in most of somalia, priorscy is the only profitable business. so profitable that pirate stock exchanges have been set up, allowing somalis to invest money and weapons to reap a share of the ransom. one investor, the group al-shabab, is a radical organization with ties to al-qaeda. al-shabab trains it's fighters to rage war against the enemies of islam. >> there are numerous camps on the ground. the camps are being used to train fighters to fight in somalia. is it possible they could be used for something else in the future? absolutely. >> it appears the future is now. a newly released canadian intelligence document reports al-shabab has been arming and training pirates in exchange for a share of their spoil. >> the big danger is they can very easily be utilized by foreign interests that are not pirates. >> this is like other organized crime. whether people who have drugs smuggling empires or human smuggling empires, trafficking, there's evil here, and it needs to stop. >> greg palkot tracks down a former pirate in little mogadishu as he finds wh

also i deal with counter-piracy off the coast of somalia.ost: can you give an idea of your company's our clients? guest: and mixed bag from private industry, at some of the shipping industries have asked for help because of the influx of piracy right now off the coast of somalia. private organizations that have conferences in, for instance, kenya. and also, at times, a u.s. government will ask for some assistance on certain issues. host: pittsburgh, pennsylvania on the republican line. tom, good morning. caller: i would like to comment on the speaker's approach to african terrorism. it is great to study all the details of this group and that group, and it is very important to gather this information, but the main thing i would like to see is an overall larger outrage -- any time there is a terror attack would take into consideration the number of bombs, the number of people. and i think we as the superior western civilization who knows how to live this life are too blase. we should be outraged. exposed the terrorists for their destructive me

this video is from somalia. it shows al shbob fighters are wrapping up their military training near mogadishu. their leaders say the fighters are prepared to battle government forces in both somalia and yemen. yemen is reportedly tightening security along its coast and searching suspicious votes and other vessels. >>> meantime we're getting word between a possible link between the cress day terror attack and november massacre at ft. hood, texas. a u.s. counterterrorism official tells cnn that would-be bomber umar farouk abdulmutallab had contact with terrorist anwr al walky, the american-born imam that has been linked to internet contacts with the accused hasan. where does the u.s. go from here? let's bring in military analyst ken robinson. he's joining us live from los angeles. we appreciate you joining us. let's talk about general petraeus, his meeting today. is this a step in the right direction? >> i think it is, don. it's really a pri cursor to putting the president of yemen's fingerprints on the bombings t

they quoted him in somalia. they use him. he is clearly influential in those groups. and because of his background and the presence of the media which was closely associated with the taliban than al qaeda,

are denying the people of somalia the assistance that they need.cco, all of his counterparts from france, with members of the guinea's ruling junta. they discussed the regional security and our ideas on how to seek a peaceful resolution to the political situation in danny -- in gettuinea. we support a civilian government leading to free and fair transparent democratic elections. and finally we have an official in honduras today and tomorrow. meeting with various sectors of including the president-elect lobo, continuing to move the process for. -- forward as we approach the inauguration of the president on january 27. and we continue to work with those parties on the expeditious formation of the establishment of a truth commission. with that -- one final point. this afternoon the secretary will participate in the white house meeting as the present reviews not only steps taken in the aftermath of the december 25 attempted bombing of the airliner and working across enter agency to prepare ideas on how we can make the system more effective. >> let's st

also i deal with counter-piracy off the coast of somalia.t: can you give an idea of your company's our clients? guest: and mixed bag from private industry, at some of the shipping industries have asked for help because of the influx of piracy right now off the coast of somalia. private organizations that have conferences in, for instance, kenya. and also, at times, a u.s. government will ask for some assistance on certain issues. host: pittsburgh, pennsylvania on the republican line. tom, good morning. caller: i would like to comment on the speaker's approach to african terrorism. it is great to study all the details of this group and that group, and it is very important to gather this information, but the main thing i would like to see is an overall larger outrage -- any time there is a terror attack would take into consideration the number of bombs, the number of people. and i think we as the superior western civilization who knows how to live this life are too blase. we should be outraged. exposed the terrorists for their destructive meth

their leader says fighters are prepared to battle government forces in somalia and in yemen. in response, yemen reportedly is tightening security along the coast and searching suspicious boat and other vessels. we're getting word about a possible link between a christmas day terror attack and the november massacre at ft. hood, texas. an official tells cnn that would be bomber umar farouk abdulmutallab had direct contact with muslim cleric anwar al awlaki. he exchanged e-mails with the accused ft. hood gunman. earlier i discussed the situation in yemen and today's visit there by general david petraeus with ken robinson. i asked him if the general's trip could be a precursor to wider u.s. action in yemen. >> i think it is. because what we have right now is really good diplomacy going on because they're trying to establish legitimacy with the government of yemen and with the arab street because these bombings are going to happen and legitimacy will be half the battle. the other part is proper target selections of legitimate targets that had to do with giving sanctuary to al qaed

