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International Leaders Meet in Paris to Devise ISIS Strategy; AG Holder To Fight Extremism at Home; British Intel Knows Identity of ISIS Executioner; 1,300 NATO Troops Exercise in Ukraine; NFL's Adrian Peterson Charged with Child Abuse; Hillary Clinton: Yes, I Might Run

Aired September 15, 2014 - 09:00   ET

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


CAROL COSTELLO, CN ANCHOR: Thanks so much. NEWSROOM starts now.

(MUSIC)

COSTELLO: And good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you for joining me. In Paris today, international leaders are gather in the hopes of devising a strategy to defeat ISIS. Among them, John Kerry, who just wrapped a tour through the Middle East where he tried to build support for a U.S. plan to destroy the terrorist group. The French president, Francois Hollande, who co-hosted the Paris event with the president of Iraq warning there, quote, "is no time to lose".

Our senior White House correspondent Jim Acosta joins me now. Good morning, Jim.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. That's right. Secretary of State John Kerry is in Paris trying to broaden that global coalition to take on ISIS as he's making a fairly bold claim this morning that Arab countries have agreed to participate in air strikes against the terror group.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA (voice-over): The violent rise of ISIS is terrifying governments across the Middle East to the point that Secretary of State John Kerry says countries in the region are willing to step up with airstrikes.

JOHN KERRY, SECRETARY OF STATE: We have countries in this region, countries outside of this region, in addition the United States, all of whom are prepared to engage if military assistance, in actual strikes, if that is what it requires.

ACOSTA: The Obama administration is so far unwilling to name those Arab partners. But as one senior State Department official put it, I don't want to leave you with the impression that these Arab members haven't offered to do air strikes, because several of them have.

That show of support comes as ISIS is threatening to kill more hostages after a third westerner, British aid worker, David Haines, was beheaded over the weekend. MICHAEL HAINES, BROTHER OF DAVID HAINES: We hoped, we prayed in our

way. Unfortunately, it was not in our hands. It was not in the hand of the government. It was in the hands of terrorists.

ACOSTA: British officials think Prime Minister David Cameron now knows the identity of the beheader.

PETER BERGEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: He's a part of a group sometimes referred to as the Beatles. That was a name their captives gave him. And he is one of, you know, 500 Brits who have gone to Syria to fight.

ACOSTA: Cameron says it's up to a global coalition to destroy ISIS.

DAVID CAMERON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: Islam is a religion of peace. They are not Muslims; they are monsters.

ACOSTA: A growing number of critics in Congress are questioning whether President Obama can defeat ISIS without putting U.S. combat troops on the ground. The White House says that job will go to Iraqi security forces and soon-to-be-trained Syrian rebels.

DENIS MCDONOUGH, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: What's most important here is that the Syrian opposition on the ground fighting ISIL can count on American and coalition air power to supercharge their effort.

ACOSTA: That's not enough for South Carolina GOP Senator Lindsey Graham.

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: This is a turning in the war on terror. Our strategy will fail yet again. This president needs to rice to the occasion before we all get killed here back here at home.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Jim, I want to go back to those comments from Senator Lindsey Graham. He's sounding the alarm about ISIS attacking the U.S. homeland. But "The Washington Post" just reporting that U.S. officials are still uncertain about the size of the ISIS threat. So why the discrepancy?

ACOSTA (on camera): Well, I think there's a discrepancy because you have folks like Senator Graham and John McCain up on Capitol Hill saying the president has not been tough enough in responding to this ISIS threat. They go back to these comments that the president made earlier this year when he described ISIS as sort of a JV team, so they just don't think that the posture over here at the White House is strong enough.

But as for whether or not ISIS poses a threat to the U.S. homeland, the White House has been pretty clear throughout all of this, Carol, that at this point they do not believe that ISIS poses a direct, imminent threat on the U.S. homeland. But they are very concerned about this potential for ISIS fighters traveling back and forth from the United States to the Middle East and back again after fighting alongside ISIS on the ground there in Syria and Iraq. And that is why you saw Eric Holder coming out this morning with this video saying that the U.S. will stepping up some responses with pilot programs in various cities around the country to try to identify these potential fighters who could be terrorists on the home front.

