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ISIS Claims Baghdad Blast That Kills 200; Two People Injured in Dhaka Turned Out to Be Suspects; Trump Fires Back Over Tweet Controversy. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired July 04, 2016 - 10:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[10:00:00] CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Hundreds of extra officers out in force.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We do have technology that folks will not see.

COSTELLO: This, after terrorists launch a string of attacks overseas. Iraq reeling from a market explosion, CNN in Baghdad this morning.

Plus, controversy hits the presidential campaign trail. Backlash growing over a Trump tweet evoking anti-Semitic imagery.

COREY LEWANDOWSKI, FORMER TRUMP CAMPAIGN MANAGER: A tweet is a simple tweet and the bottom line is you can read into things that aren't there.

COSTELLO: And Hillary Clinton can't shake the e-mail scandal, her meeting with the FBI.

Let's talk, live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: And good morning to you. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me on this Fourth of July.

Security ramped up across much of the country. This as ISIS delivers a chilling message overseas. They are ready to kill and defenseless civilians are a prized target. ISIS now linked to three major attacks just in the last week. The most recent also the most deadly. At least 200 killed by a massive truck bomb that ripped through a busy shopping area in Baghdad. The blast so massive it incinerated some 81 people. Their remains will have to undergo DNA testing just to be identified.

Iraq's prime minister chased from the scene by furious residents. They say the government has shown its powerless to stop ISIS and its terror attacks on the innocent.

We're covering all the angles and our correspondents and experts are scattered around the globe. Let's begin, though, in London with CNN's Nic Robertson.

Hi, Nic.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, hi, good morning, Carol. We just heard from the Iraqi authorities that they have now increased the death toll in that horrific attack in Baghdad. They're now saying 215 people died when what we understand was a refrigerator truck packed with explosives detonated around about midnight. That market area, a bustling market area, busy because this is Ramadan. Busy because it's the end of Ramadan and people are out buying gifts for their families.

It's a clothing market, electronics market, perfume stores, and all those stores keep their goods in the apartments around and above their shops. And those are the premises that were -- that caught ablaze during this attack. And that's what one of the reasons that the death toll is so high. Officials, families still trying to find loved ones there. 81 people incinerated so badly that officials say that they will have to be identified through DNA analysis.

This was claimed by ISIS. It is an absolutely sectarian attack. This is a predominantly Shia neighborhood. ISIS is Sunni. They're trying to create a situation in the country that divides and separates the country along sectarian lines so that ISIS can try to control the west of Iraq that make it too difficult for the government to control that area and we saw where the prime minister, going into that neighborhood, just the anger and animosity that the government cannot protect people.

Baghdad has many, many checkpoints surrounded, a so-called ring of steel, yet they weren't complex and strong enough to stop this bomb load of -- this truckload of explosives getting in. The government has now made a decision to ban the use of explosive detectors that have already got a failed track record, ban the use of them, to checkpoints around the city. 215 people now confirmed dead.

COSTELLO: You mean the bomb detectors were faulty?

ROBERTSON: It has been known that the bomb detectors that have used in Baghdad that they purchased towards the -- about seven or eight years ago and continue to purchase despite the fact that they were proven not to be credible in many cases, that they've continued to be used. It's not clear why, potentially giving people a false measure of protection. But now the government has taken this decision no more fooling ourselves into thinking that we're safe because we have these detectors. They're not working. Get rid of them.

They need to tighten up the security. That's the message coming from the leadership. And it's a message people are clearly feeling is coming too late, Carol.

COSTELLO: No wonder people are furious.

Nic Robertson reporting live for us this morning. Thank you.

We also have new video out of Saudi Arabia to show you. A police robot has detonated explosives around -- found inside the car of a suicide bomber. The man killed himself just outside of the U.S. consulate this morning as Saudi police approached him. Two officers were wounded. Police became suspicious of the man when he appeared to be wandering aimlessly in the parking lot of a nearby hospital. It's not clear if the bomber is linked to a terrorist group.

