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Belgium Remains at Highest Terror Alert Level; Hollande: France Is At War; France Taking Security Precautions; U.S. GOP Candidates Seek to Block Syrian Refugees; The Band Plays On; Obama Vows Not to Relent on Destroying ISIS; Paris Mourns, Unites after Terror Attacks. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired November 23, 2015 - 00:00   ET

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

[00:00:15] ISHA SESAY, CNN ANCHOR: This is CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles.

(HEADLINES)

SESAY: Hello and welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Isha Sesay, NEWSROOM L.A. starts right now.

We start in Belgium. Authorities there have extended their highest terror alert amid fears of more coordinated attacks like the ones in Paris nine days ago. Schools and subways will remain closed Monday as authorities stay vigilant watching for any signs of danger.

On Sunday police staged 20 anti terror raids. They arrested 16 people but did not find any gun or explosives. They also did not find this man, Salah Abdeslam. Police believe he dropped off three of the attackers at the stadium in Paris. Now he is the most wanted man in Europe.

Meanwhile, French authorities are posting this photo of a man they say was one of the Paris suicide bombers. They're asking the public for any information about him. They did not mention his name. CNN's Max Foster is in Paris, the city still very much willing from the attacks nine days ago. He joins us live, Max, the manhunt for the suspected eighth Paris attacker is on going. What can you tell us about the status of the investigation?

MAX FOSTER, CNN CORESSPONDENT: Well, we're not being told anything. He's basically still on the run. There were some reports over the weekend that he still has a suicide vest with him, which is a frightening prospect. And that he's luckily in Brussels. But that isn't connected to this heightened terror alert in Brussels itself. That was intelligence, pretty firm intelligence it must be that there's some sort of Paris still on attack, it was due to take place in Brussels.

And they've been carrying out all sorts of searches around the city in relation to that. Here's the Chief Federal Prosecutor, he's outlining those searches have finished now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ERIC VAN DER SYPT, BELGIUM FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: The Federal Prosecution's Office and Brussels investigating jets specialized in terrorist cases ordered a total of 19 house searches in Brussels region. These searches took place in Sint-Jans-Molenbeek, Anderlecht, Jette, Schaerbeek, Saint-Lambert-Woluwe and Vorst. There were also three house searches carried out Charleroi.

In total 16 persons were arrested. The investigating judge will decide tomorrow about their further -- their possible further detention.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: What's frightening Isha is that despite the fact these searches have finished, the heightened level of alert is still there. As you say, schools are shut down. The subway is shut down. So they -- it's still feel there is an eminent threat there but they clearly don't know where that threat might strike which is why the whole city pretty much is on look down. The Prime Minister was speaking yesterday as well describing the sort of attack that they were expecting or were fearful of and this is what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHARLES MICHEL, BELGIAN PRIME MINISTER: What we fear is an attack similar to what happened in Paris with several individuals. Even perhaps lunching offensive weapons in several places at the same time which leads us to think the potential targets are those which have highly concentrated populations.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: So in Brussels people are being advised not to go near any crowds. So that's why major events have been closed down. So the bars and the restaurants are closed in the evening. Also, here in Paris, the schools are open. There's no heightened level of alert to that extent right now but there is a three-month state of emergency. Kids are being checked on their way in to schools but the concern there, again, is about concentrations of people.

So parents are being asked to drop their kids off at the school and then drive away. An older kids who gather outside schools to smoke, for example, are trying to be told to move away in smaller groups. They trying to avoid these concentrated groups of people which become targets for terrorists. So the intelligence seems to be something around that both in Paris and Belgium.

SESAY: And Max, let me ask you about one of the attackers outside the stadium France who's the image was release by French Authority and on Sunday they didn't release the name but do we know how he came to be identified?

[00:05:08] FOSTER: We totally getting very little information because their -- what are effectively trends (ph) in ongoing live investigation. They're giving us information that they need in terms of appeals. They're not giving us the context to what they're giving us. So, they sent out this picture. They're asking people to look out for him. And the hope is that the French people, Belgian people will look out for him and report anything they see.

