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Legal View with Ashleigh Banfield

White House Releases New Syria Strategy; Thousands of Non- Violent Offenders to Be Released from Prisons; White House Briefing. Aired 12:30-1p ET

Aired October 30, 2015 - 12:30   ET

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

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[12:30:23] ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Our breaking news coming to us. The White House is releasing a new strategy against the fight against ISIS. And that means sending American boots on to the ground in Syria to act as advisers to help assist those who are fighting against ISIS forces in Syria.

We're expecting a live briefing in just moments, and so we have the eye tuned into the press briefing room at the White House.

In meantime, our Senior White House Correspondent Jim Acosta is live on the North Lawn of the White House.

I don't think this is a surprise to many people that's had been hinted at Jim Acosta. But nonetheless this is a significant shift and bringing on a lot of criticism as well.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right Ashleigh. And in many ways this is an announcement that is catching up with the reality. And the reality is, is that U.S. forces are going to be engaged in combat-type operations on the ground in Iraq and Syria. And this announcement this morning from the White House that about 50 Special Forces are going to be going in the to compliment security forces whether they're in Iraq or the rebels that are going be going after ISIL targets in Syria.

You know, this is an acknowledgment, probably one that's long overdue that U.S. ground troops will be engaged in the combat-type missions.

Now, what I think we're going to hear from the White House this afternoon the press briefing is going to get started shortly, is that no, the president is not authorizing admission on the scale and the scope of the Iraq war back in the early 2000s of what we are seeing in Afghanistan winding down right now. And I think they're going to be very careful, very cautious to make that distinction. But at the same time, we've heard the president say over and over again and this goes to the criticism that you just mentioned Ashleigh.

The president has said over and over again, this White House has said over and over again that this president is not going to commit this country to ground combat in Iraq.

We're not going to put combat boots on the ground. You know, we've heard several iterations of that declarative statement. This is a White House that is now going back on that to some extent.

And at the same time, you know, they do have to meet the criticisms on the other side of this which is that the White House is not doing enough, that the U.S. is not doing enough. And if that if that is created a vacuum that Vladimir Putin is filling, that Iran is filling and to the detriment of the overall campaign to root out this terrorist organization is really now a terrorist army in Iraq and Syria.

So this is really announcement catching up with the reality Ashleigh.

BANFIELD: And again we're expecting this announcement at any moment. So I know I have to let you go. Jim, so you can get into the briefing room and helpfully be able to pepper Josh Earnest or whoever else comes out and takes that podium with all of these questions and there will be so many. And they won't stop the after today either.

I want to bring in Bob Baer, our CNN intelligence and security analyst and former CIA operative. You have said in a book that you wrote years ago you have said that this is the kind of thing that can turn into a 30-year war. And that -- while Donald Trump suggests things like the Americans shouldn't be involved and should let this people fight it out, that it is critical to get involved no matter how or what if not just to have some stake in the resolution or the outcome.

But I'm not sure anybody can see an exit strategy, an outcome, a solution, a winner, a looser. At this point, there are just so many players, bob.

ROBERT BAER, CNN INTELLIGENCE AND SECURITY ANALYST: Ashleigh, you're absolutely right, there is no strategy.

Sending aid and troops to help the Kurds in Eastern Syria it is a band-aid on the gaping wound. This is going to get us nowhere at the end of the day. We may win a couple battles here or there. But it's not going to destroy the Islamic state. But more than that, I think what the president is worried about is this is going to turn into a regional conflict which could very well look like world war III especially when you have the Russians are bombing in that area. And very easily they could bomb American troops.

I mean the point of an accidental conflict happening is, you know, it is a very important one. We cannot ignore this.

On the other hand, we are talking to the Iranians, and the Russians in Vienna, not because we want too. But become worried that this conflict will spread in Syria as you said, Ashleigh, it's a quagmire, and it's difficult for us to pick a side on this, and the Kurds, you know, they're great fighters and the rest of it. But at the end of the day, a Kurdish state is not going to do as much good in solving this. And it is not a strategy.

