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Hostage Deadline Less Than 24 Hours Away; Trouble with Deal to End Coup in Yemen; Deadly Violence in Eastern Ukraine

Aired January 22, 2015 - 07:00   ET

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

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: You're asking all the right questions, and they are so difficult to answer, Will. Thank you. We'll check back in with you.

And of course, this isn't the first time ISIS has demanded millions for a hostage. Just last August, the terror group wanted 100 million euros -- that's about $132 million -- before killing American journalist James Foley. Are their demands signaling financial desperation? Or is this just about showing their power?

Let's go to Barbara Starr. She's joining us from the Pentagon with more on the reign of terror that we're seeing in ISIS.

Barbara, what do we know?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Chris.

From the U.S. point of view, it is all about the reign of terror. No indication ISIS is running out of money. Right now the feeling is they are engaging in these acts, continuing to do it, putting it up on social media. It is a recruiting tool for them. Hard to believe, but it is.

And also, to terrorize the people already under their control. Tens of thousands of people in Iraq and Afghan -- pardon me, in Iraq and Syria, under is control. ISIS, you know, has gained more territory in those two countries in recent months.

But the question U.S. officials are asking themselves is can ISIS hold onto that territory? Are they having to show this reign of terror more and more to keep people terrorized, because they're having trouble holding onto it, providing governance, providing the services that they have promised?

The U.S. also increasingly concerned about seeing these foreign fighters pop up in other countries like Yemen, like Afghanistan, claiming at least, to be part of ISIS. That is ISIS exporting terror -- Michaela.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Barbara, thank you.

Now to Yemen, where a deal to end an attempted coup, it appears to be in jeopardy. The government agreed to rewrite part of its constitution in order to get rebels out of government buildings there.

However, mistrust is standing in the way. Both sides are waiting for the other to take action first. So will the deal go through?

CNN senior international correspondent Nick Paton Walsh is in Yemen live -- Nick.

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, last night, there was this political breakthrough, and it appeared that the government was willing to take a lot of political concessions to get the Houthis out of key buildings and get their chief of staff back.

Now, the timeline was always going to be tricky. And you could imagine, after all this, there would be mistrust. But this morning, the presidential chief of staff has yet to be released, and the Houthis, well, they've withdrawn some of their guys from the key buildings around here, but they're keeping, in the words of one of them, about 20 percent as a guarantee. This country still far from out of the crisis yet.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WALSH (voice-over): This morning, it's still unclear who's in charge of one of the U.S.'s key counterterrorism allies, creating a new national security concern for the U.S.

These men, Houthi rebels, are said to be pulling back, but the president, whose home they've been surrounding, a key U.S. backer against al Qaeda, is he still calling the shots?

Elected President Abd Mansur Hadi and Houthi rebel leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, jockey for power. So many key buildings, including the presidential palace, overrun by Houthi rebels, vying for radical political change.

Just yesterday, the two sides reached a deal granting the rebels more political power in exchange for withdrawing their militias. But the tentative agreement just that, tentative.

The Houthis are themselves a target for AQAP. But still, list "death to America" among their slogans.

The ongoing political turmoil in the midst of a war on terror strikes fear in the hearts of U.S. officials.

BOB BAER, CNN FOREIGN POLICY ANALYST: We're going to see a state where there is no central government to speak of, which means that al Qaeda will have an even stronger base.

WALSH: Some U.S. officials say it's too dangerous for the hundreds of Americans inside the U.S. embassy.

SEN. ANGUS KING (I), MAINE: I think we ought to get our people out. I don't want to see a hostage situation.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALSH: Now the key concern is how much control does President Hadi actually have? He's clearly accepted a lot of concessions with the new constitution. And effectively many say that, if he doesn't like how this deal is playing out right now with the Houthis, there's not much, really, the government can do about it.

Is he simply a figurehead for the Houthis, who will be running the show, or will he still retain some element of control? That's vital for U.S. interests, because it's this Yemeni government that are the ally, not the Houthis, who we just said, list "death to America" among their slogans.

What hangs in the balance here, really, is the fight against al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. Forget about ISIS. They are the key threat to the United States, emanating from Yemen. And it's a very troublesome week, indeed, for U.S. policy here -- Alisyn.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: It sure is. Nick Paton Walsh, thanks so much for spelling it out so well for us.

