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The Lead with Jake Tapper

ISIS Rampage; Deadly Cold; New Twist in Road Rage Case; Missing Teen Girls May Be Heading to Syria; Another Cold Front

Aired February 20, 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: Why is the Pentagon announcing its plan to defeat ISIS to the world?

I'm Jake Tapper. This is THE LEAD.

The world lead. A new video shows ISIS rampaging through Iraq, conquering yet another city in that country. At the same time, three teenaged girls from the U.K. drop off the grid after boarding a flight to Turkey. Police say they are bound to join ISIS. Can the girls be found before they are gone for good?

And the national lead. It's not quite frozen over, but Niagara Falls falling victim to this cold weather blitz as the winter blast snares travel and kills 10 people. Just how much longer until this is all over?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT MEYERS, WIDOWER OF TAMMY MEYERS: Are you all happy? You made my wife look like an animal and my son. There's the animal a block away! Are you happy?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Plus, her husband understandably screamed with rage as police closed in on the man they think killed his wife. Now breaking this hour, we are seeing what the police report out about the suspect says about him and that road rage shooting. A teenager, he was. He was only a block away from his victim and apparently the victim knew him.

Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper.

We are going to begin today with our world lead.

Brand-new video from ISIS showing the terrorists apparently laying waste to the Iraqi town of al-Baghdadi near that air base housing 300 American troops. CNN cannot verify the authenticity of this tape, but in it you do see Humvees rolling through streets, RPGs and heavy machine guns going off again and again, this as, right now, British anti-terror cops are frantically trying to find three British teen age girls who police say are en route to ISIS in Syria to give their lives to the terrorist cause, something at least two other ISIS terrorists did today in Libya with three gruesome suicide bombings claiming at least 30 lives, injuring 40 more. ISIS Twitter accounts celebrated and posted this picture of billowing

black smoke, the deadly aftermath of the coordinated bombings. In the Libyan city of Copa (ph), they call it revenge for the blood of their brothers hit by Egyptian warplanes.

Now, as for Iraq, a U.S. defense official today revealed a long- awaited battle plan, up to 25,000 Iraqi troops storming the key city of Mosul in the north. That's the plan, Mosul of course the same city that Iraqi security forces abandoned when ISIS stormed them last summer.

I want to go right to Barbara Starr, live at the Pentagon.

Barbara, when Iraqi security forces try to retake Mosul, will U.S. troops be with them?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Look, Jake, the practical reality is those Iraqi forces are indeed going to need U.S. trainers, advisers and plenty of U.S. assistance.

The key question, as you say, is, how far will that assistance go?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STARR (voice-over): Iraqi forces fled Mosul last June when ISIS overran the city. For months, ISIS militants have shown the world their iron grip of terror on Iraq's second largest city.

But now, with the help of U.S. trainers and advisers, Iraqi forces are going to try to take the city back. The war plan, according to a U.S. military official, in late April or May, 20,000 to 25,000 Iraqi forces begin to converge on Mosul.

Peshmerga forces will cut off escape routes north and west of the city. The unknown, whether President Obama will order a small number of U.S. troops on the ground to help Iraqis find ISIS targets in the densely populated city and questions about why the Pentagon was signaling the coming battle at all.

REP. JIM HIMES (D), CONNECTICUT: I certainly think it's a roll of the dice. Look, obviously, signaling your intentions to the enemy is unorthodox way of approaching this.

STARR: A U.S. official insists, no, that ISIS knows the coalition is aiming for Mosul.

JAMES REESE, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: There are also a lot of civilians up there who don't want to get caught in this fight. So allowing some time for those who want to get out of there, this can help the Iraqis prevent collateral damage against civilians inside Mosul by giving them a head start.

STARR: But as ISIS fighters continue their training, what about Iraqi forces? This time, will they fight?

REESE: They can handle things at small unit levels, but when you're bringing 25,000 forces into a city, that's a division size operation. And I'm just not sure they have the leadership ability to control that type of operation.

HIMES: The Iraqi army has not exactly distinguished itself in the last year as a fighting force. And, remember, we did this once before. The finest fighting force in the world, the United States Marine Corps, had a rough time retaking the city of Fallujah in Iraq.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STARR: Now, U.S. officials, U.S. military officials will tell you none of the information they say they offered up to the news media is significant enough, no tactical advantage, that's their words, to ISIS fighters, that they didn't give specific enough details, that they stayed broad enough, but certainly it was information they wanted ISIS to know about -- Jake.

TAPPER: Very interesting. Barbara Starr at the Pentagon, thank you so much.