And I want to welcome our viewers around the world as well as right here in the United States we're awaiting this live White House briefing that's supposed to be underway at any moment, where hopefully we will get some wider contours off what this new U.S. policy shift will actually entail regarding putting this American boots on the ground again. Albeit about 50 advisers who will assist, local forces, Kurdish and Arab forces as they are being referred to by the White House announcement earlier today.

[12:35:17] But I want to give this to you this from our Barbara Starr who's been feverishly at the pentagon trying to root out information with regard to this announcement. And she's been able to find out this from a U.S. official, that apparently the U.S. special operations forces who will operate in Syria are going to be using Erbil, Iraq as their hub.

Why that's sounds familiar? Because it already is one. It has been a well known, and existing area for the coordination efforts of Americans who have been working as advisers and the assistance of Iraqi forces and others in Iraq. So they will rotate in and out of Syria from Erbil Iraq that from our Barbara Starr.

General Hertling, I want you to refer back to just what Bob Baer was speaking of, and that is that notion of de-confliction it's a new word for a lot of Americans, it was introduced into our binocular several weeks ago, with the advent of the Russians flying mission over Syria.

At the same time coalition efforts are flying missions over Syria. Nobody wanted to get caught and crossfire or fly in to one another. And now the notion of the Americans are beyond the ground as well.

It brings the notion of de-confliction to a whole other level or be at a ground level. But it is very, very difficult and complicated. Is it actually doable from your perspective?

LT.GEN. MARK HERTLING, (RET), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Yes, it is. And the reason I say that, like a baptist minister who sees the baptism by immersion is because I've seen it done.

It's going to be sporty, that you going to have to have that increase cooperation, coordination, de-confliction, which is difficult to do with people who are not your allies in this fight and that those are the Russians and the Iranians.

But this is a complex fight. We've known that from the beginning the special forces -- soldiers not special operators but special forces soldiers who will contributing to the advice and assist role will be able to coordinate their activities on the ground with their command and control headquarters in Erbil.

And I would venture to say it to that, while the headquarters might be in Erbil, you're certainly going to have elements of special forces operating out of Incirlik where they can coordinate with aircraft coming of Turkey.

So this complicated. But again this is something that the U.S. military has coordinated central command has coordinated over the last several months, might there be incidents on the ground between Russia and America, might there be incident between Iranian fighters and American advisers with the free Arab-Syrian forces? Yes, certainly. That is combat. But when you're talking about coordination, these things just don't happen overnight, and in a vacuum, you're going to get the intelligence that you need to counter these kind of things when you are working with the indigenous forces.

BANFIELD: You know, and all of this is sort of on the heels of this peace conference in Vienna where, you know, we're hearing the secretary of state talk about peace talks may be the only way out of it, and I will have to paraphrase it here, I don't have the quote in front of me. But some kind of hell that is Syria.

Clarissa Ward you have been on the ground inside that hell that is Syria. Is there any notion on the ground that peace talks can have any effect given the situation they've been in for several years that only gets worse by the month?

CLARISSA WARD, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Sadly, Ashleigh, I really don't think you get any sense talking to people on all different sides of the spectrum inside Syria that's there's any real prospect for peace talks. And that's because there is a perceived disconnect between the people who are in Vienna today and staying in the five-star hotels, wearing nice suits, and having polite conversations about how to improve the situation on the ground.

And then the Syrians who are fighting and dying everyday on the ground, many Syrians do not feel that their needs are represented. And beyond that, they don't feel, they don't have a seat at the table in this specific instance.

So I would say there is deep skepticism that these talks can have any real impact. And certainly, one has to question the very announcement that the U.S. will now be sending troops to Syria on the day that these peace talks are taking place, and you seem to be hearing one message which is we all need to get to the negotiating table and start the discussions.

