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French Terror Attack Investigation Leads to Yemen; Terrorists Cells Said to Be Spread Throughout Europe; David Cameron Coming to White House; Syrian Rebel Army about to Get U.S. Training; Being Muslim Woman Today

Aired January 16, 2015 - 10:00   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. Thanks so much for joining me. We begin this hour with a continent on alert and millions of people on edge.

A massive anti-terror sweep descends over much of Europe and harried government officials say a sprawling jihadist network was not only in place but also on the verge of striking. Raids sweep across a huge swath of Western Europe -- France, Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands. In Belgium, the threat is described as imminent.

French police have detained a dozen people in connection to last week's killings in and around Paris. The people arrested are suspected of providing logistical support for those attacks.

Also this morning, Secretary of State John Kerry paid his respects to some of the victims. He laid a wreath at the makeshift memorial outside of the kosher grocery store where those four hostages were killed.

We'll have much more on this in just a minute. But, first, we want to seize on a rare opportunity. Right now, CNN is the only major news network in Yemen, the terrorist hotbed just south of Saudi Arabia. That's where killers of last week's magazine attack, Sharif and Said Kouachi received their ordres to launch their terror strike. But did they actually meet with the mastermind of that massacre, U.S. born cleric Anwar al-Alaki? CNN's Nick Paton Walsh is in Yemen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: What's key is for French investigators to swiftly establish the links in reality between here, Yemen and those attacks in France. Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula's 11-minute statement suggest that a U.S. citizen killed in 2011 by U.S. drone strike, Anwar al Awlaki was in fact operationally running that attack. What they called a blessed battle of Paris in their own sick terminology.

What is vital for the French investigators to work out, if after that 2011 death there were continued conversations or resources passed from here, Yemen, to the Kouachi brothers. We know that potentially one of them came here as early as 2009 and maybe Cherif potentially traveling under his brother, older brother Said's passport came here in 2011 and may have returned to France with tens of thousands of dollars. That's vital information because there are these other cells around Europe. Do they have links to the al Qaeda hotbed here of Yemen? Very kin to the British branding on what they call, they say, the blessed battle of Paris, - and, of course now, a quiet day after Friday prayer here in the capital Sana'a, but much anger on the streets at the image of the Prophet Muhammad, offensive to so many Muslims being published again in "The Charlie Hebdo" satirical magazine in its latest issue.

The government angry what it considers Yemen being scapegoated but in truth, this is a failed or failing state. A lot of questions still to be answered by Yemen. When did the Kouachi brothers come here? Where did they train? Who did they get resources from? Did they get commands from Yemen? It's a launch terror attacks, a lot of answers still to come from here. Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, Nick Paton Walsh reporting for us from Yemen this morning.

Now, let's talk with Deborah Feyerick right now, and talk more about the raids that swept across much of Europe. Hundreds of people suspected. Dozens of people arrested. Tell us more.

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What we're learning from a Western intelligence source is that there could be as many as 20 cells throughout Europe and that may include as many as 120 to 180 young men. Many of them returning from Syria, but also people who have been in the country who are providing different kinds of support, whether it be logistical support or transit support. One of the people who was arrested last night in that raid where we saw all of the shooting, they were providing logistical support in the form of firearms but also documents.

So, they are making sure that people returning from Syria are getting what they need to be able to move very easily through not only the country that they're in, Belgium in this case, but also other countries as well. There's a lot of activity. Authorities, intelligence and security authorities have had these men on radar for a time between weeks and months. But right now the urgency has really been ramped up because of what happened in Paris. Doesn't mean that it is directly connected but there's enough information that's being developed for people to understand now is go time.

COSTELLO: So these cells in Belgium, who was their inspiration? You heard Nick Paton Walsh reporting that Yemen thinks it's being scapegoated and they say the inspiration isn't coming from here.

