. >> fran townsend, hope you'll still around. many more questions. live to istanbul to check in with mohammed jamjoom who has information about exactly where al awlaki was killed. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, christine. we're told by the yemeni embassy in washington, d.c. that the operation that killed anwar al awlaki was killed out in a province of yemen about 140 kilometers from the capital, from sanaa. interesting, because anwar alky was believed to be in another province that's known to be a stronghold for militants, and al qaeda and an says-of-a also, trying to target and kill al awlaki and -- [ inaudible ]. >> all right. we're having technical difficulties, because, obviously, it's difficult to have somebody from istanbul. let's head to washington. >>> we're talking about waking up to news to nor key al qaeda death, but we still don't know a lot about how anwar al awlaki died. what do we know now, dan lothian? >> reporter: as reported, in fact, anwar al awlaki is in fact dead. what we're still waiting to find out is the u.s., and wh

we heard from fran townsend earlier in the program. he believes that authorities believe one suspect is already in the united states. officials have announced a name. this is basically a man hunt going on right now? >> exactly, anderson. but the reporting is that it's a very common name and very difficult for the authorities to actually find the person, specifically identify him and track him down. >> were -- the -- the sourcing on this day is that it's only a partial identity. what does that mean? >> well, obviously, the first name or the last name and a very common name in the united states. so, it again makes it difficult. my understanding is that the sourcing of the information coming from pakistan also has been commonly intercept in the past and that's why they think it's credible information, but, again, they're putting the fact that the information coming in because it's this weekend, has heightened the alert even more. >> susan, is there any sense or any authorities possibly figuring out a name or a partial name, or maybe would

fran townsend as well, susan candiotti, thank you. let us know what you think on facebook, follow me on twitter @ anderson cooper. >>> up next, the communication that caused first responders lives here on that terrible day. the 9/11 commission recommended changes. you probably remember that. all these years later, ten years later, new york and other cities have had to go it alone because congress cannot agree on how to fix the problem. tonight we're keeping them honest. >>> also a decade later, the manhunt for a man who gave al qaeda free reign in his country. we'll take youed in the search for the taliban's muaomar. [ hayden ] what's the best way to hide your breakouts? a dab of concealer here... a flurry of powder there. what if there was a makeup that didn't just hide your breakouts... but actually made them go away. neutrogena skin clearing makeup. it has our proven blemish fighting formula blended with silky gorgeous makeup. so it gives you a beautiful flawless look while undercover it works to clear breakouts. does your makeup d

fran townsend as well, susan candiotti, thank you. let us know what you think on facebook, follow me on twitter @ anderson cooper >>> up next, the communication that caused first responders lives here on that terrible day. the 9/11 commission recommended changes. you probably remember that. all these years later, ten years later, new york and other cities have had to go it alone because congress cannot agree on how to fix the problem. tonight we're keeping them honest. >>> also a decade later, the manhunt for a man who gave al qaeda free reign in his country. we'll take youed in the search for the taliban's muaomar. [ male announcer ] for sore muscles use new bengay cold therapy. it's pro-cool technology releases armies of snowmen masseuse, who cuddle up with your soreness and give out polar bear hugs. technology. [ male announcer ] new bengay cold therapy. the same technology used by physical therapists. go to bengay.com for a 5-dollar coupon. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] with the most advanced engine in its class, 50 horsepower, dual

fran townsend as well, susan candiotti, thank you. let us know what you think on facebook, follow me on twitter @ anderson cooper >>> up next, the communication that caused first responders lives here on that terrible day. the 9/11 commission recommended changes. you probably remember that. all these years later, ten years later, new york and other cities have had to go it alone because congress cannot agree on how to fix the problem. tonight we're keeping them honest. >>> also a decade later, the manhunt for a man who gave al qaeda free reign in his country. we'll take youed in the search for the taliban's muaomar. [ bell dings ] [ car door closes ] ♪ are you okay? yeah, i'm okay. and the truck? i got good news for you, kid. you're getting a new truck. what do you mean? i mean it's gonna cost more to fix than it's worth. besides, the truck's older than you. grab your stuff out of the truck and meet me up front. ♪ ♪ just fix it. ♪ hey, it's sandra -- from accounting. peter. i can see that you're busy... but you were gonna help

