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Police Charge Four In Brussels Attacks; At Least 14 Americans Injured In Brussels Attacks; Molenbeek Neighborhood Known As Extremism Hotbed; Georgia Woman's Boyfriend Killed In Attacks; Clinton And Sanders Battle Over 142 Delegates in Alaska, Hawaii and Washington State; Belgium PM Says Country Must Improve on Security. Aired 12-1p ET

Aired March 26, 2016 - 12:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:01:03] FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello again and thanks so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. We begin with breaking news. Belgian police have announce the first charges in connection with this week's terror attacks in Brussels, a man only identified as Faycal C. (ph) has been charged with terrorist murder. Three others are facing charges of participating in a terrorist group.

We are also learning that the former Belgian ambassador to the United States, Andres Adam, died in the Brussels attacks. CNN international correspondent, Phil Black, is in Brussels. What more can you tell us about these charges?

PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, after days of dynamic police work and raids, a number of arrests around nine or so. We are now hearing about a number of charges that have been laid.

In the case of one of the detained men, they're significant as you touched on there. A man identified by authorities as Faycal C., as in the letter C, they're not giving out his full name just yet.

He has been charged with participating in a terrorist group's activities. But more than that, he's been charged with terrorist murder and attempted terrorist murder, which indicates that he played something of a direct role in the attacks that took place here last Tuesday.

Although at this stage, the authorities aren't saying how specifically he was involved. We do know that the police have been looking for two people, one person who played a direct role in bombing at the airport, another person who played a direct role in the bombing at the Metro station.

They have not yet said if this person is one of those two wanted suspects. A number of other charges against other individuals have been laid. Also worth noting a man detained here in very spectacular, dramatic fashion yesterday, shot in the leg at a train station. He is still in police custody. He hasn't been charged. His detention has been extended, while he is interrogated by the authorities here -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And Phil, you talked to a number of people, including a very young survivor. How did this interview come about and how is he doing?

BLACK: It's a pretty remarkable story really. We are talking about Mason Wells. A 19-year-old American who's been in Europe as a Mormon missionary for a couple of years now, who was at the airport.

It would seem very, very close to the first suicide blast that took place there. He suffered severe burns to his face and arms, second and third degree burns, shrapnel wound to the leg, serious injury to one of his ankles as well.

The extraordinary thing is he was conscious throughout all of it and he is able to give this incredibly detailed compelling account of those few moments. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MASON WELLS, AMERICAN INJURED IN BRUSSELS AIRPORT ATTACK: I wasn't expecting it, I was looking down and all of a sudden a huge blast came from the right. I believe my body was picked off the ground for a moment and my iPad that was in my hands, I don't know what happened, it just disappeared.

I think it might have hit me in the head when it got blasted out of my hands. My watch on my left hand just disappeared. Left shoe was blown off. A large part of the right side of my body got really hot and then really cold and I was covered in a lot of fluids, a lot of blood, and a lot of that blood wasn't mine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACK: I asked Mason what he's been thinking and feeling as he lies there recovering in the hospital. He talks about just feeling incredibly lucky. By his own admission, he doesn't think he should be alive. He was so close to that detonation.

He says that he saw other people further away from the blast site that were far more severely injured than he was. He feels incredibly lucky. He is able to give this composed, controlled telling of those horrific few moments -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Wow, extraordinary account. What a survival story. Thank you so much. Phil Black there in Brussels.

According to French affiliate, BFM TV, Salah Abdeslam, the alleged Paris terrorist that evaded authorities for four months told authorities that he only had a minor role in the November Paris attacks.

When re-questioned following Tuesday's bombings in Brussels, Abdeslam refused to answer. Belgian authorities say he was indeed planning new attacks when he was captured.

CNN has also obtained exclusive new video of the apartment where it is believed Abdeslam was hiding, down these concrete stairs into a basement, and you see a small room cluttered with clothing, tarps, electronic equipment.

