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New Day Saturday
Kerry Makes Surprise Stop in Afghanistan; ; Sanders Thanks Bill Clinton For Psychoanalysis; Sanders, Clinton Battle Over Who's More "Qualified"; Trump Targets Delegates With Staff Changes; Key Arrests Made In Paris, Brussels Attacks; Pope Urges Church to Embrace Gays, Divorced; Mississippi Tourism Suffers After New Law. Aired 6-7a ET
Aired April 09, 2016 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[06:00:03] CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: We're grateful to have you with us this morning as always. I'm Christi Paul.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Martin Savidge in for Victor Blackwell. Wonderful to be with you. Wonderful to be with all of you.
PAUL: So glad to have you here. Secretary of State John Kerry is on ground in Afghanistan this morning. Another surprise stop in the Middle East for him -- or a surprise for us, I should say. This of course follows a day that was spent with Iraqi leaders as well yesterday.
SAVIDGE: Kerry is making a stop in the Middle East to shore up relations with U.S. allies in the fight against terrorism. Elise Labott is on the phone with us. She is with Kerry on this trip. Elise, he is planning to meet with U.S. troops and Afghan leaders at a pivotal moment in that government, right?
ELISE LABOTT, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): This government, if you remember, about a year and a half ago, Secretary Kerry was here in Kabul negotiating with the national unity government led by President (inaudible) and Abdullah (inaudible), called the CEO of Afghanistan.
And since then they've struggled and they haven't really been able to formalize their government, so Secretary Kerry is here to talk to them to see if they can find some way at a compromise.
As you said, he'll also be meeting with U.S. and NATO troops here in Kabul. The Taliban has been leaking a lot of things with Afghan forces in the last year and so NATO forces are critical.
They assisted him to further draw down troops -- there will be about 5,500 come the end of the year. Some U.S. military commanders do not think it's a wise move.
They think it should be more condition-based and should stay for a little bit longer. And as we approach the season, they're in a strong situation, the security situation here deteriorating and ISIS is trying to get a foothold in the area.
So really a pivotal moment for Secretary Kerry to talk to the government not only about finding compromise but about their effort to form a reconciliation process with the Taliban. That's been stalled as well. And as they approach the fighting season, it doesn't seem as if the Taliban is ready to talk -- Marty.
SAVIDGE: Elise Labott there with the secretary of state. He's shown up for a surprise visit. We'll have a little more on this later on. Thank you very much, Elise.
PAUL: Meanwhile, new this morning the battle for New York is heating up. Democratic presidential candidates, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, campaigning there today. The war of words between them, though, regarding who is qualified to be president is far from over.
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JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST, "STATE OF THE UNION": In this back-and-forth with Secretary Clinton about her qualifications, I know that you have said that she is qualified. Bill Clinton today was asked about the comments and said, of course, you wouldn't have made the same charges if she were a man.
BERNIE SANDERS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Oh, my goodness.
TAPPER: And he said, I think there are some different standards for women. Some of them are subconscious.
SANDERS: I appreciate Bill Clinton being my psycho analyst, it's always nice, but the reality is that ever since Wisconsin when that became the sixth out of seven states that we have won in either caucuses or primaries, I think the Clinton campaign has made it public.
Basically they told the media here in New York they're about to become negative, about to beat us up. And I just want them to understand we have tried to run an issue-oriented campaign, but we're not going to be attacked every single way.
Our record is not going to be distorted. We are going to fight back. What I have said is a candidate like Secretary Clinton who voted for this disastrous war in Iraq, who has supported virtually every disastrous trade agreement and who receives incredible amounts of money.
We're talking about tens of millions of dollar from every special interest that you can think of from the billionaire class, you know, I have my doubts about what kind of president she would make.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SAVIDGE: It looked that both sides had called a truce with Sanders walking back his comments from earlier this week that he didn't believe Clinton is qualified to be president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANDERS: Does she have the experience? Obviously, she does. She was secretary of state, a U.S. senator, I thought an outstanding first lady in many respects, breaking the mold.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you think he's qualified for president?
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES: Yes. As I said, I would take him over Donald Trump or Ted Cruz any day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[06:05:05]PAUL: All right. Let's bring in Maria Cardona, a CNN political commentator, and Democratic strategist and Bernie Sanders supporter, Nomiki Konst.