So who is in charge this morning in Yemen? And why does that matter to the U.S.?

Joining us on the giant map is Bobby Ghosh, CNN global affairs analyst and the managing editor of "Quartz." And Lieutenant Colonel James Reese, CNN global affairs analyst and former commander of the U.S. Delta Force. Gentlemen, it's so great to have you here to give us context about what's happening in Yemen.

Let's remind people of where Yemen is on the map. It is down at the bottom of this peninsula. And Bobby, why is Yemen so significant to the U.S.?

BOBBY GHOSH, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, it's significant because AQAP, the group that took credit for what happened in France most recently, but has a long history of trying to attack the west, is based in Yemen. And it's eastern parts of the country, where it has almost free run. It's a pretty wild part of the country. Desert. Difficult to patrol, difficult to police. And Yemen is deeply poor and can't afford to police and patrol all of its territory.

And so that's why it's crucial, and it is where the U.S. has called its attack, one of the early successes, if you like, of al Qaeda. So Yemen has been important to the United States for a long time.

CAMEROTA: We're looking at the map, of course, of its neighbors and why this is such a critical region. You see it is bordered by Saudi Arabia, then Iraq, Syria, Iran, Afghanistan.

And Colonel Reese, the reason also that it's important to figure out what's going on in Yemen, is because if no one's in charge, then there's a power vacuum. And then we know that there are terrorist groups, as Bobby just said, that have taken root in this region. There are many. Look at this: AQAP, as Bobby just said, in Yemen. There's ISIS. There's al-Nusra, in Syria. There's the Taliban and al Qaeda in Afghanistan. So what is your assessment of what's happening there?

LT. COL. JAMES REESE, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Look, you know, Alisyn, that whole -- the Arabian Peninsula specifically, it's a very Sunni-dominant peninsula. It's also considered, Saudi Arabia is the true caliphate, is the true caliphate for the Islamic world on the Sunni side.

So when you have all these areas and you have this, this is what we talked about many times. You have these areas that al Qaeda, AQAP, whatever part of that, they have safe havens and they can train. And that's the worst thing we can do, is allow these people to come in, train, go back to Europe and try to come into the U.S. and do strikes. We try to take these safe havens away.

CAMEROTA: So Bobby, what's happening right now? Are the Houthis in negotiation with the president of Yemen?

GHOSH: Well, the Houthis are a Shiite group from -- mostly from the north of the country. They've made a deal, but they've made deals before that they have -- that they have not respected.

CAMEROTA: What do they want?

GHOSH: They want more and more power. They want more autonomy from the central government. And every time they've had a little more concessions, they've said they want even more still.

So I'm not terribly optimistic that the current deal is going to hold.

The crucial problem here is that the government of President Hadi, they need to be working towards making Yemen less hospitable to groups like al Qaeda. And the way to do is to provide better governance, better economic management and to take military action against AQAP. None of those things are going to happen while Hadi is trying to fight for survival against the Houthis. So directly and indirectly, the Houthi ascendency, if you like, helps al Qaeda.

CAMEROTA: And when we look at this map, Colonel, AQAP, ISIS, al Nusra, the Taliban, are these terrorist groups in cahoots with each other or rivals of each other?

REESE: You know, Alisyn, I'd like to hear -- everyone talks about we don't like this person, we don't like. The bottom line is they have an ideological aspect that they all believe in. You know, AQAP, I don't buy that ISIS now is coming into the Arabian Peninsula and trying to start -- I just don't buy that. All right?

CAMEROTA: You don't buy the rivalry stories? And I guess your point is what does it matter, because their whole purpose, their mission statement is to destroy the western way of life?

REESE: At the foot soldier level, they don't care. Leaders are leaders. They'll bump heads, you know, in politics and the propaganda piece, but at the foot soldier level, they don't care. And I just don't see that aspect really being...

CAMEROTA: So Congress (ph), what is the U.S. supposed to do about this this morning, about what's going on in Yemen?

REESE: We have to make a decision and we have to make a decision quickly.

I agree with Bobby. I do not believe that this cease-fire, whatever you want to call it right now, will hold; and then it will continue to escalate.

