areas should have the safety that people expect. >> was it a mistake, and all of us are smarter with hindsight, six, seven years ago when they announced sochi would be the site of these winter games? would that be a mistake the international olympic committee made? >> well, i think the international olympic committee is going to have to weigh where the games are, what kind of threats might be in the neighborhood, the capacity of a nation financially to support the games. russia obviously has that capability, it has the intelligence network, it has the law enforcement personnel necessary to secure the games. but i think a country itself as it's thinking about its bid is likewise going to have to think about what kinds of threats might be posed and what kind of security issues could be brought in to bear. i guess i'm really disturbed that an event which is a global

event, which is for young people, athletes who train for years and years and years, that that could become the target of terrorist effort. i find that very disturbing, and i do believe that terrorists or others who think it's a big stage they can be seen on don't recognize it will not make them any friends and that the world sees both the threats as well as the actual activity that might occur at a setting like this. the world would see this in the most negative light and would have extraordinarily dire consequences for those that are carrying out these kinds of threats or making those kind of threats. >> stand by far moment, governor. we have a lot more to discuss. but representative peter king at the house homeland security committee's chairman of the subcommittee on terrorism and intelligence, he's getting briefed on what is going on. representative king, thanks very much for joining us. >> thank you. >> we're all disturbed, worried about toothpaste containers or cosmetics containers potentially

carrying explosives going to sochi right now, this on the eve of the winter olympic games. i know you've been briefed on this. what's going on? >> wolf, i can't go into details as to what i was briefed on. i would say this is the type of threat that we're very concerned about. americans should take it very seriously. the airlines should take it seriously. obviously the people at the olympics should take it seriously. but this is the type of threat that is very concerning to us. i can't go into the detail, but i can tell you that our intelligence people are working on issues such as this around the clock and also working with other partners around the world. >> you have confidence in what the russians are doing? >> i have some confidence in what the rugs are doing but really not enough because they are not sharing enough intelligence or virtually any intelligence with us as to what's happening within russia. they're afraid that somehow we will use that to our advantage. we are getting some information about what's happening outside of russia, some externt threats, that type thing, or potential

threats. i don't want to overstate that. but we have a very close relationship with our allies other than the russians, but the russians, for instance, are cooperating nowhere nearly as much as the british did, the chinese did, the greeks did. so it's not near that level of cooperation, no. >> let's say there's a toothpaste -- a container of toothpaste and it has explosives in it. what kind of damage could that do to a plane? >> any type of concealed explosive could be extremely damaging, could be enough to bring a plane down. but again, any type of explosive on a plane is of great concern to us. >> so i guess the key question, are the athletes safe right now, the american spectator, the family members, the fans, all of the guests who are going to sochi in the next -- are they safe? >> i would say that they are reasonably safe, but i would not go myself. if i'm an athlete, that's one thing. but just as a spectator, i don't think it's worth the risk.

odds are nothing is going to happen, but the odds are higher than any other olympics i believe that something could happen. and the olympic site itself probably is locked down pretty well. there is that ring of steel around the olympics itself. but getting there and the surrounding areas i would say there's real cause for concern. >> i was disturbed the other day the xharm of your committee, said he wouldn't go, wouldn't want his family members to go, so he's obviously been breeched on what's going on, as have you. congressman peter king, thanks for joining us. >> thank you. say hello to the governor for me. >> i will. in fact, he's standing by. we'll continue our conversation with mitt romney in salt lake city. we have a lot more questions for him. we'll take a quick break and continue to follow, update you on the breaking news out of sochi, russia.

