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Turkish President: No Intention of Escalation After Jet Incident; Police Identify Suspected Paris Attack Accomplice; Police Release Video of Officer Shooting Teen; Hollande and Obama Discuss ISIS; Kenyan Churches Celebrate Ahead of Pope's Visit. Aired 4-5a ET

Aired November 25, 2015 - 04:00   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:00:09] MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: The Turkish president says he has no intention of escalating the situation with Russia after Turkey shot down one of its warplanes on the Syrian border.

Belgium authorities identify a suspected accomplice in the Paris attack as the international manhunt expands to Germany.

And outrage in Chicago after police released video showing a white man police officer shoot a black teen 16 times.

Thanks for joining us. I'm Max Foster in Paris. And this is CNN NEWSROOM.

(MUSIC)

FOSTER: This just in to CNN, the Turkish president says h does not want the situation with Russia to escalate. He's been speaking after Turkish fighters shot down a Russian warplane on Tuesday. He spoke in Istanbul a short while ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN, TURKISH PRESIDENT (through translator): We do not have any intention to escalate this matter. All we are caring for is defending our security and the law and rights of our brothers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Meanwhile, Moscow appears to be making good on its promise of retribution for Turkey's downing of a Russian warplane on Tuesday. The Russian prime minister says the incident could mean it's scrapped some important joint projects with Turkey. Dmitri Medvedev has warned it could result in Turkish companies losing Russian market share.

Mr. Medvedev also alleged that Turkey is working to protect ISIS. He claims that some Turkish officials are reaping financial rewards from ISIS-controlled oil fields. Now, you are looking at video, exclusive video to CNN purportedly showing the wreckage of the plane that went down in northern Syria. Turkey says the plane ignored warnings and violated its space. That's when they say their F-16 fighter jets fired on the Russian plane.

Moscow still says this jet never crossed the border.

We now know the two deaths are related to the incident at the border. A Russian marine onboard a helicopter was killed in an operation to rescue the pilots ejected from SU-24 warplane before it crashed.

You're looking at video purported to be showing a rocket attack taking out one of those rescue helicopters. As for the fate of the pilots, Russian media reports say one of them was killed midair by fire from the ground. The fate of a second pilot, unknown at this point, this video reportedly showing the two ejected pilots landing on the border as Turkmen rebels shoot at them from the ground.

The Turkmen are an ethnic minority in Syria, fighting the Assad regime and ISIS. They are known to have close ties as well with Turkey. Thousands have been displaced in recent weeks due to Russian airstrikes in the region.

Our Ben Wedeman is live in Irbil in northern Iraq.

How are you reading all this, Ben?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Max, obviously, this is a serious escalation. It happened over 24 hours ago when this SU-24 went down. We've heard a lot of rhetoric from the Russians. Vladimir Putin saying it's a stab in the back by accessory to terrorism. Of course, he's referring to Turkey, which has been accused by the Russians and others of having very close ties with ISIS.

Now, we know that, for instance, Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister was supposed to visit Turkey today. He canceled that visit. He also encouraged Russians to cancel their holiday plans in Turkey. It's a very popular destination for Russians.

And, of course, there are, despite their political differences, they're on polar opposites when it comes the Syrian conflict. There is a good deal of trade when Russia and Turkey and that could now be in danger if this relationship continues to deteriorate.

Now, there are reports coming out at the moment that the Russians are going to deploy the S-400 air defense system in one of their bases in Syria. That is an advanced air defense system with a very wide range, in theory, could be used in instances like what we saw yesterday.

But despite the rhetoric and the threats, it doesn't appear at the moment there is a desire on either the Russian or Turkish side to have this lead to a military escalation -- Max.

FOSTER: There is some concern that that would be the case, but that the Turks are very much making clear they don't want it to escalate.

[04:05:00] But how you are interpreting what you are hearing from Moscow?

WEDEMAN: Well, I think this is one of the reactions you would expect from the Russians. But whether that would actually lead to military action is another thing altogether.

Look, when you consider how many countries are militarily involved in Syria. The Russians, the United States, France, Australia, Canada, Iran, Hezbollah, and I'm sure I left a few out. It is a very dangerous place at the moment -- the danger of the sort of incident we saw yesterday repeating itself and leading to a much worse situation is very much there and I think all parties or at least most of them are aware the dangers are something they might want to avoid -- Max.

