gitmo. the president released more individuals from gitmo. the president is absolutely right. no one that he has released do we have indications that they have found their way back on the battle field but it takes a while for them to get there. we shouldn't be sending them back. >> schieffer: they've said they're not going to send anymore. the last train has left from gitmo for yemen. you have people like john mccain and lindsey graham saying we should not release people from gitmo to any country that has a al qaeda presence. >> i think that's exactly right. up shouldn't be putting them to yemen. you shouldn't be putting them into saudi arabia. there's talk about this rehab program that they go through in saudi arabia. the results have been very, very mixed. you shouldn't be sending them back to somalia, afghanistan, pakistan. because the evidence is clear, these people are released and the number of them go back on the to the battlefield. the clear signal is when these gitmo detainees find their way back to the battlefield, they're no longer focused on the conflict in pakista

wasn't gitmo.these people have been at war with us for 30 years and took too long for people here in authority to realize it. if you go forward -- and there are many other killings, bombings, but in 1995, islamic extremist set fire to a warehouse belonging to the u.s. embassy and threatened the u.s. security guard and the armed islamic group was apparently suspected and felt clearly they were involved with the attack. november 13 of 1995, a car bomb exploded in the parking lot outside the rihad headquarters of the saudi arabia national guard, killing seven persons, five of them u.s. citizens. three groups, the islamic movement for change, the tigers of the gulf and the combatant partisans of god claimed responsibility for that attack, that act of war against americans. february 25 of 1996, a suicide bomber blew up a commuter bus in jerusalem killing 26, including three u.s. citizens injuring 80 others. among those injured were u.s. citizens. hamas claimed responsibility for the bombing. june 25 of

some of them, gitmo graduates.nd if we don't stop the practice of releasing gitmo detainees to yemen or to other countries -- and some of them came through yemen thrgh saudi arabia -- we're asking for more trouble. i think there ought to be an immediate halt to releases from gitmo. >> chris: let me ask you to pick up on that. as you just heard mr. brennan say even after the christmas day attempted massacre, that the obama administration intends to continue transferring detainees from gitmo to yemen on a case-by-case basis. your reaction? >> i am very disturbed by that. everybody ought to admit that the bush administration made a big mistake in transferring these detainee, these terrorists back to other countries. saudi arabia was supposed to have an excellent program of rehabilitation. 11 of their rehabilitation graduates have been captured or killed on the battlefield. and i have asked the director of national intelligence what's the scorecard for 2009? we knew through 2008 there were 61 gitmo guys that have gone

so i think it is appropriate to consider moving all the activities at gitmo under the rule of law. i think that that projects our values and i think -- >> congresswoman, you don't -- you don't want to send some of the detainees who are yemenis back to yemen, do you? >> not now. i read that john brennan wants to reserve the right to do it at some point. i agree with that. but i want to note that the six yemeni detainees sent during the obama administration are in custody, in yemen, under careful agreement that we have struck and they are not on the loose and they are not organizing terror attacks. >> we're out of time. congressman hoekstra, you think it was a blunder by the administration to send some of the yemeni detainees to either saudi arabia or to yemen because some of them have become leaders of al qaeda in yemen? >> i think it is an ill advised strategy for the bush administration to have sent them back to saudi and yemen. i think sending the six back a couple of weeks ago was also a mistake. jane said it in the beginning. this is a weak central government. they have no auth

>> but he hasn't closed gitmo. here we are discussing in the states whether obama's being a liberal. if you look at the arab press and the international press, what you are getting overwhelmingly is there's a claim there's been no real change despite the cairo speech of obama that this is the bush administration part two ion, th refusal to close down guantanamo. the point is, you can be right both ways on this. i think pat is absolute i had right to say that this -- absolutely right to say that this was not the right way to handle this terrorist but monica's right that this was the way we handled the shoe bomber. we're meant to be the good guys. we're meant to say no torture. we're meant to believe in human dignity and the proper rule of law. on the other hand, we are facing an utterly ruthless and implaquable enemy and at some point we have to stop behaving as though we're serious about combating them. i think that the bomber has done a good job of on the one hand trying to be serious about fighting this and on th

