with us is a senior fellow at stanford's hoover institution and fran townsend, president bush's homelandy adviser. both join us from new york tonight. i want to talk to you because i think what is lost sometimes in this conversation, people say, oh, this is going to be a civil war, this is going to be a civil war. and most people look up and say, it's been a war now for six months, what is it? now, we started out with peaceful demonstrations but increasingly this has been one where the opposition is also armed. what are the dangers of a civil war in syria that is different from a danger when it's not in a civil war? >> well, thank you, candy. i think the question is the old question of shakespeare. what's in a name? i don't really like the expression a civil war. it's not a civil war. it's the russians who have been peddling this notion that syria may have entered a civil war. this is a popular rebellion. this is a desperate population trying to overthrow a despot, a despot who killed so far 3,500 people. that's a low estimate. who has something like 70,000 prisoners and who has wrecked

peter bergen and fran townsend who's a national security and national affairs expert. fran, i want to go to you again because we were told before that the fbi wasn't involved and the last question that was asked to the police commissioner he said the feds were informed. not that they were involved. he was in the process of completing this bomb. >> yeah. when he was asked that question, he -- commissioner did not seem exactly enthusiastic about having to answer it. they were informed but it sounds from the answer that it was at the last minute. and even so, if the feds were informed and understood about alaki's connection to the case, targeting of u.s. troops, interesting they're not there and we don't at least yet see federal charges. we have to see how this places out. if you don't see federal charges, it suggests the feds don't have the same confidence in the evidence and so there's a back story to this that we haven't gotten yet. >> peter bergen, does this jive with what they said in the press conference to what your sources were telling us before it even started? >>

cnn's national security contributor fran townsend is on the line right now. have our skeptics here who say the mayor's trying to divert attention from what's happening in his city. it's not such a big deal, because it doesn't rise to the level of a times square bombing, but when the mayor of the most populist city in the country holds a news conference on sunday night, which is unusual, and says it is terrorism related, we pay attention. >> reporter: well, we do. and look, you know, we have to hear what the facts are, but we understand this guy has been under surveillance for a sustained period of time. not clear why the news conference, other than that he's been taken under arrest in the last 24 hours. you know, what will be interesting to hear and understand, we've been told that there's been an informant who assisted in this case. how far did the suspect get in terms of assembling the bomb? we know that he had acquired some of the materials, but you know, wherever you have an individual, even if he's acting alone, who's begun to acquire materials, you're in

fran townsend, thanks very much. a programming note. jeffrey goldberg is a guest sunday at 1:00 p.m. on sunday and 10:00 a.m. ahead on 360 president obama was a big supporter of solyndra the maker of the solar panels which has now gone bankrupt and is now in a battle with congress over that company. >>> we'll also go live to los angeles where the jury in the michael jackson death trial has finished its first full day of deliberations. u rule! and my kids would be like, you rule! oh, load up the sleigh; this is going to be a great christmas. [ male announcer ] get more christmas for your money, guaranteed... during super saturday with big savings on electronics and small appliances. plus kids can build their christmas wish list in toyland. this saturday only, november 5th starting at 11 a.m. save money. live better. walmart. ♪ save money. live better. walmart. where they grow america's favorite wpotatoes. idaho, everyone knows idaho potatoes taste great. but did you know they're good for you too? they're high in vitamins and potassium. a

. >> want to bring in cnn national security contributor fran townsend to talk about all of this. ent of homeland security external advisory committees. fran, we are talking about obviously the possibility of military action in iran. president obama himself has not ruled out the military option but when you listen to these republican candidates, does it sound like just a lot of grandstanding here or do they sound like they are legitimately measured in what they need to do to make sure that iran does not have control over nuclear weapons? >> well, suzanne, as usual in washington, it is a little bit of both. look, i think there is some legitimate policy disagreements with the current administration and their handling of it. by the same token, we see this in every election cycle. it is much easier to kind of make it sound easy when you're running for office than it actually is to implement those polici policies. let's break it down. rick perry said he would endorse sanctions on iran's central bank.. that's something the obama administration has decided not do. frankly, if you ask me,

