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France Deploys 10,000 Troops Following Attacks; Millions Clog Paris Streets for Solidarity March; Combatting a New Era of Terror Threats

Aired January 12, 2015 - 06:00   ET

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


(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The hunt is still on for the last remaining suspects.

SAMUEL LAURENT, CNN TERRORISM EXPERT: We don't know her whereabouts.

BUCK SEXTON, NATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR, THEBLAZE.COM: There is no better safe haven for her purposes than being what is now the Islamic State.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: The terror group ISIS put out a new threat against people in the West.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is, I hate to say it, it's good business by ISIS.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: Now we have a situation and we have no strategy.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: The world, this country, so many people coming together. Where was the president? Where was the secretary of state?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Would have it been desirable, absolutely. In many other ways the United States has shown is deep sympathy for what France is going through.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, welcome to your NEW DAY. It's Monday, January 12th. 6:00 in the East. Alisyn Camerota, Michaela Pereira here and I am Chris Cuomo.

Up first, the female terror suspect is on the run following three deadly days in France. Police uncovering a hideout the suspects used outside Paris.

Inside, they found ISIS flags, weapons. The unit was rented by the terrorist who targeted a kosher grocery killing four hostages in Friday's standoff.

Now the big question that remains, who prepared these killers? Where is this surviving female member? Was she even in France at the time of the attacks?

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Meanwhile, U.S. intelligence officials believe that one of the "Charlie Hebdo" attackers received orders from al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula to carry out the magazine massacre to bolster security.

This as police departments here in the U.S., particularly in New York City and other major U.S. areas, go on heightened alert following a repeated threat from ISIS.

One thing is obvious, and that is the world is united with France. Leaders from a host of nations, arm in arm, joining millions in an unprecedented solidarity march in Paris on Sunday. But this morning, the White House is under fire for not sending President Obama.

Let's bring in John Berman. He is live from Paris with the very latest.

John, great to see you there. What is the response to President Obama not being among those world leaders who were arm in arm?

JOHN BERMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, at this point the White House response, they're not answering that direct question, although they do say that the ambassador to France, Jane Hartley, she was here; she was part of the march.

But I talked to a number of Parisians this morning, and the absence you was duly noted. The absence of the president, no first lady, no secretary of state, who speaks French so elegantly, and their presence, frankly, here was missed.

And this morning, there is really still so much emotion here. I've been at this site for a little bit over an hour now. This is the "Charlie Hebdo" location, the office of the satirical newspaper right there, and people are still coming by with flowers, fresh flowers all these days later.

And people are still overcome with emotion when they come to this site. I've seen so many people here with tears streaking down their face.

But even as there is this emotion, and still this period of mourning, there are fresh leads in the investigation. Word from Turkey, the semi-official news agency there says that the girlfriend of Amedy Coulibaly, Hayat Boumeddiene, this woman who was the girlfriend, the religious wife, she went through Istanbul at the beginning of January and could already be in Syria.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN (voice-over): The most wanted woman by France this morning, 26-year-old Hayat Boumeddiene. Armed and dangerous, police say she is the girlfriend and suspected accomplice of Amedy Coulibaly, the alleged terrorist who killed four people during the siege on the kosher market and is believed to be connected to the Koauchi brothers. A Turkish news agency reports Boumeddiene arrived in Syria last

Thursday. Clues to her whereabouts possibly found in Coulibaly's hideout on the outskirts of Paris.

RTL, a French radio station, reports investigators discovered ISIS flags, automatic weapons, detonators and cash in the apartment rented by the alleged terrorists.

This as the investigation continues as to who, if anyone, supported and financed last week's three-day terror rampage that left 17 people dead.

MCCAIN: The nature of that attack showed a degree of professionalism that no lone wolf could have carried out, we believe.

BERMAN: In this video, Coulibaly swears allegiance to ISIS. It was posted online before the attack on the kosher market.

Another chilling report was captured by a French reporter who called Coulibaly during the siege. He recorded the whole conversation, even after Coulibaly thought he had hung up the phone.

AMEDY COULIBALY, TOOK HOSTAGES IN KOSHER MARKET: I'm telling you, it's almost over. Militants are going to come. They are going to be more and more. They need to stop. They need to stop attacking ISIS.

BERMAN: The U.S. is investigating whether the "Charlie Hebdo" attackers received orders from AQAP, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. U.S. and French officials say at least one of the brothers slipped off for terror training in Yemen.

ERIC HOLDER, ATTORNEY GENERAL: AQAP remains the most dangerous of the al Qaeda cells, the al Qaeda organizations; and we are constantly focused on them.