let's talk more with fran townsend. she was a homeland security adviser to former president george w. bush. fran, just going back, i wanted to double check on what has been said over the past say year or two. and this talk about who is involved and how exactly al awlaki was killed. the national security council, according to reports that came out more than a year ago, did say to the cia, you can target this american. go after him. you know, the threats are clear and we are giving you approval. so, what is your take? how involved do you think the cia was in this operation? >> i don't think the yemen officials had the capability to do this on their own. i thought since early this morning that it had to have had some support from american officials and i think what you just heard from barbara that it was an acknowledgment. a joint intelligence sharing operation. no way that yemen intelligence had the capability to actually develop the information necessary to target in a physical way for a kill operation as we see happen.

former white house homeland security adviser fran townsend joins us, peter bergen and also susan candiotti. peter is on the phone, author of "the longest war." fran, what's the latest you're hearing from sources on the threat? >> well, anderson, you know, it's interesting because as they begin to pull this thread, the more and more you hear is sort of words of caution. it is unconfirmed. the answer is they're looking for corroboration. they're clearly reaching out to allies around the world as well as looking inside existing databases to try and understand, is this really credible? somebody said to me, you know, it's a plausible threat but i'm not prepared yet to say, the s source said, it's actually credible. we need to act on it. we need more information, more corroboration. >> jessica, how seriously is the white house taking the threat? i talked to jay carney earlier. >> they're taking it quite seriously, anderson. the president was briefed by john brennan, his chief counterterrorism adviser, this morning and throughout the day. he isn't in the west wing but has access anytime should he

john miller and cnn contributor fran townsend both join me now. john miller, i spoke to you the other day and we spoke about this impending anniversary and the threats that swirl around such an event. given the phraseology being used here, given the briefings that we're seeing coming out from almost every authoritative source, what is your feeling about this? how credible does it sound to you? >> well, the phraseology you talk about is specific, credible and unconfirmed. in the language of the intelligence community, that means specific, it came with the details of the plot. credible, it means it came from a source, whether that's a human source or a piece of signals intelligence or something else, it came from a source that they believe is reliable or has been reliable in the past. but unconfirmed, that means it isn't in and of itself enough to go to the bank on that this threat is real. that means it needs to be corroborated. i can tell you right now, these are these times. fran and i have been through a number of these, where the intelligence c

. >> cnn national security contributor fran townsend is with us now, she was president bush's national homeland security adviser and sits on the external advisory boards for the cia and the homeland security department. in 2010 she visited high-ranking libyan officials at the government's invitation. i want to start on the report that the rebels have gadhafi surrounded. do we trust them to be credible? it's in their interest to let the libya people know that. >> it's the same propaganda, they had the two sons in custody and they didn't have them in custody. i think we've got to view any public statements with them with a great deal of skepticism. >> let's come to the urgent security concern i was just discussing with chairman rogers. you are well plugged in in the intelligence community. what is the fear, 20,000 surface-to-air missiles at the beginning, there are other weapons, automatic weapons and the like, but these seem to be the biggest threat that people are worried about. what is the latest intelligence about where they are, have many crossed the border? >> that's not good intel

. >> joining us now for more on the phone is fran townsend. this is great news in the war on terror. >> reporter: it is terrific news. al awlaki has ties going back to some of the 9/11 hijackers.

. >>> let get more with cnn national security, fran townsend. realistically, how much damage can a bomb attached to a model airplane actually cause? paul, go ahead and answer that question for me. >> well, it could certainly kill people, this amount of explosive they're talking about, five pounds of explosive put in each of these model planes and these model planes then being flown into the capitol building and the pentagon. this suspect, according to the affidavit, wanted to bring down the roof of the capitol. an explosive expert i spoke to say unlikely this amount of explosive would produce a significant structural damage like a building in the u.s. capitol or the pentagon a very reinforced building, joe. >> fran, this sounds like a very far fletched notion, however, we have heard reports of other people, thinking about doing the very same thing. >> well, that's right, joe. this is only the first phase of his plan. remember, even if he -- he didn't have to bring down a building to successfully target and kill people. his plan was to have two t

