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CNN NEWSROOM

Jordanian Airstrikes Round 2 Completed; Politics Threaten Homeland Security Funds; Seatbelt Safety on Aircraft Following Crash; Star Jones Talks Heart Disease

Aired February 6, 2015 - 11:30   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: New developments this morning in the war against ISIS. Jordan has just completed round two of its air assault on the terror group. The Jordanian F-16 fighters were, again, accompanied by U.S. warplanes, including F-18s, F-22s and also A-10 aircraft. We're told the airstrikes were mainly centered on the ISIS stronghold of Raqqa in Syria.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Meantime, this was the scene in the Jordanian capital a short time ago. The queen joined thousands of people demanding death to ISIS. The queen was holding a poster of the pilot, Muath al Kaseasbeh, burned alive by ISIS militants. The operation against ISIS has been named Muath the Martyr, in honor of the pilot.

Let's talk about this and bring in our two global affairs analyst, Kimberly Dozier and James Reese.

Let's talk about the operations we know of publicly and second round of airstrikes that Jordan just finished up. They talk about several airstrikes against ISIS and they hit training centers, arms and ammunition depots. Why are they on the second go-around?

LT. COL. JAMES REESE, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: It's logistics. Support to ISIS in Syria and Iraq. If you cut off logistics and equipment, that leaves forward troops in Iraq fighting without anything. So that is a very classic way of degrading soldiers by going after logistics.

BERMAN: Kimberly, it seems there are two battles being fought by Jordan. You see these airstrikes going on in Syria and in Iraq as well and then you see what's happening on the ground in Jordan with the queen out there with the demonstrators. It does seem that the regime right now is very keenly aware about the importance of this public relations moment.

KIMBERLY DOZIER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: The regime has had a very uncomfortable few months dealing with the population that has been divided about the fight against ISIS. What this has done is taken some of the middle ground in Jordan and put them in favor of the fight. When you think about the fact that the country has had resurgence or surge of refugees from Syria and has had to suffer through austerity measures and a lot of Jordanians have relatives who have gone to fight against the Syrian regime, you have a lot of divided loyalties. Do something like this to a Jordanian pilot, a symbol of the country, and it helps them make up their minds. That's exactly what the kingdom needs to help them redouble their efforts against ISIS.

BOLDUAN: Politically, Colonel, this is galvanizing. In terms of the logistics of taking on ISIS themselves, and they say this is our war now, I wonder how does Jordan do it. The foreign minister in speaking to Wolf said clearly it will require everything. He didn't go into detail what that meant. But Jordan is a small country. How do they sustain a long military campaign like this?

REESE: When they say everything, he looks at their elements of national power like we do. There's a diplomatic aspect, an intelligence, a military aspect, and an economic aspect.

BOLDUAN: No diplomacy when it comes to ISIS

REESE: It's King Abdullah, who I call the warrior king, leading the other Arab countries diplomatically and bringing them in.

One thing we have to watch is Jordan does not have the oil-based country like Saudi and UAE. That's where we can help them and help King Abdullah with money and allow them to sustain because they want to. They have the will. Now we have to help them.

BERMAN: Kimberly, let's look at this from the ISIS side right now. Has any of this hurt their recruiting efforts?

DOZIER: For the target set of people they're going after, young disenfranchised Muslims, we hear that they are still getting a thousand new recruits a month. But the problem is that they are only hearing from their own supporters. They don't know or care about how this looks to the outside world in terms of their brutality. This is the same mistake the branch of al Qaeda made inside Iraq. It stepped up brutality to control those in its territory and that caused internal descent. The more we see this brutal activity reaching the outside world, those numbers are going to start to draw down. And what the Obama administration had hoped would happen is the local countries would really redouble their efforts in the fight. We'll see the trend going in that direction.

BOLDUAN: Kimberly, to that same train of thought. I want to get your take on a tactic. A new video came out seeming to show life as back to normal if you will. Schools, children in the schools learning. Women, community coming together. Contrast that with not only what we know is brutal tactics but the new U.N. report that listed out the horrific abuses that ISIS committed against children. What are they trying to do with this?

