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Pentagon Warns Of U.S. Jihadi In Syria; Who Was Douglas McAuthur McCain; Freed U.S. Journalist Speaks After Release

Aired August 27, 2014 - 10:00   ET

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

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning to you. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you for joining me and thanks to our viewers from around the world for joining me too.

We begin with breaking news on freed American hostage Peter Theo Curtis. He's the American journalist who was held hostage by Islamist militants in Syria for nearly two years. Any minute now, we're expecting him to speak for the first time since touching down on U.S. soil. Overnight, Curtis was reunited with his mother in Boston.

Let's get the latest now from CNN's Miguel Marquez. He joins us live from Cambridge, Massachusetts. Good morning, Miguel.

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. And it is a morning of joy here in Cambridge as Peter Theo Curtis has returned home, the family referring to him as Theo. We saw a short time ago, about 150 feet from where we are standing, the family home, the police have set us up here and we believe they are speaking to the police down there, at least they were a little while earlier, sort of figuring out how they're going to do this. We expect he'll to come up to the microphones here, chat with us for a few minutes, perhaps take some questions, and give us an idea of how what it feels like to be home, which must be an amazing feeling, and also what he's been through for the last couple of years.

Remember that the family didn't even know where he was for the first year of his captivity by al Nusra Front, an al Qaeda affiliated group in Syria. And then after the tragic and shocking death of journalist James Foley, very quickly took off for them. The government of Qatar jumping in, negotiating for his release, saying that they did not offer any ransom for his release, which is a big concern for many who don't want to see these groups garner any sort of reward for sort of the capturing journalists and then releasing them for money.

Mrs. Nancy Curtis spoke to Anderson Cooper last night a little bit about the difficulty in dealing with their son in captivity.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NANCY CURTIS, PETER THEO CURTIS' MOTHER (via telephone): This has been a very long road and you learn to get over the panic, which is how I felt initially. Sheer terror is what began when I realized that he had disappeared. Then you slowly come to terms with the fact that he's gone, he's in danger. It was a relief to know after nine months we heard that he was alive.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUEZ: Now, to see those pictures of Mr. Curtis with his mother at Logan International when he arrived last night really says it all. You can see her beaming when she looks at her son. He almost looks embarrassed by the attention.

He also looks physically in much better shape. We saw videos earlier this week released. They were taken in the last months of his captivity. He was unshaven, unshowered. His clothes did not look particularly clean.

To see him in a clean shirt and shaved and showered, looking like the human that he is, is clearly a sign that things are getting better for him. We expect as they have said that they are going to be down here around 10:00.

So we're expecting them to come down any moment. There is a gathering outside the house right and we hope to hear more from his story very, very soon -- Carol.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: I hope so. I just can't imagine how the reunion was between Theo and his mother at Logan last night. Can you tell us more about that?

MARQUEZ: It was joyous for them. He did release a statement thanking everybody, from the people on the plane to the flight attendants to the people that he met in the airport as he was coming home.

Here is a guy who has been kept in captivity in a basement for 22 months and is suddenly in the eye of the storm. The entire world knows who he is. It must be a very strange place for him to be.

This is also I should point out a very bitter sweet day -- for the Curtis family. They were very good friends with the James Foley family. The Foley family had hoped their son would be released but when he was killed that same as a shock to not only the Curtis family, but to many families who have sons in captivity right now.

The first call that Mrs. Curtis made was to James Foley's mother when she found out that her son was coming home. The first call she made was to James Foley's mother.

A real sign of respect that she has for the Foley family and the hopes this is not too painful for them. It must be an -- extraordinarily difficult time that they are going through. So there is a real sort of yin yang of emotions here in Cambridge -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Absolutely. Of course, there's another American journalist being held by ISIS terrorists, Stephen Sotloff and I don't know what's being done to effort his release. But he remains in captivity and under threat by ISIS terrorists. I'm going to leave you right now, Miguel, but we'll get right back to you when Mr. Curtis begins speaking so hang in there. Thanks so much.

Also, this morning, new information on the American who died fighting for ISIS terrorists in Syria. Law enforcement sources tell us Douglas McAuthur McCain came on to their radar screen months ago when he apparently joined the group that's devoted to the destruction of America.

Government officials are worried that those home grown terrorists won't always be contained to a distant battlefield.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: I can assure you this is just the first of many. There are some estimates as much as a hundred, some more, some less, but there's no doubt that ISIS is attracting people from all over the world, who have been indoctrinated by this radical form of Muslim religion and it's not going to stop.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REAR ADMIRAL JOHN KIRBY, PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: I will say it's a stark reminder and a healthy reminder of the concern that governments all over the world have about foreign fighters getting radicalized, joining a group like ISIL and potentially coming back home to their home lands and conducting terrorist attacks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: All right, let's take a closer look at Douglas MacArthur McCain and the Washington views his personal story as a cautionary tale, CNN's Brian Todd is live in our Washington Bureau to tell us more. Good morning.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. Yes, we have more disturbing information on this man this morning from U.S. officials. One official says counterterrorism investigators had been looking into his activities for some time before his death.

