Return to Transcripts main page

NEWS STREAM

ISIS Social Media Strategy Dissected; Russian Aid Convoy Enters Ukraine; U.S. Defense Commanders Issue Stark Warning On ISIS; Malaysian Prime Minister Calls For National Day Of Mourning for MH17 Victims; Calm In Ferguson As Police Change Tactics; The Militarization Of U.S. Police

Aired August 22, 2014 - 08:00   ET

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

KRISTIE LU STOUT, HOST: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. And this is News Stream where news and technology meet.

Now the U.S. says ISIS poses an imminent threat, calling the group more sophisticated than anything they've seen.

A Russian aid convoy enters Ukraine. One Ukrainian official calls it a direct invasion of the country.

And we'll show you the next game from the creator of Flappy Bird. We'll tell you why you might have trouble finding it.

U.S. defense chiefs delivered a stark new warning about the threat of ISIS, saying the militant group's apocalyptic vision presents an imminent

threat to American interests.

Now the U.S. has carried out a total of 90 airstrikes on ISIS in Iraq, but America's highest ranking military officer, General Martin Dempsey,

says the group won't be defeated without targeting their strongholds in Syria.

Now the U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel says the extremist group should not be underestimated. And it is more sophisticated, more organized

than anything they've ever seen before.

Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As ISIS continues its murdering rampage, alarming words from the U.S. secretary of defense about

the threat the group poses to Americans.

CHUCK HAGEL, DEFENSE SECRETARY: This is beyond anything that we've seen, so we must prepare for everything, and the only way you do that is

you take a cold steely hard look at it and -- and get ready.

STARR: But ready for what? U.S. officials insist there are no ISIS sleeper cells in the U.S. right now, but U.S. intelligence agencies are

worried some Americans fighting with ISIS overseas could come back to this country and carry out attacks.

HAGEL: They are beyond just a terrorist group. They marry ideology, sophistication of strategic and tactical military prowess. They are

tremendously well-funded.

STARR: For now, U.S. military strategy remains limited to air strikes inside Iraq, not in Syria, ISIS' home base, but there has been the first

U.S. military mission into Syria with the acknowledgment of a failed July 4th raid to rescue James Foley and other American hostages. The Pentagon

insists it wasn't an intelligence failure.

HAGEL: Intelligence doesn't come wrapped in a package with a bow. It is a mosaic of many pictures, of many factors.

STARR: The mission was unprecedented.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In a situation where you are going into a country, which is fraught with danger, which is potentially going into a city that's

controlled by a nefarious and horrific force like ISIS, the risk levels go up considerably.

STARR: Now, questions about whether other hostages' lives are at risk from the administration's revelations. One former Navy SEAL says you

cannot under estimate the risk now posed by going public.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's highly unusual, because it compromises our capability to do this again and to do it successfully. It makes it that

much harder.

STARR: U.S. officials say a number of options are being reviewed, including expanding air strikes in Iraq and maybe even conducting air

strikes across the border in Syria. But they emphasize all of this is just under discussion, just an idea. There have been no decisions made.

Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Now let's get an update from the Iraqi capital Baghdad. And CNN's Jomana Karadsheh is there live. She joins us now. And Jomana,

what is the very latest on U.S. military operations there in Iraq against ISIS?

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Kristie, before we get to that, we have news coming in from Diyala Province, that's northeast

of Baghdad. Police officials are telling us that unidentified gunmen have raided a Sunni mosque in a town there, killing at least 30 worshippers

using small arms and medium weapons.

It's not clear who these gunmen are, but Diyala Province, an ethnically mixed province where both ISIS and also Shia militias have been

very active in recent months. So we'll bring you more details when we have on that.

Now regarding U.S. air strikes, Kristie, the U.S. yesterday announcing six new airstrikes, bringing the total of airstrikes in the Mosul Dam area

to 57, that's more than half of the airstrikes that have taken place in Iraq since the start of U.S. military operations taking place there. And

the results we have seen that these strikes have been a gamechanger.

Over the past weeks, it has enabled Iraqi security forces and the Kurdish Peshmerga to retake control of that Mosul dam and also to stop the

advance of ISIS in the northern part of the country.

But ISIS still maintains control over big parts of this country like Iraq's second largest city Mosul and other key cities like Fallujah west of

here, and other cities too.

