Officials On High Alert Across Europe
ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: After 90-minute mass of reverence and reflection, the crowd erupted again with Pope mania. As he said his final farewells, blessing the adoring public, the pontiff stopped the Pope mobile several times to kiss children. A demonstration of his love for the people whose unwavering devote they give in return. Anna Cohen, CNN, Manila.</s>FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: What an incredible site. Thanks so much for joining me and spending part of the day with me. I'm Fredricka Whitefield. The next hour of the NEWSROOM begins right now with Poppy Harlow in New York.</s>POPPY HARLOW, CNN HOST: Hi, everyone. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Poppy Harlow joining us live from New York this Sunday evening. Across Europe today, officials are on high alert. And this question hangs where and when might terrorists strike next. Here is where the investigation stands right now. Five Belgians citizens are charged with links to a terrorist organization, three of them remain in jail, two were released under what is being called strict conditions. This goes back to the police raid and shootout on Thursday, in which two suspects were killed. Officials in Greece have arrested some suspects and they're still looking for potentially others. The Belgian government has requested the extradition of one person arrested in Greece. More on those in just a few moments in a live report. One of the biggest fears in Europe right now is what nobody can see, those so-called sleeper cells, quiet terror groups who suddenly become operational. Western intelligent sources tell CNN there could be as many as 20 sleeper cells planning attacked. A pair of U.S. senators also tell CNN today that it is time for America's allies outside of Europe to step up.</s>JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: But are our allies doing enough as well? A country like Saudi Arabia has enormous influence, Pakistan as well against this sort of extremism. Are they doing their part or in fact are they making the problem worse?</s>SEN. RICHARD BURR (R), NORTH CAROLINA: Well, Jim, as you know, they've been a contributor to the funding since Al-Qaeda was created. A lot of the Middle Eastern countries have.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As we've let it go on for far too long. And now that we realize the reality, the dangers, the immediacy of this threat to the United States and in to our allies, I think Republicans and Democrats can come together and say, listen, time is up. We need to see some progress, or especially with a country like Pakistan, as recipient of major dollars from the United States, there's going to be some consequences.</s>HARLOW: All right. Let me bring in CNN international correspondent Arwa Damon who joins us on the phone from southeastern Turkey. Arwa, let me ask you this. We just heard from the two senators saying the U.S. needs to crack down on allies funding terrorism, essentially, saying look, the money is going through these conditions too easily. People are getting through these counties into Syria too easily. When you talk about Turkey specifically, I know that Turkish officials are saying we're doing everything we can. We have a huge border with Syria that we have to deal with, but -- what is your sense from the officials in Turkey? Can they step it up at all?</s>ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (via phone): Well, Turkey is finding itself in a very tenuous situation at this junction, because if we go back to the era of at the revelation pre the emergence of ISIS, yes, Turkey was coming under a lot of scrutiny and a lot of accusations that it was being too lax with the borders that would then allowing some of these more fundamentalist Islamist individuals easy access into the Syrian battlefields. But fast forward to the situation that Turkey is finding itself in today. It has a massive border with Syria, and do whatever it may, it quite simply cannot physically control this entire boarder. Those smugglers who are assisting individuals in going across, whether those individuals are fighting with ISIS or others. They know how to wait. They know how to make that careful calculation, look for an opening, and then allow people across. Turkish authorities are also saying they're growing increasingly frustrated. While on the one hand they say they're doing everything they can. They do feel, and said this to CNN on a number of occasions, that at times when they're pacing on intelligence to western nations about individuals who are transiting through Turkey to the west to Europe, they don't feel as if that is being taken or acted on seriously enough. They feel as if they are doing all that these can, that the onus is also on these Europeans nations on the United States to try to act on the intelligence that Turkey says it's passing along, but also to prevent these individuals from even leaving their respective countries.</s>HARLOW: So Arwa, to that point, saying we're giving all this intelligence to the Europe, to the United States, they're not doing enough, I'm wondering what those European leaders are saying on that front? Are they agreeing and saying they're getting what they need from Turkey?