susan candiotti in new york city and cnn national security contributor fran townsend in washington for us. fran, let's start with you. specific, credible, but unconfirmed. what exactly does that mean? >> you know, carol, let's work backwards. right now, people need to focus on the fact that it's unconfirmed. that's what federal officials have stressed to me. specific and credible i think has people rightly nervous. what it means is, yes, they have specific information, things like washington or new york, vehicle bombs, that's what the specific refers to. credible means that they think that the source it came from was in a position to accurately report the information, but unconfirmed means they're looking for corroboration, talking to foreign allies, talking to people in custody, their custody and overseas, to corroborate that information. what you're hearing from commissioner kelly is, officials are asking for americans to be helpful, to be alert, to be vigilant and talk to federal and local officials if they see something suspicious. >> fran, this is supposedly an al qaeda plot but w

you can hear the people inside screaming. [ screaming ] >> joining us by phone is fran townsend, former security adviser to george w. bush. fran, i mean, on the face of it, it seems hypocritical for the obama administration to be selling bahrain arms just months after calling them out for its human rights offenses. or is this just the way foreign policy works? >> well, anderson, let me be clear, there's no condoning the clips you've shown here on cnn. but i will tell you there are multiple administrations, democrat, republican, over decades that have sold to places like egypt and pakistan and others, large scale military sales to countries that have been cited for human rights abuses. this is not new. this has gone on in the foreign policy community for decades. now, some of these sales do tend -- are conditioned, if you will, that congress and the administration can condition them, the sales, that they're not to be used against civilian populations. those condition-based sales are very difficult to police. and, of course, if they're violated, it's too late. so this is a real, you know,

fran townsend is a cnn contributor. last hour she told me how serious this threat was. >> this is a guy who not only had intent but capability in the counterterrorism world that's where the serious threats are. this is a guy who literally had gone to washington, done surveillance to understand distances, to the capitol to the pentagon to use these remote drones. he rented a storage facility. he made clear to a cooperating witness according to the complaint that he was driven to do this. that he had to do it. it was the only way to sort of take revenge on the enemies of alah so i think it was a serious case. >> the fbi said the man planned a second phase of those attacks after the plane struck the capitol and pentagon he wanted teams of snipers to mow down the people as they evacuated the burning buildings. >>> later today lawmakers in the house are expected to approve the spending bill that got so much attention earlier this week. cnn's atheena jones on capitol hill. is it now a done deal? >> reporter: it's definitely n

fran townsend, thank you so much. good to see you. a reminder to vote for choose the news winner for the story that you would like to see. text one for florida's invasive reptiles. rare reptiles from other countries being let loose causing environmental concerns right here. text two for france post-it wars. post-its being used to make art around french business windows. check that out and text 3 for cuba's cars for sales. the law restricting car sales is changing. what will happen to the classics? that winning story will air next hour. >>> the arizona memorial in hawaii draws thousands of tourists every day. this photograph will be a haunting reminder of their visit. we are business in america. and every day we awake to the same challenges. but at prudential we're helping companies everywhere find new solutions to manage risk, capital and employee benefits, so american business can get on with business. ♪ >>> a look at some of the other stories we're watching. a heavy rainstorm sent flash floods gushing through this neighborhood in

want to bring in fran townsend on the phone from new york with more on this. fran is a national security contributor for cnn, member of the cia external advisory committee, as well. fran, first of all, i want to ask about this latest attack here because i would imagine that it would be quite frightening to people at the u.s. embassy if they suspected that the afghan employees who work with them are people they cannot trust. because that is such an important bond to have that community working together inside the embassy in kabul. >> absolutely, suzanne. the u.s. government relies on what we call foreign service nationals. that is, afghan, in this case afghan nationals who work with americans inside the embassy to do all sorts of things. the thing that is inexplicable yet anyway is the fact that this individual was armed. the only sort of armed afghans are the national police, the army, they have the outside perimeter. you go through that. i've been to this embassy many times. you go through the afghan checkpoint. you then get to the united states marines who a