Ladies, so glad to have you with us. Thank you so much. I would like to take your opinion on what we just heard there from Bernie Sanders and what he said about I have doubts about her qualities to be president referring to Hillary Clinton.
And saying that he believes Clinton has told that media they're going to be negative. They're going to, quote, "beat me up." Nomiki, this is a man who's staying above the fray. How really are his supporters taking these latest jabs?
NOMIKI KONST, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: I think the issue here stems back to the press release that was sent out by Brian Fallon basically that the communication person from the Clinton's campaign.
Basically setting out their strategy to disqualify Bernie Sanders, defeat him, and then unify the party. He is defending himself. I think Bernie Sanders is trying to focus on the issues.
When he talks about the difference in record between himself and Hillary Clinton, that's a discussion of their records. And I think that's what Democratic voters really want to discuss.
So when this disqualification debate started, the debacle, you know, it really is a distraction from the issues but he's trying to point out the fact that Democrats believe in a certain set of values.
And unfortunately based on who she is receiving donations from based on her record, based on her foreign policy experience, it really is in conflict with the Democratic voters, their core values.
And more importantly, you know, in any other industry, if you're accepting money from that industry, there's a conflict of interest. So when she accepts money from the oil and gas industry or she accepts money from hedge funders or when Hillary Clinton accepts money from big pharma, how are you going to reform those fields when they're funding your campaign? It's just comical at this point.
PAUL: OK, so we know that was a discussion we had last week as well about where the money was coming from. But I do want to get back on subject here. Maria, when we talk about this negative campaigning, it's something that we've seen on the GOP side. A lot of people have been very critical of it. Is it detrimental to both of these candidates at this point?
MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think if Bernie Sanders continues to double down on this incredibly silly and dumb comment about how Secretary Clinton is unqualified to be president, I think it will be detrimental to his campaign.
That's why we've seen him waffling back and forth, does he double down, does he not? And what we've seen today or in the last couple of days is that Senator Clinton is the adult in the room.
She said very clearly that Senator Sanders is qualified. But she'll continue to talk about why she thinks she is more qualified and it is based on her records and accomplishments and Bernie Sanders did promise to run an above board campaign and this is not an above board campaign.
KONST: That's not true.
(CROSSTALK)
PAUL: We need to get to something else is that was said yesterday that really caught a lot of attention and that's what Bill Clinton said when he was asked by a reporter in Erie, Pennsylvania, whether gender was a factor.
He said this, quote, "I think she would be the best president and I think it's obvious by a country mile and that's all that matters to me. Yes, I think there are some different standards. Some of them are subconscious." Maria, is there credence to what he's saying? I mean, are people subconsciously discriminatory?
CARDONA: I don't know that that's something that we can paint everybody with. Of course, there is subconscious and frankly some very conscious discrimination against women running for the highest office in the land. We saw that in 2008.
We're going to see in in this campaign and we have seen it. I'm not going to paint Bernie Sanders with that brush. I don't know him, but I'm going to assume that that's something he believes.
It doesn't matter. His comment was not a very strategic or smart comment to make accusing Secretary Clinton of being unqualified. People do not believe that. If he talks about all of the reasons why he believes she is unqualified, then frankly, he believes President Obama is unqualified as well.
KONST: Come on, Maria. Hillary Clinton has attacked President Obama for the exact same things in 2008. We're playing 2008 all over again.
CARDONA: He has taken the money --
PAUL: Ladies, one at a time. We can't understand. CARDONA: Let me finish.
PAUL: Maria, go ahead and finish and then Nomiki will get a chance.
CARDONA: President Obama has taken money from all of the industries that Bernie Sanders has taken -- Secretary Clinton (inaudible) for. If he believes that she's unqualified to be president, he believes it -- that President Obama has been unqualified to be president.
And frankly what Nomiki says is ridiculous in terms of Democratic values and Secretary Clinton not representing those because guess what? She's winning by 2.5 million votes and more than 240 pledged delegates and across the boards she wins Democrats in these primaries, not Senator Sanders.
