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Police and Protesters Clash; Holder to Brief Obama; National Guard Deployed in Ferugson, Missouri; Kurdish Forces Fighting for Control of Mosul Dam

Aired August 18, 2014 - 09:30   ET

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

STATE SEN. MARIA CHAPPELLE-NADAL (D), MISSOURI: As you have seen, in the last few days, there's a small group of people who really have an issue with police officers and excessive force, and I was telling someone earlier today, they don't love themselves right now. And they don't care about their own lives, and they're willing to die. Many of them say if I make it to 21 years old, that's fantastic, but they're willing to die for justice right now. And what our job is to be on the ground at ground zero and try to urge them to go the right path.

And so while some of us -- most of us are peacefully demonstrating, we have to communicate for those few who are creating a ruckus in this community that that is not the right path.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And surely, Chris, even the peaceful protesters must be affecting businesses, right? So what do you fear --

CHAPPELLE-NADAL: Absolutely.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, right, and I want to address this to Chris. What are business owners doing to protect their stores and convince customers it's safe to come inside?

CHRIS SOMMERS, OWNER, PI PIZZERIA: Well, I think resilience. You saw after the first couple nights of protests, businesses were reopening the next day or two days later. You're seeing the community of Ferguson come together and protect the businesses from the looters. As the senator has said, this is not the community of Ferguson. This is not the people of this community who are causing the trouble here. It is outsiders and it is just a few people who, as a senator said, do not have hope.

But by and large the community of Ferguson in St. Louis is strong and they want to protect the community because there's a lot positive going on here. And it's very impressive what the community has done to build this -- to prevent additional damage to the small businesses.

COSTELLO: OK, so, Chris, I'm going to ask you the hard question.

SOMMERS: Sure.

COSTELLO: You're standing there and you're obviously a white man. This has become a racially charged issue across the country. In your mind, is this about race in your community?

SOMMERS: I think it's about a bunch of bad decisions that were made by politicians and individuals over the last 100 years. And we have an opportunity here to fix it. It has created a racial divide. But it is a divide that, in cities like Atlanta where you are from and other cities where we're investing, people have come out of this stronger. It has been -- it is a wake-up call but we will come out of it stronger. But you are right, it is a series of decisions that created a -- basically a racial divide that allowed this situation to happen. But we now know it's in everybody's mind how to fix it and we will.

COSTELLO: I hope so. State Senator Maria Chappelle-Nadal and Chris Sommers, thank you so much for joining me this morning. I appreciate it.

SOMMERS: Thank you.

COSTELLO: Still to come on the NEWSROOM -- you're welcome.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, President Obama heads back to Washington, leaving Martha's Vineyard to get the latest on the situation in Ferguson. Michelle Kosinski live at the White House.

MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Right, big meeting with the attorney general today. We'll tell you what the White House is doing about this domestic crisis coming up.

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COSTELLO: President Obama is cutting his vacation in Martha's Vineyard short, at least temporarily. He's back in Washington today where he will meet with Attorney General Eric Holder to get the latest developments coming out of Ferguson. Michelle Kosinski live at the White House to tell us more.

Good morning.

KOSINSKI: Hi, Carol.

You know, he was going to cut this vacation short for a few days and return to Martha's Vineyard before all this. So this has been planned. He's not coming back just because of the situation in Ferguson. But the White House has been wanting to let it be known that they care about the situation, that they're focused on it, that it is a priority. In fact, the president will be busy today.

First, though, he has a briefing on the situation in Iraq with his national security team. Then later this afternoon, around 1:00, he'll be meeting with Attorney General Holder. They'll be talking about the White House's role. And I think most significantly what we've seen over the last few days is the Department of Justice wanting to have this additional autopsy done by a federal medical examiner, putting in their expertise to the situation and wanting to have that role.

Also, we know that the White House has been organizing regular briefings, not only briefing the president while he's been in Martha's Vineyard on the situation, but having his top adviser, Valerie Jarrett, talk to and meet with people directly involved, the governor of Missouri, civil rights leaders, other local officials, basically to offer the administration's continued help. Whatever they can put in, in the situation.

So, again, you know, we don't have an afternoon briefing planned for today, unfortunately, but we do expect to hear more from the White House on what this meeting involves, any news that comes out of it, and we'll be sure to bring that to you later today, Carol.

COSTELLO: Of course. Michelle Kosinski, thanks so much.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, tear gas and gunfire pierced the night again in Ferguson. And as tension and violence fill the air, now the National Guard will patrol the streets. We'll talk to Lieutenant General Russel Honore who lead the task force following Hurricane Katrina, next.

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COSTELLO: After an explosive night of tear gas and gunfire in Ferguson, Missouri Governor Jay Nixon has called in the National Guard issuing this executive order, quote, "given these deliberate, coordinated and intensifying violent attacks on lives and property in Ferguson, I am directing the highly capable men and women of the Missouri National Guard to assist the unified command in restoring peace and order to the community."

So let's talk about that. Joining me now is Retired U.S. Army Lieutenant General Russel Honore, who, as you know, directed military relief efforts after Hurricane Katrina and has authored the book "Leadership in the New Normal."

Welcome, General.

LT. GEN. RUSSEL HONORE (RET.), U.S. ARMY: Good morning.

COSTELLO: Good morning.

So did the governor make the right decision by calling in the National Guard?

HONORE: That is the normal process. He recalled his National Guard, which are at his disposal, under his command in the state, 24/7, 365. And as you know, the National Guard respond to the orders of the governor and when mobilize they respond to orders of the president of the United States. So they're a well-trained force, Carol. They have two MP (ph) battalions in Missouri and they're right there near Fort Leonard Wood, the home of the military police. So I expect those troops to show up well trained and well equipped.