BERMAN: But U.S. and French authorities say they do not have enough evidence to directly link AQAP or ISIS to any of the Paris attacks. Attacks that sent some 3.7 million people into the streets around France Sunday, marching with an overwhelming show of solidarity and defiance against terrorism. Heads of state and dignitaries from all over the world arm-in-arm, some with clear division: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas united on the front lines.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CAMEROTA: So for more on that historic march and the investigation into the terror suspects, let's bring in CNN International anchor Hala Gorani, along with our John Berman again.

Hala, you were at that march. Tell us the scene. It was 3.7 million people in the streets of Paris?

GORANI: Right, it was 3.7 million people. The estimate is total for the entire country. And in Paris perhaps up to 2 million people. Some are saying the largest march in modern French history. It was a very, very, very special occasion to be able witness that,

actually. Because, you know, there are other days that you'd like to be cynical and perhaps apply some sober cold-headed analysis to terror investigations, but this was one opportunity to sort of look at French people, a cross-section of society -- whether they were Muslims, Jews, Christian, atheists, all coming together.

And of course, Alisyn, as you know, there was that viral hashtag, #JeSuisCharlie. And several variations of that could be on seen on signs in this very, very dense crowd. "I am Muslim, I am Jewish," et cetera.

So, yes, it was an absolutely unbelievable sight. And you were showing some of that video in John's piece of the world leaders, walking hand -- arm in arm, sort of arm-in-arm, locked in the front row there, showing solidarity with the French people. So it was a pretty exceptional historic day, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: And Hala, were people remarking that the U.S. was not represented in that line of world leaders?

GORANI: Right. And you -- I asked French people, sort of ordinary French people. I didn't get an official reaction to the absence of -- absence of very top U.S. government representatives at the march. But ordinary French people weren't really focusing on that. To be honest, they were just saying, essentially, "I am happy that my compatriots are here from all backgrounds."

When I asked them, "Would you have wanted the U.S. president, for instance, to be among you today," they said, "You know, this is a march for the French people."

But as you've been reporting, in higher government circles, yes, there were a few raised eyebrows that perhaps the U.S. could have sent their secretary of state, John Kerry, in particular, who speaks French and could have said a few words in French. But we're hearing today that he asked his team asked to organize a visit to France as soon as possible. So perhaps that will alleviate some of the concerns there.

CAMEROTA: Perhaps. Though some people say it's at least a day late.

But John, I want to get back to the investigation. We know that the two brothers, the Koauchi brothers, were on a watch list; they were on a no-fly list. What about Coulibaly and his -- and his girlfriend? Were they on authorities' radar and on terror watch lists of some kind?

BERMAN: I don't know that they were on the official watch list or no- fly list. But again, they were people that were known to authorities here. They had been moving around. He had some kind of petty criminal past. And he had known associations with people in various terror networks.

And of course, now there's a great deal of concern about what this man, Coulibaly, might have set off going forward, a call to arms for other people here in Paris. The French just announced moments ago that the military will deploy

10,000 additional troops to secure key areas around the country. Ten thousand military troops. That's in addition to an announcement a little while ago that 8,000 police officials will be used to guard key locations around the country, including nearly 4,000 at Jewish locations alone, synagogues, schools, things of that, like some 700 key Jewish locations.

And I was speaking to someone very close to the security apparatus here. He made quite clear to me, they can't do that indefinitely here unless they get new recruits, unless they change the whole system. Yes, they can do it for a while, while tension are very high. But this can't go on forever here, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: And do you sense it right now, John? Do you feel it while you're there on the streets of Paris?

BERMAN: You know, you see, I've been told that at traffic stops you have, you know, routine traffic stops who are now much more heavily armed. You see troops walking down the Champs d'Elysees, military forces, armed; heavily armed military forces. They've been here around Paris before over the last ten years in the past. There seems to be a much greater presence now, particularly around the Jewish locations. But it's not -- it's not overwhelming. It's not looking around, around me. It's not like the city is militarized, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: All right. John Berman, Hala Gorani, great to see both of you. Thanks so much for the perspective. We'll get back to you during the show.

Let's get back to Chris.

CUOMO: All right, Alisyn. It is a real issue about where the United States was during this march. Literally all of Europe and beyond was represented there.

So moments ago, we had the chance to speak with the highest ranking U.S. representative who was there, Ambassador Jane Hartley. She is the United States liaison to France and Monaco. Now, unlike many U.S. leaders, she was actually there at the massive unity march. We asked her about her presence and about who wasn't there. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CUOMO: Three point seven million people. Everybody was there. Every color, every creed, literally arm-in-arm. What was that like?