DOZIER: You have to think about the audience. That video is fed to its own supporters saying we are providing services, security and stability that you can't find anywhere else inside Syria or parts of Iraq, so join us. The U.N. report shows the brutality they used to stay in power. That message has to get to more people so that they see the true side of the regime. Until that happens, they're going to get followers. That's why they talk about this being a long multigenerational process. The people on the ground have to choose.

BERMAN: There is something sickening about this group. They release video of burning a pilot to death. They release this happy school scene. Look, we're teaching kids math and everything is OK. Just awful.

Thanks to James Reese, Kimberly Dozier.

BOLDUAN: Thanks so much for coming on.

Coming up for us, Homeland Security funds running out at the end of this month unless Congress gets its act together. Can they afford to play politics with groups like ISIS out there? We'll talk about that next.

BERMAN: Plus, you hear it every time you get on an airplane. Buckle up. Some survivors from this horrific plane crash in Taiwan say their lives were saved because they unbuckled their seat belts. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: Three weeks from today is when money runs out for the Department of Homeland Security unless Congress approves a bill to continue funding that department. That's the problem. The bill has been bogged down.

BERMAN: Democrats are blocking debate on the bill because amendments would undo the president's executive actions on immigration. Earlier this week, the president talked about how important he thinks it is for Congress to pass a clean bill given what he says is at stake.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's also a budget that recognizes our economy flourishes is when America is safe and secure. It invests in our I.T. networks to protect them from malicious actors. It supports our troops and strengthens our border security. And it gives us the resources to confront global challenges from ISIL to Russian aggression. We would make a critical error if we avoided making these investments. We can't afford not to.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: So are lawmakers playing politics with Homeland Security? Who is playing politics with the country's Homeland Security?

Let's bring in Republican Congressman John Fleming.

Thank you so much for your time.

REP. JOHN FLEMING, (R), LOUISIANA: Hey, Kate. Great to be with you.

Thank you very much. I think the most important question at this very moment three weeks out Congress has left town. You're still in town. They're not even going to be in town next week. Is the Department of Homeland Security going to run out of money?

FLEMING: At the rate we're going, we are. The bill to fund DHS is held up in the Senate. And the question is, why do Democrats want to give Social Security cards to illegal aliens while depriving paychecks for our border security officers and that's --

(CROSSTALK)

BOLDUAN: Democrats say why are Republicans putting poison pills, if you will, into a funding bill that threatens the security of our country?

FLEMING: Because it's a responsibility of Congress being an equal branch of government to say to the president that you can't go out and unlawfully violate the Constitution and provide for amnesty to over five million people here illegally, and our main tool to deal with that is defunding the president's actions, which are --

(CROSSTALK)

BOLDUAN: Congressman, you'll have that fight for a long time to come. Republicans have controlled both chambers of Congress. I'm sure that's a fight you are ready to welcome. Why jam it into a bill that needs to be dealt are right now when immigration question is a very long conversation?

FLEMING: No, it's an immediate situation. The president, as we speak, is creating rent space in Crystal City, Virginia. He's also hiring up people to process all of this. So if we're going to defund this, it must be done now.

BERMAN: Let me ask you this, because it's not just Democrats who disagree. There are Republicans in the Senate who say they agree with your points on immigration but this is not the fight to have. This is what Senator John McCain has. He said we understand what the House did when you pass the bill that took immigration measures out of Homeland Security. He said he understands what the House did. We hope they understand our constraints as well. We can't shut down the Department of Homeland Security for threats we have from ISIS and overseas. If they do not get the money, will that make America less safe, Congressman?

FLEMING: It would be the president shutting down DHS because we've sent a funding bill over to the Senate. It would be Democrats who are filibustering this. But more than that the American people are on our side. 58 percent of Americans say that we should not provide funding for amnesty for those who are here illegally.

BERMAN: If it does not get funding, Homeland Security, does that make America less safe?