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the united states is advising all airlines flying to sochi to be especially concerned about the potential for explosives being hidden in

toothpaste or cosmetic tubes are the folks arriving over the next day or two in sochi, the opening ceremony friday. letsz than 48 hours from that, mitt romney, in charge of the winter olympic games back in toou, the republican presidential nominee is still with us. it seems to me, and you can correct me if i'm wrong, governor romney, based on what we heard from peter king of the house homeland security committee, it looks like this could be the most serious terror threat of any summer or winter olympic games on record. >> well, in terms of a prewarned threat, i think you're right, based on what we're hearing from representative king. it calls into question the russians' willingness to share information and to give us the the kind of specificity or the kind of weighing of credibility that normally would be associated with threats of this nature. according to representative king, that just hasn't been forthcoming and that obviously is very concerning. if, in fact, this story , this

threat is a credible threat, you would ask yourself why you wouldn't insist any flights going into sochi or the region would prohibit any kind of tubes of toothpaste or anything else, gel, liquids, and so forth, to make sure that this threat couldn't possibly be carried out. >> and remember the boston marathon bombers were from dagestan, which is not far away at all from sochi. this is a very troubled region to begin with, which makes a lot of us wonder what were they thinking when they decided to put the winter olympic games in sochi seven years or so ago. when i say this was maybe the worst pre-olympic game threat, we all remember what happened in 1972 with the munich summer olympic games where 11 israeli athletes were kidnapped and then killed in that botched rescue operation. bottom line right now, based on what you know, you still think it's okay for americans to go. >> the answer is for those of us

who love the olympics and the experience and want to see the athletes compete, it's something i would feel safe in doing. i'd take my family to do. at the same time, i think given the specificity of the threats and the degree of danger in the neighborhood, you're going to be a little concerned and the fact that these new revelations are coming forward now with regards to specific threats on the toothpaste source, why, that gives you some real concern. i don't think there's any way around that, and i do understand why someone like congressman king says he wouldn't go, wouldn't take his family there, but frankly, you know, given my love of olympic sport and the athletes i would do that if my schedule allowed it. >> i remember vividly almost two years ago, march 2012, you and i sat down for an interview. we spoke about u.s./russian relations and at the time you got a lot of grief for suggesting that in your opinion at that time russia -- and you called russia our number-one

geopolitical foe, as you well recall. you know, the whole relationship with putin right now, give us your sense. those comments then, a lot of people probably think you may be right. may have been right even though you were criticized pretty slooir at the time. give us your sense on this u.s./russia relationship specifically with putin. >> well, i don't think there's any question but that russia under putin's leadership has been our political adversary on the world stage and has tried to block the kind of tough sanctions we thought were essential early on in iran. they finally made some concessions on that front. the nuclear deal they worked out is very one-sided toward russia. of course harboring edward snowden is in my view a calculated effort to stick america in the eye. and right now they're standing arm in arm with assad and syria. most of the world is wishing he'd go away. i mean, russia is not our best

friend in terms of the politics of on the world stage. and for that reason among others i think we have to recognize that we have not a military foe, not an enemy, but a nation that seems intent on pushing back against the united states and opposing us, whether it's the united nations or in other places in the world where there is conflict. and -- but at this stage, given the fact they have the olympics and given the fact that we have athletes and spectators there, we'd hoped they'd put those kinds of political issues aside and collaborate entirely and fully so we can understand the extent of this threat and we can take corrective action as necessary. >> we're going to get back to the breaking news in a few moments. we've got more guests coming up. our roeeporters are on the scen. but while i have you, it's been on the minds of folks the past weeks, would you consider running for president a third time in 2016?

>> no. i've answered that question a number of times as you know and the answer is no. i'm not running for president in 2016. it's the time for someone else to take that responsibility, and i'll be supporting our nominee, and there are some very good people who are taking a very good look at that race. >> a lot of people wondering maybe you might change your mind. look at some of these recent polls in new hampshire. these are republicans. poll came out who would be your choice for the 2016 republican presidential nominee, romney 25%, rand paul 18%, chris christie, 17%, jeb bush 13%, jeb bu bush, 7%. there was a poll that came out earlier in november and this was a "washington post"/abc news poll, registered voters nationwide, if the election were today, this was a year after the election, would you vote for obama, 45%, romney, 49%. so you see those numbers, you see some of the folks out there in the republican party saying