FEYERICK: Right. Well, the inspiration is an ideology. That's the main point that we have to keep in mind. The inspiration is not a person. It's not even necessarily a group. It's an ideology. And when you look back, al Qaeda core is where it began. Then you had all these breakout groups and now you have al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. You have sort of this brand of religion that's turning people into these violent acts or promoting people to go out and do these acts. But then you look at ISIS. ISIS is an offshoot. So, all you are seeing really is a splintering of a hardcore ideology that's getting even more hardcore, more radical, more extremist the more these groups get away from the fundamentals of what Islam is. COSTELLO: What about the United States and cells here?

FEYERICK: That's a huge concern. That's a huge, huge concern. But it is a very different population on some levels. You're going to have the lone wolves who are going to come to the United States, but to get into the United States is more difficult than it is to get into other countries, but you have a huge wave of immigrants that came up from North Africa, that came from the Middle East, and that's the population you're dealing with now in the European Union. Here they have to come sort of individually. They don't have the same kind of support structure that they do in a place like France or Belgium or Europe where even the Paris attackers, they got together and trained in a park. In the 19 arrondissement. That was their neighborhood. That was their gang.

And if you begin to look at some of these sort of cells we call them as little more than criminal gangs intent on creating maximum violence, maximum damage. It takes on a bit of a different aura. Everyone is afraid of terror. That's what terror is about. Terror is about uncertainty. That's the capital of terrorists. But if you look, it's a bit different between what is going on but I'll tell you a number of security people I talked to here, they are saying they are breathing - they are grateful that what is happening is Europe is not happening in the United States. It doesn't mean it can't. We saw the Tsarnaevs. But it's a different degree right now.

COSTELLO: All right. Deborah Feyerick, many thanks to you. I appreciate it. Now, let's head to Belgium where as we said, the threat was described as imminent. CNN senior international correspondent Frederik Pleitgen is in Brussels with more. Hi, Frederik.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol. And certainly, this is a country that' on edge of the moment. We heard just an hour or so ago, that the Belgium government has now made a decision to put its army on standby. Troops are getting ready to deploy at sensitive sites across the country. Of course, across the country was also where you had a lot of terror raids that happened overnight last night. There were 12 sites in all that were raided by the police. The most violent one as we said happened in a town of Verviers, which is about 40 miles outside of Brussels where two alleged jihadists were killed and one was injured.

But again, 12 sites, many of them here in the Brussels area. And the police confiscated a lot of weapons, they confiscated communication equipment and also police uniforms and they say that the main target of the attacks that were supposed to happen that they say were imminent that could have happened within hours of that raid, maybe a day, but they say it could have also been hours, were directed at police officers. They say that the jihadists, most of them coming back from Syria wanted to kill police officers either on the streets or even in police departments and again that plot, they said, was "imminent." And so, Belgium is taking precautions now. The police officers who are of course considering themselves to be targets now have been told not to walk on the streets alone and to always wear their bulletproof vests and to take their weapons home with them as well so they can protect themselves. So, this is a country at this point that's on edge that's taking security precautions and that certainly has drastically escalated its measures here to protect its population, Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. Frederik Pleitgen reporting live from Belgium this morning. Thank you.

One of the founding members of "Charlie Hebdo" is leveling sharp criticism at the late editor, Stephane Charbonnier. Saying Charbonnier's decision to continue publishing provocative cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad "drags staffers to their death." CNN senior media correspondent Brian Stelter joins me now, and this is rather surprising coming from one of the founders of "Charlie Hebdo."

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It really is. We've heard it from other people outside of the magazine, but we haven't heard it from anyone on the staff. And this is the founder, one of the founders of the magazine. It's been around for decades as you know, Carol. And he called the editor Charb - known as Charb a splendid, but a stubborn man. Someone who just kept engaging in oneupsmanship by publishing these cartoons, although the editor and the staff knew the risks they were taking by doing so.

COSTELLO: And he actually wrote an article detailing that.