[06:10:10]PAUL: We should point out she is ahead in New York. Nomiki, how much does the percentage of the win matter in New York, whether it be Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders? Does it have to be a huge gap and does it matter?
KONST: I think it matters in delegate count, but I think it's going to be very significant regardless if Bernie Sanders wins in New York State where he is from. The reality is just three weeks ago, Hillary Clinton was up by 30 percent and now she's up by almost 10 percent.
That is a problem. I mean, the issue here is not just about Democratic voters. It's about people who have left the Democratic Party because the ways of the Democratic Party have been completely sold out to corporate interest by the Clintons over the past 20 to 30 years.
So you have more independence, disenfranchised and dissatisfied voters who are coming into the process due to Sanders' political revolution.
But to go back to that sexism point, when you start using sexism so loosely and especially Bill Clinton of all people, it dilutes the message.
And as a feminist, you can understand why the younger feminists who really value the differences between just using it carelessly and using it willfully and purposely, that's why they're supporting Bernie Sanders.
His record, when he fights for minimum wage at $15 an hour, there's a reason why. That's why women are hurting. Single-parent household, they're the ones who are going to be affected by the minimum wage. The people lobbying against it are Wall Street.
CARDONA: These are all the things we should be talking about. When Senator Sanders talks about Clinton being unqualified --
KONST: You started it. Why are you saying it?
PAUL: I'm sorry. We have run out of time. We so appreciate both of your voices. Thank you, Maria Cardona and Nomiki Konst. Let me tell you Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton, both are appearing on "STATE OF THE UNION" with Jake Tapper tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. Eastern right here on CNN.
By the way, this Thursday night, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders facing off in a CNN Democratic debate live from Brooklyn, New York at 9 p.m. Eastern. Wolf Blitzer is moderating. Again, you can find that right here on CNN.
SAVIDGE: Much more ahead on NEW DAY. Trump makes moves to grab GOP (inaudible) before the convention, but Ted Cruz is racking up delegates today in Colorado.
PAUL: Also captured the final fugitive from the Paris terror attack is taken down. Was he part of the Brussels attack as well?
BLACKWELL: And the fight to stop ISIS, new information on the role the U.S. will play as Secretary of State John Kerry travels from Iraq to Afghanistan.
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[06:16:10]
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JIMMY FALLON, LATE NIGHT TALK SHOW HOST: Donald Trump says he's changing his campaign staff and adding a convention manager, which is the most creative way I've heard someone described bouncer. Get him out. Get him out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL: He does do well. Jimmy Fallon poking fun of Donald Trump's newest hire. Of course, Trump is taking time off the trail as the campaign figures out the delegate game, but he's not off Twitter, we should point out.
He was tweeting overnight, quote, "Isn't it a shame that the person who will have by far the most delegates and many millions more votes than anyone else, me, still must fight."
BLACKWELL: He does have a fight on his hands. He is at risk of getting swept by Ted Cruz in Colorado. Cruz has effectively won the state picking up 21 delegates this week. The last of its 34 delegates will be elected today.
So let's talk about the Trump strategy with our CNN political commentators, Errol Louis and Ben Ferguson. Good morning, Gentlemen.
Ben, let's start with you. Trump canceled his west coast trip. He's also going out to Colorado and staying in New York in a state that he is apparently leading by a very wide margin. Why has he been so quiet and why is he taking a little time away from the trail?
BEN FERGUSON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATORS: Well, I think the Trump campaign has figured out they have no idea what delegates are or how they work and this line that's being stolen from us has kind of fallen on deaf ears when it comes to delegates and how a convention works.
So what you're seeing is Donald Trump just now realized, wow, I may not get to the magic number. Remember, Mitt Romney got to the magic number to secure the nomination before the convention. So did Bob Dole. So did John McCain.
Two of the three, he's actually referred to as losers. Those losers were able to win the nomination outright. Why? Because they were stronger candidates.
Donald Trump who's obsessed about winning and being number one, he's not been able to secure this, and now you're going to go into a convention. The reality looks like and you're going to have a convention fight.
SAVIDGE: All right. Hold on. Hold on. Let me get Errol in. Cruz has been very strategic about winning these delegates where Trump and his campaign have clearly fallen short. What has Trump learned going forward out of this and I think ben has alluded to this that there has to be a kind of strategy when it comes to delegates, right, Errol?