[12:05:11]It is a rare view into the hideout of a suspected terrorist and you can see the broken windows where the massive raid went down there. Authorities say Abdeslam was captured because he made a mistake using a cell phone that police were tracking.

WHITFIELD: All right, Molenbeek, the Brussels neighborhood where Abdeslam was arrested is being called a hot bed for radicalization. CNN's Clarissa Ward went there to figure out why.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLARISSA WARD, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: On the streets here, though, it actually feels like a normal working class neighborhood with a large immigrant population, but the problems here are beneath the surface largely. The lack of integration here is striking.

On the streets you will hear Arabic much more than you will hear French. When you talk to people, you will often hear people say they don't feel fully Belgian. They feel like second class citizens.

(voice-over): Molenbeek Imam Asad Majeeb says that younger second and third generation immigrants feel particularly marginalized.

IMAM ASAD MAJEEB, MOLENBEEK RESIDENT: There is a big community in Muslim that are feeling now that they are not Belgian citizen. The reason of that is first of all the unemployment of Belgians because they don't feel that they're accepted in this society.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: I am joined now by Shahed Amanullah, a former adviser to the U.S. State Department on combatting extremism online, and spent time in Molenbeek working with Muslim youth. Shahed, good to see you. So give us more detail as to why so many young Muslims in Molenbeek do feel disconnected from the rest of Belgium?

SHAHED AMANULLAH, WORKED WITH MUSLIM YOUTH IN MOLENBEEK: Well, I got the chance to spend time with a lot of Muslim youth in Molenbeek and the surrounding areas. Here's what I found. There's intense desire to feel wanted and belonging.

As a matter, there is one group of high school students that I met that eagerly showed me video of their trip to Auschwitz in an attempt to kind of understand Europe and their place in it.

But to a person, each of them told me that they didn't feel that those efforts were being appreciated. And in a place where they didn't feel connected to their parents' generation, and didn't feel a path to feeling Belgian, they're looking elsewhere for their identity. It is a really destabilizing place to be. That's what ISIS is taking advantage of. They are offering them a way to express their Muslim identity that they are not finding in their local neighborhood.

WHITFIELD: So they're particularly vulnerable when you spell it out like that, but then there's the person or persons that take advantage of that. How are they able to infiltrate this area, go unnoticed, and then be able to seize on those vulnerabilities right under the noses of people?

AMANULLAH: Well, I mean, as your reporting has shown, Molenbeek in particular and a lot of different places in Europe have been ghettoized. There are large groups of people that look like you, you can blend in easily.

A lot of people try to keep out of each other's business. The people that I spoke to in Molenbeek, they know that there is a stuff is going on and they are scared of it like everybody else.

So they just try to keep away from it, tend to daily lives which are already complicated and busy. It is in those cracks that these people can navigate.

WHITFIELD: But then where are the parents or loved ones or friend of any of these who were very vulnerable as you speak of, where are they to kind of intervene when they notice some behavioral differences or attitudinal changes to see someone is preying on them and potentially influencing them?

AMANULLAH: Well, you have to understand looking at places like Molenbeek is like looking at gang ridden areas in the United States. Often parents are busy, working multiple jobs, trying to make ends meet. Everybody is kind of on their own.

It is because of that loose family structure, loose community structure that people are able to come in and take advantage of it.

I wish it was a case where people were in each other's lives to catch people before they fall through the cracks, but there's a lot going on in these neighborhoods that we all, not just Belgian, but I think the global citizens need to try to address.

WHITFIELD: OK, and then what about as it pertains to intelligence or police, are they part of the solution? Because you hear on one hand people say if you have more police presence or patrolling, et cetera, it victimizes everybody and the wrong message may potentially be sent.

But then if you also hear those who are critical of intelligence gathering or police who say they're not in there enough to even understand the vulnerabilities or act in a productive way to prevent something terrible from happening.

AMANULLAH: I hear both from my contacts on the ground and also from my conversations. It is a high crime area. People want to feel safe in their neighborhoods like any other citizen, right. [12:10:05]So I hear those complaints and then of course, you hear the other complaints that you're being a little bit more -- casting a wide net. But there's no replacement for good law enforcement and good policing and good investigations.

