al qaeda to destroy a u.s.-bound airliner with an improved underwear bomb was actually a double agent. instead of carrying out the murderous mission, he delivered the bomb to u.s. intelligence officials. the new york times reports the informant is an intelligent agent for saudi arabia. susan mcginnis is in washington with the latest. good morning. reporter: good morning. an incredible intelligence coup. the al qaeda affiliate developed this advanced bomb. they think they re giving it to a suicide bomber but they hand it right over to an agent working with the cia. officials say al qaeda in the arabian peninsula known as aqap failed in its attempt to take down an american-bound airliner because of a double agent. the would-be suicide bomber actually worked for the cia and saudi intelligence agencies. clearly, this was an intelligence success. reporter: senator chambliss said the planned attack is a reminder al qaeda remained committed to hurting america. the bad guys
was no longer considered a threat. it may well be now that he was actually working with the c.i.a. all along. you ve been doing a lot of reporting today about al qaeda in the arabian peninsula and the outfit that put this bomb together. that s right. scott, since 2009, intelligence. u.s. intelligence officials have had a laser focus on a.q.a.p., al qaeda of the arabian peninsula. it s a highly capable group made up of experienced leaders, battle tested terrorists and a very talented bomb maker. this is is training video of al qaeda of the arabian peninsula or a.q.a.p. this latest plot serves as a stark reminder of their primary mission. bring down an american plane. a former f.b.i. agent who has questioned more members of a.q.a.p.than anyone. what makes al qaeda of the arabian peninsula, out of all the al-qaeda affiliates the chosen one to attack america? al-qaeda on the arabian peninsula are the closest to osama bin laden s version of al qaeda. that s why they feel that
this is the cbs evening news with scott pelley. pelley: good evening. there are late-breaking developments this evening in that alleged bomb plot in which al qaeda allegedly tried to put a bomb on an airplane bound for the united states. the new york times , the los angeles times, and the associated press are all reporting that the would-be bomber, the man who was to carry the bomb on to the aircraft was actually an undercover intelligence agent that was working with the c.i.a. all along. we have a number of developing items on this story tonight. we re going to go now to john miller, our national security correspondent and former assistant director of the f.b.i. john, what are you hearing? well, this goes right to the heart of an intelligence agency s nightmare which is identifying a source that they ve placed inside an organization. i just got off the phone with intelligence agencies and senior officials. they say they re not going anywhere near commenting on this ob