york. joining me now live in paris, christopher dickey foreign editor for "the daily beast." as you've been reporting all day and you've worked in paris for so many years. this is a disastrous terror attack. at journalism at the french people, at the heart of paris. chris dickey i hope you can hear me. we see you in paris. i'm not sure that chris dickey is hearing us right now from paris. pete williams in our newsroom in washington while we reestablish our connection with paris. pete what does homeland security know? what is the fbi doing at this moment? >> well, most of the u.s. authorities are in touch with their counterparts in paris and in france. but they don't know much more than than is being publicly reported, quite candidly andrea. in terms of what happened and who is responsible. that is a big question. the reports from the scene

indicated that several witnesses said they heard the attackers say they were from al qaeda and that they were in essence attacking because of the newspaper's references to the prophet mohammed. but in terms of whether this was isis inspired home grown, al qaeda directed whatever. there's no clear answer on that. and u.s. officials say it's going to be a while before they sort that out. remember, that these apparently three people responsible for this attack are still at large, have yet to be arrested. they don't know who they are. and without that they can't say where they came from. now, there have been lots of claims of credit on the internet from an isis group, an isis website, a twitter account that's connected to the islamic state. but there's simply no way to know for sure whether that's after the fact or whether that is, in fact, just legitimate. separately, the u.s. is trying to see if there's any connection between this and any threat to the u.s. there's no apparent connection

or threat. there's no change in the terror threat level here in the u.s. because there's nothing specific to indicate a threat out of a sense of caution, authorities in new york say they're going to deploy extra police presence around landmarks and perhaps french government outposts in new york. but, andrea, there's no sign of any change in security at the -- any of the french diplomatic compounds. the embassy, the consulates, the residences here in washington. and finally, whenever there's an attack like this around the world, one thing that the u.s. intelligence community does is take that moment in time freeze, and go backwards and try to see if they can find any streams in the intelligence that would indicate something was leading up to this. looking at travel records, looking at for want of a better term, chatter. nothing has popped up they say, that indicates any kind of a warning about this andrea. >> pete, thank you. and if you can standby, we're

going to go back to paris. and chris dickey from the "daily beast" who has been reporting for all of these hours at this horrific attack at journalism, at paris, and the heart and soul of france. chris? >> yeah, andrea, i think this is a very edgy city right now. i think people are very nervous. might even be able to hear police sirens in the background. it's not that those are necessarily tied to this event, but it's the kind of thing that people wouldn't notice before and now people turn their heads because nobody knows. really not only do people not know exactly what happened this morning, they don't know what might happen next. >> let's talk about the, this provocative magazine well known for years under threat. fire bombed back in 2011 the esteemed editor himself was under guard. he, we know was one of the victims. explain to the rest of the world

about it. >> well it was funny if you like really broad humor. and they played it very broad. especially with taboo topics like religion not justice lam, also christianity and judaism. the danish cartoons that came back out in 2006. all of that made them particular targets for the anger of muslims. and probably was linked to the attack that happened today. although, really as other guests have said we don't know who was behind the attack today. and we certainly don't know their precise motives. >> how does this feed into tensions, political tensions anti-immigration issues, restrictive rules on head scarves and other events that have taken place in paris over these last few years?

>> well you know andrea there are two elements here. one is the specific attack and the other is the broader attack on press freedom and essentially on the french idea of freedom of thought and freedom of action. those are cherished, cherished ideas in france and in europe as they are in the united states. but in europe there has been a complicated kind of mix of feelings about the question of freedom for european values and how that contrasts with what are perceived as the what would you say? the negative values of islam. which, of course really don't hold true. most of the muslims who are in france, in europe came here searching for more freedom, not less. they just want their own religious beliefs and their own personal lives to be respected, which they generally have been.