And we have other details now on McCain's death and on other Americans who have joined ISIS.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (voice-over): Douglas McArthur McCain, a young American, killed while fighting with the terrorist group, ISIS. U.S. officials say they believed he died in Syria. He's thought to have been killed in a battle between rival extremist groups near the city of Aleppo according to a human rights group. McCain's uncle telling CNN his death occurred this past weekend.

PAUL CRUICKSHANK, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: This ratcheted up concerns about Americans involved with ISIS because now you have a confirmed example of an American killed, fighting with ISIS in Syria. The worry is that this is something that had become the trained killer. TODD: U.S. counterterrorism authorities were investigating McCain for some time before his death. He was on a list of Americans believe to have joined militant groups and who would be subject to additional scrutiny if they traveled.

U.S. officials have told CNN more than 100 Americans have gone to Syria to fight with various Jihadist groups. A 22-year-old from Florida blew himself up while fighting with the al Qaeda-linked group Al Nusar.

U.S. officials believed a handful of Americans have fought with ISIS in Iraq and Syria. In a recent propaganda video, this man identified as Abu Abdurakhman Al-Trinidadi is referred to by ISIS as an American. He calls on Muslims to join the fight.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Please, more believers come, who can make it come.

TODD: A senior U.S. intelligence official says the intelligence community is tracking this man, but cannot confirm or deny he is an American. CNN's Peter Bergen says others have tried to help ISIS.

PETER BERGEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: You've got three Americans indicted for joining ISIS within the last year including a woman, which is quite unusual. Luckily they were arrested before they could leave the country, but clearly ISIS is sort of -- if you're interested in this ideology that's the most exciting thing to go and join right now.

TODD: Now experts worry about revenge if there is an escalation of the U.S. air strikes against ISIS.

CRUICKSHANK: The concern is that could be a red line for ISIS and they could use these Americans not for attacks inside Syria or Iraq, but back home in the United States.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD: Now experts also say McCain's death could also be a big propaganda victory for ISIS and they could use that to recruit other Americans to this fight -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Brian, I'm just wondering, was there anything in McArthur's background that might have given authorities a clue?

TODD: Well, you know, there were things here and there. Now, his uncle, Ken McCain told our Jim Sciutto that he converted to Islam several years ago. That the conversion itself did not alarm the family when it happened. But they later became aware of his social media postings sympathetic to ISIS after he traveled to what they believed was Turkey at the time.

The uncle says the family is devastated. They had no knowledge he was going to join the fight in Syria. But we also know, Carol, that he did have several run-ins with the law since the year 2000.

According to the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office in Minnesota, the offenses included disorderly conduct, speeding, driving after his license was revoked, theft by swindle and giving an officer false information, that was in his background from some years ago, Carol.

So that is there and we're picking apart everything else we can find out about Douglas McAuthor McCain.

COSTELLO: All right, we appreciate it. Brian Todd reporting live from Washington this morning. Let's dig a little deeper with CNN national security analyst and former CIA operative, Bob Baer.

We're also joined by Patrick Skinner. He is the senior director of special projects at the Sufan Group. Welcome to both of you. Thanks for being here.

Bob, I want to start with you, how were these extremist groups able to brainwash westerners?

BOB BAER, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, a lot of these people, and I've met them in prisons and gone to Britain and France and talked to them. They are usually from poorer social elements. They are outsiders. They have criminal records. They are looking for a cause.

COSTELLO: Theo Curtis has just walked outside of his house. Bob, I'm going to have to interrupt you. Here's Peter Theo Curtis, the American journalist, who was held hostage by al Qaeda affiliated terrorists.

He was released just a few weeks ago. He is not back on American soil as you can see. He popped outside of his house early this morning to hang an American flag on a tree. He's approaching the microphone to say a few words to the media and to the world. Let's listen.

PETER THEO CURTIS, U.S. JOURNALIST FREED BY ISLAMIC MILITANTS: First of all, I want to thank you all for coming out here on this beautiful Wednesday morning. In the days following my release on Sunday, I have learned bit by bit that there have been literally hundreds of people, brave determined and big hearted people all over the world working for my release.

They have been working for two years on this. I had no idea when I was in prison. I had no idea that so much effort was being expended on my behalf. Now having found out, I am just overwhelmed with emotion. I'm also overwhelmed by one other thing.