Of course, that last man on the run. The guy that headed towards Brussels had gone through a police check but it was on the evening of the attack. It was a few hours after the attacks but they didn't need all the intelligence they needed that point in terms of searches. So, they're trying to get any information out what they can without giving away too much information in terms of their investigation which may be useful to any of the attackers and their accomplices who are out there.

SESAY: The French President Francois Hollande has said his nation is at war and to that effect he has a series of meetings this week. He'll be meeting with British Prime Minister David Cameron and also in 48 hours with President Barack Obama. What are we expecting from these meetings? What are the French seeking from these get togethers with these leaders? In fact, Max, as you speak, let me just interrupt this for a split second and let our viewers know what they are seeing on their screens. That's the president of the United States' plane landing at Andrews Air Force Base. He is returning from that trip to Asia. He's been away a number of days.

And in that time, has had to contend with a host of criticism back here in the United States for his response to the ISIS threat. He is now back on U.S. soil. And we expect him to be front and center with statements regarding how the U.S. will take on ISIS in the days and weeks to come. U.S. President Barack Obama returning to the U.S. just back from that Asia trip. That is his plane landing there at Andrews Air Force Base. Max, back to you.

FOSTER: Yeah, the surrounded a plow (ph) this is interesting. You also -- so, you've got there President Hollande meeting David Cameron today, President Obama later on in the week, but also Angela Merkel and also President Putin as well. And what he's looking for is some sort of grand coalition against ISIS in Iraq and Syria. You've got to see the situation where you got two different strategies taking place there. One led by Russia. One led be the U.S. The suggestion is that everyone should work together to tackle ISIS on the ground there.

And President Obama was speaking yesterday at the press conference to that end and the fundamental problem you've got with it is that they -- Russia and the U.S. see the future of Syria in two different ways. Russia still sees President Assad as a possible part of that future and President Obama certainly does not see that as the issue. So until they iron out those diplomatic, those political differences, but it's difficult to see how they can bring the militaries together in one concerted effort against ISIS.

But President Hollande is going to be trying to basically ramp up the effort against ISIS attack them in their homeland. And David Cameron meeting him today also placed him into the British debate which is whether or not the British should -- Britain should join air strikes in Syria. David Cameron wants that to happen. He needs to get it through a parliament. So, that's part of his diplomatic effort as well. But it all comes together. I think from now, a process of international diplomacy attacking ISIS in its homeland, off the back of what happened in Paris. But also the attack on the Russian plane as well, building on that sense of concern about momentum behind something needs to be done against ISIS. And Hollande wants that to be a military action against them at home.

SESAY: We will be watching it all very, very closely. Max Foster joining us there from Paris. Max will be with us across the next couple of hours. Max, appreciate it. Thank you so much we'll check back in with you shortly.

Well, for more on the security measures, Aaron Cohen joined us now. He is a security expert who spent three years in the Israel's Counter- Terrorist Special Operations Unit. He's also the founder of Cherries Covert Ops Apparel. Aaron, thank you so much for being with us. We see these raids playing out across Belgium on Sunday, almost two dozen. Big picture, let's take a step back. How good are the Belgians when it comes to this kind of thing, this counter terrorism?

AARON COHEN, FOUNDER CHERRIES COVERT OPS APPAREL: The Belgians special operations capabilities have gotten better over the last ten years but I do not think they are quite at the level of Paris. The reason why is, Paris is a bigger city. They have a lot more concerted counter-terror officers and capabilities when it comes to special operations. But overall, the fact that there's been multiple nations actively involved or engaged on the global war on terror, everybody seems to be getting a lot better. They tend to follow the U.S. protocols and tactics, they in similar gears, similar weaponry changes slightly with Paris and Belgium but they've gotten better.

[00:10:01] But I do think that there are still what we call some tactical in breeding if you will.

SESAY: What does that mean?

COHEN: What I mean by that is unfortunately, Belgium, Paris they're a little bit slower to adopt some of the cutting-edge tools and tactics that the U.S. is constantly pushing.