I think people in Molenbeek expect that, but they expect also a partnership with law enforcement, so if you can make neighborhoods safer, take care of crime issues, make us feel like we are valued members then we will feel empower to cooperate even more.

WHITFIELD: All right, Shahed Amanullah, thank you so much for your time. Appreciate the expertise.

AMANULLAH: Thanks for having me.

WHITFIELD: All right, straight ahead, onto the road to the White House. Democratic voters will be caucusing in three states today, Washington, Alaska, and Hawaii. Next, why this might be a very good day for Bernie Sanders.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, they like them a lot in Havana. The Rolling Stones rocking that city there, that island nation, the first major international band to play there. And guess what, the show was free.

No official crowd estimate, but Cuban media says the venue holds a half million people and was nearly full. The Rolling Stones arrived the same week as President Barack Obama, who promised to end decades of mistrust and hostility between the U.S. and Cuba.

All right, soon voters in this country in three western states begin caucusing. The contest are in Washington State, Alaska, and Hawaii. Senator Bernie Sanders is favored in all three over Hillary Clinton.

He has received some big endorsements including this powerful ad airing in Hawaii featuring U.S. Representative Tulsi Gabbard.

[12:15:02](VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, Representative Tulsi Gabbard joining me from Hawaii. Aloha.

REPRESENTATIVE TULSI GABBARD (D), SUPPORTS BERNIE SANDERS: Aloha, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, so this ad, very personal for you and in it you explain your decision to serve in the Iraq war. So why is it that Senator Sanders the one who is speaking to you as the candidate of your choice?

GABBARD: Fredricka, the stakes in this election are so high. It is from that experience that I had serving in Iraq, serving in a medical unit where every single day I saw firsthand that high human cost of war. I'm supporting Bernie Sanders because he is that commander-in-chief who will exercise good judgment and foresight, who will take seriously the need to defeat our enemies, groups like ISIS and al Qaeda who are conducting these horrific attacks.

But who will have that good judgment to end these unnecessarily interventionist regime change wars that have cost our country trillions of dollars, thousands of lives, and continue to take a toll here at home.

When you look at the money that's been spent on these unnecessary wars, it is directly correlated to the constraints on resources here, the crumbling infrastructure that we see here in Hawaii and places like Flint, Michigan, and in other communities across the country.

The need to invest in really nation building here at home and that's what Bernie Sanders has committed to do and why I'm endorsing him for president and commander-in-chief.

WHITFIELD: Do you feel like Bernie Sanders has done a good job explaining his foreign policy at great length over former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton?

GABBARD: I think he has made clear some of the distinctions between the two of them. Obviously he speaks often about how he voted against the Iraq war, where Secretary Clinton voted for it.

The distinction between the fact that Secretary Clinton was the architect behind the military overthrow of Gadhafi in Libya, which has resulted in a completely failed state. Thousands of lives lost. Total chaos.

And ISIS now having a strong hold there, which they didn't have before, and the difference between the two of them on the current regime change war being waged in Syria.

Secretary Clinton supports that war, promises to continue it, and in fact escalate it by implementing a no fly zone, putting us directly into conflict with Russia.

Bernie Sanders has detailed how he is against continuing that regime change war against that no fly zone, and will continue to fight to defeat ISIS.

WHITFIELD: Does it seem as though Bernie Sanders has avoided details on ISIS, what his policies or proposals would be if he were in the White House, how he would address the global war on terror particularly as it pertains to ISIS.

GABBARD: I think first of all I want to say that in many of these debates, in many of these town halls, there really hasn't been the focus that I believe this question deserves, the question of what are the qualities that our next commander-in-chief need to have, what are we looking for.

What kind of decisions will they make? I think he has talked about his focus, but I think it really comes down to this question of judgment and what kind of commander-in-chief we'll have.

I'm supporting Bernie Sanders because he has shown through his record as well as the positions he has taken that he will take seriously the need to defeat our enemies, but he will stop these costly, unnecessary wars that have taken such a toll on our country.