he's really opened a big can of worms with this, not only because of his promises to close gitmo, but also because of his proposals to move it to southern illinois, which will be not only, you know, uncomfortable for the people of illinois, but also, extremely expensive and there's some question now about how they can actually secure that location. >> paul: i think they can secure it if they have enough money. i don't know that they're going to get the money from congress to do this. congress, the democrats don't want to take a vote saying, yes, we voted to bring terrorists from gitmo off shore into illinois. how do you feel about that, american voters? they don't want to make that vote. >> it's like the commitment that obama made in copenhagen we're going to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to help the developing world reduce carbon. the democrats want to spend the money in the old u.s. of a and they're spending money there and stuff like this is going to be marginal for congressional democrats. >> and also the decision to try the 9/11 terrorists in new york, these are political

. >> the core group of al qaeda on the arabian peninsula is formed by former gitmo detainees. these are people who were held in gitmo, have been return and now gone back to the battlefield. >> reporter: there are roughly 90 yes, ma'am mennies stl detained at guantanamo bay, and despite calls to stop transfers to yemen, today, the deputy national security adviser john brennan said the program will continue and future transfers will be assessed on a case by case basis, dan. >> rachel martin, thank you. we turn now to senior national security correspondent martha raddatz, on the ground in yemen tonight. martha, tell us, how big a presence does al qaeda have on the ground there, and how big a threat do your sources think that these people pose to the united states? >> reporter: well, i talked to the foreign minister this weekend, and he said that he thought there might be 200, 300 al qaeda members scattered around the country. but it's really impossible to say, and he'll admit that right away. but they do consider this a grave threat. and i think they're getting much more serious

it's unique because the core group of al qaeda on the peninsula is formed by former gitmo detainees. these are people that have been held in gitmo, have been returned, and have now gone back on the battlefield. there's the influence of an american radical iman. these people have moved an attack on the u.s. homeland to the top of their priority list. that is the root cause of why we saw the attack at ft. hood. why we saw the attack on flight 253. the final thing is that, you know, the yemeni government has limited capacity to deal with returning members from gitmo and the indigenous al qaeda elements in the country. i think that the increased assistance we're providing is absolutely essential. we need this connection between yemen and america and the brits if we're going to contain the threat. the good thing about what john brennan said this morning, it appears we're all on the same page. we recognize the threat. we're committed to enhancing the intelligence capabilities. and our offensive capability to deal with this. the pressing issue coming up over the next few months is how do we

on gitmo they have been talking about how they think it isn't right for them to close gitmo and transfero illinois which they've taken to calling gitmo north. the fact that they're cite sizisize i -- criticizing the obama administration on this issue isn't really new. as far as the embassy closings, i think it can go either way. it shows that the threat -- that the administration is taking the threat seriously. but it also could show that, oh, okay, critics could say that, oh, well, then they're pulling back and they're not confronting the problem. so it definitely is going to be a topic of discussion. that's for sure. >> karen, what are you going to be looking for out of this tuesday meeting at the white house? >> more confidence, more strength out of this administration. i think he's been hit for things that -- of substance over style. but if you go and do your home work, he's done a lot to keep us safe. for us americans to be more vigilant and, more importantly, not let the terrorists win by being so afraid but also that this administration has it under control. >> karen hunter and ja

the core leadership of al qaeda now is made up of those folks who were at the gitmo prison. we can't make that mistake again. >> and air travel safety will top the agenda when president obama meets with homeland security officials on tuesday. >>> an lens manhunt for a murder suspect in florida has come to an end. u.s. marshals captured him at a motel in the florida keys. paul merhige is accused of shooting and killing four members of his family after thanksgiving dinner. in his first court appearance this morning, he was ordered held without bond while he awaits trial. the dead include merhige's twin sisters, a 79-year-old aunt and his 6-year-old cousin makayla it is ton. with his arrest, makayla's father says he'll be able to rest easier. >> it means i'll be able to sleep a little better tonight, and i won't be patrolling the inside of my house with my shotgun thinking that the monster is right around the corner. i've been in protective mode. and now that he is captured, at least my family, we can even begin the healing process. >> merhige was captured when a viewer of the