you can hear the people inside screaming. [ screaming ] >> joining us by phone is fran townsend, former security adviser to george w. bush. fran, i mean, on the face of it, it seems hypocritical for the obama administration to be selling bahrain arms just months after calling them out for its human rights offenses. or is this just the way foreign policy works? >> well, anderson, let me be clear, there's no condoning the clips you've shown here on cnn. but i will tell you there are multiple administrations, democrat, republican, over decades that have sold to places like egypt and pakistan and others, large scale military sales to countries that have been cited for human rights abuses. this is not new. this has gone on in the foreign policy community for decades. now, some of these sales do tend -- are conditioned, if you will, that congress and the administration can condition them, the sales, that they're not to be used against civilian populations. those condition-based sales are very difficult to police. and, of course, if they're violated, it's too late. so this is a real, you know,

fran townsend is here with us. what is the most disturbing or the most interesting new thing you're hearing? >> the fact that the intercept comes from a wire that's given reliable information in the past all by itself would have made the threat credible to them. when you take that with the level of detail, the specificity of it, all that wrapped together, that's unusual. i think those two things taken together explain the heightened state of concern that you see from government officials. we asked the question, why come out with it if it's unconfirmed. there are three good reasons. one, you need help from the american people because you don't have enough details. two, it's a brushback pitch, you want to send a message to the bad guys that we're looking for you. and the third is the time constraint. >> commissioner kelly said specific, specific, specific. that's why he's alarmed more than normal. how specific? >> it's washington or new york. a car bomb, three men. we know that one or two are u.s. citizens. we have n

joining us also fran townsend. so, brian, this was an fbi sting. what do we know about how it went down? it appears to have been a very elaborate string. authorities were tracking mr. ferdaus for the better part of this year. they do indicate that he began some of his various plotting last year but they have tracked him at least since january. they have used undercover agents and at least one cooperating witness who started taping conversations with him earlier this year. so this was a fairly elaborate sting operation that lasted until today when they actually sold him what he thought was some explosive material. they said not a lot of it was the real thing because they were obviously trying to trick him, but it lasted until today when they actually took him down. >> did he ever have any connection to real people at al qaeda? >> they say -- the federal authorities say he did not. there is no indication according to a law enforcement official that cnn spoke with today, no indication that he has any kind of connection with a foreign terrorist organiz

you can hear the people inside screaming. [ screaming ] >> joining us by phone is fran townsend, former security adviser to george w. bush. on the face of it it seems hypocritical for the obama administration to be selling bahrain arms just months after calling them out for its human rights offenses or is this just the way foreign policy works? >> anderson, pleat be clear, there's no condoning the clips and the activity you've just shown here on cnn. but i will tell you there are multiple administrations, democrat, republican, over decades that have sold to places like egypt and pakistan and others, large scale military sales been to countries that have been cited for human right ace buss. this is not new. this has gone on in the foreign policy community for decades. now, some of these sales do tend -- are conditioned, if you will, that congress and the administration can condition them for sales that they're not to be used against civilian populations. those condition-based sales are very difficult to police. and, of course, if they're violated, it's too late. so this is a real, you kn

townsend, a member of both the cia and homeland security advisory boards. let's start with this. the united states doesn't want this to happen. what is it? what is it in the palestinian politics that makes president abbas at this moment decide he needs to push for this even though he knows the united states, who he needs as a partner, so firmly opposes it? >> it may have started as a bargaining tactic on his side. he may have initially when they started to talk about this move weeks ago, it may have been part of the pressure of israel and the u.s. to make concessions to come back to the negotiating table, but once the train started moving, it really became out of control, in part, because it's a popular move, and the arab world expects it. the international community expects it. frankly, there has not been significant movement for two years of administration effort. we're entering into an election year. something had to be done to shake up the game, and i think right now people think this might be just the move that might shake the game enough to make some

