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New Day

President to Give Primetime Speech on U.S. Strategy to Combat ISIS; Interview with Retired General Anthony Zinni; Former NFL Wife Speaks Out on Janay Rice; Interview with Sen. Angus King

Aired September 10, 2014 - 07:00   ET

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

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Joining us to discuss all of this, General Anthony Zinni, former commander-in-chief of U.S. Central Command as well as the author of "Before the First Shots are Fired, How America Can Win or Lose Off the Battlefield."

General, it's great to have you here and critical to have you here on this very important day. You had in recent days, kind of joined the criticism that the president had been too slow, too cautious in his approach to ISIS. What do you think, with that in mind, what does the president need to say tonight?

GEN. ANTHONY ZINNI (RET), U.S. MARINE CORPS: Well, I think it has to be a decisive strategy that he puts forward. The first piece of this is getting ISIS out of Iraq. That's critical. They've been in there for months. They've committed near genocide, atrocities they've committed against Americans and others. I think the first thing you're going to want to hear is how do we get them out and back into Syria, and then how we engage them in Syria so they have no sanctuary.

But that's just the military part of the plan, and there's still issues there. Obviously the ground forces are going to be made up of Peshmerga, Iraqi military, possibly Syrian opposition moderates. That's a tricky ground piece to put together. I doubt seriously no coalition partners are going to be on the ground other than those if we don't have U.S. troops on the ground.

Then there's the work with the Iraqi government to make sure they're going to propose a more inclusive government that helps build Sunni resistance in the provinces that sort of let ISIS in. Then there's the idea of getting a U.N. resolution that gives international legitimacy to this, then the roles that all of these coalition partners are going to play. So it's a complex strategy that he has to lay out.

BOLDUAN: Absolutely it's complex, and you laid out actually really well what needs to be all the elements that need to be involved in this strategy for him to lay out tonight. I want to ask you about the issue of air strikes in Syria. Jim Acosta at the White House as well as Elise Labott from the State Department, they're hearing that air strikes against ISIS in Syria are possible but not a done deal. Do you think it would be a failure if the president did not come out very affirmatively or firmly tonight to authorize air strikes in Syria? ZINNI: I think it would be. You cannot give ISIS, like any other

extremist group, a sanctuary. We've seen it with Al Qaeda in Afghanistan. We've seen it with the Al Qaeda in Iraq when they had Syria as a sanctuary. He's got to make it clear that there will be no sanctuary. To paraphrase the vice president, if we're going to follow them to the gates of hell, that's where you go. You've got to be able to hit them where they live.

BOLDUAN: That is Raqqa right there in Syria, that is where they have their home base, if you will. Staying in Syria, I want to ask you about training and arming the Free Syrian Army, the Syrian opposition, the moderate opposition, if you will. Jim Acosta is telling us that it's very likely the president is going to be talking about and pushing once again for a $500 million to do just that. But Senator Bob Corker, he raised an interesting point yesterday with Wolf Blitzer, and I want to get your take on this. He essentially questions if there's still enough of a moderate opposition to have any real impact. Listen to what Bob Corker said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BOB CORKER, (R) TENNESSEE: We left them hanging. We've gotten where we know or recognize people in these refugee camps that we left hanging, America. We told them what we were going to do. We didn't do it. Their sons, uncles, their brothers have been slaughtered. And I do question whether there's much there that matters of the moderate opposition. That's a factor that I think we should know about. And they should be discussing with us. But it's not occurred yet.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: And Senator Corker, just as an important note, he was in support of arming and training the Syrian opposition a year ago when that became part of the discussion, a year-plus ago when it became part of the discussion. Do you think it's possible that it's too late now, general?

ZINNI: Well I don't think it's too late. I certainly agree with the senator they're probably not in the position they were before. But I want it go back to a point Jim Acosta made, which is critically important. Who are they? I mean, vetting them. There's some allegations that they --

BOLDUAN: Is that still a serious question?