you've had 18 somali americans go to somalia to join training. that should be taken care of immediately. so to listen to families, i think, is very important. >> schieffer: i want to go right to congressman hoekstra on this. a lot of people are already saying that this fellow, this detroit fellow who was arrested on the detroit flight should not have been charged in a civilian court and given a lawyer. he should have been designated a military combatant and left in the hands of the military. so they could interrogate him. >> i would agree with that statement. i mean i think what the president now needs to do is the president, i think, came out last week finally said we are at war with al qaeda. recognized that. i think he has a better understanding of the threat and an appreciation for the threat that we face. not only should we now consistently charge these folks in the military court but i think the bigger issue and the senator was talking about that, what signs are missed but i think the big signs that were missed were the ones that happened a

but we'll come down here south across the gulf of aden and this right here is somalia. a lot of us familiar with the piracy concerns, there's been this huge power vacuum there, a breeding ground of terror for al qaeda. and there are operatives been imagine to go work their way over here to yemen. so it's important to understand what's happening. one of our experts spoke about that on american morning. >> al qaeda appears to have merged with local conflicts and this is where the danger lies. so you not only have an al qaeda footprint, an and i will yaep one, you have al qaeda now leads the struggles in the south against the north. and also you have tens of thousands of somali refugees. so you have interaction between al qaeda members in i can't men and somalia. >> so to summarize all that you've got serious, serious complexities in that region. you have the complexities in yemen and then saudi arabia just north of it and then on the south side, somalia and all the challenges there. all of that is the big picture for any action with respect to this group that has an opera

right across the straits, right across the red sea we have somalia. and just a few weeks ago an individual was picked up by african union peacekeepers trying to board a flight in somalia, apparently with a device very similar to that of umar abdul mub. so the question is if we put all of our effort, start focusing exclusively on yemen what's going on in those other franchise areas like somalia, this is a multitiered threat. >> so complicated. but we've known for a long time about afghanistan, obviously. pakistan. now yemen. yemen number two in the amount of money it was given in the pentagon's counterterrorism program. but, $67 million just in the big picture, that doesn't sound like a lot. where do you think the united states needs to be focusing those counterterrorism dollars? >> well, i think most importantly, we have to look at yemen and we have to understand why al qaeda has managed to flourish there. the two main reasons, obviously number one the arrival of a group of ex-saudi guantanamo bay detainees who were released in 2007, who have really g

the prior administration went after groups like shish kebab in somalia which had ties to al qaeda.there are groups in west africana and central africa that are tied to al qaeda where we are working with allies like our jury and morocco to go after those individuals. with respect to al qaeda,with a morocco to go after those individuals. with respect to al qaeda, the strategy was and still is destroy al qaeda where it sits. with respect to international organizations and drug networks you started to see the d.a. engage more globally. at the national security council they started a program to go after high value international marketers of weapons. that was because the famed merchant of death, the sanctions buster, the individual responsible for shipping weapons all over the world including africana and afghanistan was ultimately arrested in thailand. there are ways of disrupting these high network and high-value individuals as a way of disrupting potential networks. but it was very difficult. >> good morning. i am from septic university in boston. you mentioned globalization has incre

and pirates high-tech two ships in 24 hours outside somalia. but first, police officers are taunted by is teenage [ woman ] once she switches to new swiffer wetjet, it will clean so deep, she'll never go back to you again. sorry. ♪ love stinks ♪ love stinks, yeah, yeah [ laughs ] [ female announcer ] new swiffer wetjet is redesigned. it cleans deep in corners. its solution penetrates layers of dirt, and its absorbent pad locks it away to clean better than a mop. the newly redesigned swiffer wetjet. who's next? ♪ love stinks >> a teenager is dead after a police chase ended in gunfire. officers in albemarle county said it started when they tried to pull over the teenager far on authorized use of the vehicle. they circled by crown, stealing a sheriff's deputy car. the police were apparently called by their own radio. >> [inaudible] >> they used spike strips to crashed a car. that is when the suspect started firing at the officers. the officers are now on administrative leave. the second hijacking last night in just 48 hours. port officials in near

we can't go into yemen and somalia and everywhere else. instead, we have to try to build up the capacities of these governments, but that's a long and ticket and in the end incomplete effort. >> and elizabeth palmer just said we'll double our money, put double down in yemen. if there really isn't much of a government there, how wise is an investment like that? >> it's a wise investment, but we shouldn't expect complete success. so we'll guild up some capacity, we'll have to do some more things ourselves, but think of it this as like fighting disease. every once in a while you make some progress, but you never eliminate the virus. you're not going to eliminate yemen as a place where the virus of terrorism exercises itself. >> let's talk then about -- so there's yemen, so malia. will we anticipate a time you can't eliminate the disease all together. >> >> this is part of the architecture of our lives. terrorism is probably here to stay. we question after it when we can. we protect ourselves as best we can. we get better at recovery, at makin

