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Legal View with Ashleigh Banfield

Obama's U.N. Speech; Day Two of U.S. Air Strikes in Syria; Homeland Security Warns Police of Lone Wolf Terrorists; Video Shows Killing of French Hostage

Aired September 24, 2014 - 12:00   ET

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

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ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Ashleigh Banfield. And welcome to LEGAL VIEW.

I want to start this busy hour with some breaking news. It is a video that has surfaced and it appears to show yet another hostage. This time, a French hostage, being killed, being beheaded by ISIS allies now in Algeria. His name, Herve Gourdel. He was kidnapped on Sunday. So not held very long. The video is titled, "a message of blood for the French government." Officials in Paris at this point have not confirmed these claims, nor have they commented in much more of an extent than just this acknowledgment of this news.

All of this happening on a very big international day. The United States presidents have a global platform whenever they open their mouths, but only one speech per year takes place on the quintessential world stage. And you may have just seen it live here on CNN. President Obama spoke before dozens of his fellow world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly about ISIS, about Ebola, about Iran, about Ukraine, climate change and what America can do that other nations can't or simply won't.

The war against ISIS, which calls itself the Islamic State, and which the White House calls ISIL, continued overnight with coalition air strikes in eastern Syria, just across the Iraqi border. And also four more of those strikes inside Iraq itself. U.S. Central Command says vehicles, weapons, and jihadi fighting positions were all part of the targets and were all hit.

The U.N. never authorized those attacks, nor in the case of Syria did the government invite them. And I know that sounds strange, but it's important. In his speech today, Mr. Obama could say and did say the United States isn't taking any international law into its own hands, but instead it has partners, it has a plan. And more than that, it has a vision.

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BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: For America, the choice is clear, we choose hope over fear. We see the future not as something out of our control, but as something we can shape for the better through concerted and collective effort. We reject fatalism or cynicism when it comes to human affairs. We choose to work for the world as it should be, as our children deserve it to be.

I have made it clear that America will not base our entire foreign policy on reacting to terrorism. Instead, we've waged a focused campaign against al Qaeda and its associated forces, taking out their leaders, denying them the safe havens they rely on. At the same time, we have reaffirmed again and again that the United States is not and never will be at war with Islam.

First, the terrorist group known as ISIL must be degraded and ultimately destroyed. In this effort, we do not act alone. Nor do we intend to send U.S. troops to occupy foreign lands. Instead, we will support Iraqis and Syrians fighting to reclaim their communities. We will use our military might in a campaign of air strikes to roll back ISIL. We will train and equip forces fighting against these terrorists on the ground. We will work to cut off their financing and to stop the flow of fighters into and out of the region. And already over 40 nations have offered to join this coalition. Today, I ask the world to join in this effort.

Second, it is time for the world, especially Muslim communities, to explicitly, forcefully and consistently reject the ideology of organizations like al Qaeda and ISIL. Third, we must address the cycle of conflict, especially sectarian conflict, that creates the conditions that terrorists prey upon. My fourth and final point is a simple one -- the countries of the Arab and Muslim world must focus on the extraordinary potential of their people, especially the youth.

And at this crossroads, I can promise you, that the United States of America will not be distracted or deterred from what must be done. We are heirs to a proud legacy of freedom and we're prepared to do what is necessary to secure that legacy for generations to come. I ask that you join us in this common mission, for today's children and tomorrow's.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Want to dig into those remarks a whole lot deeper now with former U.S. Army Delta Force Commander James Reese, and joining us from London, former Assistant Secretary of State Jamie Rubin.

Jamie, if I can begin with you, quite a diplomatic speech, although the intended target, you could certainly argue, those words, as profound as they may sound to some, fall on deaf ears.

JAMES RUBIN, FORMER ASST. SECRETARY OF STATE: Well, it's never going to be a cheer in the United Nations, especially when the president of the United States is talking about the use of American airpower. I think it's fair to say that the administration has managed to put together a fair number of Arab countries, European countries, to work with it in this important mission against the Islamic State. But what's underlying that and what was missing, really, is the larger question of Syria.

