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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Interview with Former NATO Supreme Allied Commander Wesley Clark; Paris Terror Video; FAA Calls for a "No Drone Zone"; Fight for Wounded Warriors Pays Off

Aired January 30, 2015 - 16:00   ET

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

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: Just when you thought the butchers who attacked Paris could not be any more sick, we now hear about a new video.

I'm Jake Tapper. This is THE LEAD.

Breaking news in our world lead. It's terror in the first person. We now know that the gunman behind that rampage at a kosher market was wearing a GoPro camera on his chest. Who was he desperately trying to send those bloody videos to from inside the store?

The sports lead. If you were planning to bring your drone to your tailgate at the big game Sunday, well, you better leave it home. The unprecedented measures that the FAA is taking to keep the Super Bowl safe from above.

And the buried lead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because we had not seen this unintended consequence of what was in every other respect a very sound and judicious financial policy. But you brought it to our attention.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: I guess in some times, you can change Washington after all -- how CNN managed to nudge Washington to change course and fought for those who bravely fought for us.

Welcome to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper.

We are going to begin with some breaking news in our world lead. It is a view of terror like we have rarely seen. A French national security reporter working closely with CNN now tells CNN that the French terrorist who went on a killing spree inside a kosher market in Paris was wearing a chest-mounted GoPro camera at the time. It reportedly was rolling as he terrified and killed hostages and now we know the video got out.

I want to bring in CNN terrorism analyst Paul Cruickshank. Paul, what do we know about this video?

PAUL CRUICKSHANK, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: We know French investigators have actually watched the video, that it's seven minutes long, that it features Amedy Coulibaly killing three of the hostages in cold blood when he first enters the grocery store, and we also know the French assure that it was e-mailed out to some kind of associate of Amedy Coulibaly through technical assessments of the computers that they found in the grocery store, Jake.

TAPPER: We know that Coulibaly claimed allegiance to ISIS. Do we know who he was trying to send this to? Was he sending it to ISIS, lieutenants in Syria, media, any idea?

CRUICKSHANK: Well, the big worry the French have is that this is going to kind of pop up in an ISIS propaganda video in the days ahead. He actually already sent out a previous video where he declared allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. He also spoke how he funded the Kouachi brothers in their attack, recorded that video, that first initial video with news coverage of the "Charlie Hebdo" attack in the background.

He e-mailed that out to some kind of associate. That ended up on a pro-ISIS Twitter feed. So the worry is that this new footage is also going to get out, the really awful footage of these grisly murders in the grocery store. Of course, his companion, Hayat Boumeddiene, is now believed to be in Syria, so it's possible it was to her that he was e-mailing this stuff.

But the French investigators presumably know who he was e-mailing it to, but have not revealed that yet.

TAPPER: Well, the investigators know a lot about what happened in that supermarket. There were obviously survivors. What could, if anything, the video tell authorities that they don't already know about the rampage?

CRUICKSHANK: It just really confirms the idea that this terror attack was meant as a media spectacular, both the attacks by Amedy Coulibaly, but also by the Kouachi brothers. Remember, a GoPro camera was also found in the abandoned car of the Kouachi brothers. It's possible that they also filmed part of the attack, but French investigators don't know that for sure at this point.

But this was meant to be a media spectacular. It appears that Coulibaly was editing these images in real time in the grocery store, according to eyewitnesses.

TAPPER: Could this say something about the premeditation of this attack, this terrorist attack on the kosher supermarket? It seemed to happen kind of randomly, organically in the middle of this manhunt for the terrorists who attacked the "Charlie Hebdo" headquarters that had already paralyzed France. Maybe this would suggest that it wasn't as random.

CRUICKSHANK: Yes, I think it really just confirms that this was premeditated.

And you will recall that there is sort of surveillance video outside a Jewish institution in Paris where you see Amedy Coulibaly and his companion, Hayat Boumeddiene, doing some target reconnaissance apparently as early as summer of last year. It appears there was some significant planning in this attack, that the Kouachi brothers who were apparently recruited by AQAP brought in Coulibaly into their plan, somebody that they had known for many years in France, Coulibaly not somebody who was formerly part of ISIS, but was certainly inspired by ISIS.

TAPPER: Paul Cruickshank, thank you so much. We appreciate it.

We are also following a couple of major ISIS developments, what is an all-out firefight to drive ISIS out of another Iraq city. At the same time, there has been nothing but painful silence on a different front having to do with the fate of those two hostages, a Jordanian pilot and Japanese journalist who were, according to ISIS, scheduled to be murdered if the demands of the terrorists were not met.

