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Obama Lays Out ISIS Strategy; Interview with Senator John McCain of Arizona; New Video Shows Witnesses Reacting to Michael Brown Shooting

Aired September 11, 2014 - 08:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Look at that image this morning.

Good morning and welcome back to NEW DAY, everyone. It's Thursday, September 11th.

You are looking live at One World Trade Center where, of course, the Twin Towers once stood. It's been 13 years since terrorists carried out their deadly attacks on U.S. soil, destroying those buildings and also hitting the Pentagon.

And all these years later, Americans are still facing the threat of terror from the Middle East.

We see that more and more, especially today, Chris.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: And last night, President Obama prepared Americans for a long fight against ISIS. That couldn't be more true.

Also true, he became the fourth consecutive president to push for military action in Iraq. He is sending additional non-combat troops there and also says he will not hesitate to strike inside Syria.

So, what does this all mean? Are people on board with him? What happens next?

Let's get to Jim Acosta live from the White House -- Jim.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Chris, on this anniversary of 9/11, the president said there is no ISIS threat against the U.S. homeland, but he also came out talking tough last night, announcing his decision to order air strikes on ISIS and Syria.

But the questions have already begun on just how he will get this job done.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: My fellow Americans.

ACOSTA (voice-over): It was a cautious commander in chief no more, rolling you the dice with an ambitious plan to wipe out ISIS.

OBAMA: Our objective is clear, we will degrade and ultimately destroy ISIL through a comprehensive and sustained counterterrorism strategy.

ACOSTA: The president's biggest leap, ramping up U.S. airstrikes on ISIS targets in both Iraq and Syria.

OBAMA: I've made it clear that we will hunt down terrorists who threaten our country wherever they are. This is a core principle of my presidency. If you threaten America, you will find no safe haven.

ACOSTA: To help expand those airstrikes, the president is sending 475 more U.S. service members to Iraq, raising the total there to 1,600. Add to that a new mission to equip and train moderate Syrian rebels.

To make that happen, the president has been working the phones to build a global coalition, and officials say includes Saudi Arabia, which will host a training program for anti-ISIS fighters.

But the president also insisted the war on ISIS will be different.

OBAMA: I want the American people to understand how this effort will be different from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It will not involve American combat troops fighting on foreign soil.

ACOSTA: But Mr. Obama's decision reopened old wounds, as Republican Senator John McCain and the president's former press secretary, and now CNN contributor, Jay Carney, clashed over whether the president is to blame.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: The fact that they didn't leave a residual force in Iraq, overruling all of his military advisers, is the reason why we are facing ISIS today.

JAY CARNEY, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I think that, you know, the question of the residual force, you know, there was another player in that, which you was the Iraqi government, A. B, it was the fulfillment of the previous administration's withdrawal plans.

MCCAIN: You are again saying facts that are patently false.

CARNEY: Senator, I -- I can -- I can posit with great respect for you that --

MCCAIN: You can't. You can't.

CARNEY: -- we disagree on that.

MCCAIN: No, you can't.

(CROSSTALK)

CARNEY: Sir, if I may.

MCCAIN: You can't because you don't have the facts. You don't have the facts, Mr. Carney, that's the problem.

CARNEY: Senator, I understand that you present the facts that you believe are true based on the argument that you have made -- MCCAIN: Not I believe.

(CROSSTALK)

CARNEY: For a long time, sir, that we should leave troops in Iraq in perpetuity and that's just not what this president believes and that's, you know, obviously, he was elected president to fulfill what he believed was right for our country and right for our national security.

ACOSTA: Looking forward, expect more debate over the Syrian rebels that will take the fight to ISIS, on behalf of the U.S. Senior administration officials say they are being vetted, but Republicans were skeptical before the speech.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: As for a timeline for those airstrikes in Syria, senior administration official did not offer one, saying the White House is not going to telegraph its punches and, Chris, one new -- slightly new development this morning, as for those questions coming from Congress on whether or not they should have the chance to vote on authorization for the use of military force against ISIS, senior administration official said this morning that the president would welcome what they are calling a new limited authorization for the use of military force that would specifically address the threat posed by ISIS. And so, it does seem that the White House is opening the door to that kind of vote up on Capitol Hill.

