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Leaders Vow Military Aid to Iraq to Battle ISIS; Hillary Clinton: Yes, I Might Run; Historic Signatures on Display

Aired September 15, 2014 - 10:30   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.

Checking our top stories at 29 minutes past --

Matthew Miller, one of three Americans being held in North Korea has been sentenced to six years of hard labor. During Miller's trial yesterday, three North Korean judges found him guilty of committing hostile acts under the guise of a tourist. The U.S. is calling for Miller's immediate release.

Forecasters are warning Hurricane Odile could slam Mexico's Pacific Coast with destructive waves and life-threatening floods this week with winds reaching some 125 miles per hour. Odile has made landfall -- or actually made landfall last night in Mexico and left a path of destruction through Cabo San Lucas. The hurricane though is expected to weaken as it moves along the Baja Peninsula.

In New York, it's good-bye to a painful reminder of Hurricane Sandy and welcome back to the R train. Sandy's filthy floodwaters forced the shutdown of the R which is the subway tunnel linking Manhattan and Brooklyn. After expensive rebuilding, the R train was back in action at 6:00 Eastern this morning.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, international leaders scramble for a solution to ISIS after another beheading and a vow by the terrorist group to kill a second British national. But will air strikes be enough?

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COSTELLO: The race to stop ISIS and growing efforts to quell the threat. At a gathering in Paris, leaders from some 30 countries have agreed to provide, quote, "appropriate military aid" to Baghdad to fight the Islamic militant group. France announcing two planes are flying a reconnaissance mission over Iraq today after President Francois Hollande said there's no time to lose in this fight.

And it all comes as the United States unveils a new plan to fight extremism here at home, one that Attorney General Eric Holder says will involve everyone from the FBI to local faith leaders across the country.

So let's talk about all of this. Jim Acosta is our CNN senior White House correspondent; Atika Shubert is a CNN correspondent based in London and CNN military analyst Lt. Col. Rick Francona -- all join me now. Welcome.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Glad to have you all here.

Jim, I want to start with you and start with Eric Holder's plan. He says there's no more urgent threat than violent extremism at home. So walk us through the administration's plans.

ACOSTA: Well, Carol, we are actually waiting to hear some more details about this and Josh Earnest the White House Press Secretary will be having his briefing in a couple hours from now so we hope to get more details then. But as you heard in Eric Holder's video message this morning, they are talking about law enforcement communities here in the United States working with their partners around the world. And then also with faith leaders in various cities and these pilot programs that they're talking about that they want to have in different cities around the country.

It sounds as though that the Obama administration wants to be proactive about this and work with various mosques in various communities to make sure that anybody picks up on this kind of extremist language that that gets reported to the appropriate authorities. But Carol, this underlines the threat that they're concerned about and that is jihadists who have U.S. passports who are able to travel from the United States to the battlefields in Iraq and Syria fighting along with ISIS and then taking that military know how and extremist ideas back to the United States to potentially wreak havoc. It is something they are very, very worried about.

COSTELLO: Ok. I want to talk now about the investigation into which terrorist is beheading these westerners. Atika Shubert, we understand that Britain knows the name of this man. Why isn't it releasing the name?

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I spoke to one terror analyst about this and he said basically they want to bring this man to justice. This is the same masked militant you see in all the videos. He has a distinct British accent. It's quite possible that British intelligence already knows who he is and has informed the Prime Minister but they don't want to say because they want to capture him or possibly target him.

And they don't want him to be spooked. They don't want him to go underground or into hiding. And that is maybe one reason they're not making the name public even if they do know exactly who it is.

COSTELLO: Colonel Francona, I mean doesn't this guy already know he's being sought?

LT. COL. RICK FRANCONA, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: He does and his name has been released by other people on the Internet. If it's true or not I don't know but the Syrian opposition has already identified him.

COSTELLO: So is it possible they'll be able to hunt him down wherever he is in Syria or Iraq?

FRANCONA: Well, I think that's probably a very difficult process. I mean we always want to bring these people to justice but sometimes I think the better solution is taking justice to them and I think that might be what the British have in mind as well.

COSTELLO: Ok. Well, let's talk about taking justice to them. How willing is Britain to help -- Atika? Are they willing to be all-in along the United States militarily?

SHUBERT: I think Britain is definitely wanting to be a part of that coalition. It's giving as much help as it can but there are some constraints. Remember that last year Britain's lawmakers actually voted against air strikes in Syria.

So this, which would be one of the key components of hitting ISIS where it hurts, is something that Britain really will now have to reconsider. It might even have to take it to lawmakers again or the British Prime Minister is going to have to find some other way to get over this constraint. It hasn't been taken off the table yet but it's going to take a bit for finesse to actually commit to something like that.