Police now say two people injured in that horrific cafe terror attack in Bangladesh are suspects. This as CNN talks to the father of one of the attackers, who says he learned his son was involved after ISIS released photos of the terrorists.

[10:05:07] All of this happening as Secretary of State John Kerry offers FBI help to the Bangladeshi government.

Let's go to Dhaka now where that attack took place. Alexandra Field is there. Hi, Alexandra.

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, there, Carol. The father of one of the 18-year-old attackers breaking down in tears when he tried to express to me his deep felt grief, his sorrow, his condolences towards the families of the 20 people who were slaughtered, packed to death and stabbed inside that restaurant and the two police officers who lost their lives fighting off the gang of assailants who stormed that cafe on Friday night.

The father of this 18-year-old, Saameh Mubasheer, that's the name of the man who went into that restaurant with a group of assailants, that he had no idea that his son had become radicalized. He said he didn't see any signs of radicalization, didn't see any signs of extremism. In fact he said his son had left the house at the end of February. They had not heard from him since. They had been working with law enforcement agencies to try and track him down but over these past few months they became suspicious.

They became fearful that he may have taken up with an Islamist group of some sort. He describes his son as being 18, impressionable and immature. We're hearing from officials here in Bangladesh that all of the attackers were Bangladeshi. We are told that they are all of upper, middle class backgrounds, each of them highly educated.

ISIS claimed responsibility for this attack. They posted pictures on the Internet of the men that they purport to be the attackers as well as horrific pictures of the victims lying in pools of blood inside that restaurant. But officials here in Bangladesh say they are not ready to determine who carried out this attack and they are focused on the possibility that it was carried out by a domestic terror network. That said, U.S. intelligence officials are looking at ISIS as key perpetrators behind the horrific massacre here, Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. Alexandra Field reporting live from Bangladesh this morning.

Despite the recent string of horrific terror attacks, the U.S. military says ISIS is actually losing ground in places like Iraq and Syria.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) COL. CHRISTOPHER GARVER, SPOKESMAN, OPERATION INHERENT RESOLVE: As we take terrain away from them and we defeat them, and they have not won a battle in Iraq in the last seven months, ever since the fall of Ramadi last year, they have not won a battle and only lost ground, they're trying to remain relevant on the global stage and trying to show as they attract crazies and sickos from across the globe, they're trying to show that hey, we're still a viable threat.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: With me now, CNN contributor and co-author of "ISIS: Inside the Army of Terror," Michael Weiss.

Good morning, Michael.

MICHAEL WEISS, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Good morning.

COSTELLO: OK. So supposedly ISIS is targeting civilians in a big way because it lost ground in places like Iraq and Syria. You know, Iraqi forces just retook Fallujah. So what do we take away from that? Are we winning or losing?

WEISS: Well, it's true what Colonel Garver said. The so-called caliphate has been steadily shrunken over the last two years and change. The problem with this is ISIS is now reverting back to for, what it used to be which is the gorilla style insurgency.

The attack in Baghdad, I'm sorry to say, is very characteristic for Iraq. This has been the case for 13 years. This is exactly what they do. The targets were well chosen as Nic Robertson was saying, this is a Shia predominant neighborhood. The founder of ISIS was a genocidal maniac who thought all Shia Muslims were marked for death. He wanted to kill and extinguish the entire community.

There's also a strategy behind this, a very Machiavellian one, which is by attacking the Shia, you saw what this crowd was doing to the prime minister. You destabilize the Iraqi government. You also -- the definition of brutalization is turning people into brutes. You force the Shia into the arms of these radical Islamist militias which then conduct reprisal attacks against Sunnis and the Sunni minority community of Iraq is thus driven into the fold of ISIS.

COSTELLO: Didn't al Qaeda sort of try the same thing?

