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Wolf
Dramatic Video of ISIS Prison Rescue; Russian Spy Ships Lurking Near Key Internet Cables; Marco Rubio Gets Personal; New Strategy for Jeb Bush. Aired 1:30-2p ET
Aired October 26, 2015 - 13:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[13:30:00]
WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: There is stunning new video of a raid by U.S. Delta Force and Kurdish commandos on an ISIS prison in northeastern Iraq. The jailbreak saved dozens of hostages, who were reportedly facing imminent mass execution by the terror group.
The mission also cost the life of an American soldier, Master Sergeant Joshua Wheeler, a husband, father of four. He's the first U.S. soldier to die in combat in Iraq since 2011. Our senior international correspondent, Nick Paton Walsh, has details.
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NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SR. INTL. CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You're now right inside the jailbreak that revealed America's changed role in Iraq. They think they're rescuing Kurds from this ISIS jail but look who staggers out -- terrified Iraqis. Even their eyes lit up by fear caught on the Kurdish soldier's helmet camera.
It's edited but U.S. officials tell CNN it's genuine. More cells opened, it seems, and the Iraqi soldier and civilian hostages keep coming.
An office, an ISIS flag; more cells and perhaps a target through the light of the door. Then, a quick close-up, likely of an American commando.
"Don't be afraid," he cries, as they search the prisoners.
Remember, they were expecting Kurds. Perhaps these men are ISIS, have guns or bombs.
It's the Americans who seem in charge here, the captives' relief palpable, U.S. officials saying they faced imminent execution.
It's unclear when, before or after this footage, the Americans here learned one of their own was gunned down. But their mission went on to rescue 70.
That first combat death since 2011 in Iraq, forcing public acknowledgement American commandos were now boots on the ground.
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BLITZER: Nick Paton Walsh, who's joining us now live.
Nick, what else are you learning about this mission?
WALSH: Well, interesting, actually. The Pentagon on the record now saying, somebody mentioned in that report that, in fact, Master Sergeant Joshua Wheeler lost his life during that raid, most likely died before the footage you saw there.
We're hearing from U.S. officials that, in fact, it was during their attempt to breach into the compound where much of that fighting began, the volley of fire seemed to have hit him. He later died of those injuries.
So unclear if his colleagues knew, were all cognizant of that. I'm sure some of them were. But regardless, they continued that mission and lost Master Sergeant Wheeler, a veteran of 14 tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. And that gives you, Wolf, a bit of a reminder of how lengthy, what used to be called the war on terror, has gone on and how it's morphed now into this complex fight against ISIS and perhaps how these images, which the Pentagon say they knew the Kurdish Peshmerga special forces were filming before the raid and intended to release, perhaps, these images, help explain to the American public, perhaps weary of American involvement, of boots on the ground in Iraq, exactly what those special forces were doing.
Remember, Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter says more American soldiers will be in harm's way and we should expect to see more missions like this in the future -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Nick Paton Walsh for us.
Thank you, Nick, very much.
Up next, Cold War era concerns over Russian spy ships and submarines taking up positions near critical communication lines.
Could they be planning an attack on the Internet?
We're going to take a closer look.
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[13:35:00]
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BLITZER: A report in "The New York Times" says Russian spy ships and submarines have been lurking near vital undersea cables, cables that carry a vast amount of the global Internet communications.
The report says Russian patrols are up 50 percent in the last year, including one ship that was tracked off the U.S. coast on its way to Cuba just last month.
Brian Todd is joining us right now.
Brian, there's a lot of speculation over what the Russians are up to, based on this "New York Times" report.
What are you hearing?
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Wolf, a lot of concern reported in "The Times" and elsewhere this afternoon about Russian naval operations becoming more aggressive, not only off the East Coast but elsewhere, near Europe and other places. "The New York Times" reporting several Pentagon officials, roughly a dozen, are concerned about Russian activities near important undersea cables. These are cables that carry almost all the global Internet communications.
[13:40:00]
TODD: "The Times" reporting that Russian submarines and spy ships are operating fairly aggressively in areas near where those cables are extending. They extend, you know, hundreds of miles deep and thousands of miles across the globe.
And, of course, we rely on those cables for almost all of our Internet communications.
As "The Times" reports that military officials are concerned about Russia possibly either disrupting those cables, possibly even cutting them if some kind of a broader conflict breaks out. But Pentagon officials, no U.S. agency is really speaking on the record about this threat.
The Russians are saying that that report is basically ridiculous.
We have a quote here from a Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman, saying, quote, "As we can see, the media has been constantly whipping up hysteria lately, trying to make Russia look like the aggressor. All those reports are not based on facts but based on assumptions.
"They give impressions or concerns but no facts."
Another official told me this looks like the Pentagon devising random threats to make the Russians look bad.
Now on the record, the Pentagon spokesman, Captain Jeff Davis, said they're not going to comment on sensitive intelligence matters, that it would be a concern to hear that any country was tampering with communications.
