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THE LEAD WITH JAKE TAPPER

New Video Allegedly Shows Second American Journalist Beheaded; Pentagon Confirms Airstrikes Aimed Against Al-Shabab Leaders; Another American Doctor Infected With Ebola

Aired September 2, 2014 - 16:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


TAPPER: Anna, if the U.S. decides to increase the number of targets across Iraq, what are the ground difficulties of taking on ISIS?

COREN: Well, look, certainly here in Kurdistan, the regional government up here is calling on the United States to develop a much more intensified air campaign. They are very grateful for what the United States is doing but they feel that there needs to be many more at the moment, it's only containing ISIS. For it to be really effective, it's a hard one, Jake, because of those ISIS strongholds around those major cities. It's one thing to take out ISIS militants around Amerli. This is a farming hamlet of less than 20,000 people out in the middle of nowhere where those U.S. airstrikes are extremely effective. It's a different ball game in those strongholds those city - like Mosul, like Tikrit, like Fallujah where there are millions of people. I mean we're then fundamentally talking about urban warfare, Jake.

TAPPER: All right. Anna Coren, thank you so much. Please stay safe. Coming up on "THE LEAD", a week ago, President Obama said he did not have a strategy to take on ISIS in Syria, but could this new video dramatically change the administration's approach to battling the brutal terrorist group? We'll talk to one of the president's toughest critics, Congressman Peter King, coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: Welcome back to "THE LEAD." I'm Jake Tapper. We're going to continue now with our world lead. President Obama learned of the apparent beheading of American journalist Steven Sotloff by the terrorists of ISIS while preparing to fly off to Europe to deal with a different growing crisis, the escalating tensions between Russia and Ukraine. CNN senior White House correspondent Jim Acosta has just touched down in Tallinn, Estonia, where we expect President Obama to land tonight in advance of a NATO summit in Europe. Jim, the White House seems to have been caught a bit off guard by the release of this video.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it sure seemed that way earlier today, Jake, when White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest was asked about it at the briefing just a few hours ago. We can tell you that the president is on route to Estonia right now. He won't be landing here for another several hours. And Jake, we just landed here in Estonia. So, the White House communication staff that was on board our flight, they were not exactly in great contact with the White House communication staff taking off with the president. So there isn't a whole lot of communication happening right now between the folks who are traveling with the journalists such as us and the president right now. But what I've been told by one White House official that you can expect the president will be kept up to speed on what's happening with the Steven Sotloff investigation.

As we know, the national security staff put out a statement earlier this afternoon saying that they're looking into the intelligence community is looking into that tape to verify its authenticity, but if they do find it to be authentic, they're appalled by the killing of Steven Sotloff.

Jake, you know, President Obama is going to be here to reassure nervous Europeans about NATO's commitment to their defense. That is what the president was planning to do all this week with the exception of the NATO summit in Wales. He'll be talking with NATO allies here about what to do about the ISIS threat. You know, last week he said that he doesn't have a strategy yet for dealing with ISIS in Syria and part of that, the White House says, the president wants to talk with those NATO partners to try to formulate that strategy in the days ahead. But Jake, once again, we are on a presidential foreign trip that has been overshadowed by unforeseen world events. It's happened again on this trip, Jake.

TAPPER: All right, Jim Acosta in Tallinn, Estonia, traveling with the president. Thank you so much.

The president has faced heavy criticism from not just Republicans, but Democrats, as well for in the words of Senator Dianne Feinstein, Democrat from California, taking too cautious an approach against the growing ISIS threat. Some lawmakers were stunned at his admission that the administration doesn't have a strategy for carrying out strikes against ISIS in Syria. So, now that the jihadists appear to be making good on gruesome threats to spill more American blood, should the president wait on permission from Congress to step up the U.S. military campaign? Joining me now by phone is Republican Congressman from New York Peter King, Congressman King, let me first get your reaction to this video that seems to show the execution of Steven Sotloff.

REP. PETER KING (R), NEW YORK: Jake, this is absolutely disgraceful, it's horrific, it shows what - how barbaric ISIS is and what a threat it is to all the values that we hold dear. And it should demonstrate conclusively that this is a group that cannot be in any way negotiated with and that every effort must be made to basically crush them and destroy them.

TAPPER: You called the execution of journalist James Foley two weeks ago a declaration of war. Now that another American, an innocent American, has apparently been killed, do you think President Obama should still seek out formal approval from Congress to move forward with airstrikes in Syria, or is it in his executive authority to do so just consulting with Congress, but not getting their approval?

KING: Yeah, I have believed from the start that President Obama has the constitutional authority to carry out airstrikes, to take whatever action he feels is necessary. Now against ISIS. If he came to Congress, I would vote for it, don't get me wrong. But I'm saying, I believe that he has the right to do it. And if he wants to take action before Congress comes back or take it without getting congressional approval, I think he has the right as commander in chief, the constitutional right as commander-in-chief to carry out those attacks.