As we have heard from U.S. officials, the situation here to try and confront ISIS, to try and deal with it, weaken it, and defeat it is going

to take more than just these strikes, the political situation here in Baghdad is key to try and bring in Sunni Arabs into the political process.

They have been key in the past, allied with the U.S. military. They combated and fought the extremist groups here. So that will be important,

this government formation, bringing them on board and also the ISIS presence in Syria as mentioned by U.S. officials must be tackled too.

LU STOUT: Jomana, you mentioned carnage in Diyala province. ISIS is very active there as well as in Mosul and Fallujah and many other parts of

Iraq.

The fighting by ISIS has forced now as many as 1.2 million Iraqis to become displaced, 1.2 million Iraqis forced to leave their homes. What's

being done to help them? Is there enough aid being mobilized?

KARADSHEH: Well, we have seen, Kristie, over the past couple of months is a new crisis of internally displaced Iraqis who have left with

that push by ISIS in northern Iraq. It has displaced more than 600,000 Iraqis. If you look at those figures just in the past couple of weeks

200,000 were displaced by that move by ISIS, the advances in the Sinjar area.

These more than 600,000 refugees have sought safety in the Kurdish region of Iraq that is the Kurdish region of Iraq that is relatively safer

than the rest of the country.

But now we are seeing aid movements. The UN starting its biggest aid push, they say, in the single largest aid push than more than a decade.

And aid is starting to get to these refugees, these internally displaced people. But we are talking about basic aid here, Kristie, things like

tents, plastic sheets, kitchen sets, these things that are really -- that they have been in desperate need of in the dire conditions that they have

been living in in the northern part of the country.

LU STOUT: Yeah, desperate indeed. Jomana Karadsheh there reporting live from Baghdad on the humanitarian crisis and the ISIS advance there in

Iraq. Thank you so much Jomana.

Now later this hour, we'll be speaking to an expert about the sophisticated media and social media strategy that ISIS is using and how

it's helping to recruit people to its extremist mission.

Now there is new heated rhetoric coming from Ukraine, this time over what's been happening in just the last few hours along its border with

Russia.

Now parts of that Russian aid envoy we've been telling you about have been finally been making its way across Ukrainian border.

Now the trucks were cleared by Ukrainian customs, this happened on Thursday night, on the assumption that Red Cross escorts would accompany

the convoy. But ICRC monitors, they pulled out at the last minute over security concerns. The Ukrainian government spokesperson has accused

Russia of violating an agreement.

Now let's get more details now from CNN's Matthew Chance. He joins me now live from Moscow. And Matthew, what is the risk now that this event is

going to raise the tension even more between Moscow and Kiev?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think that's a risk that's already taking place. It already is raising the tension

between Moscow and Kiev in the sense that this aid convoy, this humanitarian convoy, a couple of hundred trucks, 270 trucks, in fact, or

thereabouts, apparently on their way across the border from Russia into Ukraine.

We know at least 34 of those trucks have crossed already without the permission of the Ukrainian authorities.

It's been more than a week now since this humanitarian convoy, these big vehicles all painted white carrying humanitarian supplies like food and

shelter have essentially been held up in the bureaucracy of that border crossing. The Ukrainian officials very reluctant to let them go across,

concerns, suspicious that there are some kind of, you know front for a larger Russian invasion of Eastern Ukraine.

The Russian foreign ministry issuing a very tersely worded statements out of the last couple of hours saying that basically they've had enough,

that all the excuses being used by the Ukrainians not to allow these trucks to go through have been exhausted and that they're going ahead anyway and

that they're heading out towards the eastern city of Luhansk as its called in Ukraine where some of the most fierce fighting is taking place.

Now, you mentioned as well, it had been believed that the International Committee of the Red Cross, the ICRC, would be accompanying

that humanitarian aid so it can be distributed to the needy people of that area, but because they didn't receive the right security guarantees,

guarantees that would have satisfied them that they have safe passage, the ICRC have pulled out.

So it seems that his humanitarian convoy now, if it is indeed moving towards Luhansk, is doing so totally under the authority of the Russians

and of the pro-Russian rebels in whose territories through which it's passing.

LU STOUT: The convoy believed to be heading towards Luhansk as you reported very, very fierce fighting taking place right now. If this convoy

is attacked, how would Moscow respond?