ZINNI: I'm sorry?

BOLDUAN: Is that still a serious question, who are the moderate opposition that we can trust?

ZINNI: I think it is. There are opposition groups in there that come in many flavors. Even within opposition groups, it's a matter of how do we vet this and who do we trust and who do we give the arms to? We've seen ISIS take over conventional weapons that were provided the forces in the region. You know, with the more you pump weapons in, the more you had better be able to track where they go and who possesses them.

BOLDUAN: When we talk about the need for the regional coalition, the support from our allies, getting buy-in from there, I also want to ask you, not from a military standpoint, but really from a perception standpoint, does it look bad to the world if the United States looks, appears divided, if you will, that the Congress does not want to vote on authorization for further military, use of military force by the president, if he just goes it alone or even appears as if he's doing that?

ZINNI: Absolutely, because they begin to question, if you're going to stick it out, when might the political opposition here at home turn the tables.

I would also say that, you know, when you win coalition partners, and I've had experience commanding a lot of coalition missions, you better be clear what you expect from them. I've talked to some of the leaders in the region that would be willing to stand up to a coalition. But they need to know what they're signing up to. That's critical. And I'm not sure that that's been put on the table quite yet. I know both our secretary of state and defense are out there in the regions now working on this. But they want a clear understanding of what the expectations are.

BOLDUAN: Do you think there's -- is there any problem, do you have Secretary Kerry, Secretary Hagel, they're out there, they're talking to those regional partners. But the president, before all of that is lined up, if you will, the president is going to speak to the nation this evening about the strategy where their involvement in the region is so critical. Is it out of sync?

ZINNI: Well, I think the president has to remember, he has many audiences for tonight's speech. He has potential coalition partners, probably European and others, regional partners. He has the American people. He has ISIS and others. This speech has to answer to all of those audiences as to what the expectations are.

I'm sure those in the region are nervous about what's actually going to be done, how we're going to coordinate this, what they're expected to give and provide. And we have some tricky, complex issues like the Assad government and the Iranians. We certainly don't want to be cooperating with them, but there is a degree of de-confliction and making sure we're not in each other's way and understanding what each other is doing. It's not to the level of formal cooperation, but you can't have a battlefield where you have people on there that you don't know what they're doing and what they're up to.

BOLDUAN: General, one final question -- there has definitely been a change, a big swing in American public opinion supporting really a strategy. They're looking for a strategy, supporting military force against ISIS. I wonder then from your perspective, what would be the one big mistake that the president would make tonight you would like to see him avoid?

ZINNI: The biggest mistake would be not presenting a strategy that's decisive. I think he has to clearly lay out what the objectives are. If it's the destruction of ISIS, that has significant meaning. If it's we're going to initially push them out of issue and then strike him in their own sanctuary of Syria, that we have a coalition behind us to do this. What the American people I think want to hear and certainly what the military want to hear is, where are we taking this? What is the final objective in all this?

BOLDUAN: And how long could the commitment last.

ZINNI: I would say one thing, be careful about time. I would rather say give me an objective that you want to. Timelines get news trouble.

BOLDUAN: Good point. General, thank you very much. General Anthony Zinni, always great to have you. And be sure to pick up a copy of the general's new book "Before the First Shots are Fired, How America Can Win or Lose off the Battlefield."

And the president's address is 9:00 p.m. eastern tonight, which you can watch here on CNN for full coverage. Michaela?

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: All right, let's give you a look at your headlines. Eight minutes past the hour. Some 70 percent of Russian troops believed to have been in Ukrainian territory have now pulled back across the border. That is according to Ukraine's president Petro Poroshenko, who calls this another hopeful sign. All of this comes several days into a shaky ceasefire between pro-Russian rebels and government forces in eastern Ukraine. Poroshenko and Putin are said to be broadly satisfied with this truce.

