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Russia Launches New Airstrikes In Syria; Can U.S. And Russia Work Together In Syria?; Source: Biden Family Conversation This Weekend; "People" Magazine Issues Call To Action On Gun Violence. Aired 7:30-7a ET

Aired October 7, 2015 - 07:30   ET

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


[07:30:00] MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Bill Cosby will be in court for a hearing this morning, just days before Cosby himself is deposed in a lawsuit filed by Judy Hooth. She claims the comedian drugged and sexually assaulted her in 1974 when she was 15 years old.

In the meantime, a new suit alleges Cosby assaulted 25-year-old model, Chloe Goines at the "Playboy" mansion in 2008. In all, more than 50 women accused Cosby of some form of sexual misconduct.

Some food for thought for you here on Capitol Hill this morning. A House hearing on this year's dietary guidelines is expected to ignite a debate over saturated fat and heart disease. That's after growing evidence shows decade's old advice about staying away from full-fat dairy products could be incorrect. We do know the USDA does not plan to talk sustainability and will not discourage people from eating meat.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: I don't get it. Do you eat it, do you not eat it? I love my full-fat dairy.

All right, so Russia says it is willing to cooperate with the U.S. on future airstrikes in Syria. For now they're not waiting and launching air strikes even overnight. Is this good news? What is the right approach for the U.S. here?

Lt. General Mark Hertling is our CNN military analyst and retired former commanding general of Europe and the Seventh Army joins us now. General, good to have you with us.

Here's what I don't understand. It seems as though the United States is starting to bifurcate, separate Assad and what should happen with him from ISIS and what should happen with them in terms of working with Russia. Can we do that?

LT. GENERAL MARK HERTLING (RETIRED), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: I think we can, Chris, but it's going to get -- let's use a doctrinal term -- sporty in the next couple of weeks and months. Russia certainly has objectives in the area and we have ours. They are bifurcated, as you say, two different approaches. It's going to cause some volatile actions, I believe.

CUOMO: So let's say they are trying to go at ISIS somewhat why? Well, ISIS is a threat to Assad and ISIS is a threat to them because of caucuses and their own concerns. What would you do? Let's bomb them together. Every time you bomb those rebels that we're arming to fight against Assad we'll be angry at you? How would that work?

HERTLING: Yes, but here's the point, Chris. I don't think you see Russia going after ISIS. They have had propaganda. Their intention is to secure a safe zone for Mr. Assad in the western part of the country with Damascus, Homs and Idlib. They're going to secure the eastern side against any ISIS coming in from Palmyra.

So they may we are going after ISIS near Palmyra, but what they're really doing is securing that flank of Mr. Assad. These are things that are very different from what we're trying to do, which is to destroy this terrorist threat that not only threatens Damascus, but also the world and is causing consternation that we're seeing in Europe right now.

CUOMO: All right, let's stay with that one, if what they're doing is what you suggest, and Senator John McCain and many other people in the military and the intelligence communities, which is they're not dealing with ISIS yet, they're only helping their friend Assad.

What is the U.S. able to do to stop them? I mean, the easy answer is nothing. They're doing whatever they want, flying over Turkish airspace. What are the options on the table?

HERTLING: Yes, not much. I think we can continue our campaign against ISIS and separate what we might want to happen with Mr. Assad, which is for him to either step down or as Secretary Kerry said recently, let's form a partner government with some of the opposition.

You have to remember, Chris, the large Persian of the population do not want Mr. Assad in. Do you continue to attempt to help them or go after a major enemy which is ISIS and see what transpires with, perhaps, this safe zone that will be created?

CUOMO: So basically you let Russia do what it wants, shore up Assad and you focus on ISIS?

HERTLING: You do to a degree, but I think we have to keep Russia in a little bit of a box. They are threatening the rest of Syria at this point because as they continue to back up Assad, it's still causing problems in the rest of Syria. This is not going to stop the refugee crisis.

It is not going to stop the -- in fact, I would suggest that Russia doesn't really care what happens ISIS and the rest of Syria. In fact, it could cause continued embarrassment to the other Gulf Cooperation Council, to Europe and to the United States.

And it also draws attention away from what they've been doing in Ukraine. I think we also must look at the bigger picture.

CUOMO: What box could you put Russia in? What box?

HERTLING: Well, this safe zone, Mr. Putin has said he has limited objectives. He is going to continue to contribute close air support along with some Iranian ground troops to really secure that area. It's a relatively small area of Syria.

[07:35:03] He's not going to go after the rest and try and help Mr. Assad gain the rest of Syria. That would just be too problematic for the Russian forces. I think you're going to see him focused in that area and pretty soon he will likely turn it over to the Iranian ground forces and get out.

CUOMO: What's the chance that you and I are going to wind up in some capacity back in Afghanistan because the Taliban will take that place over again and the U.S. will have to go in with the allies in a major way in order to create another new normal?

HERTLING: I think General Campbell's comments yesterday were very pressing. I think most of the military leaders over the last several years have said we need more forces for continued stabilization.

