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Veteran Roundtable: Obama's Plan To Destroy ISIS; NBA Star Apologizes For Rice Tweets; Elie Tahari: The King Of The Suit
Aired September 11, 2014 - 15:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RANDI KAYE, CNN GUEST ANCHOR: A president's vow and now a new mission for American service men and women. President Obama declared his plan last night to destroy Islamic militants wherever they may be.
We've heard from the lawmakers, the pundits, the analysts. But we wanted to hear from people who have risked their lives in these war zones so I sat down with Gary Berntsen, Jeff Camp and Amber Barno and got different opinions on whether America is going back to war.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: Thank you all for being here. Appreciate it. Gary, let me start with you because in a speech last night, Obama never actually used the word war. He called this a counterterror operation. So on a human level, does it concern you and your colleagues that we may be getting into something open ended where there's no end in sight?
GARY BERNTSEN, U.S. AIR FORCE VETERAN AND RETIRED CIA OFFICER: This is Iraq 3.0. We are going to war again in Iraq. American men and women fighting men and women are going to be in the line of fire. We're going to have aircraft there. We will have boots on the ground.
Special operators who are going to be working close with local insurgent forces against these people. We're at war. The president doesn't want to say this for political reasons because of his own political narrative but we're at war.
KAYE: And does it concern you that we might be there a very long time.
BERNTSEN: It concerns me that ISIS has grown and become such a dangerous organization. It controls space three times the size of Lebanon. Al Qaeda never had more than $30 million to $50 million at their peak. These guys have a billion already.
This is a problem -- and the president needs to deal with it. We want him to deal with it. Let's be frank and open and honest with the American people. We're going back to war.
KAYE: Jeff, let me ask you. Because from what I understand you are against any military action whatsoever. When you look at that scene on the mountain where you have tens of thousands of religious minorities being threatened while either you convert or you die, what was the option there? Were we supposed to let them die? JEFF CAMP, U.S. AIR FORCE, DEPLOYED IN 2010 TO IRAQ: Right. I think the bigger question is you have to look at the politics behind it and you have to look at when the U.S. is willing to intervene and when the U.S. is not willing to intervene.
And how that aligns with the goals of the administration and the policy in place. So there are plenty of examples when the U.S. hasn't intervened. Most recently, I mean, we saw the conflict between Israel and Gaza.
When Palestinians were being slaughtered and the U.S. had nothing to say about it. I would pose the question why do we sometimes intervene and sometimes not intervene?
KAYE: Do you think we shouldn't have intervened on that mountain?
CAMP: I think that we should examine the underlying causes that create organizations like ISIS and we have to examine foreign policy. We have to examine economic policy. We have to examine any quality in the entire region that form a concoction allowing these organizations to form.
KAYE: Amber, let me ask you. I mean, the president last night talking about James Foley and Steven Sotloff, and the death of these two Americans. Is that a reason for us to get involved? Is that human cause and those two American lives are reason?
AMBER BARNO, U.S. ARMY KIOWA WARRIOR HELICOPTER PILOT: It's so much more than that. Yes, Americans are being killed by ISIS. ISIS is beheading Americans. The president decided to say last night that they weren't an Islamic group.
I thought that was very interesting in terms of messaging why he was saying that when ISIS' message to President Obama is they are killing Americans. I thought that it was not hard hitting enough.
I was expecting him after he told the world that he doesn't have a strategy to fight this terrorist organization and said I'm working on one. We'll have one soon. So when he came forward with the address last night, I really thought it was going to be something more specific.
KAYE: People are angry and fearful.
BARNO: Exactly. He needs to redefine what combat is and what boots on the ground are because he refuses to use those terms. He doesn't use the word war. This is war whether he wants to claim it and use that word or not. We are getting involved in another war and it's often because of our withdrawal from Iraq and the way he handled that.
KAYE: Listen, we need to take a quick break. When we come back, we are on 9/11. I want to ask all of you after this break what surprised you most in the last 13 years.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Today marks 13 years since terrorists struck America and now with President Obama laying out a new plan to destroy ISIS terrorists abroad, is the U.S. back where it started?
My conversation continues with three veterans who fought in the war on terror. We wanted to know if they thought this is just another open ended conflict for U.S. troops.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: So Gary, the president announcing last night an additional 475 troops to Iraq bringing the total now to more than 1,600. Does that sound like mission creep to you?
BERNTSEN: It is mission creep and those troops will be needed because this is a conflict that is in a space between two failed states. We've got Syria in the west and Iraq in the east, three times the size of Lebanon.
We're going to need those people to do some things out there. Of course we don't want traditional American troops on the ground fighting there. We're going to need to leverage foreign forces. We need the Saudis, the Kuwaitis, the UAE, and the Egyptians.
We need Sunni forces in there to do this. And we need like George Herbert Walker Bush did in 1991. We need to build a grand coalition and need get those states to pay for this conflict as George Herbert Walker Bush did in '91. When that conflict was over, we didn't owe a penny.
KAYE: And just very quickly though, does the idea of mission creep concern you?