here is editor at large for "time" magazine and fran townsend.ightly armed trucks driving around with nuclear weapons inside in pakistan is pretty terrifying. >> it is, anderson though when i was in the white house i traveled to governments around the world who took the position that they were better off in these small convoys that were lightly protected. now, what you hope they have are perimeter security. that is people off the van who are traveling with it, watching it, and securing it from a distance. and you also hope that they're not what they call mated weapons, not completely put together ready-to-go weapons. that you're moving them at least in pieces or just the fissile material without the warhead. >> how possible is it that a nuclear weapon or nuclear device in pakistan could fall into the wrong hands? >> oh, look. we've seen attacks on convoys against our troops and coalition forces in afghanistan. they're perfectly capable and an organization that is able to attack the naval base in karachi and hold it for 15 to 18 hours until the pa

cnn national security contributor fran townsend will tell us what this means about the state of al qaedaand cnn goes in depth this week. who is newt gingrich? new political baggage emerging for the former house speaker, including ties to the health care industry and a mortgage giant. can he convince the tea party he's really an outsider? we'll ask his former spokesman and a democratic congressman, who served with the speaker. those stories and much more coming up in about 20 minutes on "american morning" including an interview with christie turlington, the supermodel, about her latest project. this is your "am: wake-up call." can i help you? yeah, can i get a full-sized car? for full-sized cars, please listen to the following menu. for convertibles, press star one. i didn't catch that. to speak to a representative, please say representative now. representative. goodbye! you don't like automated customer service, and neither do we. that's why, unlike other cards, no matter when you call chase sapphire preferred, you immediately get a person not a prompt. chase sapphire preferred. a card o

let's bring in our national security contributor, fran townsend in new york, a member of the c.i.a. and department of homeland security adviser. as we get to details about the bust and the militia members planning to attack government officials with bomb, biotoxin, et cetera, does this indicate to you a real payoff from heightened effort to infiltrate suspected homegrown terrorists? >> fredricka, absolutely. i think when we're seeing now is the results of an investment in building the fbi. the fbi's funding over the last ten years has been increased. a number of agents on the street is increased. their capability and their membership in the intelligence community all pay off in this stort of an instance. that coupled with their relationship with state and local law enforcement is the best of what the fbi can do. we've seen increasingly, their use of these undercover informants to get into these plots to identify all of the individuals involved before they take it down and before these groups are able to actually act. >> so these four that were arrested, do you believe this is the ti

state department official nicholas burns and cnn contributor, fran townsend, george w.security adviser. we knew the transition would be difficult, there was a risk of tension between the protesters and the military government. now that we've seen violence over several days, your perspective of what the risks are at this fragile moment. >> well, john, it's a time of real testing for the egyptian military. they had enormous credibility with the egyptian people after the events of last january and february when they protects the people against the mubarak regime. the military used live ammunition over the last week, killed 24 protesters, wounded 1500 and their credibility has fallen through the floor. they have a real people with the people. they cut a deal, as you know, with the muslim brotherhood to accelerate transition to presidential rule but that deal has upset a lot of the young people in the streets because they don't want to -- they want to see justice here and they want to see someone in the military authority resign because of what's happened. they can't control

our fran townsend and fouad ajami for joining us tonight. that is all from. "erin burnett outfront" starts right now. >> thanks, candy. >>> we're on the front line at penn state tonight. second mile, the charity that jerry sandusky co-founded could be folding. joe paterno says he has lung cancer. and tonight, allegations of a similar scandal at syracuse university. >>> then the natalie wood case reopened almost 30 years after the actress died. was it really an accidental drowning? a man who was there that night, outfront tonight. and the bottom line on the super committee. five days left until the deadline. it is time to rock and get a deal done. so let's go outfront. >>> i'm erin burnett. out front tonight, countdown. >> nothing is over until we decide it is! was it over when the germans bombed pearl harbor?! hell, no! >> germans? >> forget it. he's rolling. >> and it ain't over now. because when the going gets tough -- the tough get going! who's with me?! let's go! >> we're with you. that was john belushi inspiring the troops in "animal house." and that's t