And what we don't want to do is what we call a forced entry mission or have to fight our way into Yemen to pull everyone out of the embassy. That becomes a very difficult mission. And like the commander said in the last segment, that's when you get collateral damage and it just gets ugly. If we're going to make the decision, let's make a decision. Let's get in there now, pull them out, sit on the carriers and wait to see what happens.

CAMEROTA: Bobby, why are we taking this wait-and-see attitude?

GHOSH: Well, I think we're being advised by people in the embassy, who feel that they -- and they have eyes on the ground, so they know what's going on. So presumably they feel a degree of safety that we don't.

I agree with James, that an abundance of caution is required here. But let's not forget that we're not only thinking about -- we shouldn't only be thinking about protecting the embassy. There's a larger Yemeni populace. This is a long-time ally. And these different groups that you were showing on the map right now, they hate the west.

But more than anything else, they hate modernity in all its aspects, and they hate modern Arabs, modern Muslims more than they hate the west. Their biggest targets are Muslims themselves. Hundreds, thousands of Yemenis have died in the fight against AQAP. We do owe them a certain responsibility.

CAMEROTA: So Bobby, what's the answer?

GHOSH: Well, the answer is, first, to try and get stability very, very quickly. To get to the -- to grips with this Houthi ascendency, make sure that this deal holds. And that will take not just the United States. That will take the Arab states. That will take the United Nations. Lots of people are already working on it. Whole -- you know, we can cling to the hope that it works. You know, hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.

CAMEROTA: Bobby Ghosh, Colonel Reese, thanks so much for all the information. Nice to see you both.

Let's go over to Michaela.

PEREIRA: All right. Thanks so much, Alisyn. Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, who claimed responsibility for the "Charlie Hebdo" attack, issuing a new warning. The leader of AQAP is urging would-be jihadis to wage war at home instead of traveling overseas. In a just-released tape, he says any person capable of waging individual jihad in western countries fighting Islam, including America, is quote, "better and more harmful." CUOMO: It appears no federal charges will be filed against former

Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson in the fatal shooting of unarmed teenager Michael Brown. Sources tell CNN the FBI civil rights investigation simply found insufficient evidence to charge Wilson. And of course, a local grand jury, you'll remember, decided not to indict him.

CAMEROTA: Prince Andrew is expected to deny having sex with a teenaged girl when he addresses the World Economic Forum in Switzerland this afternoon. The Duke of York's accuser is now 31 years old. She's named Virginia Roberts. She claims she was held as a teenaged sex slave by financier Jeffrey Epstein when the prince had sex with her on three different occasions in 2001.

PEREIRA: Interesting place to make a statement. Davos, financial forum, right?

CAMEROTA: Yes. Yes. He could just ignore it, I guess.

PEREIRA: Which is generally what the palace does.

CUOMO: Except, you know, what's the problem in these situations? If they're true, you need access to the people who are suspected, and you have to find some measure of justice. If they're not true, how do you unring the bell? This is man who, for whatever reason, believes his integrity is paramount. What does he do if he thinks it's not true?

CAMEROTA: You know, they say that sometimes talking about it fans the flames, so it's -- it is a tough one.

Well, the fighting has intensified in eastern Ukraine as the government says thousands of Russian troops are in the country. Should the U.S. step in there? We're talking to the U.S. ambassador to the Ukraine.

CUOMO: Hillary Clinton back in the spotlight for the first time in a month. And she's sounding a lot like somebody who's running for president. You judge for yourself. John King is going to tell what you she said on NEW DAY'S "Inside Politics."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: The situation in Ukraine has taken a real turn for the worse in just the last 24 hours. Ukraine's president says there are 9,000 Russian troops occupying the nation's territory. The Russians say they're just trying to keep the peace. But look at the results. Overnight several people killed by shelling at a bus station in the Donetsk region. That's the city in the eastern part of the country that has been the focus of hostilities. Ukraine's state TV says rebel separatists are targeting civilian areas.

Let's get the latest on the situation from the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, Geoffrey Pyatt, joining us from Kiev.

Ambassador, thank you for joining us on NEW DAY.

GEOFFREY PYATT, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO UKRAINE: Good morning, Chris.

CUOMO: So Ambassador, do you believe the president's report that some 8,000, or 9,000 Russian troops, not you know, just sympathizers, but troops are on the ground in Donetsk and basically making war there?

