Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Battle for Mosul Under Way; Final Presidential Debate This Wednesday; Arizona Newspaper Endorses Clinton. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired October 17, 2016 - 09:30   ET

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

[09:30:00] ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Plumes of smoke that could have been suicide car bombers. A very familiar ISIS tactic at this point.

Now, the Iraqi government is saying that they, along with the Kurdish Peshmerga, and other fighting forces, are making steady progress. But this is what's important to note at this point, Carol, is, look at the terrain. This is open terrain. And these villages, they don't have much of a civilian population, if any left in them. Those dynamics, once these forces actually reach the city of Mosul itself, are going to be drastically different, and that is going to change the entire approach to this battle because the Iraqi security forces are going to have to make their way through street by street in these areas and have to deal with the added reality of a civilian population of around one to 1.5 million people. Out here, in this kind of a terrain, carrying out an air strike relatively speaking is fairly easy. The chance of causing collateral damage, civilian deaths, is drastically minimized. That changes when you get to the city of Mosul itself.

But it seems at this point in time, finally after more than two years, the Iraqi government is confident and the alliances it's managed to build and the capabilities of its own security forces and then the fact that it does continue to be backed by the U.S.-led coalition. They do believe they will win. But it must be said, no one knows exactly what to expect once the forces do reach the city itself.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Arwa Damon reporting live from just outsides battlefield there in Mosul. Thanks so much.

So let's talk about this operation. Lieutenant Colonel Rick Francona, he's a former U.S. military attache in Syria. You were in Iraq. So I just want to pick your brain about what's happening there because Americans are involved in this fight. So, colonel, 54,000 Iraqi troops and 40,000 Kurds are now trained to fight ISIS in Mosul. Nine thousand of those troops are made up of Sunni fighters, Christians, Turkmen. It sounds like all of Iraq is coming together to fight ISIS. Is that true?

LT. COL. RICK FRANCONA, FORMER U.S. MILITARY ATTACHE IN SYRIA: I hope it is. And that's a good thing because the Iraqis have to put an Iraqi face on this, not a Shia, not a Kurdish, not a Sunni face on this. This has to look like it's the country of Iraq liberating one of their own cities. And that's important for what happens after the battle. I think everybody -- all military analysts I've talked to believe that the Iraqis have amassed the proper forces to liberate Mosul. The question is, how long is it going to take, what are the civilian casualties, what is the cost in human life resources, and what's the refugee situation going to look like? But in the end, Mosul will be liberated. Then we face the real problem, is what do we do with the northern part of Iraq now that it's no longer in ISIS' hands?

COSTELLO: OK, so before we get there, let's talk about the matter at hand just a little bit more.

FRANCONA: OK.

COSTELLO: Coalition forces led by the Americans are helping from the air, of course. They're using A-10 Warthogs, C-130 gunships, several different variation of fighter jets and drones. So how do they -- how do they employ these different types of air power?

FRANCONA: Well, there's a coordinated effort, and that's been going on for two years. You know, we've been bombing there since 2014 and, you know, so this is pretty -- we've got this pretty much down to a well- oiled machine. The Iraqis are part of it. Everything is controlled from Baghdad. So the Iraqis get a vote in everything that happens there. The Kurdish Peshmerga on the ground, the Iraqi forces on the ground, all have been trained in how to call in U.S. air strikes. They've been doing it for a long time. That's going to work very effectively. And I think we're seeing that.

COSTELLO: But, so, colonel --

FRANCONA: We also have U.S. army artillery firing into Mosul.

COSTELLO: Oh, OK. Before we get to that, and just how do they use the air power? Do you -- do you like force those ISIS fighters out of wherever they're hiding and then the air power comes in to play? How is that used?

FRANCONA: Well, it's up to the commander on the ground, but normally you employ it before you get to where you want to go, soften up the area, try and take out key targets that you know about. And then as targets present themselves, you alter the air strikes to where you want them.

It's a pretty dynamic process. And it can be very effective. And that's what makes it effective is its flexibility. If you see a target develop, you can immediately put air power on it. There are aircraft virtually orbiting standing by. So it's a pretty fast moving process but it requires somebody on the ground to control that. And we have that now with the Iraqi forces forward and the Peshmerga.

COSTELLO: OK. And just a final question because we have this election going on and -- and there's -- there's been talk, especially from Donald Trump, that we're presenting our war plans to the public and then we're fighting the battle, and that's bad. So we know all this stuff that's going on in Mosul right now. Is that dangerous for our American troops, for coalition forces, and for the Iraqi troops who are fighting ISIS? [09:35:04] FRANCONA: Well, it depends on what you say. I don't think

that the fact that the Iraqis and the -- with coalition help, were going to liberate Mosul. I mean everybody knows that. We've been talking about it for over a year. Everybody knows that it had to happen. The timing is -- you could look at why -- why are we announcing the timing? But ISIS knows what's going to happen. They knew this was coming. Everybody's been gearing up for it. Everybody's been talking about this since Mosul fell. Everybody knew that the Iraqis would have to go back and get it. So I don't think we've really told them the tactics. I think we've told them what we plan to do. I don't see any problem with that.

