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Obama Wants An ISIS War Plan; U.S. Jihadist Killed; Mother Gives Advice on Children and Drugs; Diane Sawyer's Goodbye; Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt Officially Tie the Knot

Aired August 28, 2014 - 09:30   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, I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me. President Obama wants a war plan for ISIS by the end of this week. That's according to "The Daily Beast," which of course the key issue is whether to expand the fight to Syria where ISIS has a stronghold.

But amid questions about if the president will seek congressional approval, at least one top lawmaker, and no friend of Obama, Republican Mitch McConnell, tells CNN's Dana Bash this may be the one issue that the two opposing sides can find common ground on.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You're here in a tough race. A lot of your colleagues are as well. Is there any trepidation about having a politically explosive debate on authorizing use of force right before an election?

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R), KENTUCKY: Look, I think the security of the nation comes first. I believe and others believe that ISIS can hit us here at home, and that really trumps all other considerations. And I'm anxious to hear what the president has in mind and I think he's very likely to get support.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: All righty then. So let's talk about this. Josh Rogin is a CNN political analyst and a senior national security correspondent for "The Daily Beast," Will Cain is a CNN political commentator and a columnist for "The Blaze," and Maria Cardona is a CNN political commentator and a Democratic strategist.

Welcome to all of you.

MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: Good morning.

Josh, i want to start with you. You write that the White House is struggling with everything from how to carry out a Syria mission, to gathering intelligence. So how would officials exactly formulate a plan by tomorrow?

JOSH ROGIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: It's really amazing. After three and a half years of avoiding direct military intervention in Syria, this week the White House tasked all of the national security agencies around the government to come up with plans to execute strikes inside Syria. There's no conclusions on when these would start exactly, what the scope would be, what the objective would be, what the targets would be, what the explanation would be. All of that is being worked out literally today. There's going to be a major meeting either today or tomorrow of the National Security Council, chaired by President Obama, that's breaking, that's first on CNN, and at that point we'll have some more clarity about what the president wants to do.

The choices are simple. The choices are do nothing, attack Syria with limited strikes that pick off low-hanging fruit, or to actually have a plan to destroy ISIS in both Iraq and Syria, which would mean a comprehensive strategy to combat both their ideology, their infrastructure and to really go -- work with the Syrian opposition. There are people all over the government that are advocating each of these three options and until the president weighs in, we just don't know what's going to happen. I would be very, very skeptical that he would go to Congress for authorization. That would only delay the process with unpredictable results, and that's not something this president is going to want to do.

COSTELLO: So, Will, should the president be moving that fast? Why not wait for at least another week to come up with some sort of comprehensive plan?

WILL CAIN, CNN COMMENTATOR: Well, moving that fast, as Josh just said, after three and a half years, I don't know that we can qualify any sort of decision or indecision here as something that's moving quickly. It does feels like a little bit like wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, go now, go now, without any of the pertinent questions answered.

Josh pointed to the most important question. I think this is important militarily and this is important politically. What is the mission? What is the point? What are you going to attempt to get accomplished? It can't simply be, we got to do something, we've got to bomb something, because that does nothing for anyone. It actually does very little for President Obama politically and it certainly does very little to accomplishment a military objective of, I don't know, limiting or destroying ISIS.

COSTELLO: And, Maria, Democrats certainly aren't excited to get involved in another military confrontation. So if President Obama does go before Congress and presents a plan, he may get the biggest fight from Democrats, right?

CARDONA: Well, yes, I agree with that. And I actually don't think that he needs to go to congress for these limited strikes that apparently are the ones that are going to be on the table first and foremost in order to move forward to try to get some points on the board to weaken ISIS, which I think should be the very first priority.

In terms of what Josh said of -- on the issue of a plan, we absolutely need a plan, but I think a plan, a comprehensive plan, has steps involved in it. And the first step can be to do this in a limited fashion, to make sure that you weaken ISIS -- it worked in Iraq -- to make sure that we have the intelligence that is needed. And that has been, I think, the biggest blank slate, if you will, in terms of lack of reliable intelligence. So I think the president and the White House are smart to make sure that they wait for that intelligence and then to figure out long-term where it is that we need to go on this.

CAIN: You know -- Maria, after three and a half years, you know, we -- it's perfectly worthy and not partisan to point out that those questions should have been answered by now. This was an organization that over a year ago President Obama was referring to as al Qaeda's JV. It's a little bit embarrassing that we have so little bit -- so little intelligence and no clear mission of what to do over there now. And so now that he wants to move quickly, it's like, where have you been for the last year?

By the way, one last point, why would he go to Congress? Legally, you're right, he doesn't need to. He probably has an AUMF or he can count on article two. He'll do it because of politics, to cover up for his own indecision, to lay it off on other Democrats or Republicans. He needs political cover.