When you have these kinds of conflict, it doesn't go away in just a few years or ten years. You have to continue to provide help with the security for a government that's in its infancy. We see, I think we see Afghanistan at a true inflection point.

They have some capability with their security forces but not enough yet. And if we leave, what you're going to see is, they don't have the intelligence. They don't have the artillery or air to push back against some of these insurgent groups.

As we've seen over the last couple of weeks that are now re-emerging as the threat to the security and the stability of Afghanistan. I don't think we're going to go in with a lot of forces, but as General Campbell said yesterday, he wants more than what the current plan says.

CUOMO: Are we looking at like a South Korea kind of situation there where there are just generations of presence?

HERTLING: Yes, you know, it's not out of the question, Chris. I think it's going to take longer than a lot of people have said. We've all stated this multigenerational conflict between Islamists and the west.

And I think in order to provide a secure government for Afghanistan, there's got to be more growth in the maturity of that government and the maturity of their forces we have seen that in Iraq where it deteriorated very quickly.

I think General Campbell is saying to the president we don't want that to happen in Afghanistan. The other thing is you have to consider, if the United States draws down quickly, then our NATO partners are also going to draw down quickly in Afghanistan.

That's something we often don't consider, the partnership between NATO and the United States in Afghanistan providing the continued security help to the Afghan National Army and security forces.

CUOMO: General, thank you for helping us understand the picture a little bit better. HERTLING: Thank you, Chris.

PEREIRA: All right, Chris, a new kind of Joe-mentum is building as Vice President Joe Biden makes his final decision on a 2016 presidential run. When will we know one way or the other? We'll take a look at that, ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:41:42]

PEREIRA: Vice President Joe Biden is reportedly going to have a family conversation this weekend to discuss his possible presidential run. This as a brand new ad released just this morning, in fact, a few moments ago by the Draft Bidden Movement.

Is Joe-mentum on the rise? Is it, is it? Let's bring in CNN White House correspondent, Michelle Kosinski, for the first time with us here in studio live in person, and senior Washington correspondent, Jeff Zeleny, who is on the road in Iowa.

Jeff, why don't we start with this ad right off the bat? Let's take a look at a chunk of it.

(VIDEO CLIP)

PEREIRA: So Jeff, the timing of this ad being released by the Draft Biden Movement is significant. A few days before the big debate in Las Vegas, using his own words, what else is significant to you this ad?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Michaela, this is a very powerful ad. The words we're hearing from Vice President Biden there come from a commencement speech he gave at Yale in May, just a couple weeks before Beau Biden died.

It was one of the most powerful speeches he's given, at least recently about his life, his life story. This Draft Biden Movement which is an outside organization, but it is run by some people who are close to the Biden family, are airing this.

It's going to run next week in the hours leading up to the debate. It's a 90-second ad, which is unusual for a campaign ad. It's designed to tell his story, give his record and his biography here, all setting up this sort of aura around is he going to run or not.

So interesting how they put it together. It's design by one of President Obama's former campaign advisers who did some of his advertisements in his campaign. A slick movie style like ad that certainly increases speculation about what the vice president is going to do.

CUOMO: Look, the point of the speculation, Michelle, right now is, is this about Joe Biden wanting to run but not being sure that he can win and get the organization that's necessary or, is he still at the gumption emotional motivation stage? You know, what do you hear from people about what this calculus is?

MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Definitely it's some of both. The people closest to him focus on being a personal choice. It's the politicos looking from the outside more saying he needs to strategize behind the scenes. He's focused on his family and healing. He's still grieving.

But his people and his operation and the Draft Biden Movement, which is separate from him, but really working on his side, they're the ones who are looking at the real numbers. So you know he's thinking about it to some extent.

But it is very much a personal issue right now for him, just making that decision. And the people who are closest to him, they always go back to that.

CUOMO: Would you let me do an ad like that about you? If you were thinking you didn't want to run? These are his friends, the Draft Biden Movement.

PEREIRA: That's a good point.

[07:45:06] KOSINSKI: It is a beautiful ad. It's focusing not on his decades in the Senate and his record and the issues. It's focusing on him as a person.

PEREIRA: Yes.

KOSINSKI: And the things that he's been through and really who he is. And it even has an air of mystery, he's not a candidate yet, but he's out there.

PEREIRA: Right, right, right.

KOSINSKI: That's really contributed to the kind of polling that he's been doing.

PEREIRA: It's interesting because I was thinking, Jeff, it's a really interesting thing this buzz and this Joe-mentum we're talking about, is he in, is he not in? It keeps him in the conversation.

CUOMO: And in the polls.

PEREIRA: And in the polls, even though he's not running. Tell us more about the reporting you have on this family conversation that is said to be taking place this weekend.

ZELENY: Right. He's going to have another meeting with all of his family in Delaware. It's certainly not the first family conversation. They've had many over these months, over the summer, but it may be the last family conversation they have before he makes a final decision.