When I say a declaration of war against the United States, these foreign people who were murdered because they happened to be Americans is because they were Americans. And in the statement today, again, the executioner specifically addressed his remarks to President Obama who is the president of all of us. He's president of the United States. So this clearly is an attack upon the people of the United States of America.

TAPPER: What do you make of the fact that unlike with the beheading of American journalist Daniel Pearl by Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in Pakistan in 2002, in which Pearl invoked the fact that he was Jewish and that seemed to be one of the motivations for al Qaeda for doing that, Steven Sotloff, also Jewish, but that's not mentioned at all. Do you think that's part of the fact that this is less religious and more political against the United States as you were suggesting?

KING: Yeah, I would, again, I guess we have to look into it more. But I would say yes, that this shows that it's not being based against Jews or against any particular religion, but against the Western, against Western values and against everyone who is not a radical Muslim jihadist. I think that's the signal they're sending that they are at war with the world that's outside their very narrow world. And I would say the fact that Judaism is not mentioned, but certainly they had to have known it. So, by not making any reference to it and by emphasizing the fact that he was an American and by emphasizing the personal attack against President Obama, this was again an attack on the United States and I believe against all Western values or Judeo- Christian values.

TAPPER: Congressman Peter King, thank you so much. Appreciate your time.

KING: Jake, thank you.

TAPPER: Coming up, did the U.S. take out another terrorist kingpin? While all eyes are on ISIS in Iraq and Syria, a top secret airstrike aimed for the key leader of an al Qaeda offshoot. Is the man plan who plotted this attack on a shopping mall now dead?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: Welcome back to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper.

We are following the breaking world news today, a new video from ISIS terrorists apparently showing the beheading of a second American journalist. And as the Pentagon tries to come up with a strategy to take on and take out ISIS in Syria, the U.S. military is at the same time targeting the man linked to last year's bloody mall massacre in Kenya.

The Pentagon confirmed today it carried out airstrikes aimed at leaders of Al-Shabab, a key group in Somalia responsible for that mall attack and an assault on the country's parliament. It's also a terrorist group that has had scary success recruiting from right here in the United States.

CNN justice correspondent Pamela Brown joins me now -- Pamela.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jake, U.S. officials say the strike was undertaken because of intelligence showing the shadowy Al-Shabab leader, Ahmed Godane, and his top lieutenants were meeting.

As officials assess the results of the operation, U.S. officials aren't confirming whether they were able to kill Godane, but say the operation did result in the destruction of the vehicle they believed he was in.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN (voice-over): The U.S. military launched several missiles near Mogadishu, Somalia, aimed at an encampment and vehicle of senior Al- Shabab leaders, including Ahmed Abdi Godane, based on what officials say was credible intelligence.

REAR ADM. JOHN KIRBY, PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: I will just tell you, actionable intelligence led us to that site where we believe he was.

BROWN: The, strike according to Somali officials, was devastating. It's a blow that intelligence officials say could possibly weaken the al Qaeda-linked terrorist group, at least for now.

SETH JONES, SENIOR POLITICAL SCIENTIST, RAND CORPORATION: Most of these kinds of strikes generally have at least a temporary impact on the group. So, in this case, with Al-Shabab, this is likely to have some impact on the group's strategic and operational capabilities. There's going to be a little bit of a power play among senior Al- Shabab leaders now about who runs the organization.

BROWN: The strike comes just a day after Al-Shabab fighters attacked a high-security prison in Mogadishu holding dozens of Al-Shabab fighters. The attackers detonated a car bomb and fought their way into the building. Under Godane's leadership, Al-Shabab has expanded its reach from Somalia across Africa and, intelligence officials now fear, beyond.

And in 2012, an attack on a U.N. compound in Mogadishu left 15 dead. In 2013, a brazen assault on the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi left at least 67 dead.

KIRBY: This action was taken because of the history of terrorist attacks and violence that this organization is responsible for and continues to be responsible for.

BROWN: Adding to the threat, Al-Shabab is a powerful magnet for foreign recruits.

JONES: There has been and there continue to be at least a small number of Americans, including from cities like Minneapolis, that have gone to fight or provided finances to Al-Shabab.

BROWN: These recruits include Americans such as Troy Kastigar, who, before and after his death fighting for the group in 2009, has appeared in recruiting videos shared widely on the Internet.

TROY KASTIGAR, AMERICAN JIHADIST: If you guys only knew how much fun we have over here. This is the real Disneyland. You need to come here and join us and take pleasure in this fun. We walk amongst the lions.

BROWN: Kastigar was a close friend of Douglas McAuthur McCain, the first American to die for ISIS in Syria. As with hundreds of Western fighters in Syria, the fear is that they will bring jihad home.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: And the Obama administration has targeted Al-Shabab leaders in Somalia at least twice this past year, including an airstrike in January. Again, U.S. officials say they are still assessing the results of the operation in Somalia before whether they confirm whether or not Godane was killed.