." >> the core group of al qaeda on the arabian peninsula is formed by former gitmo detainees. are people that were held in gitmo, have been returned, and have now gone back to the battlefield. >> warner: democratic congresswoman jane harman, chairman of a house subcommittee on terrorism assessment, takes issue with that. >> it's way too simplistic it is true that there is a connection between the christmas day bomber and yemen and that i think guantanamo foorkds a recruiting tool that surksnique worldwide al qaeda and other bad guys. >> warner: harman supports the temporary freeze on repatriating yemeni detainees but says indefinitely holding them is not a permanent solution to this thorny problem. one of the alternatives is to transfer the yemeni prisoners even those cleared for release to a federal facility in thompson, illinois, which was chosen recently by the obama administration to take detainees who can't be released elsewhere. but that prospect remains murky since it's unclear when and if congress will fund security upgrades needed at the prison. >> i think the adminis

but 537 gitmo prisoners were released under president bush. you probably saw that pentagon report that found basically one in 7 returned to terrorism including two terrorists who joined the al-qaeda group in yemen and plotted the christmas day attack. is that some of the best political ammunition that democrats have against republicans? >> they certainly can say the bush administration released a lot of these folks, too. i think ultimately to get some sort of inoculation against them administration has to come up what they are comfortable, a rationale to for detaining the suspects. whether it was the bush administration or obama. they have inherited this legal con number drum. >> gregg: he campaigned on the promise to build more international cooperation through diplomacy would ease the hatred of the united states and help for more effective anti-terrorism strategy. will republicans now argue that the recent events proved that strategy to be wrong? >> i think you already saw earlier -- in his approach to iran, you saw the republicans sort of r

chris: we'll be out of gitmo. we'll be out of this by august. >> particularly saying he would get the health care plan passed by august. we heard this when jack kennedy was president was those tough boston politics. with john, it was those cowboys coming in. they want to get results. and if it takes tough guys to get results, they'll applaud. if you don't get results -- >> better tough than a pushover. chris: we agree. >> chris, the problem is not toughness. i do think this white house is in some ways more conventional than we were expecting. the chief of staff was quoted saying we're all campaign hack. i'm pro hack. we love hacks here in washington. i do think a people barack obama was going to be a mover in washington. chris: he's got these rules, no lobbyist, nobody can become a lobbyist. he's still sticking to some of this, right? >> yeah. his campaign hacks are going to play more. he's going to be a lot less capable because this is an election year to do a lot of the things of that he set out to do. >> one tr

. >> the core group of al qaeda on the arabian peninsula is formed by former gitmo detainees. these are people who were held in gitmo, have returned, have now gone back to the battlefield. >> reporter: there are roughly nine yemenis still detained at guantanamo bay. and despite calls to stop detainee transfers to yemen, national security adviser john brennan says the program will continue and future transfers ll be assessed on a case-by-case basis. rachel martin, abc news, washington. >>> and our senior national security correspondent martha raddatz is in yemen this morning. she reports how the country's armed forces are responding to the growing al qaeda threat. >> reporter: we traveled down to the gulf of aden and i watched a review of security forces with the general who commands those forces. he gave a very powerful speech. he said they are going to fight al qaeda. they're going to sacrifice their blood and their souls to fight al qae. they want to take care of this themselves but they do want help and they're getting a lot more help. a lot more trainers are coming in here

terror attack will not change plans to close the gitmo prison. lawmakers are calling on the obama administration right now to stop sending yemeni gitmo detainees back to their home country citing the terrorist threat there. but brennan says some will be sent back at the right time under the right conditions. >>> you go outside, brr. much of the u.s. in a record-breaking deep freeze. temperatures are plunging. even in south florida farmers are trying to just protect their crops. northern plain states, rocky mountains, all of you guys experiencing record low temperatures. >>> those are some of the top stories for this sunday. "amanpour." continues in just a moment. >>> welcome back. we have a story now about a form of slavery that dates back through the ages and continues to this day in some parts of the world. women and girls used as currency by their impoverished families when there's drought or when times are really hard. they're forced into lives of sexual exploitation and misery. we're going to talk to some women who are trying to stop this, b