but what you have to some extent with the extreme right here certainly with the extreme right in germany, which had huge anti-islamic demonstrations, and other parts of the world. but all parts of europe is this line that because muslims are intolerant, we cannot tolerant muslims. this will greatly exacerbate that debate and will make it much, much worse, much more -- not necessarily violent, but much more venomous. and i think it's really this is a watershed and a very negative watershed in muslim secular relations in europe. >> and finally, chris, do you think there will be any pulling back by the french who have been such allies with isis? >> well i don't think they're going to pull back in terms of the military operations far from it. they don't want to be seen as being intimidated and they're not going to be intimidated.

they do some things americans don't like in dealing with terrorist groups. they do ransom their hostages. but on the other hand they send troops other people don't send troops. other places excuse me andrea. they sent troops to places where other countries do not send troops. they send troops to mali. they stopped al qaeda in mali. they send troops or airplanes to fight against isis in iraq. they send lots of operatives around the world in really a global campaign against jihad. so it is no accident and no surprise that france and the french people are targeted. i think the government is concerned that whoever carried this out has broader ambitions to intimidate the french government and the french people. i don't think they'll succeed, but that's the concern. >> indeed and according to our reports of eyewitnesss in completely unaccented french.

these are people who could fold very easily into the society and be hard to track. thank you very much, chris dickey. you've been reporting for hours and hours. and with the visiting polish foreign minister john kerry took a moment to speak about the paris shootings. >> today's murders are part of a larger confrontation. not between civilizations. no. but between civilization itself and those who are opposed to a civilized world. the murderers dared proclaim charlie hebdo is dead. but make no mistake, they are wrong. >> i'm joined now by rick stangle for public diplomacy and public affairs. rick, your job is broadly to reach out and communicate american values. here we have this horrific attack against journalists,

provocative journalists, edgy journalists, of course. but according to the committee to protect journalists and other groups, this does go to the heart of free expression which as the secretary of state said started in france with democracy. >> yes. andrea it is an attack not only on france but free expression. the right of people to express themselves. the right to even make fun of people, to make fun of things that are, indeed sacred which charlie hebdo did. but the response to that is never, and never should be violence and terrorism like we saw. it is a truly horrific attack on all of those values that we really prize, and all of those values that france and america were incubators of many years ago. >> and we can't draw any conclusions. and there's been no official claim of responsibility by al qaeda proper by isis, or these other groups. but we do think there was some kind of an islamic connection given what they were shouting when they went in. what do we do? how do you continue to try to

advocate for freedom of expression in all parts of the world? >> well andrea with so much we still don't know and we haven't identified who the attackers were, it is by definition terrorism, what they've done. it's not something that we know. one of the things we're trying to do is help enlist support and condemnation for this horrible and vicious act. attack on freedom of expression, as you say. we want our coalition allies to be part of that. we p want muslims around the world to be revulsed and repulsed by this. they are martyrs to liberty. and i think the french people journalists around the world will not be intimidated by this. this will only make people protect their free rights of

expression and bring information to people around the world. >> we have so many embassies right in the middle in the heart of downtown areas. some have been moved to high walls and moved to suburban areas. plus all the military missions. what additional security should or needs to be taken? >> well that -- >> u.s. targets, soft targets. >> it's a good question. and our 8:30 morning meeting that's the first issue that comes up. it's the highest priority to protect our own people. and we're looking at that very carefully in a very comprehensive, universal way. and that's something that we're working on tirelessly. and when there's some announcement or change about that, we will let you know. >> rick stangle, we thank you so much. the prosecutor in paris is beginning to speak. we're going to join that and we will interrupt when we have tape of the president's meeting with secretary kerry, which is going to be taking place with the vice president in the oval office shortly. here we go to paris.

>> translator: organize over weapons carrying and infractions with apparent with terrorist enterprise and also association of -- for the preparation of several crimes. this investigation by two services, the judicial of paris, more precisely, the anti-terrorist action of the criminal brigade, the directive of the judicial police, under direction of interior security. given the investigation, i can give you the facts of theattack for at least two people in the offices of charlie hebdo.

