[Carol Costello, Cnn Anchor:] NEWSROOM starts now. And good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me. We start this morning with breaking news. The terror group Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, AQAP, now says that it was, indeed, behind the attack on the "Charlie Hebdo" offices that left 12 people dead. And the plot was years in the making. In a new video al Qaeda's top commander in Yemen said, quote, "We clarified to the Islamic world that al Qaeda chose the target, laid the plan, financed the operation, and appointed the premiere." The top al Qaeda commander, pictured here, you're going to see him in a minute, goes on to call the Kouachi brothers, quote, "heroes," and that the attack was mastered by the late Anwar al-Awlaki before his death in 2011. That would mean the attacks were at least three years in the making. This message from al Qaeda comes as the latest issue of "Charlie Hebdo" hits newsstands with lines snaking through the streets of Paris as thousands lined up to snap up the satirical magazine's first publication since the staff was gunned down. Barbara Starr joins us now with more on these claims by al Qaeda. Good morning, Barbara.
[Barbara Starr, Cnn Pentagon Correspondent:] Good morning, Carol. But first we have new information here at CNN. A U.S. official tells me they now believe, their assessment, if you will, is that when Cherif Kouachi, the younger brother, left Yemen in 2011, he left with a pile of cash. It may have been as much as $20,000 given to him by Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula to help finance future attacks. They're trying to nail down the specifics. But that's where they are this morning, that he left Yemen in 2011 after a short trip there with a pile of cash. This all goes to the point of what was al Qaeda's role in either directing this attack all the way back to 2011 or at least inspiring the brothers to carry it out. Now Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the most dangerous al Qaeda affiliate right now. The one of biggest concern to the United States because they have the technical ability to make bombs that potentially can get past airport screening. Anybody that could potentially put a bomb on an aircraft obviously a top concern. What they're trying to figure out right now with this latest claim by Al Qaeda, that it directed the attack, that it picked out the targets. You know, is it really true? Is it a claim of responsibility to get more attention in the world or is it true? Does this really date all the way back to 2011 when Kouachi went to Yemen, got weapons training, may have met directly with Awlaki before he was killed in the U.S. drone strikes and this whole plot was basically fermenting for a couple of years? Or did they go home, stew about things, have these jihadist tendencies and then look for a target to attack? All of this still to be really sorted out, but make no mistake, the claim this morning by Al Qaeda in Yemen, a very serious concern to the U.S. Carol.
[Costello:] All right. Barbara Starr reporting live from the Pentagon this morning. Thank you. As you might have noticed, the investigation is quite complicated. Al Qaeda in Yemen claims it's responsible, but we also know that one of the other terrorists, Amedy Coulibaly, pledged allegiance to ISIS. Actually that's not him but we have this video. You can see him speaking alongside an ISIS flag. So let's talk about this. I'm joined by my partner in Paris again today, Jim Sciutto. He's our chief national security correspondent, and Paul Cruickshank, CNN's terror analyst and author of "Agent Storm," the story of a spy inside Al Qaeda in Yemen who led the CIA to Anwar al-Awlaki. Jim, I'd like to start with you. Al Qaeda in Yemen claims the attack on "Charlie Hebdo" was assigned, accepted, financed and successful. The plan was at least three years in the making, we think. So how did French authorities miss this?
[Jim Sciutto, Cnn Chief National Security Correspondent:] It's one of many signals that they missed. Keep in mind, because, remember, they did have these brothers for years in fact, three years in fact, after they return from Yemen under surveillance. And it was only six months before the attack, and remember it was a week ago today when the gunmen stormed the offices of "Charlie Hebdo" just behind me here. It was a week ago today but last June, June 2014, they took the Kouachi brothers off surveillance making a judgment at that time that they were no longer a priority. So it adds to the list of missed signals here. And I think as well, from an American perspective, AQAP to this point has been viewed principally as a threat for getting concealing weapons and getting them on to airplanes, like the underwear bomber at Christmas in 2009, a very serious threat. They have their master bomb maker Ibrahim al-Asiri. To have them behind this attack, assuming it's substantiated over time, adds to their M.O. It effectively expands the threat from AQAP to inspiring and possibly directing gun attacks like this, if you want to call them Mumbai style or maybe we call them Paris style attacks now. But it expands their M.O. This raises the level of concern for the U.S. with AQAP, which has already, Carol, as we know, very high.
[Costello:] Right. So, Paul, do you believe that Al Qaeda in Yemen was behind the attack in Paris?