But, at this point, the White House has been pretty clear they are not detecting any chatter that they're willing to talk about publicly that indicates some sort of ISIS terrorist attack is imminent here on the home front, Carol. But it is something that they're watching very, very closely.

COSTELLO: All right, Jim Acosta reporting live from the White House.

You heard Jim mention the Attorney General, Eric Holder. Well, he did announce a plan to fight extremism here at home. Here's a bit of what he said on tape.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERIC HOLDER. U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: Today, few threats are more urgent than the threat posed by violent extremism. And with the emergence of groups like ISIL and the knowledge some Americans are attempting to travel to countries like Syria and Iraq to take part in ongoing conflicts, the Justice Department is responding appropriately.

Through law enforcement agencies like the FBI, American authorities are working with our international partners and Interpol, to disseminate information on foreign fighters in Syria and Iraq, including individuals who have traveled from the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: OK, so what exactly does that mean? Our justice reporter Evan Perez joins me now. So, Evan, what more can you tell us about this program? Who has the Justice Department tapped to spearhead this plan?

EVAN PEREZ, CNN JUSTICE REPORTER: Well, good morning, Carol. This announcement from the Attorney General is an indication, obviously, of how big this threat that they see here in the United States from ISIS recruits here on the home front.

Now the FBI and the DHS is going to be working with local police around the country to try to keep an eye on people who are showing signs of being recruited by ISIS perhaps online. They're going to be talking to imams and religious leaders around the country in these communities to try see if they can spot people who seem to be heading in that direction.

And, more important, what's very important here, is that they're going to make these plans very specific to the different cities. For example, in Minneapolis, it's a large Somali population. And in Michigan, there's a big Middle Eastern population, a lot of people from Syria. So each area, there's going to be different cultural ways they're going to approach this problem, Carol.

COSTELLO: Interesting. And perhaps that's a good thing because CNN polls show that Americans are taking -- Americans fear ISIS and they fear a threat -- they fear ISIS will hit directly here at home. So walk us through the numbers.

PEREZ: Well, Carol, this is a remarkable thing. Right, just a few months ago, probably Americans had never heard of ISIS if you had them asked in a poll like this. Now 90 percent of them in a poll this month by CNN/ORC say that they view ISIS as a serious to very serious problem threat to United States. And if you asked them whether they thought there were ISIS members here in the United States, terrorists who could attack here, 71 percent responded that they thought there were.

So this obviously is nothing -- is something this is now at the top of minds of most Americans around the country as they see these beheadings and they see these warnings from officials here in the United States, Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, Evan Perez reporting live for us from Washington this morning.

We're also learning more about David Haines, the British aid worker brutally beheaded in the latest ISIS video. His brother opening up about his initial reaction upon learning of his brother's death and why he chose to do the work he did.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HAINES: My first reaction could be one of hatred. But my brother's life wasn't about hatred. It was about love for all men. No matter what religion, no matter what creed, it was to help people.

David, early on, found that working in difficult conditions, working for people the in time of hardship, brought him a job satisfaction. When he got the position with Acted, he was really excited. Very, very enthusiastic. He was looking at logistics and planning, how best to put Acted's operations into safe operation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: There are amazing people in the world.

Atika Shubert is in London. She reports that the Prime Minister, David Cameron, knows who the executioner is, but the British government is not naming him. Why, Atika?

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, one of the terror analysts I've spoken to has said that, basically, they may know who he is, they may have briefed the prime minister, but they don't want ISIS to know that they know. And the reason for that is their best shot at either capturing or targeting him is a window of opportunity. And they don't want to blow that by revealing what they may already know about him.

COSTELLO: So, how are they going about tracking him down and bringing him to justice?