As Iraqis start to prepare for this major offensive, explosions from the coalition air campaign continue to echo in both Iraq and Syria. Overnight, U.S. and allied fighter jets bombing 15 ISIS targets in those two countries.

I want to go to CNN senior international correspondent Ben Wedeman. He is inside Iraq, in Irbil. He just got back from Gwer, where that latest assault on Kurdish forces transpired a few nights ago.

Ben, what are Kurdish officials saying about this planned offensive on Mosul? Do they think it will work?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we spent much of the day with one of the commanders of the sectors on the Kurdish front lines and he was very skeptical. He said that if this is going to involve the Iraqi army, he said simply it's impossible.

They have very little faith in the Iraqi army. It was only last June, of course, that they essentially threw down their arms and ran away when ISIS took over Mosul, and, of course, leaving behind huge amounts of heavy weaponry that ISIS is now using against the Peshmerga.

Now, you have really an ironic situation here in Iraq, where, for instance, the Peshmerga, who are a fairly dedicated fighting force when it comes to dealing with ISIS, lack the weapons, and the Iraqi army actually doesn't lack for weapons, but it lacks for everything else. It's got an officer corps that doesn't seem to be very capable.

There's a huge amount of corruption in the ranks. And, of course, we have all heard these stories about tens of thousands of Iraqi soldiers who are essentially giving their salary to their officers to avoid serving at the front lines -- Jake.

TAPPER: All right, Ben Wedeman in Irbil, thank you so much. Please stay safe. Let's bring in former NATO Supreme Allied Commander General Wesley

Clark. He's now senior fellow at UCLA's Burkle Center and also he's the author of "Don't Wait For the Next War."

Sir, thank you so much for being here, as always.

The world now knows this plan. John McCain and Lindsey Graham are saying whoever leaked this plan is endangering U.S. and Iraqi troops. Why do you think the Pentagon is essentially letting the enemy know what's coming up? You think it's a misinformation war or is this about letting civilians leave Mosul?

WESLEY CLARK, FORMER NATO SUPREME ALLIED COMMANDER: Well, I think it's got multiple advantages to do this.

First of all, it signals the intention so you have got the Iraqi government now committed to follow through on this. Secondly, it takes some of the heat off domestically from people in the United States saying, when are you going to do something, when are you going to do something?

Third, you have got an advantage in maybe getting civilians out. Fourth, you still don't have to do this. You can do a lot of things between now and then that go after ISIS, but this fixes ISIS' attention on a defensive battle. Now, when that defensive battle starts, if it comes off on schedule and the Iraqis are there, it is going to be a very tough fight because Mosul is going to be very well- defended. There may be other targets that are better at that time.

But this is a way of maintaining the psychological edge, and the psychological edge in this kind of battle in that part of the world is very important.

TAPPER: General Clark, assuming that what we know about the plan is accurate, is it doable?

CLARK: Well, it probably is doable. Depends on the actual quality of the Iraqi soldiers, the amount of U.S. air support, the patience with getting it done, the willingness to take and inflict collateral damages and injuries on civilians.

There are many, many factors that come into bear before this is a done deal in Mosul.

TAPPER: You mentioned the capabilities of the Iraqi forces. That's obviously the big question mark here. We have already seen the Iraqi army collapse once when confronted by ISIS last year. Why should the U.S. trust that that's not going to happen again?

CLARK: Well, I don't think it's a matter of trust. But I think when you put the U.S. in there with the Iraqis and you build the personal relationships down to certain levels in the Iraqi force -- and we will have to see how far those relationships extend downward.

And when you are in an offensive operation and it's a plan, it's easier to maintain the psychological edge. That will be difficult once they get into the city, but getting it started and getting into Mosul, yes, it's much better to be on the attack than it is caught by surprise on the defense.

TAPPER: I want to turn to another story, another war waging that you are very invested in. You recently got back from Ukraine. It seems pretty clear by now that Putin was not being honest during the Minsk conference.

Russians continue to attack within Ukraine's borders, not just pro- Russian separatists, but Russians. Kiev says they sent tanks across the border. What do you think the West needs to do here to stop this?

CLARK: Well, I think the diplomacy is important, but if you don't have the ability to block Russia's military gains, then you won't get anything out of the diplomacy, and that's been the case thus far.

So, Ukraine is fighting with everything it's got. And I have been very impressed with the quality of the Ukrainian soldiers. I have seen the results of their combat action. They are going up against some heavily superior forces when they go against the Russian forces, in everything from tanks to artillery to drones to electronic warfare.