STELTER: Yeah, this was a letter in French and so it's been translated into English. And one of the things he says in the letter is, I'm upset at you, Charb. But then he says, may your soul rest in peace.

And it's - but it's - what's so remarkable to me about it, is that you see the editorial tensions that we've heard about and debated elsewhere, but you can see they were happening even within the magazine about how far is too far when it comes to something that is so provocative and is so offensive to some Muslims.

COSTELLO: Well, actually, it's good to know they were talking about it, right?

STELTER: You're right.

COSTELLO: That's what you're supposed to do, is debate such issues so you can be more responsible.

STELTER: And we had heard the editors in the past say they knew the risks over time that they would rather take the risks than not take the risks. But we saw a protest in Pakistan today against the new cover and I think that's one illustration of how provocative and how offensive it has been to some people.

COSTELLO: And a French photographer was killed in that demonstration, right, in Pakistan?

STELTER: Injured. Not killed.

COSTELLO: Injured. STELTER: Yeah. And it's - we are gathering more information about

it. It was in Karachi earlier today. And maybe just a co-incident, so this photographer was working for AFP, this French newswire. But it may not be a coincidence. It may not. There is curiosity about that because- because of course, there have been concerns about some sort of retaliation for that cover image that was published earlier this week.

COSTELLO: Right. And this happened at the French consulate in Pakistan, right?

STELTER: That's right. They were trying to actually - which we are seeing in the video of now, were trying to get to the consulate, they were pushed back by water cannons and apparently, by rubber bullets. Our producer in Islamabad is reporting that the investigation is now under way to find out who actually shot at this photographer to find out more information about it. But this is the first big protest and first violent protests that we've seen in the wake of that Muhammad cover being published. And we've seen complaints from a number of leaders and religious officials in the Middle East, but this is the first actual protest we've really seen.

COSTELLO: All right. Brian Stelter, thanks as always. I appreciate it.

STELTER: Thank you.

COSTELLO: Still to come in the "NEWSROOM", a young man accused of trying to join ISIS. His parents come to his defense and insist social media is to blame for his troubles. We'll talk about that.

Also, the president meet with one of our top allies at the White House. The British Prime Minister David Cameron. The fight against ISIS, of course, tops the agenda, but it's not the only concern for the United States and the U.K. An important announcement is promised. We'll talk about that too.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: President Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron are meeting at the White House right now. In two hours both will host a news conference. We expect them to talk about social media and how it gets terrorists a platform to recruit young men and women like Mohammed Hamzah Khan. The 19-year old is accused of plotting to join ISIS. Not only that, authorities say he convinced his little brother and sister to fly to Turkey and join up too. Khan's mother blames social media. And the slick propaganda platform it offers terrorists. Mrs. Khan has a message for ISIS recruiters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: You have spoken very forcefully against ISIS, against Muslim extremists who would try to recruit young people through social media, through the Internet. Is it - do you feel that without that influence your son would not be in the trouble that he's in right now? ZARINE KHAN, SON CHARGED WITH TRYING TO JOIN ISIS: Yes. I fully

think that that would not have happened if it wasn't for social media, if it weren't for the Internet. No. He would never be in the situation he's in today.

COOPER: Zarine, what is your message to those who would try to recruit kids to extremists, to ISIS? What is your message?

KHAN: To leave our children alone. Please. Yes. That's my only message. To stop recruiting these children. They're too young. They don't know what's going on there. You know, they are small. They don't understand what they are getting into. What they are getting - you know, just leave the children alone. You know, they are too young. Not to misuse these children, their lives and their innocence. You know, people are there misusing the children's innocence. The children are gullible. They are vulnerable. You know, their thinking skills have not completely developed and these people are preying on that and they're misusing them. Their innocence and their youth, which I want them to stop. To leave children alone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Still, can you blame social media alone for enticing young men and women to fight alongside ISIS? As I said, it will be a big topic of conversation today at the White House. CNN's Michelle Kosinski is at the White House. Good morning, Michelle.

MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I mean much has been made of this argument. It's really been sort of sweeping headlines, especially around the Internet. That David Cameron would love for Google and Facebook and Snapchat and Instagram and you name it, to share more information with British authorities when they are trying to investigate terror. In Britain he can just ask these types of entities to do that and by law there they need to comply. But if an American company even though it has people online in Britain were to do that that would be violating U.S. law.

So, the British are now wanting to talk to President Obama about what maybe could be done about this, especially as regards encryption. It's very easy to make an argument for privacy in this case, but the FBI agrees with David Cameron, at least to some extent and they have this very compelling quote this week that said, well, you know, if you're going to go along with that argument, then should we make a car trunk that can never, ever be opened by a police officer, even during the course of an investigation or how about somebody's apartment? I mean those are private spaces too. But sometimes the argument is there police need to get in there. We know that social media entities really fiercely guard their privacy and they sort of market themselves to the people online.

You know, I'm stopping myself. Because there's been a lot of argument over how much information they're willing to share with advertisers and other entities and things like that. But this is up for debate. And the White House so far has really played it safe. They don't want to take any sides. They say that yes, privacy is a huge concern that needs to be protected. But fighting terror and sharing information is also extremely important especially today. And there needs to be some kind of balance here. How that will end up, that's what we're waiting to see, Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. And the president and the prime minister I guess will be speaking around noon Eastern Time, correct?

KOSINSKI: Yeah. We expect them around 12:20. They are supposed to take questions, too. So, we're not sure that that will happen on time, but we do expect some pretty tough questions there.

COSTELLO: I'm sure there will be. Michelle Kosinski reporting live from the White House this morning. Thank you.

Still to come in the "NEWSROOM," American troops heading to train Syrian rebels, but is this an escalation of the fight against ISIS or is the United States being drawn into a larger war against Syria's government? We'll talk about that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: The Syrian rebel army is about to get some formal training courtesy of the U.S. government. The Pentagon has announced a plan to send 400 American troops plus hundreds of support staff overseas to train moderate Syrian opposition troops. Let's talk about this. We're joined by Major General Spider Marks. He's CNN military analyst and executive dean at the University of Phoenix. Welcome.

MAJOR GENERAL JAMES "SPIDER" MARKS, U.S. ARMY (RETIRED): Hi, Carol. How are you? Good morning.

COSTELLO: I'm good. So, is there really a Syrian rebel army yet?

MARKS: Now, that's a great question. I would say it's a rank tank group of folks who are dedicated on a cause to try to isolate ISIS and try to get Assad in a box and that's really the heart of the problem right now, is that there probably at this point enough of a group of fighters around which you can coalesce and now bring in some additional fighters. That was probably the trigger point that the Department of Defense and this administration was looking for was to have enough momentum in Syria so that they could now open up these camps to begin training. But the key thing as you know, Carol, is how do you do the vetting in advance as Barbara Starr indicated earlier.

COSTELLO: Oh, that's absolutely - so, do we have any idea how many moderate rebel fighters have joined the cause?

MARKS: You know, the numbers are obviously very -- what is key at this point, is there enough of a core that can hold together as you mentioned upfront. And then the vetting process has to be done offsite, if you will. No one is going to bring a potential moderate Syrian fighter into a camp in Turkey or Qatar or Saudi Arabia where there are U.S. trainers and there are ally and partner trainers who are going to try to get this force ready to go unless that individual and that group of individuals have been vetted.

COSTELLO: Well, we've often heard that this is going to take a lot of time. I think we've lost General Marks. Have we?

MARKS: No, no. I'm right here, Carol.