FOSTER: Ben in Irbil, thank you.

Let's get more on the fallout for Russia and its relationship with the West. Plus, what all this recent democratic turmoil means for the push to build a wider coalitions by ISIS.

Here with me in Paris is Melissa Bell. She's international affairs editor of France 24.

An unfortunate thing to happen at the best of times, when Francois Hollande is trying to build this coalition against ISIS in Syria. It's particularly unfortunate.

MELISSA BELL, FRANCE 24: A terrible time. Of course the irony is in this is the lack of coordination of the air campaigns involved in Syria, that it makes it harder to build any kind of real cooperation between those air campaigns in Syria. It comes at a time exactly as you say when Francois Hollande is hoping to enlarge the coalition to include Russia in order that everyone can focus their minds on tackling the Islamic State organization.

Today, he receives Angela Merkel. Tomorrow, he heads to Moscow to speak with Vladimir Putin. We have been hearing tough words from the Russian prime minister.

But I think you will hear a lot of saber rattling on either side. You have to remember that it is actually in Moscow's interest that this coalition is enlarged. And that you are likely to hear a much less harsh tone from Vladimir Putin by the time Francois Hollande arrives there tomorrow.

After all, the idea of the enlargement of the coalition in order to take on the Islamic State fits in precisely with what Russia is trying to achieve in Syria, which is an end to the civil war, and behind the scenes diplomatic efforts to leave Bashar al Assad in place, even if it is for a limited period of time. So, what Francois Hollande is trying to achieve fits precisely with what Vladimir Putin is hoping to achieve in Syria.

Of course, the Russians talked about what happened. It is believe that first that a Russian aircraft has been shot down by a NATO ally since the 1915s. This is a huge incident. And yet, I think that you're likely to see, despite the obvious saber-rattling today, a sort of toning down of the tone from Moscow by the time Francois Hollande gets there tomorrow.

FOSTER: This is part of the conversation with President Obama yesterday. It will be part of the conversation today with Angela Merkel. So, he goes with a strong mandate, doesn't he, President Hollande to Moscow.

What do you think his message will be on behalf of the west?

BELL: Although I think that the response from Barack Obama was much harsher than the French had hoped for. He was quite clear. We have a partner already. I think that the unlikely partner in all this is likely Barack Obama.

But Francois Hollande I think if he can get the backing as he has of the British prime minister, of the German chancellor, of Vladimir Putin will have a much stronger case at least for organizing the coordination than perhaps he has had so far, even if it has done more informally than perhaps as officially as he would have liked.

The Russian ambassador to Paris has been speaking out today, suggesting that the Russians will go as for as sort of joint chiefs of staff to organize this operation. I'm not sure that's something the Americans would be willing to consider. But I think the idea of greater coordination is something that is likely to prove popular with the others at least. And therefore, in a sense, for Washington, it needs to consider even if it hasn't done so, so far.

FOSTER: President Obama said there's no way he's even consider working with Russia unless they promise only to target ISIS. But that's not something that President Putin is going to get him, is it?

BELL: No, Washington has a number of concerns, precisely with the way that Russia has carried out its air campaign from the 30th of September. It has not targeted specifically Islamic State groups with the idea of Bashar al-Assad staying in power. Francois Hollande, of course, was quite harsh on that himself until the attacks of the 13 of November and the French have shifted positions considerably.

So, the Americans remain the sort of hardest line of needing to get Bashar al-Assad out. They are also worried about the consequences of conquering questions like Ukraine. Washington is maintaining, for now, a hard line. As I said, Francois Hollande probably expected softer words than he received yesterday on the question of that inclusion of Russia.

But Russia's concerns are legitimate. How long they'll hold in the face of unity opposite between Russia, Moscow, Paris, London, Berlin on the question of getting rid of the Islamic State organization has yet to be seen.

FOSTER: Melissa, thank you very much, indeed.

Now, Paris police say a second wave of terror attacks could have been hours away when officers raided the alleged attackers' apartment last week.

