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60 Nations Target Extremists, Social Media; Interview with Rep. Scott Perry; Measles Cases Rise across U.S.; Goods Stuck in West Coast Standoff

Aired February 18, 2015 - 10:30   ET

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

MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol.

This is really interesting so far because I mean initially we had the White House announcing this big summit but not ever using the words "Islamic extremism". But as the summit is getting under way for a second day now, all of the programs that they're looking at are really focusing on Muslim communities around the country.

So what you have now is some who have been annoyed with the White House for not saying the word "Islamic" and saying hey these are people who are becoming susceptible to the ideology that ISIS is recruiting for but then you have Muslims around the country saying, "Wait a second, we're being singled out." It's really going both ways.

But social media is a big part of the focus -- how to counter those messages that ISIS is so good at getting out around the world.

Here's what the Secretary of Homeland Security had to say about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEH JOHNSON, U.S. SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY: In just a very short period of time we've come a long way in terrorist organizations' ability to communicate. They have the ability to reach into our communities and attempt to recruit and inspire individuals who may turn toward violence right here in the homeland.

This has to be a collective effort as the Vice President said yesterday; it has to be more than a military response.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSINSKI: And what we've been curious to hear about are these pilot programs that the White House has been talking about that were launched in three American cities -- Los Angeles, Boston and Minneapolis. I mean they've been talking a lot about these but keep in they were only started in October. So they haven't even been a year in the making.

We want to hear -- you know, this summit is going to be about what's working and not; what criteria do you really have so far. But the results have been interesting to see just what they're doing in some of these cities. I mean in Minneapolis, they are focusing on job training. One of the leaders said jobs and opportunities are absolutely essential in preventing the spread of radicalization and extremism.

Talking about schools and spotting early warning signs of trouble. Engaging with students and helping them get involved in activities. So simple things but you can sort of see how that's working.

In L.A., for example, they were talking about mentoring. Some of these cities they need more mentors to really work one-on-one with young people. It's very much community-based. Also in L.A., they were talking about teacher training for empathy toward Muslim students and trying to find ways to improve the quality of life in general in Muslim communities.

So I think for some of those Muslim Americans who are looking at this summit and saying, you know, we're being stigmatized, when you hear what people are saying who are involved in these programs, they're not focused on law enforcement or cracking down. They're really focused on trying to build opportunities -- Carol.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Michelle Kosinski, reporting live from the White House -- thanks so much.

As Michelle said, there's a different kind of war going on within our shores. It's the war over semantics. Should we call ISIS ISIL, Daesh. Should we call ISIS Islamic terrorists or terrorists fighting in the name of Islam? I get it. It is confusing.

But let's put semantics aside for the moment and talk about strategy. President Obama wrote this in an op-ed in the "Los Angeles Times". Quote, "We know that military force alone cannot solve this problem. Nor can we simply take out terrorists who kill innocent civilians. We also have to confront the violent extremists, the propagandists, the recruiters and enablers who may not directly engage in terrorist acts themselves but who radicalize, recruit and incite others to do so."

That no doubt is what State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf was trying to say during this interview on MSNBC on Monday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARIE HARF, STATE DEPARTMENT DEPUTY SPOKESWOMAN: But we cannot win this war by killing them. We cannot kill our way out of this war. We need in the longer term -- medium and longer term to go after the root causes that leads people to join these groups.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Her comments caused a lot of controversy. Harf later clarified her comments here on CNN adding she isn't saying anything that military commanders have not said before.

And here's the argument. The United States is unmatched when it comes to military might. American troops toppled Saddam Hussein in 20 days. But our troops remain in Iraq to this day and ISIS controls large parts of that country. Afghanistan, we're still there. So let's put those conflicts into context. A report from the Congressional Budget Office shows that nearly 3,500 troops died in Iraq. Nearly 1,800 troops in Afghanistan died. 1,000 troops lost limbs in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The U.S. sent arms to Libyan rebels, Moammar Gadhafi fell. Today ISIS is at work in Libya.

Yemen, the U.S. conducted drone strikes to help the government there, yet Houthi rebels are now in control of that country.

So partisan rhetoric aside, can we kill our way out of the ISIS threat? With me now to talk about that is Republican Congressman Scott Perry. Welcome, sir.

REP. SCOTT PERRY (R), PENNSYLVANIA: Good morning, Carol. Great to be with you.

COSTELLO: Nice to have you here. You served in Iraq. So I'll ask you that question. I know it doesn't sound so sensitive and I mean no disrespect but can we kill our way out of this?

