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.S. Allies Talk Ukraine Peace in Moscow; What Will Russia Demand for Peace?; Jordan Promises More Airstrikes; Unemployment Rises in January; Ukraine Officer Crowdfunding for Supplies

Aired February 06, 2015 - 09:00   ET

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

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: NEWSROOM starts now.

And good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me.

We begin this hour with a world in conflict and the White House under fire. Today we'll learn more about America's escalating involvement in two different wars.

A new wave of airstrikes hammers ISIS targets in Syria. These photos reportedly show the aftermath. U.S. ally Jordan again takes the lead and vows not to ease up until ISIS is destroyed. And Jordan was accompanied by American F-18s and F-22s.

In the meantime, top U.S. allies scramble to Moscow for peace talks on the escalating crisis in Ukraine. Can France and Germany convince Vladimir Putin to shut off the pipeline of troops and weapons?

And cutting through the fog of war. In just a few hours National Security adviser Susan Rice will tell Americans the plans and priorities in confronting these crises. Six years into the Obama presidency, foreign policy in a changing world.

But let's begin with the crisis in Ukraine and today's meeting between U.S. allies and the Russian president, Vladimir Putin.

CNN's chief national security correspondent Jim Sciutto is in Ukraine's capital. Erin McLaughlin is in Moscow.

But let's begin with you, Jim.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Carol, we have the French and German leaders arriving in Moscow shortly. They're describing this an effort to end a war in Europe. End the horror on the ground.

Germany's chancellor, Angela Merkel, says the focus now is on resurrecting a peace agreement negotiated in September. The trouble is they're going to be sitting across the table from the man, Russian President Vladimir Putin, who they accuse of breaking that peace agreement. No question here about who they assign blame to for an acute escalation on the violence on the ground just in the last several days.

That is Russia. That is President Putin. So minor progress today. Ceasefires in some of the towns worst hit, but the worry is that with each of these smaller ceasefires that the front lines move further ahead. That leaves more territory under, in effect, Russian control.

And two questions still not answered. One, will there be another round of economic sanctions against Russia? But also unresolved will the U.S. send military aid to Ukrainian forces? That decision still has not been made -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. Jim Sciutto, many thanks to you.

Germany's Angela Merkel says there's only one thing that's clear heading into this morning's talks. There is no military solution to the fighting. Only diplomacy can forge a lasting peace. So what will it take to convince Vladimir Putin to buy into that plan?

Let's turn to CNN's Erin McLaughlin. She's in Moscow.

Hi, Erin.

ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol. That's right. Well, the fact of the matter is, Russian President Vladimir Putin pretty much has kept the West guessing at every stage pretty much along this crisis with eastern Ukraine, though the Kremlin, though, has said that it welcomes the visits from French President Francois Hollande as well as Angela Merkel as a positive step forward.

It has also been very quick to point to its own proposals, President Putin's own proposals, to resolve this crisis, proposals that Western officials have largely thus far rejected. Meanwhile, there is news out of Ukraine. We're still waiting to hear Kremlin comment on it that Ukrainians have arrested a Russian spy.

Now the report coming from Ukrainian intelligence officials that they have arrested a lieutenant -- a lieutenant colonel in the Ukrainian military on suspicion of spying on behalf of Russia, which raises all sorts of questions about the scale of Russia's potential involvement in this crisis -- Carol.

COSTELLO: And arming the rebels as well.

Erin McLaughlin, thank you so much.

Now to the fight against ISIS. Jordan unleashes another round of punishing airstrikes against terrorist targets in Syria. Officials vowing to up the ante and hunt down the killers of that Jordanian pilot.

A U.S. official telling CNN a second set of strikes is now complete. Among the latest targets destroyed, ISIS training centers, weapons and ammunition depots.

The air mission now being called Moath the Martyr in honor of that slain pilots. Jordanian fighter jets dropping bombs scribbled with messages to ISIS like this one. "Islam has nothing to do with your actions."

In the meantime, friends and family of the pilot are remembering him as a hero. Yesterday Queen Rania visited his hometown. This photo shows the queen embracing the pilot's widow. The couple had only been married for six months.

Let's bring in Jomana Karadsheh. She's in Amman, Jordan with more.