FLEMING: Actually, most of the funding to DHS does not change the employment picture. 85 percent or more will go to work, perhaps without a paycheck. And they will eventually get their pay, even those who don't. So there will be no immediate security effects. There will ultimately be security effects and that's why again it begs the question why do we want to provide earned income tax credits, Social Security cards, Social Security benefits --

(CROSSTALK)

FLEMING: If I may finish what I was saying.

BOLDUAN: OK.

FLEMING: Why do we want to provide these taxpayer benefits to the burden of taxpayers unlawfully while not paying also our workers for DHS?

BOLDUAN: Speak to those taxpayers, some being the 85 percent of the Department of Homeland Security that you said will go to work because they're deemed essential, but they may go to work without pay. Even if they get paid back later what do you say to those employees?

FLEMING: Well, I say to them that they should call their Democrat representatives and have them pass this bill. That's all we have to do is pass it out of the Senate and send it onto the president.

BERMAN: Interesting to see how this plays out over the next three weeks, and whether or not America compromises its safety after that point.

Congressman Fleming, thank you so much for being with us. We appreciate your input here.

BOLDUAN: Thank you, Congressman.

FLEMING: Thanks for having me, John and Kate.

BERMAN: We'll talk about air safety coming up. New key questions. Can not wearing a seat belt in some instances make the difference in saving your life? We'll explain this, because it has to do with survivors of that dramatic crash we saw last week. They were not wearing belts. What lessons can we learn?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: New this morning, questions on how some survivors in the deadly plane crash in Taiwan managed to get through the accident. One passenger unbuckled his seat belt when he heard problems with the engine and told the girl beside him to do the same. They were 2 of 15 that survived that plane crash when it fell into the river.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HUANG CHIN-SHUN, PLANE CRASH SURVIVOR (through translation): Shortly after takeoff I felt something wasn't right. Something was wrong with the engine. I always take the flight. I told the girl behind me to release her seat belt and cover her head with clothes. Not long after, the plane went down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Amazing. Four other passengers trapped in their seats dangling from their belts when that man unbuckled them as water was rising in the cabin.

But, as Randi Kaye reports, a buckled seat belt on a plane saves far more people in a crash than it hurts.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(SCREAMING)

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is what can happen 30,000 feet above the ground, chaos inside American Airlines flight 280 flying this past December from South Korea to Dallas when the Boeing 777 suddenly dropped over Japan, passengers panicked and pulled out their cell phones to record the drama.

MARC STANLEY, PLANE PASSENGER (voice-over): All of a sudden, there was a big drop in service and materials. My iPhone, everything started flying all over the place.

KAYE: Some screamed, others cried as the plane cried. Food and trash spilled into the aisles. The plane made an emergency landing in Tokyo. Five people taken to the hospital. If the passengers and crew hadn't been wearing their seat belts, it could have been much worse.

(on camera): The FAA says each year approximately 58 people in the United States are injured by turbulence because they're not wearing their seat belts. Between 1980 and 2008, the FAA recorded three fatalities and found two of the three with respect wearing seat belts even though the seat belt light was illuminated.

(voice-over): In 2013, this Singapore Airlines flight from Singapore to London hit terrible turbulence just as flight attendants were serving breakfast. The plane reportedly dropped 65 feet, injuring 11 passengers and one crew member. Food flew, coffee hit the ceiling. One passenger told reporters anything that wasn't tied down hit the ceiling as the plane dropped.

ALAN CROSS, PLANE PASSENGER: Suddenly it felt like we were in an elevator and somebody had cut the cable.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my god! Oh, it's an accident.

KAYE: When Asiana flight crashed, a 16-year-old actually survived, only to be run over by an emergency vehicle responding to the scene. The NTSB found had those two passengers been wearing their seatbelts, they likely would have remained inside the plane and survived.