ERROL LOUIS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes. I think they're learning a little late. You never know if it's going to work out for him. Even here in New York, Cruz has been campaigning, even though he's terribly unpopular if you look at the overall polls.
Again, he's being strategic. It's a modified proportional delegate allocation system for the Republicans here in New York, which means that even if in a district that's heavily, heavily Democratic.
And there's one here that has only 13,000 Republicans, if you can get half of them or close to half of them, you pick up a delegate or two. And so Cruz has been here campaigning in some very heavily Democratic areas of the Bronx.
By contrast, Donald Trump hasn't been here, although he lives in New York City. So, you know, he's learning, but he's really, really got to up the curve and I think the new hire is going to be one of the ways they try to catch up, but they've been very negligent about understanding this whole process.
SAVIDGE: OK, Ben, let's talk this new hire. He's hired Paul Maniford (ph) as a convention manager. Paul Maniford says that Trump can top the 1,237 figure. What is a campaign or a convention manager? What is his role really here?
FERGUSON: Well, really, the role should be for any campaign to make sure you have a good relationship with your delegates so if you do have to go past the first round of voting that you know that those people are going to be loyal to you.
[06:20:10]The other thing is you have to be cordial and reach out to people that may have supported as delegates in the first round that were bound to someone else. The biggest issue that Donald Trump is going to have is just how nasty and negative he's been toward Cruz's supporters, Rubio's supporters, Kasich's supporters.
Everybody has been talking for months about how Trump has a hard time getting over 30 percent, 35 percent in these states in polls in general --
SAVIDGE: Errol, do you agree that's the role of the -- let me just get Errol in here. Do you believe that's going to be the role?
LOUIS: That's right. It's a very specialized role. We've all been to conventions. The rules and the parliamentary rules and how all of this works and who's actually in the arena and who gets to cast a vote at what time and in what fashion is very arcane knowledge and it varies from state to state. Yes, it has been traditional that you find somebody who specializes just in that. So now Trump finally has somebody.
SAVIDGE: All right. Errol Louis, Ben Ferguson, thank you both. We'll be talking again.
FERGUSON: Thanks.
LOUIS: Thanks.
PAUL: So you all touched on it. We know that Colorado's delegates are going to be crucial here. How they're picked is any but politics as usual what we'll be talking about. We're going insight the delegate rodeo with you.
SAVIDGE: Plus, a major terrorist arrested in Belgium, is the man busted on a sidewalk, the suspected Brussels airport bomber?
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[06:25:05]
PAUL: Well, two of the world's top terror suspects are captured this morning.
SAVIDGE: The authorities believe they're linked to the massacres in Brussels and in Paris. One of them was allegedly involved in last month's subway station attack. The other Mohamed Abrini is one of the last one from the November Paris attacks on the run for months. That's him on the ground surrounded by police officers.
PAUL: Here's the big question. Is he also part of the cell that has attacked the Brussels airport?
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ERIC VAN DER SYPT, SPOKESMAN, BELGIAN FEDERAL PROSECUTORS OFFICE: At the moment, investigators are verifying whether Abrini Mohamed can positively be identified as the third person present at the Brussels National Airport.
(END VIDEO CLIP) PAUL: You heard him there. Could this be the so-called man in the hat that we have highlighted here finally captured. Remember him from the airport surveillance video you see here before the attacks.
SAVIDGE: Let's go live now to CNN senior international correspondent, Fred Pleitgen live in Brussels with the very latest. Fred, what do we know?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Good morning, Martin. There certainly is a sense of urgency here. I was on location when they captured Mohamed Abrini late last night. I can tell you there were forensic units on the scene well into the early hours trying to gather more evidence.
The main thing they're trying to find out is indeed is he the person on that surveillance camera from the airport camera, whether or not he is the so-called man in the hat. Right now, I'm actually in front of the federal prosecutor's office where they're trying to determine all this.
Of course, there are other things on his mind as well. What sort of lings does Mohamed Abrini possibly have to the Paris attacks. Remember, he was seen in the video with Salah Abdeslam.
Also, generally, what sort of overall role did he play in the planning and logistics of all of this. And finally, and this is something that many people criticized the Belgian authorities of doing in the past.