Well, they've said there will be consequences. And in that foreign ministry statement that I mentioned, they warned against any attack against

the humanitarian convoy promising unspecified consequences. But obviously Russia has a vast force that it's assembled just across the border in

western Russia. It hasn't said that it would use those, but obviously that's a threat that is looming over this entire crisis.

We're clearly in a very dangerous moment in this Ukrainian crisis. If this humanitarian convoy is attacked, it may provide a pretext for the

Russians to go in and strike against the Ukrainian forces. We'll have to see, though. The hope is at the moment that this will go on without

incident.

LU STOUT: All right, CNN's Matthew Chance reporting that we are at a very dangerous moment in this Ukrainian crisis. Matthew reporting live

from Moscow, thank you.

Now you're watching News Stream. Keep it here, because still to come, a mass execution in Gaza today as Hamas follows through on a vow of

revenge. After the break, we take you live to Jerusalem for the story.

Also ahead, more than a month after MH17 went down over eastern Ukraine, some of the Malaysian victims are being brought back home today.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Welcome back.

Now a major act of retaliation in Gaza today. Hamas-run al-Aqsa TV is reporting that the militant group has executed 18 suspected informants for

Israel. Now this mass killing, it comes one day after an Israeli bombing in southern Gaza killed three top military leaders in the Qassam Brigades,

the armed wing of Hamas.

Let's get right to Jerusalem now. Karl Penhaul is standing by. He joins us live with the very latest. And Karl, after its own leadership was

targeted, Hamas is hitting back and it's hitting back hard.

KARL PENHAUL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Exactly, Kristie, and as you say Hamas, through its own TV station, al Aqsa TV, has reported this

morning that Hamas has executed 18 people that they accuse of collaborating with Israel, effectively being spies for Israel.

Now reading in greater detail, a statement that was put out, Hamas say that this decision to kill these 18 people by a firing squad was done after

they were heard, after they were judged by a so-called revolutionary council, a revolutionary court that seems to have been set up during this

wartime period. And they, according to a statement, were judged to have given information to Israel that led to the deaths of civilians, that led

to the destruction of homes and that gave away part of Hamas's military strategy that then led to its military wing having to cancel a number of

its planned actions.

So that statement isn't directly relating it to the death of these three al Qassam Brigades commanders in a pre-dawn strike by Israeli forces

yesterday. But certainly what it is intended to do, and certainly broadcasting this publicly, is to serve as a dire warning to anybody else

who may be tempted to collaborate with Israel that this is going to be the fate that befalls them if they're caught in the act, Kristie.

LU STOUT: Yeah, just wondering about what guided these Israeli airstrikes that led to the deaths of these top Hamas commanders earlier in

this week. What do we know about Israel's ability to track and target individuals in Gaza? To what a degree do they rely on informants versus

technology like drones in the sky?

PENHAUL: Well, of course, as you might expect the Israeli intelligence services aren't giving that kind of information away,

especially in a hot period during a wartime scenario.

But of course both Israel's Mossad and Shin Bet security services, a legendary within the intelligence circles for their ability to infiltrate

and operate. It would be most likely in a scenario like this that they would be relying on both electronic eaves dropping as well as human

resources, i.e. spies on the ground.

And the way that these Hamas commanders were targeted down in southern Gaza before dawn on Thursday would suggest perhaps that they got some very

good real-time information. Presumably Hamas know what the score is. They would be staying clear of cell phones and other electronic messages so that

does open the possibility, in fact, that somebody spotted these three commanders together, got in touch with their Israeli handlers, and that's

why the strike went in. But we don't know for sure, Kristie.

LU STOUT: And away from the front line and on the diplomatic front, these talks in Cairo, they've stalled earlier this week. Are there are any

planes by either side to somehow revive those talks?

PENHAUL: Well, we do know that today the president of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas was in Doha meeting with the head of Hamas's

political bureau Khaled Meshaal. We don't know any real results that have come out of that meeting so far. Mr. Abbas said he could head back to

Cairo ready to negotiate. But it really isn't clear who he would be talking to if he does go back.

We have heard a whiff in the Israeli media that possibly an Israeli delegation would be prepared to return to Cairo, but certainly heard

nothing. So it could be that if Abbas does go back to Cairo for the short- term at least, the only people he will be talking to are the Egyptians who have been trying to broker some ceasefire.