well, mitt romney, maybe you should reconsider. what say you? >> well, i appreciate the compliment. it's better than a kick in the teeth. at the same time, i'm absolutely convinced that there are other people who would have a better chance of becoming the nominee, becoming the next president of the united states, better than i would have. i've had my turn. i gave it two good shots. didn't win. and now it's time for someone else to do it. so i'm not running for president, wolf. you know, i made that clear from the morning after the last loss. >> the other reason i'm old enough to remember and so are you, ronald reagan tried three time, got it on the third. the third time was the charm for ronald reagan. so, you know, this is america. you can always change your mind if you want. if it's not going to be you on the republican side, who do you want to be the republican nominee? >> well, i don't intend to support somebody until they've actually gone through the

process, and right now we've got a very full group of people. marco rubrubio, jeb bush, chris christie, rand paul, paul ryan, of course, my running malt, extraordinary man. john kasich, governor of ohio, doing a great job there. scott walker in wisconsin. we've got a lot of very good people. souzusanna martinez in new mexii understand is potentially looking at the race. i read that in the blogs. so i don't know how it's going to settle down. i didn't mention mike huckabee. of course mike huckabee ran before, did a fine job. he may be coming back and giving another shot. so, you know, we'll let it settle down a bit and then finally coalesce behind the person who we think ought to be the next president. >> the last time you had to make a decision like this, you vetted a whole bunch of republicans, you thought paul ryan after you was most qualified to be president of the united states. do you still believe that? >> well, i think paul ryan was the absolute right person for me to have as the vice president. and i say that because i was

governor, i had not had the kind of experience in washington to know who i could trust there, who would get the job done, how the budget process would work most effectively. and paul is not only a man of character and courage and vision, he's also a person of great experience. and that washington experience combined with my experience leading and as a governor i thought was a good combination. but in terms of who's the best person to be our nominee, i'm going to wait to make that decision a little later. >> you believe governor chris christie is telling us the truth? >> oh, i sure do. chris is a friend of mine. chris is a straightforward guy. when he tells you something, you can count on it. and i'm counting on chris and believe that he, if he decides to get into national politics, he'll do very well indeed. >> if hillary clinton is the democratic nominee, in your opinion, who is most qualified to beat her? >> well, if i knew the answer to that specifically, then i'd tell you who i want to see as our

nominee because i care for the people who share my views, let's say 80% of the time, as ronald reagan used to say. some probably share them 90%, some 80%, but just as important to me is who would be the most effective in carrying forward our message and being able to win back the white house and put a stop to obamacare, the job losses it's causing, get the economy going again, put people back to work, fix our school, help people come out of poverty. there's a lot to be done this president hasn't done and that's why i think it's time for a real change in washington. >> mitt romney telling us he's not going to run once again, but as i said, this is america and people can change their minds. barack obama said he wasn't going to run and he decided to run. we'll see what happens. governor thanks so much as usual for joining us. >> thanks, wolf. good to be with you. >> governor mitt romney joining us. we're going to get back to the breaking news out of sochi right now, the united states informing

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following the breaking news. yet another new terror threat on this, the eve of the olympic games in sochi, russia. the united states is advising airlines with direct flights to russia to be aware of toothpaste or cosmetic tubes that could be concealing explosive materials. our senior international correspondent nick paton walsh is joining us once again.