And then seeing something else happening, which is Russia ratcheting up the support of the Assad regime. And now the U.S. ratcheting up its support of it's proxies on the ground.

BANFIELD: Clarissa Ward, I want to ask you to standby for a moment as well. We're still watching that empty podium, clearly, a lot of the T's being crossed and I's being dotted before the White House in the press briefing today.

Not all press briefings make air. But today is making air after this announcement from the White House that in fact American boots will be on the ground in Northern Syria, they will be in the role of advising and assisting local Kurdish and Arab forces in the fight against ISIS. But there is so much more like what is success.

[12:40:18] We'll talk about that after the break.

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BANFIELD: Welcome back to the viewers, here in the United States and around the world. Our live pictures are on the White House. We're expecting a live briefing at any moment.

And we are expecting them to talk about the big development this morning. American troops will in fact be on the ground within days in fact the deployment is expected in Syria, about 50 in the role of advising and assisting Kurdish and Arab forces who are fighting ISIS forces in Syria.

We're going to bring you this live briefing just as soon as it happens.

[12:45:02] In the interim, America represents 25 percent of the world's prisoners, but only 5 percent of the world's population. Think about 5 percent of the world's population, 25 percent of the world's prisoners, something is up. America locks up more people than any other country, and it's not about to change any time soon, but there is something that is shifting.

This weekend, the federal prison rolls are going to shrink, and they're going to be shrinking by the thousands, because the single biggest inmate release on record scheduled to the happen. Those who are basically freed are non-violent drug offenders who have served as much time as they would have if they were sentenced today under the new guidelines that aimed at lessen all of the prison overcrowding in the United States.

So this is a win for the prisons, and you might think it's a real win for the inmates as well, right, getting out, but it depends as my colleague Jean Casarez explains.

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JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Samuel Hamilton spent 32 years in prison, and when he got out a year ago adjusting was difficult.

SAMUEL HAMILTON, FORMER PRISONER: So many people, you know, just so many people moving at one time, and just crossing the street, I chose everything with caution.

CASAREZ: An even though Hamilton had gotten a master's degree behind bars, it didn't seem matter as he tried to get back into the workforce.

HAMILTON: You will find yourself not getting the job just because of our criminal history.

CASAREZ: And believe it or not, a job isn't the biggest hurdle after you lose your freedom. What do see is the biggest challenge?

STANLEY RICHARDS, THE FORTUNE SOCIETY: Housing. We see so many people coming home without housing.

CASAREZ: This weekend those challenges will become a reality for thousands of federal felons in this country released to communities around the nation. Which could lead to 40,000 out over the next several years. The U.S. sentencing commission amended federal guidelines last year to the reduce prison sentences of federal drug felons of an average of 18 percent, and its target date November 1st. Nationwide, Texas will receive the most inmate followed by Florida and Iowa. Cocaine convictions account for almost 50 percent of the inmates to be released followed by methamphetamine and marijuana and heroin.

A lot of people think that crime going to be going up with the inmates coming out.

RICHARDS: I doubt it, but I don't know. If it does it is because of the conditions on the ground in our communities are so dire, and we have so much poverty, and so much hopelessness, and so much homelessness.

CASAREZ: The New York Police Commissioner Bill Bratton agrees.

COMMISSIONER WILLIAM BRATTON, NEW YORK POLICE DEPARTMENT: The parole bureau cannot hire more officers, so who's going to be watch these people when they go out on parole?

CASAREZ: And it isn't the first time. In 2007 changes in sentencing guidelines for federal crack cocaine convictions resulted in reducing sentences for 16,000 federal drug offenders. A five year study by the U.S. sentencing commission compared those released earlier to inmates who had served their entire sentence before the new guidelines where in place.

The study found that both groups reoffended at similar rates, so who benefits from a sentence reduction? The prisoner or the bureau of prisons? Judge Jack Weinstein is a seating federal judge in New York who had to make sentence reduction decisions. Top priority he says is safety of the community.

