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Foley's Mother Says U.S. "Let Jim Down"; 10 Arab Nations Join Coalition to Battle ISIS: Ray Rice Fans Still Wearing Jersey; Controversy over Danny Ferry's Racial Comments

Aired September 12, 2014 - 14:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: The grieving mother of beheaded American journalist, James Foley, is appalled by how the U.S. government handled the incident. Her family was threatened with prosecution if they tried to pay ransom money. And she had to brief the FBI on her son's case. Last month, ISIS posted a gruesome video showing James Foley kneeling in the desert, being executed by a man dressed in black.

Diane Foley sat down for an exclusive interview with Anderson Cooper.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DIANE FOLEY, MOTHER OF JAMES FOLEY: I really feel that our country let Jim down. And --

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, A.C. 360: In what way?

FOLEY: Well, Anderson, I -- we met wonderful people within our government. Good people who cared, who wanted to help? But the reality of the bureaucracy and really was such that we were not helped. We really weren't. And --

COOPER: You didn't feel like they were there for you?

FOLEY: Not at all. Yet, we don't blame -- I don't want to blame people. That's not going to help.

COOPER: Did you feel that your family, that Jim was a priority for the government?

FOLEY: No, we really didn't.

(CROSSTALK)

COOPER: You saw that in what? In the resources that they have you interact with? The people they had you interact? How did you get that sense?

FOLEY: As an American, I was embarrassed and appalled. You know, I think our efforts to get Jim freed were an annoyance. And --

COOPER: An annoyance to the government? FOLEY: Yes. Jim would have been saddened. Jim believed, until the

end, that his country would come to their aid.

COOPER: Did you know that -- what was happening to him --

(CROSSTALK)

FOLEY: To be honest, that part was frightening. We tended to know everything before the FBI or anyone else.

COOPER: How so?

FOLEY: Because we did everything we could. I went to Europe several times to interview the European freed hostages just so I could find out how Jim was, what's going on, where are they? What are chances of this or that? It was a frightening thing. And the FBI was -- everyone was kind and supportive but the FBI used us for information.

COOPER: Really? They came to you for information about his location?

FOLEY: Absolutely. Yes.

COOPER: It's amazing to me that you flew overseas to interview hostages.

FOLEY: Yes. Anderson, as a mother, I was frantic.

COOPER: You would do anything?

FOLEY: Anderson, Jim was an incredible human being. He was very courageous and he had a heart. Anyone who knew Jim loved him. Jim had an ability to be present. To listen. Unlike so many in our world. Jim had many gifts, Anderson. I did all I could. I was unable to do enough.

COOPER: What did you learn from the hostages who had been with him and had been released?

FOLEY: That he continued to have compassion and goodness to the very end. That he continued to believe that our country would find a way to free them. He passionately believed in America and our goodness and he was valuable as a citizen. And I also found out that prayers of people from all over the world gave him an incredible courage.

COOPER: He felt that?

FOLEY: Without a doubt, Anderson.

COOPER: I understand that he actually got a letter to you through one of the other hostages.

FOLEY: He did.

COOPER: That's an extraordinary thing. It wasn't a physical letter. The hostage memorized the letter.

FOLEY: He did.

COOPER: I have an excerpt from the letter. Can I read it? It's really interesting, extraordinarily moving. "Dreams of family and friends take me away. Happiness fills my heart." It's such a sign of resiliency.

FOLEY: Jim knew, Anderson, that he was privileged. Privileged in a very ordinary American sense. He was very loved. He grew up in a community of love, crazy family. He was oldest of five children. Lots of crazy, wonderful memory. He was privileged. He was privileged as many of us Americans are.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE: Foley's parents launched a legacy foundation to honor their son. It's raising money for families of American hostages and journalists covering conflict zones. You can visit their website at JamesFoleyfund.org. And you can see more of Anderson's report at 8:00 eastern on CNN.

CNN's interview with Foley's mother is getting some strong reaction. National Security Advisor Susan Rice responded to her claims. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUSAN RICE, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR: What I and others in the U.S. government worked very hard with Diane Foley and her family to try to be supportive, to try to provide what information we could. And, of course, as you know the president ordered a very daring and very well executed rescue operation on the only occasion we had what we thought was fresh and we hoped actionable intelligence about the whereabouts of Jim Foley and the other hostages. Unfortunately, they were no longer there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: James Foley was 40 years old when he was brutally executed last month. His mother once wrote that Foley gave his life trying to expose the world to the suffering of the Syrian people.

Coming up next, 10 Arab nations have pledged support to the U.S. in the fight against ISIS. But what is each country willing to do and how will it help? We'll explain.

Plus, an NBA team's general manager under fire for comments about a player in a private meeting, but it was recorded. And guess what? That recording was leaked. Yes, it was. We'll play it for you and we'll talk about the backlash as well.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Secretary of State John Kerry is in Turkey today pressing for more regional support to take out Islamic militants in Iraq and Syria. Ten Arab nations have already pledged to do their share, but countries like Turkey have not been as cooperative, refusing use of their air bases to launch attacks against ISIS.

