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CNN NEWSROOM

European Leaders Coming to Moscow for Peace Talks; Violence Becomes Desperate in Ukraine; Jordanians Widely Support War on ISIS

Aired February 6, 2015 - 10:00   ET

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


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me.

This morning, key U.S. allies are headed to Moscow desperately hoping to end the escalating war in Ukraine. German and French leaders will meet next hour with Russian President Vladimir Putin; they're trying to convince him to shut off the flow of troops and weapons in the former Soviet republic. Ukraine is also likely the main topic for Vice President Joe Biden. He's in Belgium today to discuss the crisis with allies there. NATO leaders and later this weekend Russian foreign minister will also weigh in.

Also, Americans want to know in just a few hours National Security Adviser Susan Rice will outline the plans and priorities in wrestling with global crises. Six years into the Obama presidency, foreign policy in a changing world.

OK. Well, let's start here, though. There is good reason for today's heightened sense of urgency in forging a peace plan. The fighting in Ukraine is intensifying, and the civilian death toll is growing. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh is in eastern Ukraine.

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Whatever comes out of the peace talks in Moscow, so many ways the violence here is completely disparate. It seems to that sometimes late, it seems diplomatic process. We've seen it ourselves over the past week. That town Debaltseve, in which people are discussing the potential of humanitarian corridors to let civilians leave. While we were there over the last week. And the shells come in. People sheltering on the ground. The next day that (INAUDIBLE) they are sheltering in was hit. Periodically people have tried to flee through the main humanitarian corridor, the one road that heads to north towards Artemovsk, but sometimes it's blocked from and there's I think a real sense of lack of coordination between Ukrainian and, of course, the separatist site through that fighting there as well. So, any cease-fire deal will be hard, frankly, to implement. There are so much heavy weaponry in use around that area.

But we're also seeing the de facto hiding off, frankly, of the separatist held areas. (INAUDIBLE) on the ground, frankly, is that it's going to be hard to imagine a situation where those separatist held areas choose to be governed by Kiev again, the violence has been such - and frankly, Russian intervention has been so extraordinary to this point. Those peace talks will, of course, try and leave Kiev comfortable with the resolution, but it's the violence on the ground here that's escalating and defining its own rhythm with increasingly confident, very well equipped, at times well-disciplined separatist forces taking a lot of territory. That's going to be what the diplomats have to try to address and not to try to renew a cease-fire agreed last year that never really took off.

A very complicated task ahead for the French, German and Russian leaders. Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Velika Novoselovka, Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE))

COSTELLO: All right, now to the fight against ISIS. Jordan unleashes another round of punishing airstrikes against terrorist targets in Syria. Officials vowing to up the ante and hunt down the killers of that Jordanian pilot. The U.S. official tells CNN a second set of strikes is now complete. Among the latest targets destroyed, ISIS training centers, weapons and ammunition depots. The air mission now being called "Muath the Martyr" in honor of that slain pilot. Jordanian fighter jets dropping bombs scribbled with messages to ISIS like this one, "Islam has nothing to do with your actions."

In the meantime, friends and family of the pilot are remembering him as a hero. Queen Rania visited his home town. This picture shows the queen embracing the pilot's widow. The couple had only been married for six months. Let's hear more about this with CNN's Jomana Karadsheh. She's in Amman, Jordan this morning. Hi, Jomana.

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol. Here's what we know from U.S. officials that two dozen Jordanian F-16s took part in these new fresh airstrikes on unidentified locations so far in Syria. They were accompanied by U.S. F-18s and F-22s. And as you mentioned, Carol, there is this sense of unity in this country. So many Jordanians were opposed to their country's role in the coalition, but things are starting to change following that brutal killing of the Jordanian pilot, Muath al Kasasbeh. So many people here are rallying around their government and they support their king and what they are seeing in this fight against ISIS.