And that is that total strangers have been coming up to me and saying, we're just glad you are home. Welcome home, glad you are back. Glad you are safe. Great to see you. I suddenly remember how good the American people are and what kindness they have in their hearts.

And to all those people, I say a huge thank you from my heart, from the bottom of my heart. And now, look, I'm so grateful that you are expressing all this interest in me, at the same time, I have to bond with my mother and my family now and I can't give you an interview and I can't give you -- talk back and forth.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you tell us what it feels like? CURTIS: That's all I can say to you, but in the future, I promise, I will respond to your e-mails and I will be present and I will help you guys do your job, and I'm one of you and I know what you guys are going through, so I want to help you guys and I will be there and I will respond, but I can't do it now. Thank very much.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Welcome back. Welcome back. Welcome back.

COSTELLO: All right. You just heard from Peter Theo Curtis after he popped out of his home in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He's grateful for the efforts that went into his release.

I want to bring in Christiane Amanpour now. She is live in London. Christiane, he said he was surprised that so much effort was put in to freeing him. And of course, if there was a lot of effort, the American people didn't know about it. So what do you make of that?

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I think one can assume that any time a national of America, Britain, France, anywhere, is taken, that the family try to do everything to get him back.

Obviously, he wouldn't have known about it because he's been under ground or in a basement prison for nearly two years now. Clearly, this sort of (inaudible) this focus on what ISIS and other militant units have done to journalists has brought the whole notion of what to do about ISIS, front and center.

Sadly, it took the brutal murder of a fellow journalist, James Foley, to suddenly make the world realize that ISIS in fact, an unacceptably brutal totalitarian and barbaric state now, a terrorist state, that is in control of a military base, a third of Iraq, a great part of Syria.

And as you heard both U.S. government, the British government, the French government, many, many governments are very concerned that more and more of recruits who you have been talking about, more and more ISIS fighters could be planning to strike Europe and the United States.

COSTELLO: I was just wondering if such a public execution of the journalist, James Foley, backfired on ISIS. Did it expect the United States to, you know, to attack from the air targets within Iraq, ISIS targets within Iraq?

AMANPOUR: Well, obviously the U.S. strikes against ISIS and Iraq started way before the murder of James Foley, and that actually has made a difference, so the idea that America can make a difference when it does intervene has been proven front and center now in Iraq as they have helped the Kurds push back is and regain the Mosul Dam and keep trying to at least keep ISIS where it is.

But the sad and tragic thing is that pinprick strikes won't work and stop ISIS, which now has a massive piece of territory across two borders, across the border of Iraq and Syria plus as I said a military base. It's raising an army right there in the middle of the Middle East and it is really a massive threat to the west. So the murder of James Foley has brought the notion of potential further intervention into Syria into focus.

And, you know, the United States having sat on the sidelines in terms of military intervention has now -- may be forced to take more military action to prevent this totalitarian terrorist group taking a huge amount of control.

Carol, it's so important to note that Iraq and Syria are much closer to the United States and to Europe than Afghanistan ever was. That al Qaeda to my best knowledge never had a military base at its disposal like ISIS now does in Syria.

And that all of a sudden, you know, all these years, after defeating al Qaeda, all these years after 9/11, al Qaeda's progeny is again threatening the world and it is just a really terrible situation right now.

COSTELLO: It is, Christiane, stand by. I want to go back to Cambridge, Massachusetts, to check in with Miguel Marquez to describe the seen there. Hi, Miguel.

MARQUEZ: Hello there. As someone who has been to some of these places where he has covered, it was emotional for us, the media gathered here and for him. Clearly, he was fighting some emotions as he walked out here dressed in a -- very simply, in a t-shirt, jeans, and sandals basically. Looking much better.

Making a very short statement. Not taking any questions. Didn't even want to say how it feels right now except to say that he wants to bond with his mother who says she's a very good cook and I'm sure he's going to get everything he wants on the menu today and the days ahead.

But basically thanking everybody who was involved. Certainly the U.S. government, from the White House, to the State Department, to Samantha Power to the U.N. representative to the United Nations. The Qatari government as well. One thing I want to clarify that he was taken by Al Nusra front, which is a rival group to ISIS in Syria.

The death, the shocking death of James Foley perhaps opened that door for the Qataris to go back to Al Nusra and say, look, you don't want to be these guys. You want to separate yourselves from them and that's how they were able to open door in order to get him out.

For a guy to go from a basement, locked up for two years, to this place and stand in front of these cameras and say hello to the world like this is a shock. People coming up to him everywhere that he goes now, despite the fact that he has been locked up.

I think when he was locked up from what I could gather is he didn't think anybody even knew. He didn't understand the extent of the effort that was going on around him.

Even CNN during his captivity knew certain things about his captivity that we as an organization did not make public in order to help and foster his safe release at some point.