PERRY: Unfortunately armed conflict is only a portion of what we would see as a greater strategy. And I think one of the frustrations of many Americans is we can't really glean what the strategy is from this president and from this administration as we remain concerned on every single level, whether it's personal, whether it's professional militarily of what we see happening at this point a daily basis around the globe as the dominos of this Islamic terrorism continue to fall. And we say really what are we doing about it?

I mean I think that the summit adds value to the whole discussion and certainly deals with the component of it. The military is another component. But all these are components in a greater issue and it's not just about radicalization it's about an understanding of who the adversary, who the enemy is. And it seems like in many cases the administration has turned a blind eye willingly, has really just looked the other way and refused for some reason to identify this enemy and that's the frustration many Americans have.

COSTELLO: OK. So in the past along those lines you suggested that Mr. Obama is actually collaborating with Islamic state militants. Are you suggesting the President is a traitor?

PERRY: Absolutely not. What we're talking about is sending our terrorist prisoners that are located in Guantanamo to places like Yemen when you know that the government is unstable and literally fell within months later. When you talk about al Qaeda being on the run and being ineffective anymore when we see this global march of radical Islam going around the globe really in Europe, North Africa and in an unprecedented speed -- that's what we're talking about where the rhetoric that the president engages actually kind of incites some of this stuff and enables and encourages it.

COSTELLO: So you're saying by these actions in a way, in an indirect way the President is collaborating with the enemy. PERRY: What we're saying is that he seems to be disregarding what

most Americans see right in front of them. And we don't understand that. We're frustrated by it.

COSTELLO: So what should our strategy be? What exactly should the United States be doing?

PERRY: Well, the United States should be doing a whole list of things -- financial, diplomatic, really working with our partners and our allies in the neighborhood so to speak in these neighborhoods and these countries where these things are occurring. Put pressure where it needs to be put to bear. Get their troops involved on the ground. Get their lives involved and invested in this fight as opposed to --

(CROSSTALK)

COSTELLO: But here's the thing -- here's the thing, Congressman. Here's the thing and I'm just going to stop you now.

PERRY: Sure.

COSTELLO: There's a summit under way in D.C. You mentioned that. The United States is conducting air strikes over Syria and Iraq. The United States is training Syrian rebels and the Iraqi army to fight -- right. And most importantly the President has reached out to Congress, to you, to authorize war powers and you guys have done nothing. So why?

PERRY: Well, that's not necessarily true. And remember, what he sent us actually reduces his capabilities.

COSTELLO: What have you done then?

PERRY: Well, we're working through it. But he's just come and asked us for it. This is the President's job to lead. He's the commander- in-chief. Certainly he has the Article 2 powers. He's had the two previous AUMFs. He's been fighting and sending troops without Congress' approval months in advance of this.

My question is what has taken him so long? Why did he pull us out of Iraq? You know, there are a lot of people that say that he caused the rise of ISIS outside of Syria by pulling us out of Iraq. He was certainly late for the game.

COSTELLO: You could certainly argue that but we are where we are right now. The President has reached out to Congress.

PERRY: Sure. Absolutely.

COSTELLO: Debate this thing. Like what do you want me to do? If you're not satisfied with my strategy, what's your strategy? So what is your strategy?

PERRY: The problem is that we authorized the use of force. He prosecutes it. The strategy must come from the President, not from Congress. The Congress is the authorizer. Congress can declare war. Congress can authorize the use of force, but when it comes to prosecuting it that's the commander in chief's job.

COSTELLO: Right. And Senator John McCain wants to give Mr. Obama the freedom to do what he needs to do to defeat ISIS. Would you agree with Senator McCain the President should do that --

PERRY: And again, the threat of the President --

COSTELLO: Or does he need Congress' permission to lay out his strategy, whatever that might be in your mind?

PERRY: He doesn't need Congress' permission -- he doesn't need Congress' permission to lay out a strategy. But I think it's important that he connect with the American people and tell them what the strategy is so that they can understand how we're going to defeat this not only ISIS. Look this is -- ISIS is just one component of a greater issue.

The American people don't understand because he hasn't articulated but it's certainly Congress' job to give him the wherewithal to do it. The problem I think remains in the fact that he's asking Congress right now to reduce the wherewithal that he currently has and we're concerned about that. We wonder why would he ask for less authority than he currently has if he really has his heart in defeating this global terrorist enemy?