Our chief national security correspondent, Jim Sciutto, is following all of these developments -- Jim.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jake, a deafening, sad radio silence on those hostages now.

We are more than 30 hours past the latest deadline given by ISIS, still no proof of life of that Jordanian pilot, but also no sign of loss of life on the other side of it. In touch with Jordanian officials, I know they have been keeping up a 24-hour vigil waiting for news. They don't have any news yet to this point.

At the same time, ISIS showing its tremendous reach because on the other side, the other front in this war, in Iraq, not in Syria, opening up a new front there against the city of Kirkuk, oil-rich city, a major assault in the last 24 hours there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SCIUTTO (voice-over): A new front in the war against ISIS, ISIS militants launching a coordinated surprise attack on the oil-rich Iraqi city of Kirkuk, a hail of gunfire as Kurdish forces fight back against ISIS fighters holed up in this abandoned hotel in the center of town. Here, Kurdish fighters raid the building to retake control.

REAR ADM. JOHN KIRBY, PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: It's no surprise to us that they can contained or can demonstrate the ability to continue to wreak violence.

SCIUTTO: On the other side of town, however, ISIS advanced, using burning tents belonging to Kurdish fighters. Among the dead there, Kurdish commander Brigadier General Shirko Fateh, shown here in an interview with CNN's Arwa Damon last summer. He was the highest- ranking Peshmerga commander in Kirkuk.

Representative Adam Schiff, ranking member on the House Intelligence Committee, sees ISIS desperate to demonstrate its strength.

REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D), CALIFORNIA: ISIS is feeling a lot of pressure. They have lost ground in the Kurdish areas. They have lost some ground to Iraqi special forces. They had the symbolic loss in Kobani. At the same time, they are very lethal, but they are worried I think about pressure being put on Mosul and supply lines being cut off to Mosul.

SCIUTTO: Iraqi forces are now planning a major assault to retake Mosul, possibly as early as this spring. Kurdish forces have already launched attacks to cut off ISIS supply lines to the city.

Tonight, the fate of ISIS hostages, the Jordanian pilot, Muath Kaseasbeh and Japanese journalist Kenji Goto, remains in painful limbo, more than 24 hours after the latest deadline passed, still no proof of life or otherwise.

The only update Japan's government spokesperson can offer today was, "There is nothing I can tell you."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCIUTTO: Jordanian officials say they will not give up hope for the Jordanian hostage and the Japanese hostage until they have reason to. But they also say they're not going to take any steps forward in these negotiations until they have reason to as well, that being proof of life that hasn't come.

Jake, they are putting a brave face on this, but as time passes, you have to think that hope is dimming.

TAPPER: Jim Sciutto, thank you so much.

Joining me now to discuss this all is retired General Wesley Clark, former NATO supreme allied commander and a senior fellow at the UCLA Burkle Center. He's also the author of the book "Don't Wait for the Next War."

General Clark, good to see you, as always.

Let's talk about this.

WESLEY CLARK, FORMER NATO SUPREME ALLIED COMMANDER: Good to be here.

TAPPER: This is being described as a surprise attack from three sides of the city with ISIS taking advantage of fog to ambush the Kurdish forces, and then there's a suicide attack inside the city that killed a Kurdish commander. After close to 2,200 airstrikes in Syria and Iraq by the U.S.-led coalition, how is ISIS still able to organize like this?

CLARK: ISIS is still there and this is an attack that is like an "I'm still here" attack.

They have been taking quite a pounding. Iraqi forces are fighting them, Syrian forces are fighting them, and they haven't been showing much offensive spirit. They wanted to make a show. So they did. As far as we know, the offensive on three sides of Kirkuk failed. Yes, it was dramatic. It was also relatively lightweight and the Kurdish fighters quickly eliminated the threat inside the city. But it does show that ISIS maintains a functioning command-and-control

system. We are going to have to work against ISIS and it's not going to have -- we are not going to destroy it in the next week or two weeks or maybe two months. Got to be patient on it.

TAPPER: Explain why Kirkuk is such a key city for anyone trying to take control of Iraq.

CLARK: Well, it controls the major oil center in Northern Iraq.

And so if you have got that, you have got the oil, you have got many, many millions of dollars worth of revenue. One of the areas that we're going after with ISIS is to cut off their sources of funding. We have bombed a significant amount of their oil facilities in Northern Syria.

Some is still getting out. It's being marketed through Turkey, so far as we can tell, and so obviously if they can take Kirkuk and tap into that oil there, they will be much stronger. We don't want that to happen.