What we saw today is thousands of people took to the streets in downtown Amman, first Friday prayers at a mosque there where the imam dedicated this prayer, this sermon to the pilot, Muath al Kasasbeh, and he said that Muslims should unite. Muslims and Arabs should fight ISIS and they cannot sit back and let this group win. He said that they need to unite to expel them. And also after that, Carol, people marched in the streets in their thousands to a nearby square and we saw the queen of Jordan, Queen Rania, taking part in that march where people were -- it was a march of solidarity with their government against ISIS and also remembering this pilot.

We saw the queen carrying a poster of him that said Muath the martyr of justice and so many Jordanians there remembering a man that they now see as a national hero. So many saying that they've not seen this country so united before.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) LAYLA AL-KASASBEH, PILOT'S COUSIN: He not only lived, he existed, you know. He did something for his country and for his religion. He had to die in that way to show people how cruel those people are. It's sad and it's heartbreaking. And we're so sad. We're crying all the time. And when we are not crying, we are talking about him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KARADSHEH: And Carol, there you heard it from 21-year-old Layla al- Kasasbeh, that is the cousin of Muath al Kasasbeh. We met her in that small village in southern Jordan yesterday where so many people, thousands gathered to remember this pilot.

COSTELLO: Jomana Karadsheh, thank you so much. I appreciate it.

Let's talk more about the latest airstrike with CNN military analyst General "Spider" Marks. I'm also joined by CNN counterterrorism analyst and former CIA counterterrorism official Philip Mudd. Thanks for joining me.

MAJ. GEN. JAMES "SPIDER" MARKS, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Thank you.

COSTELLO: General, first to you. So, we understand that Jordan conducted a series of airstrikes again today and apparently it destroyed things like training centers and arms and ammunition depots. How do we know that Jordan actually did that?

MARKS: Well, we're getting some great gun footage that's coming off the F-16s, plus, whenever you conduct any operation like this, what you have is a series of intelligence collectors that are going to be looking over the shoulder of these capabilities and they're going to be recording what's taking place and that's going to be done -- there will be some subsequent forensics so that you can retarget these various targets that you're going after. The real key here, Carol, is to isolate ISIS where it is, so it can't reinforce and move with immunity on the battlefield. It has to be done very, very aggressively. So, the fact that Jordan is involved is wonderful. It has to be a really sustained effort on their part. That's the good news.

COSTELLO: So, I understand that Jordanian fighter planes were accompanied by U.S. fighter planes. So, what would the U.S. role be in this particular mission?

MARKS: Well, it's several things. Carol, what they're going to have is they'll have full packages, the air tasking order as it's called, let's get inside baseball a little bit, will list the various targets and the type of packages. The aircraft capability and what they are carrying and what type of bomb loads and what type strike angles and the types of results, the effects they want to achieve on the ground.

So, the U.S. has targets itself as a part of these packages. So they're not simply escorting the Jordanians. They're involved in this very, very aggressively themselves. There also will be combat search and rescue, which are missions that will be embedded in this so if something goes down, if a pilot has to eject, if an aircraft has a problem, you can then immediately recover. Isolate the area and recover the crew as necessary.

COSTELLO: OK, so President Obama is going to ask Congress to approve a prolonged military action to fight ISIS. Prolonged. Some lawmakers are balking on that because they say they don't have a specific plan and they don't have a deadline. Do you see it that way? Does the administration have a specific plan or a deadline?

MARKS: They don't have a deadline, Carol. What the president has said is that this is going to take some time. I would prefer if the president would really square with us and say look, this is intergenerational, folks. This is what we are about in terms of isolating this barbarity, this incredible hijacking of Islam. Let's call it what it is. It's not a bunch of thugs. It's not criminal activity. This is immensely horrible and it is Islam that's totally bastardized and is off the rails. So, let's call it what it is. And say look, this is going to take our children and maybe even their children in terms of how we're going to get our arms around it. It needs to be addressed in that way. So you can't take options off the table if it's that bad. Call it what it is. You say look, we're going to be about this for a while and the president has to lead the American population into the fact that we may be at this for quite some time even though America may be war weary, hey guys, suck it up. We have got work to do. This is existential and needs to be addressed.