he's live in sochi. nick, we just heard here in "the situation room" from congressman peter king, the chairman of the house homeland security subcommittee on intelligence and counterterrorism, that he wouldn't necessarily be ready to go to sochi, wouldn't want his family members to go to sochi. he thinks it's dangerous where you are right now. and i know athletes and fans and spectators are arriving even as we speak. are they ready in sochi for the start of these games? >> security-wise, from what we've seen since being here, there's no real threat obvious to you. there is a significant military and police presence here. in fact, some observers say it's even more discreet than they necessarily expected. we haven't felt under threat here at all, but we are of course obviously aware of the issues across southern russia. we've just come back from dagestan, the hotbed of the insurgency. that's the real question, not so much whether this nugget of land

behind me on the coast is going to be well protected but whether things outside of that could possibly spill over or simply soft targets there actually get hit instead. that's the major concern. i think when you hear high-profile american politicians say it wouldn't be safe for them or their family ignite a debate and certainly makes those on the fence wonder whether or not frankly it's worth the risk. this is meant to be a time of pleasure, two weeks of joy in sporting harmony. obviously the question will be emerging for those getting on the plane whether it was a good idea after all. >> they described the security measures in and around sochi rings of steel, as they say layer after layer, metal detectors, magnetometers. set the scene. tell us what's going on. in if you want to go from where you are, for example, to one of the venues where some of the games are going to be played, whether hockey or skiing or whatever, what do you need to do, what do you need to have? >> you have to have a variety of

different passes, wolf, thing which require a degree of biometric information, you put them into a machine, they beep, then you can walk through various turnstiles. the ones we have for media, we have limits. you can't take cameras in some areas. the cars, that's a whole different world of complication and headaches. you need special ministry interior passes to get on some roads. on top of that, you need extra olympic accreditation to take cars in other arias too. we tried to get near some of the accommodation for athletes and our pass wasn't good enough for that today. so the problem really is when you look at this scene behind me, the way you describe it, you make it sound like organized concentric ring of an onion, almost, you don't get that feeling traveling around that it seems complicated, possibly ramshackle. i'm sure that's the design put in place to make whoever might try to infiltrate it even more confused. >> nick paton walsh in sochi, we'll get back to you.

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this is cnn breaking news. >> we're following the breaking news. word of a possible new terror threat just hours before the start of the winter olympic games in sochi, russia. the united states advising all airlines with direct flights to russia to be aware of toothpaste or cosmetic tubes that could be

concealing explosive materials. let's bring in law enforcement analyst tom fuentes, assistant director of the fbi joining us from denver. what do you make of this latest warning, be worried about potentially toothpaste or cosmetic tubes on planes? >> wolf, i think this is just another one of the many possible threats that everybody's had to be worried about. it's almost like a reminder of threats over the past 12, 13 years of different liquids or aerosols or contact lens solution, shaving cream, that can be brought on the airplane and have an explosive hidden in the caiontainer, if you will. the warning that u.s. intelligence has given to the russians about this threat is not just carry-on luggage, but anybody even in checked luggage -- and again it's not only the threat to the aircraft, but the possible threat that

somebody could bring this material into sochi and use it or combine several people's tubes the of toothpaste to create an explosive device in sochi and use it during the olympics and possibly a soft target but still use it. >> we've been hearing and i know you have as well that some of these terrorist bombmakers are getting more sophisticated. would they be able to create some sort of toothpaste tube or cosmetic tube with an explosive device inside that wouldn't be detected going through metal detectors? >> yes. they've been able to do that with other containers and we've known about plots. there have been plots where aircraft were warned or authorities were warned to check for liquids in the case of shaving cream or contact lens solution or baby formula, to watch for that as possibly being contained or having explosive material in it. this is not the first time. it's nothing original or new. it's just that it's one more

reminder that the u.s. is providing to the russians to beware of this one as well. >> what do you do in the case of checked luggage? there's toothpaste in your checked luggage and it's the belly of the plane, how do you prevent an explosion, if, will, from occurring? >> well, i dmont that, they're, again worried about the explosion as much on the aircraft because they'd have to have that set up with detonators to do that. but the only way to prevent bad thi things from getting on an aircraft is to search everything that's going on the aircraft. that's not always done. the carry-on luggage and the passenger and crew themselves. but if you have materials hidden in checked luggage, especially if they look like everyday material, like a tube of toothpaste, it will be very difficult unless you just physically search by hand every piece of luggage going on that aircraft and every package. the other issue with that is that you have people that have