WHITFIELD: When you step down as the vice chairwoman of the DNC and then endorse Bernie Sanders, were you making more a statement about who you're throwing your support behind or were you also making statement about separation or disappointment that you have with the DNC?

GABBARD: No, the decision that I made to resign as vice chair of the DNC was made because in that position you have to stay neutral. You can't and shouldn't be taking sides in one race or another, especially as we're talking about a Democratic presidential primary.

So I stepped down from that position to endorse Bernie Sanders for the reasons that I talked about. As a veteran, I recognize the high stakes in this election and the fact that people have not been talking enough about the most important question of war and peace.

And that most important responsibility that our next president will have as commander-in-chief.

WHITFIELD: All right, Representative Tulsi Gabbard, mahalo.

GABBARD: Mahalo to you, thank you.

[12:20:02]WHITFIELD: All right, Tuesday night, the three Republican candidates will appear on CNN for a town hall in Wisconsin, coming just one week before the primary in that state. The town hall airs Tuesday night, 8:00 p.m. right here on CNN. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: At least two Americans are confirmed dead, more remain unaccounted for in the Belgium attacks. The bombings also injured 14 Americans and impacted lives of families and friends all over the world. CNN's Brynn Gingras has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hope is now heartbreak for Emily Eisenman (ph), her boyfriend and Belgium native, Bart Migom (ph) is among 31 people killed in Tuesday's attacks. His family identified the 21-year-old's body Friday.

EMILY EISENMAN, BART MIGOM'S GIRLFRIEND: I'm going to miss the fact that he was my best friend and I just feel like I could spend the rest of my life with him. I always told this to him at the end of our phone calls. It means Bart is always in Emily's heart.

GINGRAS: The horrific news delivered to the Pinczowski family as well, Alex and Sasha were checking into their flight headed to New York. Their family confirmed it received a list of the survivors at a Brussels hospital and the siblings weren't on it.

[12:25:10]In a statement, the family said, "We are grateful to have closure on this tragic situation and are thankful for the thoughts and prayers from all." This as Secretary of State John Kerry made a sobering announcement, Americans also among those killed.

JOHN KERRY, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: The United States, I want you to know is praying and grieving with you for the loved ones of those who have been very cruelly taken from us.

GINGRAS: A senior U.S. official confirmed two Americans among the victims, but their identities have not yet been released. Some families are still waiting for word, like those of Justin and Stephanie Schultz from Tennessee who are still missing.

They were dropping off Stephanie's mother, Carolyn Moore, at the airport. Moore was visiting the couple that live in Brussels. She survived the blast, but says she has still not heard from her daughter or son-in-law.

And an emotional reunion for surviving victim, Mason Wells and his parents. Wells, a missionary from Utah is suffering from severe burns. This is the third terrorist attack he survived. He remembers this one vividly.

MASON WELLS, BRUSSELS ATTACK SURVIVOR: I was looking down, all of a sudden a huge blast came from the right. I think my body was actually picked off the ground for a moment. A large part of the right side of my body got really hot and then really cold, and I was covered in a lot of fluids, a lot of blood. And a lot of that blood wasn't mine.

GINGRAS: Brynn Gingras, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: On this Easter weekend, thousands turn out in the square in Brussels, paying homage to the many injured and the dead. We'll be right back.

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[12:30:24] WHITFIELD: All right, welcome back. It is voting day in the Democratic presidential race. Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders are battling over 142 delegates in Alaska, Hawaii and Washington State.

Clinton has an extremely comfortable lead ahead of today's contest. She has won 1711 delegates. That's including super delegates to Sanders' 952. And at a rally last night in Seattle, Sanders looked ahead to key contests in May and June.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS, (I-VT) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And I believe that if we win here in Washington, we're going to win in California. We are going to win in Oregon. And we've got a real path towards victory to the White House. And let me also say that if we win the Democratic nomination, we are going to win the general election.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, joining me right now, a Democratic Strategist and Bernie Sanders supporter Nomiki Konst and CNN Political Commentator, Democratic Strategist and Clinton supporter Hilary Rosen. Good to see you ladies.