COSTELLO: No.

CARDONA: No. And that's -- I don't --

ROGIN: I think --

COSTELLO: No, Josh -- let josh weigh in on this because he's done reporting on this.

Josh, what do you say?

ROGIN: Yes. I happen to think he will not go to Congress.

CARDONA: Yes.

ROGIN: I think if we look at the history of President Obama and war authorizations, when he attacked Libya, he didn't ask Congress. When he went to Congress for Syria last year, he ended up not attacking. When he attacked inside Iraq, he didn't ask Congress. So if the president really wants to do this, he knows that going to Congress will only hamper that plan.

CAIN: That's the key, (INAUDIBLE) wants (ph).

ROGIN: He's asserted that he already has the authority --

CARDONA: That's right.

ROGIN: So he doesn't need to do it.

The key question here I think is, what is the actual plan to strike ISIS? And when you talk about intelligence, we have a long history of neglecting and ignoring the Free Syrian Army, the Syrian opposition, who are on the ground, who have been fighting ISIS for a year. They're saying very loudly that they have the intelligence and they would like to help us. We haven't reached out to them. I've talked to their leaders all week. They said if you're going to fight ISIS, you might as well do it with us because we know where ISIS is. Right now that's a debate inside the administration with most people in the White House saying we shouldn't do this with the Free Syrian Army and most people in the State Department saying, we must do this with the Free Syrian Army. That's one of the key questions that will be decided this week.

CARDONA: So -- so, Carol, two points. Number one on what Josh is saying, I completely agree that we should take advantage of the opportunity to work with the Free Syrian Army, at least in terms of the intelligence that they have. They have been on the ground for the last three and a half years.

And in terms of what Will was saying, in terms of lack of intelligence, that is actually just a reality that we have. And the difference now, Will, is that I think the American people are seeing this as something that is now a personal threat to us. The fact that Foley was beheaded, the fact that now there is another journalist, and we heard the plea from the mother of that journalist yesterday, it was heart-wrenching, Americans are starting to believe that this is a threat to the American people. The president, I think, needs that as cover and should -- and that should be enough cover in terms of articulating to the American people why this is a reality now, why it is a priority now and why he needs to move now.

COSTELLO: OK, Will, last word. Will, last word.

CAIN: I would say -- I would say that may be true, Maria, but most recent polling shows that 70 percent of Americans, this is from "The Wall Street Journal" and the NBC poll, showed almost 70 percent of Americans consider what we are doing in Iraq and with ISIS sufficient or too much. Maybe after Foley the political calculation has changed. The key question is what does the president want? If he doesn't want to do anything, if he doesn't think he has political backing, he'll go to Congress. Now you guys may know what he wants to do. I have no idea what this president wants to do.

COSTELLO: All right, Josh Rogin, Maria Cardona, and Will Cain --

CARDONA: (INAUDIBLE).

COSTELLO: I've got to end it there. Thanks so much.

ROGIN: It's not about me (ph).

CARDONA: Thank you, Carol.

COSTELLO: And be sure to check out Josh's article on "The Daily Beast," "Obama wants new ISIS war plan ASAP."

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, born on American soil, but willing to die for radical jihadists. U.S. officials warn dozens of Americans may have joined the fight with ISIS, but who are these Americans and why would they choose to spill blood and, you know, become traitors? We'll take a closer look, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COSTELLO: It seems unimaginable, born and raised in the United States, but willing to die for radical jihadists. In Syria, pro-U.S. rebels say a second American has been killed while fighting for ISIS. Officials warn it's all part of a growing trend, homegrown terrorists. In fact, the Pentagon estimates that dozens of radicalized Americans have traveled to Syria to join the fight. CNN's Jason Carroll has more for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They may come from different backgrounds, but they're all Americans who ended up embracing a radical ideology that drove all of them into the arms of terrorist organizations. One of the first to make headlines, John Walker Lindh.

JOHN WALKER LINDH: I have a bullet in my leg.

CARROLL: This was Lindh in 2001 after American soldiers captured him fighting alongside the Taliban. He was born in Washington, D.C., and converted to Islam at 16 after studying world cultures in high school. Lindh was upset at the number of civilian casualties in Afghanistan and decided to fight for the Taliban. He's now serving a 20-year sentence for aiding the Taliban. He's scheduled for release in 2019.

This suicide bomb in Syria may have been the result of a former high school football player from Vero Beach, Florida.

MONER MOHAAMMED ABUSALHA: You have never won. You will never defeat us (INAUDIBLE).

CARROLL: Moner Mohaammed Abusalha, seen here in this video posted online, is alleged to have helped carry out the attack. The Florida native seen ripping up his U.S. passport in this video was the son of a Palestinian father and Italian-American mother. The FBI investigating how he became radicalized.

