Suspect's "Underwear Bomb"; Yemen Al Qaeda Threat to U.S.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Welcome to AMERICAN MORNING. It is Tuesday, December 29th. I'm Kiran Chetry.</s>JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. I'm John Roberts. Thanks for being with us. Here are the big stories we'll be telling you about in the next 15 minutes. They are images of terror. This morning we are getting a first look at pictures showing the crude bomb that federal investigators say could have brought Northwest Airlines Flight 253 to a tragic end, a bomb sewn in to underwear that could have blown a hole on the side of the plane. The very latest -- just ahead.</s>CHETRY: Plus, al Qaeda is claiming credit. A branch of the terror group in Yemen is calling Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab a hero. The group is also bragging that its, quote, "advanced bomb" passed through U.S. airport security. Well, is Yemen the next front in the war against al Qaeda? Barbara Starr with new information from the Pentagon.</s>ROBERTS: Two members of that terror group are reportedly released from Guantanamo into a rehab program for terrorist in Saudi Arabia. But can terrorists be rehabilitated? That highly-charged debate -- ahead.</s>CHETRY: First, though, images of terror from the FBI. The Feds say that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab used this pair of underwear to smuggle explosives onto Flight 253 on Christmas Day. The big worry, it was never detected by airport security. A federal report obtained by CNN says the 23-year-old Nigerian claims that he got the bomb in Yemen along with instructions on how to detonate it. And a branch of al Qaeda in Yemen says it is behind the plot. Our Jeanne Meserve is breaking it all down for us this morning.</s>JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: John and Kiran, when you see this bomb, you will see how even a pat-down might have missed it. (voice-over): These pictures from an FBI bullet obtained by CNN shows 76 grams of PETN in an anatomically-shaped sheet tucked into pocket stitched into underwear. It was allegedly worn by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab to avoid detection during screening. There is scorching from the attempt to set off the bomb and one photo shows the triggering device, a melted syringe with plastic film-like material and tape. Preliminary analysis indicates it contained ethylene glycol, an ingredient in coolants and antifreeze. A claim of responsibility from al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula called it an advanced bomb and touted the fact that it defeated American security. A U.S. counterterrorism official says the statement appears to be authentic and it seems credible that the group had some involvement in the attempted attack. The government of Yemen where the al Qaeda affiliate operates says Abdulmutallab visited the country at least twice, once four or five years ago and again from last August to early December.</s>FRAN TOWNSEND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CONTRIBUTOR: You do worry the next time the lesson they'll take from this is, next time, what we need is two or three guys on each plane and several planes so that we can have some assurance at least one of them does blow up. And so, I'm not sure I would take a whole lot of comfort from it.</s>MESERVE: U.S. officials say the alarm raised by Abdulmutallab's father more than a month ago was not specific or credible enough to put the young Nigerian on a terror watch list. But critics say there was a failure to connect the dots, including his use of cash to purchase a one-way ticket, that he didn't check luggage, and perhaps most importantly, the British decision to deny him a new visa last May.</s>RANDY LARSEN, THE INSTITUTE FOR HOMELAND SECURITY: I just don't believe that we'll ever have a scenario where we'll get more advanced warning of an attack on America. It's hard to imagine that this will happen, and yet, we failed to put that information together.</s>MESERVE (on camera): al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula says the attempted attack was retaliation for an alleged U.S. attack against terror targets in Yemen. Two prisoners released during the Bush administration from the Guantanamo Bay detention facility are among that group's leaders. But counterterrorism officials say they are still investigating just how tightly-linked that organization is with the attempted bombing. John and Kiran, back to you.</s>ROBERTS: Jeanne Meserve this morning -- Jeanne, thanks. This is not the first time that the al Qaeda group in Yemen has threatened the United States. In fact, two of its leaders were once prisoners at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. On "LARRY KING," homeland security chief -- former homeland security chief, Tom Ridge, said this is an example of why some people should be incarcerated forever. (</s>BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, CNN'S LARRY KING LIVE) TOM RIDGE, FMR. HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: I take a look at this individual who's been charged criminally. Does that mean he's going to get his Miranda warnings? Does that mean the only kind of information we're going to get from him is if he volunteers it? He's not a citizen of this country. He is a terrorist. I don't think he deserves the full range of criminal -- protections of our criminal justice system as embodied in the Constitution of the United States.