COSTELLO: So does that mean state police will no longer be involved at all?

HONORE: Oh, absolutely not. They will be working with the state police it the way this would normally work. And it will probably take their taskings (ph) through the state police because they're there on a military support to civil authority, which means they will work with, in conjunction with, under the taskings (ph) from the state police through the joint headquarters here. But, no, they won't -- I would -- they will not be an independent force is the way they're normally used. They will be used in conjunction with the police.

COSTELLO: So what's the first thing they should do?

HONORE: Well, I don't want to second guess their command on the ground, but I'm sure they have been getting the situational awareness over the last few days and then some routine repetitive training before the arrival on site. And -- but come with crowd control equipment, meaning they've got their shields, they've got their vests, they've got all the equipment that's required to be able to deal with a civil disturbance, meaning that you're trying to control the crowd, trying to move them back, and the emphasis is on that equipment, not on weapons.

COSTELLO: Well, what I found interesting when I covered Katrina, and you were in charge of the National Guard there, unfailingly, members of the National Guard were courteous, treated everyone with respect. They -- I don't know how that restores order, but it seemed to work there. Why was that?

HONORE: We have a great guard. I mean, the National Guard, they're in every area code in the United States. And the only thing is, I mean, the guard didn't work for me, we worked together. As you know, my job in the first army was training and mobilizing National Guard for four years.

So I know this formation well and these troops have been deployed multiple times, the ones that are from Missouri. They're well trained. They're focused on their mission. They're indicative of the army you see in Afghanistan and Iraq and around the country. They're well trained, well equipped.

So I expect they will show up, having done their assessment, and to form -- to accomplish the mission that was given to them by the governor in the most efficient manner while respecting the people because the guard is from the people. Many of them may come from the say community that they're coming in to police, Carol.

COSTELLO: And just a final question for you. You know, a lot of these protesters last night broke curfew and, you know, someone through a Molotov cocktail at police. There was gunfire, two people were shot; it wasn't police involved shooting, but still gunfire rang out.

So how will the guard handle things differently than police with, you know, because they went ahead and threw the tear gas and used strong arm tactics?

HONORE: Well, the guard will respond to the rules of engagement given to them by the chain of command, and that's directed by the police. But they understand their mission -- their entire mission is to save lives and protect property. And they will come more, I'm sure -- I would predict -- more of a defensive posture using their equipment to protect them.

And when you have a civil disturbance, you can expect this. I mean, real civil disturbance. When you have civil disobedience, when you go from the right to protest to civil disobedience, this is expected. It happens. It can happen in any situation. And they'll be prepared to deal with that.

COSTELLO: I hope so. General Russel Honore, thank you so much. I appreciate it.

I'll be right back.

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COSTELLO: In northern Iraq, an intense battle for what the U.S. army has called the most dangerous dam in the world. Kurdish forces are trying to retake the dam near Mosul from ISIS forces. The Islamic extremists seized the dam earlier this month. The Kurdish fighters are getting assistance from U.S. air strikes.

CNN's Anna Coren is near Mosul to tell us more. Hi, Anna.

ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Carol. We can confirm that the Peshmerga special forces are on the dam site. They are currently in fierce battles with ISIS militants, clearing out those pockets of resistance that have stayed there at that facility. You can see Mosul Lake behind me. Well, on from that is the dam, far in the distance.

A short time ago, there was smoke billowing from what we believe is the dam facility, but certainly it has been a fierce battle but one that the Peshmerga have managed to get the upper hand on. We spent the day yesterday embedded with them and we really watched their advance as they pummeled the enemy line with artillery, with mortars, with rockets. There was some incoming fire. And obviously the Pesh -- not the Peshmerga, I beg your pardon, the ISIS militants, they would leave these IEDs, these land mines, scattered on the road and in the fields and in buildings, which then had to be detonated along the way. There was a -- one of the trucks in the convoy traveling to the dam got hit. More than a dozen soldiers were injured. One did die.

But today, we were up much closer to the dam and we were -- had to leave there because of incoming rounds. ISIS is still very much in control of Mosul the city, which they seized back in June, so these battles, they are continuing. But as for the dam, that hydroelectric dam, the largest in the country, it does appear, Carol, that the Peshmerga special forces are finally gaining control of it.

COSTELLO: All right. Anna Coren, reporting live for us this morning. Thanks so much.

I'll be right back. Oh, actually, I'm going to stick around and check some top stories for you at 52 minutes past.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange says he plans to leave the Ecuador's embassy in London soon. But WikiLeaks says his departure is not imminent. Assange, who has health problems, is accused by the United States of publishing secret intelligence documents. He also faces sexual assault allegations in Sweden. He's been living in the embassy since seeking asylum there two years ago.

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JULIAN ASSANGE, FOUNDER, WIKILEAKS: As you can imagine, being detained in various ways in this country without charge for four years, and in this embassy for two years, which has no outside area, no sunlight.

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COSTELLO: Assange says he fears Sweden will transfer him to the United States where he could face the death penalty if he's charged and convicted of publishing U.S. government secrets.

In the Middle East, the latest cease-fire between Israel and Hamas is scheduled to expire just hours from now. It's kept things quiet for the most part over the last week. What happens next depends on the outcome of indirect talks between Israeli and Palestinian negotiators in Cairo. Officials in Gaza say the recent fighting has killed more than 2,000 Palestinians. The Israeli military says 64 of its troops have died in the fighting and 3 civilians have also been killed.

The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM, after a break.

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