Washington ( CNN ) -- New questions were being asked Wednesday after a video surfaced showing what looks like the largest and most dangerous gathering of al Qaeda in years . Did U.S. intelligence officials even know the meeting was taking place ? `` I ca n't imagine that they knew about this meeting . After all , there have been seven drone attacks in Yemen this year . There was one on April 1 , so it 's not like the drone program is being suspended , '' Peter Bergen , CNN national security analyst , told `` The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer . '' `` It seems to me we do n't know for a fact if they did or did not know about this meeting , but common sense would suggest that they missed it , '' he said . U.S. officials are n't commenting on that , but every frame of the video is now being analyzed as a potential piece of intelligence . Analysts are looking at a flashy white truck that appears , leading a convoy . They are even analyzing the fruit juice being served as a possible clue . In the middle of the clip , the man known as al Qaeda 's crown prince , Nasir al-Wuhayshi , appears brazenly out in the open , greeting followers in Yemen . Al-Wuhayshi is the No . 2 leader of al Qaeda globally and the head of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula . In a speech to the group , al-Wuhayshi makes it clear that he 's going after the United States , saying `` We must eliminate the cross . ... The bearer of the cross is America ! '' The video started appearing on jihadist websites recently , drawing the attention of U.S. officials and global terrorism experts . U.S. officials say they believe it 's authentic . They believe the highly produced video is recent . With some fighters ' faces blurred , there is worry it signals a new round of plotting . Asked by Blitzer why al Qaeda would release such a video , Bergen speculated that the group did it for propaganda purposes . `` To show we 're here . We 're still in operation , '' he said . `` This group is still potentially a pretty virulent threat , unfortunately . '' Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula , also known as AQAP , is considered the most dangerous al Qaeda affiliate . The CIA and the Pentagon have killed multiple AQAP leaders with drone strikes . But the group is now emboldened . Retired Gen. Mark Kimmitt said smaller al Qaeda affiliates are coalescing into a more organized base . `` Sooner or later , if they continue to get better , stronger and more organized , '' he said , `` they will be a direct threat to the United States . '' It 's unlikely the United States was n't aware of the meeting shown in the video , Kimmitt told `` CNN Tonight . '' `` The question is n't why did n't we know , '' he said . `` The question is : What are we going to do about it ? '' CNN 's Dana Ford , Catherine E. Shoichet and Bill Weir contributed to this report .
A video of what looks like the largest and most dangerous meeting of al Qaeda in years . US officials wo n't say whether they knew about the meeting . CNN national security correspondent : ` ` Common sense would say that they missed it ''