Good morning.

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. And we were in that small village in southern Jordan where the pilot was born and raised. We were there when the king and queen of Jordan visited his family in a show of solidarity to pay their respects to the family of a man who has become an icon for so many here in Jordan.

And, Carol, that tent where women had gathered to mourn him, we went into that tent and it was really emotional scene. We saw his mother there. She looked so frail, numb and in so much pain she could barely speak. But we were also able to meet other relatives who were able and really keen to share their memories of this young man and also tell us how they felt about what happened to him.

Here's what his 21-year-old cousin Layla told us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LAYLA AL-KASASBEH, PILOT'S COUSIN: He not only lived, he existed, you know? He did something for his country and for his religion. He had to die in that way to show people how true those people are. You know? So it's sad and it's heartbreaking, and we're so sad and we're crying all the time and when we're not crying we're talking about him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KARADSHEH: And, Carol, describing his personality, people were saying that he was an outgoing person, had a really strong character and was very popular, and his dream, his ambition, he always wanted to become a pilot. His family and friends really proud of what he did in his life and ultimately in his death.

And now they feel that their country is more united than ever in their stance rallying around the government to strike ISIS back.

COSTELLO: All right. Jomana Karadsheh, thanks so much. Jomana reporting live from Amman, Jordan.

Jordan's airstrikes focused mainly on Raqqa, Syria. That's where ISIS has set up its de facto capitol. An anti-ISIS activist organization called Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently posted these pictures. The group claims they show the aftermath of those coalition airstrikes.

Oddly, ISIS has just released some more propaganda showing women sewing burqas and niqabs, the head garment usually worn by women, and being handed out to children in Iraq, except that's not exactly the reality when it comes to ISIS. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh showed us a few months ago what the ISIS

stronghold of Raqqa is really like.

It's interesting how Jordan is showing the world it's bombing Raqqa. It actually put this on YouTube. Seriously.

So let's dig deeper with CNN global affairs analyst and former U.S. Delta Force commander, Lieutenant Colonel James Reese.

Welcome, sir.

COL. JAMES REESE (RET.), FORMER U.S. DELTA FORCE OFFICE: Good morning.

COSTELLO: Have you watched these YouTube videos? They're sort of like reality TV shows.

REESE: I have. And, you know, it's -- what we have now is counter propaganda to ISIS and the Arab world is trying to move this along.

We've been talking about it for months and they're able to take the gun videos from the F-16s and put them into production. And it works out for them.

COSTELLO: Well, here's a couple of things that we found interesting in viewing those YouTube videos. You have Jordanians writing messages on the missiles, including "Islam has nothing to do with your actions." "Drop upon them stones of fire." And "They will turn their back and run."

Your thoughts on the effectiveness of such a thing?

REESE: Well, you know, it's -- those are the young troops that are prepping those fighter jets to go into combat. If you can look back at the videos from CENTCOM in Iraq and Afghanistan and look at the carriers, we did the same thing. The kids -- you know, our kids that are loading up the bombs on those aircraft, the U.S. aircraft, they write messages, you know, to bin Laden. We did all those things.

So I understand it. It's the passion. They're into the mission and they want it and I think that's good. I think it's good for the Arab people. And I think it's good for the Islamic aspect to see the passion that they need to get into and for us, we need to allow them to do that and push that along so we can kind of sit back and watch.

COSTELLO: OK. The other thing that I found interesting, there are women in this video in fatigues. Was that done on purpose?

REESE: Absolutely, Carol. I mean, what ISIS is trying to do is show the flex and the aspects that they can put inside of ISIS. The other piece is they are training females in type of soldier tasks because they want to send them out and they want them to do death and destruction as they either move them into Iraq or even back into Europe because, remember, when a woman walks down the street, no one really gives her a second thought.

And we've seen that in other places. So that is a great tactical move by ISIS to train those women in combat operations.

COSTELLO: And we know that women can be fierce fighters because Kobani is a prime example of that, right?

REESE: Absolutely. The Kurdish women up there, I mean, Kurd women are great fighters. They have a passion for their people and so, you know, I've got to believe if something happened like this in the U.S., our women, we have great women in our military that are just as good fighters as our men. So, you know, it's all about the girls. They can do it, too.