CNN's Martin Savidge now has this from Paris in the latest development in the investigation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[04:10:02] MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The authorities launching a new manhunt for a second suspect believed to be connected to the Paris Friday 13 attacks. Police say Mohamed Abrini is the man who drove one of the cars used to deliver ISIS team members to their targets, including the suicide bombers at the Paris stadium.

Abrini is captured on this security camera at a French gas station two days before the terrorist strike. He's pictured with Europe's other most wanted man, Salah Abdeslam.

The search for Abdeslam expanded into northwestern Germany today after a tip from French investigators. But once again, police came up empty.

Back in France came new and frightening revelations -- according to Paris prosecutor, the suspected ring leader Abdelhamid Abaaoud is on the verge of carrying out a second deadly assault, this time hitting a busy financial area.

FRANCOIS MOLINS, PARIS PROSECUTOR: The two terrorists, Abaaoud and a man found with him in the apartment, were planning an attack which consisted of blowing themselves up Wednesday, November 18th or Thursday, November 19th in the business district of La Defense.

SAVIDGE: The plot was foiled, investigators say, when French authorities carried out this early morning raid in Saint-Denis last Wednesday. It may explain why those inside the apartment appeared to be so well-armed and ready as authorities moved in. The resulting firefight lasting an hour and nearly destroyed the building.

Abaaoud was killed in the assault. Police say his cell phone delivered a wealth of information including calls he's believed to have made to the killers during the Friday 13th attacks, possibly directing them as they zeroed in on their targets. The phone also revealed Abaaoud's movements that night indicating he may have returned to the scenes of massacre.

Nerves remain on edge in Paris. Several metro stations closed and there were several evacuations triggered by information authorities say they've received.

In neighboring Belgium, the entire capital of Brussels we mains virtually shut down, as authorities fear they may be the next target of a Paris-style attack. Hundreds of troops and police continue to control the city streets in numbers not seen since the Second World War.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Martin Savidge reporting from Paris.

Life in Brussels gradually returning to normal, even though the city there remains on high alert. The metro service has become a partial service after several days of interruption. Roughly 66 percent of the lines are up and running again, and schools have also reopened over there in Brussels.

Let's go straight there and speak to Alexandra Field. She joins us live -- Alexandra.

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Max, despite the terror level remaining at its highest level, officials have decided it is time to help people in the city return to some sense of normal. It isn't entirely normal, of course, because people who are using the metro system which has started to reopen are seeing hundreds of military personnel there.

And the students and parents were headed to the schools this morning are seeing police officers surrounding these schools, patrolling on foot. We've seen so many officers this morning passing by this school behind me, even privately hired security guards, checking IDs before students come in.

The students say they wanted to come back. They wanted to come back. They wanted to get out of their homes after having been under this partial lockdown really since Friday evening.

But they do come here with a certain sense of anxiety. Listen to what one student told us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am very afraid about everything in Brussels because we don't know who is the terrorists, everything. The news don't say something about it. So, we are afraid and I have a little brother, I saw in his eyes that he is afraid and I can't tell him why, I don't know so. Yes, it's a strange situation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FIELD: The school administrators told us they just weren't sure how many students would actually show up today for the first day of school. But they want people to feel safe, of course, within they walk through those doors. We've also heard from a mother who said, frankly, you always worry about the safety of your child -- Max.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: We have assumed Salah Abdeslam was there hanging out in Brussels, most people are concerned about that. He could be anywhere right now, right?

What's the latest thinking on where he is?

FIELD: That's right. The international manhunt for him continues. We also know there is also an international arrest warrant out for Mohamed Abrini. He is the man who was seen caught by a camera at a gas station with Salah just two days before the Paris attacks.

And police say that that image shows them in a car that was used to perpetuate those attacks.

[04:15:03] So they're now looking for both these two men. But, Salah and Abrini, of course, people here are nervous given that fact. The minister of the interior has said the operations in Belgium and Brussels continue in order to clear it out. Anyone who could have been connected to the network carried out those attacks in Paris before waiting for news of more arrests, of course, Max.

FOSTER: Horribly unsettling. Alexandra Field, thank you very much indeed, for joining us in Brussels.

