Return to Transcripts main page

New Day

Terrorist Group Releases American Hostage; Air Strikes Continue Against ISIS in Iraq; Earthquake Hits Napa, California; South Korea Wins Little League World Series; Michael Brown Funeral Today

Aired August 25, 2014 - 07:00   ET

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

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Alisyn, details emerging about how Peter Theo Curtis seemed to have been released from (inaudible) . A statement from his family saying that they thank the U.S. and Qatari governments for negotiating, that it happened on humanitarian grounds and, as far as they know, no money changed hands. But potentially a fortunate off-shooter of the U.S. and continued crackdown and onslaught against ISIS through air strikes that may now potentially continue in Syria.

The group holding peter Theo Curtis, Jabhat al-Nusra, was also being linked to Al Qaeda and considered a terrorist group by the United States do occasionally rival ISIS in some of the battles on the Syrian field. So potentially this may have been a move by them to curry favor in the west. But also, we know, too, of the difficult escape attempt that was made by Peter Theo Curtis and his one-time American cellmate Matt Schrier. Theo lifted Matt out through a window. Theo got stuck in that same window. Matt agonized about the fact he had to leave Theo behind, but yesterday released a statement saying this it is the happiest day of his life to know that Peter Theo Curtis is finally safe. Alisyn?

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: I can only imagine the guilt he harbored until Theo was free. Nick Paton Walsh, thanks so much.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: The U.S. military now said to be considering force against the extremist group ISIS in Syria. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff made it clear that he is prepared to launch air strikes against ISIS leaders in Syria if, and this really is a big if, if there is a direct threat to the United States. Actions being considered after the beheading of American James Foley and of course as ISIS militants seized a key government base inside Syria. Our Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr has more this morning. Good morning, Barbara.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John. If ISIS threatens the United States, what does that already mean? Already it has labeled a terrorist attack the murder of James Foley. The U.S. already striking ISIS targets, of course, for many days now inside Iraq because it is said that they threaten U.S. interests in the region.

Most intelligence experts will tell you're ISIS right now does not pose a direct threat to the U.S. homeland. They have no plans at the moment and they have no real capability to launch a major attack against the United States inside this country. But still, President Obama trying to decide, by all accounts, whether to take that next step and strike ISIS inside Syria, across that border inside Syria.

You know, we've seen a lot of language out of the Pentagon in the last several days about all this, but the reality is we do not know what the president will decide. Hagel expected at the White House later today to discuss all of it. If there were to be air strikes, a first step would be to step up reconnaissance flights over Syria to get exact targeting intelligence on where ISIS is located. John?

BERMAN: Barbara Starr at the Pentagon, thanks so much.

I want to break this down a little bit more. Joining us is Philip Mudd. He's a CNN counterterrorism analyst and former CIA counterterrorism official. Phil, thanks so much for being with us. I want to take this in two parts. You heard Barbara's reporting right there about is, the notion of whether ISIS is a direct threat to the United States. First, in your opinion, is ISIS right now a direct threat to the U.S.?

PHILIP MUDD, CNN COUNTERTERRORISM ANALYST: I'm hesitating. My answer is yes for a simple reason. That is, when you're looking at a terror organization you break it down into capability and intent. What can they do? What do they want to do? They showed us intent already vis- a-vis America. They beheaded an American citizen and they talked about America being a target.

The capability question here John is really interesting. You do not get terror organizations that have 100-plus Americans who have gone overseas to fight with them, 300, 400-plus British, more Europeans from places like Germany and France who are participating in the fight. That gives the group a capability to reach back into America that's substantial. I don't see how you can sit here and say there's not a threat. I'm not saying we can't handle it, but I'm saying you can't as a practitioner, as a specialist, say they don't pose a threat.

BERMAN: So all this discussion that's apparently happening in the administration right now, if they're a threat, are they a threat, how much of a threat, you're already past that. You think they are and you think action needs to be taken. So let's break down this action. Air strikes, what would air strikes do against ISIS in Syria?