former white house security adviser fran townsend, susan candiotti and the author of "the long f-war" joins us as well. what's the latest you're hearing from sources on the threat? >> well, anderson, it's interesting because as they begin to pull this thread, the more and more you hear are words of caution. the answer is they are looking for corroboration. they are clearly reaching out to our ails around the world as well as looking inside existing databases to try to understand is this really credible? somebody said to me, you know, it's a plausible threat but i'm not prepared to say yet, the source said to me, that it's actually credible that we need to act on it. we take them all seriously, but we really need more information, more corroboration. >> jess characters how seriously is the white house taking the threat? i spoke to jay carney earlier? >> they are taking it quite seriously. the president was briefed by his chief counterterrorism adviser john brennan this morning and he's not in the west wing now but is available should he need an update. i should also point out that in a

joining us also fran townsend. so, brian, this was an fbi sting. what do we know about how it went down? >> reporter: it appears to have been a very elaborate sting. authorities were tracking mr. ferdaus for the better part of this year. at least since january of 2011. they do indicate that he began some of his various plotting last year but they have tracked him at least since january. they have used undercover agents and at least one cooperating witness who started taping conversations with him earlier this year. so this was a fairly elaborate sting operation that lasted until today when they actually sold him what he thought was some explosive material. they said not a lot of it was the real thing because they were obviously trying to trick him, but it lasted until today when they actually took him down. >> did he ever have any connection to real people at al qaeda? >> reporter: they say -- the federal authorities say that he did not. there is no indication according to a law enforcement official that cnn spoke with today, no indication that he

also with us, fran townsend. she advised president george w bush and now is a member of the external advisory boards for the cia and department of homeland security. we're out of time but thanks for coming. let me start with you first, fran. these wikileaks, we're running up to 9/11, there's a lot of talk about being on the alert, no specific threats. does anything in this worry you insofar as the immediate issue of homeland security? >> you know, candy, it's hard to assess because after all, this is such a volume of documents, i don't think anybody has been entirely through it. so it's hard to know. you worry about things like junior diplomats being denied access to information, their inability to put information in kabls that can be shared. you worry about the informants, human rights activists, the sort of people who talk to embassies around the world and expect protection, being able to be targeted for retribution. but it's too soon to really understand because of the shear volume of what's been put out there

joining us also fran townsend. so, brian, this was an fbi sting. what do we know about how it went down? it appears to have been a very elaborate string. authorities were tracking mr. ferdaus for the better part of this year. they do indicate that he began some of his various plotting last year but they have tracked him at least since january. they have used undercover agents and at least one cooperating witness who started taping conversations with him earlier this year. so this was a fairly elaborate sting operation that lasted until today when they actually sold him what he thought was some explosive material. they said not a lot of it was the real thing because they were obviously trying to trick him, but it lasted until today when they actually took him down. >> did he ever have any connection to real people at al qaeda? >> they say -- the federal authorities say he did not. there is no indication according to a law enforcement official that cnn spoke with today, no indication that he has any kind of connection with a foreign terrorist organiz

joining us also fran townsend. so, brian, this was an fbi sting. what do we know about how it went down? >> it appears to have been a very elaborate sting. authorities were tracking mr. ferdaus for the better part of this year. at least since january of 2011. they do indicate that he began some of his various plotting last year but they have tracked him at least since january. they have used undercover agents and at least one cooperating witness who started taping conversations with him earlier this year. so this was a fairly elaborate sting operation that lasted until today when they actually sold him what he thought was some explosive material. they said not a lot of it was the real thing because they were obviously trying to trick him, but it lasted until today when they actually took him down. >> did he ever have any connection to real people at al qaeda? >> they say -- the federal authorities say that he did not. there is no indication according to a law enforcement official that cnn spoke with today, no indication that he has any kind of conn

susan, all our correspondents, fran townsend and tom fuentes, appreciate your reporting. we'll continue to update throughout the hour and follow the story as any late developments throughout the night. now, the president's address to congress and the nation tonight on jobs, 14 million americans are looking for work right now. millions more have given up looking. the economy at best is stuck in neutral. tonight the president laid out proposals he says will get it moving again. everything in the run up to this moment has been contentious right down to the scheduling of it and chances are everything in the aftermath will be just as loaded with conflict and partisanship. that is precisely why the president called on both parties to set aside -- tonight we'll look at whether that's a realistic hope and more pleer importantly what's in the president's plan. senator mccain is with us and so is the man who speaks for president obama, but fist, here's the president himself. >> i am sending this congress a plan that you should pass right away. it's called the american jobs act. the

