jihadis will not be a troubling factor. in fact, they are. that's exactly why we should consider the intervention even more strongly. without the possibility of influence and processes on the ground through intervention. giving them more leeway on the ground than they should. jihadis aren't independent actors at this stage. especially in syria and the middle east. the assad regime was a main sponsor of jihadi movements. you have seen what it did in iraq and in lebanon. until recently they have been very much infiltrating and sort of playing on the jihad movement like marionettes, having them do their bidding. i doubt very much that it's a creation of the assad. but why they have created them, this is something that a couple of days ago, in fact, there was an interview on syrian tv with a jihadist that was actually in prison, we were told. and that before he carried out a suicide attack. but what was the target of the attack? was it an allouite neighborhood? a church? it was not. it was a mosque. it was a mosque that was the center of the prot

jihadis aren't going to take over syria. but they will make things worse because they make the assad regime and his supporters position a lot more entrenched. it makes it much more difficult to get to that point that senator mccain pointed to where you might have a negotiated solution, right? if you can balance, create more military balance the assad regime and his immediate supporters would be willing to cut a deal because the jihadis out there don't want to overthrow the syrian government because it is a brutal dictatorship. they want to overthrow it. they believe the folks in the government are apostates and deserve death. right? as brave as the vast majority of the syrian opposition is i'm unconvinced from historical precedent they can control the small jihadi element in that environment. it makes the situation worse. it will make a negotiated solution with assad very difficult. we've got to recognize that fact. the situation in libya was blown out of proportion. there was not a major jihadi element. for years qaddafi cr

the jihadi is based on three articles. the first one is that our rulers are corrupt, they would say, and oppressive. second, they say the western world is very interested in supporting these dictators and third, the only solution is the jihad. these three articles of faith have been undermined by the arab spring. the rollers are falling, the western countries seem to be supporting the people, not with the dictators, and the third, they are falling not because of violence because of nonviolence. these are important in terms of how the narrative was faced when the arab spring started. there have been discourses on the jihadi web site. they were taken by surprise initially. they were wondering what it means to have this jihadi identity. they said these were the exceptions. they said libya was not nonviolence. gaddafi did not fall because of non violence. there was an excellent article about the complexity of the situation in syria. there are some kind of jihadi groups that are appearing. it is looking murkier that the events

he proposes to centralize jihadi activity. this is when he discovers al qaeda central in the media good idea.t is a he wants to centralizes the first. -- centralized at first. -- efforts. he would like to create a special force based on the letter, a carefully written and strategically written letter about how we need to believe the regional groups so that we would ask ourselves. my own interpretation is that i do not think bin laden would have wanted to trust them but he wanted to them to be there for the show. whether he had the capability to create this force or not it is difficult to say. having said that, this is where, if i were in yemen, it would have surprised me receiving this letter from bin laden because some of his statements prior to that, he would call on muslims to rebel against their leaders. all a sudden, he is saying do not act. there is a change in his mode of thinking between his public statements and starting from 2010. it is possible he thought they cannot be trusted and they're not going to be able to mo

i think jihadi groups are going to be able to organize in syria. i am not convinced that there will be a cohesive government structure afterwards. i would like to more of out that, but i think that what we'll see age of a lot of countries in the region. right now they all agree a sake go. i think senator mccain pointed to the. i don't think they all agree what should come after. let's say assad false, to the saudis, the turks, the iraqis, do they all agree on what's going to happen or will they support their own proxy? i think that's probably more likely. what will happen with chemical and biological weapons? if push comes to shove, would assad use them? if he falls today matriculate to al qaeda? how do we control those? we can't pursue a direct and demonstrative policy of getting rid of assad and less we have good answers to those questions. that doesn't mean, look, you know, there are folks are worried about the impact of the united nations. that's not my concern. my concern is what are the unintended consequences of these actions, and do they un

it was not a major jihadi element in libya. the problem in syria is that the a side --assad regime had tolerated jihadi elements. but, there is a reality on the ground, i think, where the key hud -- the jihadi threat is greater. the proximity to iraq, where there is still a active al qaeda element that is still capable. a couple of questions. what comes next? the goals and purposes of military intervention are clear. when we want to achieve is clear. the issue is whether or not these mechanisms will get us where we want to go. i am skeptical that they are. what comes after? i think jihadi groups can organize and syria. i am not convinced that there will be a cohesive government structure afterwards. i would like to hear more about that, but what we will see is that you have a lot of countries in the region. right now, they all agree that assad should go. i do not think they all agree what should come after. after he falls, do they all agree on what will happen, or will they approach their -- support their own policies? i think