MUDD: A couple of things they would do. The first is to stop the fighting on the ground from ISIS. That is, do the same thing in Syria we've seen done in Iraq. When ISIS, for example, is going after a military facility, you can hit their artillery. You can hit their trucks. You can whatever weapons they've stolen from the Syrian military.

I think there's a second more interesting question, though, John, and that is do we have the intelligence to start mapping out what the command and control of ISIS is, not only the people who are involved in the military fight on the ground, but the people who might be involved in the segment of ISIS that could be recruiting and training foreign fighters from Europe to the United States. We've seen air strikes against front line ISIS forces. We've got to see strikes against the backroom, if you will, the command and control of ISIS. And some of that has got to be in Syria.

BERMAN: Do we you think we're losing the opportunity to strike back against ISIS right now?

MUDD: No, I don't. I suspect, by the way, that Washington has already made the decision, and behind the scenes they're trying to figure out how to execute strikes properly. Having been there, this is really complicated. You're not only talking about what your first 50 or 100 strikes are. What are the subsidiary of strikes? Do you have intelligence capability to follow ISIS once you start hitting them and they start running to other locations? This is pretty complicated stuff, John.

But I think they have been at this for years in Syria. We're three- and-a-half years into this fight. I think a day or two, a week or two doesn't make a huge amount of difference. And I believe that the administration has already signaled not only intent but their will to go after ISIS in Syria. I'd bet a paycheck in a week or two or less we're going to start seeing bombs lock and load on ISIS targets in Syria.

BERMAN: We'll hold you to that, Phil, probably not the bet but at least the discussion. The president sits down with Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel today. We'll see what comes from that meeting.

As you say, it is so complicated in that legion right now with so much going on. Overnight, or yesterday we had the release of Theo Curtis who had been held by al-Nusra for two years there, a very different outcome than we saw with James Foley. Explain to me why you think we saw this different outcome. What was the key to getting Theo Curtis out alive?

MUDD: I think there are probably two keys to this. The first, we have the intermediary, the Qataris, whose have been around in this fight for a long time. They've been in the middle of the revolution in Egypt. They have good contacts with Taliban. They have contacts obviously with news Jabhat al-Nusra, the group that held this hostage. They are trying to increase their profile. It's a tiny country, Qatar, with billions of dollars of natural gas. They're trying to play on the global stage. Remember, I know this sounds a bit odd, but they also won the World Cup. They are trying to position themselves with just a few hundred thousand citizens to become players on a global stage.

So I suspect they talked to Jabhat al-Nusra and said, look, you guys look bad if you kill him. Let him go and we'll maintain our relationship with you, which I'm sure involves weapon flows into Jabhat al-Nusra.

The second and final thing, I think, is that Jabhat al-Nusra has been fighting with ISIS. They have a different ideological perspective than ISIS, and they might have said this release allows us to differentiate ourselves from people who are now viewed not only in the west but in the Islamic world as brutal. And so I think that combination of the Qatari intermediaries and the fact that Jabhat al- Nusra wants to differentiate itself might have been the contributing factor.

BERMAN: I think it's hard to imagine for a lot of people that an Al Qaeda affiliate particularly cares about its public relations with the west. But leave that for a second. Does what Qatari did, did what Qatar did with al-Nusra, does that provide any kind of blueprint, any kind of hope to get these other American hostages who may be held by ISIS released?

MUDD: Maybe. That's what I've been thinking through this morning. You've got 20 hostages there. The Qataris have been there for a long time. I'm sure that there's some, if not negotiation, some agreement they had with Jabhat al-Nusra. For example, it might not be as simple as saying, hey, let me give you some money for a hostage. They might have said if you want to ensure future weapons flows like the weapons flows that have gone through in past months or years, you ought to negotiate on issues like this. So I think there's a chance that this opens the doors for more negotiations.

Of course, one of the questions is, who owns which hostages? Syria is a pea soup of opposition groups. Some of them act sort of like gangs owning neighborhoods. So I don't know how many Jabhat al- Nusra hold, but this might be a blueprint for a few of them.

BERMAN: Let's hope that he gets more released. Phil Mudd, always great to have you with us, really appreciate your insight.

MUDD: Thank you.

BERMAN: Alisyn?