WEISS: Well, the difference between ISIS and al Qaeda -- I mean, there a few differences in terms of doctrinal, you know, sort of interpretation of jihadism but one of the starkest ones, and this goes back to when Zarqawi first met bin Laden. Bin Laden's mother is a Syrian Alawite. The Alawis are an offshoot of Shia Islam. Al Qaeda never really wanted to declare all-out war against the Shia. The reasons having to do with pragmatism as much as theology, you know.

COSTELLO: I mean, about destabilizing governments.

WEISS: Yes. Absolutely.

COSTELLO: Right? That was their --

WEISS: Absolutely.

COSTELLO: That was their plan but that didn't quite work for al Qaeda in the end, right?

WEISS: No, but the difference here again is al Qaeda had a few hundred operatives scattered throughout the world. ISIS has got 20,000 guys on the ground in Syria and Iraq and another 20,000 now scattered elsewhere, Libya, Afghanistan, Yemen, an untold numbers of networks inside Europe and Turkey.

But look, the emphasis on foreign operations, there's a fallacy I think in the press that this is a new strategy. It's not a new strategy. This has been the strategy since 2004 when AQI was formed.

[10:10:04] Zarqawi in 2005 tried to perpetrate a chemical weapons attack in Amman, Jordan. That was interdicted at the very last moment. He successfully perpetrated a series of hotel bombings which the Jordanians to this day considered their 9/11. There's always the goal to export jihad abroad. Now we consider abroad, Paris, Brussels, Orlando. Abroad for ISIS consists of Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, you know, the near region as well.

COSTELLO: So what's the answer?

WEISS: Well, look., I mean --

COSTELLO: Well, I ask you that question knowing that's a difficult question.

WEISS: Yes. I only got like, what, 30 seconds?

COSTELLO: Yes. Yes.

(LAUGHTER)

WEISS: You know, they have to be defeated militarily on the battlefield. But look, I keep banging on about this. The geopolitical and social grievances that have fueled ISIS, beginning with the invasion of Iraq but now, you know, the cropping up where this perceived U.S. support for illegitimate sectarian, authoritarian regimes, whether it's Bashar al-Assad in Syria, again perceived support, not necessarily the reality, or the Iraqi government.

I mean, you know, why did the government buy bogus or faulty bomb detectors? I'll tell you why. Because someone was making money. Iraq is one of the most corrupt countries in world. And so when Prime Minister Abadi comes out and says, well, we're going to stop buying these devices that don't work which are not saving anyone's lives, do you think any -- the average Iraqi is going to be gratified by that sentiment?

You know, this is -- and ISIS knows this. I mean, ISIS operates in plain sight in Baghdad. They're running car dealerships from last I heard to make money. COSTELLO: What?

WEISS: Yes. Everything is for sale, particularly in the Middle East. They worked with the Assad regime in Syria, they work with Iraqi officials in Iraq. I would not be surprised in the least that this truck bomb got into this area in central Baghdad because somebody -- some cash changed hands.

COSTELLO: Michael Weiss, thanks so much.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, Donald Trump breaking his silence after outrage grows over a campaign tweet that sparks charges of anti- Semitism.

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[10:15:19] COSTELLO: Donald Trump is on the defensive this morning after his latest tweet sparks outrage and allegations of anti- Semitism. Tweeting this, "Dishonest media is trying their absolute best to depict a star in a tweet as the Star of David rather than a sheriff's star or plain star."

This is what he's talking about. This image shows Hillary Clinton along with a Star of David -- Star of David-shaped logo and piles of money. That six-pointed star was once used by Nazis to identify Jews during the holocaust, but some Trump supporters are dismissing the theory.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEWANDOWSKI: A tweet is a simple tweet and the bottom line is you can read into things that aren't there. You know, this is a simple star. It's the same star that sheriff's departments across the country use all over the place to represent law enforcement and to read into something that isn't there is, you know what, again, that's the mainstream media trying to attack Donald Trump for something that really isn't there.

So bottom line, this is political correctness run amok. If this would have been a star next to Hillary Clinton that didn't have the cash behind it, no one would be questioning this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: CNN's Jason Carroll joins me now with more on this. Good morning.