ERIC HARROUN: Bashar al Assad, your days are numbered. You're going down in flames.

CARROLL: This is former Army Vet Eric Harroun, who posted this YouTube video from a battle in Syria. The so-called American jihadist fought with anti-Assad rebel there. The FBI began tracking his movements after he posted videos online. He was arrested last year and charged with fighting with a branch of al Qaeda. Harroun pled to a lesser charge and served six months in prison. Earlier this year, he died from an apparent drug overdose.

And it's not just men accused of becoming radical Islamists. Nicole Lynn Mansfield from Flint, Michigan, ended up in Syria as well. Mansfield had converted to Islam. Her daughter says her mother is not a terrorist but may have gotten involved with the wrong group of people.

TRIANA JONES, DAUGHTER OF NICOLE MANSFIELD: They lied to her. They misled her. CARROLL: Mansfield was killed last year while allegedly fighting with

rebel forces.

Perhaps most notable among the women, Colleen Renee LaRose, aka Jihad Jane. LaRose led a troubled early life, finally finding salvation with Islam. In 2009, LaRose was indicted on a number of counts, including conspiring to support terrorists. She is serving a 10-year sentence.

CARROLL (on camera): And what you've heard is just a small sampling. Taking a look at Syria, for example, U.S. officials believe more than 100 Americans have gone there and to the region to fight for militant groups.

Jason Carroll, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Still to come in the NEWSROOM, a mother struggles with her son's drug addiction, but what she has to say could help others facing the same family crisis.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: All week long CNN is taking a deeper look at the twisted web of addiction in our series "Deadly Fix." The pain, the anguish of a child hooked on drugs is something only a parent who has experienced it can truly understand. It may seem hopeless, but there is help. CNN's Kelly Wallace sat down with a mother who's still going through this ordeal who has advice for others.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEBBIE GROSS LONGO, SON ADDICTED TO DRUGS: He loved to make you laugh. That would make him feel really good. He was on division one soccer. He was on basketball. He was on baseball. This is him and I when we were in a pool and I would be the cautious mother.

KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What did it feel like when you realized he was addicted and addicted to prescription drugs?

LONGO: Well, at first I didn't realize he was addicted. I would find pill bottles with no names on them, so it was just a straight bottle. Sometimes I would find straws. Sometimes I would find spoons. I would Google everything and started realizing, there is a problem here.

ON SCREEN TEXT: Debbie Gross Longo is the mother of an addict. Her son started abusing prescription drugs at age 13.

LONGO: You still question yourself. Did I fail him in some way? There's such a stigma and such a shame attached to it, but the bottom line is, it's a disease.

WALLACE: And how hard was that stigma for you?

LONGO: So I really suffered in silence and it's a horrible place to be because you end up crying yourself to sleep. You start going back in time and looking at how they used to be.

WALLACE: For all mothers who have children who are addicted, it is that balance between supporting your loved one and enabling.

LONGO: His hand was always out. Always out.

WALLACE: How scary was that when you said, done, the enabling stops?

LONGO: I sort of think to myself, well, if he's so darned clever to get the drugs, he can be clever enough to find a piece of pizza somewhere, you know. And, OK, you sleep in your car. Well, that's your choice. So I grew a little bit stronger, but I really grew strong with the Addict's Mom. I mean that -- that group was my saving grace. It truly was. I saw women who were having the same problems that I was having, only our children's names were different.

ON SCREEN TEXT: The Addict's Mom has 20,000 plus members in 53 countries.

Debbie's son has been to rehab seven times and overdosed three times.

Now 25, he had been in recovery for six months but recently relapsed.

He entered a detox program and is starting again on the road to recovery.

WALLACE: What's the number one piece of advice you'd give any mom watching who has an addict as a child?

LONGO: Well, I think try to get them into -- into rehab. Scare them straight almost. But I really think that you have to start talking to your children when they're young and warn them about everything. I don't want to hear another mother getting a knock at the door saying our son or daughter is dead. I don't want one mother out there suffering in silence and feel she has nowhere to go.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Kelly Wallace, thank you for that report. You can find out much more on the deadly web of addiction. Just go to cnn.com/deadlyfix.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Some top stories for you at 54 minutes past.

There will be no criminal charges in the death of a shooting range instructor who was teaching a nine-year-old girl how to shoot an uzi. The girl lost control of the gun and the instructor was accidentally shot in the head. Authorities in Arizona say they considered charging the girls' parents, but it was ultimately the instructor who put the uzi in the girl's hands. The gun range refuses to comment.