A heartbreaking development for you now. Five missing children from South Carolina have been found dead in rural Alabama. The suspected killer is their father, 32-year-old Timothy Jones. He is already in custody in Mississippi on suspicion of driving under the influence. Police say when they inspected Jones' SUV, they found evidence that led them to the children's bodies. The victims were aged one to eight.

More people exposed to the Ebola virus may have been evacuated to the United States than has been publicly announced. Representative of Phoenix Air Group says the State Department is contracted a company to fly several Americans out. Meanwhile, the fourth American to be diagnosed with Ebola is in Emory University hospital's isolation unit. Dr. Sacra became infected with the virus in Sierra Leone. All of this as a new study by Oxford University researchers predicts that 15 more countries could be exposed to that outbreak.

Tagging along with mom and dad to work can be tough, even if their parents work with the president. White House photographers caught the seemingly bored son of a Secret Service agent who was leaving the White House. His parents were chatting with the president and the kid just sort of flops face-first into the Oval couch. "Mom and dad, this is so boring." The image has gone viral with over 60,000 views on the White House's Flickr page.

BOLDUAN: You've been there, haven't you.

PEREIRA: They've all been there.

BOLDUAN: If you only knew what tushies have been on that couch that you just face-planted on.

PEREIRA: Heads of state.

BOLDUAN: Most recently, Mitch McConnell and Harry Reid.

PEREIRA: You know they're going to blast that at his wedding.

BOLDUAN: They very well should. They asked him one simple request, just keep it together while we're in the Oval Office, please, sweetie?

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Which guarantees that the kid won't. As you will learn, never tell them what you don't want them to do.

PEREIRA: That's actually pretty OK. You know what I mean, clothes are on, there's no finger up the nose.

BOLDUAN: Exactly.

CUOMO: Grabbing the president's jacket.

BOLDUAN: It's a good face-plant.

CUOMO: Who are you? Death by 1,000 cuts, but you're going to enjoy it.

All right, so Ray Rice's wife is standing by her husband and slamming us, the media. Now another NFL wife is coming forward. She's coming to NEW DAY, but this one has a different message. She's speaking out about the culture of domestic violence in the league. You're going to want to hear this, straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NORAH O'DONNELL, CBS NEWS: What was ambiguous about her laying unconscious on the floor, being dragged out by her feet?

ROGER GOODELL, NFL COMMISSIONER: There as nothing ambiguous about that. That was the result that we saw. We did not know what led up to that. We did not know the details of that. We asked for that on several occasions. It was unacceptable in and of itself what we saw on the first tape. That's why we took action. Albeit, insufficient action. And we acknowledge that, we took responsibility for that. I did, personally. And I take responsibility for that now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PEREIRA: NFL commissioner Roger Goodell speaking out this morning about the Ray Rice controversy. The wife of Ray Rice also speaking out. Coming to her husband's defense. Janay Rice took to Instagram saying in part, quote, I woke up this morning feeling like I had a horrible nightmare, feeling like I'm mourning the death of my closest friend. This is our life. What you all don't get, just know we will continue to grow and show the world what real love is.

Some of us are struggling to understand what Janay Rice might be going through. I want to bring in someone who knows, Dewan Williams, she's married to retired NFL player Wally Williams and says the NFL has a history of not helping women in domestic violence cases. I was watching you listen to the commissioner. What's your reaction to what the commissioner had to say..

DEWAN WILLIAMS, MARRIED TO RETIRED NFL PLAYER: I think he's full of it. I think that it's disheartening for them to even say that they had no idea what was on that tape. Clearly, the way that went down. That is something that has happened before. She is, it's just disheartening, I know for myself and I was never punched like that. But when you reach out, you know, you're left on an island by yourself. People dissociate themself from you. The NFL turns their back on you.

PEREIRA: There's so much to ask you about. Help us understand. You, you've experienced your own issues and you've been forthcoming about it. You've had your own issues with domestic violence in your marriage.