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Carol. You know, Donald Trump oftentimes blames the media for things like this and oftentimes it works. This time I think he's going to have to do more than just blame the media. This is something that the presumptive nominee is going to have to answer for himself, not Corey Lewandowski, not any of his surrogate. He was the one who tweeted it and ultimately many believe he's the one who's going to have to answer for this. It's not clear if Trump was responsible for the tweet or if it was

someone else in his campaign. Again, Trump posted the original tweet on Saturday. The one that showed Hillary Clinton pasted over the backdrop of $100 bills with a six-pointed star, which to some represents this Jewish Star of David. Next to her face with the caption, "The most corrupt candidate ever."

The campaign changed it eventually to a circle. The campaign has since been trying to explain by saying not every six-pointed star, as you heard Donald Trump tweeting, represents the Star of David. What the campaign has not been able to explain is why they or Trump took that image that was previously shared on a Web site used by neo-Nazis.

Ed Brookover Trump's campaign adviser, gave his point of view to CNN's Alisyn Camerota of how that tweet came to be.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ED BROOKOVER, SENIOR ADVISER, TRUMP CAMPAIGN: These images get posted and reposted and reposted on social media on many forums. And so that's not that anybody is looking at any white supremacy group, any kind of group like that.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: But not this one, Ed.

BROOKOVER: That is just simply not true.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARROLL: Well, when questioned, Brookover did not say Trump should apologize for the tweet saying that the image was changed and that Trump is not anti-Semitic. Brookover pointed out that Trump's son-in- law is Jewish and that Trump's daughter Ivanka converted, but critics say this once again points to Trump and questions about his tolerance and his rhetoric. Trump took heat during the primary for not disavowing the endorsement of former KKK leader David Duke quickly enough. He's also been called into questions about statements he's made about Mexican Americans and his policies on Muslim.

Again he's blamed the media many, many times for things in the past, but this is something that I don't he's going to be able to blame the media for. This is something that he tweeted and ultimately something he's going to have to answer for.

COSTELLO: You know saying I made a mistake and I'm sorry goes a long way.

Jason Carroll, thanks so much.

CARROLL: You bet.

COSTELLO: Trump says he tells it like it is and his backers love the billionaire for taking on the so-called PC police. But time again, those off-the-cuff remarks, especially concerning minorities, get Mr. Trump into trouble. Even within his own party. Sample.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESUMPTIVE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best. They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists.

Look, I'm a negotiator like you folks. We're negotiators. Is there anybody that doesn't renegotiate deals in this room?

Donald J. Trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country's representatives can figure out what the hell is going on.

Who, Pocahontas? Pocahontas?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is that offensive?

TRUMP: She is --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Very offensive. Sorry.

TRUMP: I'm sorry about that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

TRUMP: Pocahontas? Look at my African-American over here. Look at him. Are you the greatest?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: OK. So is it time to retire that phrase, political correctness, or at least explain to the country what exactly it means?

With me now, Scottie Nell Hughes, Trump supporter, and Errol Louis, CNN political commentator and political anchor for New York One.

Scottie, political correctness, what does it mean?

SCOTTIE NELL HUGHES, TRUMP SUPPORTER: Well, that's the question. Right? You know, it's one of those how are you going to look at a glass? Is it half full or half empty?

[10:20:03] I think it's going to be whatever you want to look at it. If you don't like Mr. Trump, you will take every word he says and twist --

COSTELLO: No, I want to know -- I want to know how Mr. Trump defines it because he's the guy running for president.

HUGHES: Well, you can ask him that. But let's look at the facts in this case, Carol.

(CROSSTALK)

COSTELLO: I'm asking you. You represent him.

HUGHES: Well, I am looking at the facts in this case and I can see right now why this is -- I cannot figure out why -- except as your last guest in the last hour pointed out, Carol, every time there's a major example of corruption from the Clinton campaign, there's always something else that happens on the Trump campaign that seems to take away the headlines and take away the attention.