</s>ROBERTS: Ridge also said that he is not surprised that we end up killing former Guantanamo Bay detainees on the battlefield.</s>CHETRY: Well, a branch of al Qaeda in Yemen, as we just heard from Jeanne Meserve, is claiming responsibility for the attack, saying it's revenge for U.S. strikes on Yemeni soil. So, should the U.S. have paid more attention of what's quickly becoming a growing haven for terrorists? Barbara Starr joins us right now from the Pentagon with more. And you talk to very -- people very high up in the military who told you months and perhaps even years back that this is something we needed to watch.</s>BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: You know, Kiran, senior U.S. military officials and administration officials say they have been watching Yemen and al Qaeda in Yemen for years. We know that there have been attacks -- the USS Cole, attacks like that. But it all really reached critical mass earlier this year, when it became very clear that al Qaeda had established a new headquarters in Yemen, and that people were assembling there. General David Petraeus, the head of the U.S. Central Command and John Brennan, President Obama's top counterterrorism adviser, warned the Yemeni president earlier this year, in the summer, that he had a crisis on his hands and that al Qaeda was targeting his own inner circle of people. By all accounts that is when the Yemen president turned around and began to accept U.S. help. There is now basically a secret war in Yemen. The U.S. is funding weapons, training and providing intelligence to Yemeni forces to get them to go after these al Qaeda targets, Kiran.</s>STARR: And as we heard in the panel that John had in the last hour, a lot of problems in Yemen. I mean, the poverty level, how many people there are living in poverty, as well as local clashes that are going on in other parts of the country. I mean -- is Yemen basically at risk of the government collapsing and having it become a safe haven for al Qaeda?</s>STARR: That is the bottom line concern. It's exactly what you just said. There are rebel and separatists movements both in the north and the south of Yemen. The central government doesn't even control the whole country. They tried but they can't. Oil prices have dropped as we know, and that is what has been funding Yemen's government and funding their own military. So, they have severe budget cuts to even go after al Qaeda. And it might be interesting to note, there is a severe water shortage in Yemen, and that's the kind of thing that also is hurting the economy there and fueling some of the poverty and discontent -- Kiran.</s>CHETRY: Barbara Starr for us this morning from the Pentagon -- thank you.</s>ROBERTS: Also new this morning. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is heading to Egypt to discuss the possibility of re- launching peace efforts with Palestine leaders. The move is getting the green light from the White House. Netanyahu and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak are also expected to talk about the possibility of swapping hundreds of Palestinian prisoners for an Israeli soldier who has been held in Gaza for 3 1/2 years now.</s>CHETRY: North Korea says it has detained an American who entered the country illegally last week, believed to be 28-year-old Robert Park, Korean-American Christian missionary from Arizona. Fellow activists say that Park crossed the border from China on Christmas Day, carrying letters, calling on North Korea to end its human rights abuses. Well, it's eight minutes past the hour right now. Let's check in with Jacqui Jeras. She's got a quick look at the weather for us. And, boy, Texas is bracing for another ice and storm, and snow storm, as well as a lot of wind and cold in other parts of the country.</s>JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. I know. These winds are just brutal today, guys. And you have my permission to whine about the weather in the northeast today, because it is just nasty. We're talking gusts up to 50 miles per hour easy. The snow, not so bad today, but we're still dealing with those lake effect conditions as that cold air blows over those warmer lake waters, so lake-effect snow advisories and warnings remain in effect. Several more inches can be expected today and those winds will cause whiteout conditions at times. Delays at the airports are expected due to those winds. Fifteen- minute departure delays already in Newark. Expect more throughout the northeastern corridor throughout the day -- John and Kiran.</s>ROBERTS: Jacqui, looking forward to more from you a little bit later on this hour. Appreciate that. Thanks so much. So, when some detainees are released from Guantanamo Bay, they go through a program in Saudi Arabia that rehabilitates -- that's the claim -- former terrorists. But does it really work? Well, it might have a 90 percent success rate according to some studies, but that also means that it's got a 10 percent failure rate. And some of those former detainees are ending back on the battlefield. We'll tell you about that coming right up. It's nine minutes after the hour.