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At This Hour

NATO to Hold Military Exercises in Ukraine; Obama: U.S. to Downgrade, Destroy ISIS; Search for Answers in Foley, Sotloff Deaths; Remembering Steven Sotloff

Aired September 03, 2014 - 11:30   ET

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

REZA SAYAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and I think that could be interpreted by Moscow as a provocative move by Washington and NATO. Indeed this is an annual exercise that takes place every year in western Ukraine. It was scheduled to take place a couple of months ago, NATO postponed it because of the conflict. It was agreed it would happen later this month in September. That means American troops will be on the ground in western Ukraine outside of the conflict zone. We're eager to see what Moscow's reaction is to that.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Reza Sayah for us. Thanks so much for clearing it up.

It sounds like as far as a cease-fire goes, it's maybe. Check back in Friday.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Check back in Friday and maybe the framework is there for something concrete. That's the hope.

BERMAN: Let's hope.

From Ukraine now to the U.S. strategy in the fight against ISIS. President Obama vows he wants to destroy and degrade the group. He also later said he wants to make them a manageable threat. Are his words strong enough?

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BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We will not forget and that our reach is long and that justice will be served.

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OBAMA: Our objective is clear and that is to degrade and destroy ISIL so it's no longer a threat to Iraq and the region and to the United States. And those who make the mistake of harming Americans will learn that we will not forget and that our reach is long and that justice will be served.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BERMAN: That was the president vowing to degrade and destroy ISIS after the terror group released a video showing the beheading of a second American journalist.

PEREIRA: The president isn't the only world leader serving up rhetoric in the face of unthinkable brutality. Some say, though, his message isn't tough enough.

Take a listen to British Prime Minister David Cameron.

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DAVID CAMERON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: A country like ours will not be cowed by these killers.

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CAMERON: If they think that we will weaken in the face of their threats, they are wrong.

We do have an opportunity through the U.N. to marshal international support and backing for the view that this ISIL, so-called Islamic caliphate, is unacceptable and needs to be squeezed out of existence.

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BERMAN: Joining us is Doug Heye, who served as deputy chief of staff to former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor; and CNN political commentator and Democratic Strategist, Paul Begala.

Paul, I want to start with you.

The president did say he wants to destroy and degrade is. He said his goal is to make them a manageable threat. There have been critic who pointed out over the last several hours, in term of rhetoric, manageable threat sounds different than the only thing to fear is fear itself and tear down this wall.

PAUL BEGALA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR & DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: And very different from his immediate predecessor. When he was our president, George W. Bush says it was his goal to end tyranny in the world. Some the Democratic colleagues are saying this president may be too cautious. What he said today is degrade and destroy. You can't pledge to eliminate terrorism in the world. You can, but I think it's an empty pledge. What people want to see is action. This the president has done. He's sending 350 more troops to Iraq. The guy who got elected to end the war in Iraq. He's been bombing ISIS in Iraq and now let's see if he's going to bomb ISIS in Syria. Because I think more and more people, especially on the Hill, are saying he needs to go.

PEREIRA: Doug, there are voices on the right are too eager to suggest that prime minister of Britain, David Cameron, and other world leaders have used stronger and more decisive language in terms of discussion ISIS. But to be fair, you could ask, where are their planes. President Obama is the only one authorizing air strikes. DOUG HEYE, FORMER DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF TO FORMER HOUSE MAJORITY LEADER ERIC CANTOR: Sure. But you are hearing critics on the Democratic side, Dianne Feinstein, former Congresswoman Jane Harman, both from California. Ultimately, it comes down to what messages are sent by this president. Go back two years ago, when the president said using chemical weapons in Syria would be a red line and nothing happened. When you go back to last month, when the president said there was no strategy for dealing with ISIS, even though he had been briefed on ISIS for a year, that sends a message. Ultimately, Congress will be willing to work with the president but they need to see some leadership on him. Not a statement one day that's walked back later that day.

BERMAN: But, Paul, when the president says manageable threat like he did today, and I understand the argument that you can perhaps never destroy them completely, but couldn't you also say our goal is to destroy them completely?

BEGALA: He said "degrade and destroy." But he also said he wants to make that a "manageable threat." I mean, I just think that's Barack Obama. He's being very realistic, and keep in mind, you know, because of social media -- and I'm on Twitter and everything -- we expect immediate action. This is really difficult and we can have long-term implications if we act wrong. It did take us almost a month before we even responded to 9/11, the worst attack on American soil in our history, and still it took us a month to assemble a coalition and put the battle plans in place to respond. The American people are going to insist on action as far as ISIS. We're responding now on the Iraq side of the border. Again, let's wait and see. Shakespeare said "Action is eloquence." And I think that's the kind of eloquence we need.

PEREIRA: I want to give you both a chance to respond to this next question, but I'll start with you, Doug.