townsend, a member of both the cia and homeland security advisory boards. let's start with this. the united states doesn't want this to happen. what is it? what is it in the palestinian politics that makes president abbas at this moment decide he needs to push for this even though he knows the united states, who he needs as a partner, so termly owe mowses it? >> it may have started as a bargaining tactic on his side. he may have initially when they started to talk about this move weeks ago, it may have been part of the pressure of israel and the u.s. to make concessions to come back to the negotiating table, but once the train started moving, it really became out of control, in part, because it's a popular move, and the arab world expects it. the international community expects it. frankly, there has not been significant movement for two years of administration effort. we're entering into an election year. something had to be done to shake up the game, and i think right now people think this might be just the move that might shake the game enough to make so

. >> coming up at 7:00, fran townsend will join us. how far along is this investigation? are there more arrests coming? possibly overseas? we will ask her. >>> the health care war could come back just in time for 2012. the justice department has now asked the supreme court to look at president obama's health care law and in particular, the requirement that people buy health insurance by the year 2014. if the court decides to hear the appeal or ruling may come by maybe late june and in the thick of an election year. today the house is expected to pass a short-term spending bill that will keep the government from partially shutting down. earlier this week senate republicans and democrats were able to strike a compromise on a deal breaker giving fema an additional $2.5 billion for disaster relief. >>> to the trial of michael jackson's dr. conrad murray. ing the second day of testimony took jurors inside the jackson mansion on the day he died with his assistant and security chief describing a chaotic scene and raising questions about dr. murray's behavior. cnn's don lemon is

cnn national contributor fran townsend joins us from new york. fran, you hear chris's report here from the 9/11 commission, does it surprise you that basics like radio communications we still have failed in trying to make that work? >> suzanne i should start by saying i participated, this is a bipartisan policy council, on the board of directors, participated with kay and hamilton in creating the report card. we should be outraged by the lack of first responder communications, because this is one where the solution exists. we know it exists. we know the band width is available. the question is only how you go about distributing it. do you distribute it directly to first responders or distribute it to a telecommunications company and require them to make it available. this is crazy. there's no excuse for us not to have solved this problem ten years earlier because as governor caine points out in an emergency people will die. we just had the earthquake in washington and i can tell you my cell phone didn't work. i can't imagine what the first respon

we asked cnn national security contributor fran townsend how concerned we should be. >> most concerning to me we heard from commissioner kelly this morning the three individuals at least one of which is a u.s. citizen officials tell us they haven't identified. that is a very difficult problem. especially for the u.s. citizens. americans cross our borders easily. that is a real challenge for them and why you're hearing officials ask for the americans for help. president obama is on the road to richmond, virginia to promote the $447 billion jobs plan he outlined last night. he is expected to speak around 11:35 eastern time. in his address last night the president repeatedly urged congress to pass this jobs bill. >> pass this jobs bill and starting tomorrow small businesses will get a tax cut if they hire new workers or raise wages. pass this bill and all small business owners will also see payroll taxes cut in half next year. >> not only should congress not pass his plan. i say mr. president stop. your last plan hasn't worked and is hurting the american economy. >> the plan got mixed revi

let's bring in our national security contributor, fran townsend. she served as homeland security advisory board. let's start with this travel warning in saudi arabia. how serious is this? >> this is very serious. this is not the first time al qaeda has actually done something like this insaudi arabia. when i was in the white house, paul johnson was abducted, beheaded, the beheading was videotaped and released on the internet, much to the horror, as you might imagine, to the family. and the homeland security committee discussed it and that's the intelligence and law enforcement would have evaluated and clearly given the history of al qaeda in the kingdom, they decided they needed to issue a warning and the warning is actually quite specific and helpful, tells people the kinds of activities they should be weary of and the steps that they can take to protect themselves. >> what kind of specifics are there for the warning? >> there is intelligence officials in the country so it's either coming from the cia and their colleagues at the national security