The Ukrainians are badly outgunned because they were interested in facing to the West and they were trying to reorganize their army and reduce their military expenditures. Then Moscow, in 2008, 2009 embarked on military modernization. And this is part of an unfolding plan. So if we are going to get a diplomatic resolution of this, we are going to have to halt the military offensive, and that means not U.S. direct action.

It means U.S. assistance in the form of training and some hardware and support from our allies in terms of selling hardware to the Ukrainians. They need anti-armor, counterbattery radars, unmanned aerial vehicle surveillance, and a lot of soldier gear like night- vision sights.

TAPPER: All right, General Wesley Clark, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

CLARK: Thank you.

TAPPER: A frantic search under way right now for three teenaged girls who are believed to be heading to Syria to possibly join the terrorist group ISIS. The girls, aged 15 and 16, are missing after boarding a flight bound for Istanbul, Turkey. Why do police fear they might be trying to join the terrorist group? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

In other world news today: right now, police the world over are searching for three British school girls who fled the U.K. earlier this week and are now believed to be trying to join ISIS in Syria. Counterterrorism officials with Scotland Yard say the young women flew from London to Turkey Tuesday and have not been seen nor heard from since.

CNN senior international correspondent Nima Elbagir is live in London with the latest.

Nima, what exactly do we know about these three teenage girls?

NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we know the girls are believed to still be in Turkey. So, they are still reachable by authorities. We understand the three were friends, that they studied together at school in East London. Other than that, it sounds pretty unremarkable. It doesn't sound like there were any of the usual hallmarks that parents or authorities are usually looking out for but it does seem to be a trend within this network of girls at this school.

Back in December, another one of their friends managed to evade police. She disappeared but is believed to be in Syria. The worry is that the girls are creating this mythology amongst themselves, this infatuation with what is found over there in Syria with these ISIS fighters that couldn't be further from the truth.

TAPPER: Just terrifying. Nima Elbagir, live for us in London, thank you so much.

Let's talk more about the appeal of ISIS. Here to talk about it with us is Peter Neumann, director of the International Center for the Study of Radicalization in Kings College in London.

Peter, thanks so much for being here. Really appreciate it.

Your organization has spoken with ISIS recruits face to face. A lot of us watching this story unfold probably think these are just psychopaths finding other psychopaths but obviously, it's a bit more complicated. Who are these recruits and what's the appeal?

PETER NEUMANN, DIRECTOR, INTERNATIONAL CENTRE FOR THE STUDY OF RADICALISATION: Well, we are focusing on Western recruits, people who have gone from Britain, from France, from Germany. They're not a monolithic identity. Some are very pious. Others are not. Some are from troubled backgrounds. Others would have had great prospects if they stayed in their home country.

Some were motivated by the humanitarian suffering of the Syrian people. Others were driven by thrill, adventure, counterculture. And, of course, there are plenty of them who are really committed to the ideology that underpins ISIS.

So, you have a whole bunch of different motivations.

TAPPER: The ones who are beckoned, who feel the call because of the atrocities committed against the Syrian people by Bashar al Assad and his government, how do they then make the jump to join a group that commits atrocities against Yazidis and Christians and Jews and others. Do they not see a disconnect there?

NEUMANN: Well, a lot of that group who were moved by humanitarian suffering went in the early days of the conflict, 2012, 2013. At that point, ISIS didn't exist. They ended up with ISIS almost by default because they joined groups who then merged with is. That's not to excuse them, of course. They are now subscribing to the idea of ISIS but it's also fair to say that a number of them, maybe 10 percent, 20 percent, are not that happy with ISIS.

ISIS always wants to portray itself as strong and committed and impossible to penetrate, but when you are actually receiving information from the fighters themselves, you realize that there is a minority of people who are genuinely unhappy and if they have the chance, they would actually want to defect.

TAPPER: Why are we seeing so many women and frankly girls join ISIS? More so than we have seen join al Qaeda.

NEUMANN: This is the first time, I have been researching this for 15 years. If you had asked me ten years ago about women who are part of al Qaeda, I would have struggled to find any. Now, in most European countries, about 15 percent of the people who go to Syria and Iraq are women, are female. I think one of the reasons is the Internet.

Without the Internet, it's very difficult for a woman to become involved face to face in a jihadist movement. Now with the Internet, we see a lot of Twitter accounts by women. It gives them a means of talking to people, of being drawn into that without exposing themselves immediately. It allows them to then at some point make the jump and go.

TAPPER: What is ISIS doing so efficiently obviously for horrific ends, that al Qaeda and other terrorist groups have not been able to replicate? Because I know the White House, they are really befuddled at how to combat the recruiting and propaganda of ISIS.