All right so, Nomiki, you first, you know, Mr. Sanders saying there, we have a real path toward victory. Is the expectation fairly high that he'll do well today perhaps in those three states?

NOMIKI KONST, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Absolutely. I think that all of the blogs that do these estimates from RealClearPolitics to FiveThirtyEight.com, all the wizards giving Bernie Sanders an 85 percent chance or more in each of these states.

And what that means is you have a hundred -- a little bit over a hundred delegates in Washington, about 20 or so in Alaska, and another 16 or so in Hawaii.

So that makes up a little over half the difference right now in pledge delegates between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders.

And come, you know, June 7th, that means he could catch up if not surpass Hillary Clinton in pledge delegates.

Yeah, Bernie Sanders has always said from the beginning that the delegate count in the beginning is going to be higher toward Hillary because the stakes in the beginning are more Conservative.

And that's the way the Democratic Party set it up in the '80s. They moved Super Tuesday to the all southern states for the more establishment candidates which is more from the establishment candidates in the 80s. And they also set up the super delegate in 80s. So that's they have prevent any insurgent candidate.

So we have a different party today with a much more progressive party. And I think that these western states are more of a reflection of the independent, newer Democratic thinking voter. And it's going to be good for Bernie Sanders from June 7th when he catches up.

WHITFIELD: So Hillary, is Clinton and her campaign a little too presumptuous, you know, instead of, you know, focusing I guess on Bernie Sanders making the comparison, continue to draw the distinctions. Instead she is spending a little bit more time talking about the frontrunner, Donald Trump.

HILARY ROSEN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, first let me say I think its super cool that Bernie Sanders could fill Mariners Stadium last night with a screaming crowd. More power to him. That was great. But having said that, I think the math we just heard isn't exactly accurate. But, you know, first of all, these are not going to be winner take all caucuses today. So Hillary Clinton is going to get delegates regardless of whether Sanders wins or not. So you keep having a proportional lead going into big states like, you know, New York and Pennsylvania and Maryland over the course of the, you know, next two weeks where she has a significant lead. And the delegates will just switch the opposite way.

Having said that, look, both Bernie sanders and Hillary Clinton are taking on Donald Trump appropriately so, because that is the conversation happening in this country.

I think Democrats have essentially decided that Hillary Clinton is going to be the nominee. All of the polls show that. They like Bernie Sanders. They want to keep hearing from him. He is raising important issues. But people are anticipating a general election match up with Clinton, Trump.

WHITFIELD: And Nomiki, you know, Hawaii Democrats, you know, they're going to be caucusing this evening. And Tulsi Gabbard, congresswoman in that state, she was just on with me moments ago, she's featured in a Sanders ad and she also reiterated as she spoke with me, talking emotionally about her military service and that she, you know, really started leaning toward Bernie Sanders, knowing his track record was he did not vote for, you know, the war in Iraq.

[12:35:02] So that I guess Bernie Sanders' campaign is starting to kind of roll out, you know, kind of, you know, some of the big dogs, so to speak such as, you know, Tulsi Gabbard. Is that, you know, a sign of the camp feeling nervous or feeling like it has to make a more poignant statement about where he would be on national security or foreign policy by bringing out someone else to speak on it more so than himself?

KONST: Well, I think it's no surprise that campaigns have surrogates. Hillary Clinton has literally hundreds of surrogates between her Super PAC surrogates and her campaign surrogates. So when you think about where Bernie Sanders was ten months ago. He was at 3 percent, had no money in the bank and nobody was showing up to any of his, you know, speeches.

Now you've got Seattle stadiums being sold out, he's collecting millions of dollars and 27 Donald Trump donations millions of contributions, excuse me.