around 11:30 a car presented itself during the headquarters of charlie hebdo. out of this clad in black came out carrying automatic weapons. these individuals asked to at the entrance at the headquarters of charlie hebdo and then came one of them immediately. these individuals came to the second floor of charlie hebdo and went to the editor in chief office where the whole team of the newspaper was in a meeting. then they started shooting and killed ten people. among which were eight journalists, one policeman who was the body guard of one of the people of the newspaper. according to one witness, they

shouted and said they wished to avenge the prophet. they immediately left the offices and went inside the black sedan car that was stationed in front of the -- and then they took particular to routes with the police car. and then there was a shooting and nobody was wounded at this point. then they met another police car a vtt, a car which wasn't on patrol. and there was a second shooting still, nobody was wounded. and then thirdly, there was a third shooting. during which a policeman member of the 11th precinct was killed. so according to a witness, the

witness with whom there was incident there were three people that went toward the north of paris. and hit violently a car. hurting the driver. but finally, they abandoned their car almost straight on the 19th. and then they took another car, stole another car from its driver and left with this car. the investigations founded on a large mobilization of several policemen have been engaged and are ongoing. you will understand that at this point i cannot give you any indications or details on these

investigations in order to preserve the confidentiality in order to, so that that can be an obstacle to the success of this investigation. and so i do not wish to insist on individuals. and i ask for the responsibility of the media and this respect. another press conference will be organized as soon as we will be able to communicate more informations. on the ongoing investigation. i wish to remind you that we are calling out witnesses that all information should be brought to following number 0805021717. 08-05-02-1717. the anti-terrorist cell has been mobilized that can mobilize 24/7.

all magistrates and civil servants are mobilized. concerning the victims, i say the autopsies will take place tomorrow morning at the medical institute of paris. apart from the 12 people there are 11 wounded people 4 of which are in a critical state. i wish to indicate that the victim telephone number 0, available to receive phone calls from victims. so so 08-460-050-800. which has been put in place by police. and then the list of victims who have been killed and injured has been transferred to the ministry of justice. this transfer is very important because it will allow the

ministry of justice to activate the national institute of the help to victims. and also to start the psychological treatment of members of the family. and also the department will be organized, organize taken care of all of the victims so they can claim all their damages. i thank you for your attention. >> just to recap, we were watching a live briefing from the prosecutor in france. the prosecutor said ten people were killed including eight journalists. one policeman in the newsroom at least who was a body guard. and then there were additional shootings, outside. and she said that -- he said, rather, there were 11 people still wounded, four critically. but it's not clear how the numbers are adding up there.

wyoming senator john barrasso joins me now who serves on the foreign relations committee. senator barrasso, the horror of what's happened in paris has galvanized all intelligence counterterrorist experts around the world, especially here in the united states. the president right now meeting with the vice president and the secretary of state and the oval office. we're going to be hearing from him shortly. what do you think needs to be done from an american perspective? not only to show solidarity with our colleagues in france but also to make sure that our facilities around the world are well protected? >> you're right, andrea. our thoughts and prayers here on capitol hill go out to the families and the victims and then all of the people of france. i thought the secretary of state john kerry did a wonderful job expressing. this is an attack not just on france but on our values on freedom, on freedom of the press. on freedom of speech. and while we don't know exactly

who did this, i believe in france they will capture these individuals. and we will find out whether they are through isis. whether they've been already in the fight in syria and iraq and then have returned home to france or assigned to do this sort of thing. and you're right about our embassies around the world and the susceptibility that we've lost four brave americans a few years ago in an attack on a u.s. embassy. we know how important it is. but obviously, this comes down to intelligence, interrogating those and trying to find those who are the attackers before they attack us. >> as the republicans now take over the senate do you think there'll be any change in policy in terms of counterterrorism, financing for either the department of national intelligence? i guess they've had as much money as bipartisan fashion.