CAMEROTA: All right, John, now to the aftermath of northern California's worst earthquake in 25 years. People in wine country dealing with dozens of aftershocks, the quake making a mess of downtown Napa, as you can see there. It was so powerful even buildings retrofitted to withstand major tremors were damaged. Thousands are still without power at this hour. Schools in the area are closed today. But Napa's airport is open even though, as you might be able to see there, most of the windows of the air traffic control tower were shattered. Dan Simon is following all of this for us from Napa. Wow, it looks crazy behind you. What's the latest, Dan?

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Alisyn. It's just a disaster zone here in downtown Napa. You talked about the buildings being retrofitted. This is actually one of them. You can see it just crumbled. You see all these bricks on the ground. You've got debris all over the place. The streets are blocked off. Here we are 24 hours since the event, and the exact toll of all the devastation is still unknown.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SIMON: The cleanup effort in Napa continues this morning while crews work to restore power to thousands left in the dark after Sunday's earthquake. The first moments of the powerful quake caught on camera, rattling residents out of their sleep at 3:20 a.m.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's an earthquake.

SIMON: Striking the Bay Area at a whopping 6.0 magnitude, the strongest felt here in 25 years.

MARLOW DANIEL, NAPA RESIDENT: This just kept going and kept going and kept going. I felt like I was on a raft in the motion almost.

SIMON: In downtown Napa, just six miles southwest of the epicenter, historical buildings and homes sustained heavy damage. Pieces of this courthouse and other structures crumbled to the ground, authorities reporting over 100 injuries, including a young child seriously hurt when a fireplace collapsed.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was in shock to see people's homes, people's offices on the floor and crooked, and to know that this is life changing.

SIMON: Business owners in the famed wine country also reporting being hit hard. Hundreds of gallons of wine spewing from a crack in this storage tank.

GAVIN NEWSOM, LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR OF CALIFORNIA: A wine maker across the street from us, they were devastated. Dozens and dozens of their barrels collapsed.

SIMON: Fires broke out following the quake, destroying dozens of homes. Broken water mains hampering firefighters' efforts to extinguish the flames. Fire crews having no choice but to let these mobile homes burn to the ground. Experts now warning residents of aftershocks.

JOHN PARRISH, CHIEF OF CALIFORNIA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY: We think there's probably over 50 or 60 aftershocks now, the largest one being a magnitude 3.6. We do think the aftershocks will continue for several weeks.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SIMON: Well, the Napa Valley wine industry, a $13 billion industry, they're still taking stock of all the damage. We know that certain wineries definitely got hit hard. Hopefully we'll get a better sense of that today. But the immediate concern right now is getting the infrastructure taken care of, making sure that there are no more gas leaks, repairing those waterlines, and of course getting the power turned back on. Alisyn?

CAMEROTA: Absolutely. All right, Dan, be careful. Thanks for the update.

And it's calm this morning in Ferguson, Missouri, as the family of Michael Brown prepares to say goodbye. Three White House officials will attend Brown's funeral in St. Louis. It's been a little more than two weeks since the unarmed teenager was shot to death by a police officer. Brown's death sparked days of unrest. At a rally Sunday, Brown's father said he wants just one thing on the day he buries his son. He wants peace. CNN's Stephanie Elam is life in St. Louis with more. Hi, Stephanie.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Alisyn. They are expecting a big turnout today to say goodbye to Michael Brown. The church, this Baptist church, as you see here behind us, it can seat 2,500 people in the sanctuary, and they have overflow rooms that will accommodate another 2,500. Keep in mind it's really warm out here, so they're expecting people to be back inside. Also school is back in session here in Ferguson.

But right now the town that has been in so much turmoil for two weeks since Mike Brown has died, will now have a time to focus on how he lived his life and be able to say goodbye to him. This is something that has been coming. There's been a lot of planning going into this. They are expecting many members of Mike Brown's family. They are also expecting several politicians and perhaps a couple of celebrities as well to show up here at the church when things get under way, around 9:30 local time this morning and should go for a couple of hours, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: All right, Stephanie, thanks so much for that update. And I know you both will be on the air covering Michael Brown's family today.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Things start around 10:30, I think the procession. We'll be watching it here on CNN.