JANE HARTLEY, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO FRANCE AND MONACO: It was unbelievably moving. I walked, obviously, in the march right behind the leaders. And you could see the French government at one point join arms and walk together.

And as you walked down the streets for miles and miles and miles, just a sea of people, all ages, all ethnicities, with signs and flags -- and French flags and supporting freedom. It was unbelievably moving.

CUOMO: You were there on a day when it was a day to show up. The U.S. big-name leaders nowhere to be seen. Was that a mistake?

HARTLEY: Well, listen, I met with Attorney General Holder in the morning yesterday. After that, he spent a huge amount of time at the Elysee Palace and after that was in a key ministerial meeting with Minister Kazenov, discussing how we could work even more closely together.

And I want to tell you, when I went to the Elysee Palace and saw President Hollande, he pulled me aside and thanked me for the U.S. cooperation, and particularly thanked me for President Obama going to the French embassy.

So I think if you talk to the French, they think that we have been unbelievable supportive. So I don't really want to get into attorney general -- the attorney general's travel schedule.

CUOMO: Well, the attorney general is one thing. He's the outgoing attorney general, and while your answer is suitably diplomatic, Ambassador, you had, you know, Mahmoud Abbas and Benjamin Netanyahu in the same place, and our secretary of state isn't there; our vice president; our president not there. All these other world leaders, most of Europe arm-in-arm. It seemed to be conspicuously absent.

HARTLEY: Well, listen, I have talked to the French government today, last night; just received an e-mail from one of the top people thanking us for our cooperation.

John Kerry is coming back Thursday night. John Kerry has been in Paris -- I think everybody knows this -- more than any other secretary of state. I think this is his 19th or his 20th visit. So I don't think there is a feeling of that on the French government side.

CUOMO: Really? Then why do you think all the questions are being generated about tone deafness? Do you think it's just us in the media? Are we making something of nothing?

HARTLEY: I wouldn't go that far.

CUOMO: Neither would I.

HARTLEY: What I really just want to say I think -- well, that's good, we agree. I just think if you talk to anybody here, there is no -- and whether it's Minister Kazenov or whether it's President Hollande, there is no question of how closely and how much support. And they will tell you that, and they have told me over the last few days.

CUOMO: A big challenge will be even a hint of any type of collusion between ISIS and AQAP. It is far-fetched at this moment, but to have one member of this terrorist group pledging allegiance to ISIS and the others to AQAP, we've never seen anything like that before. What does it mean in terms of the evolving nature of the threat and the evolving nature of the need for response?

HARTLEY: You know, I don't have any specific information on this, but I will tell you our intelligence services are working closely with the French. And as you probably know, President Obama has called for an anti-terrorism summit in February.

And I think what the message is, is we have to move further and faster against this threat. And it's a global threat.

CUOMO: We have struggled in the United States with how to proceed Muslims at large, when overwhelmingly they're a moderate group of every religion group like every major religion, because of the acts of extremists in the name of Islam.

How do you think they'll handle it in Paris, where the problem is every bit as pronounced and probably more so?

HARTLEY: Well, I think they realize that working with all communities is very important. I was actually at the Great Synagogue last night. And I was thrilled to see many of the leaders in the Muslim community there, as well.

You know, I think, basically, it is working together with religious leaders and outreach, obviously, into these communities. It's going to be extremely important.

CUOMO: Madam Ambassador, Jane Hartley, thank you very much for joining us on NEW DAY. And thank you for representing the United States in what was a very major display of international unity there in France this weekend.

HARTLEY: Thank you, Chris. I'm thrilled to be here.

CUOMO: Thank you again, Madam Ambassador.

CUOMO: Mick, over to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PEREIRA: All right, Chris. Thanks so much. Let's give you a look at more of your headlines.

Investigators appear to be a giant step closer to finding out exactly what caused AirAsia Flight 8501 to crash into the Java Sea. Searchers have retrieved the plane's flight data recorder. And other so-called black box, the cockpit voice recorder, it has been located but has yet to be brought to the surface. The data recorder was found underneath the wreckage of one of the plane's wing. One hundred sixty-two people perished in the AirAsia crash.

Investigators have now released this sketch of the man they believe may have detonated a bomb in front of the Colorado Springs NAACP office. Investigators say he was in the area at the time. He was seen carrying something down the alley just before Tuesday's explosion. They say he then later returned to his truck empty-handed. There is a $10,000 reward now for information leading to an arrest.