Syria has been before the United Nations for two and a half years and it's the chaos there, the vacuum there, the millions of people that have fled the country and the hundreds of thousands that have been murdered that have led to this situation that no country, including the United States, has been prepared to respond to.

BANFIELD: You know, I want to ask you, colonel, about the notion that the -- the president used the language himself about some of these people just respond to the language of force.

JAMES REESE, U.S. ARMY DELTA FORCE (RET.): Sure.

BANFIELD: It can also be argued that the people who ran those countries before, the person who's running Syria right now, people who ran Afghanistan, the Taliban, Saddam Hussein, they used the language of force and things were for the most part contained. Does democracy always work and can America impose democracy if it's just going to take force after force after force?

REESE: Well, democracy depends on who's -- what's your definition of democracy. Some people think if they have a job, they can send their kids to school and they have a roof over their head, that's democracy. So it really depends on what you think. You're right, there have been some tough leaders in this region of the world for thousands of years. I would tell you, we've been there for 14 years. The people in Iraq, they do, they're just like us. They want their kids to go to school. They want a safe job and they want to move down the street safely. Who's doing that for them? You know, it's up in the air sometimes.

BANFIELD: Ultimately, Jamie Rubin, the president was really clear that this is not an American effort alone. Half of this -- more than half of this speech, in fact, was dedicated to the fight against extremism. And yet, at the same time, you can talk about America's leadership, you know, in the - you know, in the issue with Ukraine, fighting climate change, fighting Ebola, which the president did. But ultimately there is such a loud and resounding message elsewhere in the street that it's a holy war. That it's us against them. That it's the crusade. Even with these Arab partners, this was still called a crusader set of air strikes.

RUBIN: Well, the Arab world has gotten more complicated. There are Arab countries, Syria -- that are helping us in Syria and Iraq, Saudi Arabia, the Gulf states, Jordan, et cetera. Then there is the broad Arab street (ph), that is the people in Egypt who uprose (ph) against Mubarak. And then there is this relatively small group of extremists. And, unfortunately, they have a louder voice and a more extreme voice and they get the coverage and they -- when they put out a video, it's breaking news on CNN. So they have a loud voice but they don't represent a significant portion of the Arab world. They don't represent the larger portion of that part of the world.

But when it comes to the big question you asked earlier about democracy, I think people need to remember that it's not the United States that started the Arab Spring. The Arab Spring happened within Arab countries, first Tunisia, then Egypt, then Syria and then Bahrain. We needed to decide how to react to that and it is certainly true that some dictators create stability compared to the messiness of democracy. But that wasn't our choice in Syria, in Egypt and in these other countries. The people there made decisions. And some of them are suffering for those decisions. And we need to decide whose side we're on, not whether there's going to be democracy or stability in that part of the world. There's going to be both.

BANFIELD: Well, let me ask you this, Colonel Reese, regarding the -- whose side we're on, the alliances that are being made. I think a lot of people were very surprised at those five Arab nations that signed on to be part of the air strike or at least the supporting of the air strikes. But just how trustworthy are those nations? I've been at this game a long time and I've seen nations say one thing and do another in terms of their alliances with the United States and how should these be any different?

REESE: We've done the same thing. You know, we have said one thing and done other things also. I think what you have though right now, the five countries we have are pretty trustworthy. I think the Saudis are a great partner with us. Jordan, by far -

BANFIELD: But up until now, some of the funding for ISIS, most of it, has come from some of these countries. How could you say that?

REESE: That's true. Well, you know, you have to look at it in several different aspects and you've got the political said, you've got the diplomatic side, you've got the military side. I would tell you the Saudis, the Jordanians, great militaries. I've trained and worked with several of their senior leaders. Great. They loved doing this. They're very excited to be involved. But then you fall over to the political side, are we any different?

BANFIELD: And some of the billionaire sheikhs as well -

REESE: Absolutely.

BANFIELD: Who don't ally with their government perhaps.

REESE: Absolutely.

BANFIELD: I have to leave it there, but thank you to both of you, Colonel Reese and Jamie Rubin. I appreciate the insight, especially on this pretty profound day.