TAPPER: You have said for a long time now that U.S. ground forces in Iraq in your view would only drive an already ferocious recruiting effort by ISIS.

Are you still of the mind that U.S. boots on the ground more so than there are already on the ground is a bad idea?

CLARK: Yes. I don't want to see us put a major, like a division or two-division force into Northern Iraq.

First of all, it's a big logistics undertaking, so you have got supply lines. You have got bases. You have got to secure them. You still have ISIS capacity to execute terror attacks and suicide bombings. They would love it if we put a supply chain and a big footprint of a bunch of Americans into Iraq.

It's not as simple as simply landing a battalion of Marines on the coast and going in and seizing an objective, and then withdrawing, because you're dealing with a huge area, dealing with people that hide amongst the population, and you would need to sustain a presence and establish governance over the area.

And one thing we have already learned is, it's not easy to establish governance. We didn't actually succeed that well in Iraq. If we are going to get at ISIS, we have got to get into Northern Syria. And we have been wary of doing that, in part because there's a strong Russian advisory presence with Bashar al-Assad, and he said he doesn't want his country invaded.

TAPPER: I want to turn to the fate of these two hostages who ISIS have. Do you think that Jordan should trade the prisoner that they have, the Iraqi woman, the failed suicide bomber, for their captured pilot?

Obviously, our sympathies are with the pilot, but this is a woman who was willing to blow herself up and take dozens of casualties with her. Is that a decent trade?

CLARK: I think, in principle, you should never trade and make swaps with terrorists. It encourages them to continue the practice of taking captives and holding them for ransom or threatening them, and if you pay money in addition, then you just increase their coffers.

So, in principle, I'm always against that. In some particular case, there may be a time where it makes sense to do that for strategic reasons, for reasons of gaining intelligence or some sly maneuver, but, in general, no, we shouldn't be doing that.

TAPPER: General Wesley Clark, thank you so much.

CLARK: Thank you.

TAPPER: In our sports lead, it is the biggest sporting event and toughest security challenge of the year. And this weekend, there is going to be an extra security concern that has law enforcement worried -- why the NFL is planning to have an explosives team ready to swoop in.

That's next.

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TAPPER: Welcome back to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper.

The sports lead now. You can almost hear the sound of the Super Bowl. It sounds like air being sucked out of the footballs in the Patriots locker room, which must mean that the countdown to Super Bowl XLIX is officially under way.

Of course, this isn't all joy for everyone. Measures are being taken to make sure the only people throwing bombs on the field this Sunday are quarterbacks Tom Brady and Russell Wilson. The FAA, Federal Aviation Administration, has declared the stadium in Glendale, Arizona, where the game will be played a no drone zone. Not only have the feds restricted air space within a 30 mile radius of the game, they are also warning fans to leave their drones at home.

CNN aviation correspondent Rene Marsh is with us now.

Rene, will the Super Bowl actually have better drone protection than the White House?

RENE MARSH, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, they really are talking about ramping things up around the Super Bowl. The Department of Homeland Security will have choppers monitoring the air space and other safety and security agencies are also playing some serious defense to protect one of the largest sporting events from rogue drone operators, threatening arrest and hefty fines for anyone who violates the Super Bowl no drone zone.

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MARSH (voice-over): Law enforcement and the NFL on alert for something that could be hovering above the Super Bowl this Sunday.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Keep it a no drone zone.

MARSH: The Federal Aviation Administration warning rogue operators to keep drones away from the big game. It's a major safety and security concern.

FRED ROGGERO, FORMER AIR FORCE CHIEF OF SAFETY: Somebody could just plain flat fly that drone into the crowd and injure a few people. Perhaps there's something on the drone that's kinetic that could cause, you know, even if it's just an explosion but enough to cause a small panic or panic on the ground.

MARSH: The Secret Service scrambled this week to ensure a drone that flew over the White House was not a bigger threat.

Sporting events are not immune, either. Like this drone that flew over a European soccer match.

Big league stadiums are a big attraction for drone enthusiasts in the United States, too. This one flew over Wrigley Field during a game in Chicago. Law enforcement is threatening an interception if anyone tries it this Sunday.

DEBORA BLACK, GLENDALE, ARIZ. POLICE CHIEF: If we do see somebody operating a drone or in preparation of operating a drone, we will make contact and address the individual up to and including arrest.

MARSH: The NFL says the league is increasingly finding drones at stadiums. In the past year, 12 drones have landed around stadiums on game day. The NFL will have explosive teams ready to swoop in if a drone makes its way on to the playing field. During last year's all- star game, Major League Baseball used a drone detection system, scanning the sky above the packed stadium. But it wouldn't be able to stop a drone from flying over.