already arrived in sochi and have been there now for a while. the media, obviously, is already there setting up their equipment to film or cover the olympic games. obviously, cnn, nick paton walsh has been there for some time. people are already there. so if a sudden warning goes out to also check the check-in luggage, you know, it could be too late for that as well. and i think something else that people need to realize is that this has turned into a war of words. almost a trash talking like in the national football league only with life and death circumstance where putin is saying, we've got the ring of steel. you're not going to get in here. and the terrorists since last july are saying, yes, we are, we are going to penetrate. and they've had seven years to prepare and hide materials in sochi before that ring of steel was ever erected. so there's a lot going on here, and it's a very dangerous situation. >> certainly is. tom fuentes, thanks very much.

coming up, only a matter of hours before the winter olympic games get under way in russia, between the new terror threats, the hotel horror stories, serious questions about the safety of the various athletic sites, we'll break it all down. a "situation room" special report "trouble in sochi" that starts right at the top of the hour. welcome back. how is everything? there's nothing like being your own boss! and my customers are really liking your flat rate shipping. fedex one rate. really makes my life easier. maybe a promotion is in order. good news. i got a new title. and a raise? management couldn't make that happen. [ male announcer ] introducing fedex one rate. simple, flat rate shipping with the reliability of fedex.

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this is cnn breaking news. >> this is a "situation room" special report, i'm wolf blitzer in washington. the breaking news this hour, a new terror warning for airlines flying to russia only 24 hours before the start of the winter olympic games. we're learning more about the potential threat, a threat that might involve explosives hidden in a chilling new way, in toothpaste or cosmetic tubes. our correspondents here in washington and in sochi, they are working the story. they're covering all the new threats, the setbacks in the olympic city itself.

let's check in with nick paton walsh. he's live in sochi with the very latest. what is the very latest, nick? >> reporter: wolf, we know that this threat, as you said, are about potentially explosive being put on aircraft in toothpaste or cosmetic tubes. we do know that russia has instituted a ban on liquids in hand luggage for quite some time now. when i flew from moscow to sochi, that was particularly of concern certainly. it's not clear how universal the supplies are across russia, but this is something that's definitely put in place when it comes to the games here. we do know also russia has a pretty long history with this sort of threat. back in 2004, two planes were blown out of the sky almost simultaneously by two female suicide bombers. some of the speculation at the time was they may have taken the explosives on board the aircraft in large tubs of face cream.

what we don't know is if this threat is about explosives being transported here on toothpaste tubes the or airliner or whether or not those devices may be used on board the aircraft. i would suspect probably the latter because it's relatively an arctic part of russia around here. there's a ring of steel around the game, but frankly, if you needed to bring explosives it would be easier to bring them across land, dagestan where there are explosions nearly every week. >> dagestan a tumultuous place right now in this continuing war, if you will, between the extremists and others in russia. stand by for a moment. barbara starr is our pentagon correspondent. she's getting new information on the breaking news as well. what are you learning? >> wolf, this is the exact concern the intelligence community has had all the way long. they feel the russians have that ring of steel around the olympic venues, tens of thousands in security forces.

it's other targets the u.s. has been worried about, the so-called soft targets, hotels, restaurants, transportation hubs and that now, this, of course, extending to airliners. so what they are going to be looking at, as they do in every one of these threats, who are the potential bombmakers, who has the expertise, who knows how to do this sort of thing? we talked about it before. there are elements of al qaeda that are very expert in making these types of bombs, but in addition, a lot of this technical information is on websites, chat rooms, out there in the internet circles that jihadists frequent. so it will be very tough for them to figure out. you know, it was just yesterday that the head of u.s. counterterrorism matthew olson testified before congress that the u.s. and the russians were looking at some very specific threats of varying credibility, but they were looking at them and trying to disrupt them, and

now we have this. >> went on to say we're working very closely with the russians and other partners to detect any threats we see and disrupt those. ivan, you've been there for several days now. walk us through the security that you've had to endure, obviously, out of an abundance of caution, the russians are being very, very determined to try to make sure that everyone remains safe. >> you know, wolf, i think the term that we've been throwing around "the ring of steel" is a very accurate one. the olympic venues are very fort fied, not only by fences and metal detect erts but these scanners that you have to run your accreditations and your travel passes through, but also by the tens of thousands of russian security forces that have clearly been deployed here.

