White House Talks Russian Plane Crash; Message From British Prime Minister; Airport Security Is Primary Flight Concern; U.S. Intel Suggests Airport Insider Helped; ISIS Bomb May Have Downed Jet; A Tale Of Two Carsons; Mystery of the Russian Plane Crash
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: We begin with the mysterious crash of a Russian passenger plane in Egypt, and disputed claims today that a terrorist bomb is to blame. Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron couches it by saying a bomb is the most likely cause. Let's go to the White House right now. The press secretary, Josh Earnest, giving us the latest information from there.</s>JOSH EARNEST, U.S. WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY (live): However, we can't rule anything out, including the possibility of terrorist involvement. Obviously, you heard the announcement from the British government about steps they were taking to ensure the safety of the British traveling public. And, currently, the Obama administration is reviewing a number of different steps that we can take to enhance security for commercial flights bound for the United States from certain foreign airports. That's an ongoing process. When we develop those additional measures, we work closely with industry and our international partners to make sure they are properly and effectively implemented. And I don't have anything new, at this point, to announce. But once a decision on those steps has been made, it will be announced by the Department of Homeland Security.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you say that you can't rule anything out, is that kind of just a statement of, you know, we just don't know yet or does the U.S. have specific intelligence that suggests that it might, if fact, have been an act of terror?</s>EARNEST: Josh, I can't get into the intelligence, but -- and it is accurate to say that the United States has not made our own determination about the cause of the incident. But based on what we know and based on -- in part at least, on what's been publicly reported, in terms of claims of responsibility, we can't rule anything out, including the possibility of terrorist involvement.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now that we all have the TBP (ph) texts to look at and enjoy at our bedside, --</s>EARNEST: Yes, yes.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- can you give us an update on the time line that the White House envisions for --</s>BLITZER: All right. So, there you have the latest from the White House. Not ruling anything out, suggesting, yes, it's quite possible this could have been a terrorist bomb that killed all those people, 224 people on board that Russian airliner. We're going to keep monitoring the White House press secretary, see if he sees anything else. In the meantime, you should know that Russian and Egyptian authorities are disputing the bomb claims. They say there is simply no evidence to prove it, at least not yet. They also say it could take many months before we know what actually brought down the plane, once again, killing all 224 people on board. Moments ago, the Egyptian president, Abdul Fattah El Sisi, left a meeting with David Cameron in London. The two talked about new cooperation between their countries as they assess security in Sharm El Sheikh. For now, the U.K. has grounded all flights there, stranding literally thousands and thousands of passengers trying to get back to Britain. Also, Egypt civil aviation minister tells our Christiane Amanpour that the United States and the United Kingdom have not shared their specific intelligence on the crash with Egyptian authorities. Let's talk about all these development. Joining us now from London, our Senior International Correspondent Clarissa Ward from Sharm El Sheikh. Egypt is our Ian Lee. He's on the scene there at the airport there. Clarissa, here is what the British prime minister, David Cameron, said following his meeting with the Egyptian president, El Sisi, when asked specifically whether the U.K. has intelligence that the Russians do not have.</s>DAVID CAMERON, PRIME MINISTER, BRITAIN: My role is to act in the right way to keep British citizens safe and secure and to put their security first. And I act on the basis of intelligence that I receive. I act on the basis of advice that I get. Of course, I cannot be sure, my experts cannot be sure, that it was a terrorist bomb that brought down that Russian plane. But if the intelligence is and the judgment is that that is a more likely than not outcome, than I think it's right to act in the way that I did.</s>BLITZER: More likely than not a terrorist attack. So, what are you hearing, Clarissa, about any intelligence, specific intelligence, that Downing Street may have about the crash?</s>CLARISSA WARD, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, the British are being very tight-lipped here. They're not giving away any information about the specific intelligence that they've received regarding this crash. But we did hear two interesting things today. Firstly, we heard from Egyptian president, Abdul Fattah El Sisi, at the end of his meeting with Prime Minister Cameron. He said that 10 months ago, British authorities sent a team to Sharm El Sheikh Airport to look at security procedures. He said that that visit went well. But, certainly, Wolf, it's fair to say that this isn't the first time that British authorities have been looking at security at the Sharm El Sheikh Airport. Now, the second thing that we're hearing today comes from EasyJet. This is one of the airlines, a low-cost budget airline, that will be helping to evacuate those roughly 20,000 British citizens from Sharm El Sheikh tomorrow. Now, what they have said is that no passengers will be allowed to take check-in luggage on the plane. All luggage will have to be given to EasyJet personnel who will then arrange for it to make its way back to the United Kingdom. But there will be no check-in luggage. They are also saying that they are being very strict about any hand luggage. They're allowed one small piece of cabin luggage each, Wolf. And they're saying that it should not be larger than the size of a laptop bag. So, certainly, fair to assume that baggage handlers are possibly being looked into as somehow being related to this whole threat.