. >> these are people who were held in gitmo their return and have now gone back to the battlefield. >> president obama's top tier adviser says -- joining us is the white house reporter for "politico." in the wake of this attempted terror attack on that flight from amsterdam to the troy, -- to detroit. >> president obama is really looking at this issue with two different reviews. he has ordered that basically all the intelligence agencies appear in the situation room on this coming tuesday. he is coming back from hawaii, and there will be a meeting asking what they did, what went wrong, and what should be done better the next time. the lot of folks are talking about folks who will lose their jobs. >> there have already been some changes in airport security. >> there is a major change, you might call it was i-profiling. -- quasi-profiling. passengers from the 14 countries coming in on international flights will be subjected to some heightened level of security in the airports, an interesting move from the obama administration. i think you'll find a lot of people, regular air travelers

and why we should keep gitmo open and stop being so apologetic >> greta: one of the most telling things we were in pakistan after giving them 7.5 billion dollars and they were furious at the united states because we had string attached. we wanted to know what they were doing with the money. i thought if we have gotten to that point and we reach out and they get madder at us and come back at us it seems hopeless. >> at the the high of marshal plan aid to france after world war ii, american popularity and french public opinion polls was almost as low during the last years of the bush administration. we have to look at what america's strategic interests are and make our decisions on military economic assistance, whatever to advance our objectives. not because we think we are going to buy gratitude. >> ambassador, thank you. >> up next, nebraska, nevada, california, louisiana. five days coast-to-coast with griff jen keupbls. day number five he's live from arkansas. >>> trouble in paradise for angelina jolie. she just got dumped what is going on? we'll tell you. so many arthritis pain reliev

. >> there is another debate over the gitmo detainee, whether or not they should remain there. we know half of the detainees there are yemen. and yemeni, and that there is a possibility that they be sent back to yemen. there is a huge outcry not only republicans but prominent democrats. this is from senator dianne feinstein, she said this in a statement. i spoke with yemeni's spokesman yesterday, the ambassador -- the embassy who said that things are very dire in his country right now, and there is a lot of debate in terms of where abdulmutallab should go. what is the best approach? >> i think the problem with yemen is not simply the government doesn't have much control over its own country, it doesn't have much control over its own prison system there have been two prison breaks by people in the "uss kohl" attack. is this the right time? as a general principle, i think it is important that people be returned but yemen is a place which is -- that's the reason there are so many yemenis in the jail. saudi arabia is a much more prosperous country with a much more ability to contro

. >> he has opened a big can of worms with, this not only because of his promises to close gitmo but also his proposals to move it to southern illinois. which will be not only uncomfortable for people of illinois but extremely expensive. there is some question how they can secure the location. >> paul: they can secure it if they have enough money. i have don't know that they will get the money from congress to do this the democrats don't want to vote saying we voted to bring terrorist from offshore to illinois. how do you feel about that, american voters? they don't want to make that. >> like the commit in the copenhagen we'd spend hundreds of billions to help the developing world reduce carbon. the democrats want to spend money in the usa. they are spending money there. stuff like this i think is absolutely marginal for the congressional democrats. >> and goes with the decision to try the 9/11 terrorist in new york. political decisions to make to throw bones to the left. >> paul: big white house, special counsel that attorney genre rick holder appointed to look into whether the c.i.