TAPPER: All right, Pamela Brown, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

So, what more can the U.S. be doing to take on these growing terror networks, not just ISIS, but all over the world?

Joining me now is national security analyst Bob Baer

Bob, let's start with you. Are you -- are you surprised about the timing of these military strikes against this extremist group in Somalia, given that all the focus in recent weeks has been on ISIS?

BOB BAER, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: No, Jake, it takes months to set up a strike like this.

You start -- have to intercept phones, recognize voices, put assets into theater, put drones up, military aircraft. It takes a lot of time and a lot of effort and a lot of precision in an attack like this. It's essentially an assassination, and it could take months to a year.

So, whereas we're just starting to look at Syria, it could take an entire year before we could ever get around to strikes.

TAPPER: And forgive me for a naive question, but why has the U.S. not been able to confirm that he was killed yet?

BAER: Intercepts are always tough. Someone may have been carrying his phone. These people have gotten used to exchanging phones, things like that, switching chips in and out. There's all sorts of things that could go wrong. And they don't want

to claim a target until it's actually been proven. And that may take a couple days.

TAPPER: Let's turn back to the big breaking news story today, the beheading by ISIS terrorists of American journalist Steven Sotloff. What was your reaction when you heard the news and saw the images?

BAER: My first reaction is, ISIS, the Islamic State, has had a couple setbacks in Iraq. They're feeling a bit cornered. They have no choice, in their minds, to strike back. They grabbed the first American they have.

So, you know, I was expecting the Sotloff execution soon after the strikes that have occurred in Iraq. And I think there will be more. Now, of course, the big question is, where do they go from here?

TAPPER: Well, where do they go? They're obviously -- I have been told from national security experts that this -- the concern of ISIS trying to strike here in the homeland, here in the United States is a very serious concern.

What are your sources telling you about any sort of cells of ISIS in the United States?

BAER: The people who collect tactical intelligence on the ground day to day -- and this isn't Washington -- but the people collecting this stuff say, they're here. ISIS is here. They're capable of striking. They don't know what their plans and intentions are. But it's a definite concern.

I mean, Jake, I hate to bring up Boston, but that completely isn't resolved either. People collecting tactical intelligence are still looking for people that were complicitous in that attack.

TAPPER: And when you say they're here, they're here, but U.S. intelligence doesn't know who they are or where they are, or they're watching them right now?

BAER: They're both. They think they have come across the Mexican border in some cases.

Some are American citizens that have come back from Syria. They can't prove it. They're waiting to get enough intelligence to actually run them in. And then there's the unknown of how many people have come back they're not even aware of. But, again, the people who do this for a living are very alarmed.

TAPPER: Well, I would say so.

Bob Baer, formerly of the CIA, now with CNN, thank you so much.

Up next on THE LEAD: Another American contracts a nightmare virus. The CDC admits Ebola is -- quote -- "out of control" -- unquote. in West Africa. So, just how can that be stopped?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: Welcome back to THE LEAD.

Another American doctor on the front lines of the battle against the deadly disease that has already killed 1,500 people in West Africa, that doctor now finds himself side by side with the people he was there to help.

An aid worker in Liberia has tested positive for Ebola, according to a U.S.-based missionary group. Two other doctors from the same group, Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol, also contracted the disease. Both of them miraculously beat it.

But those two cases aside, the U.S.' top doc says the outbreak is already -- quote -- "spiraling out of control." The CDC director, Tom Frieden, briefed President Obama this morning on the Ebola threat, before telling reporters the medical community the world over need to do more to combat the disease, and soon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. THOMAS FRIEDEN, DIRECTOR, CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION: That window is closing. We need action now to scale up the response.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: The commander in chief even put out a video message, speaking directly to the people of West Africa, assuring them they're not alone in this fight.

Right now, there is no known cure for Ebola. But doctors are hoping human trials set to begin this week for an experimental vaccine can provide a little hope.

Turning now to the money lead. If you have an iPhone, the cloud is the digital depository where all those Instagrams of your dinner plate and snaps of your kids go, unless you turn it off. All your photos inevitably wind up there in the iCloud.

But Apple today says security vulnerabilities in its online storage system are not to blame for the massive leak of stolen celebrity photos to hit the Internet over weekend. Cyber-criminals dumped a cache of pics, including naked images of Jennifer Lawrence, Kate Upton and others, on message boards like 4chan.

Some tech Web sites speculated that vulnerabilities in Apple's servers allowed these thieves to hack celebrity accounts. But in a statement, Apple insists nothing is wrong with its cloud security, and Apple blamed brute force attacks that rely on trial, error, and Googling.

Still, Apple might not be completely in the clear; iCloud only recently put a limit on how many times users can attempt to guess a password.

Make sure to follow me on Twitter @JakeTapper -- that's all one word -- and also @THELEADCNN. Check out our show page at CNN.com/THELEAD for video blogs, extras and more.

That's it for THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper. I now turn you over to Wolf Blitzer. He is right next door to me in THE SITUATION ROOM -- Wolf.