"they talked about somalia and there are breeding grounds in africa where extremists are going to somalia. there is a fear that tentacles will spread from there from northern africa into europe. have you talked to any of the african leaders? >> we have already deployed high officials from our department around the globe and they will be going to africa, as well. they need to be part of the solution. this is a global problem, not just for the united states. there is active engagement there. >> there are many different groups in africa. we have had a robust dialogue with everett leaders as well as with other countries in the area. that is an area where al qaeda preys upon. they are looking in africa for recruits. this is something we're concerned about. >> \ there are others engaging h african countries and leaders to address this issue from the standpoint of cooperation. >> is there any information that the government has been able to analyze that you had prior to question that had not -- that they had not gotten to analyze? >> there is a lot of information that is being re-analyzed or re-

now we know the danger of somalia as well as other countries that are now on our target list for whereng centers are being conducted. and so we need to check for passports for when individuals have visited these countries and to make reasonable calibrations about secondary screening, questioning individuals. some amount of what the israeli president was right. one of the things we have to do is look at where the agencies failed to execute their missions. look at the ntsc, they say it's not enough to put him on the watch list. they put the piece of paper down as opposed to going back and looking at the information. i think what richard is saying, i do think that the right protocols and procedures -- the process is there. people didn't use what was available to them. >> do you agree, jeanne, it was a failure by individuals, but not a problem with the way it's structured? >> i think that's what we'll find out after this white house assessment is done. another point i'd love to make since we have a member of the 9/11 commission here, is that one of the recommendations of the 9/11 commissio

a fully fledged wing in north africa and in somalia. how can it be less threatening to us? >> is the threat from al qaeda greater from yemen than afghanistan now? >> no, certainly not. the threat overall from al qaeda is melded together. it is an international organizationch we tend to forget that a decade ago we knew that al qaeda was in over 50 countries. they're in far more countries than that today. >> well, let me play for you, something. i asked john brennan if al qaeda in fact was diminished? or more sophisticated. let's hear what he had to say. then you can respond. >> we have made quite a bit of progress this year in degrading the capabilities of al qaeda organization. taken the battle to them. eliminated a number of their leaders and operatives that doesn't mean they don't have capability to carry out attacks. that's what they're doing. they're trying to look for ways and vulnerabilities to get their operatives to the united states or other places to carry out the attacks. >> mr. brennan is blowing smoke. you have some dead bodies. i agree, all to the good. but no

>> again, somalia is a country that has so many weapons.i am not sure that what is going across the straits there is making a big difference. >> speaking of somalia, the last administration had spoken about putting eritrea on the list of state sponsors. is that going anywhere? >> we are not at the moment working on that. i believe that eritrea is listed as non cooperating. not fully cooperating on some ct issues. but we have not taken it beyond that, and we feel that is the right place in terms of working with the eritreans to resolve some of our issues. >> are you actually working with the eritreans? my understanding is that they pretty much were not interested. >> they are not the most communicative people on earth. [laughter] >> where does that leave it right now? >> we have not stopped communicating to them. >> 1 osama bin laden's claim on the state -- >> i was wondering when that was going to come up. >> that he was responsible and that he masterminded the christmas day attack. the belief that to be true? you see a lot of coordination

are we prepared to go back into somalia, all of the places with weak central authority. are we going to go in and do the same thing there? we can barely handle two wars right now. are we prepared for a third, fourth, or fifth seriously? >> larry: a couple of other things we'll cover with the three of you. bill, former secretary of defense, the president when running for election said he would close guantanamo. would you? >> i think the issue with guantanamo is it has become a toxic symbol to the rest of the world. the issue is not so much where it was but it's that there was no oversight. had there been sufficient oversig oversight, you wouldn't have had the abuses that took place. he's committed to closing it. i think that he will have to close it, but right now he needs to take a pause to look to see where he puts those individuals, under what circumstances. whether they're going to have trials in civil court, criminal court or whether under military tribunal type of approach. i think that with all that's going on now he needs to take just a respite and analyze exactly