Given all of this, given the state of the world, given the foreign policy and how it's being examined in terms of where the president stands on it, his response to is, the ongoing threat there and the situation in Ukraine, how does it all line-up when you look at the clock ticking closer and closer in terms of the midterms?

HEYE: Sure. Obviously, the president is very unpopular in a lot of swing states. That's why you see the president raising money in California and New York, not going to Kentucky or Louisiana. The president's numbers are hurting. The fact that he's shown weakness right now only hurts it further.

BERMAN: Paul, I'll throw a softball to you. I don't hear a lot of talk, Paul Begala, about ISIS and bombing in Syria on the campaign trail from either Democrats or Republicans.

BEGALA: Right. This is not a national security election. Midterms rarely are. The last one we had was on national security was in 2006 where the Democrats swept in because Americans were sick because of President Bush's war on Iraq. I don't' see that now. We'll know. Just watch the ads. Stay tuned to CNN. We'll see the avalanche of the ads. And I don't think they'll be ads about ISIS. I think they'll be ads about (INAUDIBLE).

PEREIRA: Paul Begala, Doug Heye, thank you so much for joining us today.

BEGALA: Thank you.

HEYE: Thank you.

PEREIRA: From President Obama's reaction to the clues left behind, the second beheading of an American has people are asking who is this man? Who is this black-cloaked man? Is he the same man who killed James Foley? Ahead @THISHOUR.

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PEREIRA: U.S. intelligence official are closely analyze being the grisly video of the killing of Steven Sotloff. They are looking at it frame by frame. Analyzing it. Examining it. Looking for any kind of clues for the British executioner. His voice. I want to you listen as he delivers a direct threat to President Obama.

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UNIDENTIFIED ISIS MEMBER: Because of your insistence of continuing your bombings despite your serious warnings, you, Obama, have yet again for your actions to kill another American citizen. Just as your missiles continue to strike our people, our knife will continue to strike the necks of your people.

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BERMAN: There are awful similarities between this video and the one of James Foley being killed.

I want to talk about that, focus on this. For that I turn to two terrorism experts, analyst, Paul Cruickshank. Also joining us, former lead international hostage negotiator, Chris Voss.

Chris Voss, I want to start with you.

What similarities do you see in the two videos?

CHRISTOPHER VOSS, FORMER FBI LEAD INTERNATIONAL KIDNAPPING NEGOTIATOR: Thank for having me on. Let's discuss this miscreant behind this mask. It elevates him to refer to him as an executioner. What he is he's a murderer hiding behind a mask. There are similarities here and this is someone who is obviously needs to elevate his status by being on camera. And that's what this is. This is a recruitment video. They are trying to aggrandize this individual. What he is is a coward hiding behind a mask.

PEREIRA: Paul, I want to bring you in, because we had Fareed Zakaria on "New Day" this morning, and he said something I found really interesting. Chris saying this is a recruitment video. Fareed suggested that these beheadings in these videos are designed to goad the U.S. into action. He also said Washington should proceed and respond in a manner and time and place of Washington's choosing when there's a real strategy in place. What do you make of that? Does it seem more like a recruitment video or a goading? Which side do you fall on?

PAUL CRUICKSHANK, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: I'm not absolutely sure this is actually them goading the U.S. into more action. I think this is ISIS doing the minimum possible to satisfy the blood lust of their supporters around the world, to show that they are striking back against to U.S. air strikes in Iraq, and not doing something bigger in response, like, for example, a plot against the West, which would definitely invite an overwhelming U.S. and Western response. So I think this is actually, as awful as it is, quite a calibrated response from ISIS. You hit us. We hit you. But they are not yet launching or plotting, it would appear, an attack against the West.

BERMAN: Chris, just like in the James Foley video, these people said they would kill Steven Sotloff. In the Steven Sotloff video, they are threatening the life of a British hostage. Is there any chance, do you think, at this point, that that man's life will be spared?

VOSS: Well, they are on a path and they have probably already chosen that path. And Paul makes a good point. We're talking about who the intended audience is for the video. There's a pretty good chance, unfortunately, that this British innocent person, that his fate has already been sealed and ISIS is simply waiting to try to maximize, to get as much mileage as they can out of this publicity campaign of theirs. And the fact that they are engaging in publicity, is not an either/or. Is it recruitment or is it trying to satisfy their followers, or even goading. I think goading is third on their list and recruitment and satisfaction of the followers are primarily the objectives. Unfortunately, more than likely, the risk level couldn't be higher for this British gentleman, and it's probably -- it may have already happened.

PEREIRA: But, Paul, here's the thing, we know there are other journalists and hostages being held in the hands of rebels and in the hands of is behind that, and there are likely other people whose lives are on the line, so how far does this go? We understand that the NATO forces, the U.S. are working to try and figure out how to push back on ISIS, but in terms of these people, there have been several efforts made to rescue them and they have failed.