They're going to find out whether or not any sort of attacks might be planned in the future, whether or not there might be other people at large who could potentially be dangerous not just here in Belgium but in other European countries well.
As far as the second man, Osama Krayem, he's also particularly of interest because think he might have been in the bombing at the Metro station that happened, of course, during the Brussels attacks as well.
The Belgian authorities believe this is a big coup that they've landed. They believe the terror cells that have been attacking Belgium and Europe for such a long time is disrupted. They know they face future attacks as well.
SAVIDGE: They have to feel good that they have these two major arrests that have taken place in just about a week's time.
PLEITGEN: Yes, they certainly do. One of the things that happened yesterday is almost immediately after the arrest took place, the interior minister of the country came out and said, listen, this is a really big thing, we're really proud of our authorities.
But one of the things, Martin, we do have to keep in mind is the last time the Belgian authorities arrested a high profile suspect, Salah Abdeslam, who's believed to be the logistical mastermind between the Paris attacks, only three days after he was arrested, is when the Brussels attacks took place. So that's something where they really believe that at this point in time they might be in a race against time to try to see whether or not any parts of this cell, any parts of this network are still out there somewhere, where future attacks might have been in planning.
Whether those captured now might be related to that so nothing bad happens in the past weeks in the city that's been so ravaged by terror over the past couple of months -- Martin.
SAVIDGE: That is completely understood. Fred Pleitgen in Brussels for us. Thank you very much, Fred.
PAUL: Secretary of State John Kerry is on the ground in Afghanistan, and so are we learning more about the future of U.S. troops in that country.
SAVIDGE: Plus, does Mississippi's controversial religious liberty law expand business owners' constitutional rights or does it discriminate against gay people?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We decline on servicing them because I believe a marriage -- the marriage is instituted by God between a man and a woman, and that is my belief.
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[06:30:21] PAUL: Thirty-three minutes past the hour right now. And Secretary of State John Kerry is on the ground in Afghanistan. This is a surprise visit to the Middle East following yesterday's trip to Iraq, of course.
Secretary Kerry's Middle East tour is aimed at shoring up relations with U.S. allies in the fight against terrorism. Now, in Iraq, you see this video here, the focus is on ISIS, making sure government leaders there keep work to drive their forces back.
Then we move to Afghanistan this morning, the fight against that old familiar foe, the Taliban, as alliance fighters struggle. The Taliban is controlling more territory than at any time since 2001.
CNN senior international correspondent Nick Paton Walsh and CNN military analyst Lieutenant General Mark Hertling joining us right now.
Nick, I want to start with you. Talk about the timing of Kerry's arrival. What is the status of what's happening there?
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, two key issues. One is politically here in Carbal, the national unity government between President Ghani and the CEO of the country, Abdullah Abdulla.
Well, that's having real problems at the moment. A lot of criticism from both the internal political angle and the Afghan public, too, about the issues it's facing in (inaudible) forces and keeping itself going, paying basic salaries often as well. That's one key issue here.
The second one is security. As you said, the Taliban hold more territory now than any time since 2001. We have what they call the fighting season ahead in summer when it warms up, as does the violence on the ground. That's imminent.
There's a lot of pressure in Helmand, which the idea of the Taliban, frankly, being there on the ascendant there and holding an awful lot of it would be unthinkable if you talked to NATO officials just years ago. As of last year, according to the top U.S. official here, the Afghan forces lost 5,500 fighters alone. That's more than NATO lost in the entire time they've been here. And they're experiencing large levels of injury as well.
The opium production here is, according to the U.S. government, as high as it was back in 2000. By every metric, really, you look at, this is a conflict that's going very badly indeed. And the major goal here, peace talks, the Taliban -- well, that's something the Taliban has repeatedly said in the past weeks they're not interested in. And it's a key tenant of the U.S. policy here.
So it comes at an extraordinarily critical time. Everyone talks about how each summer is vital in Afghanistan, but this one, it really is. If a national unity government doesn't hold itself together with key reforms it needs to implement by September or October, there's a political vacuum here. So many Western officials say there simply isn't really a plan B to start to entertain, many awhile you slip back into war lording and into anarchy.