There's been another round of air strikes against ISIS targets in Syria, but how effective are they and are there as many as there were the first time around? Is there any significance to that? So what's being targeted? What's being hit? What's the gear that's being used? You may be surprised to find out the millions and millions of dollars that went up in smoke.

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BANFIELD: So John Kerry says, yes, this is the second day of air strikes against ISIS and there's going to be a third day and a fourth day and so on and so on. In several places in Iraq and in Syria overnight, the secretary of state says the terror group has not been flushed out but anywhere ISIS was moving in Iraq he says they've been stopped. And again, this isn't the United States military acting alone he says bombing these ISIS targets. Instead, no, five Arab nations are on board, too, with these air strikes in one way or another. And the president today promised to train and equip forces to fight ISIS on the ground as well.

Our Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr is with me now.

So, Barbara, I've been dying to talk to you because on day one it felt like shock and awe. The statistics are remarkable, 47 tomahawks, four dozen aircraft, 200 pieces of ordinance. So we went from shock and awe to day two, which seems a little more like meh (ph). I mean five targets? Is there something that we don't know about why day one and day two were so incredibly different?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think that this was never really going to be shock and awe. This - you know, that was a massive campaign across Iraq, you know, about a -- more than a decade ago. This is something very different. This is going after terrorist targets, not regime targets. So they started with going after about 14 or so ISIS targets. Let's leave Khorasan aside for the moment. That was the tomahawks that went after them in western Syria.

Focusing on ISIS, they went after a number of targets. They're doing the battle damage assessment. And they're now looking at some of the pop-up targets, if you will, some trucks, some vehicles

It doesn't seem very exciting, but it's part of the effort, the continuing effort, to stop ISIS when and where it is on the move.

Certainly as they continue to collect intelligence, we're told, they'll continue to hit more targets, some will be stationary like we saw --

BANFIELD: Ah, you hit it. You hit it.

STARR: Some will be the pop-up targets. But, Ashleigh, this is -- ISIS is not the Iraqi regime Republican Guard of 10 years ago.

These guys are like shadows. They flit around. They move in and out of towns and cities.

So it is going to take some doing to dig them out and stop them where they are.

BANFIELD: That's exactly what I wanted to ask you about, Barbara, because I was fortunate to be riding in an elevator with General Wesley Clark, and his assessment of this is that day one's big because you got the targets.

Day two, maybe not so much because don't have the intel on the ground, we don't have the targets, and that's troublesome.

STARR: Well, the U.S. is collecting intelligence from a variety of means, but namely overhead. ISIS is staying off its cell phones, they're staying off communications. It's going to be very tough.

Impossible? Officials say no. But this is one of the reasons U.S. officials are also very openly saying -- and even the president -- this is going to be a very long-term effort. You're not going to wipe these guys out in a week.

How long have we been at it against al Qaeda in this country from the U.S. government trying to hit al Qaeda? These terrorist groups are very tough. They are not traditional targets. And they regenerate themselves.

So if you hit five ISIS guys or five cells of ISIS fighters, they keep recruiting, financing, getting more, getting more weapons. This is why you see the administration talk about a multipronged effort. Part of it is military. Part of it, they say, is all the other aspects of trying to fight the ideology and what they are up to.

But --

BANFIELD: Can I ask you --

STARR: -- every single source I have spoken to says this will be a very long-term effort because of all these problems.

BANFIELD: OK, those same sources and maybe others as well, the whispers through the new corridors of the Pentagon.

Are there people who are upset with the notion that so much of this plan to do air strikes in Syria was telegraphed well in advance, even though it wasn't a case of needing to get the permission from Congress. It wasn't like it had to be telegraphed.

Are people in the Pentagon mad that the enemy had the heads-up?

STARR: Good question. I'm not really sure I know how to answer that. Certainly, some military personnel absolutely would be looking askance at that.

But, you know, there's another sort of intelligence side to this question. You telegraph a few moves, ISIS gets nervous, they move around, that's when you can spot them, perhaps.