When we come back, outrage in Chicago after the death of a plaque teenager shot 16 times by a police officer. The whole thing caught on camera.

And Pope Francis leaves Rome for an historic trip to Africa. His first as the leader of the world's Catholics.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: Breaking news, just into CNN. The Russian defense ministry says the second pilot who ejected from the Russian SU-24 plane has been rescued and is safe at a Russian airbase in Syria. He's apparently rescued in a special operation after parachuting out of the aircraft before it crashed.

The outrage Chicago resides are taken into the streets in protest in the shooting of a black teenager by a white police officer.

[04:20:06] Dozens of people marched on Tuesday night angry after seeing graphic dash-cam video of the incident, which was released on the order of the judge. Scuffles broke out at one point with protesters chanting 16 shots in reference to the number of bullets fired on the 17-year-old. A major intersection was blocked for a while, but demonstrations have been mostly peaceful.

The police officer involved has been charged with first degree murder. But as Rosa Flores now reports city leaders are worried there will be more protests now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The video is shocking. A white Chicago police officer shooting a black teenager 16 times.

The deadly confrontation captured on a police dashcam more than a year ago led to a first degree murder charge for Officer Jason Van Dyke.

ANITA ALVAREZ, COOK COUNTY STATE'S ATTORNEY: This officer went overboard. You know, he abused his authority. And I don't believe the force was necessary.

FLORES: Police say 17-year-old Laquan McDonald was shot and killed while holding a knife after slashing a tire on Chicago's southwest side. Van Dyke was one of eight officers on scene that night, but prosecutors say he was the only one to shoot, opening fire only six seconds after arriving.

ALVAREZ: Officer Van Dyke's partner related that he could hear McDonald struggling to breathe, and he told Van Dyke to hold his fire so he could approach McDonald and kick the knife away.

FLORES: The dash-cam video shows McDonald's body riddled with bullets, even after falling to the ground and the autopsy confirms the teen was hit 16 times.

ALVAREZ: Van Dyke's partner reported there was a brief pause in the shots when he looked at Van Dyke and saw that he was preparing to reload his weapon.

FLORES: Van Dyke's lawyer says his client acted in self-defense and the case shouldn't be played out in the media.

DANIEL HERBERT, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: This is a case that needs to be tried in a courtroom. It needs to be tried in a courtroom where the rules of evidence are in play and the Constitution is in play. This is a case my client should be afforded the same presumption of innocence that every other American.

FLORES: The McDonald family received a $5 million settlement from the city of Chicago but did not want the video released. In a civil suit filed by journalist, a judge ordered the video should be made public. Now, community leaders and the city of Chicago are on edge preparing for outrage and protests.

RAHM EMANUEL, MAYOR OF CHICAGO: Will we use this episode in this moment to build bridges that bring us together as a city or we allow it to become a way that erects barriers that tear us apart as a city?

FLORES: Rosa Flores, CNN, Chicago.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: The U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump wasn't pulling any punches in his rally in South Carolina on Tuesday, reiterating some very controversial claims.

CNN's Sara Murray now looks at Trump's relationship with the truth during his campaign.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA MURRAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Donald Trump refusing to back down from his latest controversial comment.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There were people that were very, very happy, and those people not good people. So, nobody believed me. Some people would. By the way, thousands of people believe me, because they saw it.

MURRAY: Standing by his widely disputed claim that he saw thousands of people in New Jersey celebrating the day of the 9/11 attacks.

TRUMP: I watched when the World Trade Center came tumbling down and I watched in Jersey City, New Jersey, where thousands and thousands of people were cheering as that building was coming down.

MURRAY: Trump's sometimes casual relationship with the facts, a signature of his campaign from the day he announced.

TRUMP: When Mexico sends his people, they're not sending their best.

MURRAY: Linking undocumented immigrants to violent crime.

TRUMP: They're bringing drugs, they're bringing crime, they're rapists, and some I assume are good people.

MURRAY: A statement that earned him four Pinnochios from "The Washington Post", because studies show immigrants don't commit more crimes than native born Americans. Another more resent immigration claim, this one about Syrian refugees.

TRUMP: We have a president that wants to take hundreds of thousands, hundreds of thousands of people and move them into our country and we don't -- think of it.