We have to say, Wolf, there's no evidence yet of any cable cutting or anything like that. It is a concern raised in "The New York Times" report about these Russian naval operations becoming maybe a little more aggressive.
BLITZER: No evidence of cutting and certainly no evidence in either of any tampering, right? TODD: That's right, no evidence of tampering and no U.S. agency's
really speaking on the record about this threat.
BLITZER: All right, Brian, thanks.
TODD: We'll have more on this in THE SITUATION ROOM.
BLITZER: Good. Thanks, Brian. Thanks very much.
Up next, the Republican rivalry out there on the campaign trail. We're going to hear directly from Marco Rubio on his relationship with Jeb Bush, his message to voters, also his favorite movies. Stay with us.
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[13:45:00]
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BLITZER: Let's get back to the presidential race for the White House, right now the Republican race for president, specifically. Jeb Bush, Senator Marco Rubio, they're running neck and neck in most of the polls, although both of them well behind the Republican front-runners, Donald Trump and Dr. Ben Carson.
Their past friendship, their current rivalry has ruffled some feathers and sparked talk of the trail on Rubio's part. Our special correspondent, Jamie Gangel, caught up with Senator Rubio out there on the campaign trail in South Carolina for a CNN exclusive.
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JAMIE GANGEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Let's talk about Jeb. The two of you both say you're friends. We went back and looked at your victory night, November 2nd, 2010, when he introduced you. He said that you were the man for our time.
JEB BUSH, FORMER GOVERNOR OF FLORIDA: Bushes get emotional, so I'm going to try my hardest. My wife has told me, don't cry, don't cry. But Marco Rubio makes me cry for joy.
GANGEL: I'm not sure anyone quite believes the friendship is so warm anymore.
RUBIO: Not on our part it isn't. I mean, I'm running for president. I'm not running against Jeb or anybody else in this race.
GANGEL: So, some might say, look, Jeb was your friend, he was your mentor, he helped you get elected, he helped you raise money. Some might say this is a betrayal.
Couldn't you have waited for another election? RUBIO: Well, I don't see the presidency that way. I don't think
there is a line where we all wait and just hand the presidency off to each other because you've paid your dues.
I'm running for president because I don't see anyone else on either side who's campaigning on the agenda and the views that I have.
I don't view the presidency as some sort of honorific office that you just step aside and let someone else move forward. This is not that kind of thing. We've got to move forward in this country and turn the page.
GANGEL: Jeb has subtly, not so veiled, painted you as Barack Obama 2.0, that you're young, inexperienced, first-term senator.
Is Jeb Bush more experienced than you are?
RUBIO: I think there are people running that have more experience on the issues we faced 35 years ago, 25 years ago or 15 years ago.
When it comes to the issues before America in the 21st century, there's no one running that understands them or has shown better judgment on them than I have. And it's one of the main reasons why I'm running.
So when people run for the presidency or any office, they will say things because they think it gives them a competitive advantage and that's fine. I understand the politics of it but that's not what the campaign is about for me. I'm going to tell people who I am and why I'm running and what I'll do.
GANGEL: Let's turn the corner. You want people to get to know you better. So, look, I know two things about you. Your favorite sport is football.
RUBIO: Yes.
GANGEL: And your favorite team has to be the Dolphins.
RUBIO: Yes, and the Florida Gators.
GANGEL: What did you want to be growing up?
RUBIO: I wanted to be either a football player, football coach or sports broadcaster.
GANGEL: And you wanted to play in the NFL?
RUBIO: Yes, I did and I would have, had it not been for my lack of size, speed and talent.
GANGEL: You were not the greatest high school student in the world.
RUBIO: No.
GANGEL: Is the story true about the teacher? You were a disrupter.
RUBIO: Yes.
GANGEL: That she was bribing you not to come to class?
RUBIO: Yes, look, and it cost me a lot of money later on in life, right?
Because I had to go up and take classes and pay for it myself and take out loans for undergraduate degrees. So I regret not being a good high school student but I wasn't. But once I started paying for college, I became a really good student.
GANGEL: Is that what turned it around?
RUBIO: Part of it but part of it was, hey, it's time to grow up and get going here. Even my first year in college I was not a very good student. What saved me was I was a voracious reader. I would read a lot.
Had I not read a lot, I think I really would have struggled in college.
GANGEL: Favorite book?
RUBIO: Ever? Well, obviously, look, I think the Bible is the most extraordinary document ever written.
GANGEL: Second favorite book?
RUBIO: That's a great question. There are a number to pick from. And I probably -- you know, one of the ones I've really enjoyed is the one about Churchill, the -- I think it's called --
[13:50:00]
RUBIO: -- "The Last Lion" or...
GANGEL: Light side, favorite movies?
RUBIO: Well, some of them are not for kids to watch, right?
I think I love "The Godfather" I and II and III can -- I can do without III, although it was fine.
GANGEL: I liked III.