when you drive along highways here, you see police deployed roughly every quarter mile. vehicles here are severely restricted. even bulldozers, even construction equipment, those type of vehicle, they need special permit, special accreditations to operate here. you can't bring cars into this province, this region of russia without a special permit, without it being previously registered here. and if you kept your car here from, say, another city like moscow after january 7th, you can't really drive it out easily either. so the russian security restrictions are quite serious. the deployment is quite serious. that's probably why people like u.s. counterterrorism officials are saying they believe the venues themselves will be quite safe. their concern, as barbara mentioned, are softer targets outside of the immediate olympic venues and, of course, the question what about other russian cities and towns.

they've been targeted in the past by insurgents, by terrorists. they could do so again potentially and still manage to raise great fear, cause great harm and principally embarrass greatly the government of russian president vladimir putin. >> as you know, they've had seven years to get ready for this, the russian security force, but also the terrorists who may be out there. have you heard of concern about so-called sleeper cells, ivan? >> you know, when you talk to ordinary russians, for instance, who live around here, many of them say they're not worried at all about being targeted. which is perhaps unexpected considering that there have been direct threats coming from the principal islamist insurgent group in the region and also because we are so close to the caucasus, we're basically in the ca caucasus.

and this is one of the most volatile, politically charged regions in the world. yet, when you talk to ordinary russians here, they seem to tell me they're not very worried right now. perhaps it's because of the plasive deployment of uniformed russian security officers as well as probably the plainclothes officers. and there are also other measures we're very sure are in force that we cannot see here. so it's surprising to hear russians that don't seem to be very worried about this, the russians that are living right next to this potential target here, the olympic park over my shoulder here. >> all right, ivan watson in sochi. ivan, we're going to get back to you. elise labatt is our security reporter. what are you learning? >> just about this constant communication that the u.s. has been having with the russians, senior administration officials telling me just moments ago that the u.s. has been in touch with the russians about this threat,

about other threats and all information is being shared on secretary of state john kerry in an interview just today with our own jake tapper was talking about the real coordinated way that the u.s. and the russians have been working on leading up to the olympics. there are about 150 u.s. personnel from the fbi, from the department of homeland security, from the military, all working under the same way in a coordinated way under the same roof sharing realtime information with the russians. and as you know, barbara said also that the u.s. is tracking a number of threats, u.s. officials, counterterrorism officials in the last few days on the hill talking about these threats that they've been working on, obviously, don't want to talk too much about any specific threats but certainly this is one of them. >> stand by, tom fuentes, the former fbi law director, cnn analyst, is also joining us. our sources are telling us, tom, that these latest threats involving toothpaste or cosmetic

device, whatever, to conceal, to conceal explosives, that these threats are, quote, real. you've been alarmed for several weeks. you're not an alarmist by nation. you're very cautious. but you're deeply worried about what's going on? >> yes, i am, wolf, because this is completely an unprecedented situation. from the beginning. we've not had an olympic games put on right in the middle of a very troubled region as the reporters have said. this has been a dangerous area for the last 25 year, since the soviet union dissolved and chechnya and dagestan wanted to become independent republics and the russian federation would not allow it. the russians have used heavy handed tactics to suppress any desire for their independence. so this has been basically a war zone type situation and a terror zone situation for decades. so to have the olympics right in the middle of that is