to al qaeda and their allies wherever they plot, be it in afghanistan and pakistan, in yemen and somaliaor in other countries around the world. Ñihere at home, our intelligenc, homeland security, and law enforcement agencies have worked together with considerable success, gathering intelligence, stitching it together, and making arrests from denver to texas, from illinois to new york, disrupting plots and saving american lives. these successes have not come without a price, as we saw last week in the loss of our courageous cia officers in afghanistan. but when a suspected terrorist is able to board a plane with explosives on christmas day, the system has failed in a potentially disastrous way. it is my responsibility to find out why and to correct that failure so that we can prevent such attacks in the future. and that is why shortly after the attempted bombing over detroit, i ordered two reviews. i directed homeland security secretary janet napolitano to review aviation screening technologies and procedures. she briefed me on her initial findings to date. i am pleased that this review i

algeria, iraq, lebanon, libya, nigeria, pakistan, saudi arabia, somalia, and yemen as well. >>> i want to continue now our discussion about iran with our guests. so if you're just joining us, azar nafisi is the author of "things i've been silent about." she's also a professor at johns hopkins university. and rudi bakhtiar works with the international campaign for human rights. both are joining us tonight from washington, d.c. and bobak kahor is host of a talk show kirn radio in los angeles. and comedian and actor maz jobrani also in los angeles tonight. so again, thank you all for joining us. what makes iranian-americans so unique? i'll start with you, azar. >> well, one of the unique things about america, actually, is that you can bring your past with you. so being an iranian-american, every nationality brings their own uniqueness and originality with them. i have always felt that being an iranian and an american at the same time i can constantly look at the two cultures through the alternative eyes of the other. and each of them gives me a fresh view of the other. and sometimes livin

the list of countries include cuba, iran, libya, and somalia. the new guidelines, as president barack obama cut short his hawaiian holiday to return to washington. the failed christmas day attack resembled one and august against prince mohamad, head of the saudi security. it was a hard to detect underwater bomb and the same explosive the top counterterrorism adviser, met with security officials. the work done forensic analysis and yet the christmas attempt was not caught greg >> there was no single piece of intelligence that says that the man we carry out the attack that day. >> the current security system failed. changes at the airport are not enough. >>> by young muslim men from the d.c. area are denying they planned to carry out the terrorist attacks. police arrested the five in pakistan last month and they appeared in court. they have two weeks to prepare a case. the men aged 19 years old through a 25-year-old and have denied any ties to al qaeda. >>> officers arrested a 44-year- old early yesterday morning, a few hours after they say the ma

somalia is addressed best through the amazon security work, but on the political level through the unled an the other forms of corporation being established the fits the situation in yemen. somalia is rather different. >> international aid funding which they have promised -- it pales against what the oil-rich countries should be providing shouldn't her majesty's government make clear -- shouldn't her majesty's government make clear how much they should spend, rather than spending millions of pounds? >> i am not sure that the government spending money on skyscrapers is what he is referring to. some of the largest pledges at the 2006 conference were from gulf countries, not from western countries. it is important that those pledges are fulfilled. which of those pledges that? the bank paid? that is a curtain in point in regard to this. -- which of these has been paid? it is not to say that we have the biggest program. it is to explain that we have the berdych program. he has a right to say that this initiative -- we have a british program. he has a right to say that they have put us on t

. >> as in somalia. >> and you try walking through with people with ak-47's and rhinocerus horns high on khat, that is not the kind of place like we're talking about baghdad or afghanistan. this is a real feudal society. >> it's primitive, wide and it's almost ungoverned. and before talking about americans direct involvement in that, we ought to think about how we are contributing to the problems in yemen. the two leaders of al-qaeda in yemen are are ex-graduates of guantanemo. the bush administration to its demarry its released them in -- demerit released them in 2007. this administration has released six yemenises in the last month and it's got 91 yemenis in guantanemo. as you know, obama is dead set on closing guantanemo. all of this is suspended. they're going to re-examine these guys. because if these guys are released they're going to end up in yemen and in al-qaeda. the idea that we are to feed the insurgency in yemen by releasing the people as we have in the past is rather insane. and rather than speak about the event in detroit as complicating as closing guantanemo, we ought