COSTELLO: Colonel, that's why I like you so very much.

(LAUGHTER)

The other thing I noticed is that the pilots as they bored their F- 16s, they're giving this thumbs up sign. I would suppose every military pilot in Jordan is a hero now.

REESE: They are. And the thumbs up is what all the -- all the jet pilots do. They give a thumbs up to their crew to let them know, thank you, and they're ready to go on their mission. But right now there's a sense of urgency for them and pride and let the Jords go at them. I salute them.

COSTELLO: All right. Lieutenant Colonel James Reese, thanks for your insight as always. I appreciate it.

REESE: Thanks, Carol.

COSTELLO: Still to come in the NEWSROOM, the unemployment rate creeps higher in the latest jobs report but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Really.

Christine Romans has more on that.

Good morning.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. Because there was a lot of good job creation the beginning of this year. And guess what, the end of last year was stronger than we even thought. I'll tell you what's going right in the job market right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: We have breaking news on the economy this month. The January jobs report was released a short time ago, 257,000 jobs were added last month, more than expected, but the unemployment rate ticked up a notch to 5.7 percent.

Now, these latest numbers coming as the president heads to Indianapolis to talk about, you guessed it, the economy.

Christine Romans is following the numbers for us this morning.

What do they mean?

ROMANS: It's a strong -- it's a strong report, Carol. The president's going to be able to go there, to Indianapolis today and say that the job market is still improving and wages are rising.

I want you to look at the trend here, Carol. You've given that headline number, but look what happened to the end of last year.

November, 423,000 jobs created. We saw revision that's bigger than we initially expected. December, 329,000 jobs created. Here, 257,000 jobs created. You're seeing strength in the labor market, the end of last year carrying into this year.

Here's something that's really important. You mentioned that unemployment rate and how that unemployment rate had ticked up to 5.7 percent. Here's why you don't need to worry about that. It grew -- the unemployment rate grew because more than 1 million new people came into the labor market, probably seeing these signs of encouragement from the jobs market and saying, all right, I stepped back. I haven't been looking for work for some time. Now I'm going to try.

We also saw a broadening out of the kinds of jobs being created, Carol. It's not just the bartenders, waitresses, very low paid home health care aides. You're seeing broadening out of construction, manufacturing jobs, business and information services. Jobs lost in the oil patch, not a surprise there as oil prices have collapsed.

But you're seeing jobs created in broad sector, broad different industries in this country and the wages increase. So there you go, Carol.

(CROSSTALK)

COSTELLO: Now wait a minute. Wait a minute. Wages increase? That's a passion that you and I share, the wage gap.

ROMANS: Yes.

COSTELLO: So, what happened?

ROMANS: Wages increased. You're now looking at year over year, 2.2 percent wage growth. That is encouraging. I'd like to see more like 2.5 percent because I always want a little more than I'm given in the labor market, of course.

But you're seeing some improvement there. You want to see that trend continue. You want to see a lot of different kinds of jobs created, not just the lower paid jobs. You want to see a lot of different kinds of new jobs.

This is the most dynamic labor market in the world. It's starting to get its mojo back. Still have a lot of work to do. But starting to get its mojo back, Carol.

COSTELLO: Sounds good. Christine Romans, thanks so much. Still to come in the NEWSROOM, Ukraine's army is desperate for

supplies, including toilet paper and sleeping bags, one officer is taking matters into his own hands. You won't believe how. We'll talk about that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Frantic and underequipped, Ukraine's volunteer soldiers are desperate for help. World leaders worried about Russian spies infiltrating Ukraine's army, worried if they arm Ukraine, they're arming the enemy.

According to "Foreign Policy" magazine, here's what the United States has sent to Ukraine. Night vision goggles, body armor, other nonlethal aid including blankets. Some lawmakers say it's time to step up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ADAM KINZINGER (R), ILLINOIS: This is a military that really hasn't had any influx of new military equipment since the breakup of the Soviet Union. It's a country that gave up its nuclear weapons under this promise of freedom and integrity. Now I think the United States is in a position to say, look, you need to have the tools and the ability to defend yourself.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: A top NATO official tells CNN even if aid gets there, it simply would not be enough.