COSTELLO: I know you're talking about boots on the ground and that option should remain on our table. And I hear what you're saying. But the American people, they actually don't want that.

MARKS: Carol, they may not. Let's not speak for them. The president's obligation is to lead and to say what must be done and to say these are the kinds of challenges that must be made.

COSTELLO: OK. Well, Susan Rice is going to lay out the form policy plan today. Hopefully, we'll hear the answers to your queries. General "Spider" Marks, thanks so much. And our apologies to Philip Mudd. We have problems with your shot and we couldn't have you join us, and I apologize. Still to come to the newsroom, it's the extraordinary video that's captured our attention this week. Why the focus is shifting this morning to the pilot's actions next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Recovery efforts resume in Taipei following the crash of a TransAsia flight. For the third day, crews enter the river where the plane carried 58 people crashed. Amazingly, 15 people did survive. Others, though, as I said, not so lucky. 35 confirmed dead. Eight still missing. As recovery continues, the focus now shifting to the problem with the plane's engines and the actions the pilots took. David Malco (ph) is in Taipei following that side of the story for us. Tell us more, David. All right, we lost David. But, you know, there is - the pilot's family they said, he's a hero because he missed buildings and he was able to take the plane into the water for a "soft landing." But, of course, investigators are saying that it was pilot error that caused this crash so the investigation is continuing. Still to come in the "NEWSROOM" -- I'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: The phrase "Don't mess with taxes" is taking a new context following this week's brouhaha on Capitol Hill. Here's more from Dana Bash.

(BVT VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It should have been a humdrum hearing ahead of House Republicans 67 folk to repeal, defund or change Obamacare.

REP. ALCEE HASTINGS (D) FLORIDA: I don't know about in your stake, which is a crazy state to begin with and I mean that just as I said it.

(CROSSTALK)

REP. MICHAEL BURGESS (R) TEXAS: really deflamatory statement about my state, and I will not stand here and listen to it.

BASH: But it quickly got weird and ugly.

HASTINGS: Well, fine, then you don't have to listen.

BASH: Florida Congressman Alcee Hastings taking on the entire state of Texas for not joining in Obamacare exchanges.

HASTINGS: You can leave if you choose. I told you what I think about Texas. I wouldn't live there for all of the tea in China. And that's how I feel.

BURGESS: There's no reason at all to impugn the people, the governor, of the state of this country, and I will await the gentleman's apology.

HASTINGS: You will wait until hell freezes over for me to say anything in an apology. I would apologize to you if I was directing my comments to you. I was commenting about the state that you happen to be a resident of. I will not apologize.

BURGESS: The gentleman from Texas controls the time. I just do not see the value in a member of this rules committee hurling invective towards a state and its people and its governor.

BASH: When Michael Burgess's lone star state Republican colleagues got wind of those invectives, they were livid. 24 joined together to issue a simple statement. "Don't mess with Texas."

REP. PETE SESSIONS (R) TEXAS: I stand today for why Texas is a great state. Evidently we have got to defend our honor.

BASH: But what Texans want from Congressman Hastings, who was once impeached as a federal judge and removed from office, is an apology. No dice.

Um: Can you hear me?

BASH: When I talked to him by phone, Hastings doubled down.

HASTINGS: Evidently, I touched a nerve deep in the heart of Texas and I would ask them to tie a yellow rose around it and do like "Frozen" and let it go. Somebody called me from Texas and told me because of my comments they were going to cancel their reservation to Disney World. How absurd is that.

BASH: Dana Bash, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE))

COSTELLO: Your government at work. Checking other top stories for you this morning at 20 minutes past. Comparison to O.J. Simpson at day five of the Aaron Hernandez trial. The prosecution citing similarities to the O.J. case as the jury prepares to take a field trip to Hernandez's home claiming several trophies and religious items had been added since the 2013 killing of Odin Lloyd. The defense agreed to remove those items.