COSTELLO: Lieutenant Colonel Rick Francona, thank you so much.

I'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:40:09] COSTELLO: We are just two days away from the third and final presidential debate are voters are hoping, no I would say they're praying, they're begging the candidates will stop wasting their time. This is what an undecided Ohio voter told me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID DANIELS, UNDECIDED OHIO VOTER: They're spending so much time with he said, she said, they did this years ago. I want to know what they're going to do for the country. What are they going to do for the economy? What are they going to do for foreign policy? That's what we're kind of waiting on discussions on.

COSTELLO: So there's going to be one more debate. Do you think you'll hear policy in that debate this time?

DANIELS: We're -- we're hoping.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We hope.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Yes, they're hoping. The debate supposedly will focus on debt and entitlements, immigration, the economy, the Supreme Court, foreign affairs and fitness to serve as president. Wow. So let's talk about how crucial this debate is. I'm joined by CNN political commentator and KABC talk radio host and Trump supporter John Phillips, and CNN political commentator and former executive director of the Congressional Black Caucus, Angela Rye.

Welcome to both of you.

ANGELA RYE, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Thank you, Carol.

JOHN PHILLIPS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Good morning.

COSTELLO: OK. So if we were taken bets, we were taking bets, will the candidates talk about actual policy, John? PHILLIPS: God, I hope so. I'm so glad you played that interview with

the voter because we've had so many tabloid scandals, we've had so much sex talk, it's like we've been doing nothing but eating dessert this entire campaign. At some point we need fruits and vegetables or the nation is going to get scurvy collectively. And if I were Trump, I would just go into that debate and I would have the attitude that I'm going to hijack this thing. The first question out of the box is, did you call Rosie O'Donnell a fat pig. I would say, thank you, Chris, for asking me about immigration. Let me tell you about my plan. The second question is, did you kidnap the Lindbergh baby. Great question, Chris, let me tell you about my plan on trade.

COSTELLO: So, should Hillary Clinton do the same, because I'm telling you, Angela, when I went to Ohio and I talked to a lot of voters, they don't want to hear about scandals. They want to hear about policy. It's coming down to the wire now. They want to know what these candidates will do for the country.

RYE: So, Carol, I think the biggest challenge we have is that one of the categories that he named is fitness to be president. And all of these issues, whether John calls them tabloid scandals or not, are actually really legitimate issues. You have several more women coming forward who are accusing Trump of either groping them or kissing them in unwanted manner. They did not want to kiss him back. And so these are issues that frankly a lot of voters care about. There are women and men all over this country who have been victims of sexual assault. So this actually really matters.

Do I want to talk about issues? Yes. I remember sitting in my room at the last debate, supposed to go to the spin room, Carol, and sat in my room and couldn't leave because I was sick about this press conference he called. So he can also demonstrate some leadership here and insure that he can rise above for once and actually talk about issues himself and actually answer the moderator's questions. There's a novel thought.

COSTELLO: Well, John, you know, Mr. Trump, he's talking about a rigged system. He's been tweeting all morning that the media and "Saturday Night Live" are against him. These aren't policy issues. Shouldn't he be tweeting out what he's planning to do to revitalize the economy, or how exactly he's going to renegotiate trade deals, or what exactly his foreign policy is in places like Iraq and the ongoing battle that's going on right now in Mosul?

PHILLIPS: Oh, absolutely. In fact, I wish I could borrow Hillary Clinton's hammer and bust up his cell phone so he'd stop tweeting and start preparing for the debate, because when he's on point he's actually not bad. Now, now that being said, I think that Hillary Clinton also has an obligation to go out there at this debate and attempt to talk issues. If you look at Democrats historically, when they've been successful electorally, it's when they come in with big thematic ideas. FDR came in with the new deal. JFK came in with the -- with the great frontier or new frontier. The great society was Lyndon Johnson's. Hillary Clinton so far has given us a lot of scandal talk and "I'm with her." "I'm with her" is not a big thematic idea. It's something you say when you crash a wedding at the Holiday Inn airport. RYE: Wow.

COSTELLO: Angela?

RYE: That is a terrible transition, John, speaking of assault and going to hotel rooms. All right. So, no, I actually don't think that "I'm with her," the hashtag, is Hillary's campaign slogan at all. It actually happens to be "stronger together." "Stronger together" meaning that every single American has a voice and has a place in this country and would in a Hillary Clinton administration. However, she has to now do a lot of rebuilding for all of the tearing down Donald Trump has done.

Carol brought up an excellent question about him talking about the election being rigged against him. That the -- the mantra there is very clear. He is talking about the fact that our country now, if we don't win this election, if we don't win this election, our country is never coming back. It's not a mistake that Newt Gingrich and Rudy Giuliani went on air yesterday talking about potential voting scandals in Philadelphian, in St. Louis, in Chicago. Black people know what that means. There's -- that's where there are a large population of African-Americans. Him talking about taking our country back or getting it back or it's never coming back has everything to do with black and brown voters, John. And that is the real threat here.