But you've really got to ask so far in the talks that have been going on, neither side really seems ready to make major concessions to make this

ceasefire a lasting procedure without tackling some of the real political and social issues that are at the core of the whole Israeli/Palestinian

problem, Kristie.

LU STOUT: Yeah, now we've come to this. Now more than six weeks of fierce fighting. Karl Penhaul, as always, thank you. Karl Penhaul

reporting live from Jerusalem there.

Now you're watching News Stream. Still to come on the program, a month after MH17 went down over eastern Ukraine, Malaysia remembers some of

the victims of the crash.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: It is Friday night here in Hong Kong. You're back watching News Stream

Now four West African countries have been battling in unprecedented outbreak of Ebola. 1,350 people have died across Guinea, Liberia, Sierra

Leone and Nigeria. And now Senegal has not had any cases so far, but it is fortifying its defenses against the spread of the disease.

Now state media says the government has closed its borders with Guinea. It's also shut air and sea borders with Sierra Leone and Liberia.

Now Malaysia marks a solemn day of mourning as it receives the bodies of 20 nationals who were killed on the ill-fated flight MH17. Now they

were transferred from the Netherlands where investigators have been trying to identify the bodies that were recovered from the crash site.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Families, royalty and political leaders all came to welcome them home -- 11 passengers and nine crew members who were supposed to

arrive in Kuala Lumpur more than a month ago finally landed at the international airport on board a specially chartered flight, the coffins

carried off by military pallbearers.

They are 20 of the 298 people killed when Flight MH17 crashed on July 17, their lives ended in this field of debris in the middle of a battle

zone in eastern Ukraine. Ukrainian government forces and pro-Russia separatists have been battling for control of Ukraine's eastern region for

months.

The plane was traveling from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur when it was shot down. U.S. and Ukrainian officials allege that a Russian-made missile

shot down MH17 from rebel held territory, but Russia and the rebel fighters have disputed the allegations and blamed Ukraine for the crash.

The fighting has so hampered investigators' efforts to get to the crash site that not all the victims have been recovered. It may still be

weeks before the others are positively identified through DNA testing.

43 Malaysians were on board MH17. Officials say only 30 have been identified so far. The Malaysian government declared Friday a national day

of mourning, a designation normally reserved for royalty and heads of state.

And in a statement, the Prime Minister paid his respects, "our thoughts and our prayers are with the families and friends of those who

lost their lives," he said. "Today, we stand with you united as one."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: The Malaysian prime minister also posted his condolence message on social media. And he changed the header images on his Twitter

and Facebook pages to black.

Now the words at the top read Day of Mourning: Malaysia.

You're watching News Stream. And after the break, the militant group went from having a few Facebook pages to a centralized media operation. Up

next, we look at how ISIS spreads its message. And how it turned social networks into recruitment platforms.

And peaceful protests continue as the violence recedes. Coming up, we look at the new strategy in Ferguson, which helped to calm unrest over the

police killing of an African-American teen.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong, you're watching News Stream and these are your world headlines.

A Ukrainian official is accusing Russia of violating an agreement after 34 Russian trucks carrying aid entered separatist controlled eastern

Ukraine. Now those trucks were cleared by Ukrainian customs on the assumption that Red Cross escorts would accompany the convoy, but ICRC

monitors pulled out last minute over security concerns.

Now U.S. defense chiefs are warning that ISIS is, quote, "beyond anything we've seen and likely would not be defeated unless it is also

targeted in Syria." Now those comments came as the U.S. carried out more air strikes against ISIS militants in Iraq, bringing the total number of

strikes to at least 90.

Now it is a national day of mourning in Malaysia, the remains of 20 victims from Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 arrived home earlier today. The

plane was shot down over eastern Ukraine more than a month ago. And 43 of the 298 people on board were from Malaysia.

Now Hamas-run TV network al-Aqsa is reporting that the militant group has executed 18 suspected informants for Israel in Gaza today. Now this

comes one day after an Israeli bombing in southern Gaza killed three top military leaders in the Qassam Brigades, that's the armed wing of Hamas.