The Senate is expected to hold a procedural vote today to approve the construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said he'll allow an open amendment process, which means debate could spill over into next week, setting up a possible showdown with President Obama as he gets ready to deliver his State of the Union address. The House is expected to approve his Keystone bill Friday.

The biggest and the brightest stars of TV and movies were on hand for the Golden Globes. Some of the big movies on the night included the ground-breaking film "Boyhood" took home three trophies, including best motion-picture drama.

In television, my new favorite show, the online series "Transparent," taking two trophies for Best Comedy and Best Actor for the show's star, Jeffrey Tambor, who does just an exceptional job.

Eddie Raid -- Eddie Redmayne, pardon me, snagged a trophy for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Drama for his brilliant role portraying Steven Hawking in "The Theory of Everything."

Kevin Spacey taking home the trophy for Best Actor in "House of Cards" for drama. Ruth Wilson won Best Drama Actress for "The Affair," which also won Best Drama Series. Michael Keaton winning best comedy actor for his role in "Birdman." And Amy Adams won best comedy actress for the film "Big Eyes."

And George Clooney, poor George. Look at him in there. He was wearing his wedding tux to the ceremony, where he was honored for the lifetime achievement award. He made sure to thank his new wife, Amal, during his acceptance speech. Isn't he too young for that?

Later this week, we're going to bring you coverage of the Oscar nominations. They are going to be announced Thursday morning at 8:30 Eastern. We can't wait to see who wins there. And of course, there will be some snow.

You guys, you didn't stay up?

CAMEROTA: I did, I couldn't help myself.

PEREIRA: You did?

CAMEROTA: I did stay up too late to watch it.

PEREIRA: Amy and Tina were brilliant.

CAMEROTA: They were great. And I thought that the joke was great about George Clooney and his wife. And she's so accomplished. She's done all these miraculous things, and he's getting the lifetime achievement award.

PEREIRA: He's getting the achievement award.

There will be a discussion at home, I'm sure.

CAMEROTA: That's right. Share with us your favorite moments if you would.

Meanwhile, most of the eastern half of the U.S. waking up to another messy morning. A wintry mix, sure to make travel a mess today. Let's get right to meteorologist Chad Myers for a look at the forecast.

Hi, Chad.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hi, Alisyn, it will be a mess across New York, Boston, all the way back toward Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, as well. That's where the ice and snow mix together.

Down to the south, if you're flying through Atlanta, it's going to be low clouds, just foggy out there event for Hartsfield-Jackson airport here. So expect the ways it will get longer as the day goes on, because the snow, ice, rain mix here in New York City doesn't stop. It's 35 and raining in the city right now, but if you get to the hills a little bit farther to the west, you could get some slick spots, of course, this afternoon.

Here we go for today. The red airplanes -- Philadelphia, New York, maybe even into Boston today -- could have airport delays of over an hour in some spots. At some times could be an hour or two.

There goes the rain; there goes the cold air for tomorrow. So it does get better. But the snow is from Buffalo back to about Erie, Pennsylvania, and into Cleveland. Heavy rain across the deep south could slow you down again. Here, they're in Atlanta; also Tampa and Miami could have a few airport delays, although not the busiest airports there.

And here's the cold air. It will not go away. Zero in Minneapolis. Wind chill 15 below. International falls, I know it's supposed to be cold there, but that feels like 30 below zero.

Guys, back to you.

CAMEROTA: All right, Chad, thanks so much.

Meanwhile, French and U.S. intelligence agents learning more about the terrorist suspects who terrorized Paris. Who do these people answer to? How might they have been trained? Experts say all signs point to a new era in global terrorism.

CUOMO: Now very important, while the world was drawn to terror in France, and rightly so, Boko Haram is killing hundreds, maybe thousands in Nigeria. Their latest tactic is just sickening. We have details for you ahead.

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CAMEROTA: French officials mobilizing 10,000 members of the police and military to protect the country after last week's attacks. Lone- wolf attackers striking fear in millions.

Now with new evidence linking last week's attackers with ISIS and al Qaeda, how can law enforcement keep Americans and westerners safe in this new global fight against jihad?

Here to weigh in is Paul Cruickshank. He's our CNN terrorism analyst, Paul, let's talk about the latest in the investigation. Have we

determined if these two brothers, in fact, went to Yemen for training or instruction of some kind?

PAUL CRUICKSHANK, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: Yes, the U.S. government have made a determination that at least one brother trained with al Qaeda in Yemen. Their working assumption right now is the AQAP, the al Qaeda affiliate in Yemen, directed these brothers to launch the attack. Their assumption is also that at least one of the brothers met with American terrorist cleric Anwar al-Awlaki before that cleric was killed in September 2011.