they include pakistan, somalia, yemen, cuba, sudan and syria.assengers must undergo full body scans and pat downs and hand checks of all carry-on luggage. it follows the arrest of a nigerian man, abdulmutallab who allegedly smuggled explosives on a flight from amsterdam to detroit on christmas day. >> some international flights from the countries of interest land here at newark liberty airport. most of the passengers we spoke too welcome new rules to increase safety. >> i don't think it is the ideal solution but i think it is something that needs to happen if people are going to feel safe traveling. >> security lines seem to be moving normally this morning, but it was a very different scene here last night. man slipped past security, entering a gate area through an exit. the security grounded flights for six hours and thousands of passengers had to be rescreened. >> we were on the plane ready to leave the gateway, and they told everybody you have to deplane and take everything with you. >> and travelers can expect more security changes. presiden

s world food program has suspended operations r southern somalia.mands by armed groups. he said it's "virtually impossible" to reach as many as 1 million somalis. much of the south is controlled by the al shabaab rebel group. their spokesmen said today the world food program is a spy agency, and will not be allowed back. an arctic blast extended its reach today from the eastern u.s. to the deep south. hard freeze warnings were issued all the way to the florida panhandle. farmers in the region rushed to save strawberry crops and citrus groves. meanwhile, parts of the great lakes and the northeast were shoveling out of another record snowfall. forecasters expect the bitter cold to stick around all week. 2009 will go down as the worst year for u.s. auto sales in nearly 30 years. chrysler was hardest hit, with sales down 36% from 2008. general motors was down 33%, and ford was off 15%. the major japanese brands were off as well. ford and chrysler did report sales gains in december, compared with november. wall street marked time after monday's big gains

the chaos in somalia is significant and it's still a problem. so they are using this and they are starting to develop the momentum. i am not ready to say they have the initiative yet. but if we don't stop them, they will. >> warner: so how many years do you think we're going to be at this? >> well, unfortunately, unless there a dramatic change, at least ten or 15 years, maybe more. this is not a problem that is won easily it is not an enemy that is defeated easily. it's not meeting armies on a field of battle and crushing them. this has become a social movement. that's a problem. movements are difficult to defeat. >> warner: luis rueda, thank you. >> thank you for having me. >> margaret gets a different view from a former cia agent >> woodruff: margaret gets a different view from a former c.i.a. agent later this week. >> ifill: next, a very big fish story about the battle among midwestern states over a growing threat to the great lakes ecosystem. newshour correspondent tom bearden reports. >> big one, big one. >> reporter: these are the invaders

. >> now a new warning out this weekd about a reminder of the threats that come not just from somaliad yemen but also from pakist and afghanistan. >> and this brings it home because al qaeda we've been saying has become franchised and have gone from al qaeda central to these other country, yemen and somalia. you've got the martyr suicide video of the man who did such incredible grievous damage to our cia forces in afghanistan in the bombing in khosth. this is in retaliation. they are going international. they are going after this target in afghanistan in a way they never have before. it shows you how they have stepped it up. and we have to get ahead of the game and right now we are on the defensive. now we have to look at everything in our arsonal. we have to look at every asset and wonder who out there is also a turncoat. >> how did the president come out of this week? >> i think he's at this point where you do nothing almost but react to events on the ground. he doesn't have the ability any more i think to set an agenda in the way that first year presidents do. we are truly in this

i'm thinking the example somalia. the resistance and the civil fighting in somalia is because of the environment in the country. there is so much civil war because the opportunities are so limited. so if we don't address the climate change, the problems won't be only for united states, they'll be for other foreign the countries that we can see how they come -- >> thank you. >> well, you're absolutely right, and just to add to that, when the nobel peace prize was given three years ago, it was for that reason. she was given a nobel peace prize for her tree-planting projects that were happening in kenya, and what the peace prize committee was saying is that planting trees and restoring our natural resources is central to peace and security because if somebody's natural resources have been destroyed, those people move to find the resources that they need. and when they move, they put more pressure on the, on the few resources that are left, and people end up fighting over them. so i believe you're absolutely right. >> tim

somalia is addressed best through the amazon security work, but on the political level through the unalled an the other forms of corporation being established the fits the situation in yemen. somalia is rather different. >> international aid funding which they have promised -- it pales against what the oil-rich countries should be providing shouldn't her majesty's government make clear -- shouldn't her majesty's government make clear how much they should spend, rather than spending millions of pounds? >> i am not sure that the government spending money on skyscrapers is what he is referring to. some of the largest pledges at the 2006 conference were from gulf countries, not from western countries. it is important that those pledges are fulfilled. which of those pledges that? the bank paid? that is a curtain in point in regard to this. -- which of these has been paid? it is not to say that we have the biggest program. it is to explain that we have the berdych program. he has a right to say that this initiative -- we have a british program. he has a right to say that they have put us on