WILLIAMS: I have, nothing that I'm proud of and I'm not here to throw my husband under the bus, he's a wonderful provider, great father. And somehow we're still married. However, there were issues and when those issues were going on, when I reached out for help whether it be through counseling, whether it be to talking to other coaches, coaches' wives, they listened. But it's just a nod of the head and how can you help me? Or can you help me? When will you help me? Who is going to help me?

PEREIRA: Very isolating.

WILLIAMS Very isolating. It breaks my heart to see. I know right now she's on an island and because she has to protect what she has. Because that is her life right now. And she's riding on Ray Rice's career at this point. And so she has to protect that. And if he punches, punches her like that in a public place, I can't imagine what she's going through at home.

PEREIRA: Let me ask you about what you said about reaching out. Did you get, at the time, when you reached out to people within the NFL organization for help or assistance, even just to be heard. Did you feel like your situation was isolated?

WILLIAMS: Oh, not only was it isolating, I was isolated. I was told by coaches in our particular situation, I was told not to talk to the media. Not to talk to anyone, not to get an attorney. They would handle everything. It's hard to believe that the NFL had no idea what was going or did not have access.

PEREIRA: You're saying they turned a blind eye.

WILLIAMS: Absolutely.

PEREIRA: They patted you on the head. WILLIAMS: It happened to me, it happened to others. And it will

continue to happen.

PEREIRA: Did it happen to others? Or it's what you think happened to the others? Did you and other wives speak?

WILLIAMS: It was a common practice, I had friends who had black eyes, they said they walked into cupboards. I had friends tell me their husbands ran them over like on the football field. You have these men that are playing a very violent sport and it's okay to use aggression and force and to enforce their will on someone else in the football field and they come home at night and they're not used to getting their way. So when you say no, when you say you're not going to do this, they enforce their will. And you don't, you don't stop it you don't break it. If you call the police, the police tell you, you know, you don't want this in the news. I have several incidents that have occurred in my personal life, that there's no record of. I mean, my kid was ran up a tree. And a G-Wagon truck and there's no police report, there's nothing. You know, so everything, when they want to sweep something under the rug or turn a blind eye. That's what happens.

PEREIRA: What did you ultimately do? Did you, did you turn for help elsewhere? Or did you kind of repeatedly keep going back and say, this is happening, this is happening.

WILLIAMS: I repeatedly went back. And it came to a point in my life where I felt that it was time for me to stand on my own , because the violence was escalating between the two of us. There was no longer arguments, it was being physical. And so I removed myself from my situation. I moved back home to Ohio. I went back to school. And for me, the healing began, I went back and I got my masters in psych mental health. I'm a psych mental health advanced practice nurse now and I practice psychiatry. And it's my way of reaching back and being able to talk to people that are in these types of situations to let them know they can stand on their own. It's hard work, but you can come back and be a whole person.

PEREIRA: To that end, it gives us a unique perspective, not only you're an NFL wife. You've been an NFL wife. But you also now are studying and living and helping people with some of these very issues. You look at the tape of Janay. And you hear, you hear her Instagram defense of her husband. What, what does your heart say, your gut say and then what does your learned mind say when you hear that?

WILLIAMS: My gut says, oh, my god, she's in love, she's trying to save her marriage, she wants not to be the reason for her husband to lose his career. Because aside from the NFL with families, it's the NFL, it's the men and their work and then it's the families. So they've allowed their personal life to interfere with his professional life. My heart says, you know, she's in love, she wants to save her marriage. My mind says she's being abused. What woman in their right mind and faculties, would allow someone to knock them unconscious, be drug like a rag doll through an elevator door and left on the floor and turn around and marry him? That's someone who is in love with love. And in love with being married to an NFL player. Being married to that life. And she loves the life that she's living.

PEREIRA: And you don't believe she's the exception to the rule?

WILLIAMS: Absolutely not. Unfortunately, I wish I could say that that, those were the facts, but it's not.