The reason why is because the U.S. and the Americans have just been leading. Israel tends to be on the cutting edge. There's -- when it comes to equipment and it comes to gear that the U.S. and Israel are obviously. And they work closely.

But I think that there's some loopholes that still need to be filled. The protocols and the tactics that they're using are a little outdated. What I mean by that is they tend to still be running into rooms or pushing into rooms which are a little dated.

And I think that even with Paris and with the GIGN and with the Paris National SWAT team, what we saw with the response, particularly with Bataclan, for instance, it was an incredible delay. The reason why is because the French police were waiting for the GIGN or for the national counter-terror unit to show up. The problem with that is and that for every second you waste, another innocent person gets killed, when you have somebody opening fire with a Kalashnikov rifle. Belgium is a step below Paris, no disrespect to my Belgium operators out there, listening right now. But the fact is that Europeans are a little bit behind and so their tactics reflect it. So Paris is a little bit behind us Americans and behind the Israelis. Belgium is a step below them.

So as a collective, they only need to come together and start pushing themselves tactically so we don't see outdated tactics being used because Europe is the breeding ground right now for these attacks.

SESAY: Looking at the mission in and off it self. In fact, we want to bring up live pictures for our viewers it is President Obama is actually deplaning right now. There he is. He's returned from that Asia trip. The plane landing there at Andrews Air Force Base and he is back on U.S. soil.

And they're walking in to, I guess you would call something of a fray, given the situation that has played out in Paris in the past nine days.

The President's response to Isis has come under increasing scrutiny in recent days. Especially given comments he made ahead of the Paris attack that ISIS had been somewhat contained.

That comment has been scrutinized and criticized and now the White House Administration is on, some would say on the defensive. And having to explain the way they have handled the ISIS threat.

Today, the President saying they have a strategy. It is working and it will go off to ISIS and they will defeat them. But many saying that the strategy to date is not viable. And that the President has to rework the way he tackles ISIS.

So the president is back in the United States. He has returned from that Asia trip, that's his plane landed just moments ago at Andrews Air Force Base and it's going to be a busy week I'm sure for the U.S. President who'll also be meeting with the French President Francois Hollande in 48 hours to once again scrutinize the coalition's response to ISIS.

Aaron, let me just come back to you here, you know, more broadly speaking, when you look at the ISIS threat and what it means to Europe as it is played out nine days ago in Paris. How do European authorities respond to that when it comes to counter-terror, how did they now set up these urban spaces to prevent something like this happening again?

COHEN: Well, the Europeans, Belgium, Paris, they need to have an honest look at their capabilities as far as their police is concerned, their internal intelligence gathering methods. They need to make sure that they have excellent relationships with MI6, with the CIA.

SESAY: You said ego a couple of times, so that has been -- that is something of the sticking point.

COHEN: Yeah. SESAY: Explain.

COHEN: Well, it's significant -- it's essentially (ph) go come back into it.

The intelligence world, special operations world, the macro picture of what we do for a living is a very alpha male driven industry. The reason why is because we're in the business literally of saving lives. And so it's always, you know, you're pushing. You're always -- it's extremely competitive. You're always bringing the best people into play.

And what happens is that everybody likes to protect their cards and the reason why is because everybody, although we're working together, wants to make sure we're protecting our individual security capabilities so that we won't be harmed if we give a little piece here, a little piece there. Every country wants to be a little selfish to protect ourselves a little bit more.

The problem with ISIS is that it doesn't work on the macro level. Everybody has to come together and the egos have to be dropped otherwise, ultimately at the end all of these 60 countries will be effected we collectively. So, it's challenging.

Sharing information is not something that intelligence operatives like to do. We're in the business of keeping secrets. So we have to play nice. And I think we're going to get better out of it and the reason is because we have to, we don't have a choice.

[00:15:02] So, Belgium, France, Europe, Italy, Switzerland, all of these countries who could be potentially be affected, need to be making good with Assad and need to be making good with MI5, need to be making good with the FBI and vice versa. And all those using need to be cross training because we might have to deploy an international response or a national European response like we're seeing now where we have multiple agencies working together. And we need to make sure those tactics are coagulated so that the ultimately at the end of the day we get better at saving lives and that's what it's been conducted.