[Paul Cruickshank, Cnn Terrorism Analyst:] Well, all the indications now as if they were behind this attack. They're certainly claiming this is a senior military strategist who's claiming that's one of their key spokesman. They're not offering proof yet, though, that they've carried out this attack. There's no video of one of the brothers or two of the brothers that yet that has yet emerged. But it normally takes them a few months to put that kind of video out. But certainly all the indications pointing to Al Qaeda in Yemen, as Barbara was pointing out, U.S. now believes he may have come back from Yemen with $20,000 in cash to finance this operation. All the pointers towards the idea that one of the brothers meets with Anwar al-Awlaki, this American terrorist cleric in Yemen, and al-Awlaki recruits him into this plot. Now we know from this double agent I did the book on, who led to CIA to al-Awlaki, was close to al-Awlaki that al-Awlaki was telling these recruits, camouflage your radicalism when you go back to the West. And we also note that that seems to be what the Kouachi brothers did when they got back to the West. The French slapped on surveillance after they got a tip off from the Americans that they believe they've attended a training camp in Yemen or one of the brothers attended a camp. But in June 2014 they take off that surveillance because they think the Kouachi brothers are no longer dangerous. Clearly they were still radical it appears. They were pretending not to be radical anymore.
[Costello:] The other part of this that's confusing, Jim, Al Qaeda in Yemen on that same video that we showed folks, said the attack on the kosher grocery store was an added blessing from Allah, which means it was not part of the plot. The man who carried out that attack pledged allegiance to ISIS. So does that mean al Qaeda and ISIS are working together or we just can't determine that right now?
[Sciutto:] Not necessarily. There are overlapping motivations here and the groups frankly have common motivations. So several analysts, terror analysts have made the point that we can draw walls and lines between these groups that are too definitive and there are cases where people might be working for one or pledging allegiance to one who also get support from another. And this plot is a fantastic example of that. Because think of the other folks who have been involved. So you have an ISIS pledge of allegiance from Amedy Coulibaly, who carried out the kosher market attack. You have an AQAP claimed responsibility for this "Charlie Hebdo" shooting behind me. Remember, Hayat Boumeddiene, who is the partner of the kosher market attacker, she was fleeing France via Turkey. She's seen with a gentleman who's now been identified as someone attached to a Pakistani Afghan terror cell here so yet another group, and the Kouachi brothers were tied to another man who was seen as al Qaeda's main recruiter in Europe, not AQAP but core al Qaeda's main recruiter in Europe. So just in that one list there you have four different cells, different organizations somehow involved or connected which shows that these terror groups, they have similar motivations, they have common goals and their recruits have overlapping friendships, relationships, et cetera. It may be a mistake to imagine that just one group was responsible or involved in these attacks in Paris.
[Costello:] But, Paul, isn't it possible that all of these players could have met in France and it wasn't coordinated in the Middle East?
[Cruickshank:] That's absolutely right. I think it's extremely unlikely that ISIS and Al Qaeda in Yemen at the leadership level coordinated this. These were friends. They've known each other for five years. Two of the brothers or one of the brothers had a connection with AQAP and perhaps met some of the top leadership. And I think what probably then happened is they recruited Coulibaly, who was the guy who had good feelings for ISIS, into that plot. And that's actually what Al Qaeda in Yemen is saying today. They're saying that Coulibaly was not part of their organization, was not recruited into their plot, but the brothers recruited him at the local level. Coulibaly we don't think has traveled to Syria or Iraq. So he's not had that interaction with the group itself. But he clearly was somebody who had a lot of affection for ISIS and wanted it to be seen that he was carrying it out in their name, Carol.
[Costello:] I wanted to ask you this, too, Jim, because the new "Charlie Hebdo" issue came out today. And now we hear from Al Qaeda in Yemen. Is that just a coincidence?
[Sciutto:] It's possible. You know, remember these groups like AQAP and others, they are very good at maximizing attention, not only in their brutality, the nature of the targets that they choose, the methods they use, the brutality they use, but on picking days to maximize that message. It's very possible they're connected. And just another note about that magazine, Carol, as we talk about it. We noticed earlier, and here you'll remember, is the memorial to the "Charlie Hebdo" victims behind me, which has been growing every day. Placed among the candles and the pencils and the crayons that have been part of it from the beginning as well as the personal notes, we're seeing copies of that magazine, too, laid out there. The cover, et cetera. Another sign of support that the people of Paris, the people of France are showing as they continue to remember those events a week ago.
[Costello:] All right. Jim Sciutto, Paul Cruickshank, thanks as always. I'll be right back.