PYATT: Well, Chris, there's no doubt in our mind that Russia -- Russian forces continue to train and equip and to fight with the Ukrainian separatists. There continues to be a large flow of Russian heavy equipment, missiles, tanks, other military gear, flowing into Ukrainian territory. There are active combat operations under way today, including around Donetsk City, but also north of Luhansk City, closer to the Russian border and around the Dubalsk (ph), a strategic canal junction. And I think tragically, we have these reports this morning, which you alluded to, of perhaps as many as 13 innocent civilians killed in a missile strike that hit a trolley bus of people trying to go about their lives this morning in Donetsk City.

CUOMO: We were there this summer. We're told from the ground that the situation is much worse, that it is getting close to unlivable. And I want to know from you, what does that suggest in terms of what needs to be done by the U.S. and other allies? And what do you think Russia's goal is in this situation?

PYATT: Well, the first thing that needs to happen, Chris, is that Russia needs to come into compliance with the Minsk framework, the Minsk agreement, which Russia itself signed onto at the beginning of September. This would include the end of all transfers of military heavy equipment across the border; restore Ukrainian sovereignty across that border; insure the release of all prisoners and POWs.

There's some awful images today of a Ukrainian POW who was being marched around the streets in Donetsk. We also, of course, want to see the removal of all-- I repeat all -- Russian military equipment and fighters. And of course, the imposition of a verified cease-fire.

The key to the solution to this terrible, terrible crisis lies in the implementation of the Minsk agreement, and that's going to take a change in tack by the Russian government.

CUOMO: But it does seem, from all indications, that Vladimir Putin is laughing at the Minsk agreement and all of the western allies who are part of it.

Look, even our own, even the United States' own diplomat, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Sam Powers said on Twitter, "Time and again, Putin has extended an olive branch in one hand while passing out GRAB (ph) missiles and tanks with the other. It's time to pull the veil away from Putin's peace plan and call it what it is, a Russian occupation plan." That's from Ambassador Samantha Power.

If that's the reality, and it seems by all indications that it is, shouldn't more be done than just rely on a Minsk compromise that clearly isn't going to be enforced?

PYATT: Well, Chris, we're going to continue to work with all of our international partners in Europe and beyond to support the Ukrainian government; to support the ability of the Ukrainian government to defend its own sovereign territory.

One important detail that sometimes gets overlooked in all of this is the Ukrainian people, and this morning, Chris, I was talking to Renalto Metoff (ph), who's probably the most important businessman in eastern Ukraine. Somebody who has literally hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians who work in his enterprises across the Donetsk region.

He made very clear to me his view that the people of Donbas, including the people who are living in these occupied regions right now, don't want to be part of Russia, they want to be part of Ukraine. They want to get their lives back. They want the violence to stop. And the key to achieving that, lies in the full implementation of the Minsk agreement.

In the meantime, as Samantha Power -- as Ambassador Power said, we are going to be working to support the full implementation of the Minsk framework. In this regard we were encouraged by Russia's agreement, as part of the meetings that took place last night in Berlin, to reaffirm what it signed on to at the beginning of September. But now the test is going to be implementation.

CUOMO: Do you believe that the new negotiations about cease-fire will yield any benefit to the people in that region?

PYATT: I know, Chris, that the people of Ukraine and especially the people of Donbas, are desperate to see an end to the violence. It's very clear to me, listening to President Poroshenko and Prime Minister Yatsenyuk that they want an end to the violence. President Poroshenko made clear in his remarks yesterday in Davos, he wants to be the president of peace, not the president of war.

But at this stage, it is Russia which is fueling the fire, fueling the flames. And it is Russia which we look to, to implement the obligations which it undertook in order to allow a cessation of hostilities and allow the Ukrainian government to reincorporate the people of Donbas into the Democratic life of this country.

CUOMO: Well, we all wish for the best in the situation. But it does seem a little illogical to be depending on Russia to enhance or enforce peace, when it seems to be that they are motivating the lack of peace. But Ambassador Pyatt, we look forward to some good changes there, because the situation seems to be getting worse every day. Thank you for joining us, sir; appreciate it. We'll talk again -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: OK, Chris. As time ticks down on the ISIS hostages, Japan is desperately trying to get them free. What can be done at this hour? We are talking to a top Pentagon official.