problematic from the beginning. then you have the terror groups starting last july saying we're going to conduct an attack. then they conduct two attacks killing three dozen people a month and a half ago in volgograd. now, releasing videotapes. they're looking for black widows. they're going door to door in chechnya and gdagestan threatening families of known terrorist groups that they better not have something happen from one of their family members at the olympics. they're killing stray dogs on the streets of sochi. they're taking every possible measure and using very harsh measures to try to suppress the possibility of a terrorist attack, but terrorism is a crime of stealth, not a military invasion. the fact that people could already be there, even as we speak, to conduct something has been the situation for a long time, and that's why this is particularly dangerous compared to any other previous olympic games. >> tom fuentes, we'll get back

to you specifically on the question because you know a lot about this region. who potentially would be these terrorists who might want to disrupt these winter olympic games? we'll have much more coming up on the breaking news here in "the situation room." a new warning about a possible toothpaste terror plot targeting flights to the olympic games in sochi. we'll take you inside that so-called ring of steel in sochi. tom foreman is standing by in our virtual studio. hey guys! sorry we're late. did you run into traffic? no, just had to stop by the house to grab a few things. you stopped by the house? uh-huh. yea. alright, whenever you get your stuff, run upstairs, get cleaned up for dinner. you leave the house in good shape? yea. yea, of course. ♪ [ sportscaster talking on tv ] last-second field go-- yea, sure ya did. [ male announcer ] introducing at&t digital life. personalized home security and automation. get professionally monitored security for just $29.99 a month. with limited availability in select markets. ♪

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think it's worth the risk. odds are nothing is going to happen, but the odds are higher than to any other olympic, i believe, that something could happen. >> strong words from peter king, the house subcommittee on counterterrorism and intelligence already plagued by terror bombings in its southern region russia has put up a so-called ring of steel around the olympic venue, but can that keep athletes and all the visitors safe? tom foreman joins us with a closer look. what's going on, tom? >> hi, wolf, i'm here with peter brooks, a senior fellow from the heritage foundation from national security, also advised the bush administration and the pentagon. let's talk about this region that tom fuentes mentioned just a minute ago because you know a good deal about this. the north caucasus region has been incredibly violent for a long time. >> some of the most horrific attacks in russian history have come out of this region. attacks against elementary schools, theaters, subways, aircraft, airports, trains. >> most recently in volgograd

down here that very same thing happened. >> absolutely, just in late december, two attacks. the train station and a trolley bus killed dozens of people and that originated out of this part of the world. >> not only very violent terrorists but they show a willingness to go beyond their immediate zone. the boston bombings, those two young men had ties to this part of the region. let's move over here and talk about sochi on the western side. it is something of an island in the midst of all this chaos because the mountains separated from the worst of it and the sea protects it from the other side. but that's not enough. >> no, not enough at all. that's the reason the russians have created a ring of steel around the olympic venues. >> let's talk about what that means because we've heard that term an awful lot. first of all, one of the things that have been done here is they basically limited the roads to one that runs along the shore to the main olympic village where the opening ceremony will begin, with the ice skating events, things like that will be, and then one more that runs up into

the mountains to the alpine events, the skiing events. and to create this ring of steel, one of the things they've done is flood this area with troops and with security officers. >> yes, this is a security sector. inside of it everything is monitored, cell phone, internet, cameras, and they want to keep everybody outside of that who may do harm to the spectators. >> they'll try to keep track of basically every soul in there, what they're doing, where they're going. >> entering. >> they'll also have big equipment in here, anti-aircraft batteries, ships out at sea. and yet, you point out there is a very real threat despite all this. >> absolutely. they could have somebody inside of this ring of steel already, such as a black widow suicide bomber, a lone wolf. these games have been around for a long times, since 2007. this insurgency has gone on for 20 years. if you were a terrorist leader, you may want to get somebody in there very early set up an operation before this games start. >> when we talk about the threat of people smuggling something in in toothpaste tubes, that could