this has not been broken down along political lines, has it? >> no, there's been a commitment to financing and funding. the homeland security component of this and protecting the people of the united states. i have concerns with the president's recent ruling on executive amnesty and the resources that are going to be spent hiring it's been reported 1,000 individuals, $40 million reported to be spent to fund them so they can give out work permits to people who are here illegally. i think those resources ought to be focused on american security protecting our own. the other issue is that of guantanamo bay. the president talks about wanting to close it down. they have been releasing, i think, about 27 different detainees over the last year. we know that when detainees are released a significant number go back into the fight against us. and i think those things need to be examined in a way different than what the administration has

been proposing. >> do you think that the immigration issue connects to this? >> well i think until you talk about funding of homeland security, and we will once again be doing the discussion and the debate on funding the department of homeland security. how those resources are actually spent and where they're focused. >> i wanted to play the -- a little bit of a comment just made here in new york in a speech by james comey, watch. >> we're thinking of them, we have the fbi very close relationship with our partners in the french law enforcement and counterterrorism communities. we are work with them we'll do everything we can to help them bring to justice the perpetrators of the atrocity that happened in paris earlier today. so we're thinking of our friends and partners in paris.

>> senator barrasso one of the challenges for the french experts is that these individuals apparently spoke fluent, unaccented. there's a very easy way for people to get from the middle east to europe and back. that's a particular challenge that europe faces more so than we do. >> you're absolutely right. thousands that have gone from europe pretty easily into the fight with isis in iraq in syria. when you take a look at those beheadings of the american hostages, that seemed to be a british accent well spoken. so easily returning back to the the -- to their home countries. and then either directed or self-directed to pull off acts of violence which is why from the standpoint of the terrorism attacks on people all around the

world, we have to be forever vigilant and continue with the intelligence gathering and once someone is captured, the interrogation to get as much information as possible to make sure that we can prevent additional attacks in the future. >> and senator barrasso finally, do you think that we're doing as much as we can with our allies in the persian gulf? our allies against isis to stop them from other parts of either their government or their elites from supporting some of these terror groups. speaking particularly -- >> i was in the persian gulf earlier this year actually thanksgiving with our wyoming national guard. spent thanksgiving with them and looked at the control areas there for where there are commanding the overflights in iraq and regarding isis. as well as flights over afghanistan. we are working in a collaborative way with the countries in that area.

you know, it is where they had the five detainees from guantanamo released there. in exchange when that all happened. and there were concerns about those five and what they were going to be held there for a year. but i know there are concerns about them going back into the fight against us. >> as far as you know are they still under house arrest? >> the year has not yet gone off, but at the end of the year they will then be released. >> senator barrasso thank you very much for joining us from capitol hill. and rejoining me from paris is chris dickey. chris, what is the confidence do you think of the french people they will be able to capture these men who escaped after the terror attack. >> well you know i think there is a lot of confidence these men will be captured. i think the question is how long will it take? and whether they will strike again somewhere else which we

have seen with somewhat similar cases elsewhere in the past where there was an initial shooting or a couple of shoot gsz ings. and the terrorist went on a few days before he was captured. i think that's a concern. of course, the other concern is whether this was just one group or one of a few groups that may strike elsewhere. generally speaking the french are pretty tough. there has been terrorism in this country. really bloody terrorism on and off since the 1980s. this is much worse than anything that's happened in the last 30 years. >> thanks again. thanks for being with us. here with us in new york is evan coleman, counterterrorism expert with msnbc. what are the roots of these

extremist groups in france. >> there's diverse roots. you have the north african groups. groups from algeria teeunisia and elsewhere. they have basically crossed the mediterranean into france. the real problem we're having in france right now has little to do with algeria. it's primarily coming out of iraq and syria. over 900, over 1,000, french nationals have gone to syria. now, when these guys come back turn back to france 1 out of 10 of them turns out to be engaged to something which is not productive. we've seen the individual who came back from fighting in syria and then went on a shooting spree at the jewish museum in brussels. there was another individual picked up in france in southern france. he group up in the south of

france, yet he went to syria to fight. picked up carrying explosive devices. there's no doubt, there's elements of professionalism. no doubt the way the bullets impacted the windshield. if al qaeda in the arabian peninsula say they did this why would they do something on this scale? if they're in their magazine they're talking about building bombs they can sneak through security and take down western airliners. why would al qaeda ratchet it down? and so that i think, is what leading many of us to think, look, these folks may have had training and may have been to a front line and met leaders from these groups. >> this could be inspirational. >> exactly, is this something merely inspired. is there a lone wolf or someone acting in concert with what they believe the priorities of isis