COSTELLO: Well, that's interesting in light of in this country, Jim Acosta, that some lawmakers say we may need boots on the ground and that's the only way we're going to defeat ISIS and if that's true then we really are going to need help from countries like Britain and France.

ACOSTA: That's right. You heard Lindsey Graham saying on one of the talk shows yesterday that the President should not be limiting himself when it comes to saying no boots on the ground, no U.S. combat boots on the ground but, you know, the chief of staff, Denis McDonough over here at the White House, he was on with Candy Crowley yesterday on "STATE OF THE UNION" and was asked about this and he said once again that the U.S. is not going to be doing that, not going to be putting U.S. combat boots on the ground in Iraq or Syria.

They'll have advisors on the ground working with Iraqi security forces in Iraq and they'll be coordinating with Syrian rebels in Syria, won't be putting U.S. boots on the ground in Syria but they are firmly convinced here at the White House that that is a fight for the Iraqis and the Syrians to do on the ground themselves with U.S. air power overhead.

COSTELLO: Ok. So final question to you, Colonel. Is it a mistake for the Obama administration to say absolutely unequivocally no boots on the ground?

FRANCONA: I think that we're blocking ourselves in. It sets up a condition that we may have to reverse because if you look at the long term goal of what we're trying to do, if it's -to destroy ISIS and no one else is willing to do it, that only leaves us to do it.

Now, in Iraq I think it's not a problem because we've got people on the ground, we've got the Iraqi army. We've got the Peshmerga. But what happens when we go into Syria? The Free Syrian Army will take the aid, they'll take the training, they'll take the weapons but they're more interested in fighting the Damascus regime, not ISIS.

COSTELLO: All right. We'll have to leave it there. Thanks to all of you, Jim Acosta, Atika Shubert and Lt. Col. Francona. Thanks so much.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, she's not officially in, but don't rule her out, either.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: I'm back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Hillary Clinton sounding a lot like a candidate on her first trip to Iowa since her failed 2008 campaign. Does this mean she's ready to run again?

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COSTELLO: Hillary Clinton seems to be moving a step closer to her dream of occupying the White House once again. With her husband close by, she joined Iowa's retiring Senator Tom Harkin at his popular steak fry yesterday. Now this event is considered one of the top events for Democrats wanting to test the waters for a possible presidential run. And Clinton well, she said just what her supporters wanted to hear.

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CLINTON: And then, of course, there's that other thing.

Well, it is true I am thinking about it.

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COSTELLO: If Hillary Clinton does decide to run, a new CNN/ORC poll out this morning shows Clinton is the clear leader among registered democrats in Iowa at 53 percent. Vice President Joe Biden trails far behind in second place with 15 percent.

Let's talk about this now with CNN political commentators with Hilary Rosen and Ross Douthat -- welcome to both of you.

ROSS DOUTHAT, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Good morning.

HILARY ROSEN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Hi, Carol.

COSTELLO: Good morning. Ross, poor Joe Biden.

DOUTHAT: I think 15 percent is a pretty good showing for Joe.

COSTELLO: You do?

DOUTHAT: I've seen polls of him under 10. I think Iowa -- you know, Iowa has never been terribly kind to the Clintons. I think if Biden could hit 20 percent, that would be a real blow to Hillary.

COSTELLO: You think so, Hilary?

ROSEN: Well, you know, and the Vice President is going to be in Des Moines on Wednesday and he fires up a crowd, particularly a hard- working blue-collar liberal crowd so you know, you always have to give the Vice President a shot.

Here's the interesting thing about Iowa, though. It's really up for grabs for both Democrats and Republicans in very many ways. And for Democrats it tends to go a little more liberal than the rest of the primary -- early primary states and so those early activists and who they get energy for is really important.

The problem I think that Hillary Clinton may have now is, you know, keep sustaining that kind of energy for more than two years, which is when the caucuses are, more than two years away.

COSTELLO: Man, that seems impossible.

ROSEN: It's a really long time. And so, you know, I think that that's the challenge and that's a challenge for the vice president. It's a challenge for any Democrat.

COSTELLO: Ok. Well, speaking of energy --

(CROSSTALK)

COSTELLO: -- speaking of energy, there was an article in today's "Daily Beast" called "Clinton's steak fry appearance a snooze fest". Anna Marie Cox wrote this about Hillary Clinton. Quote, "Her problem is half the bigotry of low expectations and half the reluctance of a child with a plate of green vegetables. This doesn't taste good but I don't expect it to."

So if Clinton does launch a bid, Ross, how does she go about countering this?