And then there's the broader security issue, too, of al-Qaeda, ISIS. They've taken a hit, ISIS, in the East. Al-Qaeda, though, are getting back on their feet here. That's a key U.S. national security worry, and it's one, frankly, you can't address if you continue on the White House's trajectory.
We have 9,800 troop this year and then 5,500 next year. If they pursue that, I think many are concerned that the Afghan government here won't have the foreign support. It's had so much of it over the past 15 years. It won't have that support, frankly, to hold itself together.
PAUL: My goodness. Nick Paton Walsh, thank you so much for really helping us understand it and giving us a sense of what's happening there.
General Hertling, I want to ask you about the fracture in the government there, as he was talking about. And how does that affect U.S. troops who there and what the U.S. can do moving forward?
LT. GEN. MARK HERTLING (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Yes, 2016 is a critical year, Christy. As Nick just said, it's an economy problem, a government problem, a security force problem in Iraq. And at the same time, you know, we were planning on drawing troops down and NATO has already starting to do that. The upcoming NATO conference is going to be critical, because nations
have to pony up once again for troops that they thought they were going to pull out to regain security in Afghanistan. There have been a lot of people who have said 2016 is the year that will make it or break it for Afghanistan, and with some of the debates going on, if you want to call them that, it's hatred between Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdulla. They do not like each other.
PAUL: Right, the two leaders.
HERTLING: So this is very tough. It's going to be a tough year there.
PAUL: Well, we've been focused so much on ISIS. How critical is the fight against al-Qaeda at this point?
HERTLING: Well, yes, it's a great point. They pulled the -- the Taliban were in peace talks with the Afghan government for a while. Then they left, because they thought they could -- they could withhold their forces as the -- withdraw of the announcement of U.S. forces came about.
Now, they're standing by, because they're being pulled by ISIS. They are pulling fighters -- ISIS is pulling fighters away from the Taliban. So they're trying to survive as well, and there is no requirement for them to come back to the peace talks.
PAUL: We have this new report here that the Obama administrations wants to send 250 additional troops --
HERTLING: Yes.
PAUL: -- to Syria as well. What would their role be? And do you agree that that's necessary at this point?
HERTLING: I do. And these are special operations forces, SOF, and you have to differentiate between special forces, which are part of that, that will help the Syrian freedom fighters continue their fight against ISIS, and special ops forces. These are the counterterrorism forces that will continue to fight for intelligence. It will contribute to a further defeat of ISIS in Syria.
PAUL: When you talk about who they're going to be partnering with, these moderate Syrian forces who are fighting ISIS, how accountable are those forces? Because Syria itself is in such disarray in terms of a government or any sort of leadership. How trustworthy are these moderate fighters that the U.S. is partnering with?
HERTLING: Well, there's an example we use called DOTS, depends on the situation. It really depends on who you're with. There are some that are very strong, some that are critically week. And over the last year plus, we've been able to tell more and more the differences between the two.
There are some good fighters over there. There are some fighters who just want to retain their government and bring about a more pluralistic style of society. There are some that are just flat out crooked, parts of corruption gangs, part of gangs, part of Al Nusra. So we've had a while to determine who the good ones and the bad ones are, but it's still a difficult fight.
PAUL: How confident are you in the fight in Syria?
HERTLING: Yes, in Syria, it's going to continue to be a long slog. We're making progress in Iraq, but Syria's a whole different story. But again, part of it is fighting for intelligence, knowing where ISIS is, and that's what these special operations forces are going to do.
PAUL: All right, and General -- Lieutenant General Mark Hertling is going to stay with us as well. We have some questions about what just happened in Iraq. Of course, (inaudible), so we'll talk about that in just a little bit. Martin.
SAVIDGE: All right, Christi, thanks very much.
Pope Francis has a message for the Roman Catholic Church. Be more welcoming. Here what he wrote in an eye opening document about gay and divorced Roman Catholics.
Plus, this wild scene is awaiting Ted Cruz in Colorado today. It's the campaign inside the campaign. Wait until you see how the Republican delegates there are picked.
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SAVIDGE: Pope Francis wants the Catholic Church to be more inclusive. He made his statements in a hefty 256-page document on family life. He implored the church to be more welcoming and less judgmental of gay and divorced Catholics.