or al qaeda are. and again, given what we see here, the scale of this, that sounds a lot more likely. >> and we're now just getting a tape fed back from our white house colleagues of the president. he met with vice president biden and also john keri. this was not originally scheduled, let's watch. >> i've reached out to france and hope to have the opportunity to talk to him today. but i thought it was appropriate for me to express my deepest sympathies. for the people of paris and the people of france for the terrible terrorist attack that took place earlier today. i think that all of us recognize that france is one of our oldest allies, our strongest allies. they have been with us at every

moment when we've -- from 9/11 on. in dealing with some of the terrorist organizations around the world who have threatened us. for us to see the kind of coward cowardly evil attacks that took place today, i think reinforces once again why it's so important for us to stand in solidarity for them just as they stand in solidarity with us. the nakt this was an attack on journalists, it's an attack on our free press. freedom of speech and freedom of the press. but one thing i'm very confident about is that the values that we share with the french people a belief a universal belief in freedom of expression is something that can't be silenced

because of the senseless violence of the few. and so our counterterrorism cooperation in san francisco is excellent. we will provide every bit of assistance that we can going forward. i think it's going to be important for us to make sure that we recognize these kinds of attacks can happen anywhere in the world. and one of the things i'll be discussing with secretary kerry today is to make sure that we remain vigilant not just with respect to americans living in paris, but americans living in europe. and other parts of the world. and to hunt down and bring the perpetrators of this act of justice and to roll up the networks that helped to advance these kinds of plots.

in the end, though, the most important thing i want to say is our thoughts and prayers are with the families of those who have been lost in france and with the people of paris and the people of france. what that beautiful city represents the culture and the civilization that, you know, is so central to our imaginations. that's going to endure and those who carry out senseless attacks against innocent civilians, ultimately they'll be forgotten. and we will stand with the people of france through this very, very difficult time. thank you very much, everybody. >> president obama with the vice president and the secretary of state kerry saying that we will stand with the people of france that this is an attack not just on france but on values that

french and american people hold dear, freedom of expression. that he's talked to secretary kerry also about the need to make sure that americans and american facilities around the world are safe. i'm here with evan coleman. our counterterrorism expert. evan, you were saying this was a professional job. you mentioned the bullet holes in the wind screen the windshield of one that we saw. tell me why. what is the signature of a professional job? >> we've seen an amateurish job. think about the killing of the british soldier in the streets of london about a year ago. and you think this was a guy, two guys with meat cleavers. and it was awful and terrible and so amateurish. and you could tell by looking at this, these guys had no clue what they were doing. a target of opportunity. here, if you look at the windshield. someone from shooting far away was able to put a lot of bullets in a very very small area meaning they knew how to fire this gun. this was not something that was new to them.

everything about this suggests these guys knew something about shooting these weapons. does that mean they were sent by al qaeda? no we don't know that. right now, there are reports out there on twitter from people that claim to be close to isis suggesting that these folks were part of isis and they're going to swear allegiance and some message on the internet. it's difficult to know because it's twitter and we don't really know who is sending these messages out. >> and isis could try to claim responsibility just because it's viewed in the terror world as a, quote, successful attack. these were not suicide attackers, they got away. >> precisely. look at boston. look at the boston bombing, okay. the individuals behind that are touted in inspire magazine as basically al qaeda bombers. as al qaeda attackers. right? even though there's no indication these folks ever had any direct contact with aqap. so we have to put all this in context. we have to be careful. and look everything that we've

seen here so far could have been carried out by people with no tie to any organization. there's nothing that you can see from an objective standpoint that must have been a master bomb maker, master terrorist, this could've easily been the work of three individuals who simply received firearms training. >> evan coleman, thanks so much. and much more on the breaking news out of paris ahead after a break. reaction coming up from others on the hill and from lisa monaco, the counterterrorism expert at the white house. but first, this is british prime minister david cameron moments ago alongside german chancellor angela merkel. >> what's happened in paris is an appalling terrorist outrage. and i know everyone in britain will want to stand with the french government and the french people at this time. we must never allow the values of democracy, freedom of speech to be damaged by these