In money news this morning, another month of solid job growth. The January jobs numbers are out and we added 275,000 jobs. The best job growth since 1999. The official unemployment rate ticked up to 5.7 percent but don't worry about that. The rate is higher because more people are out looking for work as the economy improves.

Still to come in the "NEWSROOM," Paris cracks down on the film industry following the attacks on "Charlie Hebdo." Really? What happened to freedom of speech? We'll talk about that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Less than an hour from now, two key U.S. allies will sit down with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. The German chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande are lobbing for peace talks to end the war in Ukraine. As Merkel urges a ceasefire, Russia's air force is holding military drills with live rounds along Ukraine's border. Merkel says there's no military solution to forging peace, so that could lead to more sanctions, right? Already, the U.S. and European Union have targeted companies and individuals in Russia. The sanctions include travel bans, the freezing of assets and limiting international arms deal. CNN's chief national security correspondent Jim Sciutto is in Ukraine's capital. He's traveling with Secretary of State Kerry. Jim joins us by phone. So, Jim, I'm wondering, why isn't Kerry in Moscow with Hollande and Merkel?

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I have spoken to State Department officials and asked that very question. They say for one, this has been close coordination between Secretary Kerry and the French and Germans and other partners including the Ukrainians. After all, they were both in Kiev yesterday. They also say that he was - had commitments in Munich today where there's a security conference including meeting the Iranian foreign minister, which is going to take place tomorrow to discuss the nuclear talks. So they say, they are not - you know, in other words, they weren't excluded from the peace mission there. Do I believe that? Mostly I believe that. I mean there is truth that the Europeans -- that the U.S. has wanted the Europeans in many ways to take the lead on this at least publicly. You have the close relationship between Chancellor Merkel and Vladimir Putin. It doesn't seem to me that the U.S. was excluded from this and Secretary Kerry, as Jim say, they had other commitments today.

COSTELLO: So, there wasn't some quiet conversation that when something like this you know Vladimir Putin really doesn't like the United States very much, so maybe John Kerry you should stay away this time around?

KERRY: Well, that's also, that's also, frankly a factor and that could be strategic. You know, it's interesting. So much of what the public shares always, the public shares versus the private comments, even Angela Merkel saying today that arming the Syrian - rather, the Ukrainian military would only make things worse whereas you have, we know, the Obama administration reconsidering that. There could be a good comeback element to that as well with these negotiations. It's always difficult to read what's being said on the outside with what is actually happening on the inside.

COSTELLO: All right. Jim Sciutto reporting live from Kiev this morning. Thanks so much.

All right. Our White House correspondent Jim Acosta has some new information because supposedly Susan Rice is going to lay out the president's plan on foreign policy and national security and it's interesting that this is going to happen today six years after the president took office. Jim Acosta is at the White House with more on this. Good morning.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. And we should point out, this is a legally required document that the president is scheduled to deliver. Basically every year. And so, you know, this is something that is coming out today. But, of course, the timing is very interesting. Because there are so many questions right now about this president's national security strategy. What is he going to do about Ukraine and Russia's aggression in eastern Ukraine? What is he going to do about ISIS? And there are not any major policy, I guess, announcements in this national security document that's been put out by the White House today. But Susan Rice will be offering up a stout defense, I'm told, at the president's national security in the speech later on here in Washington.

But I want to point out some interesting things in this document that's been put out by the White House today. I'm holding it right here. In the introduction to this document which sort of lays out the president's national security strategy, there is an opening letter or message from the president. I just want to read one key quote to you, Carol, because I really think this sums up and neatly encapsulates the president's national security strategy. It says, "We have to make hard choices among many competing priorities and we must always resist the overreach that comes when we make decisions based upon fear. More of we must recognize that a smart national security strategy does not rely solely on military power." So, the president trying to respond once again to his critics.