So how willing and how invested is this coalition really?

Let's take a look with Bobby Ghosh, the managing editor of "Quartz."

Bobby, let's look, first, at ISIS control. So take me through. This is the area where most of ISIS is.

BOBBY GHOSH, MANAGING EDITOR, QUARTZ: Yes, northern Iraq and northeastern Syria. That's darker lines show what we think are areas that ISIS controls. But really, effectively, this enormous area here is out of bounds for most known ISIS forces. And that's a sizable country. That's bigger than Jordan. And we're talking about seven, eight million to 10 million people living in these areas that are controlled by is.

KAYE: We see on the map Turkey and Jordan, Saudi Arabia. What do we need to do to get these countries to fully commit?

GHOSH: The Arab states are willing to do something. Not a lot, but something. They're willing to give this international coalition their blessing, if you like, but they are saying they don't want their planes in the air. They don't their boots on the ground. Saudi Arabia, which has an enormous border with Iraq, and therefore there's potential for ISIS fighters to bleed into Saudi Arabia, they have offered some training facilities for Syrian rebels. But that's not going to be enough. For this operation to be credible, it's going to need to have much greater Arab buy-in by the Arab people and people in the street, and particularly by the Arab states.

KAYE: Let's talk about some of the states in particular here. Let's start with Saudi Arabia, Qatar and United Arab Emirates. What hesitations do they have specifically?

GHOSH: None of them are a democracy. They are ruled by royal families. They're not entirely sure they have a mandate. They are always uncertain about what the street, what their people feel. They are never 100 percent certain. They worry if they get involved in an operation against ISIS, their own people -- it will be unpopular with their own people. Previously, they were involved in a war in Iraq, for instance, if you remember, in 1991. These are countries and others that came along in the international coalition to get rid of Saddam Hussein. That was popular with the leaders and not popular in the street. And they worry about that.

KAYE: How committed are they at this point?

GHOSH: Well, Saudi Arabia -- you can gauge the commitment from how close they are to the actual ISIS zone. Saudi Arabia is closest. Therefore, their level of commitment is highest. Qatar is well removed. United Arab Emirates and Qatar are farther removed so their interest is lower as a result. All of them worry that they have citizens who have gone and joined ISIS. So some of their citizens are actually terrorists themselves.

KAYE: What about Turkey? GHOSH: Again, very, very long border. Both Iraq and Syria, but Turkey

has a real serious problem. More than 40 to 50 Turkish diplomats are now held hostage by ISIS. And the last thing Turkey wants to see is what we've seen with James Foley and Steve Sotloff is videos of their diplomats being beheaded.

KAYE: So that's their hesitation>

GHOSH: That's part of their hesitation. One other part of hesitation that all armies are worried about, they have never been tested in battle, not recently. None of their rulers can be 100 percent certain their armies will hold up. The U.S. has far greater combat experience in this part of the world, ironically, than armies in this part of the world.

KAYE: So are they offering anything, Turkey?

GHOSH: Right now, they are offering behind-the-scenes intelligence help and some logistical help. They're saying you can use bases to do rescue missions but not combat missions. That doesn't make a lot of sense. The challenge for John Kerry and the Obama administration is to lean on Turkey more and get a bigger commitment.

KAYE: Bobby Ghosh, thank you very much. Appreciate it.

GHOSH: Any time.

KAYE: Interesting discussion.

All right. Coming up next, women coming out to support Ray Rice, the player who knocked out his then-fiance. Hear why.

Plus, did Sarah Palin and her family get into a brawl at a party in Alaska? There's word of alcohol, fighting, and a 50th birthday involved.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Ray Rice's recorded knockout punch against his then-fiance may have cost him his job but not all fans. Rice indefinitely suspended from the NFL was not at the game against the Steelers last night but his name was all over the place, and many wearing his Jersey with pride.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: You wish Ray was still on the team?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I do. I do.

(SHOUTING)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Honestly, beside the fact of this, he's a role model. I believe that everybody makes mistakes and he deserves a second chance.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: The Ravens, by the way, beat Pittsburgh.

CNN Sports' Rachel Nichols is now with me.

Rachel, what do you make of this? You saw all of those women out there supporting him with pride, wearing his number, saying they don't think he should have lost his job.

RACHEL NICHOLS, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: This underscores why domestic violence is a complicated issue. Love and affection is involved in this. You're not involved with the burglar who breaks into your house. It's not that complicated. Black and white feelings but it's the reason we see women stay with their abusers. You heard owner of the Baltimore Ravens all day yesterday and the day before saying I loved him. I didn't want to believe anything bad about him. Fans love their teams. It's a lot of same thing. That's why this is a complicated issue.

KAYE: It certainly is. Your show "Unguarded" here on CNN, you're talking to a man a lot of people say this guy should not be weighing in on the Ray Rice situation. Of course, I'm talking about boxer, Floyd Mayweather. What did he tell you?