SESAY: Great insight and pleased that you will be with us throughout the hour. Thank you so much. Standby first. We'll be right back to get more perspective a little bit later on.

COHEN: Copy that, thank you.

SESAY: Thank you.

Now, we turn our attention to Nigeria where eight people were killed when a female suicide bomber detonated her explosive in the northeastern town on Maiduguri on Sunday. The victims who were mostly women and children were going through security screening at a military checkpoint.

Maiduguri has repeatedly been attacked by the terrorist group, Boko Haram. While the death tolls on Friday's attack on a popular hotel in Mali has now risen to 22 according to the U.N. The country's president has declared three days of national mourning for the victims of the brutal siege in the Malian capital.

David McKenzie sat down with one American survivor who described her harrowing ordeal.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In the wake of Mali's horrifying terror attack, new stories of survival are emerging.

I spoke to an American specialist at the center for disease control, she was about to check out when the shooting began.

KATHIE FAZEKAS, SURVIVED MALI HOTEL ATTACK: I e-mailed my husband and I just -- I said something like, "There is something going on and I want you to know that I love you."

And then when -- a few hours later when the fire down the hallway, I wrote another e-mail and I said, "I do believe there are shooters here and if I don't make it I want you to know I love you and my family and my -- but I am coming home." I do this because I love doing this work and where we are in the world that we need to continue on.

MCKENZIE: You committed to the work no matter what?

FAZEKAS: No matter what. This wasn't about Mali. This was about what I call it idiots. I'll be back.

MCKENZIE: Was there any point really, any moment where you thought, OK, this is it, this is the end of the road?

FAZEKAS: When the shooting came down the hallway, I was more nervous. I wasn't sure. But it wasn't going to end. I was going home. I knew I was going home. That's the end of it.

MCKENZIE: So when the signal came, what went through your head?

FAZEKAS: Oh gosh, I'm so glad to see you guys. I don't know much French but I could say...

(FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

...I said it all the way down the hall and I'll say it again. These guys, every one of them that I mentioned, put their lives on the line for me that day, and I so appreciate that.

And there's a group of people who cannot make it out. And my heart goes out to their families. But I believe they were here doing what they love and what they're committed to. And if that day were to come for me, somebody would be saying that about me as well.

MCKENZIE: The presidents of Mali and Senegal toured the Radisson hotel on Sunday and vowed that they will be unbowed by the terror threat

David McKenzie, CNN, Bamako Mali.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SESAY: Now to the U.S., where 16 people were injured in a shootout in New Orleans on Sunday. Police say several hundred people were gathered at a playground to film a music video when two groups began firing at each other. Witnesses tell police both groups immediately took off after the shooting. Detectives are now searching for surveillance video of the suspects.

Some U.S. Republican presidential candidates are mincing words about a plan to bring more Syrian refugees into the country. First you'll hear what they have to say.

And then, we'll show you whether the tough talk is helping or hurting their campaigns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:20:00]

SESAY: Hello, everyone. The Paris terror attacks have sparked a fiery debate about whether more Syrian refugees should be allowed into the U.S. The U.S. house passed the bill aimed at limiting Syrian and Iraqi refugees. President Obama is promising to veto it.

CNN Chris Frates has the latest on how this issue is shaping the Republican Presidential Race.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS FRATES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And it has a double digit lead with 32 percent support. Ben Carson, running a close second behind Trump with 22 percent and the only other Republican with double digit support here is Marco Rubio. He's coming in at 11 percent.

Now, this poll comes after a week of really heated rhetoric on the campaign trail. Over whether to allow 10,000 Syrian refugees into the United States amid fears that ISIS terrorist could be among them. Carson compared some refugees to rabid dogs and Trump said he considers shutting down Mosques and endorse tracking U.S. Muslims in the database an idea he doubled down on Sunday.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I want the database for the refugees that if they come into the country. We have no idea who these people are. When the Syrian refugees are going to start pouring in to this country we don't know if they're righteous, we don't know if it's a Trojan horse. And I definitely want a database and other checks and balances.

