U.S. Teen Guilty in Cartel Beheading; Al Qaeda Collapsing?
PHILLIPS: Sad news topping our look at "Cross Country" this morning. Police in Utah say that Olympic skier Jeret "Speedy" Peterson has taken his own life. You may remember last year in Vancouver, Peterson won the silver medal in the freestyle event. He was just 29. In Memphis, Tennessee, kids will be going to school despite a money car that almost put the school year in limbo. The school board had threatened to delay classes until it got $55 million from the city. But overnight board members decided to let schools start if the city meets a few conditions including a $12 million payment by August 5th. And in Scenic, South Dakota, a saloon, dance hall, train depot and a jail can all be yours for under 800 K. You can probably be the mayor and the sheriff, too. The 12-acre town, about 50 miles east of Rapid City, is for sale on the Buyscenicsd.com. Al Qaeda on the brink of collapse. The headline is pretty catching, and as Americans it's something we love to hear. But how true is it? "The Washington Post" is reporting the CIA and other counterterrorism agencies are convinced that killing Osama bin Laden plus years of drone strikes are soon to make al Qaeda terrorists extinct. This is our Reza Sayah's beat. And Reza, you live in, work in Islamabad. You know we ran this by you this morning. And you said look, this is something that I've been talking about for much longer than today's headline.</s>REZA SAYAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, well, Kyra, al Qaeda is, obviously, sensitive issue. It's been enemy number one in America for 10 years and anyone who comes out and says they're no longer a threat would be deemed foolish by some people, especially far right-wing groups in America who think radical Islam is still a threat. But when you look at this "Washington Post" article I think it's accurate and I don't think it's anything new. I've been here for a little less than four years and based on what we've seen here, al Qaeda as we knew it no longer exists and if it still does exist, there is no evidence that it can still carry out a global strategic war against the super power like the U.S. Ever since 9/11, for the past 10 years, we've been bombarded with messages from Washington that al Qaeda is a global network with tentacles and sleeper cells and scores of countries that are determined to attack the U.S. I don't know about everyone else, but I really haven't seen hard evidence of a widespread army of al Qaeda throughout the country. Even so, we've heard U.S. officials, counterterrorism officials repeatedly say they are there and they're plotting and planning to attack the U.S. and another 9/11. But there really hasn't been any evidence to substantiate that. Defense Secretary Robert Gates this year himself came out and said there is less than a hundred al Qaeda operatives in Afghanistan. I'm not sure how he got that number but -- a U.S. official is saying al Qaeda's power has diminished.</s>PHILLIPS: So --</s>SAYAH: But I think the most important evidence -- the most important evidence, Kyra, is to look back at the past 10 years. Al Qaeda hasn't killed a single American on U.S. soil since 9/11 and it's such an important reminder for our viewers in America who have been infused with fear about al Qaeda for the past 10 years.</s>PHILLIPS: And you talk about this infused of fear. And -- and every so often, many a times throughout the year, we hear about chatter. There is chatter out there. There is chatter we should be concerned. What exactly do you think that means? Because we never seem to get a definition on what that so-called "chatter" is.</s>SAYAH: Yes, I'm not sure what chatter is. And I think as journalists we've been guilty of not asking the tough questions. We've never asked, what is chatter? We've never asked U.S. counterterrorism officials to show us evidence of chatter. And I think that's because of the impact of 9/11. This was the greatest American tragedy in recent memory. It had huge impact on America. And I think it's kind of taboo for journalists to ask questions whether al Qaeda is still a fear. And oftentimes, when you do a lot of people say look at 9/11. If you have doubts that al Qaeda is not a threat, all you have to do is look at 9/11. I don't want to downplay what happened on 9/11, but we're now 10 years removed and I think it's our responsibility for the sake of our viewers to ask the tough questions about al Qaeda and where they stand right now. And I think the evidence shows, right now, that they are on the verge of collapse and they are weaker than ever.</s>PHILLIPS: Reza, I've always known you to ask the tough questions, that's for sure. Our Reza Sayah there, out of Islamabad this morning. Coming up, a different kind of story from Afghanistan. The country, believe it or not, about to get its own version of the hit TV show "The Office." And get ready, McDonald's, the coffee wars could be heating up as Dunkin Donuts goes public and prepares to expand.