Fred Roggero is former chief of safety for the air force. His company now makes drone detection systems.

ROGGERO: The benefit is you can tell that it's there before it becomes a threat, so that you have time for the decision makers to decide what to do with it.

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MARSH: Well, authorities and the NFL are being very tight-lipped about whether they will be using drone detecting systems around the stadium this Sunday. Drones, as you know, they have sparked safety and security concerns. The FAA has received dozens of reports of drones narrowly hitting planes and after that drone landed at the White House, of course, you remember the president said the incident only highlighted the need for stronger regulation. We know the FAA is delayed in issuing the long-awaited rules for this growing industry -- Jake.

TAPPER: It's such a complicated issue. How does law enforcement plan on enforcing this no drone policy?

MARSH: What they are hoping is that by getting out this information, letting people know about these potential hefty fines, about the fact they could be arrested, that people will do the right thing. That being said, it is very difficult in some cases to trace where this drone came from. That being said, we have seen cases in which individuals have been arrested, just flying over the U.S. Open, we saw a man was arrested and charged for that after he was caught flying a drone over.

So, it happens. But what they are really hoping is that when people see this, they know that you're not supposed to do it, that people will follow the rules, Jake.

TAPPER: All right. Rene Marsh, thank you so much.

Coming up, he saved his own life on the battlefield by tying tourniquets to stop the bleeding after he was hit by an IED. So, when the funding for a program that troops like him rely on after coming home was slashed, THE LEAD started asking the Pentagon some questions and the Pentagon listened. That story next.

Plus, even more snow headed to the area hardest hit by this week's blizzard. How bad will it be this time? Coming up.

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TAPPER: Welcome back to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper.

Time now for our buried lead. It's difficult for most of us to wrap our heads around the challenges that wounded warriors face after they return home from the battlefield. Hours upon hours of physical therapy, emotional trauma, even seemingly mundane tasks like managing appointments or finding transportation or going to the restroom can be overwhelming.

When the Pentagon made plans to cut the budget for a program designed to help these troops manage it all, you can imagine why some were panic-stricken, and although it may have seemed like we were about to witness another example of why won't Washington work, something happened that proved sometimes this town can get it right after all.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SGT. ADAM HARTSWICK, SERVED IN AFGHANISTAN: It basically just gored my legs. I can see my kneecaps without any, you know, flesh on them. I had tourniquets on my vest, and I started pulling them off and putting them on.

TAPPER (voice-over): When 23-year-old Army medic Adam Hartswick lost his legs to an explosive in 2013, he tied his own tourniquets to stop the bleeding, helping to save his own life.

In the months since he returned from Afghanistan, the Purple Heart recipient has been under the care of doctors at Walter Reed, as well as his parents working in tandem to help him rebuild his strength and his spirit.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That looks good!

MORGEN HUMMEL, ADAM'S MOTHER: At first, we pretty much marathoned it with Adam. We would stay there from sunrise to sunset and beyond.

HARTSWICK: Just having my dad there to wake me up in the middle of the night and keep me calm, that was vital to my recovery.

TAPPER: Hartswick's parents served as his non-medical attendants or NMAs. That's the official designation given to those who serve as caretakers for our nation's wounded warriors, often sacrificing their jobs to do so. They are sometimes family members but not always. They hope to steer the nation's wounded warriors towards as much independence as possible. It is a challenge. So much has to be relearned.

HUMMEL: As a nonmedical attendant, my job is to be with my son pretty much 24/7. That meant that our lives were changed forever and that nuts and bolts-wise, that we would be out of a job.

TAPPER: The U.S. government has provided a per diem for NMAs, like Hartswick's parents to help offset the costs of care-giving and the lost income. It's not much but it helps. Reimbursements for lodging near the hospital, food, gas, basic necessities.

HUMMEL: Not only did my son lose his legs but then financially, if you've got to worry about, is my house going to be here when I come back from tending to my son, that's a double whammy.

TAPPER: But weeks ago, the Obama administration issued a rule to cut these funds significantly. In November, the Department of Defense implemented a $22 million budget cut, slashing the reimbursement rate for all military personnel, including these caregivers from 100 percent to just 55 percent after six months of travel.

Of course, for those who lost limbs or sustained brain injuries in battle, six months is usually just the beginning.

HUMMEL: Where would we be? Where would I be? Where would be a lot of these parents that I have seen weeping in hallways at Walter Reed?