[Jim Clancy, Cnn International Anchor:] In the United States, officials at all levels say this time around the terrorist threat is more serious. U.S. military officials tightened security at airports. Missile batteries are being moved into place. And air patrols are ordered.
[Unidentified Male:] Airplanes are coming over to this country from other parts of the world where the level of security being exercised is lower than the one here.
[Tom Ridge, Homeland Security Secretary:] Tragically, they turned airplanes into missiles.
[Unidentified Male:] And the more this kind of intelligence information is divulged the less effective our intelligence will become they learned how to get around it.
[Ridge::] They are always looking, one, to return to methods that they've used successfully before.
[Clancy:] On this edition of Q&A;, the security clampdown in the United States. Hello, and welcome once again to Q&A.; The United States on alert after officials say credible intelligence points to the possibility of terror attacks, as the US elevated its official threat level. A US government official said some of that information came from the United Kingdom and some foreign flight crewmembers have been stopped in recent days. As well a senior US State Department official saying intelligence would indicate that al Qaeda is planning attacks against US interests and perhaps Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Yemen and Kenya. Well, with all of this going in the U.S. and overseas we are joined from London right now by MJ Gohel. He is chief executive of the Asia Pacific Foundation. Right here at CNN Center, alongside me, Mike Brooks. He is CNN national correspondent and a former FBI joint terrorism task force officer. We are also opening up the phone lines to listen to some of your comments or perhaps your questions for two real security experts here to talk a little bit about it all. You can call us now at 404-827-1010. That's 404-827-1010. MJ Gohel, you look at the threat that's out there. You look at what has been said by the US government and others, what do you see?
[Mj Gohel, Chief Executive, Asia Pacific Foundation:] Well, I think it is perfectly understandable why the threat level perception has gone onto orange, for the same simple reason that the attacks on September 11th were a declaration of war. Those were not one-off attacks. And the most spectacular, the most devastating attacks will be reserved for the USA. And quite obviously, Western intelligence has picked up enough electronic chatter to cause some anxiety and concern.
[Clancy:] Mike Brooks, electronic chatter, what am I to believe with all of this? I mean, is it that real? I mean, it could be anybody talking.
[Mike Brooks, Cnn National Correspondent:] Well, it could be electronic chatter Jim, it could be information that we are getting from signals intelligence. It could be from human intelligence. What this sounds like, though, Jim, in particular, is it is coming from human, credible sources. Now, we've talked about chatter before. They are not really talking too much about chatter per se but they are seeing it coming from credible sources. Talking to some of my sources, that is the same thing I am hearing, that they are trying to say, yes, the information from source A and source B is similar. And they are trying to put that together to see if there is any links. And they say right now that they do have links. No specific threat information for any specific city. But they say the sources are credible.
[Clancy:] MJ Gohel, we keep hearing about the aircraft threat that al Qaeda hasn't given up on this, that they actually favor it. It is a way that they could use an airliner they didn't have to buy. They used the fuel as their bomb. It brings them into a perfect position to do everything. And right now, right now they are raising at least the notion here that they suspect perhaps a pilot of an airliner flying into the United States could be in a position to do just that, to carry out another attack.
[Gohel:] Yes, indeed, Jim. The terrorist network, the global Jihad movement, al Qaeda, call it what you want, they do have an obsession with commercial aircraft. There are many reasons for this, partly it is that they are steeped in sort of medieval kind of thinking. They see the aircraft as very much a symbol of the Western world. But more than that, the aircraft is a very easy missile. All they need is basically one or two people who are committed and who are willing to die to take control of an aircraft, a fully laden aircraft the tank is full of fuel. As we saw on 911 very tragically, you can see the kind of devastation this can cause. And all they have to do is to get a pilot who is cooperative and maybe they can hijack a cargo plane, maybe they can hijack a plane from a neighboring country, from the Caribbean and South America. And one can take as many measures as one wants to, but it is still impossible to guard against determined suicide killer.
[Clancy:] We have a caller on our line and I know Mike Brooks wants to jump in here right now, to talk a little bit more about this. But I want to get in some of your thoughts, your questions. Eric from Germany go ahead with your question please.
[Caller:] My question is will the exposure of the techniques that we are using to increase security in the United States aid terrorists in their actions in regard to try to counteract or get around or actually use them against us.
[Clancy:] Mike Brooks, that is really your territory. You know, the whole notion that somehow the media, law enforcement uses them at times, but at times if you announce one of these things it could be counterproductive.