FRATES: The controversial comments haven't seem to hurt Trump or Carson's standing. In fact, more than half of those surveys oppose taking in refugees from Syria. And despite the Paris attacks, the economy still tops the list of issues most important to voters followed closely by terrorism. And among republicans polled, the most important attribute they want in a candidate is someone who can change Washington. And that's a measure where Trump dominates. And a Trump rally in Alabama on Sunday, at least a half a dozen white attendees shoved, tackled, punch and kicked the black protester who disrupted Trump's speech.

On Sunday Trump suggested the violence was justified.

TRUMP: Maybe he should have been roughed up because it was absolutely disgusting what he was doing.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

FRATES: Police told CNN that three people were asked to leave the event.

[00:25:00] No arrests were made and the protester did not require medical attention.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SESAY: We'll Brian Levin been asked to discuss to see the professor at California State University and director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism Violence. So good to have you in to help us make sense of all of this. First and foremost, at someone who has -- who studies the trends, who knows the data. What do you make of the rhetoric coming from GOP presidential candidates?

BRIAN LEVIN, PROFESSOR AND DOCTOR CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF HATE AND EXTREMISM: Well the rhetoric is scary because what's doing, it is not addressing the real threat. It's exaggerating the threat and specifically where the threat is coming from. But more importantly, it's also dividing us from our Muslim neighbors and friends. And that's really terrible.

When you look at the data, we've had about 2100 Syrians coming from in theater since 9/11. We had none that have been involved in terror attacks. According to Center for Migration Studies, 784,000 refugees have come in since 9/11. Three have been indicted in terror related cases. No convictions yet. So we're talking about a very fluid situation to be sure. Daesh wants to exploit any way they can. They want to hit the U.S. They don't have the operational capacity that they have in Europe but they do want to hit us. But it's suboptimal for them to use refugees as their first choice. To a far more resources at their disposal...

SESAY: Than using refugees.

LEVIN: Absolutely.

SESAY: So to spell it out and make it very clear, someone who knows the data, what is the threat level, what is associated with Syrian refugees coming into this country? I just need you to -- how much of a threat do they constitute?

LEVIN: Well, it's not -- nonexistent because a couple of things. One, when FBI director Comey testified this last month, also, I testified for congress as well. He stated that it's hard to get good data in theater, in Syria, with respect to Iraq, we had much more availability for data because we had a military presence where we could have arrest records and things like that and finger prints.

That being said though, we're talking about the most vulnerable people in the world here. I mean please, oh, my God, we're talking about children. We're talking about families. Is there a threat? Yes. It's minimal. But let's look at something else. Let's look at the fact that over 2000 people on the terror watch list have been able to buy firearms in the United States.

SESAY: 2000 people!

LEVIN: Over 2000. About 2043 is the latest data.

SESAY: So tell me...

LEVIN: In the United States!

SESAY: Yeah, and people are worried about refugees. And as you saying looking at the data that constitute a very, very small threat. Well let's talk about screening and vetting them. I mean because that's where the argument has moved on to now, saying that should be stepped up. Do you agree? Are there ways screening could be enhanced that would give people peace of mind?

LEVIN: Absolutely. And that's why congress is taking looking at it. And here's where I'm afraid of, they're saying we're going to do a pause. Is it going to be a pause or a stop? The other thing is they put an onus on the FBI director Inspector General and a Head of Homeland Security to personally certify each person. My mom had cancer. I can't have her doctors certify that we won't have issues with that. But let me just say this. Look, I think our friends of good will who say this is something we should look at and we're not coming from a bigoted perspective, we're just saying Muslims can't participate in civil society which is where the debate is going. It's not looking at the threat, its looking seemingly out Muslims and that's wrong.