The governor of Louisiana is suing the Obama administration over the federal education standards known as Common Core. Bobby Jindal filed the suit. It accuses the administration of illegally trying to force states to use Common Core in order to get federal grants. The program is designed to show what kids should know after each grade.

And I try to convinced them to use the breaking news banner but they refused but we do have this breaking news to pass along to you. Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have officially tied the knot. That is according to a representative for Jolie. The couple got married in a small, private ceremony on Saturday in France. Jolie and Pitt have been dating for nine years and announced their engagement back in 2012. And, hallelujah, they're married today, Brian Stelter.

BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: This is great news.

COSTELLO: I knew you would enjoy that.

STELTER: And by the way, it happened on Saturday and they kept it a secret until Thursday. How impressive is that?

COSTELLO: Well, they know how to do these things.

STELTER: They sure do.

COSTELLO: They've had a lot of practice.

STELTER: I really think this is the moment that the news climate shifts. You know, it's been a really depressing summer. A lot of bad news. Maybe this is the story that's going to start to bring us some happy news in the world.

COSTELLO: Oh, you're such an idealist.

STELTER: Huh? Huh? All right.

COSTELLO: But I'm happy they got married and all rumors that they were going to break up were untrue because --

STELTER: All those magazine covers that declared that it was over. Guess they didn't have the best sources.

COSTELLO: I know. Silly, silly, silly.

OK, let's talk about why you're really here. You're really here to talk about Diane Sawyer because she said her final good-byes last night as anchor of ABC's "World News."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DIANE SAWYER, ABC NEWS: So, one last time, it is good to know you were watching tonight. To Mike and the four grandchildren and their perfect parents, look forward to being home early for some dinners again. And with gratitude for these years, I thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Oh. Diane Sawyer will now do specials at ABC News. David Muir will take over full time anchor duties starting on Tuesday. And Brian Stelter is actually here to talk about Diane Sawyer. Some people say while Diane Sawyer's good-bye was lovely, it was very

long and it -- and sometimes, you know, that gives you kind of a hint into what people are really feeling. Do you think she has regrets?

STELTER: I actually -- I actually thought maybe they would do a prime time special or something that would send her off the way that Barbara Walters was sent off earlier this year when she semi-retired. I guess the difference here is that Diane Sawyer is staying at ABC and she's going to be doing big interviews and specials. I don't think she has any regrets. In fact, I think it's notable that she decided to leave a couple days earlier than we were expecting her to leave. Nobody knew until Wednesday afternoon that she was going to sign off last night. And if you contrast that to some of the big other -- other big anchor departures of the past where there's been weeks and months of hype ahead of time, I think maybe she wanted to go quietly and not make it all about her.

COSTELLO: That's very classy. It is curious, though, that she leaves at this particular time because the ratings are high.

STELTER: It is. It is. She came into the job five years ago, the vast majority of the time Brian Williams at NBC was the top rated nightly newscasts, 7 to 8 million viewers a night. These newscasts still get a lot of viewers, by the way. But in the last few months, Diane Sawyer has begun to beat Brian Williams in the all-important demographic of 25-54-year-olds. That has been helped, by the way, by her replacement, David Muir. Some of the time that her newscasts win, it's because David Muir is filling in. And ABC believes they're going to be even stronger now with David Muir in the chair.

COSTELLO: Yes. I --

STELTER: It's a big generational change, you know. She's 68 years old. He's about 40 years old. So it's a real once in a generation moment for ABC to bring in a new anchor.

COSTELLO: Well, I guess, as a woman, it's kind of depressing to me that there was no -- there were no women considered for that role.

STELTER: And we know --

COSTELLO: Do they have any women in the trenches at ABC who could step into a Diane Sawyer shoe?

STELTER: We're not back to three white guys, you know --

COSTELLO: Right.

STELTER: At 6:30 p.m. I do think there are some women and I think tonight --

COSTELLO: Who?

STELTER: Amy Robach is filling in, for example, tonight and tomorrow night. And there's a number of women who could have sat in that chair and kept that audience and performed excellently. But they have been grooming David Muir for a long time and the only other real option internally they thought was George Stephanopoulos, who will still anchor big breaking news stories and things like that.

It may feel like a slight step backwards in terms of diversity at 6:30 p.m. in the all-important chairs, but I don't think it's a long-term step. I think it's a very short-term step backward. As we look at the rosters at CBS and NBC, over time I think we will see more diversity at that time slot.

COSTELLO: OK. And let's not forget Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt just got married.

STELTER: Carol, I love love.

COSTELLO: I do too.

STELTER: It's a good -- it's a good day.

COSTELLO: Brian Stelter, thanks so much.

A quick reminder, you can catch Brian on "RELIABLE SOURCES" Sundays at 11:00 a.m. Eastern right here on CNN.

The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts now.