One Ukrainian intelligence officer Ivan Rodichenko is taking matters into his own hands, crowdfunding $500,000 in Manhattan since June of last year, his next stop is Washington.

"Foreign Policy" columnist Michael Weiss recently spoke with Ivan directly.

Michael, thank you for joining us.

MICHAEL WEISS, COLUMNIST, FOREIGN POLICY: Thanks for having me.

COSTELLO: I've never heard of this before.

WEISS: It sort of reminds you of what the Syrian rebels have been doing for four years, doesn't it? I mean, completely desperate at total, you know, a loss for any kind of institutional or governmental support. Yes, he's gone to New York and there's a huge and very activist Ukrainian Diaspora population here, and they've just been signing checks and giving him the money.

COSTELLO: So, who exactly is Ivan Rodichenko?

WEISS: So, Ivan is -- he actually -- it's important to make the distinction. The way the war is being fought by the Ukrainian forces, there's the conventional Ukrainian army and, you know, interior ministry forces. Then there are volunteer battalions. Ivan is a member of the volunteer battalions. Volunteer battalions essentially contract with the defense ministry or interior ministry.

You have to understand when the war broke out a year ago, Ukraine's military was so emaciated and so defunct that they were taking anyone off the street that was willing to carry a pack and an AK-47 to go to the front and fight.

So, Ivan is a member of a 40-man intelligence platoon that is part of the so-called Kievan Rus battalion. They were about -- at most, they were 700 or 600 soldiers. I don't know what their number is now.

So, the -- Ivan's complaint is actually twofold. One, with the United States for not giving Ukraine the support that it needs and, two, with the government of Ukraine for not giving his battalion what they need. We're talking about things like sleeping bags, toilet paper, potable water, and most important, according to him, radio equipment.

These guys, Ivan told me, are using walkie-talkies that you find it paint ball tournaments. And they are using it to fight not just the separatists, but professionally trained Russian, who guess what, they have the electronic surveillance equipment to tap into cell phones and walkie-talkies.

So, I mean, it's a David and Goliath story the I haven't really seen before in covering wars.

COSTELLO: The other disturbing thing, I'm going to quite a bit from it. Quote -- this is from Ivan. He said, my guys have died on the battlefield because they're wearing the same helmets my grandfather war to fight the Nazis.

I mean, talk about desperation.

WEISS: Yes, no, totally. You know, you have to understand, also the weaponry that they're using. AK-47s, this is a very old kind of gun, right? The separatists are bringing in anti-tank, anti-aircraft, you know, artillery -- radar guided artillery systems to just pound these cities.

The story I opened the piece which was haunting to me, Ivan said there was a soldier in his battalion, he had his head taken off by a machine gun. And the Russians came over and they rifled through his belongings, meaning the corpses belongings, found his cell phone, went through his contacts and called his mother and father and girlfriend to say, we just killed your son.

This is the level of brutality that we're seeing in Ukraine. Yes, I mean, like tin helmets to protect them from the most sophisticated armaments known to man.

COSTELLO: That's just awful.

WEISS: Yes.

COSTELLO: You also mentioned in your article, this is sort of like what Ivan is doing, he's running a start-up war. What do you mean by that?

WEISS: Yes. Well, I mean, you know, it's -- you know, the people that are part of these volunteer battalions, a lot of them were just activists on the streets of Kiev. They were in the Maidan, they were protesting the Yanukovych government. They had absolutely no military experience or background whatsoever. I mean, some of them, you know, worked for tech companies, were journalists, whatever.

So, for them, this is -- this is a really A to Z, how to go to war without any kind of, you know, training or any kind of, you know, really in-depth professional background.

He did tell me that his whole battalion was trained up by a Ukrainian special forces commander. That's one guy training, you know, hundreds of people. But, we're not even going -- we're not even talking U.S. basic training here. It's probably, you know, a day or two of here's how you hold a gun, here's how march through mud and that's it. You're on your own.

COSTELLO: Well, you wrote one fascinating article. Thanks for sharing.

Michael Weiss from "Foreign Policy" magazine, I appreciate it.

I'll be right back.

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