Let's look at the threat. Are there issues which regard to getting data from in theater with people coming out? Absolutely. Is the risk probably somewhat more enhanced than it's been before because of the operational capabilities of ISIS and their geographical expansion to want to hit the far enemy, meaning us, Italy, Paris, and elsewhere? Absolutely.

But let's be careful here. America stands for something. And we should take in refugees. Should we be maybe a little bit more careful? Absolutely. But the process and this is important, the process takes 18 to 24 months. It is a suboptimal way for ISIS to get people in the United States immediately. Is it something they might want to exploit for a variety of reasons including having Muslims be mistreated here or something and use that kind of rhetoric for their own recruitment purposes? Absolutely. A bottom line is they have the most sophisticated recruitment operation that we've ever seen involving the internet and they have operational capabilities in Europe where we have diesel waiver programs as well as elsewhere.

Let's look at diesel waiver program first. Let's took at the firearms, which is Bipartisan support. Congressman King, Republican from New York, as well as Dianne Feinstein from here in California, both favored looking at the ability of the people on the terror watch list to buy firearm, over 2000 purchases.

We should look at everything but let's not be alarmist and let's not single out our Muslim friends and neighbors for this kind of just terrible bigoted second class citizenship.

[00:30:05] SESAY: So good to have you on the show Brian Levin. Thank you for the insight and perspective.

LEVIN: Always a pleasure. Thank you so much.

SESAY: Thank you.

Coming up on NEWSROOM L.A., despite their fears, one Parisian band decides to honor the terror attack victims by doing what they do best: playing music.

Plus, we look back at some of the powerful moments we've seen in the week following the Paris attacks.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SESAY: You're watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles. I am Isha Sesay. The headlines this hour:

(HEADLINES)

[00:35:00]

SESAY: And now back to Paris, where the hunt is still on to find those responsible for the deadly terror attacks. There we find our Max Foster.

Max, as the working week begins, what's the mood like in Paris?

FOSTER: Yes, the big test today, I think, to see how people do get back to work, get back to school. But I think there's definitely a sense of defiance, a lot of people insisting on carrying on as they can.

It's interesting; the Christmas markets opened up this week and over the weekend they were all up and running, which is a big event here in Paris, as you know, Isha, when that sort of gets going.

But people were out, they were shopping. But they were shopping for essentials. They were avoiding buying presents. They were avoiding anything celebratory.

And you'll see as the sun comes up around the monument there, people will start sort of gathering around and having their little moment there. Yesterday there was a group of teenagers, who got their this bikes out and just laid them on the floor and just looked at the monument.

There was a group of young children who started singing the national anthem. And there were older people who'd just stand there and look at the flowers.

It's extraordinary, really. They are trying to be normal. But they can't really be normal.

When you have a situation where kids going into schools in Paris are going to be frisked, it isn't normal. They're trying to be normal by going back to school.

But there's this sense, this atmosphere around everything, which really makes you think twice about security and whether or not you're going to be attacked at any moment.

We were in a bistro yesterday and armed soldiers walked right through the middle of the bistro and it was almost as if that was normal. But it's just not normal in Paris, where they're not always supportive of the military. They're a liberal nation. They like to have their freedoms.

And it's something changing about the culture here, where they're accepting that they're having to give up some freedoms in order to be safe.

But at the same time people want to carry on as normal. I walked past a band the other day that was playing and I had a conversation with them about all of this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER (voice-over): Every Saturday, Barsalino play in Place de Vorge. There was no exception the day after the attacks. They picked up their instruments and played in the usual way, though they admit they were scared.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was good for us to do our thing and to see that people were happy to see that, you know, life was going on, music was going on.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's something that's changed.

FOSTER: Can you articulate that?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. I think something's changed but I think we're going to be stronger. I think we realized that we need to fight for what we believe in and it's not something that's given to us. And we must realize that our freedom is something for which we have to fight for, I think.

FOSTER: You're going to keep playing?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, we are.