And he's got, you know, a couple dozen surrogates, he's got establishment here. And I have to say that respect Hilary Rosen, but it just doesn't make sense. Democrats are very slick. If they work, let them, you wouldn't have over 80 percent of those under 40 supporting a different candidate. You wouldn't have these have stadiums being sold out.

WHITFIELD: Wasn't the same time isn't it kind of perplexing though, Nomiki, that, you know, while you have a stadium, you know, Mariners Stadium it's filling up, you have giant rallies. But then when you look at the numbers in terms of proposed delegates, it just doesn't seem to match up. So is there the turnout fascination with him, the message. But then when people get, you know, whether they're caucusing or going to, you know, the voting booth, they vote otherwise.

KONST: Well it's ...

ROSEN: I think Democrats like the message. And there's no question Democrats like what Bernie Sanders is saying. But, you know, this week is kind of a good example where virtually the entire country was talking about terrorism and what happened in Brussels. And Bernie Sanders didn't veer at all really from his economic justice message.

Now that's an important message. But people are worried about a commander-in-chief.

WHITFIELD: OK. You know, we talk about those who are campaigning for others, for Hillary Clinton she got, you know, she's got a big dog, she's got, you know, Bill Clinton campaigning hard, you know, for his wife. But the former president did make some comments on the trail this week, that some took as a kind of a swipe of President Barack Obama. Hillary Clinton was asked about it during her appearance on Jimmy Kimmel show and this is what was said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMMY KIMMEL, HOST, JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE: I think it last week he said something to the effect of Hillary Clinton presidency would makeup for, what was the exact word, the awful legacy of the last eight years. And a lot of people thought that was a shot at President Obama.

HILLARY CLINTON, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Yeah, it wasn't. Yeah, it was obviously not. I mean he nominated President Obama for a second term. And we are both very proud supporters of President Obama. But what it was, was the recognition that President Obama, who I think doesn't get the credit he deserves for getting as much done in our country has faced this implacable wall of hostility from the Republicans.

We're seeing it again, Jimmy, with their opposition to even meeting with and considering the president's nominee for the Supreme Court. That to me is just beyond partisanship.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So Hilary, real quick, you know, that kind of cleaning up, will it be a distraction?

ROSEN: Oh, I mean, I don't think there's any question people believe that Hillary Clinton has been loyal to President Obama. And in fact her biggest fights with Bernie Sanders have been over her loyalty to Barack Obama.

But, you know, the interesting question I think is whether anyone can really change the partisanship that has occurred. I think she wants to. And talking about it, I think what she said on Jimmy Kimmel, is what she really believes which is, is intractable partisanship has become so debilitating for the country. You know, I have my doubts really that Republicans will ever willingly give up power.

WHITFIELD: All right, Hilary Rosen, Nomiki Konst, we will leave it right there. Happy Easter weekend.

KONST: Thank you Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Tuesday night, the three Republican candidates appear on CNN for a town hall in Wisconsin, it comes just a week before the primary there.

The town hall airs Tuesday night, 8:00 eastern right here on CNN.

[12:39:24] We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think we have to change our law on, you know, the water boarding thing, where they can chop off heads and they can drown people in cages, in heavy steel cages. And we can't water board.

CLINTON: We have to toughen our surveillance our interception of communication. We have to also toughen as you say soft targets with, you know, greater police presence.

TED CRUZ, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We need a comprehensive strategy to utterly destroy them, that involves carpet bombing them to oblivion.

SANDERS: There needs to be improved intelligence sharing with United States and our allies all over the world.

JOHN KASICH, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I would also involve our friends in the Arab community to know that radical Islam is also intent on destroying and threatening them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, this week presidential candidates have doubled down on their own policy, foreign policy messages outlining how they would address acts of terrorism as commander-in-chief.

Christian Whiton, is a national security advisor to Senator Ted Cruz and a former state department senior adviser under George W. Bush. Christian, welcome.

CHRISTIAN WHITON, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR TO TED CRUZ: Thanks, great to be here.