And we should point out, since it is this anniversary of that at 8:45, the president, the vice president, the first lady, will be out on the South Lawn of the White House to mark that occasion with a moment of silence -- Chris.

CUOMO: All right, Jim, thank you very much. I think it makes sense, especially on 9/11, that this is being taken seriously right now. And whether or not there will be a vote is a huge, huge question -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: Absolutely, Chris.

For more on this, let's bring in Republican Senator John McCain to discuss.

Senator, good morning.

MCCAIN: Good morning, Kate.

BOLDUAN: So you've had a long night's sleep, I know.

But do you feel any differently about that back-and-forth, that conversation you had with Jay Carney last night?

MCCAIN: Well, there were two elements, major key occurrences that led us to where we are today. The first was when the president decided that we would remove all troops and not leave a residual force behind. Now, I know we could have because Lindsey Graham and I were in Baghdad

and met Maliki, Allawi and Barzani, and you'd have to find one statement the president made where he wanted to leave a residual force behind. So, the fact is we could have.

The second key decision was two years ago when his entire national security team, including the secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, recommended that we arm and train the Free Syrian Army and he rejected that. There's 192,000 dead in Syria. I know these young men who were fighting and I know that a lot of them are dead now, and it's tragic because we could have made a difference by arming and training the free Syrian army then.

And now, the president wants to do it and it's going to be much more difficult.

BOLDUAN: Well, then, let's look forward then and let's start there.

MCCAIN: Sure.

BOLDUAN: On arming the -- on arming the rebels, if you will.

There are a lot of questions about what that includes right now. One of your colleagues, Bob Corker, he started to wonder if there is enough of a moderate opposition left to really trust to be able to take on ISIS on the ground in Syria. Do you trust the Free Syrian Army today?

MCCAIN: I do it's much more difficult than it was two years ago when the recommendation was rejected by the president. It's very difficult. There are no good options here.

And I'd like to add one other point about coming to Congress. It's the difference between welcoming Congress and coming to Congress. Bill Clinton, after Bosnia, after Srebrenica, came to the Congress and requested that they support what he wanted to do. George Herbert Walker Bush, after the invasion of Kuwait, came to Congress and requested their support.

It's in the president's interest to have debate and discussion and votes here in the Congress of the United States because you got to get the people behind them.

BOLDUAN: But, Senator, on some level is that a little bit semantics? I mean, the president, as you heard Jim Acosta say, that the administration official, that they welcome a new authorization of force, then just do it, if he says welcome, and I know you support a vote, then where are the leaders? Just do it.

MCCAIN: But there's a real difference there, because the president is saying I'm going to go ahead and do what I'm going to do, with or without Congress.

I believe that if he said I want Congress' support and ratification of what I'm going to do, then that would put the burden on Congress to act. So, there's semantics, it sounds like a small difference, but it is a big difference.

The other thing -- problem the president is going to have and is having right now the credibility with Arab countries in the region. When he said he was going to strike Syria and then canceled, I can assure you, because I talk to these leaders all the time, there's a huge credibility gap.

You will notice that the announced, quote, "coalition" so far does not include any Middle Eastern country.

BOLDUAN: Well, and that's the next question I was going to ask you about. Do you trust, should the administration trust the coalition of regional partners, that they will stick with this? Because it does not sound like this is in any way, shape or form going to be a short campaign.

Do you trust it? Let's start there.

MCCAIN: I do if we can restore their confidence that we will act in their interest. For example, if we cozy up to Iran and work with Iran in an effort to defeat ISIS, the Saudis are not going to go along with that. The Saudis view the Iranians as their mortal enemy.

We have to go and take out both Bashar Assad and ISIS, and that is going to be a very difficult and long-term proposition. So, we're going to have to restore confidence level, particularly among Middle Eastern countries that is not there today.

BOLDUAN: Well, in the most immediate sense, what other countries do you think should be or will be involved in the airstrikes? That's one question that's not yet been answered.