COSTELLO: Well, I can kind of answer that question. He says that we all need to be onboard at a time of crisis. Everybody in this country needs to be on the same page so we can fight this common enemy. That's why he needs congress' approval for war powers.

PERRY: I understand he needs Congress' approval. I'm asking why he's asking for less authority than he currently has. That's the question I have. Why is he asking for less authority than he currently has, currently stated he has and currently is using. Why ask for less authority? That's my question.

COSTELLO: Why do you think he's doing that?

PERRY: Listen, I'm not sure. I'm not in the President's mind. It would be great to hear him make a statement on why he's asking for less authority than he currently has.

COSTELLO: Don't you guys want to have some say in a president waging war on other countries?

PERRY: Absolutely.

COSTELLO: So why is it a bad thing that the President reaches out to congress?

PERRY: It's not a bad thing. We've been asking for the president to collaborate with the legislature for six years. I mean I've been there for two. It seems like only in very certain cases that he's interested in doing that.

It's not a bad thing at all. We're happy to be collaborating. We need to understand his mindset of why he would ask for less authority and so far he hasn't made that clear to us. He hasn't made it clear to me for sure.

COSTELLO: Well, he's giving a speech later today. Maybe you'll have some answers. I don't know.

PERRY: Absolutely.

COSTELLO: Republican Congressman Scott Perry, thank you so much for joining me.

PERRY: Thank you, ma'am.

COSTELLO: I appreciate it.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, measles: more and more cases are popping up every day and now we're learning more about where they may have come from. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: The measles count keeps climbing. The latest numbers from the CDC show 141 cases in 17 states. But that's not the complete picture. Joining me now from Atlanta, CNN's chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta -- what's the latest?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, when you look at this map -- I want to show you this map of what's happening -- obviously most of the measles cases are in California but it has spread literally coast to coast now as you can see there.

When we call these individual state health departments, we find that the numbers are probably a little bit higher than are being reported by that map. So there's a little bit of a lag time there. For example, the state of Georgia was not lit up on that map but we know there's at least one person who has measles in this state as well.

So the numbers are probably a little bit higher but to your point, Carol they are growing at a slower rate, if you will; still going up but not as rapidly as the numbers had gone up at least initially.

We also have a better idea of who is getting the measles in terms of vaccination status and this probably won't be that surprising but roughly five in ten were unvaccinated. But that's not the complete picture. Four in ten just simply didn't know, most of them likely not vaccinated as well. One in ten were vaccinated.

And that sort of is the picture right now when you look at these 140 cases - Carol.

COSTELLO: Interesting. So I heard there was some connection between the measles strain here in the United States and the Philippines?

GUPTA: Well, you know, what they do is they want to genetically identify the strain of measles causing this outbreak and they have. They identified it genetic -- known as B-3. That's how they're calling this particular measles virus. They know that it looks like it's this one strain causing the outbreak. That's important as opposed to several outbreaks sort of happening simultaneously. This does all appear to be linked to one particular outbreak. That's why it's important.

But while it's in the Philippines and endemic -- meaning it's circulating in the Philippines, this particular strain has been in the United States before. It was part of the outbreaks -- smaller outbreaks in 2014 and it's in other countries as well. It doesn't really narrow down still from where this particular virus came.

COSTELLO: Gotcha. Dr. Sanjay Gupta -- thanks as always -- I appreciate it.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, a traffic jam on the West Coast, this one not on the highway but on the ocean.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: No deal, no goods. Container ships filled with international trade items are stuck off the coast of California. Failed contract talks at West Coast seaports are to blame.

On Tuesday the White House stepped in sending Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez. His office says the move has been quote, "positive and productive" releasing this statement, "Secretary Perez made clear that the dispute has led to a very negative impact on the U.S. economy and further delay risks tens of thousands of jobs and will cost American businesses hundreds of millions of dollars."

Cristina Alesci is following this story for us. She joins me now. Good morning.

CRISTINA ALESCI, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. Yes, this is definitely costing the U.S. economy and U.S. businesses a lot of money. They say they've had to eat the cost of rerouting these goods and that includes paying for extra storage because they've had to ship them over early to make their deadlines. Or rerouting them to East Coast ports and then incurring extra fees to get them over to the West Coast. And last but not least and most expensive, air lifting the goods which costs eight to ten times more and that's exactly what McDonald's had to do. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALESCI: Fries in the sky. In December McDonald's ` battled a fries shortage by air lifting 2.2 million pounds of fries into the country -- a drastic measure. But one that companies have used to sidestep the slowdown of West Coast ports. Everything from Nike shoes to electronics to salt to blue jeans flow through 29 ports across three states making up 70 percent of the goods the U.S. buys from Asia and nearly half of all American marine trade.