CNN Vatican correspondent Delia Gallagher is in Rome. And Delia, what's the reaction so far from there?
DELIA GALLAGHER, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Martin, I think many people have been pleasantly surprised to see that really this is a kind of poetic reflection on the part of Pope Francis. He's using really new language and that kind of earthy language that we've come to expect from Pope Francis. And many parts of this document are reflections on love and difficulties of commitment and raising children in the modern world.
Then, of course, we also look for, are there any changes, major changes in the doctrine. Is he changing something? The answer to that is no.
He restates that marriage is between a man and woman, that gay unions are not to be equated with marriage. He says no to reproductive technologies, to theories of gender and so on.
However, what he does do, Martin, is change the way the doctrine is practiced, the way it's implemented. So for example, one of the big questions going into this was on divorced and remarried Catholics who previously couldn't receive communion. And the Pope says I'm not going to issue a verdict on all cases. What
we need to do here is put it back to the local level, to the couple in question and their priest.
Very importantly, he says there should be no harsh judgments in the face of the complexities of family life. This is what he says in particular about divorced people and to divorced Catholics.
"It's important that the divorced who have entered a new union should be made to feel part of the church. They are not excommunicated and they should not be treated as such, since they remain part of the ecclesial community."
This is the message over and over again from this document that the Pope wants to emphasize. He says the church -- it's not the way of the church to exclude anyone forever. Martin.
SAVIDGE: Delia Gallagher talking to us from Rome on the new letter and the new documents that have been issued by Pope Francis. Very important to family life. Thank you. Christi.
PAUL: Well, Martin, you know, it's been described as chaotic, disorganized, messy. This is how Colorado is picking its Republican delegates to send to the convention. Inside the wild west of all of it, coming up next.
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PAUL: So the only number that really matters right now in the Republican presidential race is that 1,237 number, the delegates needed to clinch the nomination, or at least what you have to keep your opponent from reaching.
SAVIDGE: Exactly. Depending on if you're Donald Trump or Ted Cruz, this morning this fight is in Colorado, a state that has its own unique take on this process. Our Randi Kaye explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RANDI KAYE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: What you're looking at inside this Colorado Springs hotel is the campaign inside the campaign where wannabe national delegates are making a push to get to the Republican National Convention. And campaigns are trying to win their support, all behind closed doors.
John Culdara, who has yet to say which candidate he'll support, is one of them.
KAYE: Why haven't you pledged yourself to a candidate?
JOHN CULDARA, UNPLEDGED DELEGATE: Because I think this year is so fluid and so chaotic, I'm not too sure what's going to happen in Cleveland.
KAYE: Colorado chose not to hold a caucus or a primary this year due to cost. Instead, it's holding these smaller conventions where delegate candidates are elected to attend the national convention in Cleveland. And from what we've seen here, this is a messy process.
CULDARA: It's a fun, wild, chaotic, and wildly disorganized process.
KAYE: Here's how that process works. Delegate candidates like John each give a 30-second sales pitch.
CULDARA: I'm running as an unbound delegate, because it will be a wild ride there.
KAYE: Then state Party members cast their ballot on their delegate choice. In the end, 37 Colorado delegates will be sent to Cleveland.
With a contested convention a real possibility, an unpledged delegate is a hot commodity. If a presidential candidate can get enough unpledged delegates to pledge allegiance to his side, it could literally give him the nomination. So the campaigns are in hot pursuit.
KAYE: Have you been courted by the campaigns?
MARY DAMBMAN, UNPLEDGED DELEGATE: A million times. I was so tired of robo calls today, I could have croaked.
KAYE: Mary Dambman was one of 58 potential national delegates at another gathering Thursday night in Arvada, Colorado. Potential unpledged national delegate Carl Hoops was there, too, expecting to be wooed heavily by Donald Trump's team if elected, noting the campaign's deep pockets.
What do you think they'll throw your way?
CARL HOOPS, UNPLEDGED DELEGATE: I don't really know.
KAYE: A duffel bag of cash? A ride on the Trump plane? What is it?
HOOPS: It doesn't matter what it is. My vote cannot be bought. That's for sure.