(BOOS)

And we don't even know who they are.

MURRAY: But the White House says it plans to admit a fraction of that number next year.

JOSH EARNEST, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The president has informed his team he would like them to accept at least -- make preparations to accept at least 10,000 Syrian refugees in the next fiscal year.

[04:25:08] MURRAY: One fact not in dispute: Trump is still leading Dr. Ben Carson by double digits in the latest national survey. Voters perhaps chalking it up to media mistake, media bias or maybe what Trump calls truthful hyperbole in his book the art of the deal. "A little hyperbole never hurts. It's an incident form of exaggeration and a very effective form of promotion."

Trump even telling CNN in July that he embellishes every now and then.

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Do you exaggerate?

MURRAY (on camera): At a raucous rally in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Donald Trump did not take on Ted Cruz, but he fired plenty of shots at his other Republican rivals, including Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio. And he doubled down on those claims that he saw people protesting in New Jersey on 9/11 as the Twin Towers fell.

Sara Murray, CNN, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Well, Jeb Bush, you heard there, is also running for the Republican nomination, has been firing back at Donald Trump. Bush laid into his rival for his remarks about Muslim Americans and Black Lives Matter protesters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The country is too good for us. This whole idea of just preying on people's deep-seated fears about what the future looks like is -- it's not going to work as a campaign tactic. This is just wrong. There were, what I remember -- were a lot of peaceful Muslims that were disheartened and aggrieved and sad and angry just as every other American was as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Well, for the latest on the race of the U.S. presidency, do go to our Web site, CNN.com.

Coming up, I'll be joined by Simon Kuper. He's a Paris-based journalist for "The Financial Times" who's inside Stade de France on Friday the 13th. He says there is a worrying disconnect between Parisians and politicians in the wake of the terrorist attacks.

And Pope Francis embarks on his first papal visit to Africa. We'll have a live report from Nairobi CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:30:29] FOSTER: Welcome back to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Max Foster in Paris.

A look at our top stories this hour:

French authorities say they've narrowly averted a second wave of terror attacks in Paris. Authorities say two suspects were planning a bombing on the financial district. When police raided their apartment, both men were killed in the raid.

And life is gradually returning to normal in Brussels. The city is still on high alert. The schools are reopening. And some metro lines are running again.

Dozens of people marched in Chicago on Tuesday night after graphic dash-cam video was released showing a white police officer shooting a black teenager 16 times. Seventeen-year-old Laquan McDonald was killed in the incident in October 2014. And the officer has now been charged with first degree murder.

The Russian defense ministry says the second pilot rejected from Russian SU-24 plane that was shot down in Tuesday is being rescued and is safe at a Russian airbase in Syria. He was apparently rescued in a special operation after parachuting out of the aircraft before it crashed.

Russia has been warning Turkey will face serious consequences for shooting down that plane. As Moscow appears to make good on that promise, the Turkish president says he does not want the situation to escalate.

Our Ian Lee is tracking developments from Istanbul.

So, what more can we hear from him?

IAN LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, what we are really hearing is a conciliatory tone from the Turkish president, Erdogan, saying that they have no animosity towards the country of the plane they shot down, implying Russia saying that they don't want this to escalate.

And they have good reason to try to contain this situation. Russia is the highest trading partner. They get roughly half, a little over half of their gas from Russia. And so, it is in their interest as they calm the situation between the two countries, although this is quite different than what we are hearing from the Russian president who's using very fiery language. Turkey also said they were going to recover the downed Russian pilot.

So, right now, Turkey is saying two things really. One, they don't want this to escalate. But also on the other hand, they're saying they have the right to defend their national sovereignty.

FOSTER: In terms of what we're likely to hear from Russia in response to this, the language obviously has been pretty tough so far. Everyone so concerned it will escalate to a level no one wants to see actually.

What do you expect to hear from Moscow? President Putin is speaking in a moment. What do you expect them to be saying in response to this?

LEE: I think we just have to look at what he said already. He said that Turkey essentially stabbed them in the back. They accused Turkey of supporting terrorism inside Syria.

