Senior U.S. Official: Terror Plot Discovered Against U.S. Interests in Germany; U.S. Coasts Ablaze
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello. I'm Don Lemon, live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.</s>KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Kyra Phillips. Bombs, small arms, real threat or old news? A top U.S. official tells of a terror plot against U.S. interests in Germany.</s>LEMON: But the State Department says that's really not new. They cite a warning sent out three weeks ago. We'll piece it all together for you right here in the</s>CNN NEWSROOM. PHILLIPS: And about an hour ago, we first told you about this story breaking. This is what we know so far. A CNN official had confirmed to us that U.S. and German officials were fearing that terrorists were in the advanced planning stages of an attack on U.S. military personnel and/or tourists in Germany. They came forward in telling us about intelligence that they got, possibly that U.S. air marshals had been diverted to provide expanded protection of flights between Germany and the U.S. The source was saying that that danger level was high. They were extremely concerned. As you know, in particular -- a particular concern to the officials was the Patch Barracks. Patch Barracks is the headquarters for the U.S.-European command right there in Germany. The 9/11 hijackers actually planned their operation out of Hamburg, Germany, and that's why this country has been under the watch of authorities. We finally are able to get to our Fred Pleitgen, there live in Germany. Fred, I know you've been working your sources, working this information or us. Good to see you. What were you able to find out?</s>FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN BERLIN BUREAU CHIEF: Yes, Kyra, it's good to see you. Basically, I've talked to a spokesperson for the U.S. embassy here in Berlin, and also to a spokesperson of the German Interior Ministry. And what they say is that they are not aware of any new specific terrorist plot. But they're also saying that about two weeks ago they did raise the threat level for U.S. installations here in Germany, and this was really something that happened only in Germany. This was not some general terrorist warning. This was something that happened only in Germany. And what they're saying is that they were asking American tourists to be more vigilant here in Germany. They massively increased security for the U.S. embassy, and also for U.S. military installations. And we do know of one U.S. military installation specifically where the security has been massively increased. So, while they're not saying that they know anything about some new plot, they are saying that the threat level has been raised considerably. And Kyra, you know that in just a few weeks' time the G8 summit will be held here in Germany, in northern Germany. And in the run-up to that G8 summit, we are seeing German officials also heavily cracking down on anybody whom they might believe might be trying to disrupt that summit. And we saw anti-terror raids here in Germany only two days ago, where 900 German police officers swarmed out all across the country and arrested 40 people and raided several houses. And they were saying back then that this was also related to a terrorist plot. Now, they were saying it was a left-wing terrorist plot. We're not sure that that has anything to do with what we're hearing right now, Kyra. But this is certainly a country very much on alert, and a country that really does fear very much for the security of any American that's in this country -- Kyra.</s>PHILLIPS: Fred Pleitgen, our Berlin bureau chief. Fred, keep us posted as you talk to your sources. Thanks.</s>LEMON: And our homeland security correspondent, Jeanne Meserve, has been digging up some details for us. She joins us now with the very latest. What have you found out, Jeanne?</s>JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, U.S. officials tell CNN that the threat information is not new, but one senior federal official characterized it as very real. Other sources are calling it credible. According to officials, the threat information did originate in Germany and has been evolving for several months. Some intelligence officials tell us that it is not specific, but one senior official tells us it involved planning for multiple attacks, with bombs and automatic weapons on U.S. interests and/or military bases in Germany. It was taken seriously enough that the State Department put out a message announcing increased security at U.S. diplomatic and consulate facilities in Germany, and there was comment about that at the State Department briefing a short time ago.</s>SEAN MCCORMACK, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: There was recently, within the past couple of weeks -- you can check me on the date -- a warden message that went out from our embassy asking people in country to exercise extra vigilance and caution, although at that point they didn't have a specific credible threat, but they were quite concerned. I can't speak to this, whether or not there is new information that has come in. Whenever we do have information that we believe is credible enough to act on, we have a legal requirement, as well as moral requirement, to pass along our best advice to our public so that they can take steps to protect themselves.