CRUICKSHANK: They have failed and, unfortunately, now I think we can expect every couple of weeks another one of these terrible, grisly murders, executions from ISIS. And the question is, you know, whether they escalate from here. And there's real concern. This is a group with reach into countries like Jordan and Turkey and Lebanon, and there are some U.S. interests, U.S. facilities in these countries. Could they try and strike next against these types of targets? Real concern that that may be next here, unfortunately.

BERMAN: Well, it's an appalling thought but we do appreciate you both joining us to talk about this video and what might be to come and talk about what the United States and other nations might need to do. Thanks to both of you, Paul Cruickshank, Chris Voss.

CRUICKSHANK: Thank you.

VOSS: Thank you.

PEREIRA: We don't want that image of him with the knife at his throat as the last people think of Steven Sotloff. So we want to get some reaction of some friends of this American journalist. We'll take a look at what his life meant to them.

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DANIELLE BERRIN, SOTLOFF'S CHILDHOOD FRIENDS: Steven was my hero.

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BERRIN: He was someone who could not ignore pain and injustice. He felt responsible. And he had to respond.

JANNE DI GIOVANNI, NEWSWEEK & SOTLOFF'S FRIEND: He was concerned that he had been on some kind of a list. And this was about the time that is first turned up.

BEN TAUB, CONTRIBUTOR, THE DAILY BEAST: He told me he had one last story that he was working on. He didn't tell me what it was. And he said this was kind of the end. He was a little bit tired of it all.

GIOVANNI: He had the same fear that all of us have working in Syria, the paranoia, the fear, the uncertainty.

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BERMAN: Those are friends and colleagues speaking out now about Steven Sotloff, a man the president today called "a devoted and courageous journalist." That's how his friends and family want him to be remembered, for the person he was, a good reporter, ready to risk anything to get the real story.

PEREIRA: Not what ISIS militants tried to portray him as when they forced him to speak out against his country and his president dressed like this, in an orange jumpsuit, with a knife at his throat.

We want to bring Alina Machado.

Alina, we understand you have had a chance to get to know this young man, this journalist, learn some more about him. Can you tell us more what you've learned?

ALINA MACHADO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we've learned that Sotloff was born here in Miami and that he had a very strong interest in journalism from a very young age. We also know that he went to high school in New Hampshire and that while he was there, he helped revitalize the school's newspaper. That interest in journalism followed him through college. He went to university of central Florida and majored in journalism. Like most people from Miami, he was very much a fan of several local sports teams. I want to show you his Twitter page, because that's where you really get a sense of that. If you look at his Twitter page, you'll see posts about those teams mixed in with tweets about his work in the Middle East. In fact, his last tweet, which was dated August 3rd of 2013, was about the Miami Heat, and it was posted just before, shortly before, he went missing in Syria.

PEREIRA: A kid from Florida who roots for the heat, probably roots for the Dolphins, went to Kimball Union in New Hampshire for a little bit. Sotloff's mother, last week, we played that really heart wrenching video of Shirley Sotloff pleading for her son's life. What's the family now saying?

MACHADO: Well, John, if you go to the family's home, you'll see a growing media presence outside. So far, they have made the decision not to talk to any reporters. You can imagine this family's going through what is perhaps the worst moment in their lives. They want to do this in private. They did release a statement yesterday though through a spokesperson and this person says the family is aware of the video and that they are grieving privately.

I just want to make a note of the fact that you have to keep in mind the Sotloff family has shied away from the media attention. In fact, a close friend of Sotloff told me that only a handful of people, close friends and family, knew that Steven Sotloff had been kidnapped in August of last year. It wasn't until that other video, where you saw the beheading of James Foley, that the rest of us learned about Steven Sotloff.

PEREIRA: Quick final question. Do we know why he chose the Middle East? There's so many other places in the world. We knew he was dedicated to helping people and telling stories. Why did he choose the Middle East?

MACHADO: According to one of his close friends at UCF, he says that Steven Sotloff talked about going to the Middle East, wanting to go to the Middle East, and that this friend thought he was very curious about his Jewish roots and wanted to explore that.

BERMAN: Obviously, wanted to keep those Jewish roots, I am sure, secret from ISIS when he was held captive. May have been one reason why the family wanted to keep things so close to the vest over those last several months.

Alina Machado, in Miami, thanks so much.

PEREIRA: That was something that was important to all of us on our show to talk about this young man and who he was.

BERMAN: Go back and read his stories. If you want to make a difference, if you want to remember Steven Sotloff, read his work.

OK. So stay with CNN all day. Later, our Jim Sciutto's going to interview Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel. They will speak about the U.S. strategy in the Middle East right now dealing with ISIS. Also, everything that's going on in Ukraine.

PEREIRA: That's it for us @THISHOUR. I'm Michaela Pereira.

BERMAN: I'm John Berman.

"LEGAL VIEW" with Ashleigh Banfield starts right after the break.

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