JUDGE JACK WEINSTEIN, U.S. DISTRICT COURT: And the first question the judge asks himself is if I release this person now, or shorten the sentence, will he be a greater danger to the community? And the statistics say very clearly no.

CASAREZ: 25 percent of those coming out are non-citizens. In a statement to CNN, U.S. immigration and customs enforcement tells us it will take 1,700 of those released into custody by next week, and they will be likely deported.

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BANFIELD: And Jean is sitting here with me now. So many more question about...

CASAREZ: Yeah.

BANFIELD: ... the 6,600 release this weekend, tens of thousands in the coming years. Where are most of them going to go, where in the United States where there be a collection?

CASAREZ: Well, first of all our bureau of prisons not to have some satellite location that are like halfway houses, and so some of them have already started going to that halfway house situation under the umbrella of the bureau of prison prisons. Some are being released directly to the communities are concerned, but they've been prepared for this. There are courses, there are classes, mental health classes, job skill classes, but and so it varies. I know one prisoner who was taken to the halfway house in New York city, and on Monday, he is going back to the community where he committed the drug offense, and so there's the challenge right there.

[12:50:03] Do you have enough parole officer s to supervise all of these? Because they are going to be supervised, but remember, their sentencing rehearings for all of them. And the judges have looked at the totality of the circumstance, and if they believe they are a danger to the community, they will not be early released.

BANFIELD: So what about those, you know, inmates who are looking now to a lifestyle they have long sense left, and don't understand any more, they may never have been an iPhone.

CASAREZ: Right.

BANFIELD: Is there any sort of help to get them integrated back into society to stop the recidivism rate...

CASAREZ: Yeah.

BANFIELD: That return back behind bars.

CASAREZ: Yeah. Our prisons really do have that. I mean, of course they need moneys to do more, but they have a lot of classes, you can get your GED, the inmate that obviously now out that I was talking to. He got his master degree in prison. So you can do it. But I learn from the inmate I talk to you is you make the decision before you ever leave prison. What's my life going to be like? Is it going to go back into the community? Because that is easy money, right? You will make a lot more money dealing drugs than you do going to McDonald.

So, what is my life going to be like, and if you are a member of the gang, sometimes you can't get out?

BANFIELD: Yeah. Jean Casarez, thank you. Phenomenal work and be interested to see how this actually progresses once they'll release following the decision, how they actually manage reintegrating into society. Thank you again.

CASAREZ: Thank you.

BANFIELD: We're going to take a quick break but you've been watching as well that picture on the right hand side of the screen is now our full screen, the podium still empty, but we're expecting this announcement.

Hey, the Russians are there, Assad is there, the Syrian are there, foreign fighters are there, ISIS is there. But Americans are soon to be there in Syria fighting ISIS, in amongst all those other people fighting for different reasons and causes. So what explanation will the White House give us, so what it means to succeed there? Hopefully we'll get that in a moment.

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BANFIELD: White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest at the lectern now in the press briefing room, let listen live.

JOSH EARNEST, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: ... and welcome the ongoing campaign to isolate ISIL in Raumati (ph) noting that the United States -- that the United States in partnership with the Iraqi government will intensify support for Iraqi security forces in these efforts.

The President also voice support for Prime Minister al-Abadi's leadership, in his efforts to combat corruption and implement governance reforms critical to promoting Iraqs political stability and economic prosperity. The two leaders noted their full support for the U.S. led global coalition to counter ISIL, emphasizing that both United States and Iraq are fully committed to partnering with the international community to degrade and ultimately destroy ISIL. They also reaffirmed their committed to this strategic partnership between the United States and Iraq.

This is part of the discussion that, part of this discussion was some of the efforts that the United States will begin to undertake to intensify those elements of the U.S. strategy and our coalition strategy against ISIL that have yielded in some progress. I know there been some reporting on this already today and I anticipate with the subject of some discussion with all of you today.