Now meanwhile, in the UK, authorities there are still trying to identify the apparently British ISIS militant who killed the American

journalist James Foley. Now the video of the brutal execution is providing important clues.

Now CNN's Atika Shubert has been following all the developments from London . She joins us again today. And Atika, any new developments in the

race to find and identify Foley's killer?

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, what we know is that investigators are scouring that video, they're comparing it to their

database of both video and audio that they have of the hundreds of militants that they've been trying to track that have gone from Britain to

Syria and Iraq to fight.

Now they haven't made any announcements about who this person may be, but we do know they're following a number of leads.

The audio in particular is what they're hoping to match. It's a very distinctive accent. A number of linguistic experts is told us it comes

probably from London, somebody who has grown up here from a young age, but has been exposed to multiple languages.

So, this is something they'll be looking at.

They also say it's somebody who is quite young, under the age of 30, but not a teenager. So that narrows it down a little bit.

And now investigators are doing, is looking at their contacts and going to the Muslim community here to see if anybody can recognize this

man's voice.

LU STOUT; It's a distinctive accent, it's been caught on tape. It's being analyzed by Linguistic specialists. And it has revived concern about

the ISIS recruitment drive as well as the British connection and British homegrown Jihadis.

Is this turning into a major threat?

SHUBERT: Well, it's turning into a very big concern for Britain, but to be fair it's not a new concern. This is something that has been going

on for some time. They, of course, had their own terror attacks here, the July 7 bombings, for example. But what their concern is now is that they

have so many hundreds -- and we're talking about 400 to 500 mostly young men, but also a few women that have traveled to Syria. And what began as

young volunteers to fight against the regime of Bashar al-Assad has now morphed into an establishment establishing an Islamic state.

So what they fear is that a lot of these youths who might have gone in for very idealistic reasons are now finding themselves trapped in this

bloody and brutal conflict and they really can't find a way out.

LU STOUT: Atika Shubert, reporting live for us in London with the latest developments, thank you so much Atika.

When that despicable horrific video showing James Foley's execution was posted online, it raised alarm bells about the group's use of the

Internet as a propaganda tool.

Now increasingly, ISIS is recruiting new members via social media platforms as well. And for more on this, let's bring in Aymenn Jawad al

Tamimi. He is a Shilman-Ginsberg fellow at the Middle East forum. And he joins me now live from our London Bureau.

And thank you so much for joining us here on CNN.

And just the fundamental questions here, right, before we talk about the scope of ISIS's social media operations, what did they do this? Why

did ISIS execute James Foley on camera and then upload and share that video online?

AYMENN JAWAD AL-TAMIMI, SHILMAN-GINESBERG FELLOW, MIDDLE EAST FORUM: To be sure, that -- this advertising of beheadings and so on is nothing

new. For example, one of their previous videos called Sadiya Sawaram (ph), which means clashing of the swords, they -- there was one scene in it where

they advertised going into the house of a member of the Iraqi security forces and then beheading him in his bedroom.

So it's nothing new. And it is, I think, designed as a scare tactic to advertise the group's brutality. And I think to intimidate I think the

wider U.S. public. But at the same time, I think IS has -- the Islamic State has an interest in wanting to have the U.S. get involved in the wider

confrontation, not necessarily with troops on the ground in Iraq and Syria, but they seem vested in having the U.S. carry out more airstrikes, because

they want to be seen as the number one so-called Islamic power confronting United States, because on the other hand, say for example, their mass

executions of rebellious tribesman in Deir ez-Zor, quite severely dented their image even among the wider jihadi community.

But seeing -- being scene as the power that confronts the United States in something they feel they need to do to bolster their image.

LU STOUT: So, the video was a way to position itself as a counter to the United States, and they used the word advertising as well. It was a

propaganda show as well.

Now we know that ISIS has used YouTube and Vimeo to upload that video this week. And it used Twitter to push it out. How sophisticated, how

well coordinated is the ISIS social media operation?

AL-TAMIMI: It is very sophisticated and coordinated, although actually on the Twitter realm, it has taken a hit recently, because the

U.S. government pressure has led to the taking down of the Islamic State's official provincial news Twitter feeds.