RUBIO: Well, I like Andy Garcia; I and II were fantastic. And I liked "Pulp Fiction;" a lot of people don't like it. But I enjoyed it. I liked "Wedding Crashers." I thought it was one of the funniest movies I ever saw.
GANGEL: Favorite music?
RUBIO: Well, you know, I grew up listening to a lot of R&B music and in particular some of the '90s hip-hop music. But the other music that I've really started -- I just think it's really grown and exploded is electronic dance music.
GANGEL: Party music, huh?
RUBIO: Well, it's not necessarily party music, I mean, people -- obviously it's used for that purpose but in many ways its real genius -- and it's a 21st century ability to take music and use it in a way that motivates people.
So you've got people like TSO and others out there that are these deejays.
GANGEL: I have no idea who you're talking about.
RUBIO: Well, they are like deejays. In essence, they're like deejays musicians. So I think that's a music genre that's global and it's growing rapidly. And it's unbelievable.
GANGEL: You like hip-hop. You have four young kids, 8 to 15.
Do you let them listen?
RUBIO: Not really. The key is not the music. It's the lyrics. And you don't want kids at a young age exposed to lyrics that somehow glamorize a lifestyle that's art. It's not reality. So there's a difference between a 44-year-old man listening to that and a 16-year old listening to that and not understanding the difference between artistic expression and reality.
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BLITZER: Good stuff. Jamie is joining us now live.
Jamie, we learned something about -- at least I learned something about Marco Rubio in that interview.
What's next for him as his campaign moves forward?
GANGEL: Look, I think the challenge now is can he take it to the next step?
He's number three but Trump and Carson are still way up here. He has to raise more money. And I think he has to decide whether his present strategy is working and he just keeps going in this direction or whether he hits them harder.
BLITZER: Jamie, I want you to stick around. We have more to discuss. I know you're getting some new reporting also on what's going on in the Jeb Bush campaign. We'll have that information coming up. Let's take a quick break. We'll be right back.
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[13:55:00]
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BLITZER: We're only two days away from the next Republican presidential debate. Jeb Bush has been taking a closer look at his campaign in recent days, along with his father, his brother, both of whom, of course, are former presidents.
Our special correspondent, Jamie Gangel, is still with us.
Jamie, I know you're doing reporting on what's going on in the Bush campaign, these strategy sessions underway in Houston, Texas, right now.
What are you hearing?
GANGEL: First of all, there's no question, Wolf, that they are shocked to be at this place in the polls at this point in the campaign.
That said, the campaign is pushing back on talk about donors being panicked and this kind of talk. And this is what they say.
What you heard from Jeb Bush this weekend, where he got out there and said he was frustrated, expect to hear more of that. There is going to be a new sheriff in town. Jeb feels empowered to speak his mind. And he's going to be speaking out a lot, speaking out more strongly on the stump and also spending a lot more time in New Hampshire and South Carolina.
BLITZER: Are we going to see some of that come through in the next Republican presidential debate in Boulder, Colorado, on Wednesday?
GANGEL: I think that's absolutely correct. I don't want to say you're going to see fireworks but I wouldn't be surprised. I think they feel this debate -- look, every debate is important but this debate is critical.
This is substance; that's his wheelhouse. They want him to take control of this debate. So I think you will see a much more vocal, strong Jeb Bush.
BLITZER: And it's clear to me and I assume to you as well that the front-runner, Donald Trump, he gets under Jeb Bush's skin where he says, "This guy is low energy." The only one who has lower energy might be Dr. Ben Carson, according to Trump.
It seems to resonate. It seems to deeply irritate Jeb Bush, based on those comments he made just the other night that, you know what, if this is going to get really, really ugly -- and I'm paraphrasing now -- you know, there are other things, there are better things I can do with my life.
GANGEL: Jeb Bush is a smart man. He's a decent man. He never expected to be campaigning against Donald Trump with this kind of back-and-forth. That isn't in his wheelhouse. He doesn't like doing it.
That said, I think we're seeing unleashed Jeb here. I don't know that he will go directly after Donald Trump but I think you will see a much more outspoken candidate.
BLITZER: Is he really frustrated, though, based on everything you're hearing, Jamie, at these low poll numbers in Iowa and New Hampshire, South Carolina and certainly nationally?
GANGEL: Absolutely. They are frustrated. They are shocked.
But you know what, Wolf, everybody keeps saying in this campaign, how did we get here? I mean, it is very surprising. Nobody expected it. Nobody predicted it. And, you know, they just never thought they would be in this place.
BLITZER: We'll see what happens next. They have got a lot of work to do. All the campaigns have a lot of work and they're getting ready for that next Republican debate.
Jamie, thanks very much. Good work all around.
For all the latest in politics and all the presidential contenders, by the way, head over to cnnpolitics.com. You get the best information right there.
Also this just in with deadlines looming on the nation's debt ceiling and a possible government shutdown, the White House and Congress may be close to a new budget deal. We're getting new information. Stay with CNN for that.
In the meantime, the news continues next on CNN.
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