SHUBERT: Well, this is the big question. How can they do that? We do know from Britain's Foreign Secretary Phillip Hammond that there was a previous rescue attempt, possibly the same rescue attempt to get James Foley, but it failed. The question is, now, is there going to be another window of opportunity? Do they know the exact location where they're being held? And, if they don't have that window of opportunity, do they have a chance to get the British jihadi who appears to at least be holding these hostages and, in those videos, appears to also kill them? It seems unlikely at this point that they'll have that window but British authorities say they're doing everything they can to bring this man to justice.

COSTELLO: All right, Atika Shubert reporting live from London for us.

More than 100 U.S. troops marched on Ukrainian soil this morning, but it's not what you think. Some 1,300 troops from NATO and partner nations, including the United States, are flexing their muscle and kicking off 11 days of joint military exercises in Western Ukraine.

If you find the timing of troop arrival kind of strange, you're not alone. Because, over on the other side of the country, which is just a few hundred miles a way, a ten day-old ceasefire has been all but shattered. Shelling and fighting continued this weekend between government forces and pro-Russian rebels. Six civilians were killed in Donetsk just yesterday. To say the least, the situation in Ukraine is fragile.

CNN's Reza Sayah is live in Ukraine with the latest. Good morning.

REZA SAYAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning Carol. More than 130 American troops are now on Ukrainian soil. NATO troops are here as well. The one thing that armies and military alliances do very well is to put on a show of force. And, in many ways, this is a show of force to Moscow. It's NATO and Washington's way of letting Russia know their military might, and we're going to wait to see if Russia responds in any way, but certainly they're not going to like what's happening in Western Ukraine.

We're in the town of Yavoriv, about ten miles east of the Ukraine- Polish border. This is where the NATO military exercises are going to take place over the next couple of weeks. This is annual event; it takes place every year. But obviously this year it takes place under very different circumstances.

About 600 miles east of where we are is a very fragile ceasefire in a conflict where, on one side, you have pro0Russian rebels; on the other side Ukrainian forces. And that's why some critics of this event in Western Ukraine, including Moscow, they say perhaps this is not the best time to put on a NATO exercise like this. Perhaps this is not the best time to have U.S. troops on Ukrainian soil. Because it could potentially fuel tensions.

Nevertheless, these exercises are going to continue. Roughly 1,300 soldiers from 11 NATO member states and four non-NATO member states, and they're going to practice in the next couple of weeks of finding and defusing IEDs. They're going to practice rescue operations, working with command centers. And, Carol, it's very likely that next door to where we are, in Russia, Moscow is going to be watching closely, somewhat irritated at what's happening here, Carol.

COSTELLO: No doubt. Reza Sayah, reporting live from Ukraine this morning.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, the NFL is dealing with yet another player accused of off the field violence. That makes three players now suspended or sidelined for domestic abuse charges. What the NFL needs to do next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Oh the NFL just can't seem to get it quite right. During yesterday's game between the Titans and Cowboys, shall we say questionable music was played just before kickoff? The song called "Fight Night" by the rap group Migos was played through the stadium loud speakers. Probably doesn't help the NFL with its image problem towards women and was inappropriate to say the least. But judge for yourself.

(MUSIC)

COSTELLO: OK. So, the Titans released a statement saying, quote, "We review everything we play on game days and play radio versions. Clearly the subject matter should have been flagged and eliminated from the playlist."

The song snafu just adds to the NFL's problems. We're now learning that Ray Rice will appeal his indefinite suspension. As for Roger Goodell -- well, he was a no show at the game after promising to be there.

Perhaps that's understandable in light of the latest controversy swirling around another star running back Adrian Peterson. Peterson has been indicted on child abuse charges for beating his 4-year-old with a tree branch. The switch left bloody marks on the boy's legs. But as in the Ray Rice case, Peterson has his defenders.

Here's Charles Barkley on CBS.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHARLES BARKLEY, SPORTS ANALYST: Listen. We spank kids in the south. I think the question about Adrian Peterson going overboard.

But listen, Jim, we all grow up in different environments. Listen, every black parent in my neighborhood in the South would be in trouble or in jail under those circumstances.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: But the photos tell a different story. Peterson's son was taken to the doctor by the boy's mother. The doctor called authorities.