So originally, actually, back when it was just ISIS, the Islamic State in Iraq and Asham (ph), the greater Levante (ph) it was at the very

beginnings actually it was largely confined to unofficial pro-ISIS Facebook pages. So example, one -- a couple that come to mind was one called Rakka

Islamic News Network, which actually advertised the first video of ISIS in Syria executing three people in Rakka.

And then also there was this (inaudible) called Asham (ph) Media.

And actually both of these unofficial pro-ISIS, pro-IS (inaudible) have Twitter accounts. And they still haven't been taken off Twitter.

But on the other hand, we have this development of the -- of a centralized social media operation involving foremost official, provincial

news feeds on Twitter. So, for example, Anbar Province, Rakka Province in Syria, Aleppo Province and, you know, the fact that for example when these

accounts got taken down and new ones got set up, they are all quickly following each other and so on. It points to a centralized operation.

LU STOUT: Wow, that's incredible here. Because we did see the response right away from YouTube and from Twitter. YouTube deleted the

video, Twitter suspending any accounts linked to ISIS.

So what you're saying is the group is continuing to evolve, create new accounts on these platforms and also moving to other platforms as well, I

mean besides YouTube and Twitter. What other social media accounts is ISIS using?

AL-TAMIMI: Well, Twitter, what happened with that now is all official IS accounts of Twitter, they're using it as a platform called Diaspora I

think where they try to mask their point of origin and location, I think, to prevent from being deleted.

But on the other hand, you see with Twitter there is this difficulty - - if the goal is to try to prevent IS from -- the Islamic State from advertising its material on open source social media, well the problem is

you know you still have plenty of Twitter accounts that are pro-IS and they can just simply take photos that they catch from forums and so on and from

IS and advertise them on Twitter.

So there isn't a way this never-ending cycle so long as you have open source social media.

On the other hand, I think IS now realizes that with the U.S. government pressure that Twitter is more or less off limits to setting up

new provincial Twitter feeds and new accounts for their various media wings like (inaudible) media, which is their oldest media wing, al-Ajinad (ph)

media, which is specifically for song productions for the Islamic State and they've released several of them. And also there was on called al Itizan

(ph) media, which was back in the era when we had ISIS. It was advertising the group's presence in Syria and designed specifically for outreach to

potential Arabic speaking recruits.

And then on the other hand -- and then later you had the development - - you had al Hayad (ph) media, which is designed to reach out to Muslims all over the world, particularly English speaking Muslims.

LU STOUT: You know, for awhile now Aymenn, you've been analyzing ISIS's social media footprint to get an understanding of its messaging, to

get an understanding of its propaganda, what have you, is there any way to analyze its social media use and to trace it back to where ISIS militants

are hiding out and operating?

AL-TAMIMI: Using Twitter, no. You couldn't -- I don't you could trace the exact location of where the official news provincial Twitter

feeds were coming from, because you could turn off geolocation on Twitter.

On the other hand, though, IS fighters, many of them set up their own social media accounts -- set up their own Twitter accounts, and with them,

actually, I think there is a clear messaging strategy, I think, where they try to convey a supposedly normal side to them, you know, about going about

their daily lives and albeit of course with fighting on the battlefield and so on, but I think to convey a humanizing side to them to the wide -- to

the wider world. I mean, you have to be very, very careful of that.

But you could track those, because many of them actually would say where they were. For example, they would say if they were in Rakka

Province, or there were even some instances where they were tweeting at each other saying I'm here, where are you? I'm in Deir ez-Zor -- I've been

deployed to Deir ez-Zor. I've been sent back to Rakka, because I'm injured, and so on.

So, some of them -- with IS fighters, though, setting up accounts and with them there is also this propaganda messaging strategy of conveying an

air of normality to their personae.

LU STOUT: Yeah, a lot of key information to be gleaned about ISIS. Thank you so much for sharing your findings with us.

Aymenn Jawad al-Tamimi of the Middle East Forum joining us live from CNN London, thank you. Take care.

Now a change of police tactics help bring calm to the streets of Ferguson, Missouri, so what about this military style hardware that we've

been seeing? I mean, it's basically free. Is it needed? We'll take a closer look.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Now, the tide may be turning in Ferguson, Missouri. For the second night in a row, the streets remain largely calm. Now protesters

were still out marching, but in much smaller numbers than before.

Now these developments have prompted the state's governors to order the National Guard to begin leaving the city.