</s>BLITZER: Clarissa, stand by for a moment. Ian, you're there at the airport at Sharm El Sheikh. I know you've been there on several earlier occasions. What's it like today? Give us a little scene, how tight security is, have they strengthened security, what are people doing there? I assume a lot of foreigners are trying to get out of there.</s>IAN LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right, Wolf. And I arrived here, on this trip, earlier this morning. I -- one thing I noticed was, for the most part, at least when we arrived, it was quite empty. There were -- you saw those jets, those EasyJets, were on the tarmac, just waiting there, idling, standing by. We also saw an increase in the police presence outside of the terminal. And actually leading into the airport complex, there was another checkpoint and they would have bomb sniffing dogs. We've seen security guards going, opening trunks, looking and really scrutinizing the cars that are coming in here. And that's just before you get inside the terminal. Once you get inside there, there's also other layers of security that we've been seeing. At least two scans, going through two x-rays. You're going through two metal detectors. You're getting a pat down. Really an increase in security that we're seeing. And talking to people here, and about an hour or two ago, we saw hundreds of people coming here, flying out. We asked them if they felt safe. And about everyone did. They said that they didn't really have any security concerns. We talked to some people earlier today whose flights were delayed because of this U.K. ruling. And they said they were really just frustrated. They wanted to get back home. They didn't really understand what was going on. But U.K. officials have been here helping them out. They aren't releasing too much information. We know that team was here, scrutinizing the security measures. They said, though, that the atmosphere was cooperative. That the Egyptians and the British were working together well to come to some sort of mutual agreement about the security measures. And, as we're hearing from Clarissa, that EasyJet is going to be having flights tomorrow. We are hearing eight flights tomorrow. So, it seems like, at least from what EasyJet is doing, that this security problem has somewhat been resolved.</s>BLITZER: We know that Sharm El Sheikh, a very popular tourist destination, especially for Europeans. It's not that far away. Maybe hundreds of thousands visit there every single year. All right, guys, stand by. U.S. and British officials say intelligence suggests ISIS or one of its affiliates may have planted a bomb on the plane. That terrorists may have had inside help at that Egyptian airport at Sharm El Sheikh. Let's discuss all of this and more with my next guest. The Republican Congressman, Mac Thornberry, from Texas. He's the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, previously served on the House Permanent Select Committee on intelligence. Mr. Chairman, thanks very much for joining us. So, what can you tell us about this disaster, why 224 people had to die?</s>REP. MAC THORNBERRY (R), TEXAS, CHAIRMAN, HOUSE ARMED SERVICES: Well, we are continuing to investigate to narrow down the exact cause of this crash. Two things we know for sure. One is there is a significant terrorist presence in Egypt. Secondly, we know that terrorists have intentionally targeted airliners from -- since -- from 911 to the present time. So, after 911, remember, we had the shoe bomber, the underwear bomber. We had the print cartridge bombing attack. So, they're adaptable. They keep looking for ways to plant explosive devices on airplanes and cause those airplanes to come down. And they will continue to pursue that target and be adaptable in the methods that they use.</s>BLITZER: Are you hearing one specific group? Because there are some suggestion it could be ISIS. It could be an ISIS affiliate or an ISIS supporter or AQAP, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, or maybe a Muslim Brotherhood kind of affiliate? What are you hearing about who may have been responsible for the downing of this plane?</s>THORNBERRY: Well, I don't think that -- I don't know of any of the intelligence organizations that have narrowed it down that far. We know that AQAP, Al Qaeda in Yemen, has consistently targeted airplanes as one of their key objectives. So, you know, the first question is why did this plane go down? It was traveling at a fairly high altitude and, all of a sudden, it's down on the ground, killing everyone. So, narrowing down that. And then you go from there into who did it. That does take some time, although I think as more evidence comes in from around the world that probably, my guess is, more countries will reach the conclusion that the British have.</s>BLITZER: It's a very dangerous part of the world right now, Sinai. And as you know, and you're the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, there are about 700 U.S. soldiers, part of this multinational force, in Sinai right now. How secure are they? We know four of them were injured early in September by a roadside bomb. Are they secure? Should they be there or should they get out?</s>THORNBERRY: Well, it's -- they played a very important mission for many years in helping ensure the peace agreement between Israel and Egypt is maintained. And so, to have them pulled out, all of a sudden, could have major repercussions. I think it is important, however, for us to re-evaluate their security. And it just highlights, Wolf, that we have individuals, men and women in the military and the intelligence community, who are placed all around the world, sometimes in relatively small numbers, risking their lives in very dangerous places and dangerous circumstances. And we should never take those for -- them for granted, especially as we move towards Veterans Day.</s>BLITZER: Yes, because Sinai, increasingly unfortunately, is becoming a very, very dangerous place right now. Mr. Chairman, thanks very much for joining us.</s>THORNBERRY: Thanks for having me.</s>BLITZER: Mac Thornberry of Texas. We'll have much more coverage of the Russian plane crash coming up. We're taking a closer look at the so-called chatter U.S. intelligence agencies have been looking at. Just how reliable is this chatter? And later, we'll turn to politics here in the United States and the two sides of the presidential candidate, Dr. Ben Carson. He says he went through a violent phase as a teenager. CNN spoke with a number of people who knew Ben Carson back then in Michigan. We're going to hear what they have to say.