WHITFIELD: So I wonder, you know, in light of this week's attacks in Brussels, you know, why is it your candidate felt like he also needed to step into this kind of war of words over wise with Donald Trump? Did that kind of undermine his dialogue about foreign policy? WHITON: No, I think it's important to confront Donald Trump. We have seen once again why Trump is so unsuited to be president. These may sound like tough positions on paper, when they're put on to bumper stickers, let's water board the terrorists, but that wouldn't actually save any lives, in addition to torture being illegal and kind of un- American.

The idea that, first of all, anyone that knows anything about a terror cell knows that when one of their senior leaders is captured, all of their plans are changed, so simply torturing people we capture wouldn't actually unearth any future plans necessarily nor would it save American lives.

[12:45:11] We need to step back and actually look at how you undermine all of the support mechanisms that have led to Jihad in Europe and into places like San Bernardino here in California.

WHITFIELD: Well is there worry about, you know, what the global messaging is when Ted Cruz says, you know, it's important to, you know, police more Muslim communities here in the U.S. to help weed out or that be part of counterterrorism efforts. What's the message globally that Ted Cruz is sending if he were indeed commander-in- chief?

WHITON: Well, I think we're going to get a little more into that in the near future because to talk about more surveillance in the United States, actually when you get down to it, is working with Muslims. This is something the New York Police Department did under Liberal, Michael Bloomberg, has now been stopped by the even more liberal mayor of New York.

But the idea of working with clerics at mosques and other senior, you know, leaders in Muslim communities to expose the Jihadist, to expose those who want to subvert modernity, subvert democracy and replace it with terror and theocracy. That's actually helping Muslims, in working with Muslims to turn on the bad apples.

So around the world that actually should be an appealing message. And importantly, it's very different than the last eight years because Ted Cruz is not afraid to see what we see, to say what is going on that radical Islam is at war with America, is at war with the west. I mean just being honest, which is something of course that President Obama and Hillary Clinton have not done.

WHITFIELD: So this is what Ted Cruz said specifically in a statement Tuesday. "We need to empower law enforcement to patrol and secure Muslim neighborhoods before they become radicalized." But translation to a number of people in the Muslim community, many people have expressed that there's this feeling statements like that mean, you know, Muslims are being painted with a very broad brush.

WHITON: Yeah, I think you're going to see that sentiment from groups like the Council of American Islamic Relations which is an Islamist group that is attempting to basically label any Muslim who wants to work with police as an Uncle Tom. You know what again, once you get farther into this, what we're talking about is working with Muslims to expose the Jihadists. And also not to wait until we're attacked, not to wait until the shooting and bombing starts. But to look at the root causes of the problem, which isn't I would say the Muslim religion. It is political Islam. It's these beliefs in violent jihad actually starting making that ...

WHITFIELD: So then, what's the message end up -- what is the message that is sent, particularly for Muslims who say they are feeling disenfranchised, they're not feeling that they're wholly accepted, particularly into U.S. society. And are we now sending very different messages with that?

WHITON: Well, I think the message is they're going to have a friend in the Oval Office if they want to confront the people who are trying to pervert their religion. If they are up for taking on the Islamists, the people who want bureaucracy and tyranny, I mean that is the key distinction here. We talk about ISIS and killing ISIS is very important for starters. But of course, you know, we're dealing with a movement that spiked in recent years but has been around for many decades.

And the people who are going to win that are Muslims, calling for a type of reformation. Calling for the separation of politics and religion basically undoing what ISIS and al-Qaeda and the Muslim brotherhood have wanted to.

So it maybe a little jarring at first because this isn't the type language we've heard for the last eight years under Obama. And frankly it's also different than what we had under George W. Bush. And you can say Islam is the religion of peace or it is not. It's sort of neither here nor there. The fact of the matter is we're dealing with a religion we have to confront -- excuse me an ideology we have to confront.

WHITFIELD: All right, Christian Whiton, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

WHITON: Thank you, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, CNN of course the place to be for today's caucusing results. Stay with us for complete coverage and analysis beginning at 2:00 eastern time.