Now some of this improvement can be attributed to police putting away the heavy military style equipment they were first using when the protest

started. And many protesters have welcomed the change in tactics. But the question remains, do police even need such equipment.

Deborah Feyerick explores that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bullets will not go into this. You can have an explosion in the road, it will not disrupt the vehicle.

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This 2006 mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicle once saw action in Baghdad and

Fallujah. The inside still looks like it was in the desert.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's pretty big capacity in here.

FEYERICK: Now it belongs to the Nassau County Police Department on Long Island.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This vehicle because of its heavy armament could enter a hot zone. As you've seen it's very, very heavy.

FEYERICK (on camera): Unbelievable. Have you ever taken this vehicle out ?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This vehicle has not been used yet.

FEYERICK: It hasn't ?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And hopefully it never will be.

FEYERICK (voice-over): The Defense Department is giving out billions of dollars' worth of surplus military equipment to police agencies across

the country.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This will withstand gun fire like this one would not.

FEYERICK: Things like Humvees, backhoes, watch towers, in some cases even weapons, all of it handed out for free.

STEVEN SKRYNECKI, NASSAU COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT: They're downsizing the military now rather than dispose of these vehicles or have them sitting

in a lot rotting, they've made them available to police agencies such as ours and we've taken advantage of it.

FEYERICK: Nassau's chief of departments, Steve Skrynecki oversees police operations here. He says the equipment is a key part of the city's

emergency response and rescue plan. Whether responding to natural disasters like Superstorm Sandy or active shooting situations.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, when it comes down to saving lives, I don't think there's ever too much.

FEYERICK: But do these weapons from the battlefield belong in the hands of police officers? Even before the shooting of Michael Brown in

Ferguson, Missouri, the ACLU accused police of becoming dangerously militarized.

KARA DANSKY, ACLU: Many police departments across the country are using these paramilitary weapons and tactics without receiving the

specialized training. Nassau has strict protocols and monthly training for its officers. Other cities with smaller police forces do not.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These are not toys to play about. They're to be used under certain circumstances only.

FEYERICK: The ACLU has criticized lack of oversight and inconsistent training within the nation's many police departments.

(on camera): People are demonizing the use of military grade vehicles in small town police departments. Is that fair ?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot has changed in the world since 9/11. Terrorist groups are attacking us from abroad. Terrorist groups are

springing up here in the country. Police departments today in the 21st Century are a giant component to our national security.

FEYERICK: Deborah Feyerick, CNN, Nassau County, Long Island.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: This is News Stream. Still to come, the person who filmed this calls it a jellyfish of fire. We'll tell you what it is when we come

back. Stick around.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Welcome back.

Now it is nearly the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. And CNN is marking this pivotal moment in history with the landmark series

on the events of that time that changed the world forever.

Now here is part of the next episode in the series Cold War.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KENNETH BRANAGH, ACTOR: Soviet and Warsaw Pact armies burst through the Czechoslovak frontiers. As the invasion began, the Czechoslovak leaders

were meeting in Prague. ZDENEK MLYNAR, GOVERNMENT MINISTER: (through translator)?We listened to the airplanes flying overhead. Dubcek was waiting for a telephone

message, but instead the door suddenly opened, and paratroopers came in carrying Kalashnikovs. They stood behind us and the commander said they

were taking us under protection in the name of the forces of the Warsaw Pact. What will happen later, we'll see. We were prisoners.

BRANAGH: Before their arrest, the party's leaders managed to condemn the invasion. By morning, Soviet tanks had taken over the center of Prague.

(END VIDEOTAPE) LU STOUT: Incredible footage there. You can watch the full episode of CNN's Cold War. Tune in Saturday, 6:00 p.m. Hong Kong time.

Now, we all know how fire behaves, but how does it burn in space? Well, here's the answer, it kind of looks like a jellyfish of fire, at

least that is how one astronaut Reid Wiseman described it. Now he tweeted these short videos from the International Space Station. And these aren't

just for fun, Wiseman is conducting experiments using small droplets of fuel to understand the way it burns in microgravity.

Now he called this one slow motion flame pulse. Very cool stuff. And fortunately experiments that you can't replicate down here on Earth. We

don't want to do dangerous stuff.

Now let's get more now on how things burn in space. Mari Ramos joins us from the world weather center with that -- Mari.