STEVE GETZUG, PACIFIC MARITIME ASSOCIATION: We're getting to a point -- a breaking point where the system is really sort of collapsing under its own weight. We're experiencing significant delays and backlogs.

ALESCI: The headliner is auto parts. Asian automakers like Honda are swelling (ph) or even halting production because essential parts aren't arriving in their U.S. Factories. Fuji Heavy Industries, maker of Subaru is reportedly paying $59 million a month to air lift parts.

But the disruption goes way beyond cars. Experts are calling it a potential crisis for U.S. meat. The North American Meat Institute says the industry is losing $85 million a week in exports.

And oranges, grapes and apples are left rotting on the docks. In fact, Washington state scored its biggest apple harvest in history and growers were anticipating huge sales in China as a traditional New Year's gift. Instead, producers are dumping spoiled apples into canyons.

All this and it's not even a full on strike. A total shutdown could cost the U.S. $1.9 billion a day according to the National Retail Federation.

Until 20,000 dockworkers come to an agreement with their employers, a lot of commerce is left out to sea.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ALESCI: So far, Carol, I spoke to the National Retail Federation this morning. They say they're not -- retailers and other companies are not passing the extra costs onto consumers. Of course, that's what they would say, right? It's very hard to measure. But if you actually look at inflation in consumer prices, we haven't really seen an increase in consumer prices.

That's not the best gauge but it just gives you an idea. So far, but it's too early to tell because it's a long-term situation clearly.

COSTELLO: Cristina Alesci -- thank you so much.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, a huge upset not in basketball or football. This champ goes by the name of Miss P.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: For just the second time ever, a beagle wins the top prize at the Westminster Dog Show. This is Miss P. She says "Give me my ribbon right now and I want some treats, too."

Anyway Miss P beat out the cousin of President Obama's Portuguese water dogs, so sometimes connections do not help. Congratulations, Miss P.

From best in show to best in snow, the Westminster Kennel Club has a dog that delivers the weather.

Only Jeanne Moos can bring you that story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: When you're a show dog, the last place your handler wants your paws is in some salty, grimy New York City snow.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We carried him in. I brought him in on my shoulders.

MOOS: This is a crowd where you stumble on a dog in a baby carriage wearing a $400 motorcycle jacket.

SHARON PRASSEL, CHLOE COUTUR: I design coats for women and their dogs. So you can see I have a complimentary jacket.

MOOS: Ooh.

PRASSEL: So, she did a charity event --

MOOS: I'm petting you.

PRASSEL: I know.

MOOS: So where can a show dog owner turn for up to the minute weather?

RON TROTTA: Schmitty the Weather Dog. Hey, everybody, it's meteorologist Ron Trotta here with Schmitty the Weather Dog.

MOOS: Now, Schmitty may not be a certified meteorologist, but Ron Trotta is.

TROTTA: What's that, Schmitty? Schmitty said I got to tell you about the weather.

OK. We have some snow this morning. The sun is shining, high in the 20s.

MOOS: His weather forecasts appear --

TROTTA: Schmitty.

MOOS: -- on the Westminster Kennel Club Web site with Schmitty chiming in via corny thought bubbles.

TROTTA: That's the latest poop from snowy New York City.

MOOS: Ron also takes her to elementary schools to talk about weather and science.

TROTTA: She weighs four pounds.

MOOS: A four-pound Yorkie meets a 240 pound mastiff.

Can you imagine the puppies?

TROTTA: I can't even imagine the process.

MOOS: Folks were posing and taking photos of Schmitty even though most weren't quite sure why.

Do you know who this dog is?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, I don't.

CROWD: Schmitty the Weather Dog.

TROTTA: She has a nose for the weather.

MOOS: Actually, Ron has a nose for turning Schmitty into a brand with a children's book, and a New Yorkie clothing line. But this is the dog to turn to if you think the weather is turning Schmitty.

Jeanne Moos, CNN --

TROTTA: Schmitty.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Schmitty.

CROWD: Schmitty the Weather Dog.

MOOS: -- New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: That was ridiculous in a really good way. Thank you Jeanne Moos.

Thank you for joining me today. I'm Carol Costello.

Another hour of NEWSROOM straight ahead.