MCCAIN: I think that you will probably see perhaps one of the -- French, I think, may -- I think others may. I also think wonderful and ideal if UAE, who has our F-16 aircraft and close ally, but it's going to be extremely difficult to give because of this credibility gap, and it is going to be a long haul.

And I'd like to make one other comment, Kate.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

MCCAIN: We keep saying that we don't see a specific, credible threat. Of course, we don't have a specific, credible threat.

But we have Twitter and Facebook inundated with threats to the United States, arguing for people to come to the United States and commit acts of terror. And Mr. Baghdadi himself has said that he wants to do that, the same guy that left our prison in Camp Bucca and said, I'll see you in New York.

So, I have no doubt that what their ultimate goal is and they are just trying to find ways to do it so they are, in the view of our intelligence experts, a direct threat if not a specific, credible threat. I think we are parsing words when we say that. You see what I mean? BOLDUAN: Let me ask you this then, because your criticisms, we often

-- we talk about how you are a critic of the administration. But now that there is a strategy, Senator, now that there is going to be action, I want to know from your standpoint, how are you -- one of the big voices that we turn to a lot on these issues -- how are you going to help the administration succeed now in implementing this?

MCCAIN: First of all, I would like to say I was a critic of the last administration when I saw it failing.

BOLDUAN: Very true. Absolutely true.

MCCAIN: Then, I was the brave maverick. Now, I'm the grump old man --

BOLDUAN: You're still a maverick. Don't worry. I will always call you that

MCCAIN: Thank you, Kate.

The -- I will be glad to support the president if I'm convinced that this is robust enough and strong enough and serious enough to really bring about a favorable result, I'm not convinced of that yet, when the president says that the situation with ISIS in Iraq is the same as Yemen --

BOLDUAN: And Somalia.

MCCAIN: -- and Somalia, that's not true. It's vastly different. This is a huge caliphate with hundreds of millions of dollars, American equipment and there's a vast difference there.

So, the president, if he can convince me and I'm not yet convinced that it isn't going to be just half-measures and isn't just reacting to polling numbers, I'll support him because many of the things he is saying he is doing now what we have been arguing for the last three years.

BOLDUAN: Is there one thing you can say that would -- that would convince you that one thing he could say that would convince you?

MCCAIN: Airstrikes in Syria begin tomorrow. I can give him targets. If he is worried about targets, I can give him targets in Syria -- excuse me, airstrikes in Syria would begin tomorrow. That would be, I think, a huge signal.

BOLDUAN: Do you though appreciate that he is not laying out a timetable, he is not giving those, if you will, military marching orders, not saying them publicly, he could be telling you that behind- the-scenes?

MCCAIN: Oh, I think it is important not to lay out a timetable. One of the biggest mistakes made was withdrawing from Iraq, just because he wanted us out.

And, by the way, we are going to see the same situation evolve in Afghanistan if he withdraws on a date certain rather than condition- based.

And I would remind you, we have left residual forces in many countries after conflicts, including Bosnia, including Korea, and others. It's not a matter of keeping Americans fighting. It's a matter of keeping American presence in forced for stability.

BOLDUAN: And also a matter of keeping Americans safe.

MCCAIN: Exactly.

BOLDUAN: Something that means a whole lot more, especially when we're talking on the 13th anniversary of 9/11.

Senator McCain, thank you so much. Great to see you.

MCCAIN: Thank you, Kate.

BOLDUAN: Michaela?

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Kate, thanks so much.

Let's give you a look at more of our headlines right now.

We are following breaking news from South Africa. We have just received word that the trial is back in session. Oscar Pistorius has been cleared of murder in the death of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. The judge says the state did not prove premeditated murder so he cannot be found guilty.

The Blade Runner still however faces other charges, including culpable homicide, that could lead to a long prison term. The judge is expected to consider that verdict next. We will have more on this ahead on NEW DAY.

A NATO official tells CNN there are 1,000 Russian troops still in the Eastern Ukraine, another 20,000 troops are lined up on the Russian side of the border with Ukraine. Pro-Russian rebels in Eastern Ukraine appear to have access to sophisticated military equipment from Russia. NATO is urging Russia to help negotiate a political solution to the conflict between Ukraine and the anti-government rebels.