</s>DAMON: Well, and this get into this very complex situation that Turkey is finding itself in. You know, all sides are saying that they're doing everything they can, but we have a magnitude of a problem that no nation is capable of dealing with. And arguably, even in all nations come together, because of the sheer volume of individuals who have that intent on traveling to Syrian or now have that intent of carrying out attacks in Europe and around the world, intelligence agencies are finding themselves stretched incredibly. And let's just take the example of Hayat Boumeddiene, the girlfriend or wife of Amery Coulibaly, the third gunman in the Paris attacks. She came to Turkey on January 2nd. Turkish intelligence actually flagged her at the airport, for whatever reason, they're not disclosing, but they felt she was suspicious. They followed her for a few days. She stayed at a hotel in east Istanbul. Then they stop following her because they say she was just engaging in tourist activity. Then after her name came out in this investigation with the current attacks, they have been shared that intelligence, that they have all doubted on her with the French. The French provided them with the phone number. They were able to track her to her last location which is</s>HARLOW: Right. And Turkey being so critical to the United States, to the west in this fight against terror. Arwa Damon joining us on the phone from southeastern Turkey. Arwa, thank you for that this evening. And during this time of heightened alert for terrorist activity, the U.S. has quietly released this man, you are looking at the images right there, charged and jailed in the U.S. as an enemy combatant. They have returned him to Qatar. In 2009, he was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for providing material support to Al-Qaeda. Let's talk about this case with our panel. Joining me now CNN global affairs analyst Bobby Ghosh, also CNN national security analyst Peter Bergen, also author of "Manhunt, the ten year search for bin Laden." Guys, when we talk about, this is just one example, but it brings up this issue and we've been seeing the United States especially over the last month releasing more of these people to other nations in south America, to Qatar, for example, when you talk about enemy combatants who are released, Peter Bergen, to you first, there is a lot of concern over whether the countries they are released into are able to effectively monitor them.</s>PETER BERGEN, CNN SECURITY ANALYST: Well, we're a nation of laws, and this person who has been released al-Mari, has served his sentence. It was -- the 15 years sentenced was reduced because of the time he spent in the Navy brig, five years, where he was abused somewhat significantly. So, you know, we are a nation of laws. We have send it back. Now Qatar is an enormously rich, very small country, where by the way we sent back five leaders of the Taliban in exchange for private Bowe Bergdahl, the U.S. army's private who was taken by the Taliban. Those five Taliban leaders have been there for about a year. They have done nothing. So it seems the Qataris are able to monitor people and basically it's a relatively safe place to send people back to.</s>HARLOW: Bobby Ghosh, I want you to weigh in on that, as well as some comments from David Cameron this morning, but first weigh in on what Peter said.</s>BOBBY GHOSH, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, Qatar does have an extensive security network within the country. But it is worth remembering that this man, Ali al-Mari, a relative of his, we're not sure if it was a brother or cousin, was a prisoner at Guantanamo.</s>HARLOW: So let me get your take on David Cameron's comment this morning. He was on CBS' "FACE THE NATION," And he said -- he explained why he wouldn't use the word "war" as French president Hollande has in terms of fighting terror saying quote "we don't want to help them in their narrative by saying it is a war of us against them." You say that's irrelevant.</s>GHOSH: Well, that's a conversation we're having among ourselves. To these people, the people who are conducting these terror attacks, it doesn't matter a whole heck of a lot. It maybe a small -- If David Cameron were to use the word "war," that may yet be in their minds one more explanation. But as far as they're concerned, they're already at war with us, one way or the other. And at some level, they're at war with us, because they even exist. Never mind what we say or do. And they're starting from that, there are any number of other reasons and rationales that include America's role, the west's role in the gulf, in Iraq more recently, drawn strikes, and places like Yemen and Pakistan. There are any number of excuses, real, imagined, made up. And so David Cameron using the word "war" one way or another I don't think moves the needle.</s>HARLOW: Peter Bergen, I would like you to weigh in on this discussion that we've been having and that has got a lot more attention lately about ISIS and Al-Qaeda, and whether or not we're seeing a convergence of the two groups more working together rather than battling one another. A, do you think we are seeing that? B, do you think that it matters, frankly?</s>BERGEN: Well, if either group kills your brother, it doesn't really matter, does it? So, I mean, you know,</s>HARLOW: And Bobby, very quickly, you've said that they don't care who they're pledging allegiance to, so when you look at the Kouachi brothers, for example, in Paris?</s>GHOSH: The foot soldiers don't care that much. They're responding to opportunities that come up in their immediate surroundings. What the leadership level right at the top says, that's an important rivalry, because they're competing for recruits. They are competing for resources for money. That's important. But as we have learned in Paris, at the foot soldier level, not so much.</s>HARLOW: Bobby Ghosh, Peter Bergen, thank you both. We appreciate it. Coming up after a quick break, another growing threat back in the headlines, Ukraine. Hear why one senator says it is time for the U.S. to do a lot more on the ground.