KAYE: Back in Colorado Spring at the hotel, former New Hampshire senator John Sununu was courting unpledged delegates on behalf of Governor John Kasich.
SEN. JOHN SUNUNU (R), FORMER SENATOR: No one's going to be -- had their mind changed with a fancy dinner. This is about more than that.
KAYE: So is the wooing and the courting OK with you, or do you feel pressured?
CULDARA: I'm a lonely man. I like to be wooed every now and then.
KAYE: Randi Kaye, CNN, Colorado Springs, Colorado.
PAUL: All right, and CNN hosts a Town Hall with Donald Trump's Tuesday night at 9:00 p.m. Eastern. His wife, Milania and daughter Ivanka are joining him. Anderson Cooper is hosting that. Again, it's Tuesday at 9:00 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN. SAVIDGE: Up next, a heated exchange on the campaign trail between
Bill Clinton and black lives matter protestors. Is he helping his wife's campaign or hurting?
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SAVIDGE: Rock star Bruce Springsteen is shunning North Carolina. He's canceling his upcoming show over the state's so called "bathroom law." Springsteen says that he canceled the Greensboro concert in solidarity with people protesting the measure.
The new law requires people to use the bathroom corresponding to their gender on his or her birth certificate. It has drawn fierce criticism for excluding legal protections for gay and transgender people.
PAUL: And Mississippi's facing backlash as well in the midst of one of the most controversial laws on the books. The new law allows anyone with certain religious beliefs to deny LGBT people marriage, adoption services, foster care and even treatment. As a result, the state's tourism industry and economy is already taking a hit.
Here's CNN's Polo Sandoval.
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JACKQUILIN BUCHANAN, SEAMSTRESS: So this is what I do daily.
PALO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Jackie Buchanan is a second generation seamstress in Mississippi who stands by her Christian beliefs. She says that faith is the foundation of her business.
BUCHANAN: This is the time of year when weddings occur.
SANDOVAL: Buchanan says the doors to her shop are open to anyone, but dressing a bride for a same-sex marriage goes against her Christian values. Now, she won't have to.
BUCHANAN: I would probably decline on servicing them, because I believe a marriage was -- the marriage was instituted by God between a man and a woman. And that is my belief.
SANDOVAL: From private business owners like Buchanan to public employees who issue marriage licenses, the law will allow them to refuse a customer if it means servicing a same-sex wedding. Some legal experts are warning the law's reach could extend far beyond.
PAGE PATE, ATTORNEY: Also, it will allow discrimination based on couples who are not married simply because there's one recognition in this Mississippi law that it's a, I guess, respectable or legitimate religious belief that sex only occurs within the confines of marriage.
SANDOVAL: Back in the heart of the bible belt, Jackson bartender, Mark Leopold, wonders why the law was needed in the first place. MARK LEOPOLD, JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI RESIDENT: They're worried about
maintaining religious freedom in a state that ranks among the most devoutly religious states in the country. Protection from who?
SANDOVAL: So far, the law's effects have been less religious than they are economic. Only days after Governor Phil Bryan signed into law Tuesday, the Mississippi Tourism Association reported people are canceling or postponing trips to Mississippi due to the national media reporting on this new law.
"Everyone's Welcome Here" is the name of the new campaign launched by the state's restaurant and hospitality association in response to controversy.
SANDOVAL: With this threat of an economic fallout, some businesses here in Jackson's trendy Fondren neighborhood are take some steps of their own, making it very clear that all customers are welcome.
KNOI AUST, BILL OPPONENT: It's bills like this that are killing our economy. It's one reason why we're the poorest.
SANDOVAL: Knoi Aust and Dwayne Smith (ph) were among the first gay couples to marry in Mississippi after the Supreme Court's ruling legalizing same sex marriage last year. For them, the new law is precisely why they'll stay in Mississippi, to fight it.
I have family here. I have my home here. I have friends here. And I've worked hard for that. I'm not leaving my home, my family, and my friends because some men in a capital think that I'm a second-class citizen. I'm committed to fighting it, and I'm staying here to fight it.
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SANDOVAL: Palo Sandoval, CNN, Jackson, Mississippi.
PAUL: We have so much news to talk to you about this morning.
SAVIDGE: Which is why the next hour of your NEW DAY starts right now.