The NFL has tapped former FBI Director Robert Mueller to conduct an independent investigation into their handling of the domestic violence case involving Ray Rice. Commissioner Goodell insists they did not see the video of Rice punching his then-fiancee until this week.

However, the "Associated Press" quotes saying an NFL executive had seen the tape back in April. Obviously, much more on this story coming up on NEW DAY.

CUOMO: Yes.

BOLDUAN: Exactly.

CUOMO: If they saw the tape and they lied about it, they've got trouble. If they didn't see the tape, they didn't need to see the tape to do the actions that they didn't take. So, they are in trouble.

BOLDUAN: That's the point, most important point.

CUOMO: And they are still ignoring the reality, even Bisciotti, the Ravens head, a lot of points for honesty from him, but what was his main message? I wanted to believe Ray, not the woman. I wanted to believe that the woman deserved it. You know, or did something that bring this on. There's a culture of how we deal with domestic violence, goes so far past the NFL. This is a symptom that we are seeing here.

BOLDUAN: What will it change? That's not where I am so confident.

CUOMO: Six games. Six games. That's what the rule is right now.

All right. New witnesses to the Michael brown shooting come forward. White contractors, and they were outraged, yelling at cops, they were yelling this, here is the quote, "But he had his hands up". What will that mean for the case?

We're going to talk to the Brown family attorney.

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CUOMO: Welcome back.

There is news in the Michael Brown shooting situation. Police in Missouri arresting dozens of protesters, planning to tie up a major interstate over the Michael Brown shooting.

This as CNN obtains exclusive video showing more witnesses, key witnesses, two white construction workers reacting just moments after Brown was shot and killed. They say they saw it. Their reaction, screaming at police with hands raised. Why? They were seeming to say it all just with their body language.

Randi Kaye spoke with them.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Just after 12:00 noon, Ferguson, Missouri, the men you see in this exclusive cell phone video hear gunshots. They are about 50 feet away from Michael Brown and Officer Darren Wilson.

The unidentified person recording this video captured the witness's reaction during the final moments of the shooting.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He had his (EXPLETIVE DELETED) hands up!

KAYE: Both men were contractors working in the area. They did not want to be identified.

The man on the left pink shirt told CNN they heard one gunshot. Then about 30 seconds later, a second shot. He says he saw Michael Brown staggering. Then, he says, Brown put his hands up and said, OK, OK, OK. The witness told us the cop didn't say get on the ground, he just kept shooting.

That same witness described the gruesome scene saying he saw Michael Brown's brains come out of his head, again reiterating his hands were up.

Watch how he motions on the video.

The video these witnesses say was taken shortly after the shooting ended. If you look closely, you can see a police officer in the distance beginning to put up crime scene tape. Both men told us by the time it was over, there were three officers on the scene. But only one involved in the shooting.

Another voice is also heard on the tape. The contractor in the green shirt told me, that voice belongs to a man he didn't know, who pulled up alongside them, yelling this --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was no (EXPLETIVE DELETED) threat at all!

KAYE (on camera): That same contractor in green also told me that he saw Michael Brown running away from the police car. He said Brown put his hands up and that the officer was chasing him. He also said that Officer Wilson fired another shot at Brown while his back was turned.

(voice-over): The contractor in the pink shirt also shared this -- that a second officer who arrived later to the scene also drew his weapon. He said the one cop was the one who shot him. Then, I saw the other officer pull a gun out. But he didn't shoot.

That same worker described how Brown staggered dead after the second shot 20 to 25 feet to the ground, explaining, "He was like a walking dead guy."

Randi Kaye, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CUOMO: So, that is what Randi Kaye has brought up in terms of reporting. What will it mean?

Let's bring in Benjamin Crump, attorney for Michael Brown's family.

Counsel, thank you for joining us this morning.

What does this mean to you?