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and as we continue our breaking coverage on what's been happening in paris, the terror attacks there, i'm joined by delaware senator who serves on the foreign relations committee and joins me from capitol hill. senator, earlier i was talking to one of your colleagues john barrasso who suggested that one of the issues going forward as the republicans now take over is whether homeland security spends any money at all on immigration on the president's initiatives, $40 million, he said. because it would take it away from counterterrorism. do you see that connection? is that going to be one of the battles on capitol hill? >> i don't see that connection, frankly, andrea. today, what all of us are responding to the sickening, the chilling attack in paris that is a reminder that our allies around the world face the threat of extremism. the french have been reliable

solid strong allies for us in the fight the work in al qaeda in west africa mali nigeria, and are joining us in our anti-isis campaign in iraq. and so today, i think what we should be focusing on is not the possibility of partisan division going forward, but the solidarity that all of us as americans feel as we watch these absolutely sickening visuals of a french police officer being murdered at point-blank range and the variability of all of us to -- terrorists trying to silence those whose views they find disagreeable. it's a attack on free speech and a terrorist attack on a vital and close ally to the united states. >> senator, isn't this in part, and it's hard to know the exact origins of this attack, but what we're talking about is also more broadly the fact that for years,

there has been a civil war in syria that has sparked an entirely new terror group, isis, and has trained thousands of european jihadis who move freely between the middle east and europe. and we in america seem to not have a solution for that problem. >> that's right. we have a significant challenge in terms of a global security that the syrian civil war has become more and more violent, more and more extreme and is becoming a magnet for foreign fighters from all over the world. and european nations in particular face a real challenge where some of their citizens, some of their passport holders having become radicalized have gone to join what they view as the fight for islam in syria and some of the most extreme jihadist elements which really don't represent the core values of islam have become trained and skilled in the conduct of war and are in some cases seeking to return to their countries of

origin. that is a threat to the security of our western european allies and ultimately to the united states in the years ahead that we must face together. >> do you think that you and the other committees are going to get some classified briefings later? what do we know about the threat level and whether there have been any related threats that could target american facilities around the world? >> we don't yet know enough about this exact incident to know whether raising our terrorist threat level is an appropriate response. i am expecting a classified briefing to be provided to all senators this week so that we can know as much as the intelligence community does about the origin the trajectory, who carried out this attack and why. now, we need to be reassured that our counterterrorism capabilities here in the united states are strong. we always have to be on alert against a lone wolf attack or a copycat attack. but we've been reassured recently that isis doesn't currently have the capacity to launch an attack directly at the united states. but there are others who have been radicalized individually

who have carried out attacks here in the united states in recent years unexpected lone wolf attacks. and we need to make sure that at the federal, state and local level, we are as prepared as we can be and that we are strengthening our systems to share information and intelligence between our national capabilities and our state and local capabilities. >> senator, thank you very much for being with us. of course, this was an attack specifically against a newspaper or magazine which has been provocative, which has outraged many in some parts of the muslim world. the committee to protect journalists is calling the shooting of charlie hebdo the worst attack since 30 journalists were gunned down. joining me now, the coordinator along with our own foreign correspondent, welcome, both. olga this according to cpj, the committee to protect

journalism's account 2014 was one of the worst years in terms of the etdeaths and injuries to journalists. >> that's right. 2014 is topping terrible three years series of years of unthinkable attacks, deadly attacks on journalists. the three deadliest years ever recorded by cpj for journalists and for the press. >> and was this primarily because of syria, the civil war and how difficult it has been to cover? how dangerous? >> yes. last year was indeed topped by the murders and killings of journalists in syria. but syria is a war zone. and today's news that shocked and appalled everyone nobody was prepared for. something like this happening. 12 people dead at least 8 journalists confirmed dead. in this attack in paris, that

