Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

The Paris Attackers; The White House Easter Egg Roll Kicking Off; Economic Issues Top 2016 Voters' Concerns; Airport Security Needs To Change; Syrian Forces Recaptured Palmyra; Merrick Garland To Meet Senator Mark Kirk; Recall Petition For Michigan Governor; California Raising The Minimum Wage. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired March 28, 2016 - 10:30   ET

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

[10:30:20]

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me.

Are we going to go on? OK.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO (voice-over): Drinking, dancing and smoking pot? This was life before ISIS for the Paris attackers Salah and Brahim Abdeslam. This new video shows the brothers partying at a high end nightclub in Brussels just eight months before those deadly attacks. Now the man who shot this video are speaking to CNN under the condition we keep their identities anonymous. During an exclusive with CNN's Nina dos Santos interview the brothers' friends describe what the men were like before they turned to terror.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think things snapped in one go. It must have been little by little.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They were nice people. They had a lot of fun. They loved life.

Salah took care of himself. He was very neat. Someone who is funny that you're going to have a laugh with. A bit of a lady's man. It wasn't unusual for him to have a drink or two, but he didn't go out and get drunk.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Brahim was a lot more intelligent he was also better behaved.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Brahim, he's the man on the right, blew himself up with a suicide vest during the Paris attacks. Salah Abdeslam on the left was finally captured by police earlier this month after an international man hunt.

Let's bring in CNN's intelligence and security analyst Bob Baer. He's also a former CIA operative. I'm also joined by retired Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt. He served as the former assistant secretary of state for political military affairs under George W. Bush. Welcome to both of you.

So Bob, how do two men go from partying in eight months -- like how do two men in eight months go from partying to religious extremists, to blowing up a cafe in Paris?

ROBERT BAER, CNN INTELLIGENCE AND SECURITY ANALYST: You know, Carol, this is the problem, trying to profile these people, even the 9/11 hijackers were out partying before.

These people take a very selective reading of the Koran where alcohol is forbidden. They're in and out of jail. They're at loose ends. All of a sudden they find belief and like any new believers they turn radical very quickly, and it's influenced by neighbors, by friends, and the rest of it.

They're looking for a meaning and purpose in life and it happens to be martyrdom. And secondly, they identify with the conflicts in the Middle East, the bombings and the orthodox Sunnis. It's a distant conflict, but all of a sudden in their minds they decide they have to contribute and do something and make something of their lives. It's a huge radical jump but it happens so often.

COSTELLO: General Kimmitt, there is no profile though of like who exactly will be, you know, turned on by these extremists overseas. How difficult does that make it for the military to fight ISIS?

BRIG. GEN. MARK KIMMITT, U.S. ARMY, RETIRED: Well, as Bob said, we have no idea primarily who is being drawn into these radical circles. It could be anybody off the street.

In many ways it's much as we in the U.S. military recruit our people, we look for young men ready to adhere to a higher purpose, ready to go off to foreign lands and fight for that purpose. Clearly different objectives in the case of the radical jihadist and what the U.S. military does, but I am less concerned about once they're on the battle field. I'm more concerned about when they go back to their home countries, or if they never leave their home countries and become home grown radicals, home grown terrorists. That's the greatest danger.

COSTELLO: And I can understand that. I can. You know, but the United States is trying everything possible, it seems, to defeat ISIS in the field of battle. And they seem to be making some progress and many say it's not fast enough.

And also, Bob, I guess I want to ask you this question. So supposedly American forces are making progress against ISIS and that's causing home grown extremists to act, is that true?

BAER: I think it is. I think there's been huge setbacks for the Islamic state. As the General Kimmitt said, we're doing just fine on the field of battle.

We will defeat this group with allies. We will take Raqqa again. The problem is the paradox, if you like, is that these same people are going to react by lashing out Europe and possibly the United States. People are going to still identify with this conflict and in defeat they become more dangerous, and these explosives are so easy to make, and the technology is easy to spread, that I think we haven't seen the end of the Brussels type attack in Europe by no means.

[10:35:13]

COSTELLO: All right. I have to leave it there. Bob Baer, General Mark Kimmitt, thanks to both of you.

All right. Let's head out to Washington D.C. to talk about something happy for a change. This is a 138-year-old tradition. You're looking at live pictures of the South Lawn at the White House where the annual Easter Egg Roll is about to get underway. More than 35,000 people coming out for this event. Athena Jones is nearby. Good morning, Athena.

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. That's right this is a bright light amidst all the sad news. No politics. Just a whole lot of fun a whole lot of people.

You mentioned more than 35,000 tickets, 35,000 people are going to be running all over the South Lawn which becomes basically a playground, a child's paradise. We'll hear from the president and first lady in a few minutes from now coming out there on the balcony. They may or may not be accompanied by a giant bunny rabbit as they have in years past.