COSTELLO: You are still here - oh, good. Because I couldn't hear your audio for a second. But maybe it was just - maybe it was just technical problems on my end. But I'm glad I still have you. Because I do want to ask you this, we always hear that it's going to take a lot of time to train these rebels and as you said we have to vet them. But time is of the essence right now in light of what happened in Paris, isn't it?

MARKS: Well, it is. All of these events clearly, Carol, are connected. I don't know that what occurred in Paris, what we saw in Belgium, certainly the barbarism of what's occurring with another form of radical Islam in Nigeria is the trigger event. I think the real trigger event is whether these moderate fighters in Syria are prepared to accept more help and if we can provide that. That's how it comes together right now. So, certainly there's a time horizon, but I don't know if it's completely tied to what we're seeing right now.

COSTELLO: General Marks, thanks as always. I appreciate it.

MARKS: Thanks, Carol.

COSTELLO: All American personnel try to get Syrian rebels up to speed, Kurdish fighters are holding off ISIS troops in northern Iraq and Syria. That includes the women's protection unit. CNN has introduced you to these fierce women soldiers, they are Muslim, and they are battling extremists who are threatening their way of life. It's just one example that destroys the myth that all Muslims are the same. Not all of them are like Hayat Boumeddiene, the French woman police say is accomplice to the man who killed four people in that kosher grocery store. I sat down with Anushay Hossain, she is the editor in chief of Anushespoint.com and an expert on global women's issues. I wanted to know what it's like to be a Muslim woman in the world today.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANUSHAY HOSSAIN, EXPERT ON GLOBAL WOMEN'S ISSUES: There are always some brainwashed women. You know, when the Taliban first came, one of the first people that recognized their government was Benazir Bhutto. You know, who was a prime minister of Pakistan at that time. So, there's always - the crazy people can brainwash anybody. What's unfair is that this one example, this one story, is representative of everybody. And so I think that's the problem. And it just needs to change. I mean, nobody wants to hear about the diversity of Muslim women. Yes, every now and then a story comes along. But have you seen those Kurdish women fighters who are literally on the ground. Like they are - like at war with ISIS. They are doing more than the U.S. military is. Why aren't they on the front page of every single newspaper and magazine?

COSTELLO: We've done many stories on them.

HOSSAIN: High-five to you, Carol. COSTELLO: What can be done to keep terrorists from hijacking your

religion? What should be done?

HOSSAIN: Oh my goodness. So much. First of all, it's not just Muslims. OK? I mean we have the huge integration problem, immigration problem in Europe. 40 percent of Muslim youth are unemployed. It's a very different story than what you are seeing in America. There's a huge part of the U.S. foreign policy, also has to play in. OK? And we have got wars raging in so many Muslim countries throughout the Muslim world. It's a completely unstable region. It's not just women that are suffering. Everyone is suffering. There's a lot to do. But what I think recently that is something very interesting is the role that Muslim mothers have to play. And the U.K. government has actually taken on this huge initiative to reach out to the mothers in Muslim communities.

And just yesterday this mother in Chicago, her son, I think they caught him trying to supply arms or something to ISIS, they are American citizens, and she flat out told ISIS leave our kids alone. You guys are brainwashing our children. Social media, leave our kids alone. And I really think the mothers have, of course, a huge role, and also to speak out more when they are seeing activity in their communities. But we can't just pin it on us and the Muslims. I mean come on, everybody has their part including the U.S. Government, including the U.K. government. I mean it's a huge approach and we have to be tactical and holistic about it.

COSTELLO: And it would be nice if we could work together.

HOSSAIN: It would of course, be nice, just to talk.

COSTELLO: Just to talk. So I would like to talk on social media. If you would like to add your voice to this discussion, head over to my Facebook page. Facebook.com/Carolcnn. I would love to know what you think about all of this. Facebook.com/carolCNN. And thanks in advance.

Still to come in the "NEWSROOM", breaking information from our crew in Yemen about the trip that one of the "Charlie Hebdo" gunmen made to Syria. That's right after this break.

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