And Russia is not going to let this just go. They are probably going to see some measures taken in terms of interests in Syria. I was just talking to an analyst. He said that he expects Russia to step up their efforts. He even said that it could go, or the Russians and their allies, the Assad government and Hezbollah push into areas that could send more refugees flooding into Turkey.

FOSTER: OK. Ian Lee, thank you very much, indeed, for joining us.

Now, French President Hollande is trying to drum up international pressure on ISIS. And that debate of what happened on the border is certainly playing into that now. He's set to meet with German chancellor and the Russian president this week. He's going to meet Angela Merkel here in Paris today. On Tuesday, he met with U.S. President Barack Obama.

And CNN's Jim Acosta has more on that from Washington for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was a show of solidarity as President Obama declared we are all French, embraced French President Francois Hollande and then vowed to crush ISIS.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It cannot be tolerated. It must be destroyed and we must do it together.

ACOSTA: For his part, Hollande thanked Americans for their emotional response to the terrorist attacks, but added that's not enough.

[04:35:01] "We must act", he said.

But the mission just got more complicated after Turkey shot down a Russian fighter jet near the Syrian border, a danger the U.S. has warned Moscow about for weeks.

The president said Turkey had a right to defend its airspace.

OBAMA: I do think this points to an ongoing problem with the Russian operations in the sense that they are operating very close do a Turkish border. And they are going after moderate opposition that are supported by not only Turkey but a wide range of countries.

ACOSTA: Still, Mr. Obama said after meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G-20, Moscow is welcome to join the U.S. coalition.

OBAMA: So, there is a potential convergence of interest between the various parties. It requires us working with them to make the kind of strategic shift that's necessary, and that, frankly, I've talked to Putin about for five years now.

ACOSTA: Hollande is on a mission to strengthen and unify a global alliance to destroy ISIS, holding meetings with British Prime Minister David Cameron, President Obama, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and finally Putin all this week.

That effort, Hollande said, won't involve French boots on the ground, but he made it clear he wants Russia's help.

And while Vice President Joe Biden told reporters in the East Room Russia may be coming around to the White House position of rejecting Syrian leader Bashar al Assad. President Obama argued the U.S. coalition can get the job done without Moscow.

OBAMA: We've got a coalition. Russia right now is a coalition of two, Iran and Russia supporting Assad. Russia's the outlier.

ACOSTA: Both leaders call for greater intelligence sharing to prevent future terrorist attacks, but President Obama added candidly, what happened in Paris, is very hard to stop.

OBAMA: You have eight individuals with light weapons. That's a hard thing to track.

ACOSTA (on camera): There is no question which side the U.S. comes down on in the shooting of that Russian fighter jet by Turkey. One senior administration official noted the longstanding U.S. support for, quote, "our ally Turkey". Still, the White House is hopeful the incident won't impact talks with Moscow to find a political transition in Syria.

Jim Acosta, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Unprecedented security measures in Belgium set to stay effect until Monday at the earliest we're told. Meanwhile, something like normal life is gradually returning to Brussels. Metro service is operating a part of service after several days of interruption, and roughly 60 percent of the lines are now up and running again. Schools have also reopened in the city.

Meanwhile, here in Paris, many are still reeling from those horrifying attacks. Nearly two weeks ago now, heightened security on the streets, a chilling reminder how the city has changed since Friday the 13th. "The Financial Times" recently run a piece examining how a city heals following such attacks, and how politicians react to disaster.

As you recall, French President Francois Hollande immediately declared war against ISIS after the attacks and requested French parliament to enact three month state of emergency. We're currently in it. The "F.T." column went on to say, "As the misguided U.S. invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq taught us, the emotional days after the attack are the worst times for quick decisions, especially since there is no simple satisfying solution to ISIS."

Simon Kuper is author of that piece and he joins me now. He was also inside the Stade de France at the time of the terror attacks.

Do you feel as though there had been some knee-jerk reactions already to what happened here in Paris?

SIMON KUPER, COLUMNIST, FINANCIAL TIMES: Well, Francois Hollande had a reputation of being a weak and indecisive president. So, after the attacks, he had to show aggression and force very much like George W. Bush after 9/11.

