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>> ALL RIGHT, BARBARA.
WE HAVE SOME NEW INFORMATION WE
WANT TO PACK HERE.
WE WANT TO GET PAST THE
HEADLINES.
JOINING US NOW IS FRAN TOWNSEND,
CNN'S NATIONAL ANALYST AND A
MEMBER OF THE ADVISORY BOARD.
MORNING, FRAN.
LET'S TALK ABOUT THE NEWS.
JUST CAME ACROSS THE WIRES.
AN ATTACK ON A PASSENGER TRAIN,
THE ECONOMY, GOING FROM LAHOR TO
THE INDUSTRIAL CAPITALIST.
>> FOR SURE, WE KNOW AL QAEDA
HAS TRADITIONALLY TARGETED
TRANSPORTATION.
IT'S SORT OF -- IT FEELS LIKE IT
MAY BE RELATED, BUT WE'RE GOING
TO HAVE TO WAIT TO GET MORE OUT
OF THE OFFICIALS IN PAKISTAN.
>> WE UNDERSTAND YOU WANT TO BE
CAREFUL ABOUT WHAT YOU TETS
ABOUT THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE
THREAT, BUT AT HOME, IS THERE
ANY RISK AT HOME?
>> WELL, WE HAVEN'T HEARD.
U.S. OFFICIALS HAVE NOT TOLD US
THERE'S A THREAT AT HOME, BUT,
OF COURSE, THEY BRIEFED LOCAL
POLICE DEPARTMENTS LIKE THE NYPD
HERE IN NEW YORK, THEY'RE ON
HIGH ALERT.
SO I THINK YOU MAY SEE A GREATER
PRESENCE BECAUSE POLICE AND LAW
ENFORCEMENT WILL BE ON THE
LOOKOUT HERE AT HOME.
>> SO IT REALLY GOES TO BEING
ABROAD?
>> THAT'S RIGHT.
>> YOU HAVE AFRICA, THE MIDDLE
EAST THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT.
SO THE FIRST THING THAT WE WANT
TO FIGURE OUT IS AL QAEDA.
THAT'S WHAT WE BELIEVE ST ORIGIN
OF THE STRENGTH IS.
>> THAT'S RIGHT.
>> AS HE WE SHOW WHERE AL QAEDA
IS STRONG, AL QAEDA,
ORGANIZATION OR MORE OF A BRAND
NOW WHERE PEOPLE CAN JUST
IDENTIFY AND AFFILIATE RANDOMLY
FOR THE PURPOSE OF A SINGLE
ATTACK?
>> WELL, MORE AFFILIATES, BUT
LET'S REMEMBER, HERE'S YEMEN.
AND THE THREAT IS EMANATING OUT
OF YEMEN.
WE'VE SEEN THEM THROUGHOUT THIS
REGION HERE IN THE ARABIAN
PENINSULA AND HERE ALONG THE
COAST OF AFRICA.
AND SO WHAT THEY DO IS YOU SEE
AL QAEDA AND THE ARABIAN
PENINSULA BRANCHING OUT AND
INFLUENCING AND RECENTLY
ZAWAHIRI ISSUED A VIDEO
STATEMENT NAMING HIS OPERATIONAL
CHIEF THE GUY THAT'S THE AHEAD
OF THIS UNIT, WHICH IS WHERE THE
THREAT IS EMANATING FROM, WHICH
IS SIGNIFICANT.
>> HISTORICALLY, THE U.S.'S COAL
WHICH STARTED PRECURSOR TO 9/11
IS THERE.
>> THEATER.
>> THIS HAS BEEN A KNOWN LOCUST
FOR THEM.
THAT'S WHY AS WE TARGET THE
EMBASSIES -- GIVE ME THAT
BACK -- THE EMBASSIES AND
CONSULATES ARE IN STRENGTH HERE,
AS WELL, RIGHT?
>> THAT'S RIGHT.
>> EXPLAIN WHY THIS IS WHERE
WE'RE LOOKING AT THESE 19 OR SO
EMBASSIES AND CONSULATES.
>> BECAUSE, AS I MENTIONED,
YOU'VE GOT YEMEN.
WE'VE SEEN INCREASED DRONE
STRIKES AGAINST TARGETS.
YOU HAVE TO ASSUME THAT THAT'S
ALSO RELATED.
THAT EXPLAINS WHY YOU CLOSE
THESE EMBASSIES THROUGHOUT THE
SPHERE OF AL QAEDA INFLUENCE AND
YOU TAKE TARGETS AWAY AND BUY
OPERATIONAL TIME TO TRY AND
DISRUPT IT.
>> AND THAT IS GOOD.
WHEN WE SEE WHAT IS DEFENSIVE
ACTION, IS THAT A FUNCTION OF
WHAT WE KNOW OR WHAT WE DON'T
KNOW?
YOU KNOW, WHY ARE WE BEING JUST
DEFENSIVE, NOT OFFENSIVE?
>> WELL, YOU HAVE TO PRESUME WE
ARE BEING OFFENSIVE, YOU JUST
DON'T SEE IT AND THEY DON'T TALK
ABOUT IT BECAUSE THEY ARE TRYING
TO CAPTURE THESE PEOPLE AND
DISRUPT THE OPERATION.
THEY'RE DOING EXACTLY THE RIGHT
THING.
IT'S THE ZAWAHIRI VIDEO, IT'S
THE APPOINTMENT OF THE NUMBER
TWO, IT'S THE DRONE STRIKES,
IT'S THE INTELLIGENCE THAT
THEY'VE GATHERED.
ALL THOSE THINGS ARE THE DOTS
PRE-9/11 THAT WE DENT PUT