be going into the heart of the games into this very protected ring of steel or it could be about other targets. >> sure. i think this toothpaste threat is about aircraft. there are very few direct flights to sochi from outside russia. they'll have to come in through moscow. russia is a big place, nine time zones. if you're able to pull off a terrorist attack against moscow during these games, it's going to be a victory, quote, unquote, for these terrorists. >> no matter writ goes, it will be associated with the olympics. what are the odds in favor or against an attack during all this, with all your experience. >> they said they're going to do it, we have to take them at their word. we should expect an attempt. hopefully there won't be one. >> thanks, guys very much. we're continuing to follow the breaking news. we have a team of reporters in sochi. right now we're going there. we'll have the latest on this so-called toothpaste terror threat right after this. welcome back. how is everything?

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this is cnn breaking news. >> want to update you on the breaking news we're following. the united states now formally advising all airlines flying to russia, direct flights to russia, to be aware of the possibility that explosive materials could be concealed in toothpaste or cosmetic tubes or something along those lines. this according to a law enforcement source. another government source tells cnn that this threat, quote, it's real. it's real. we've got very good information about this so-called toothpaste bomb threat. other types of concealed explosives in tubes as well.

the source saying it's based on a credible source. we're taking it seriously so other countries are taking it very seriously as well. they assume, by the way, that if it were to come on a plane, the plane would be coming to russia from europe rather than the united states. let's go to sochi right now. where correspondents nick paton walsh and ivan watson, they're on the ground for us. ivan, first to you. this is pretty alarming right now and it comes only a few hours before the start of the winter olympic games. and i know i'm worried. i assume you guys are as well. what you're telling me is on the ground folks are trying to go along with business as usual? >> absolutely. i mean, you do not get the sense from the russian volunteers here, even from the residents who live just a stone's throw away from the olympic park that they feel any concern whatsoever. but i can give you a little context. i think many of our viewers,

many people would actually be coming to the olympics have no idea that the olympic park over my shoulder is five minutes drive away from an international border. the border between russia and a region called abkhazia. now, 20 years ago a war was fought there. there is still a frozen conflict there. another country, georgia, still claims that territory while russia supports what georgia describes as abkhazian separatists. basically that underscores how complicated this part of the world is, the caucasus. there have been many, many, many conflicts here over ethnic lines, over religious lines, over political lines between states and that's part of what is so unusual about putting these olympics here, this olympic park just five minutes drive away from a frozen conflict where there are more than a thousand russian peacekeepers stationed. abkhazia has been predominantly calm and stable, but again it just shows you what a

complicated region these winter olympics will be held in less than 48 hours from now. >> nick paton walsh. you were just in another dangerous part of that area, dagestan. all of us remember the bombers in boston. their families came from dagestan as well. that's not all that far away. here's the question because you know this region well. let's hope this doesn't occur, but if there were some sort of terrorist attack at the winter games in sochi, who would be the likely culprits, if you will? >> well, if you presume they come from the north caucasus, from southern russia, you're probably going to end up pointing a finger at the violet gag da stan. that's a brand used for an islamist emirate kind of organization working out of the hotbed of the insurgency. that's way across the east on the caspian sea. we're on the black sea here. but they've the ones behind the volgograd blast.

they're not really a corporate structure. they're separate cells, often very young, a lot younger than some of the militants we've seen in the past decade, often in their early 20s. the oldest ones get to 30 before they're killed by russian special forces, but they're the ones with the radical ideology, organization, and in cases the sheer will to die in cases like these. we've seen people who sought the culture, sought the fundamentalist underground that they provide and possibly if you see some of the more recent acts they've done, the bombmaking seems to be a little more sophisticated. possibly this may be with where the concerns are emfa naturing from. >> nick paton walsh on the ground in sochi. ivan watson watching what's going on as well. thanks to both of you for your excellent eyewitness accounts for what is going on. that's it for me. thanks very much for watch. "crossfire" starts right now. >> this is cnn