It's kind of like a war where you see the other guys coming. They're already here but you never know when or where they're going to strike. You just have to keep on living. That's all.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

FOSTER (voice-over): A band in one street and a stitch in the tapestry of life in Paris. Without their music, life just wouldn't be what it was. They're doing their bit amid a new reality.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Isha, of course, there have been two attacks this year. We were talking about "Charlie Hebdo," of course, earlier in the year. I think what makes people feel differently this time around, though, is that that was a targeted attack against journalists. It was against a kosher supermarket.

But this was indiscriminate. And that's what has really unsettled people here, that they can just be in a bar and be attacked. And I think that's a fundamental change in the fear here.

And it's interesting that President Hollande's approval ratings have sort of gone a lot higher since this attack took place and it's because people are rallying around France, around their president and they see now this common enemy. And it's in their midst and it's very scary.

SESAY: It's very, very scary, as you say, it is in their midst. And they don't know when it will strike.

Max Foster joining us there from Paris.

We appreciate, it Max. Thank you so much.

Well, the fight against ISIS intensifies. Coming up, a look at how world leaders are stepping up the campaign to take down the terror group.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:40:00]

SESAY: World powers are planning to step up the fight against ISIS. This week British prime minister David Cameron is expected to make a case for bombing ISIS in Syria. This comes as -- this week the British prime minister will make that case. That comes two years after lawmakers rejected his push for military intervention in the Syrian conflict.

Prime Minister Cameron will meet with French president Francois Hollande in Paris on Monday to talk about counterterrorism and the fight against ISIS. Mr. Hollande will also meet with the presidents of Russia and the U.S. this week. He said the international community needs to create a grand and single coalition to combat ISIS.

U.S. President Barack Obama has been under pressure for a tougher response to the Paris attacks. Over the weekend he vowed to hunt down ISIS and destroy them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They're a bunch of killers with good social media. The Americans who are building things and making things and teaching and saving lives as firefighters and as police officers, they're stronger.

Our way of life is stronger, all of which is to say that our coalition will not relent. We will not accept the idea that terrorist assaults on restaurants and theaters and hotels are the new normal or that we are powerless to stop them. After all, that's precisely what terrorists like ISIL want.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SESAY: Well, earlier I spoke to CNN military analyst Lieutenant Colonel Rick Francona about the Obama administration's strategy for tackling ISIS.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. COL. RICK FRANCONA (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: The goal is to degrade and ultimately defeat ISIS. And what we're doing right now just isn't working. We've put a lot of air assets, reconnaissance assets into this campaign. Yet it's just not having any effect. The effect it is having is minimal, to say the least.

The Russians and the French have come in there and, in a few days, have eclipsed what the United States has done over the period of a year. That's because of these restrictive rules of engagement that the coalition, U.S.-led coalition pilots are operating under.

So if the president is serious about getting this done, he needs to take off the hindrances from the Pentagon and let them do their jobs.

[00:45:00]

SESAY: Do you agree with former Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel's assessment that, in addition to that, to add that onto what you're recommending, that this administration should shift its focus from President Bashar al-Assad to ISIS?

Have there been priorities misplaced, if you will?

FRANCONA: Yes. And I think it's time for the people in Washington to have that discussion. Right now our objective is to not only defeat ISIS but to remove Bashar al-Assad. I don't think that you can do both simultaneously.

We're going to have to determine what our priority is. And given the Russian and French involvement against ISIS but Russia's involvement supporting Bashar al-Assad, I I'm not sure toppling Assad right now is going to work for the United States. Perhaps it's time to step back and say we need to defeat ISIS first and then we can handle the political situation in Syria later. Everybody keeps saying there is no military solution. But there has

to be a military start to get to that political solution.

SESAY: Does that military solution involve boots on the ground in your view?

FRANCONA: That's a good question. Yes, I think we need to have some boots on the ground. But it depends on how you define boots on the ground. Those are the words in Washington they don't want to hear.

I'm talking about inserting American special operations personnel, Air Force combat control, people that can guide and control the airstrikes, special forces Army people that can go in and train local forces on how to conduct these operations.

The Army has a munition called foreign internal defense. They're very good at it. They go in and train indigenous personnel. It works very well. Air Force and special ops people can control these airstrikes.