this is home base in a way for many of the jihadis. they spent years going into and out of syria to kill americans in iraq. come back through syria to go on conjugal visits. we know this. this is home. they're familiar with it. at the same time assad's strategy has been heavily dependent on using the scare tactic of al qaeda and syria. the longer it goes on the more chance it has of becoming a reality and the more chance the fighters in the free syrian army who are not by and large islamic will become islamists. so that's a problem. unlike another trend -- unlike the syrian council which is a basket case the army is more effective on the ground. operations are more lethal, better coordinated. the free syrian army has 300 separate identified battalions on the ground or fighting units. no shortages of ammunition. they are kill canning assad syrian forces. this is good. sometime in the not so distant future, and we are seeing it now -- some of the chemical weapons. 40 or so sites in syria with mustard gas may go somewhere else. we don't k

, certainly the wider jihadi community regionally please that it is an independent group. they are supporting the crew. if you like it is one of their own. frankly, i don't, i'm not in a great position to make that judgment independently but i do think that regional network of jihadi's is likely in a better position and they have made that judgment, and i think though the existence of the chandigarh i think helps assad politically, and perhaps operational, i think it helps assad keep control of the alawite dominant military because it scares those folks. it has to be a dominant group. it still scares those folks but it allows assad to say, you'd effect on the and those of the people you have to deal with. even if they're not everywhere. that's what's dangerous about them. >> let's take a few more questions from the floor. i also want to extend an offer to the members of the syrian delegation who are here to ask questions. if any of you would like to, just make yourself known, i know where you are sitting. are there other questions towards the back? yes, sir with the glasse

hyde -- g-5 -- jihadi presence. i do think these elements are likely to benefit from the situation there. i do think that there are going to be very unproductive defects across the region. i think that there is a role for a more active american presence there, but i am skeptical that military action can produce this. good intentions do not make good policy. bottom line. one of the things the interests me about the debate about syria is the analogy is we used to try to understand it, and this is something we all do as human beings, we ask is syria closer vote? if syria and iraq? what are the unintended consequences? how do we understand what our actions will produce in a situation like that? and it is no surprise, we all pick and choose the an argument that we would like to make. the big difference with syria, with the exception of iraq, is that the stakes are much, much higher. they are just tired, for all of the reasons that senator mccain laid out. the opportunities of a successful outcome in syria are much higher

and for the jihadies this is a fight pitting sunnies against-- . >> suarez: so are we seeing now a common among these disparate groups until that is some day in the future they might win and then we'll see the disagreement start tow merge? >> there are disagreements among them in terms of the leadership and but the common cause right now is the common enemy which is the asset regime. and as long as they are fighting, the regime, as long as they are in the struggle against the regime they will keep the ranks as united as possible. in the future as we have seen in libya, there is a possibility that divergence of opinions, that fights over leadership will emerge, yes. >> suarez: we caught just a glimpse of this globalpost report and only a small bit of actual operations in the field. but as the syrian conflict drags on, is this getting better at fighting? >> it is getting better organized. the free syrian army still lags the command and control structure to make it more effective. it's getting better. we are seeing now the emergeence in different provinces in syria of military counsel. these

. >> reporter: hardly audible below the swelling jihadi chorus, a voice says, "this is a suicide bombing" "god is great," the voice declared, as a voice comes into view, apparently approaching the checkpoint. a camera zooms in. outgunned by assad's forces, some rebels have turned to suicide bombs and roadside ieds. iraq-style guerilla warfare. in this video obtained exclusively by cnn, the brigade commander shows how the bombs are made. cylinders are packed with a lethal concoction of explosives, fertilizer, and other chemicals bought locally. mahmoud says his men are moderate islamists, fighting for democracy. we want a democratically elected president and a military that is separate from the presidency, he says. he says they're getting no outside help. [ speaking foreign language ] we're relying mostly on mines and making bombs now, the captain explains. this is how the battle for syria is now being fought. protest has become insurgency. which in turn threatens to become all-out war. >> and arwa's joining us now from beirut. all-out war. there were earlier indications the week that alr