Obviously a lot of headlines to get to today. The last known message from James Foley has been released by his family. Apparently Foley composed a letter before he was executed by ISIS. In it he recounted memories with his family, discussing experiences with fellow captives. Foley then asked another hostage who was being released to take the letter and memorize it entirely and then relay the words to his family. He did that. All this coming as investigators say they're close to identifying the ISIS militant who beheaded Foley.

The hope for a ceasefire in the Middle East fading again. Overnight Israel says rockets landed in communities near the Gaza border. No injuries were reported. This as Palestinian officials say at least 16 people were killed by Israeli air strikes Sunday including a Hamas financial leader. Four Israelis were hurt in a mortar strike near the Gaza border.

New this morning, Russia says it plans to send another aid convoy to the eastern Ukraine in the near future. That first convoy entered Ukraine without authorization Friday to deliver aid. In the meantime rebels paraded Ukrainian prisoners throughout the streets in Donetsk Sunday. Crowds in the pro-Russian stronghold hurled bottles and insults at dozens of captured soldiers. Tomorrow Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet with European Union officials to discuss the ongoing conflict.

Oh, this was my Sunday. South Korea has won its third Little League World Series Championship. The South Koreans held on to an early lead, a sizable lead, 8-1 against Chicago's Jackie Robinson West to win 8-4 despite a six-inning rally by Chicago. It's South Korea's third Little League World Series win after back-to-back victories in 1984 and 1985.

I gotta tell you, proud day in Chicago. They are honoring its home team with a homecoming parade on Wednesday. Can I give a little shout-out, though, to D.J. Butler, number 1. You see that little fella? The fella they walked right before the last run? He was the tiniest little guy and he got up there, planted his feet, and was just there.

BERMAN: Big heart though.

PEREIRA: Big heart. Ten kids from the South Side of Chicago gaining the nation's attention, making us proud. Well done, well done.

BERMAN: I thought they had a chance with that rally, that late inning rally. They didn't give up. They were down early but they did not give up. That's a lesson there.

(CROSSTALK)

PEREIRA: Tremendous amount of heart.

CAMEROTA: They made it a long way.

PEREIRA: They sure did.

BERMAN: And did you see, after the game though? The best thing was after the game, the South Korean kids and the kids from Chicago, they're shaking hands. Awesome handshakes. Made me think thank goodness these guys are still kids after a competition.

PEREIRA: Here's the other thing -- that's what support should be doing, right, for kids? That's what -- it should bring them together.

CAMEROTA: Sportsmanship.

PEREIRA: Yes, sportsmanship.

I also love another little story. I just go on about this, I love it. I love that some of the families were having trouble trying to come up with the finances to get to Pennsylvania for the games. Current MLB stars stepped in and said, no, we got to make this happen. And helped them out.

BERMAN: It's a good use of their money.

PEREIRA: Well done. Yes, it is.

CAMEROTA: Great story. All right. Next on NEW DAY, it's a day of mourning in Ferguson, Missouri, as we've been telling you, Michael Brown's family prepares to say good-bye. That teenager, as you know, shot and killed by police, he's set to be buried today. So we will speak with Brown's pastor next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PEREIRA: Welcome back to NEW DAY.

There has been so much public unrest over the past two weeks in Ferguson, Missouri. This morning, those debates are going to take a back seat, that's the hope, as Michael Brown's family lays their son to rest. The funeral service is being held in St. Louis.

Want to bring in somebody very special, Pastor Carlton Lee, Michael Brown, Sr.'s pastor from Flood Christian Church. Pastor Lee is there attending the funeral for Michael Brown, Jr.

Sir, thank you so much for joining me, Pastor. Tell me a little bit about the preparations. It looks like there is a fair amount of activity behind you there.

PASTOR CARLTON LEE, MICHAEL BROWN SR.'S PASTOR, FLOOD CHRISTIAN CHURCH: Yes, there is. Behind me, you can probably see the barricades are getting ready to go up right now. There's a lot of people starting to pull up, even as early as 6:30 Central Standard Time. They're coming in early.

