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This. i disagree with him. we faced an adversary in the first decade of this that we didn't understand. in 2002-2003 we had a major airline plot in 2006. that's why you can't bring liquids on airplanes anymore. they were plotted by the organization that had been the architect of 9/11. people are saying we see an adversary we don't understand this recruiting by social media, these attacks that independent and therefore we think the risk is higher. >> you say we see an adversary that we don't understand that has carried out or attempted to carry out some of these smaller scale attacks but still ...

Al zawahiri, analysts say he lacks bin laden's charisma. >> he's viewed as a polarizing figure, someone not easy to deal with, not a good manager. >> al awalaki is seen to have commanded the airline plot. his achilles' heel. >> he's not a fighter. he's a cleric. he's a speaker. and not a fighter. and al qaeda over the years have wanted to be led by a fighter. >> reporter: credentials bin laden had from his years battling the soviets in afghanistan. but other dangerous figures could surface including saif al adal who is believed to have played a key role in the african embassy bomb also. al lib...

States. but now that bin laden is gone, al qaeda really has lost its dominant force, its strategic guide, and bin laden, in past years, has really signed off on the biggest al qaeda operations. for example, the 2006 airline plot, according to western intelligence officials, and a plot last fall against europe. so bin laden has still been operationally involved in some of these bigger attempts, michael. >> paul krukshank, fran townsend, and peter bergen, thanks. today, we'll see how the markets are reacting to news of bol osama bin laden's death. she felt lost...

An al qaeda captive in afghanistan. >> the spectrum of information suggests that we needed to put something out to warn people about the potential for attacks. >> reporter: what might be the target? tourist attractions like the vatican, big train stations in europe are well guarded. another 9/11 would be tougher to pull off than london '05, a bus and subways hit. >> if they want to cook up a bomb in their kitchen or pick up a gun and shoot someone, that's far more difficult to stop than a sophisticated airline plot. officials most fear something like the jihad attack in india. 480 people kil...

I'd say there are three types of operatives we look at. one is the hard core, well trained operative that would be used in a major attack, the kind of thing which happened on 9/11 or which they tried to pull off with the airline plot in 2006. the next level is the person who's brought in, they're not necessarily given access to the core al qaeda, but they are given some basic training and trade craft and launched back to use their western passport. that is perhaps this case, the zazi case. the third category is the person who gets on the internet and gets radicalized, they go off and do what t...