</s>MESERVE: The force protection level at U.S. military facilities in Germany has not been increased. And that's an indication that no threat is imminent. And the Department of Homeland Security emphasizes that there is no indication of a nexus to the homeland, and there is no credible intelligence to suggest an imminent attack here. As for who's responsible, well, we have conflicting information. Some say there is an al Qaeda link. But other sources say that is only a strong suspicious because of the history of al Qaeda activity in Germany. But once again, not new information here, but worrisome information. Back to you.</s>LEMON: Homeland Security Correspondent Jeanne Meserve. Thank you, Jeanne.</s>PHILLIPS: Now, earlier, we discussed the German threat report with Jim Walsh of the Security Studies program at MIT.</s>JIM WALSH, MIT SECURITY STUDIES PROGRAM: What is surprising to me about this -- and of course, we don't know a lot yet -- is that it would be focused on a military site. On the one hand, that makes sense for them to attack the U.S. military because of its affiliation with Iraq, and it's an American target. But, on the other hand, you'd think that this would be very difficult for outsiders to gain access to.</s>PHILLIPS: Well, and Islamic groups have threatened violence against Germany for its involvement in those wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, correct? So this could be...</s>WALSH: Absolutely. Well -- and, of course, other European partners have faced direct attack. There was the bombing of the Spanish trains. There have been attacks on Australians, in Indonesia. So -- and there have been threatened attacks. Several of the videotapes, several of the audiotapes issued by al Qaeda have mentioned Germany and other European allies as being on the target list.</s>PHILLIPS: And of particular concern, Patch Barracks, the headquarters for the U.S. European command there in Germany. This is obviously a military facility that has been under constant threat and has been of concern for attacks like this. Right, Jim?</s>WALSH: Yes. And historically, Kyra, going back even decades, when Europe suffered the wave of Red terrorism, with the Baader- Meinhof Gang and the Red Army, and you had groups in Germany and Italy, in Germany there were terrorist groups -- again, ideologically driven, not religiously driven -- but ideologically driven, who did attack U.S. bases in Germany. So, it's not the first time that groups, terrorist groups, or others have targeted U.S. military facilities in that country.</s>PHILLIPS: And Jim Walsh was on the phone there from Cambridge, Massachusetts.</s>LEMON: Now to the wildfires across America. From the East Coast to the West Coast, the U.S. is burning at the edges from swampy northern Florida to the islands off southern California. The weather is dry, it's warm, it's windy, and that spells trouble for the firefighters trying to get these blazes under control. Bigger trouble for hundreds of families fleeing and fearing for their homes. Let's get straight to Catalina Island now, 30 miles off the southern California coast. About 4,000 acres have gone up in smoke since this time yesterday. CNN's Ted Rowlands is there.</s>TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Don, it's a situation that is getting better by the minute because of the amount of firefighters out here attacking this blaze. There's a little flare-up right now on the Hill behind me. I don't know if you can really see it or not. But the fire itself is being attacked by the air and on the ground because reinforcements have come here, partly via the U.S. military. Last night, though, a much different story. A wall of flames descended on Avalon here on Catalina Island, and it sent everybody out of their homes for the most part. Mandatory evacuations, people grabbed what they could in an instant, came down to the beach, and then looked up and watched and hoped for the best. It was a horrible sight for those people seeing the wall of flames descend on their homes. Luckily, the fire dampened down when the winds changed late last night, and these homes, for the most part, were saved. They did lose a few structures here, but the city itself is intact. A few outbuildings and a few -- and one home in an outer area was lost, but it could have been much, much worse. Because Mother Nature helped out. Now, today firefighters are exploiting that opportunity, and they have been attacking this fire from the air. There's still a lot of work to be done. It's only 10 percent contained. However, there is optimism, if the conditions stay as they are now, meaning if the winds continue to be low and the humidity stays at this level, a relatively high level compared to the conditions yesterday -- Don.</s>LEMON: All right. Ted Rowlands on Catalina. Thank you, Ted.</s>PHILLIPS: We're watching the coast today for signs of relief, but other parts right now of the country have problems of their own. Meteorologist Reynolds Wolf from the CNN weather center following it all for us.</s>LEMON: U.S. officials say there's a terror plot against U.S. citizens and interests in Germany. The German government is downplaying it, saying it's an old warning. What's the truth? We'll update you in the</s>CNN NEWSROOM. PHILLIPS: Wildfires on both coasts. The battles inch by inch. We'll check in with one of the top responders for an update from Catalina Island. The latest from the CNN NEWSROOM.