but why fight them in afghanistan when they can just as easily organize in yemen or in somalia or elsewhere? efforts to get help from the pakistanis is not being very successful. in india, our congressional delegation met with prime minister singh. i put the question to him, would he be willing to have a lem takes with the number of troops oned border which would eliminate pakistani troops to help us fight. prime minister singh said he would if the terrorists would be stopped from coming into india as they blew up the hotel in mumbai more than a year ago. so there are many things to be done. our congressional delegation visited in syria. i have visited the mideast almost every year during my ten your i -- during my tenure in te senate. very much concerned about the security of israel ands. and in the visits that i've had to syria, i've gotten to know bashir assad and his president hafez el-assad. i have made many trips to syria because i believe that syria is the key to the peace process there. syria wants the return of the golah and only israel could decide whether israel wants to give bac

and i guess somalia is going to be the one after that. the second and really scary one is that the u.s. muslim community, for the first time, is producing potential jihadis. they're the five from the washington area who showed up in pakistan. there was hasan who was -- who did the shooting at fort hood. and up until now, we felt that we really -- that we didn't have a problem with our muslim community. but we may. chris: is that what the president was trying to address when he was talking about really trying to work against this recruitment of people that are just agitated, unhappy in their lives, that al qaeda's working on and grabbing? >> i think he was speaking on two fronts. he was trying to do that. he was also trying to not discount the impact of that extraordinary cairo speech that he gave. he does fundamentally want to reach out to the larger muslim community to the islamic world. in a way that george w. bush did not. so he does not want our response to this terror incident, this threat, and others, to discount the larger foreign

africa, and even somalia. on the face of it, it seems that they are wrong in reporting that they have not expanded. host: we see reports about what we are doing to prevent people from entering. we read about and see the launches of creditor drones against al qaeda operatives. what are we not doing that we should be doing? guest: what we have seen is definitive proof that there is such a thing, on any topic, that killing these people one at a time is not sufficient. it was not sufficient in 1995 and is far less so now, as there are so many people in the muslim world that are mad at america. very few muslims hate americans for being americans. in terms of airports, the watch word is not a silver bullet. if anything, this gentleman in detroit was a rank amateur. had he been a professional, it would not have the nabobs of job. for americans to somehow think that we have a great system to protect them, i think that is wrong. i think sometimes i wonder why we spend so much attention on the aircraft and system when w

from nigeria and somalia. each branch of the organization with its own local leaders, allegedly taking orders from the top. >> osama bin laden is not a micromanager. he's a very talented modern ceo. he kind of establishes the goals and discusses the targets. >> reporter: and yemen has emerged as a key hub. >> the transit of fighters, safe haven for fighters. the movement of lodge city call materials. yemen is perfectly placed for all of those things. >> reporter: last year the u.s. government tagged $70 million to fight terrorism in yemen. u.s. officials say that number will double this year. but it's hard to tell if the u.s. is throwing good money after bad. >> there's always the question of when you give aid, where that ends up. that's a little bit of a risk that we have to take here. >> reporter: in the last two weeks u.s. has launched two raise. >> we can't go to war with these countries. if we do, we play into al qaeda narrative. and we make it more successful organization every time we put additional for

they are going to somalia. they are going straight from there into year.ny the talk to the africans? >> let me just say that we have already deployed officials from our department around the globe. they will be going to africa as well. they need to be part of the solution. this is a global travel issue. there is active engagements there. >> there are many different recruits in africa pitt. we have had a robust dialogue with african countries and the leaders. we see that is an area that al qaeda preys upon. they are looking in africa for recruits. this is something that we are very concerned about. >> it is just one of many elements of the u.s. government. they are engaging with african countries and leaders in a way to address this issue from the standpoint of cooperation and security. >> is there any information that the government has been able to analyze and you have -- had prior to christmas but had not been able to analyze yet? >> there is a lot of information that is being realized and reevaluate. this gives us new insight into methods and other type

of course, that is the same issue in somalia as well. i do assure that our policy in somalia and in yemen as it is in pakistan is to back those elements standing firm against al qaeda and against those using islam on the base of which they preach jihad against the rest of the world. as far as the measures we are taking here i do emphasize to them that the maximum concern is taken to deal with the civil liberties issues that arise. and so in the installation of the security machines at airports and making sure that we have security checks properly done, there will be conduct designed to protect individuals >> david plunkett. >> my friend will be aware that the comptroller to which the leader referred was introduced by my successor falling in december in 2004 overturning section four of the anti-terrorism sovereignty security act. given the key issues about disclosure and the failure of the judiciary to respond to the consultation and early 2004, alternatives which would allow the court system to deal with that with sufficient privacy to p