[Brooks:] Well, again, there is a lot of visible things going on that we can see. And we see now since we've gone to orange, another layer has been added at the airports, random vehicle stops. But there is a lot of things that go on that people are not aware of. And, you know, the concern for international pilots flying to the United States that has always been a concern. We look back to the Egypt air case where the plane crashed into the ocean. That was a concern right after that particular case. It was an isolated case. But the Federal Aviation Administration here in the United States they regulate the licensing for all international pilots. Then you also have the transportation security administration here that does background checks on those international pilots who fly into the United States. You also have some of the major airliners here in the United States, Delta, for instance, is part of a sky team, an alliance with other international carriers. They want to make sure that their international carriers that they are associated with are up to snuff and come into compliance with the security measures taken here in the United States.
[Clancy:] You see some of these security measures, and they've been announced, Mike. And it would appear to be that, you know, somebody flies one of these airlines in here, we've heard it all. They are going to have increased sorties up there. They will shoot them down, but it is a tough call.
[Brooks:] But, again, the shooting down of an aircraft is the last resort. There are combat air patrols flying around major cites right now, I can guarantee you, Washington and New York. That is two of the cities. They won't say where the other cities are, major metropolitan areas, they change that on a regular basis. But, again, that is the last line. But there is a lot of things that go on behind the scenes with the airlines on security that people never see and never hear about but our definitely a deterrent to terrorism.
[Clancy:] MJ Gohel, Eric was posing a question about the media in all of this. When you start publicizing, you know, they are hearing increased chatter. They are watching the Internet. They have done this or they have done that and that is the source of this threat. Aren't you tipping off the terrorist whoever they may be?
[Gohel:] To some extent, yes, to a large extent these threat warnings are aimed at the terrorists, because quite frankly, what is the public supposed to be. Do you stay in doors? Do you cancel your holiday? No, I think this does serve a useful purpose, which is that normally when the threat perception is raised, as happened recently to orange, it does put the terrorists off from perpetrating the plot. They do get scared. They do think that maybe the security services are on to us we better not go ahead with this. So it has some advantage. Secondly, it does raise public awareness. And the public really are the best form of intelligence. There is a danger, of course, in crying wolf to many times. And, of course, it does disrupt ones life. But this is a problem that is going to be with us for a long time to come. And we just have to learn to live with it and accept it.
[Clancy:] Matt in Germany is on the line with a question. Matt, go ahead.
[Caller:] Yes, my question is, I would be traveling from Germany to the United States this coming weekend. And I want to know why the code level, how difficult will it make me to travel from Germany back to the United States.
[Clancy:] I don't think I can answer that. It is going to make in terms of security at the airport. Mike, what do you think?
[Brooks:] Number one, if he is a US passport holder it would make things a little bit easier. You won't have to deal with the Visa issue. The airports overseas have really taken security measures to a different level, even prior to 911. I can tell you I was in London when I was with the FBI joint terrorism task force working a terrorism case in London with Scotland Yard. I was trying to come back to the United States. They looked at my passport, saw that it had a visa for Yemen, and I traveled to Saudi Arabia and Israel. And they wanted to put me through the nth degree, and I was there helping their government. So you should allow yourself extra time. If you have presents make sure they are unwrapped. It will help you get through security a lot more. If you are carrying a fruitcake or any kind of cheeses with you, which you shouldn't be bringing from an international country back to the US anyway, make sure they are unwrapped also, because they are either very, very dense and sometimes show up as explosives in the x-ray machines. You shouldn't have any problems.
[Clancy:] MJ Gohel, your final thoughts on this. As we look at increased security throughout over the holiday season, the United States, the response, proportional, realistic.
[Gohel:] Yes, indeed, I think the response has been very proportional. I think it has been very correct. But the threat is multidimensional. For instance, last year at Heathrow Airport, it was discovered that there was something like 15 illegal aliens working on the air side, on the cleaning of aircraft and the servicing of aircraft. Now, anyone of these people could have easily have planted a bomb, as it were. So the problems are multidimensional.
[Clancy:] MJ Gohel and Mike Brooks, I want to thank both of you for being with us. That has to be it for this edition of Q&A.; We are taking about security. Thank you for your comments. And remember you can always send them to us right here at Q&A;@ cnn.com. We will have more news in just a moment. You are watching CNN. END TO ORDER VIDEOTAPES AND TRANSCRIPTS OF CNN INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMMING, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE THE SECURE ONLINE ORDER FROM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com