And so, Hollande immediately stepped up bombing of ISIS. He is now trying to rally global support of the kind of war against ISIS, and there are so many echoes of 9/11, including the increased surveillance in France, totally understandable. A state of emergency for three months, unprecedented in France.

My worry is these quick reactions which are emotionally satisfying are exactly what we're going to look back on in ten years and say, no, I wish he hasn't done that.

FOSTER: One of the issues of the state of mortgages is the police powers to effectively do what they like and account to the course afterwards. Do you think there's been a sacrifice there?

KUPER: There has been an enormous sacrifice. I mean, this is the land of liberte. And there's a lot less liberte now than there was two weeks ago. And it's hard to go back to where we were before November 13th because any government that relaxes those kinds of measures, if there is any terrorist attack, people will say, ah, you shouldn't have done that.

So, I've been aware in this extreme situation for a long, long time, probably is.

FOSTER: Isn't that what French people want right now? They want to see about physical sentence of security?

KUPER: They do want that.

[04:40:00] And there was an extremely high support for this state of emergency. They want police to be able to burst into anyone's apartment and arrest them and that is happening. But in years to come, in calmer times, better time for decision-making, we're going to look back and say we lost a lot in those days.

Bombing ISIS, also, I mean, hugely emotionally satisfying, gut reaction is yes, the brain's reaction is, when we flatten that patch of land over there, where are those terrorists going to go? We know a lot are already here in Europe. This could become headquarters for them.

FOSTER: In terms of the meeting with Angela Merkel today, do you think they will make a profound decision where they are from this?

KUPER: Well, Germany has never been an European country since World War II to lead on any military action. So Germany will not be at the forefront of attacking ISIS, which is the idea right now.

I think the key priority there is shared information, shared intelligence gathering because the puppet master of the attacks, Abaaoud, he was traveling around Europe back and forth to Syria for a long time. We knew a lot about him. We knew a lot of what he was up to, and that was allowed to happen and that will not happen again, and that's what Hollande will want to mention to Merkel.

FOSTER: There has been a lot of talk about information sharing, effectively you talk about security agencies sharing their information, which they're not willing to do.

KUPER: They're not. The terrorists are not in one country. Terrorists move around. The terrorists communicate. I mean, this was a multinational plot with headquarters in Belgium and France and in Syria.

FOSTER: They took advantage of the legal system, the way it's set up.

KUPER: Yes. And also the secrecy the intelligence agency has. I mean, you know, in the English-speaking world, you have five intelligence agencies. They swap information. That's been going on a lot time. We don't really have anything like that in Europe. We have open borders. But we don't have exchange of information.

FOSTER: OK, Simon. Thank you very much for joining us today.

Up next, Pope Francis heads to Africa for Roman Catholic leader. We'll be right back with a live report from there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:45:10] FOSTER: Pope Francis left Rome a couple of hours ago for Nairobi, the first stop in his first ever trip to Africa. Pontiff will be addressing the continent's growing Catholic congregation and is expected to try and ease religious tensions between Christians and Muslims there.

After Kenya, the pope will go to Uganda, wrapping up his trip in the capital of the Central African Republic.

Also, authorities are tightening security measures in preparation for the Kenyan visit. Kenyan Catholic churches are getting ready for the occasion in their own way. Many of the celebrations draw on a mix of local culture and Catholic faith.

Robyn Kriel visits one of these vibrant churches.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBYN KRIEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Bishop John Oballa Owaa is perhaps one of the Africa's busiest bishops. Today in one of the post-remote regions of his Kenyan diocese, he will marry nine couples, perform at 65 confirmations and preach for close to five hours to this crowd, many of whom have walked through the night to reach the church.

It's a striking mix of cultures from the most modern wedding practices to the most traditional, all with the upcoming journal economy of one very important man in mind.

BISHOP JOHN OBALLA OWAA, CATHOLIC BISHOP: Both before the visit of the Holy Father and afterwards, there is quite an increase in the number of people who wish to embrace Catholic faith. The increase of vocations to priesthood, to sisterhoods, to brotherhoods, went to, you know, very high levels.

KRIEL: It's the shifting geography of the Vatican, Africa's Catholic population has more than doubled in the last 30 years. It's expected to surpass that of Europe by 2050. Much of this is due to population growth.