[09:45:30] COSTELLO: OK, John, last word.

PHILLIPS: Yes, look, he needs to get off that stuff about the rigged election. He needs to talk about the issues. If you go back to the first debate, his strongest moments were the first 20 minutes when he talked about trade, when he talked about the economy. He needs to focus like a laser beam.

COSTELLO: All right, I got to end it there. John Phillips, Angela Rye, thanks, as always.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, journalists at an Arizona newspaper called traitors and told to watch their backs after the editorial board endorses Hillary Clinton. The publisher now speaking out about death threats.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:50:37] COSTELLO: Arizona's largest newspaper made history when it endorsed Hillary Clinton for president amid a contentious election in a deeply red state. The response was immediate and irate. Readers canceling their subscriptions and sending messages like quote, "watch your back," and, quote, "we will burn you down" to staff members.

The paper's president countering those threats in an op-ed spotlighting the people behind the publication, writing this. Quote, "to those of you who have spit on, threatened with violence, screamed at and bullied the young people going door to door selling subscriptions, I give you those dozens of young men and women themselves. Many sell subscriptions to work their way through school. Most were too frightened to share even their first names here." So let's talk about this. I'm joined by the president and publisher of "The Arizona Republic," Mi-Ai Parrish.

Welcome.

MI-AI PARRISH, PRESIDENT, "THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC": Thanks so much.

COSTELLO: So tell me what life has been like for your employees and for you yourself since your newspaper decided to endorse a Democrat.

PARRISH: We knew that this would be a -- it's a divisive time and we knew that it would be unpopular with some people. That's just the case. We have never endorsed a Democrat in our 126 year history. It was something that we researched. And we thought about this really soberly and really carefully before we did. And I -- we prepared as well as we could. And a lot of what we saw was what we expected. There were angry calls. There were angry e-mails. We knew that that would happen. But I think what happened in terms of the other sorts of threat are -- they were unexpected.

COSTELLO: Have you added security?

PARRISH: We did. Yes, we have.

COSTELLO: So do reporters feel safe going into the field to ask people questions?

PARRISH: hey are so incredibly brave. I am so tremendously proud of them. And part of us not writing about the death threats really on the front side was, I don't want them to feel like they are -- I don't want them to feel overly afraid. I mean a lot of this is -- are cowards who are speaking out and I -- people who want to anonymously terrorize them. And we -- we also have hundreds and hundreds of other employees who are just in finance and advertising and going door to door and they feel that as well. So figuring out how to -- how to talk about what's going on in a way that's honest and transparent and to assure them that we do have security, that we are talking to the FBI, that we are alerting homeland security, that we take it seriously but also not be alarmist about it.

COSTELLO: Right, because, you know, and, you know, as a journalist, you just want to get out there and do your job. And most of us, you know, we got -- you got to do what you got to do.

I will ask you this. There are many people out there in this country that don't trust the media, they don't trust newspapers anymore, they don't trust CNN, they don't trust -- they don't trust any media source except the source that kind of like says exactly what they believe. How do you fight that as a journalist?

PARRISH: Again, I've been so proud of our journalists. And one of the interesting things, of course, is that the editorial board is separate from the newsroom and people haven't really understood that. And so they see it as a sign of bias that something that we've done for 126 years on the opinion pages is linked to those journalists and it is -- they are not involved. That endorsement is completely separate from what -- from what we do in the newsroom.

They -- it has become popular to dislike what we do and I find that very sad. It's a fundamental piece of our democracy. Without a free press, there is no democracy. And so the idea that people would find us to be offensive or be -- to demonize us, I find very sad. You may not always agree with us, you may not want to be on the receiving end of a report, but what we do is so important. You know, holding the powerful accountable and giving voice to the voiceless, there's nothing more important than that. I won't apologize for it and I will protect them and I'll protest us and I'll protect the people who disagree with us, to have the right to have that open debate. What we're looking for is a civil discourse, though. We're looking for a reasonable, rational, we don't always have to end up at the end of the day with a hug and a handshake, but we don't -- we really don't have to end, at the end of the day, with the threat of violence.

[09:55:15] COSTELLO: Mi-Ai Parrish, thanks so much. Thanks for fighting the good fight.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: A manhunt is on in Fairbanks, Alaska, for this man. Authorities say he shot an officer and then stole his patrol car. The suspect is said to be an Alaskan native in his 20s. He's considered armed and dangerous. The officer, Alan Brant (ph), suffered non-life threatening injuries. He's now in stable condition.

Three suspects now under arrest after the daughter of a U.S. Olympic sprinter is shot to death. Tyson Gay's (ph) 15-year-old daughter Trinity died after being shot in the neck early Sunday morning. She was in the parking lot of a restaurant when a group of men opened fire. Trinity, a sprinter herself, was a rising track star. An autopsy is expected to take place today in Kentucky.

[10:00:09] The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts now.