BANFIELD: Good point.

STARR: Sometimes they like to -- the U.S. military likes to, as they call it, rustle the bushes and see what pops out from underneath. So I think that it's kind of a mixed picture.

BANFIELD: That's interesting, though. I hadn't thought of that. Barbara Starr live at the Pentagon for us, thank you. Appreciate it.

While bombs target the terrorists in Syria and in Iraq, there is certainly a growing concern that those attacks may inspire violent attacks in the United States by those so-called lone wolves.

Swat the bee; make him mad. The details on what law enforcement agencies are being told to look for, coming right at you next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BANFIELD: So we've got this just in to our offices from the Department of Homeland Security, and this is a memo that was sent out to law enforcement agencies right across the United States.

The message is be on heightened alert for lone wolf attacks especially after the air strikes in Syria and in Iraq. And it's a concern that we all can't help but have to be somewhat worried about, certainly what everybody across the country in a law enforcement capacity is being told, watch out.

So is a terrorist here in the United States already trying to retaliate for what's going on overseas? CNN's justice correspondent Pamela Brown is helping to break that news.

For starters, could you clear this up specifically, because there was some language that made me nervous? I'm just paraphrasing it. But be on the lookout for changes in appearances or behavior in people you're already tracking.

People you're already tracking suggests to me, and maybe wrongly, there's ISIS here. You've got a handle on them. Now watch them even closer.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: We do know, and it's been out there, U.S. officials have announced, that there have been Americans who have gone over to fight in Syria and who have returned to the U.S. Officials are keeping a close eye on them.

So there's a group of those people, and then also, Ashleigh, there are people that -- there are hundreds of individuals that law enforcement is aware of that could potentially cross a line and become a home- grown violent extremist.

And I think the big concern here are those groups and then also the people who are not on law enforcement's radar, that may not have those sort of preoperational indicators that would flag them to law enforcement.

So this has been a long -- an ongoing concern by law enforcement, these home-grown violent extremists, and in the wake of the strikes in Syria, the big concern among law enforcement is that they will be emboldened to launch an attack here in the homeland as a way to retaliate.

BANFIELD: And there's been all these crazy messages coming as well from sort of leadership, or at least media leadership, in ISIS to ferret people out of their homes and grab their children and burn their homes and execute them in public, et cetera, et cetera. And you don't know how many lunatics there might be who take this to heart and act on it.

But one thing I noticed, which was fascinating, was the law enforcement agencies across the country are being asked to watch for people who have been extremists online and in social media and then suddenly fall silent.

How do you continue to watch them if you're watching them on social media and then, poof, they're gone?

BROWN: The hope for law enforcement is that, you know, if they have someone on their radar like that, they're not just tracking their social media. They're going to have more information about this individual, who they're communicating with, whether they're communicating with any terrorist organizations, their travel plans, whether they're planning to travel to Turkey, which of course as we know is the gateway into Syria. And so that's one of the main things.

Also, they're looking for changes in appearance, changes in behavior, whether they participate in weapons training, all types of indicators, but, Ashleigh, the bottom line is that there have been lone wolf attacks, home-grown violent extremist attacks, in the United States where they were no previous indicators or they weren't on law enforcement's radar. And that's the big concern here.

BANFIELD: You just have great sources in law enforcement, so keep us updated if anything changes, if they update this warning to police agencies all over the country.

BROWN: Absolutely.

BANFIELD: Pamela Brown, thank you for that.

I just want to give you an update, again. We told you at the top of the program a very distressing piece of breaking news. A French hostage who's been held since Sunday has been beheaded.

The sad part of this is that this happened in Algeria. The man, Herve Gourdel, was apparently kidnapped. This is a picture of him here. It was only a couple of days he was held, but yet again, another hostage, another Western hostage beheaded at this point.

And of course all of this just within days of air strikes against ISIS. More on that in just a moment.

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BANFIELD: Want to get back to our breaking news. Still no word from Paris on a web video that appears to show the beheading of yet another hostage, this one, a French hostage, and this time, the beheading taking place in another country, in Algeria.