has been unheard of. >> there's been no official claim of responsibility from either al qaeda in the arabian peninsula or isis. there are all sorts of claims and arguments on twitter. we don't know yet according to all of our experts who might have been responsible, but this does seem linked to the conflict in that part of the world. >> i think what we're seeing now is this kind of globalization of the conflict, just as we've seen that ideas no longer have borders that we're also seeing this terrorism no longer has borders. and you know, we were talking about this earlier in the past al qaeda used to have to be carrying out these attacks, the london bus bombings but what we're seeing now is this new trend where you can still get the same kind of residual effect in a society with smaller tactics. and what we've seen today in this type and what we've seen in australia is an individual with a gun or few individuals with guns can wreak havoc on a city can send a city into this kind of like sense of fear and shut

down in a manhunt because of what happened today. the organizations haven't claimed responsibility you mentioned earlier, and some of these may be inspired attacks, some of them aspirational. but at the end of the day, everybody's going to jump in on the bandwagon. these groups are going to try to celebrate, encourage more of it try to get more of these types of attacks. and this is the new reality we have to wake up and deal with. we have to start addressing this fear in a new way than what we have in the past. >> and you know, what you were talking about is in a war zone, you know that you're taking a calculated risk. and it's become more and more dangerous. syria's almost impossible for western journalists to safely cover because of the kidnappings and beheadings. ukraine has been horribly dangerous, as well. but this is in the heart of paris. this gets to a different threat level against journalism against freedom of expression. >> indeed. it's just -- it comes to show that free expression has -- is

no immune anywhere. that journalists are being attacked for what they publish, for what they write anywhere around the world. and that there is no safe haven for that. it's a global threat on freedom of expression and freedom of the press. >> this is something that secretary kerry spoke to earlier today. >> today, tomorrow in paris, in france across the world, the freedom of expression that this magazine, no matter what you're feelings were about it. the freedom of expression that it represented is not able to be killed by this kind of act of terror. on the contrary it will never be eradicated by any act of terror. what they don't understand, what these people who do these things don't understand is they will

only strengthen the commitment to that freedom and our commitment to civilized world. >> it's not terrorism, but even in a place you know very well in egypt, in cairo, we've got our colleagues from al jazeera who have been jailed in prison there's some suggestion they might be able to get a new trial or have an appeal from that higher court. but the fact is that in america, america has argued with the president. he said it's not my problem, it's the courts judiciary, and these people have been in jail without having done anything. >> yeah we're seeing a comprehensive across the region assault on journalists from many different categories. >> look at russia. >> look at russia. you look at situations in turkey. turkey's cracking down on a lot of journalists there. there have been massive arrests. a wave of arrests in turkey. you have the situation in egypt. even in places like gaza. journalists killed this past summer in the assault on gaza. you also have the situation now

we're seeing this morning in paris. the reality of it is the situation is increasingly worse day by day. whether it's on an official level through regimes and governments, whether they're being caught up in conflict. the immunity that journalists once had, unfortunately, is being degraded every day. >> and the drug cartels in mexico targeting the journalists there, thank you so much. thank you, again, for being with us. president obama spoke moments ago from the white house offering his sympathies to the french people. he also talked on the strong u.s./french ties especially since 9/11. >> counterterrorism cooperation with france is excellent. we'll provide them with every bit of assistance that we can going forward. i think it's going to be important for us to make sure that we recognize these kinds of

attacks. it could happen anywhere in the world. and one of the things i'll be discussing today is to make sure we remain vigilant. >> lisa monaco is the assistant to president obama for homeland security and counterterrorism. lisa, tell me about what we know know. who were these people? do we know anything more about their agenda and the effort to try to capture them? >> well good afternoon, andrea. first of all, let me say, our hearts go out to the victims of this brutal terrorist attack that happened today. in paris. we stand shoulder to shoulder with our french partners who have been steadfast and in the lead with us ever since 9/11 in combatting extremism and brutal terrorist tactics wherever they are in the world. what we know, we just heard from the french prosecutor earlier today, and i was on the phone early this morning with my