You have to wonder why. This is just another attempt to move away from the real story of Saturday which was Hillary Clinton meeting for three and a half hours with the FBI and then this supposed leak from the FBI or the Department of Justice that was said that the charges will be dropped or nothing would ever come from it.

I'm very concerned that we have leaks within our FBI and our Department of Justice sitting there and saying that the former first lady --

(CROSSTALK)

COSTELLO: And we have talked about that in the NEWSROOM extensively, but I do want to go back to this tweet.

HUGHES: But you talked about --

COSTELLO: And I do want to tell my viewers why this tweet is important. So just give me a second. There was a Web site, it's devoted to neo-Nazi ideology. It had this reaction to Mr. Trump's tweet or re-tweet or whatever it was. This is the headline in this neo-Nazi Web site, "Glorious leader tweets Hillary image with dollars and Jew star."

On the same Web site, Errol, is another article celebrating the death of Elie Wiesel. So tell viewers, Errol, why it's important that Mr. Trump explain why he tweeted or re-tweeted this image.

ERROL LOUIS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, it wasn't a re-tweet. He tweeted it. It was under his account and it's important because the imagery is unquestionably anti-Semitic. And I understand why Trump's people are embarrassed and might want to change the subject. But this is not a subject that you do what with. This is something that is of solemn importance, that is of great importance to a great many people including folks who are not Jewish.

And for Donald Trump to act as if this is just some concoction, that oh, he has no idea and he won't explain and he won't apologize, and given the string of other incidents that you talked about, the foolishness back in February when he said he had a busted ear piece and couldn't hear when he was being asked to disavow David Duke, the head of the Ku Klux Klan who has endorsed him.

You know, this is -- it's a very troubling development. I think everybody -- everybody who is not a complete partisan understands exactly what this campaign is doing. They understand that it is deliberate. They understand that they're playing footsy with some very dangerous radical, disgusting elements of this country. And that they hope to ride into the White House based on that support. And it's disgraceful. It's disgraceful.

(CROSSTALK)

COSTELLO: So, Scottie, Scottie, I want to just run this by you because this is also why it's important. According to the FBI, almost 57 percent of hate crime victims are Jewish, 57 percent. 16 percent are Muslim. I think some people would be surprised by that and I also think that's why tweeting out images like this could be harmful.

HUGHES: Absolutely. And I'm not surprised. But let's get some facts straight on here. This original image was created by someone who posted originally on June 15th. That was almost three weeks ago. He had 998 followers. Now whether he posted it on this message --

COSTELLO: Mr. Trump tweeted it out.

HUGHES: Hold on.

COSTELLO: It came from a --

(CROSSTALK)

HUGHES: You cannot sit there -- no, it doesn't. It came -- the creator actually tweeted it out himself on June 15th. Now that doesn't mean someone else didn't take it and post on that message board. Since then -- unless you can sit here and responsibly tell me 100 percent that Mr. Trump or someone from his campaign went to that message board, grabbed that image right there and tweeted out, this whole thing is just assumptions. And that is not right to sit there and do.

But let me talk to you about what really is anti-Semitic. I believe that anti-Semitic is a candidate who accepts funds that don't -- millions of dollars in her personal foundation from countries that don't even recognize the state of Israel, like Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar. So if we're going to talk about anti-Semitism let's actually look at the candidate right now that won't even recognize the Jewish state instead of a meme that was posted almost three weeks ago by a comedian, an individual --

COSTELLO: See, but that's argument, Scottie, which would be so much more effective had Donald Trump not tweeted out that image.

HUGHES: And until you can 100 percent tell me and guarantee that he got that image from this anti-Semitic Web site, all I can do --

COSTELLO: Why doesn't he just apologize? If it was a mistake and he didn't mean anything by it and he did change the image to a circle, which means he gets it now, why not come out and say, you know what, this was a terrible mistake? I can't believe I hurt some people and I'm sorry.