he is pushing for a bill that would prevent terrorist suspects from gitmo to be transferred to u.s. soil. >> there is a good reason why the government has had such a hard time transferring these terrorists to other countries. they are worst of the worst. no one should want them. that is why we put in place a process by which these terrorists will be held and tried as enemy combatants by the military. >> reporter: and they are going to try the underwear bomber in federal court. they say an internal white house report on the fort hood shooting says not going to be released until the pentagon releases its report. >> gregg: thanks. >> julie: a suspected terrorist appearing before a judge in new york city, pleading not guilty to charges that he flew to pakistan to get terror training from al-qaeda. he was arrested yesterday after he got into a traffic accident while under surveillance. a former classmate of his was also arrested on friday. that man has already pleaded not guilty that he lied tote f.b.i. about a 2008 trip to pakistan. both men have been linked to asazi accused of terror a

again, the urgency here is not just a place like yemen but how you deal with closing gitmo and tryingivilian courts rather than gaining intelligence you need from them. he that is the sense of urgency that we need going forward. >> chris: senator reed, you get the final word. >> we have to be engaged in yemen. the question, jon is right, is how do you do it. it has to be a small footprint and more about intelligence and more about special operations in collaboration with the yemeni government. it's a country with profound problems. a civil war, poverty, running out of resources. it's an area we can't ignore. >> chris: senator reed, senator kyl, thank you both so much for coming in. please come back. >> thank you. >> chris: up next, more on the intelligence community's failure and the president's reforms. we'll ask our sunday panel to weigh in right after the break. once there was a thing called paper money. it had to be passed hand to hand. it had to be mailed. it had to be locked away. then visa used technology, ú turning money into electrons. zeroes. ones. digital currency. digital

closing gitmo is a bad idea. the process of removing those detainees who are still being held at gitmo will create a series of logistical problems and security threats to the american people. last month six gitmo detainees were sent back to their home country of yemen. just a few days later a nigerian man with throeufrpbgz a yemen-based terrorist organization attempted to blow up flight 253. the bombing attempt highlights the deadly threat posed by al qaeda's yemen affiliate. the administration wisely halted the transfer of gitmo detainees to yemen, but it seems intent to try the flight 253 bomber -- attempted bomber, i should say -- as a criminal defendant rather than an enemy combatant. that's deeply misguided for the reasons i've listed as well as the unnecessary difficulties it raises for our intelligence gathering. in hearings just this morning before the homeland security committee and the judiciary committee, there was testimony about the decision made with regard to this attempted christmas day bomber. an

. >> he wanted to close gitmo. what would be the difference? >> the difference would be that trial. >> i am not sure of that. >> i will bet you money. >> obama is in the white house. you have both houses that are democrats. it is all on them. >> if you have a republican president, you have the power of the veto and you can use it. gerald ford built his entire presidential career around having a veto. at least to stop a lot of stuff that shouldn't have happened. >> i want to be careful not to characterize it incorrectly, but as a listener, sometimes andy goes off very strongly. >> everything is now in the democratic corner. let him go ahead and do what they are going to do. mccain would be nothing but a sounding board for them. >> you are not there, though. you are in some other world. >> i describe myself as a recovering congressman. part of that is knowing how the process works and knowing that i was part of the process and apologizing for it. i also try to explain it. even a conservative rush limbaugh, the real policy is between the right and

as one federal judge previously ordered with respect to a group of detainees from gitmo. the war on al qaeda will continue for years to come. in order to prevail we must not only remain focused on the threat, but also reliant on the reasonable tools that have served us well in the past. for example, now is not the time to experiment with the patriot act. we should clearly reauthorize its expiring provisions rather than eliminate one of them, sunset another, and tinker with those that remain. as the administration or some of its congressional allies propose. as we continue to pursue this global network, we will rely more heavily on intelligence personnel. a point that was recently underscored by the decemberth suicide attack that killed seven c.i.a. employees in afganistan. we mourn the lost of these -- loss of these brave americans. their sacrifice, along with the attempted christmas day bombing and recent plot to attack the u.s. subway system reminds us that the threat from al qaeda and other other extremists has not -- i repeat not diminished. but in its