The family, him, this community now, people coming out to take pictures of us and of him as he makes his way around his old neighborhood, there is just a great sense of relief and joy.

COSTELLO: All right, Miguel Marquez, thanks so much. I want to go back to Bob Baer, our CNN national security analyst and also Patrick Skinner, senior director of special projects at the Soufan Group.

Bob, I don't think we should forget that Stephen Sotloff, another American journalist is still being held captive by ISIS. Do you think that rescue -- some sort of rescue efforts are under way or are those efforts impossible at this point?

BAER: I don't think a rescue is possible. They are moving the hostages. These people know what they are doing. They are staying off cell phones. It's very difficult to locate them. I doubt we're going to be sending any forces in.

This group, is extremely capable, and I've been talking to negotiators have been talking to them over the last six months, and they described them as psychopaths. These people will accept money but the United States will not pay that. At least not that I'm aware of.

COSTELLO: Patrick, from your perspective, is there anything the United States can do?

PATRICK SKINNER, SENIOR DIRECTOR, THE SOUFAN GROUP: Well, there's always hope and I hope -- and I know that they are making a concerted effort to try and find and rescue him, but as Bob said the situation on the ground is so chaotic.

They know there's probably something happening so they are certainly on the move and they are guarding their communications, and they are an extremely violent group and that makes them unpredictable.

COSTELLO: All right. Thanks to both of you. I really appreciate it. For now we celebrate the release of Peter Theo Curtis back at home with his mother in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Actually, before I go to break, I want you to listen to Theo Curtis statement one more time.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CURTIS: First of all, I want to thank you all for coming out here on this beautiful Wednesday morning. In the days following my release on Sunday, I have learned bit by bit that there have been literally hundreds of people, brave determined and big hearted people all over the world working for my release.

They have been working for two years on this. I had no idea when I was in prison. I had no idea that so much effort was being expended on my behalf. Now having found out, I am just overwhelmed with emotion. I'm also overwhelmed by one other thing. And that is that total strangers have been coming up to me and saying, we're just glad you are home. Welcome home, glad you are back. Glad you are safe. Great to see you. I suddenly remember how good the American people are and what kindness they have in their hearts.

And to all those people, I say a huge thank you from my heart, from the bottom of my heart. And now, look, I'm so grateful that you are expressing all this interest in me, at the same time, I have to bond with my mother and my family now and I can't give you an interview and I can't give you -- talk back and forth.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you tell us what it feels like?

CURTIS: That's all I can say to you, but in the future, I promise, I will respond to your e-mails and I will be present and I will help you guys do your job, and I'm one of you and I know what you guys are going through, so I want to help you guys and I will be there and I will respond, but I can't do it now. Thank very much.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Welcome back.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: General Motors said 13 people died because of faulty ignition switches in its vehicles, but the number of people who have filed claims they say that number is much higher. It tops 100. The lawyer overseeing the compensation program said 107 death claims have been submitted so far.

CNN's chief business correspondent, Christine Romans, joins me now. Why such a huge discrepancy?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: The big discrepancy is we've always known that the number from GM was 13. Thirteen people died because of their bad ignition switches. That it took them a decade to recall. They think the number could higher.

Now Ken Feinberg, the guy accepting all these claims for compensation, said 107 families so far think one of their loved one has died. A 107 families, a much higher number than GM so far had admitted.

COSTELLO: So could the number go higher?

ROMANS: They could because they have the end of the year to file these claims, 107 so far and with many more months to go.

COSTELLO: So Mr. Feinberg is trying to figure out what exact amount to pay people. That must be difficult.

ROMANS: What a life is worth. He is someone who has done this -- this has been the second act of his career really. It will be $1 million per family that can prove it was actually that faulty switch that was the primary cause of the death, $300,000 per spouse and child, and extra compensation for the earnings potential of whoever killed in the GM accident.

COSTELLO: If people accept a settlement, that means they can't GM to court.

ROMANS: That's right, but there are some people who have said that they will not take the settlement. They will go to court. The big question that is still been murky, Carol, if you don't take this settlement, if you think your loved one was killed or injured in a GM car because of the faulty switch that the company admits was a mistake not to fix, are they protected because the GM filed bankruptcy and the old GM doesn't exist anymore.

COSTELLO: So if the company knew about these defects and didn't fix them, could they face criminal charges?

ROMANS: There is an investigation. Multiple investigations actually into this. So this is not over for GM by any stretch of the imagination. Some of these families tell us it's not over for them either that they will -- they are going to keep fighting in court if they can.

COSTELLO: All right, Christine Romans, thanks so much as usual.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, ISIS terrorist march across Iraq and Syria now Washington weighs its options to stop that advance. Did the United States under estimate the group's strength and are there lessons to be learned now?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)