PEREIRA: Ray Rice, you heard what the commissioner said, he has suggested that Ray Rice will play again.

WILLIAMS: For sure.

PEREIRA: What do you think? What do you want to see happen?

WILLIAMS: Personally, I feel should Ray Rice be banned from the NFL? Absolutely not.

PEREIRA: Why?

WILLIAMS: I think that -- well, I feel that he's being punished because the lights have been turned on. What you do behind closed doors will come out.

PEREIRA: The veil has been lifted.

WILLIAMS: It's been lifted. They have no choice but to deal with this. These types of things have been going on for years.

PEREIRA: Do you think they're making him a poster child?

WILLIAMS: He is definitely the poster child for domestic violence in the NFL. Why should he have to pay a penance for everything that everyone else has done? Now that there is conversation, that this is going on and that this has happened and the conversation is running rampant in the media. Why should he be made an example of?

PEREIRA: I really think that it's important, we, we spoke to your husband, we spoke to Wally. He was here yesterday. And he gave a statement to us, think it's important for us to read that statement from him as well. This incident, this is Wally Williams, this incident gives us an opportunity to open important dialogue about domestic violence. Ray Rice is 27 years old, he's not a seasoned veteran in life and he's not a seasoned husband and father. The NFL needs awareness and dialogue about family. This isn't just about Ray, it's about the entire system. It seems to a degree you both agree on that. That it is about the entire system.

WILLIAMS: When he got off the air yesterday, we had a very intense conversation and we both agreed that Ray should not have the penalties that he's getting at this point. You know, he's doing what he is used to doing. He's used to getting his way and having his way. It's been brought out into the forefront, into the media, in front of people, people have seen it with their own eyes. If you would talk to someone and they tell you that this happened, you would not believe it but until you actually see it with your eyes, it takes a whole 'nother viewpoint. The veil is lifted. Yes, so he's being made to pay for things that have been ongoing. And I'm sure that they're very afraid that -- I can't believe, well me of course, I'm a talker. But, I'm sure it was very difficult for you to have someone to come on to talk about this.

PEREIRA: It was difficult. We're glad you did, Dewan. Dewan Williams, thank you so much for being here. We see that you've got a broken limb there, thanks for making the effort to come in and speak with us and share your point of view and your experience with us.

WILLIAMS: Thank you.

PEREIRA: President Obama lays out his ISIS strategy in primetime tonight. We're going to give you a preview of the speech with Maine Senator Angus King who was briefed on ISIS. What is he looking to hear from the president?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: Welcome back, as you're getting ready to start your new day, you have to focus on tonight. This is a big one -- President Obama is going to pitch you his strategy for destroying ISIS. Now surprisingly, he wants your approval. But he doesn't think he needs approval from Congress. Even more surprising, many in Congress seem to agree with that. Even if the president decides to bomb inside Syria. So what do we think the plan will be? What will it mean for the United States?

Let's bring in Senator Angus King, an independent senator from Maine who sits on the Senate Intelligence Committee and the Committee on Armed Services and he was briefed by White House officials on the ISIS situation.

Senator, thank you for joining us. What can you tell us, because originally you had said I like that the president was being cautious, if you would have asked me a year ago should we get involved again militarily in Iraq, I would have said no. After what you heard, how do you feel now? Is it time to act or do you want to wait?

SEN. ANGUS KING (I), MAINE: I think it's time to act, but the question is what is the action, two of the things the president has to give us tonight is one what is our vital national interest? What is the national interest of the United States in getting engaged in this conflict in one way or the other? Secondly, what's the mission? And that goes to the question of congressional authority. Is the mission limited air strikes in Iraq? Or is it air strikes in Syria?

And if you're talking about that, I think you're talking about a broader kind of conflict where congressional involvement is important. That you know, that pesky Constitution says Congress has the power to declare war. And I'm uncomfortable with expansion of presidential authority to basically take military action anywhere in the world if the President decides that's what important.