With those two things working in Syria and Northern Iraq I think we can turn this thing around. But we've got to commit the resources to do it. And right now there's a real hesitation in the Pentagon to do this.

SESAY: Rick Francona, doesn't this however play into ISIS propaganda?

No matter how you slice it and dice it, whatever the boots on the ground end up being, the fact of the matter, if you have that image of returning U.S. military to the Middle East actively on the ground, doesn't that play into ISIS propaganda which ultimately comes back and hurts the U.S.?

FRANCONA: Yes, you can see it that way. But if you're able to get in there and deal several defeats to ISIS, if you could start rolling these people back, start taking territory from them, taking Raqqah from them, reclaiming Mosul, that really cut their narrative and it really hurts their recruiting effort. And we can turn this around.

But we can't not do things because it might play into ISIS' social media network.

SESAY: Is it a question of time now?

Is time running out?

We heard one top Democrat say on Sunday that she feels that the U.S. is running out of time in this fight against ISIS.

Is the window closing?

FRANCONA: Well, I don't know if it's closing but it's certainly becoming more difficult. What we're seeing is ISIS is hemorrhaging, it's spreading out all over the region and all over the world. We see ISIS, people swearing allegiance to ISIS in Afghanistan, in Sinai, in Libya, in Nigeria and then we see them conducting operations in Paris. And their recent string of successes, from their point of view, you've

got Ankara, Beirut, the downing of the Russian airliner, what I call the gold standard of terrorism, and then the attacks in Paris and a probable attack in Brussels, if they can pull it off. So they are really on a roll right now.

So no longer contained to Syria and Iraq. So we've got to address them. But I think the key is going after them in Syria and Iraq.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SESAY: Lieutenant Colonel Rick Francona, speaking to us just a short time ago.

Perhaps the biggest target of recent airstrikes has been ISIS' self- declared capital of Raqqah, Syria. In a CNN exclusive, senior international correspondent Nick Paton Walsh gets extremely close to the ISIS headquarters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SR. INTL. CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Airstrikes can repeatedly pound Raqqah but it's here that any ground offensive by the Kurds towards the capital of ISIS' self-declared caliphate would have to begin. And still, a sense of stalemate.

Their ultimate goal of Raqqah, visible on a good day in the far distance. And this space, at times, in the past few days, hit by ISIS mortars.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SESAY: Don't miss Nick's full exclusive report from Syria Monday morning on "NEW DAY," starting at 6:00 am Eastern, 11:00 am if you're in London.

Next on CNN NEWSROOM L.A., united in the wake of terror. We reveal some of the most memorable moments we've seen in the week following the Paris attacks. Do stay with us.

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SESAY: Over the past 10 days, we've seen the strength and fortitude of the people of Paris. And, indeed, the tragedy there has united people right around the world. We look back now at some of the most memorable moments since those deadly attacks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FRANCOIS HOLLANDE, PRESIDENT OF FRANCE (through translator): It's an act of war committed by a terrorist army, Daesh, an army of jihadists against France.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking French). (MUSIC PLAYING)

OBAMA: We are reminded in this time of tragedy that the bonds of liberte and egalite and fraternite are not only values that the French people care so deeply about but they are values that we share.

[00:55:00]

DAVID CAMERON, PRIME MINISTER, GREAT BRITAIN: Nous sommes solidaires avec vous. Nous sommes tous ensemble. We stand with you, united.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): And then suddenly in a flash there was chaos. Friday was a night of shock. Saturday was a day of mourning. But on Sunday, we felt determined today to come out, to take our lives back.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): The headline of it is, "I will not succumb to hate," "Vous n'aurez pas ma haine," "Friday night you stole an exceptional life, the love of my life, the mother of my son, but I will not succumb to hate."

ANTOINE LEIRIS, HELENE'S HUSBAND: We stand free. We stand with the taste of life. We stand with happiness. We play games with my son. And then, no, they don't win.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SESAY: Well, thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM, live from L.A. I'm Isha Sesay. I'll be back with another hour of news after this short break. You're watching CNN.

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