NEUMANN: On the internet, of course, they have managed to create a real grassroots movement. It's not only ISIS central. It's a lot of people that we call band boys who are posting their messages, editing them, forwarding them. They are creating the real oomph that makes it so difficult to counter ISIS on the Internet.

Also, what ISIS has going for itself at least until recently is they had momentum. They were creating the caliphate, or so they said. Al Qaeda was never creating the caliphate. Al Qaeda had as far as jihadists are concerned one successful operation and that was 9/11, and then afterwards, it was basically a story of failure.

ISIS is creating the caliphate, creating a state. It is recreating something that people in thousands of years will be talking about. That's what recruits are being told. And to some of them who do not have very significant lives, that is something very powerful and empowering.

TAPPER: All right. Peter Neumann, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

NEUMANN: Thank you.

TAPPER: Coming up, this time even Florida isn't being spared. Frigid cold from Niagara Falls to Miami, here to stay. Nearly 200 million people are affected. Our own CNN reporters included, and they are coming up next.

Plus, Rudy Giuliani not apologizing after saying President Obama does not love America. Today, the former mayor is going even further in defending his remarks. Why the former New York City mayor says his comments are not racist, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

Now, time for the national lead. Sleet, snow, bone-chilling cold temperatures have made for a dangerous and deadly combination from the Deep South, all the way up the Eastern Seaboard. Some of the images we are seeing from this winter storm are really quite breathtaking like these pictures out of West Virginia. Snow is freezing midair as it hits light poles in minus 30 degree weather. Midair. Look at that.

Ten deaths have been blamed on the winter weather in Tennessee alone. There have been frantic 911 calls about a strange phenomenon known as frost quakes -- frost quakes. That's when water runs into the ground and freezes, causing a loud booming sound, scaring people.

Then there is this rainbow of color at frozen sections of Niagara Falls. Temperatures there have not ridden above freezing all this month.

We have a team of reporters covering this winter storm. We begin with CNN correspondent Ryan Young live at Niagara Falls.

Ryan, is there still any water actually flowing over the falls?

RYAN YOUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There's a lot of water flowing, despite the negative 30 wind chill we experienced this morning. If you take a look at the American side, it looks rock solid but look in the distance, you can see the water pushing through. You got to think more than 20 million gallons pushes through this area during the winter so nothing usually stops it. In fact, the falls haven't been stopped for 150 years.

Look over the side here. You can see the large ice that is here. In fact, we are told sometimes it gets 10 stories high but honestly, the look that everybody wants to see, the breathtaking shot is the one that's down here.

Look at the falls rushing over the side. It answers your question. Nothing is stopping Mother Nature as she punches through the ice.

It still gives you the majestic views that have caused so many people to come out here to enjoy the pictures and the scenery despite the brutal cold temperatures. In fact, we have seen people coming from all over and they say, look, this is just gorgeous and people here love it -- Joe Johns. JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: So, Ryan, so take a

look at this. I'm at Columbia Island in Virginia. On my left is the Potomac River, on my right the Pentagon.

This is something you just don't see every day. The Potomac River appears to be completely frozen over. Very unusual in the Washington, D.C. area but it is not safe. The D.C. fire department was just out here a few days ago practicing rescues in case somebody actually goes through the ice.

Farther out in the Chesapeake Bay there is actually a big problem. Tangier Island, Virginia, they been cut off by the ice for about a week, haven't been able to get medical supplies in or their mail. They have asked for help. The U.S. Coast Guard is bringing them some supplies which are supposed to arrive tomorrow.

They have also asked for help from the Department of Natural Resources in Maryland and they are going to send an ice cutting boat to try to free it up so people can get off of Tangier Island. This is a very big deal in this part of the country.

Now over to Alina Machado.

You're in Miami, I figure there's not as much snow there.

ALINA MACHADO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, actually, Joe, there is no snow here but there is definitely plenty of wind as you can see from my hair. I want to show you Miami Beach. It is completely empty. It is a Friday afternoon, typically we would be seeing people here all over the place.

There is nobody out here. Very few people out here. You see that man over there who is basically wearing shorts but not venturing into the water. The reason is because Florida has been very, very chilly. Much of the state has been in the 20s and 30s overnight.

Here in Miami at the airport, we registered a low of 42 degrees. That tied a record that was set in 1972. It's chilly out here. I can't believe I'm standing on the beach and I'm wearing a sweater and jacket.

I want to show you something. This is what you would expect to see here in Miami Beach. Ladies who are trying to enjoy the weather, but one of you is getting married.