NICHOLS: It's interesting. Floyd Mayweather has had multiple, multiple very public domestic violence arrests, beyond anything we saw with Ray Rice. He was in jail for two months for assaulting the mother of his three children. Awful story. Threatened to kill her and the kids, and punched the mother of his children in the head.

I pressed him on why any of us should be paying $70 a pop for his fight tomorrow night, which is what he's charging.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NICHOLS: Why should fans root for you with this kind of history? The incident you went to jail for, the mother of your three children showed bruising, a concussion when she went to the hospital. It was your own kids called the police and gave them a detailed description of the abuse. There's been documentation.

FLOYD MAYWEATHER, BOXER: Once again, no pictures. Just hearsay and allegations. I signed a plea bargain. Once again, not true.

NICHOLS: Are we really supposed to believe all these women are lying, including incidents when there were witnesses, like your own kids?

MAYWEATHER: Everybody is entitled to their own opinion. When it's all said and done, only God can judge me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NICHOLS: It's amazing, right, Randi? It underscores the idea that sometimes there's an abuser just walking around. Insisting over and over again that nothing happened, even though a woman can have bruises and tell friends, no, he really does beat me up. And I will challenge the American public out there, Floyd Mayweather is supposed to make $30 million. Tonight, just tonight. He'll wake up tomorrow morning $30 million richer --

KAYE: $20 million richer.

NICHOLS: -- after this fight. But you have a say in that. If you want to give that man your money, make the decision this evening. I'm sorry, tomorrow evening.

KAYE: A lot of people will pay for that ticket like they play for games where other players involved in this situation maybe not as violent.

(CROSSTALK)

NICHOLS: But, yes, I want everybody to think about it this evening, and then tomorrow hold onto your wallets.

(LAUGHTER)

KAYE: All right, good question, good. Something to think about there.

Rachel Nichols, thank you very much.

Also, Rachel will have much more tonight, 10:30 eastern time, right here on CNN.

Getting some news just in here to CNN. The White House just suggested the battle against ISIS is a war, something President Obama and his secretary of state have flat-out denied, you may recall.

Plus, in the fight against ISIS terrorists, my next guest says there are some chilling similarities between the group's actions right now and the actions of al Qaeda just before 9/11.

Keep it here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: The Baltimore Ravens are not the only pro sports team caught in a controversy. The Atlanta Hawks are also caught in a racial one as well. A new audio released by the "Atlanta Journal-Constitution" is shedding light on racial comments Hawks general manager, Danny Ferry, made about a free agent. According to the AJC, the recording is a partial transcript of a conference call between Ferry and the owners. Ferry has said he was repeating comments gathered from numerous sources during background conversations and scouting about different players. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANNY FERRY, GENERAL MANAGER, ATLANTA HAWKS: If handled the right way, he'll be fine. He's a young guy overall but he is a good guy overall. But he is also not perfect. He's also got some African in him. And I don't say that in a bad way, other than, he's a guy that --

(CROSSTALK)

(LAUGHTER)

FERRY: But he's like a guy who would have a nice performance that's beautiful that day but he could do some counterfeit stuff behind you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: In a statement, NBA commissioner, Adam Silver, says that Ferry's comments aren't a terminatable offense based on what he knows of the circumstances.

So let me bring in Marc James, host of 92.9 Game Atlanta.

Marc, Silver said Ferry was looking at a scouting report. Do you believe that after hearing that tape?

MARK JAMES, HOST, 92.9 THE GAME, ATLANTA: Before I heard that tape, I thought it was ambiguous. The tape was the smoking gun. That was the definitive deciding factor. I don't believe this was just a summation report. I believe that he seemed comfortable with these words by nature. It was disconcerting for me as an Atlanta resident and a lifetime NBA friend.

KAYE: When did Silver hear this video before or after he said Ferry shouldn't be fired?

JAMES: That much I do not know. All I know is when AJC brought this audio yesterday afternoon, Adam Silver's comments precede that. From all fans I talked to, they are outraged. The Hawks have always had a problem landing high-profile free agents. Last year, Dwight Howard, born and raised in southwest Atlanta, never considered the Hawks. Al Jefferson. Now it's perception, and perception now has a lot of residual effects that the Hawks and Danny Ferry, the perception supersedes reality. There's racial tones. There's also a story of him back in 2002 in Sacramento about allegedly with a racial slur toward former NBA player, Bondsi Wells (ph). So right now, the perception supersedes reality.

KAYE: You can hear the guys who are also on that call. You can hear their reaction. They were sort of like, whoa, this could end up on TMZ, right?

JAMES: I did. They were laughing, too. So from what I heard, there as well, they are no better. The Danny Ferry comments, when you hear them, that's all I need to hear. From that standpoint, I rendered an unequivocal opinion in the court of public opinion. And for Danny Ferry and the Atlanta Hawks, I would be shocked if Danny Ferry is the general manager by the end of this weekend of the Atlanta Hawks.

KAYE: We'll see what happens there.

Marc James, thank you. Appreciate you weighing in.

JAMES: Thank you.