MARI RAMOS, CNN WEATHER CORRESPONDENT: I don't know. That's amazing. I love those pictures, really, to see it just hold together, that jelly, it

really just look like jelly. I'm jelly. I'm jealous. That's so awesome.

Anyway, I've got nothing else for you about that.

But we've got to retweet those pictures in just a moment.

Let's go ahead and move on. There's a lot of weather that I want to talk to you about, Kristie, and some of it pretty serious stuff like what

we've been talking about in Japan, that extreme rainfall that continue to affect portions of western Japan, in particular.

We're starting to see a little bit of a trend now from a drier conditions at the west and more Honshu now will be getting the heavier

rain. And this is the satellite image from the last 24 hours or so and you can see that heavy rain that again moved across this area of western Japan,

including Hiroshima where they're still cleaning up from the tragedy from that landslide that they had to endure.

The August average rainfall is 143 millimeters of rain. Now, on August 20 alone they had over 200 millimeters of rain. That brings us to a

grand total of almost half a meter of rainfall from now all going all the way back to August 1. And that's very significant.

And western Japan is not alone, other portions of Honshu, in Kochi, for example, they've had 144 (sic) millimeters of rain, and that's the

wettest August ever. And in Mt. Torigata, over 2000 millimeters of rainfall. It's very, very serious stuff.

I want to take you back to Hiroshima now, so you can see some of the damage that has happened there and the rescues that are still ongoing.

These are pictures from earlier today when it was still daylight out. And look closely, you can see this beeline of rescue personnel. They look

like tiny little ants going up a hill here, because the scale of this destruction is so massive. They had to actually stop working for awhile on

Thursday, because of more rain that was falling, that's what I showed you just right now on that satellite. And there are still about 50 people that

are missing. They're still searching.

So these search and rescue teams are working under very dangerous conditions. And the ground is still moving. They have to go through all

of that debris and then the threat continues, or had continued, but it looks like drier weather is moving in. And those are some of the survivors

there that you can see.

Come back over to the weather map. As far as rainfall, what we're going to see is generally drier here in the west, but still about 10

millimeters, maybe 20 for you in Hiroshima and then the heavier rain will be moving into Honshu and even into Hokkaido as we head into the weekend.

Other areas across east Asia that will also be looking at some rain, not as heavy as before, though, will be here across the south with some

scattered rainshowers. And the heavier rain will begin to move across the Korean peninsula, northeastern parts of China and they actually need the

rain across that part of the world.

Very quickly, we've been talking, of course, about that volcano in Iceland, and Barbarbunga is still under that orange alert with that

escalating unrest. There have been more earthquake swarms going some stronger quakes.

I want to show you this picture, because there's really no signs of eruption. Can you even see anything here? It doesn't look your typical

volcano. This volcano is under a huge icecap, our largest glacier in Iceland. And they did a flyover just in the last 24 hours or so, and that

what you see right there is one of the cauldrons, and this is the other one, you can barely make it out in this picture, Kristie. I thought this

was pretty awesome. These are 700 meters deep, and of course no signs of eruptions.

Back to you.

LU STOUT: Yeah, thanks for explaining that image, because you know without the fonts and the wording behind you or the circles I would think

it was just an open field of snow. But that's a volcano crater. Mari Ramos there, thank you. Have a great weekend. Take care.

Now, let's walk over here, this is one of the most eagerly awaited games of the year, the next game from the creator of Flappy Bird. Now you

might remember Flappy Bird, it was the smash hit mobile game that was too popular for its inventor, Vietnamese creator Dong Nguyen removed the game

from both Google and the Apple app stores after tweeting that he just couldn't handle all the attention.

Well, now he's back and with a new game, it's called Swing Copters, which is a little like Flappy Bird, but on its side. Now you tap the

screen to maneuver the helicopter between the swinging hammers. As you can see, it is very, very hard.

But, if you're trying to download the game, you might find a problem, there are already plenty of clones. Just look at what happens when you

search for Swing Copters in the Google Playstore, you'll see games called Swing Bird or Swing Chopper and it's not just the Google Store. On Apple's

Appstore, you'll find the game Tube Revenge has been given the subtitle Swing Copters.

And that is News Stream, but the news continues at CNN. World Business Today is next.

END