. >>> despite criticisms, brennan said the white house will press ahead with the closure of gitmo andontinue releasing detainees to yes, yemen on a case-by-case basis. last week, six were released under the bush administration. few detainees let out in 2006 and 2007 say their branch of al-qaeda based in yemen is behind the christmas day bombing attempt. >> i am very disturbed by that. everybody ought to admit the bush administration made a big mistake in transferring tse detainees, these errorists, back to other countries. >> nearly 100 yemenis are being housed. the plan is to house some of them in northern illinois. >>> an intense manhunt after a thanksgiving day massacre is over. authorities captured paul morigue after motel owners recognized him from a preview in america's most wanted. he is accused of gunning down his twin sisters, his aunt and 6-year-old cousin. he was held without bond. >>> a man eating breakfast in california was killed when a car plowed into the building. police say the 66-year-old man was sitting in a front corner booth in the carl's, jr. he car slammed into

. >> and also with the gitmo detainee it was up 14%.there is a lot of interest in the subject since two detainees have ended up as leaders of al qaeda. we hear it is closer at 20%. can you confirm that? >> i cannot. i don't have any new numbers to share at this point*. those products that you know, we do try to keep close tabs on this detainee is who we have transferred from guantanamo back to the home country or third country. the last report that read the classified as you mentioned, was what we provided in me which reflected the increase in recidivism from 11 percent up at 14%. we clearly have been doing our best to keep tabs on anyone who may have returned to the fight in a confirmed fashion or suspected fashion but i cannot give you the numbers other than to say i do not believe it reversed itself. there clearly was a trend one showed 11% and another showed 14%. i don't think that trend has reversed itself. >> you will lead tankers to fly. [laughter] >> 1 foot no. i know you're interested in this objective is clear to us. we deal w

president, this president was on the front line of attacking the previous administration's use of gitmo as a repository are for these enemy combatants. he was a frequent opponent of interrogation techniques which were vital to keeping us safe. he was opponent of the surge. we had a democrat nominee for president in 2004 who voted against a war funding bill while our troops were in combat. and nobody on the left thought that was inappropriate. and frankly, it's not. what is inappropriate is when when it goes too far. when you question motives. for example, when al gore stood up and had a speech in 2003 or 2004 said george bush lied us into war and betrayed the country, he was questioning his patriotism. that was too far. when some of these people said bush lied about wmd when they themselves said iraq had wmd, senator graham of florida and senator rockefeller of west virginia, when they themselves had said this and they turned around and accused bush of lying, i thought that was over the line. but we live in a democracy and this is the price we pay for living in a democracy and thank god

the core leadership of al qaeda now is made up of those folks who were at the gitmo prison.can't make that mistake again. it's not just about this administration. it's about losing our focus on security and i'm afraid politics and political correctness has become front and center of this debate. >> you know, that's just not true. this president is focused like a laser on how to keep this country safe. his commitment in afghanistan, even though there are those in his party that were very critical of the position he took, he took the time and the energy to determine that us r p ramping up in afghanistan should have been done a long time ago. that's a breeding ground for terrorists. this is a president that is taking strong action and is building up our intelligence community. >> senator demint, senator mccaskill. >> thank you, gloria. >> happy new year. >> happy new year, claire. >> you too, thanks, jim. >>> up next, a quick look at today's headlines. >>> and the man who spent years tracking osama bin laden and al qae qaeda. former cia officer michael scheuer gets the last wor

saying that we need to close gitmo. hindering the agencies that we need to give the best resources to to get the job done and taking the warnings and advice of people coming to give us briefings seriously so we are well prepared and not ill reequipped for events like this. >> and walid referred to this in his earlier comments. there does seem to be a reluctance on the part of this administration and at times the previous administration to be fair, to not call this a war. al-qaeda for sometime now has been at war with us. and no matter what we call it, that is the reality. and i believe that at times we are reluctant to take that on and address this the way we want to. yemen right now is the flavor of the month. yemen has been an issue in counter terrorism for years and years. the problem with al-qaeda is, i hate to say this, but it is like roaches you can eradicate them here and they will pop up some place else and this is part of the problem with afghanistan. to say we are in afghanistan to defeat al-qaeda they already