africa, and even somalia.n the face of it, it seems that they are wrong in reporting that they have not expanded. host: we see reports about what we are doing to prevent people from entering. we read about and see the launches of creditor drones against al qaeda operatives. what are we not doing that we should be doing? guest: what we have seen is definitive proof that there is such a thing, on any topic, that killing these people one at a time is not sufficient. it was not sufficient in 1995 and is far less so now, as there are so many people in the muslim world that are mad at america. very few muslims hate americans for being americans. in terms of airports, the watch word is not a silver bullet. if anything, this gentleman in detroit was a rank amateur. had he been a professional, it would not have the nabobs of job. for americans to somehow think that we have a great system to protect them, i think that is wrong. i think sometimes i wonder why we spend so much attention on the aircraft and system when we

learned is having spent so much of my life covering stories overseas and post apocalyptic scenes in somaliaistan, what amazed me was how much damage could be done right here at home it was really an eye opener for me to see all the destruction and just how bad it can get. >> the web site is americancasinothemovie.com. we will run these credits again so we can see those numbers. >> thank you. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> we will replace this tonight at 1015 eastern here on c-span.

>> yes, i think that's exactly right and somalia which is another place of worry. in fact, there are dozens of places of worry where there are al qaeda cells around the world. and since 9/11, the cia and others have been fighting covertly. >> let's get to the political debate here at home. you've seen former vice president cheney come out and say one of the reasons we're seeing more attempts and failed bombing in december, that obama administration has dropped the ball. the president has been pushing back very hard against that notion. bottom line, who's got the better point here? >> bottom line, you can't become president a year ago as he did, and not realize we're at war. it's part of the fabric of life there. decisions of the intelligence briefings. the information that i have about that, it's very clear that the new administration is taking a very aggressive stance on these matters. and are, perhaps, even more than the bush administration, doing more about the al qaeda sanctuaries in places like yemen. and again, this is the key. >> in fact, they had 53 drone s

and we are looking closely at somalia. we do not have any vital interest in afghanistan itself except for domestic national security interests. that leads to the next question. what is the threat here in the united states or in the west? i have done a comprehensive survey of all al qaeda plots, successful and unsuccessful in the west in the last 20 years since the creation of al qaeda. there has been no al qaeda resurgence as trumpeted three years ago by people on this panel. there have only been two plots in the last three years to link to al qaeda -- denmark in 2004, and new york and denver. there has been no fatality in the west link to al qaeda in its nearly five years in the west. if you look at the plots, over 80% are home grown without any relationship to any terrorist organization. and those that have some relationship to any terrorist organization, it is no longer al qaeda. it is the iju,. it was ttp, terek taliban in pakistan, the bourse a lot of plot. -- the barcelone plot. the one who tried to kill the cartooni

cnn says that those countries include iran, afghanistan, syria, nigeria, somalia, and yemen.re the headlines at this hour. we're keeping you informed. cnn, the most trusted name in the news. >> host of america's next top model airs on wednesday. she's recently launched an online magazine called tire ra beauty inside and out. >> it had a season and it was very successful and it's coming back. abc renewed it. >> in a recent interview you said that you were more of a diva. >> yeah >> larry: define diva. >> i didn't say that, somebody asked me was i one and i said no, i wish i was more of one, but i would never just say that quote. >> larry: what is a diva to you? >> different things. i mean a diva can be a recording artist that just you know can sing her butt off and does not need any auto tuning or any computerized vocal help that commands a crowd that brings people to their knees and then there's the negative connotation of it. >> larry: like serena williams, was that a diva attitude? >> my gosh, no that was a competitor. and when serena does that she's a diva, and when a male

they had a hit on a terrorist in somalia.n his car in a convoy, apparently a very bad person, a special forces helicopter surrounded and just shot it up so everyone was dead. navy sales rappelled down, grabbed his body, and flew off. so it's not just in pakistan, it's not just drones. it's in somalia. we've done it in yemen, pakistan, iraq, afghanistan. we may have done it other places we don't know about. so i take his point that when you declare a sort of war on terror, you have to be very specific about twha that means, where is the battlefield, who is included. i think it's rather shocking that we've gone from al qaeda is on the target list, to who is associated with al qaeda. taliban. then you have the pakistani taliban. we took out the head. he is not fighting us in afghanistan although he is trying to destabilize pakistan. then you have drug dealers. we have more than 50 who have been targeted in this program as the senate foreign relations committee reported. so the target list is expanding and no one is asking questi