HUGHES: Well, he has not come out yet and spoken. I'll wait until he comes out and actually says something right now. But like I said, unlike --

COSTELLO: He tweeted something. He came out --

(CROSSTALK)

HUGHES: Well, he tweeted he was sorry about it.

COSTELLO: He said the media was after him.

HUGHES: but he also tweeted out a -- literally a praise of the person of the Jewish -- who actually last week who passed away.

[10:25:06] That you've said this message board absolutely praised the death of him. Donald Trump -- Donald Trump praised the work of this man.

COSTELLO: Errol --

HUGHES: So to sit there and say that -- you know, you can't have it both ways, Carol.

(CROSSTALK)

HUGHES: And he's not.

COSTELLO: Let's ask Errol -- Errol, you were saying?

LOUIS: Yes. Obviously the burden is on the campaign and on its supporters to explain how this image, which was created by a racist and posted on a neo-Nazi Web site, and the person has taken credit for it or at least the name that he used to use online, and shown that it was his. For that to make it into the candidate's mouth in effect, putting it out there as a tweet, and then for that candidate to not explain in any way where it came from, the burden is not on anyone else to figure out where it came from. The burden is on Donald Trump.

Donald Trump we know from past behavior is not going to explain unless a lot of pressure is put on him. And I think the followers who are -- who are trying to explain this foolishness should be ashamed of themselves. I mean, it's not worth winning a Twitter war. It's not worth winning a news cycle. It's not even worth winning the election over. This stuff is real important. This stuff is of real significance. Those of us who have children are going to have to explain to our kids what we did when a candidate took this unprecedented step into the gutter with these images and then did not have -- did not have the courage and maturity to step up and just explain what he had done. If that's the president you want, good luck.

HUGHES: Carol, make sure that you're not playing with Playdough with your kids while you're explaining it because they have the same symbol. Make sure that they're not on your computer using Microsoft. They have the same symbol. And make sure that they don't take them around a sheriff or law enforcement.

LOUIS: You know what, Scottie --

HUGHES: Because they do use the same symbol as well.

LOUIS: Why don't you ask -- why don't you ask Mr. Trump exactly what happened and then you can talk knowledgeably about it.

HUGHES: Well, I will ask him after he enjoys a Fourth of July weekend. And I guarantee you, Carol --

LOUIS: I know he's not going to tell you because that's not how it works, right?

HUGHES: Well, I think he has come out and said it was a sheriff star. And if you want to sit there and make this look bad, then you can make it look bad. But if you actually understand his heart for Israel as compared to the person he's running against you'll understand that he has nothing but love for the Jewish people and the nation of Israel.

LOUIS: Shameful.

COSTELLO: But if that's true, Scottie, if he has great love for the Jewish people and great love for Israeli, then why in the world didn't he realize -- why didn't he realize that that star might possibly hurt some of the Jewish people he supposedly loves?

HUGHES: Well, that just means that Mr. Trump himself tweeted this out. But of course the buck stops with him. He assumes everything that happens within his campaign. This happened on a Saturday, a few hours after Hillary Clinton was investigated, talked to by the FBI.

You cannot sit there until we find out the actual events that happened if he tweeted this out. But either way --

(CROSSTALK)

COSTELLO: You think someone -- wait, wait, wait. You think someone planted the tweet on Mr. Trump's Twitter feed?

HUGHES: No, I'm saying -- no, I'm saying somebody from his campaign might have grabbed it. You cannot tell me that this meme has not circulated around social media over the last three weeks. You cannot tell me that somebody else might have posted it on their Facebook page or social media and someone from his campaign came across or even Mr. Trump. We don't know the facts. And until we sit here and look at the facts of the stories, like it's been circulating for three weeks by someone who has more than 1,000 followers and a comedian in New York City, you cannot sit there and -- just sit there and paint this man to be a hater when his daughter, his children, those that work for him are strong and practicing Jewish folks.

COSTELLO: All right. I have to leave it there. Scottie Nell Hughes, Errol Louis, thanks to both of you.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, the U.S. on edge after a string of terror attacks overseas and security officials here are on alert.

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