counterpart in france in paris. it appears these gunmen targeted specifically this magazine in a very brutal attack, and it appears in tactical, with a tactical approach with heavy arms. and obviously, the french authorities are pursuing them quite aggressively, and we are working with them. we will provide whatever assistance we can, our security services work daily in concert with them, particularly on the threat from foreign fighters, and we'll continue to do that. >> going back, have we seen have we picked up any chatter, any threats against french against journalists, or against american targets around the world? now that this has happened in going back as the counterterrorism center would and reviewing whether there was any chatter out there. >> well, we know, andrea, that al qaeda and its adherence and

followers increasingly are calling upon those who adopt their violent ideology to undertake opportunistic attacks. and attacks like the one we saw today. and, in fact in france we've seen a number of attacks and foiled plots over the last year or so. this is an issue we're going to continue to be vigilant about as the president just remarked this morning. this is the type of attack that can happen anywhere in the world, which is why the military the intelligence the law enforcement and homeland security teams here in the united states working with partners are working on a daily basis to protect our personnel overseas, americans overseas and, of course maintaining vigilance here at home with law enforcement and homeland security communities here.

>> when you spoke of it as opportunistic, does that imply, i want to be specific you do not think this may have been ordered by al qaeda, ordered by isis, could this have been freelanced or a splinter group of some sort? >> obviously it's very early in the investigation that the french will undertake. we don't have any information about credible claims of responsibility at this point. but what we do know is that al qaeda, isil and others have continued to extol their followers to undertake attacks attacks -- and to take opportunities to wage violence in this way. right now, it's very early and we'll look to the investigators and security services and to give us more information on this. and we'll do everything we can to assist them. >> the president spoke publicly

about his address to secretary kerry to make sure americans are safe. is there any effort to increase security, to close embassies or consulates that might be more exposed? anything that you are now suggesting or you're recommending be done around the world? >> well andrea we have undertaken a number of steps over the last year or so to increase security for our personnel overseas and high threat posts. it's a high priority of the president and secretary kerry. i convene and my team convenes weekly to review threats to our personnel overseas, to make sure that we are doing everything we can to protect our diplomats, intelligence, aid workers, military personnel who serve so bravely overseas and it's a top priority we have when we're talking about our personnel who serve overseas. >> and finally, do you anticipate any steps with congress.

there was a suggestion from one of the congressional leaders on the republican side, john barrasso earlier to me that this would be another reason to go up against the president's immigration initiative because it would cost $40 million that homeland security should instead be spending on counterterrorism. is this going to become a partisan effort? >> i hope not. because in the national security space and the counterterrorism and homeland security space, i think that is an issue of particular import that we take a bipartisan approach because i think we all share the view the safety of our personnel, whether they're overseas or here in our communities needs to be a nonpartisan issue. >> and no plan to close the embassy or close any consulates or do anything else in france in particular? >> no, andrea. obviously our personnel in our embassy and consulates in france

will remain vigilant but we have absolutely no information that there's any threat to our personnel in paris or elsewhere in france. >> lisa monaco i know this is a difficult and challenging day for you. we thank you so much for sharing with us and helping brief our viewers, as well on what the situation is. thank you very much. >> thanks. and as we review continuing coverage on msnbc of the paris attacks, that does it for this edition of "andrea mitchell reports." follow the show online on facebook and on twitter @andrea twitter @andreamitchellreports. ronan? >> as you said tough day, and we're going to pick up this coverage. there's a lot scheduled to happen over the coming hour as more and more details about this paris attack come in. we're going to hear from a cast of characters from the french side from u.s. authorities, and from leading outlets reporting on this as it breaks. we've got everything you need to know up ahead. stay here. but aleve can last 12 hours...

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hard day today, 7:00 p.m. in france where a massive man hunt is underway across paris. that of course, is for the gunmen behind this terror attack. police are searching for those assayilants who stormed charlie hebdo, notorious for provocative cartoons. the two opened fire with rifles reportedly shouting. a third, manned a get away car. 12 confirmed dead now. another 8 injured. some of them in critical condition as we speak. ten of those dead are journalists. two, police officers. one was shot in the street. his death captured in an unsettling video making the rounds as the gunman calml