So Kathleen, we can get started on whatever topic you would like.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, I think we'll start there.

EARNEST: OK.

[12:55:04] UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And so use of -- White House is saying unless fewer than 50 forces are going to (inaudible). First initial reaction calling and tinkering around the edges of band-aid on the gaping wound. What exactly do you think which the (inaudible) accomplish?

EARNEST: Well, I certainly would not underestimate the capability and capacity of our U.S. special operation forces to be an important force multiplier anywhere around the world they are deployed. And the President does expect that they can have an impact in intensifying our strategy for building the capacity of local forces inside at Syria to taking the fight on the ground to ISIL in their own country. That has been the core element of the military component of our strategy from the beginning, building the capacity of local forces on the ground.

That was the essence of the call that the President just completed with Prime Minister Abadi. You know, the United States and our coalition partners have worked effectively with the central government of Iraq. They've got command control of the Iraqi security forces in that country, and because of training and advice and assistance that the United States and the coalition partners have been able to off to those Iraqi forces. We have build up the capacity of Iraqis security forces to be more effective in the battlefield inside of Iraq. The situation in Syria is quite different, United States and the coalition partners do not have a central government with whom we can part in. The Assad regime has lost legitimacy to lead that country for variety of reasons. In fact, they've actually used the military of that country to attack innocent civilians.

So with the United and our coalition partners have been focus on doing is enhancing the capacity of moderate opposition force on the ground inside of Syria. There are already a variety of ways that you already know about, that the United States and coalition partners have offered assistance to those forces.

Some of those efforts have are including carrying out military airstrikes in support of the operations on the ground, and in some cases those local fighting forces have been enhanced through the decisions that the President has made to resupply them, offering them military equipment and ammunition that they have used to effectively make progress against ISIL.

When it comes to the Northern Syria in particular, we have seen moderate opposition forces inside of Syria who have driven ISIL out of Kobani, you recall a few months ago that as soon as this opposition forces were under siege in Kobani, after being resupplied by the United States military, these forces didn't just drive ISIL out of Kobani. They drove them out at the broader region.

And now there's a 500-mile long border between Turkey and Syria. All but 90 kilometers to that boarder is not secure. We've also seen these opposition forces. They progress in the direction of Al-Raqqah this is the self declared capital of the Islamic State. There are now moderate opposition forces that are 45 kilometers outside of Al-Raqqah.

So there's been important progress that's been made in this area. And the decision that the President that has made is to further intensify our support for the forces that have made that progress against ISIL, and all along, we have indicated that the President is prepared to intensify those elements of our strategy that are showing promise, obviously our support for moderate opposition forces in Northern Syria have made progress against ISIL they've showed promise and that progress would not have been possible without our support. We've also demonstrated a willingness to scale back our investment in those aspects of the strategy that have not yielded progress. But there's lot of discussion this room a couple of weeks ago about the train and equip program, that wasn't yielding the kind of results that we would like and the President announced a significant change that element of our strategy.

So there's a long answer, but I just want to give you the full context of the latest decision that the President has made to intensify this element of our strategy that already shown some promise.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And just figure (ph) so you said you can get more have an impact is that to get inside. It doesn't sound like you're selling it as a game-changer?

EARNEST: Well, I think that you are astute to make that observation. I think what the President has been quite clear that there is no military solution to the problems that are plaguing Iraq and Syria. There is a diplomatic one. The President has put in place a multi faceted strategy to degrade and ultimately destroy ISIL. This military component of that strategy is an important part of the President' top priority which is the safety and security American public, and because of the strategy, we have taken extremists off of the battlefield inside of Syria who are hoping to use a safe haven inside of Syria to attack the United States and our interests.

[13:00:07] So we know that we need a political transition inside of Syria, in order to address the root causes -- the root cause of so many of the problems that we've seen in Syria.