Seat belts may help passengers survive, but in some cases, they can trap them in their seats. On Wednesday, this TransAsia Airways plane crashed into the river shortly after take-off in Taipei. With the cabin already chest-deep in water, rescue crews found passengers tangled in their seat belts, hanging upside down. One 72-year-old man said he helped save four people by undoing their seat belts. He says they would have died if he hadn't moved quickly.

Randi Kaye, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BOLDUAN: Still amazing.

Randi Kaye, thank you so much for that.

Coming up, if you see anyone wearing red today, hello. It could be about a lot more than just fashion. It could be about your health. Coming up, Star Jones is here to talk about how her victory over heart disease changed her life. You don't want to miss this story.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: Today is National Wear Red Day. Why? The American Heart Association trying to get the word out, especially to women, about heart health awareness.

BOLDUAN: Heart disease is the number one killer of women but also the number one killer of African-Americans and the number one killer of all Americans. It's deadlier than all forms of cancer.

Take a look at who's also wearing red today. Women's advocate, Star Jones, is here with us today. She's a survivor of heart disease.

STAR JONES, WOMEN'S ADVOCATE: And one of the go red campaigns -- another one of their campaigns is called, The Life Is Why campaign. She says, "I go red because they took my heart out of my body and put it back in."

Thank you for being a lady in red. When you go red, you say to the world that I take my heart health really seriously and I stand for heart health. So thank you both.

(CROSSTALK)

John, we're going to work with you a little bit.

BOLDUAN: Pink is a form of red.

Everyone still thinks heart disease is an old white guy disease, right?

JONES: 100 percent. Exactly. With all my degrees and access and all that, I thought it was an old white dude's disease until somebody sat across the table from me five years ago and said I needed open heart surgery. I had heart disease and they need to crack my chest and take my heart out of my body. My heart was out of my body for 22 minutes kept alive by machines. I had to change my lifestyle after open heart surgery. I had to make sure that I was on a heart regimen that included exercise, diet, getting rid of some of the things that made me really, really happy. But also living makes me really, really happy.

BERMAN: We were in the Green Room and you said to me, John, it's OK if you ask me about my weight. People know you've lost a lot of weight.

JONES: Definitely.

BERMAN: But the surgery came after.

JONES: 11 years ago, I weighed 307 pounds when I had weight loss surgery. I lost over 150 pounds. And for 11 years, I've now kept off 140 of those pounds. Should I probably try to get that last ten pounds? Yeah, but I'm not going to turn into an upper east side who obsesses.

BOLDUAN: Especially after just having a baby. So we're in the same battle.

JONES: But in all honesty, 80 percent of all heart disease is preventable by certain lifestyle changes.

BOLDUAN: Say that again.

JONES: 80 percent, no question, it's not star's stat. That is the scientific data of the American heart association and good common sense. Don't smoke, eat less, move more. If you just do those three things, you can save your own life.

BOLDUAN: How do you make the campaign work? I know you've really changed your life and made this one of your life's work as a woman's advocate to get the message out. But how do you get the message across? People are a little thick-headed sometimes.

JONES: You get it in every aspect of society and every aspect of culture. In my everyday life, I run a women's organization. And so I make sure that the women who are networking at NAWP are always involved in campaigning that enhance their life, the whole woman. Unemployment has a lot to do with health care. If you're unemployed, you usually don't have good health care. If you don't have good health care, then you can't do preventable medicine. If you don't do preventable medicine, you're more likely to have heart disease, diabetes, to be obese, to get some form of cancer. It's a vicious, vicious cycle.

BOLDUAN: We thank you for the message you're trying to send --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Have good health care, then you can't do preventative medicine. If you don't do preventable medicine, you're more likely to have heart disease, diabetes, to be obese.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: To be one of those statistics.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To get some form of cancer. These -- it's a vicious, vicious cycle.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, we thank you for the message you're trying to send and thank you for coming in to see us.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you. Absolutely.

BERMAN: We really appreciate it.

BOLDUAN: Great to see you, Star (ph). Thank you. Go red (ph), everybody.

Have a great day. That's all for us.

BERMAN: "Legal View" with Ashleigh Banfield starts now.