And this is all about all sorts of things. The theme this year is "Let's Celebrate", it being the last Easter Egg Roll of the Obama administration. We're also going to have "Let's Move" activities. You know, basketball. There are going to be tennis stars, athletes from football, all different kinds of athletes will be out playing with the kids.

Almost every year you see people hula hooping. There'll be performances by bands. Shonda Rhimes who's the producer of "Scandal" will be here. The chef Jose Andres will be here. Shaquille O'Neal is set to be one of the guest, and also Idina Menzel which every practically every child in America knows as the singer of the song from "Frozen" "Let it Go". So those are just among some of the guests here.

And of course the president and the first lady take part. They read stories. They help out in the Easter Egg Roll. They help out on basketball court showing kids how to make a basket. So a day of fun and excitement. The hot ticket in town this Monday, Carol.

COSTELLO: Athena, you forgot about the slightly creepy Easter bunny that will appear with the president and first lady (INAUDIBLE).

JONES: That's what I said. But there's almost always that giant Easter bunny. I can't see those pictures right now, but it's pretty entertaining.

COSTELLO: Yes. That's my very, very favorite part. Soon they'll be out on the balcony there and president and first -- I guess the president and the first daughters will address the crowd, and then maybe the president will go down and read stories to the children, and then they'll begin the Easter Egg Roll and Easter egg hunt.

And I have to admit, Athena, this is one of my favorite events. We'll get back to you when it all gets underway in earnest. Athena Jones reporting live from the White House this morning.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, outrage over the economy, why 2016 voters are so upset when it comes to America's money problems. But first, let's get a check on the big boards shall we? An hour after the opening, the Dow is slightly up. Bumped up by rising oil prices. They're nearing $40 a barrel now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:41:55]

COSTELLO: All right. We're back out at the South Lawn of the White House. You can see the president and Mrs. Obama have arrived on the balcony. They're talking to the crowds (INAUDIBLE) waiting for the Easter Egg Roll to begin, and the creepy bunny is just off to the side of Michelle Obama. Let's just listen in for just a second.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: A huge round of applause, and I want to thank the first lady of the United States, Michelle Obama.

MICHELLE OBAMA, FIRST LADY: Thank you, honey. Here. You take sunny. Hi, everybody. Happy Easter Egg Roll day. Are you all having a good time?

COSTELLO: OK, we're coming back. But you get the flavor of this and Christine Romans is sitting beside me. And she has a big smile on her face.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: It's (ph) such (ph) a happy (ph) event (ph). Everyone loves Easter eggs. Yes.

COSTELLO: Exactly.

ROMANS: I love it because I took all my Easter candy here and left it on the desk for other people to eat. But I'll be over there shortly.

COSTELLO: Exactly.

ROMANS: (INAUDIBLE) Skittles (ph) (INAUDIBLE).

COSTELLO: But you're not here to talk about candy or happy Easter stories.

ROMANS: No.

COSTELLO: You're here to talk about angry voters.

ROMANS: Angry voters. We've seen it again and again in this primary season. It's a primary voter that is essentially very angry about the direction of the American economy. And even though, Carol, our exit polls show that six in 10 of these voters roughly (ph) six in 10 say their own economy is OK, they're worried. They're very worried.

And here's what they're not feeling. They're not feeling some of the things that have been going right in the economy, 4.9 unemployment rate, for example. A stock market that's up 200 percent in seven years.

Carol, did you know home prices rose 11 percent last year and 25 percent of the housing market is now up there at record highs again? But this is what they feel. This is the chart they really feel. This is median household income. This is how much a company -- a family has, they earn every year.

After Bill Clinton's presidency of the 90's look at how well households did. And then came sort of these twin shocks of after 2000, and then 2008, and now families are not making as much as they were. They feel that.

This is particularly bad for people without college degrees. And by the way there are millions and millions and millions of people who are trying to make a living without a college degree when the media establishment, the political establishment, the party establishment, the business establishment keeps saying if you want to succeed in this economy, get a college degree -- oh by the way with all the debt that goes with it.

There's also an unease about the number of manufacturing jobs. And we do know that there are fewer factories today than there were even 10 years ago, thousands fewer. Look at this. There were 352,000 factories in 2001. There were 292,000 in 2013.

And you know, you've heard on the campaign trail, you know, blaming trade deals, blaming technology, blaming globalization. There are a lot of reasons why the changes are happening. But I think when you talk about how the establishment missed that gnawing -- 25 years of gnawing suspicion in the voting class, and they missed it, and it has really just erupt this time around.

COSTELLO: Yes. I don't think we'll be hearing about tax breaks for the job creators this time around.

[10:45:01]

ROMANS: It's a whole new vocabulary. It's about the game is rigged. It's about it's not a fair shake. It's about there have to be more opportunities.

And what voters don't want to hear is that there are lots and lots of jobs available. There are 6 million job openings. There are skilled manufacturing companies that are desperate to hire workers. That doesn't reverberate at all.