DOUTHAT: I mean -- I feel like my analysis of Hillary Clinton is always incredibly boring. She isn't thinking about launching a bid. She has already launched a bid.

COSTELLO: I know.

DOUTHAT: She is running for president and all of the challenges in her way are completely surmountable. When I said it would be impressive for Joe Biden to hit 20 percent, it would be impressive for Joe Biden to hit 20 percent. It would be impressive for any Democrat to hit 20 percent against Hillary because she's a juggernaut whose path to the nomination is all but assured and would require some major reversal in democratic politics, American politics, the world stage, to derail her.

So, yes, there are obviously some -- she's going to have some problems generating the level of enthusiasm that Obama generated in 2008; that an insurgent candidate would generate. There's going to be a lot of stories between now and 2016 about how, you know, does Hillary have enough energy? Do her supporters have enough energy? And all that will matter in the general election.

But in the primary campaign she's running, she's winning and we should expect those two facts to continue for the next two years -- God help us.

COSTELLO: So why are we even talking about it?

ROSEN: I don't think she'll have a problem. I don't think she'll have a problem keeping enthusiasm up. I think that the issue -- you know, yesterday's speech was not a stem winder. It was about the midterm elections and so I think that there is this kind of slower start as she starts to formulate her opinions and she doesn't want to peak too early. That was kind of the point I was making. She's got to ease into this in a significant way.

COSTELLO: How can you ease into it when it's two years out? Like that's what I don't -- but I guess that's just American politics right now.

DOUTHAT: When you're running unopposed you put it on cruise control and you just keep telling people I'll decide tomorrow and meanwhile all the other Democrats sort of hover around and wait for her to quote/unquote "decide" and before you know it, we'll be actually at -- you know, we'll be at the Iowa caucuses and won't that be wonderful?

COSTELLO: Well yes, that will be wonderful. Well Bernie Sanders, he was in Iowa this weekend, Hilary.

DOUTHAT: How's he polling?

ROSEN: He was. He had 100 people at his rally. There were a hundred of them.

COSTELLO: The poll was on -- come on.

ROSEN: Here's the issue, though, and nobody knows this better than Hillary Clinton which is taking Iowa for granted, taking the primary voters for granted is never a good thing to do in a presidential election. And she is not going to make that mistake and I don't see anybody else not expecting Hillary to sort of fight for this nomination.

I think Ross is wrong. I don't think she thinks she's coasting to it. I think that she thinks she has to fight for it.

But here's the other piece that really matters to her and to the country which is she has to articulate a vision for going forward. This isn't about the past of the Clintons. This is about does Hillary have the solutions and the ideas and the vision to take this country where it needs to go on jobs and the economy, which is really the only thing that most voters care about.

And I think we're going to hear more of that from her in coming months. It hasn't happened yet. And I don't think she wants to get out there too early on it.

COSTELLO: We'll see. Hilary Rosen, Ross Douthat, thanks to both of you, I appreciate it.

DOUTHAT: Thanks for having us.

ROSEN: All right. Take care.

COSTELLO: Any time. We'll be right back.

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COSTELLO: In our "American Journey", an exhibit that's running through January in Washington, D.C. is taking visitors on a unique ride through history on ink. Tom Foreman explains.

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TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the heat of war, in the cool of peace and in the daily struggle with life, great souls have left their marks. And now, at the National Archives, those marks are getting their due in a show of historic signatures. Jennifer Johnson is the curator.

JENNIFER JOHNSON, CURATOR: I think the power of a signature can't be over-emphasized, whether it's a letter from an individual who had a question for the government or if it's a president who is signing an act of Congress and making those words law, the power is hard to walk away from.

FOREMAN: General Dwight Eisenhower traveled much of Europe in World War II collecting these signatures on bank notes from people he met all along the way.

There is much joy. This is Michael Jackson's patent for a dancing shoe where he signed his name with a flourish, as did the magician, Harry Houdini, who put his pen to his draft card as it were yet another spectacular trick.

JOHNSON: It was truly part of his personality at the time. And that is his signature.

FOREMAN: There are surprises too, like a calling card left for Vice President Andrew Johnson by John Wilkes Booth the very day Booth assassinated President Abraham Lincoln; or the wedding registry of Adolf Hitler.

JOHNSON: I think some of the most powerful ones or at least the most interesting to me are the examples that you might not expect to find.

FOREMAN: Katherine Hepburn, Frank Sinatra, Jackie Robinson and so many others pulled from the billions of papers in the archives each making a mark in history.

Tom Foreman, CNN Washington.

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COSTELLO: Nice, right?

Thank you so much joining me today. I'm Carol Costello.

"@THIS HOUR WITH BERMAN AND MICHAELA" after a break.

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