BERNTSEN: It doesn't concern me because I understand the danger of ISIS and there has been a collapse across the Middle East.
KAYE: Jeff, the president said last night that our intelligence community believes thousands of foreigners including Europeans and some Americans have joined ISIS in Syria and Iraq. So without destroying the militant group, you hear these people are signing up for terror. What's the answer?
CAMP: What are underlying causes that people gravitate toward these ideals and use this extremism as a way to --
KAYE: But does the cause matter. Don't you still have to wipe them out?
CAMP: Well, I think that we've tried to wipe them out historically and it doesn't work because the groups splinter and more and more groups pop up. ISIS is a group that popped up based on our intervention in Iraq.
If we try to go military first strategy, we're just going to keep splintering these organizations and we're not looking at why these organizations are coming together and what are the causes and what are they forming and what's the reason they take such extreme measures?
KAYE: I said I want to ask you all before the break what surprised you most in 13 years since 9/11, here we are on 9/11. What surprised you most?
BARNO: I would say that what surprises me most today is the lack of leadership that I'm seeing out of this administration in terms of our national security and foreign policy.
I think it's a very dangerous time for the United States of America right now with how much time left President Obama has in office and basically where he has gotten us today in terms of the world being on fire.
BERNTSEN: I'm struck by how naive this administration is.
KAYE: Anything non-political surprise you?
BERNTSEN: We are in a world right now where we have significant violence taking place across so many countries here and this administration is spinning politically. Get down to business and deal with it. We want a commander in chief to succeed.
But we don't want to come out and make a first statement saying these guys aren't Islamic. That's like saying the Knights of Columbus aren't Catholic. Let's get down to business here. We are facing a serious threat.
As you stated earlier, hundreds of people from the U.K., a couple hundred from the United States, possibly 800 from Russia. This is an army of killers. They will function first there. They will attack us in the region and eventually they will attack us in the United States.
KAYE: Let me just give Jeff 20 seconds to respond as well.
CAMP: Sure, so as a country, we really haven't addressed the problems in our world and I think we've attempted to address them, but we've been doing the wrong thing. And that we should ultimately look at root causes of problems as opposed to military solutions.
KAYE: All right. Thank you all. Appreciate it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: Next, the Ray Rice video sparked a whole lot of outrage. Now an NBA superstar is weighing in, but he's apologizing for his remarks. Hear what Paul George said and how he's responding to the backlash.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: A basketball superstar is apologizing for his Twitter rant on the Ray Rice domestic violence controversy. Indiana Pacers Paul George quickly yanked tweets that appeared to defend Ray Rice. I want to read you one of these tweets. Listen to this.
"I don't condone hitting women or think it's cool, but if she ain't tripping then I ain't tripping. Let's keep it moving. Lol. Let that man play." Now George's boss, Larry Bird, said the tweets were "thoughtless," these are quote, and "inappropriate."
With me to discuss, Michelle Beadle. She is the co-host of ESPN's "Sports Nation." Michelle, nice to see you. I know you have a lot of thoughts on this. Certainly let's talk about the kids.
Because a lot of young kids are Paul George fans and look up to him. How can a superstar like him fail to grasp the power of such an insensitive tweet?
MICHELLE BEADLE, CO-HOST, ESPN'S "SPORTSNATION": You know, it's an interesting -- as far as kids are concerned, these are times right now as a parent I would suppose you need to sit them down. If you want to be a fan of an athlete, you have to realize these guys are not infallible.
They're not always where we need to go to for some of our nuggets of wisdom. In the case of Paul George, what he said sadly enough isn't what is shocking. During the course of this entire Ray Rice debacle, I have seen and heard those sentiments from a lot of people.
So what he actually said sadly I have heard it. As far as when someone like that does say it, it never fails to shock me because at the end of the day you want sponsors and you want to make extra money and get as much cash as you can during your NBA career.
Saying stupid things in a social media setting is not exactly the way to win over those companies out there looking to spend some cash. I'm sure he learned. The problem with social media is there is no erasing it. Once it's out there, it's out there forever.
KAYE: He did apologize, though, so we should mention that. Let me share what his apology said. He wrote this. I want to apologize to all victims of domestic abuse for my insensitive tweets. They were obviously without proper understanding of the seriousness of the situation. I sincerely regret my poor choice of words. So what do you make of that? Is that enough? Has he already done the damage?
BEADLE: You know, I'm a cynical human being. I have just about had it with apologies coming on the ends of PR telling you to apologize. He's had a lot of time to digest this story and think about what side of the story we're on and what happened as a result of that.
As far as saying I don't know the severity -- yes, you did. If you didn't, don't be ignorant and tweet things about it. Apologies from all kinds of people sound empty.
KAYE: Switching gears, let me ask you about this, the San Francisco 49ers radio announcer, Ted Robinson, he apologized and he got a two- game suspension for comments suggesting that Janay Rice was actually partly to blame because she didn't speak up.