We are told that, you know, the friends -- several friends we've talked to in recent days who have talked with the vice president are left with the impression that he's leaning toward a run. Michelle is right. This is a personal decision, a family decision. Essentially people will sign off on it in this family conversation or not. But, again, it's important to remember, this is obviously not the first time they're discussing it.

And Chris is right. The idea that some of his friends, allies and supporters would be putting together this ad is not to nudge him into the race. They believe he's running. They don't know for sure, but they believe he's running.

This family conversation over the weekend in Delaware is probably the final pat of his decision making process. If he decides to go forward, at that point he will start reaching out to other contributors, friends and donors and this Democratic presidential campaign will change considerably.

But again, it should be noted he could also decide to not run. You know this must be frustrating to Democrats out there who want to know. I talked to so many of them yesterday here in Iowa. I think we'll know the answer in a couple days.

CUOMO: All of this speaks to the perspective of the Biden team versus the Hillary team. They wouldn't be doing this this way if they didn't think there was a challenge.

KOSINSKI: It's hard to believe at this point that he's not going to run.

CUOMO: Right because it has lingered out there. Yet when you know Joe Biden, you can understand how he'd vacillate. I've been in one of these family conversations, actually two of them.

KOSINSKI: That's right.

CUOMO: That were like this. They are not a conversation the way that weren't suggest. This is about him and whether or not he wants to take this on. Yes, he needs to know his family is with him but we're always with him. The family is always going to be with him.

This is about what he wants and how much he wants it. This is a hell of a fight on his hands if he gets it into it. His numbers will never be as high as the day he enters the race.

KOSINSKI: Or just before.

PEREIRA: Jeff, Michelle, thank you both so much. We're six days away from the first Democratic debate, hosted by CNN and Facebook. You can tune in October 13th, 8:30 Eastern, right here on CNN.

And if you actually are stewing and have a question that you are hoping to will get asked during the Democratic debate, head to our Facebook page for CNN. You can comment there or you can record a short video for Instagram, use #demdebate.

CUOMO: Would you make a video with me?

PEREIRA: No.

CUOMO: Major publication, taking a huge step. They want to stop gun violence in the wake of the Oregon massacre. Now, we're going to show you this and you tell us, do you think this would make you -- will it make lawmakers take action? Wait until you see it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:52:40]

CUOMO: All right. This is a big one and a surprise, an unprecedented move by "People" magazine. They are taking a stand on these mass shootings. They are calling on readers to act on its website and the new issue. The magazine is publishing the names and phone numbers of all 535 lawmakers in the House and Senate.

In the letter from the editor, it is titled "Not Again." And the editorial director explains why they are doing this. Saying he thinks about mass shootings when he's on a train, in a movie theater in a classroom, like so many of us do now.

If for no other reason than media presence, he says our voices need to be heard. The news article gives snapshot of those who lost their lives in the violence this year.

PEREIRA: Not necessarily the publication you might anticipate something like this from, but it is really interesting to see, are we at a tipping point in the nation when so many of us are saying not again? Not again?

CUOMO: Are you going to call your lawmakers? Is that something you have done before, is this a time you would think of doing this? My concern is you want to act. What do you want to do?

PEREIRA: I want you to hear my voice.

CUOMO: What law would make a difference? What law would have stopped this? It gets complicated very quickly. But nothing happens if nothing happens.

PEREIRA: Sitting on your hands isn't going to help.

CUOMO: Let us know on the Twitter.

PEREIRA: Yes, please do. Hit us both.

Now to the presidential candidates dominating "Late Night" shows on Tuesday there are a few special guests to watch.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you call Donald Trump and ask him to run for president of the United States?

FORMER PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON: No. No.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No? Because that would be pretty smart, man.

CLINTON: Yes. Yes, I get credit for doing a lot of things I didn't do like that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Credit. Credit.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The economy is so bad. Hillary Clinton wants people to look through her deleted e-mails to see if there is any from that Nigerian prince. That's how bad.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dr. Ben Carson hosted a Facebook Q&A last night and said the loss of gun rights is more devastating than seeing people die from gun violence. So if Ben Carson is your doctor, definitely get a second opinion.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[07:55:03] CUOMO: Better than the headline. You see Leno on Fallon's show?

PEREIRA: That was huge.

CUOMO: He's not a politician, is he? What do you make of the Russian situation? They are increasing the number of attacks on targets inside Syria. But are they going after ISIS or are they going after America's allies, the rebel groups there? That is the big question. And then the next question is what will the U.S. do about it?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PEREIRA: Overnight Russian war planes launching a new round of strikes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The White House is left with few options.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM": ISIS doesn't seem to be the main target.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Russia should not be interfering.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Russia now firmly owns the actions of the Assad regime.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You can see why the water is covering over that road right there.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, "AC360": Record volume of flood water making its way downstream.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Now it is time to assess the damages.

PEREIRA: Clinton is coming out strong.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some of this I think reflects her just being a known quantity.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Democrats want to know if Joe Biden is going to get into this race.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He needs whatever time and space he wants.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CUOMO: Good morning. Welcome to your NEW DAY. It is Wednesday, October 7th, 8:00 in the east.