This is about fairness. The idea that globalization has meant the rest of the world has been able to grow their middle classes while ours has stagnated or worse has gotten smaller. And that is going to be the narrative. I think everyone missed it. I think the thought leaders all missed it. And that is the narrative of this election for sure.

COSTELLO: All right. Christine Romans, many thanks.

ROMANS: Welcome.

COSTELLO: I appreciate it.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, in the wake of the terrorist attacks in Belgium, is it time to rethink airport security?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:50:07]

COSTELLO: Airport security check points in Europe are getting reinforcements. Officials adding police and military personnel in the wake of the Brussels terror attacks. But is that enough? Let's talk about that now with Eddie Miceli, an airport security expert.

Welcome, Eddie.

EDDIE MICELI, AIRPORT SECURITY EXPERT: Good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: Good morning. Thank you for being here.

The response to the Brussels attack has been followed by the typical blueprint, more man power. Is that the answer?

MICELI: Well, the problem with airport security, Carol, is that it is pretty much like electronic technology, devices like computers, cell phones. If it's not updated on a frequent basis, the product or service will become obsolete.

We are dealing with technology or logistics which was implemented back in 2001 after the terrorist attacks, and it has not been able to keep up or update itself, and these people are ahead of us. Unfortunately this is what's happening. It is a public place, a public location, and no matter what kind of security they have which is, again, outdated, it is obsolete. It needs to be changed and updated now immediately.

COSTELLO: Eddie, how does it need to be changed?

MICELI: There are many ways. Everybody talks about the security in Tel Aviv Ben Gurion Airport which is -- everybody knows it is the best in the world. They have the best profiling system there is.

However, it is going to be very difficult to implement the same security at large airports like Heathrow. Here in the United States we have the most -- the busiest airports in the world, so the traffic is completely different, the movement, the passenger movement. But what I'm saying is there are very, very difficult areas to work for. Exactly the airport lobby, the main lobby where the ticket counter is that is an area that -- it is not safe whatsoever. Anyone can walk from the street, go to the ticket counter without being checked. Bags, you name it. Security begins right at the check point where the bags and the passengers are screened. So there's a big gap from the street.

COSTELLO: So Eddie, what needs to be done? Does luggage need to be checked before it enters the airport facility? Is that's the answer? And if that's so that's would be an extensive proposition.

MICELI: Absolutely. It is expensive, but we're talking about lives, Carol, and something needs to be done now because they're stepping over us. This cannot continue like this. It has to be beefed up. And from now on, somebody has to say OK, this is the time to act globally, and implement new measures which will prevent these accidents or terrorist attacks to happen again at these public places.

COSTELLO: But when you talk about -- Eddie, when you talk about checking people before they enter the airport facility, you're talking about a lot of extra security personnel, and a lot of extra equipment, aren't you? Wouldn't that cost millions and millions of dollars for each individual airport? And is that really feasible?

MICELI: Yes. It's going to cost a lot of money, but so it is costing the actual security measures that they have which is obsolete. TSA in the United States, it is extremely expensive, and we know that there are daily security breaches happening within the TSA system.

Yes, the system needs to be overhauled completely. And we need scanners at the main entry door for each airport. We need additional law enforcement personnel right there to detect and act immediately. One second of distraction could be fatal as we already witnessed in Brussels.

COSTELLO: Eddie Miceli, thanks for your insight. I appreciate it.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, Syrian forces have recaptured the city of Palmyra. How long could it take to restore ancient ruins damaged by ISIS?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:55:16]

COSTELLO: Checking some top stories, 58 minutes past.

The newly recapture city of Palmyra, Syria's antiquities chief says it could take five years to restore ancient ruins damaged by ISIS. Work could start as early as next year.

Syrian forces retook the city over the weekend. The victory coming 10 months after the terrorist group gained control of the city and started destroying those ancient ruins.

Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland meets with two Democratic senators today to discuss his chances of getting a hearing and a vote by the Senate. Senate Republicans have already said they will not consider any Supreme Court nominee until after the November election. But at least one Republican is breaking ranks. The White House says Senator Mark Kirk of Illinois has agreed to meet with Garland tomorrow.

Organizers of a campaign to recall the Michigan Governor Rick Snyder from office have now started gathering signatures. According to CNN affiliate "WDIV", the petition is being circulated by an activist in Flint. It says the governor failed citizens in his response to the water crisis. They'll need 800,000 signatures to get the petition on the November ballot -- or to get the issue rather on the November ballot.

Lawmakers and union leaders strike a deal in California raising the minimum wage to $10.50 an hour next year. And then it will gradually rise to $15 an hour over the next six years. The "L.A. Times" says the move will prevent a costly political battle in the fall.

All right. I want to head back out to the White House to the South Lawn.

You see the president and the first lady. They're reading "Where The Wild Things Are" to a group of children.

Thanks for joining me today.