let's dig deeper with fran townsend, a member of the cia and homeland security department. just a precaution out of an abundance of caution or is there real suspicion out there? evidence that revenge is a factor for al qaeda and sympathizers and the worldwide american community should be prepared. >> people very worried since the killing of bin laden. the department put out their annual homeland warnings for not the 9/11 anniversary this week. this is an extension of that and we should expect to hear other warnings. i wouldn't be surprised if they were talking and did a warning to state and locals. it is customary now we worry about large gatherings. it's been 10 years and that's significant. in talking to authorities today, they say we feel good about the heightened state of vigilance in the united states. when we look at where are americans more vulnerable, where americans travel. >> the difference between this anniversary and all the other anniversaries of 9/11 is the u.s. killed bin laden and this element of revenge is on the minds of lone wolf sympathizers or others. i

let's bring in fran townsend, the former homeland security adviser to president bush. she serves on the external advisory boards. there is just so much to talk about here. there is that issue of imminent threat, but perhaps the most important thing is a lot of people talking about no due process here. an american citizen being essentially executed by order, presumably of the president of the united states himself. there's no due process, but you tell me there is a process. >> that's right. and what i would say to you while there's no due process in the sense of an article 3 court, there is inside the government. before any of this would have been authorized by the president, there's an entire both legal and policy process this goes through. the lawyers are involved. they look at all of the intelligence. they've got to satisfy themselves about the credibility, about the imminence of the threat, the legality of it and then by the time it goes all the way through an inner agency process including the lawyers, that's when it goes to the president. if it's approved, a captu

want to bring in fran townsend, she joins us in new york via skype to talk about this. she is a cnn national security contributor, member of the cia external advisory committee. fran, good to have you with us here. the obama administration doesn't want to see pal zion grant-- palestine granted statehood. explain why and not in this way? >> it puts the united states in a very awkward position, u sedan. if this comes up for a vote, the u.s. is a member of the security council, has the veto power. it is a veto that will most certainly undermine u.s. credibility as an honest broker in the peace process. thus goes the argument from the arab world. so what the u.s. would like to see is renewed negotiations between israel and palestine bilaterally to resolve the remaining issues before such a vote proceeds. now the palestinians have threat bed one of the ways around the veto is to have a vote come up in general assembly. it doesn't actually recognize in the statehood but it would be progress from their perspective. there is very dangerous brin brinksmanship i think going on on

fran townsend is in washington and susan candiotti in new york and barbara starr at the pentagon. fran, let's start with you. specific, credible, but unconfirmed? tell us exactly what that means. >> i think it's most important to work backwards. unconfirmed is the key thing and driving all of the intelligence and law enforcement community. specific that you're hearing that word because, yes, they think it's a car bomb in either new york or washington. they do have some information that three individuals entered one being united states sit he send. they believe. the credible goes to where the source of the information is. they are not telling us whether that is human intelligence or technical intelligence. but they believe based on how they got that information that it is plausible and could, in fact, be an accurate reporting of the threat. so back to the unconfirmed part. right now, law enforcement intelligence officials are not only going through their own databases and files but gone around the world to their allies particularly we understand they have gone to the pakistanis. th

joining me now is cnn national security contributor fran townsend, member of the national external advisory committees. fran, tell us a little bit about this guy, first of all, awlaki. where why was he so powerful? >> awlaki, he was so powerful because he was an american-born al qaeda member, he spoke fluid english, idio mattic english, co-speak in slang, he could appeal to the passions of westerners for recruitment which, of course is a huge tremendously valuable tool for al qaeda. he was also very powerful in terms of the recruiting the lone wolf. remember, nadal hasan, the fort hood shooter who shot and killed his fellow soldiers, there is the christmas day attempted underwear bomber, there was the cargo plane, the cart ridges in the computers, all of which he was linked to but this is not -- he is not new to the al qaeda scene. he goes back, as we have been reporting, to the 9/11 hijackers, two of which with he was imam to in san diego, a third which visited san diego and met with ham and so he then comes east, he is at the mosque in northern virginia where he continues to be a spiritua