BENJAMIN CRUMP, ATTORNEY FOR MICHAEL BROWN'S FAMILY: Chris, this video is of paramount significance, not because those two construction workers were not Ferguson residents, not because they were Caucasian, but because this is a contemporaneous recording of their first impressions, like a play by play of what they just saw and you can't get better evidence than that, other than the video of the shooting itself, Chris.

CUOMO: Now, what will be the pushback? The pushback would be, well, about ten minutes after, eyewitness testimony, people are dying to be relevant, and, you know, you have to corroborate it with other things.

Do you think this could be mitigated? Do you think it could be reduced in its significance?

CRUMP: Chris, it is their immediate reactions and a vivid illustration of how outrageous they felt this was and it is the illustration of what the people in Ferguson and all over America are feeling that you were shooting at these unarmed teenagers as they ran away. And then when he put his hands up and surrender, you kept shooting him. And it corroborates exactly what the other witnesses have said, what the physical evidence is saying, that he was executed in broad daylight.

CUOMO: Now, there's some question as to what the prosecutor will do with this. Can you foresee any situation where this type of evidence would not be presented to a grand jury?

CRUMP: I certainly cannot and that is what is so troubling to the citizens of Ferguson, that we have this grand jury process that is a secret proceeding where nobody knows what the prosecutor puts forth. But if the prosecutor puts forth this evidence, the necessary evidence, we are confident that an indictment will be happened down.

I want to say this, Chris -- there's more than enough evidence to go ahead and indict the officer for murdering this unarmed teenager now. There's no need for a grand jury. You have seven eyewitnesses now that all corroborate that he put his hands up and the officer kept shooting. That he was running away and the officer kept shooting.

What more do you need?

CUOMO: Well, but the reason for the grand jury was so that the public could have confidence that the people weighed in on this, wasn't that something you were calling for early on, let the people decide this, take it out of the office?

CRUMP: Well, Chris, every day, police officers and prosecutors charge people with crimes. You don't have to go to a grand jury. This is something that they are telling you we need. There was no need for a grand jury in this case. They could have simply arrested this officer based on the evidence that they have now. It's more than enough probable cause.

And, you know, his parents, they see this grand jury and this secret proceeding as well as the people in Ferguson and this further exacerbates the mistrust that they already have, that they are going to try to sweep the murder of Michael Brown under the rug.

CUOMO: I totally understand the concerns, as you know, I've been there, I understand the mood of the people and what's motivating it. But we don't want to be misleading, cops are almost never arrested until there's been an investigation that shows the force was unjustified. And then they get arrested. You know it's fundamentally different as a process from what you or I would encounter.

Isn't that true? CRUMP: Yes, and you know what's so very unique about this situation,

Chris, normally when these things happen, they are in the dark of night. But this was in broad daylight, you have so many witnesses see this, and as troubling and difficult as it was for Michael Brown's parents to watch this, because it literally is play by play of the execution of their child, they feel evidence like this, people coming for it like this, illustrates that this is a different case.

You have enough evidence to charge the police officer with the killing of their child.

CUOMO: Understood. But I'm just saying, to clarify, just because the officer hasn't been arrested doesn't mean that the situation is not getting its due attention and intensity.

CRUMP: You know, we want to believe that, we want to hope that, but there has been so many times in these dynamics where you just string it along, pushing along, let time go by, hoping people forget. And I can tell you countless of times that the killings of unarmed African- American teens, a, people of color, have been swept under the rug, and that's what people are so afraid of happening this time, Chris. That's why we ask that everybody stay vigilant and keep demanding that we get due process.

CUOMO: As you know, we will not let this story go away. It matters. We saw another young man kill there had at the same time we were in Ferguson, covering Michael Brown.

We understand it happens, we understand we have to know why.

Counsel, thank you very much for joining us and helping us advance the story. We look forward to talking to you in the future.

CRUMP: Thank you. Continue to pray for the family.

CUOMO: Now, another situation that demands attention, the NFL lied about not seeing that video of Ray Rice knocking out his wife.

So, the NFL has asked a former FBI director to investigate how the league handled the case. The question is, can Commissioner Roger Goodell survive this storm?

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