Unsettling video shows large al Qaeda meeting in Yemen

Source: cnn

A new video shows what looks like the largest and most dangerous gathering of al Qaeda in years. And the CIA and the Pentagon either didn't know about it or couldn't get a drone there in time to strike.

U.S. officials won't comment on that, but every frame of the video is now being analyzed by the United States.

In the middle of the clip, the man known as al Qaeda's crown prince, Nasir al-Wuhayshi, appears brazenly out in the open, greeting followers in Yemen. Al-Wuhayshi, the No. 2 leader of al Qaeda globally and the head of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, has said he wants to attack the United States. But in the video, he looks unconcerned that he could be hit by an American drone.

The video started appearing on jihadist websites recently, drawing the attention of U.S. officials and global terrorism experts. U.S. officials say they believe it's authentic.

"This is quite an extraordinary video," Paul Cruickshank, CNN terrorism analyst, said.

It's unlikely the United States wasn't aware of the meeting shown in the video, Kimmitt told "CNN Tonight."

"The question isn't why didn't we know," he said. "The question is: What are we going to do about it?"

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/15/world/al-qaeda-meeting-video/