(on camera): Just take a look at the makeup of this service as an example. There are a few rose of adults, but the majority of the people here are children, hundreds of them. It's these stocked demographics that Pope Francis and the church will need to keep in mind going forward.

(voice-over): The church's commitment to reaching this site, a more than two hour drive from the closet town is where another one of Pope Francis' key messages comes into play, urging the church to reach the outer peripheries as a method of evangelization.

OWAA: Getting to reach the people and smell, pastors must have the smell of the sheep. They must lead them there. They must reach them. They must access them and they must be accessible.

KRIEL: For what this church may lack in accessibility, it surely makes up for in vibrant devotion.

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FOSTER: Robyn is live in Nairobi for us right now.

Robyn, all looks very joyful. I'm sure people are very excited. Huge amount going on behind the scenes to make sure there are no security problems, essentially.

KRIEL: Well, yes, Max, this is not a similar visit to say President Barack Obama who visited earlier this year, because there are thousands of U.S. security agents descending on Nairobi. There's a small Vatican security team. It's largely left up to Kenyan security service. They deploy 10,000 police officers, and another few thousand youth service officers who will be keeping the public safe.

And we understand that, of course, as always, there are threats, because Kenya and Uganda both have trips fighting al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab just across the border into Somalia. So, we understand there are messages in place to disrupt any possible attacks that might be launched during this visit.

However, we are told that they are trying extremely hard. They have a number of different international organizations working with them to try and make sure there are no security incidents and that the pontiff has a peaceful and, indeed, very exciting visit.

FOSTER: It looks very exciting, indeed.

Robyn, thank you very much, indeed, for joining us from Nairobi.

We just got these into CNN in the wake of that downed jet on the Syrian Turkish border, Russia says it is deploying a missile-to-air defense system.

Let's go into the Russian defense minister's Twitter account. The system will operate from an airbase we are told within Syria.

Up next, testing the old saying that there is no such thing as bad publicity.

[04:50:02] Amazon is told to scrap Nazi-themed advertisements for its new television show. That's next.

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FOSTER: A pretty successful launch of a rocket developed by Jeff Bezos' project Blue Origin. The rocket apparently made it out of space. But more remarkably, the country says it landed upright on its return to earth in a reusable condition. Building a reusable rocket could substantially cut the cost of space travel in the future. Incredible.

Amazon is in hot water over its advertisements for a new TV show. They featured Nazi-inspired imagery. Now, Amazon has been forced to pull some of the New York subway images off of it. The man banners for "The Man in the High Castle" rocked the ceilings, walls and sinks of the Manhattan train.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I pledge allegiance to the flag of the access powers of America.

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[04:55:05] FOSTER: The show is based on a novel which depicts Germany and Japan winning World War II and dividing control of the United States.

But commuters had differing opinions of whether the ads should be removed.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's uncomfortable standing on (INAUDIBLE) knowing that I know (INAUDIBLE) and I do feel they should be pulled off. I really do.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can't deny symbols that existed in the past. You're allowed to -- I mean, (INAUDIBLE) moon, if you choose to write a book or a script in that way. So, people choose to be offended by these things, then perhaps they will get a hobby.

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FOSTER: The ads were pulled after Governor Andrew Cuomo and the Mayor Bill de Blasio blasted the ads campaign.

I'm Fax Foster in Paris. Thank you for watching. The news continues here on CNN.

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BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Russia vowing serious consequences for Turkey shooting down its war jet. Will there be retribution? What will it mean for the international fight against ISIS? We have live team coverage ahead.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news in Chicago. Protesters demanding justice after video of a white police officer shooting a black teenager is released.

Good morning, and welcome to EARLY START. I'm Alison Kosik.

SANCHEZ: Good morning, Alison.

KOSIK: Good morning.

SANCHEZ: And I'm Boris Sanchez. It's Wednesday, November 25th, 5:00 a.m. on the East Coast. We welcome all our viewers here in the U.S. and around the world.

Happening now: world leaders bracing for possible fallout after Turkey shoots down a Russian bomber, a deadly move that could derail any chance for a true international coalition to fight ISIS in Syria. Turkey says the plane violated its airspace and ignored multiple warnings.