According to CBS Houston, the beating caused numerous injuries, including cuts and bruises to the child's back, buttocks, legs and scrotum. The child had defensive wounds on his hands.

With me now, CNN's Andy Scholes, and host of CNN "UNGUARDED", Rachel Nichols, and CNN legal analyst Joey Jackson.

Welcome to all of you.

JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Thank you. Good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: Good morning.

I hate we have to talk about this. But I'm going to start with you Joey. Peterson doesn't think he did anything wrong. He said, like Charles Barkley said, his parents used a switch to discipline. But come on, the switch left wounds. The boy was bleeding.

JACKSON: Yes, you know, it transcends what you as an individual may think you've done wrong. Not to condemn him or indict him. A grand jury did that.

And just to be clear, an indictment, Carol, we know is an accusation. He'll be entitled to his due process, which means he'll be afforded his day in court, he'll go and he'll certainly have his defenses.

But it appears right now is the defense is, listen, this is how he grew up. This is what he knows. This is what he's become accustomed to, and he feels he's doing it within reason. He's disciplining his child to make him a better person.

Now, will that fly? That's another story. But to your immediate question, it transcends what you as an individual believes and it goes to societal issue. And under Texas law, apparently if true, it's a crime.

COSTELLO: Andy, I know Adrian Peterson has been tweeting bible verses. He doesn't want to be judged by the public. He wants his day in court.

Tell us about that.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right. He wasn't on the field as his team, the Vikings, were playing to Patriot yesterday. Right around kickoff, he tweeted a picture from an inspirational book. It contained bible verses.

I'll read part of the parts that he highlighted. It says, "Come to me and rest. Give your mind a break from its habitual judging. I created you first and foremost to know me and to live in rich communication with me. When you become preoccupied with passing judgment, you usurp my role."

Now, Carol, I'm not a trained biblical scholar, but he's trying to say no one should judge him other than God. The only problem there is he has been indicted on child abuse charges. So, he, in fact, we'll face judgment from a Texas grand jury.

COSTELLO: And NFL and the Vikings did pull him of the game, Rachel. Will he ever be back?

RACHEL NICHOLS, CNN HOST, "UNGUARDED": Yes. Well, the NFL didn't pull him out of the game. It's important to note. There's discussion about what NFL has and hasn't done.

And in this case, they didn't do anything. Again, it was the Vikings organization decided to deactivate him. So, first of all, we've been critical of some teams around the league for not taking steps. He have to give the Vikings, you know, path on the back for taking some action themselves when he NFL once again didn't act.

We'll have to see what happens going forward. A player can be deactivated up to four games before the team decides to cut him or return him to the field. There's conversation what they want to do for this upcoming week.

And the NFL announced that Adrian Peterson, his case will be looked at under the personal conduct policy, which is different from the new domestic violence policy that the NFL instituted a couple of weeks ago.

COSTELLO: Really?

NICHOLS: I kind of have to wonder how this doesn't become domestic violence also. It was within the home. So, it's one more thing people look at NFL say this is confusing, inconsistent. It sets up Roger Goodell's office once again on judge and jury on a complex and complicated, emotional matter. The NFL has gotten itself into sticky ground here once again.

COSTELLO: OK. So, Joey, let's talk more about the legal case against Adrian Peterson. He truly does not believe he did anything wrong. He said maybe he overreacted and in fact sent text messages to his wife saying maybe I overdid it. But I didn't mean it and I feel bad about.

Do juries take that into account?

JACKSON: Well, you know what? First off, Carol, it goes to issue of mitigation. Not necessarily defense to what you did, but certainly explains in your mind why you felt it was reasonable. Now, notice I mentioned reasonable, because the statute excludes behavior that deals with reasonable discipline of the child.

So, in the event that a jury, a grand jury having indicted again an accusation, and it's not the same standard beyond a reasonable doubt, but in the event that you have members of those jurors, right, that feel that he acted unreasonably. It becomes problematic. It becomes criminal. And therein lies the issue. And, of course, he will then have to face that in addition to whatever discipline faces by the NFL.