he reportedly has links it to european jihadi groups.friend of atta who plotted american airlines flight 11 into the world trade center, but it appears he did not have an operational role in the 9/11 attacks. the arrest is apparently prompting a hostage situation right now in france. a gunman has reportedly holed up inside a bank in southern france. he has fired so far one shot. the gunman reportedly claiming ties on al qaeda. three people are reportedly being held against their will. the city of toulouse is where another gunman went on a killing spree in march. he was killed by police after a very tense standoff. >>> vice president joe biden is in carmel today attending a breakfast fund-raiser at the sunset center this morning. the event is open to the public, and people are willing to shell out big bucks to see the vp speak. tickets sold out fast with people paying $100 for general seating, up to 15,000 for a meeting and a photo. >>> a key vote today on an em battled cabinet member. the house oversight committee will vote bl attorney g

we disparaging referred to jihadi's now in the conversation.why do we confer upon them that title of holy warrior? i can't think of anything more unholy. let me answer your question now. here, the homegrown threat is growing and not just immigrants. you have white americans americans if you will that have been caught up in this. not just affiliated with al qaeda but all sorts. is part of this growing risk that i talk about. the first line of defense if you will is intelligence and when we think of intelligence it's important that we don't default to this concept of an orwellian, pervasive surveillance. now a lot of people do and some of the u.s. government think that's an easy answer if we have cameras everywhere and we have this unblinking eye. it is not an impact it concerns me, given my emphasis on civil liberties here. the best intelligence solution to that is to become a local clergy, the local store owner, the teacher, parents, families, neighborhoods, communities. that is the best intelligence we have. trusted networks that can inform lo

then a jihadi voice says this is a suicide mission against the soldiers. clear as the van comes into view apparently approaching a checkpoint. the camera zooms in. this is one of several clips posted to youtube by the brigade. the videos are very similar in tone to those that came out of iraq. as al qaeda allied insurgents there took on the u.s. military. but this is syria, today. outgunned by assad's forces, some rebels have turned to suicide bombs and roadside ieds and iraq-style guerrilla warfare. they are a group, but extremely effective. in this video obtained from cnn the commander shows how the bombs are made. cylinders are packed with a lethal concoction of explosives, fertilizer and other chemicals bought locally. [ speaking foreign language ] we don't want to name them so that the government does not confiscate them from the market, he says. bolts are affixed to the tops of canisters and once detonated, they are lethal shards of shrap nell. this one would blow up a jeep or tank pointing to two devices that another rebel is taping together. for ta

so, you know, i'm sure there will be an announcement on a jih jihadi website. >> i want to play a quickjay carney, the white house reaction, the significance of what it meant to bring this guy down. >> and that represents in the wake of the death of osama bin laden another serious blow to core al qaeda in what is an ongoing effort to disrupt, dismantle, and ultimately defeat a foe that brought great terror and death to the united states on september 11th, 2001. >> peter, is the white house overstating the accomplishment or are they spot on? do they have this right? >> no, i don't think they're overstating the accomplishment. i think it's part of a broader pattern where al qaeda is an organization in deep trouble. this is further confirmation. if al qaeda was a stock for publicly traded stock, i wish i'd started shorting it several years ago. this has been a process that's taken many years, suzanne. it started under the last six months of george w. bush where the drone program was much amplified. it was also al qaeda's own mistakes in iraq where they killed a lot of muslim civilians. the

the no fly zone, i do not think that would energize the jihadi. we are trying to help syrians fight the regime. you're going to get some of foreign fighters as well that i do not think this is going to change the dynamic entirely by having u.s. involvement, if it is not on the ground. >> i saw a question all the way in the back corner. please wait for the microphone and introduce yourself. >> i am from the syrian national council. the syrian government has a biological weapon. we have to intervene at one point to control that stockpile. >> again, this was just mentioned. boots on the ground killing syrian officers and collateral damage and suffering u.s. casualties. this is going to be a big risk to do that. it will create a whole host of operational challenges for us. better that they are secured by syrians. once you go in there, by the way, you are in there for the long haul. you have to figure out a way to destroy them as well. this is a long-term operation and will be the least popular operation for americans to try to sell this type of involv