here is myzakaria, editor at large for "time" magazine and fran townsend.htly armed trucks driving around with nuclear weapons inside in pakistan is pretty terrifying. >> it is, anderson though when i was in the white house i traveled to governments around the world who took the position that they were better off in these small convoys that were lightly protected. now, what you hope they have are perimeter security. that is people off the van who are traveling with it, watching it, and securing it from a distance. and you also hope that they're not what they call mated weapons, not completely put together ready-to-go weapons. that you're moving them at least in pieces or just the fissile material without the warhead. >> how possible is it that a nuclear weapon or nuclear device in pakistan could fall into the wrong hands? >> oh, look. we've seen attacks on convoys against our troops and coalition forces in afghanistan. they're perfectly capable and an organization that is able to attack the naval base in karachi and hold it for 15 to 18 hours until the paki

. >>> we want to talk a little more about this with fran townsend, our cnn national security contributorcurity advisers to president bush. welcome. >> hi, carol. >> peter berger, our expert on al qaeda, says if this is the best al qaeda has to offer, we shouldn't worry. do you agree? >> the problem, we can say that in the media. i remember being responsible for preventing these thing. you say to yourself, one idiot just has to get lucky. look, this was a long investigation, two years with an informant. i'm a little troubled by the fact the fed, the fbi was not involved. after all, this was a targeting of u.s. service members and others. inspired by al awlaki, now deceased. the feds may have been able to help here. that said, they had a successful arrest and we'll see what we learn from it. >> why do you suppose the feds were not more involved? >> carol, look, as you well know, as our viewers know, the fbi and local police departments are often very competitive. we don't know very much about the informant involved. what the basis of investigation and the involvement of the informant was.

i'm joined by fran townsend. she certains on cia and homeland security advisory. let's talk about what michele bachmann said last night and i'll play the clip. >> okay. >> pakistan has been the epicenter of dealing with terrorism. they are as governor huntsman said, there are al qaeda training grounds there. there's also the network that can be trained there as well. and there are also one of the most violent, unstable nations that there is. we have to recognize that 15 of the sites, nuclear sites are available, or potentially penetratable by jihadists. six attempts have already been made on nuclear sites. >> that was news to me. six attempts already have been made on pakistan's what she said 15 nuclear sites. do you know about that? >> well, wolf, let's start with the 15 number. whether it's 15 or 50, the real concern is, we know the intelligence service has been penetrated and sympathizers were al qaeda. there have always been concerns that there are sim thiezesympat. there's an article talking about pakistan dispersing. not clear where she got 15 or 50. as far

. >> fran townsend says federal authorities could get involved in this case if they believe they haveis for federal charges. we'll stay on top of that was p well. >>> what do americans think about increasing taxes on the rich and cutting spending? we have new poll results on all of that coming up. [ bells dinging ] ♪ hark how the bells, sweet silver bells ♪ ♪ all seem to say throw care away ♪ ♪ from everywhere, filling the air ♪ [ female announcer ] chex party mix. easy 15-minute homemade recipes you just pop in a microwave. like caramel chocolate drizzles. happier holidays. chex party mix. >>> americans are weighing in about what they think the debt super committee should do. our wolf blitzer joins us now from washington with brand-new poll numbers. wolf, it is interesting to see these numbers in terms of what americans want and don't want as part of a debt super committee deal. i guess let's first start with what americans do want as part of a deal. >> well, these are fascinating numbers. our new cnn/orc poll. we asked a simple questions of all americans, democrats an republicans, i

. >> joining me now is cnn national security contributor fran freg owes townsend. we know the terrorism unit had the man under surveillance for about two years, but he was in touch with other radicals before he was killed. what do you think is going to happen here? >> i mean, you know, it will be interesting to see how did they kroo this informant, erin. why did it go on for two years? what was the turning point? we heard that the killing of al awlaki in a drone strike sent this guy, pimentel over the edge and change it from apparitional to operational. it's interesting, he took inspiration overseas and the he looked at the internet and the inspire magazine to get the materials. he was going to target u.s. military personnel returning from overseas. why wasn't the fbi involved and where were the feds in all had? >> let me ask you this. when this show went on the air, i interviewed leon panetta. he said his biggest fear, fran, that it woke him up in the middle of the night, worrying about a lone wolf and blowing themselves up in a public place, a subway or something