PEREIRA: You know Michael Brown, Sr., very well. And I know you probably had a chance to hear him speak very movingly and from a very emotional place at the rally, pleading for peace and tranquillity and quiet as he lays his son to rest. Do you get a sense the community and the nation is going to hear that?

LEE: Yes. I think the community hears it loud and clear. I do believe that there will be peace. I don't believe -- I pray that the people do not come here to protest on today even through all the stuff we have heard, certain people, certain groups coming to protest. I pray that they don't show up to protest and we that can respect Michael Brown, Jr.'s life and legacy and respect the wishes of the father, to not come in to protest but to come in to join in with the family on this somber but yet joyous occasion.

PEREIRA: Yes, you mentioned -- that's important. Hopefully people understand today is not the day for that. How is Dad doing? How is he doing today?

LEE: You know, I have not talked to him today, but I was with him yesterday. We were together at the rally. We were together a few hours before church on Sunday. And Dad is still in shock and awe. He's still in shock and awe. He just can't believe it, but yet he's being strong for his other children because he wants to let them know, you know, hey, we're going to get through this together. And I admire him for those strong father qualities about him I've always seen come out. And now, during this tragedy, I've seen them come out stronger than ever. So I'm very, very, very proud of Michael Brown, Sr.

PEREIRA: Things have been peaceful mostly, things have been calmer. Emotions are hopefully getting under control. Do you feel like maybe there's a turning point now, maybe that the movement will take a different direction? LEE: I would certainly hope so. However, I'm a realist. I really

don't know how the way it will come out. I think with today, I personally believe it may stir up people to relive that dreadful day. I hope it doesn't. Really I hope it doesn't. That is my prayer.

But from some of the people I've heard from in the community, they did say, Pastor, I just can't believe this. I think we're going to step backwards, is what they have conveyed to me. So I'm hoping and praying that is not the case and that we can continue on with peace.

PEREIRA: I think that is all of our hope. Pastor, I know this young man, 18-year-old teenager, has become a symbol for much more than just one thing, if you will. He's become a symbol around the nation for a time we're living in, for frustration about inequality. He's become a symbol for so many things. Whether you knew him as Mike-Mike, Big Mike, Michael Brown, Jr., what would you like to see his legacy be?

LEE: I would like to see his legacy become the Michael Brown Law, something that we're actually in the process of working on. I'm not sure if I can disclose all the details of it, because I'm not a lawyer. But we really would like to see a major change in the way that police handle certain operations and their tactics. We really want to see it.

If you know, last week another kid was gunned down, shot six times, I believe, by two police officers here in St. Louis. So it's becoming an epidemic. It's not just here in St. Louis, not just a Midwest thing. It is a nationwide thing. And so we want to see the Mike Brown law go into effect all over the country.

PEREIRA: On this day, Pastor, what is your message to the community of Ferguson?

LEE: The message would simply just be, you know, we have a hope in Christ and we have to view this as -- Mike Mike is -- he prophetically declared, "I'm going to be a legend." And I agree with him. He is definitely a legend. He's a legend and he's the new voice of the civil rights movement, he's the new face of the civil rights movement. And I don't want the community to let his life and legacy go down in vain.

I want to also encourage all fathers to be a part of his children's life like Mike Brown, Sr., was, a very active of his son's life, in all of his children's lives. So I would like to see fathers step up to the plate and be that father figure for their children.

PEREIRA: I certainly am glad that you are there to support the family on this very, very difficult day. It sounds like they are going to be at capacity. The church holds 2,500 people; they've got 2,500 seats of overflow because of the community and many people from around the area are coming out in support of the Brown family.

Pastor, thank you for joining us today. Our thoughts are with you and the family as they lay Michael Brown to rest.

LEE: Thank you so much. PEREIRA: We're going to take a short break on NEW DAY. Up next,

President Obama back in Washington. He is facing a critical decision about this growing threat from ISIS. Will the U.S. combat the terror group in Syria? We have experts here to weigh in.

Also, a tropical storm gaining some strength in the Atlantic. Could it turn into a hurricane? We'll track it with the latest forecast coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)