CAMEROTA: Should we talk about that? Why would a terrorist leader, Anwar al-Awlaki, meet with this low-level functionary? What's that about?

CRUICKSHANK: Awlaki was desperate to find European recruits for attacks in Europe, so if these brothers are linked up with AQAP, that would have been manna from heaven for Awlaki. And so the idea is they would have been trained and encouraged to return and to launch an attack.

Awlaki was also telling these recruits to camouflage their radicalism when they returned to Europe. And we know that the Koauchi brothers were taken off the radar screen of French security services in the summer of 2014, because they judged them no longer dangerous. So it's possible that they deliberately camouflaged their radicalism when they came back to France.

CAMEROTA: Awlaki was killed in 2011. So these brothers just lay in wait for the better part of four years before launching an attack?

CRUICKSHANK: Well, that would have been the idea, that they would have waited until the opportune moment, until they could get all these weapons, an extraordinary array of weapons they were able to get: heavy weapons, powerful weapons, rocket launchers. So this would have taken some time to plan. And perhaps they were waiting for French intelligence to stop monitoring them before they were able to put this plan into operation.

CAMEROTA: Do we think they were triggered by AQAP or they just freelanced and did this on their own at this time?

CRUICKSHANK: We don't know the answers to those questions. Yet suddenly, AQAP were encouraging the militants in the west to launch the attacks on the "Charlie Hebdo" magazine. "Inspire" magazine, they put out this message in 2013 in the spring: We want somebody to go in and launch an attack, against "Charlie Hebdo."

CAMEROTA: This female suspect who is on the run right now, who the French authorities are looking for, how was she able to get out of the country?

CRUICKSHANK: Well, she left before these attacks took place.

CAMEROTA: But was she on some sort of watch list or no-fly list? CRUICKSHANK: It's not clear whether she was on any kind of list. I

mean, if in fact the brothers were not being looked at closely suggests that she wasn't being looked at closely either, that she was able to leave the country, it would appear, because she had some sort of foreknowledge of these attacks to make her way to Syria, so she couldn't be arrested by western security sources. She's probably in Syria right now.

Their group in Paris had connections to people who have gone to fight in Syria. So it's possible some of these guys helped her cross the border. She's there right now. And possibly, you know, ISIS or another group over there will make propaganda with her, now the fact that she's safely, it would appear, in Syria.

CAMEROTA: Do we think that any of these sorts of cells are in the U.S.?

CRUICKSHANK: We don't know. I mean, that's the big worry, that there may be Americans that have linked up with AQAP and have returned back here, or Americans that have linked up with other terrorist groups and have returned here.

CAMEROTA: Don't we know if the Americans have gone to Yemen?

CRUICKSHANK: There are. There are dozens of Americans have gone to Yemen. We know that several of them have linked up with AQAP. There was this guy called Samir al-Kahn actually run "Inspire" magazine for several years. So the concern is that some of these Americans who got some of this training could now be back here, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: I want to ask you about this news bulletin that we've gotten that the group Anonymous -- you know them for hacking different websites of organizations that they don't believe in. They are now hacking the French jihadists' website. They have put up their picture as Anonymous. That's an interesting turn of events.

CRUICKSHANK: It certainly is. And I think we can safely assume that they're not going to be prosecuted for this kind of hacking.

CAMEROTA: Look at this. I mean, this is, you know, it's just amazing that they have finally turned their sort of energy not to our U.S. media companies or whoever else, you know, Wall Street, that are their targets but to terrorists.

CRUICKSHANK: Absolutely. And western authorities need all the help they can get to tackle these jihadist websites. There are so many of these jihadist portals right now: web forums, password protected; social media. They're putting out their message, putting out their propaganda, encouraging westerners, Americans to launch lone-wolf attacks. We saw just recently the renewals of those calls. So the fact that Anonymous are now involved in this may be helpful.

CAMEROTA: Yes, we have to assume that it is. Maybe this is part of the answer. Paul Cruickshank, thanks so much. Great to talk to you.

Let's go over to Chris. CUOMO: All right. This frightening new prospect of something being

scarier than one terror group is, of course, two now fighting with each other for global supremacy.

We have global al Qaeda. We have ISIS fighting to become the face of the jihadi movement. Do they both have their sights set on the west as a target? We have experts weighing in.

And unimaginable carnage in Northern Nigeria. Boko Haram extremists are on a rampage unlike anything we've seen, even out of them. The terror group utilizing horrible tactics, literally sending in a ten- year-old to kill. We have a full report ahead.

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