COSTELLO: OK, I said his wife. It's the mother of his child. I apologize for that.

Rachel, you corrected me.

NICHOLS: Also, just note for your viewers that the photos that they may have seen, those came several days after the incident in question. That the child was on a custody visit with Adrian Peterson, and when he returned him to the mother, the mother several days later took him to the doctor.

So, when you're assessing photos and thinking about what happened, those were not right after the incident. Those open wounds were days after.

COSTELLO: And at the game --

JACKSON: From an attorney's perspective, Rachel, what they're going to argue was that bruises sometimes get worse over the course of time. So, therefore, they'll argue at the time it was done, it wasn't that substantial, it boiled up later.

COSTELLO: I was just going to add, Andy, that Adrian Peterson had his fans show up at the game wearing his jersey. And they were --

SCHOLES: Yes, just like Ray Rice. We saw tons in Baltimore wearing Ray Rice jerseys on Thursday night. And yesterday, tons of people were wearing Peterson jerseys. One fan says I don't care what he does off the field. I only care what he does on the field. And sadly, that's what a lot of NFL fans thing -- Carol.

COSTELLO: We're going to talk more about this in the NEWSROOM.

Rachel Nichols, Andy Scholes, Joey Jackson, thanks to you all.

Still to come -- thanks for being here.

Still to come in THE NEWSROOM, Hillary Clinton sounding like a candidate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: Hello, Iowa. I'm back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Oh everybody keeps saying, the big question, will Hillary run in 2016? What do you think? We'll talk about that next.

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COSTELLO: A new CNN/ORC poll out this morning shows Hillary Clinton may not have much competition in Iowa if she does decide to run for president in 2016. Among registered Democrats, Clinton is in the lead with 53 percent. Vice President Joe Biden trails far behind in second place.

Of course, Clinton's appearance at yesterday's steak fry hosted by Iowa's retiring Senator Tom Harkin has many thinking she will give it another go. She now admits it is a possibility. What a surprise.

CNN senior political correspondent Brianna Keilar is live in Des Moines, Iowa. Good morning, Brianna.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: You do not sound surprised at all, Costello.

Good morning to you. And I know that if you were looking -- watching this speech, you may have noticed it wasn't a barnburner of a speech. But this was her reintroduction to Iowa, a state that was rather inhospitable to her in 2008. She came in behind then-Senator Barack Obama and John Edwards in the Iowa caucuses. And that was really her campaign never got back on track.

So, this was the beginning to the end here. And even though when you look at this steak fry, a big Democratic fund-raiser, it was a self- selecting group of people who really wanted to see Hillary Clinton speak. You look at Iowa Democrats as more of a whole, and a lot of them feel Hillary Clinton needed to come here with humility, that she needed to show she was eager to put in more time pressing the flesh. That if she does run, she's going to have more small intimate events rather than big speeches.

And we heard from her hinting that the run. Here's what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLINTON: I've got a few things on my mind these days.

First -- first, and most importantly, bill and I are on constant grandchild watch.

Then, of course, there's the other thing.

(CHEERS)

CLINTON: Well, it is true. I am thinking about it.

(CHEERS)

CLINTON: But, for today, that is not why I'm here. I'm here for the steak.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: And she was certainly here in Iowa to try to drum up some support for Democrats who may be facing bruising battles this midterm cycle. It was pretty interesting, Carol. Hillary Clinton also gave some nods to President Obama. That was pretty significant. And some of her comments that got the most, I think, emotion or support from the crowd had to do with women's issues -- reproductive health issues, equal pay. A sign that Hillary Clinton, should she run, is going to embrace some of - going to embrace being a woman, which we didn't really see her do in 2008, Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, Brianna Keilar reporting live from Iowa this morning. Thank you. Still to come in the NEWSROOM, no time to lose. That's the sentiment

of world leaders coming together in Paris. They say something has to be done about ISIS after yet another beheading. We'll talk about what, next.

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