[12:48:55] And we'll be right back.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When John Levisay started his latest business center, he and his cofounders dreamed of the next generation of online university.

JOHN LEVISAY, CRAFTSY: We felt like online education is broken, when we first started the company, we tested a lot of different classes by international history and personal finance. But what we really saw work was life-style categories, quilting, knitting, cooking, cake decorating.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Take one.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: John and his partners began classes to meet the demand and Craftsy came into focus, online classes in categories such as cooking, knitting, art and more.

LEVISAY: We went out, talked to quilters and knitters, we realized there's a lot of technical skills that really need to be learned to be able to do these crafts well.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As the lines for the cap.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Craftsy now offers hundreds of classes a year. Sell supplies to an ever growing base. And it's something John sees as evolution of the growing maker movement.

LEVISAY: I think one of the reasons our classes resonate with people so much because it's, it's really entertainment. People watch our classes and they enjoy watching them, and they're fun. But they also then take away tangible skills that they can use to make things.

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WHITFIELD: All right, welcome back. Belgium's prime minister says his country needs to improve its strategy against terrorism after this week deadly attacks. During the raids this week, Belgian officials discovered 33 pounds of TATP explosives.

When they searched the house apparently used by the suspected Brussels airport attackers, TATP is nicknamed the Mother of Satan because the white crystal powder can easily be set off by too much heat.

And what's particularly alarming is how easily terrorist can acquire these bomb making materials.

Nick Valencia went to Alabama for a law enforcement explosives training course and he found out it is indeed that simple.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's sobering and frightening just how terrifyingly easy it is to make a bomb. We didn't know anything about bomb making before going into this assignment. But we were able in a matter of 45 minutes, to create three explosives that work and could deadly.

And as far as I was saying that real frightening thing about this is that the products to make the bombs are easily accessible.

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[12:55:00] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fire in the hole.

VALENCIA: Here in rural Alabama, elite members of law enforcement agencies from around the world prepare for the worst case scenario. It's state of the art training against global terrorism.

JORIS KERCKHOFF, BRUSSELS FEDERAL POLICE: It's all about saving lives.

VALENCIA: For Joris Kerckhoff. This all hits close to home. He's a Brussels police officer and K-9 handler. Ironically sent to the U.S. for training as his city was hit. Had he been in Belgium, he says, he would have likely been guarding the subway during the attacks.

KERCKHOFF: If the knowledge that we have here. We can share that with the rest of the world who also wants to make it a better world. I think that's one step in a good direction.

RYAN MORRIS, FOUNDER, TRIPWIRE OPERATIONS GROUP: This is what we know that they're using all over the world.

VALENCIA: Ryan Morris founded the training company Tripwire in 2005. He says the lessons he teaches are critical in the fight against Isis and beyond.

MORRIS: Personally, the conventional explosive side, like det cords and dynamites and C4 and things of that nature. That doesn't bother me. The things that bother me are the stuff you can make in your house, you can make in your garage, you can make it anywhere.

VALENCIA: And we found out first-hand what he meant.

MORRIS: So go ahead, grab some ammonium nitrate.

VALENCIA: All right, how much? This whole cup here?

Morris shows us how, in a matter of minutes, anyone can make this kind of explosive.

So I'm holding two very volatile bombs in my hands. This one has three components to it. This one has two components to it

MORRIS: And we're going to take that and put it on the ground just so you can see what that does.

VALENCIA: Three, two, one. Fire in the hole.

What I found just absolutely terrifying about this entire experience is just how simple and easy it is to make an explosive using ordinary household products, products capable of inflicting massive causalities.

It's these explosives training courses that are crucial to stopping those who want to inflict chaos. For Morris and the team around him, their success is a matter of life and death.

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VALENCIA: Ryan Morris is featured in that piece, says, it's a matter of understanding the enemy, he says, not a matter of if but when the next attack occurs. Fred.

WHITFIELD: Sobering indeed. All right, thank you very much Nick Valencia.

VALENCIA: Yeah.

WHITFIELD: Appreciate it.

All right, the next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM starts right after this.

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