we are looking closely at somalia. you can see we actually do not have any vital interest in afghanistan itself, except for domestic national security interest. okay. that leads to the next question. what is the threat here in the united states or in the west? well, i have done a comprehensive survey of al qaeda-like plots successful and unsuccessful in the west in the last 20 years since the creation of al qaeda. well, there has been no al qaeda resurgence. there have been only two plots in the last three years linked to al qaeda. denmark in september 2004 and new york and denver here. there have been no fatality in the west linked to al qaeda been in nearly five years in the west. if you look at the plots over 80% are homegrown without any relationship to any terrorist organization. and if that has some relationship to any terrorist organization, it is no longer al qaeda. it is lashkar-e-taiba, as pointed out by bruce. and now al-shabab, the fellow who tried to kill the cartoonist in denmark last week. the arabic pen

roughly 600 miles off somalia. its 25 members were outside the patrolled area when it was attacked and hijacked. the same day pirates seized the a tanker from aidan. the ship's master radioed that the crew of 24 was safe. >>> grief and fear in a northwest pakinstani village as families buried dozens of victims of a suicide attack. officials say 96 people were killed in the friday attack in an outdoor volleyball game in their still looking for more potential victims. officials there say the truck bombing appears to be a revenge attack against anti-taliban groups. the motive to scare civilians from fighting back against insurgents. >>> brutal cold and heavy snow pounding the great lakes region. cleveland and surrounding areas have been hit hard. and they can see up to 12 inches of snow through this weekend. safety officials are warning drivers to use caution due to slippery roads and poor visibility. domenica davis is live in the fox weather center with more. hi there. >> hi. the lake effect snow is going to be a pro

happened in iraq and what happened indeed in afghanistan today, and what happened in yemen today, somaliatries around the region, there are very strong links between terrorist organizations and states that will support or sponsor them. and the reason why i think this is a particular danger today is because there are these days, it ran in particular, that are linked to this extreme and in my view misguided view about islam. so i think )t@@ @ @ rbrb@ >> given that, was it wise to say that intelligence is ever beyond doubt? wasn't this setting yourself up for a higher standard of proof than it might be possible to sustain. >> i think what i said, at the -- in the

in fessureas on al qaeda in pakistan, we look to yemen and somalia as a place the senior leadership could flee to. the senior leadership has not gone there but we have seen a steady growth in al qaeda, in yemen, since about 2006. if you really then, david, there was a massive jailbreak in yemen. about two dozen al qaeda members that were incarcerated there escaped. from that point on where we've seen a steady growth of al qaeda haven. ir use of yemen as a safe >> should there be some accountability on the part of bush national security officials like yourself at a time when there were detainees from amo bacere detainees from yemen, at a time yemen and al qaeda there was becoming morre robu robust, that the administration did not do more to specifically target the al qaeda threat? >> we worked very hard on this. contionn oint ptraton esids administration with regar these national securitys. now, true to be said that we did release some folks from guantanamo, despite our best efforts making this threat assessment, that actually returned to the battlefield to return to terrorism. certainly w

they are ready to battle in somalia and yemen. yemen is tightening security along its coast. earlier i discussed the situation in yemen with ken robinson. i asked him if he thinks the general's trip could be a precursor to wider u.s. action in yemen. >> reporter: i think it is. because what we have right now is really good diplomacy going on, because they're trying to establish legitimacy with the government of yemen and the arab streak about these bombings are going to happen, and legitimacy is going to be half the battle. the other part of it will be private target selections that have had to do with giving sanctuary of al qaeda or threatening the survival of the state of yaem emen. and we have to avoid collateral damage in the process. we're getting a link between the christmas day terror attack and november massacre at ft. hood, texas. umar farouk abdulmutallab had direct contact with anwar al-maki. shades of the old west, probasketball players accused of drawing guns. the offcourt action the law enforcement officials are stepping in to take care of. >>> and american airl

it's right across the water from somalia. it's the poorest arab country in the world.rly 50% of the population is unemployed. and 50% under the age of 20. there's a civil war in the north and a secession movement down south. yemen has a special place in the history of al qaeda. osama bin laden's father was born there. it was the scene of the 2000 bombing of the "u.s.s. cole." in which 17 american sailors died. terrorists are seeking safe haven there. the alleged christmas day plane bomber was armed and trained in yemen. with more on the fallout on that, here's abc's yunji de nies. who is with the president in hawaii this morning. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, dan. the president is leaving hawaii later today. he's leaving a day early because aides say he has a lot on his plate. he wants to get straight back to work. the first thing on his agenda? he has to meet with the agency heads to figure out with what went wrong. he's linked the suspect to al qaeda. in a rare move yesterday, the director of the national counterterrorism center issued a statement t