obama made a huge mistake by sending the back, the core nation made up of those folks who were at the gitmoon. we can't make that mistake again. so it's not just about the admin stras, it's about losing our focus on security and i'm afraid mole ticks and political correctness has become front and center of this debate. >> quick response, senator mccaskill before we go to break. >> that's just not true. this foe can president is focused like a laser on how to keep his country safe. even though there are those in his party that were critical of a position he took, he took the time and the energy to determine that us ramping up in afghanistan should have been done a long time ago. that's a breeding ground for terrorists. this is a president that is taking strong action and is building up our intelligence community, not diminishing it. >> we will be back after a quick be break and have much more. ( sighs ) ( music throughout ) hey bets, can i borrow a quarter? sure, still not dry? i'm trying to shrink them. i lost weight and now some clothes are too big. how did you do it? simple stuff. eating

huge by sending the yemenese back, the core of al qaeda is made up of those folks who were at the gitmo prison. we can't make that mistake again. so it's not just about the administration, it's about losing our focus on security and i'm afraid politics and political correctness has become front and center of this debate. >> that is just not true. this president is focused like a laser on how to keep this country safe. his commitment in afghanistan, even though there are those in his party that were, that were, very critical of the position he took. he took the time and the energy to determine that us ramping up in afghanistan should have been done a long time ago. that's a breeding ground for terrorists. this is a president that is taking strong action and is building up our intelligence community. >> senator demint, senator mccaskill, thank you for being with us. >> up next, a quick check of today's headlines. and then the man who spent years tracking osama bin laden and al qaeda, former cia analyst, gets the last word. >>> we are following breaking news. newark international airport,

all this increased focus on yemen, does this complicate the administration's plan on shutting down gitmo, because a lot of the detainees there are are from yemen. >> you've already heard from the top democrat, dianne feinstein of california, saying that there ought to be a halt to those yemenis being returned. i think there's real questions about the yemeni government in terms of what kind of partner it is to the united states. there have been some operations that have been more or less joint operations with u.s. intelligence and the like helping the yemeni government but i think this is a real question for those in the counterterror game. can they handle those prisoners back or are we just adding to the level of danger there. >> david gregory, thank you. >>> it's time for a quick check of the other headlines. we're going to say good morning to ron mott. >> good morning, everyone. the faa is increasing oversight of american airlines after three mishaps during landings. jet liners' wing tips touched the ground in two landings. and then there was the plane that overshot the runway in jamai

top counterterrorism adviser says the failed terrorist attack isn't going to change plans to close gitmo. >> i have been in constant dialogue with the yemenis about the arrangements in place. several of those individuals were put into custody as soon as they returned to yemen so we are making sure we don't do anything that's going to put american citizens, whether yemen or here in the states, at risk. >> it would be irresponsible to take any of the yemeni detainees in guantanamo and send them back to yemen. we know from past experience that some of them will be back in the fight against us. >>> president obama had originally planned to close the facility by the end of last year. no new deadline as been set. >>> nba player admits to having a gun in the locker room. it's not part of the story that he didn't talk about that everyone else is talking about. >>> and we've been covering the violence against students in chicago for a while, and it is not ending. two more high school students killed in just the past week including one in this video right here. police need your help and we're talk

could be a politically zardous choice as well, given the passions aeady aroused by talk of releasingny gitmonees into the u.. >> ifill: now washinon's new 'arts' chief. jeffy brown has our profile. >> brown: rocco ndesman is a succsful broadway producer, whose mpany jujamcyn, owns five major theaterin new york and has presented numerous award-winning play including "angelin america", and "the producs". ♪ now landesman has given uphe bright lights broadway for thhalls of washingn's bureaucracy. as head of the nional endowment for tharts, he manages federal agency that's seen its sha of ups and downs: stard by congress in 1965 to ster and bring the arts to a americans, but a frequentarget of conservives for funding of controrsial works. landesn wasted no time raising eyebrowshe called nea funding "pathetic", d suggested money should go to programbased on merit, n automatically to all congressiol districts. "i don't know if there's a theater in peoria," said in an intview, "but i would bet that it's not as good steppenwolf or the goodm," referring to t chicago companie that didn't play well in