This is what he said. He said, "How does she marry him after that? How does she go in front of Goodell? That's pathetic to me." So you think about that. Should Robinson have said anything at all given that this was, you know, you have the 49ers player, Ray McDonald, arrested last month, facing possible charges.
Investigation still under way in this alleged domestic violence incident in his case, as well. So, what do you make of this announcer saying what he said?
BEADLE: You know what? Through the entire ordeal, I believe self awareness hasn't been at the forefront of any of this. It is like a guy like Floyd Mayweather with seven arrests and five different women that he has beaten come out and say anything about any sort of an incident to do with domestic violence.
I found it comical and depressing. For this particular announcer, you know, not to forget, an announcer is now suspended for two games for words. Meanwhile, the player is still going to play on Sunday and played last Sunday, and may or may not have beaten his pregnant fiancee.
And this is a coach in Coach Harbaugh who has come out on the record and said, I am a zero tolerance guy. I will not have this on my team --
KAYE: Ray McDonald is on the field.
BEADLE: Concerned with winning. Will be out there Sunday unless something happens in the next 48 hours, 36 hours, whatever. They suspend him. I'm not holding my breath. At the end, it's football. It's king. They're more concerned with whether or not they get those wins.
And in the meanwhile, they're alienating 45 percent of the women who are NFL fans and 33 percent of us that watch these games on TV. A lot of us are angry.
KAYE: I bet. Michelle Beadle, thank you very much. Appreciate it. Nice to see you.
BEADLE: You, too.
KAYE: We're back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Elie Tahari is infamous for his designers suits, but the fashion empire goes way beyond that. Remember the tube top? His collections graced stores around the globe, but the legacy is not only for fashion sense, but also for how he built it.
He used to be an orphan actually and at one time so poor he had to sleep in New York's Central Park. Brooke Baldwin talked to the designer icon about his rags to riches story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELIE TAHARI, FASHION DESIGNER: I can't help it, but this color makes me happy. BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Hard to imagine, multi- million dollar designer, Elie Tahari arrived in New York City more than 30 years ago with just $100 in the pocket. Today his fashion is on display across five continents in more than 600 stores.
TAHARI: We are going to make it together.
BALDWIN: But the designer himself wasn't always dressed for success.
TAHARI: My father was 25, four kids and no job. So I was a second child. So I get the second clothes.
BALDWIN (on camera): You got the hand me downs. Wearing hand me downs as a child.
TAHARI: All the time.
BALDWIN (voice-over): After his family fled Iran for Israel, he was raised in an orphanage and he eventually served in the Israeli Air Force. He moved to New York City in his 20s with nothing, homeless, and sleeping on park benches.
(on camera): Did you appreciate sleeping in Central Park?
TAHARI: I appreciated the air I breathed in Central Park. I always was in the mood of survival.
BALDWIN (voice-over): By day, he worked as an electrician. By night, he sold women's clothing, and then the light bulb went off. He wanted to make the clothes himself.
TAHARI: When I come to New York, I worked in women's boutique because I liked, you know, I never been around women.
BALDWIN (on camera): You like the ladies?
TAHARI: Absolutely. So, it was the reason traction.
BALDWIN (voice-over): His big break, 1978, Studio 54. Elie Tahari's first fashion show.
TAHARI: We launch our brand Elie Tahari in Studio 54.
BALDWIN (on camera): What was that like, that first moment for you?
TAHARI: Well, I always appreciate what I did and I loved what I did. The challenges, you love it so much, if you don't mind doing it, you don't mind sweeping the floor.
BALDWIN: You swept the floor?
TAHARI: I did everything.
BALDWIN (voice-over): We have Elie Tahari to thank for the popularity of the tube top in the 1970s. He gave women the first tailored suits in the 1980s and today his clothes are synonymous with the successful career women.
TAHARI: Women are best the way God created them. When I was an eagle, I used always skinny tall models and the business went down. Ego is not good for business.
BALDWIN: Thank you for dressing us normal gals.
TAHARI: That's right.
BALDWIN: At what point across your lifetime here in Manhattan did you realize, I made it?
TAHARI: Well, that's a tough question because I haven't felt that feeling. The older I get, the more I love what I do and the more I feel that I have work to do.
BALDWIN (voice-over): At his New York fashion week presentation, his designs evoke the latest trends in technology and edge. He even has R&B Queen Mary J. Blige singing his praises.
MARY J. BLIGE, GRAMMY-WINNING SINGER/ACTRESS: I feel professional. I feel comfortable most of all.
BALDWIN: Work that.
BLIGE: Work that.
BALDWIN (voice-over): So from sleeping in Central Park to showing his new collection on 5th Avenue, has Elie Tahari finally arrived?
(on camera): Everyone's scaring at the designs. You haven't made it in the fashion world?
TAHARI: This is after a lot of hard work. So to stand here and to think we arrived is only the beginning of what's to come.
BALDWIN: Brooke Baldwin, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: Little bit of fashion fun here in New York City. Well, thanks so much for watching, everyone. I'm Randi Kaye. Brooke is back tomorrow. And "THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper begins right now. Have a great afternoon.