PEREIRA: Two of the biggest names in the race for the White House, Mitt Romney and Jeb Bush, meeting face to face this week for the first time since both saying that they're thinking about running. What could they possibly be talking about? We'll ask John King, ahead, 'Inside Politics."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) PEREIRA: Welcome back to NEW DAY. Here's a look at your headlines.

We begin with two Japanese hostages who may be executed in less than 24 hours unless Tokyo pays a $200 million ransom to ISIS. The government in Japan scrambling to get in touch with the extremists. So far, though, no luck. In the meantime, a team of diplomats, including U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, are meeting in London to devise a plan to combat ISIS.

To Yemen, where mistrust is slowing a deal to end an attempted coup. The government agreed to make constitutional reforms to bring an end to a siege by rebels at key government buildings. However, both sides are hesitant to keep their end of the bargain until the other side takes action. The nation's president insists he remains in charge. The U.S., meanwhile, is yet to evacuate its embassy in Yemen's capital.

Back here at home officials in Newtown, Connecticut, voting to demolish the house where Sandy Hook shooter, Adam Lanza, lived. Lanza, as you'll recall, shot and killed his mother inside the home before heading to nearby Sandy Hook Elementary, where he gunned down 20 children and six teachers before committing suicide. City council members told us the home will be torn down as soon as is practical.

Got to show you this. You'll like this, fishermen. Some fishermen getting quite the surprise when they spotted a great white shark circling their boat about nine miles out in the Gulf of Mexico. Scott Fitzgerald says the great white was attacking the motor of his boat. He said he tried a couple of times to shake the motor out of the shark's mouth. But it kept coming back for more. When the shark attacked the motor for the third time, Fitzgerald said enough and left the area. I have a theory about this.

CAMEROTA: What is it?

PEREIRA: I think the shark was hung over and the noise of the engine was bothering him, he was like, "Yo, just turn it off." That's why he was -- right?

CAMEROTA: That seems scientific.

CUOMO: Solid as it is, I do believe the engine was off while the shark was circling.

PEREIRA: OK.

CUOMO: And maybe, just maybe a better theory is that the shark knew they were fishing, there was a lot of bait in the water, and this thing was hanging below the surface. It was shiny, so it bit it.

PEREIRA: So you're the fishermen and I'm the news anchor.

CUOMO: And if see that thing, the engine will be on, and we'll be at full throttle, heading away from the thing that's three-quarters the size of the boat I'm in.

CAMEROTA: We've seen that movie before. Time to get out of there.

CUOMO: Now, one time John King, who as you know, leads us "Inside Politics" and is here right now, actually jumped in the water in a situation like that outside of Boston, grabbed the shark, got it in a headlock...

CAMEROTA: And pushed it in the nose.

CUOMO: ... asked it to answer some severe questioning, and once it did, he released it and jumped back in the boat.

PEREIRA: So amazing, John King.

KING: It's all coming up on Shark Week. Big documentary. I swam with sharks once, but not that kind.

CUOMO: Of course you did. You swim with them every day down there, my brother.

KING: I'll send you the photo. It's kind of like throwing you over my shoulder. It was a little -- it was a thing.

We got a busy day, let's go "Inside Politics." It's actually a remarkable timing this morning. With me to share the reporting and their insights, Julia Pace of the Associated Press and Ron Fournier of the "National Journal."

If you are on the 7:30 a.m., just about to leave Washington National Airport off to Salt Lake City, then you're having a live glimpse at presidential politics this morning. The former Florida governor, Jeb Bush, is on that flight. Jonathan Martin of "The New York Times" broke this news last night. He's heading to Utah to meet a guy named Mitt Romney.

This meeting was set up, I'm told, several weeks ago, out of respect for Governor Romney. Jeb Bush wanted to say, "I'm going to run for the Republican nomination. Do you have any advice?"

Now Romney says he wants to run again. So it's an interesting meeting. And Rita Epsley (ph) of "The Wall Street Journal" was there and just saw Governor Bush, happenstance, at the airport. What do we make of this?

Now that Romney is in -- again, it was requested before Romney sent the public signals he was going to do this. Now that Romney's in, how awkward is this? Because the only way they don't run against each other, somebody says, "Oh, you're the better man. I'm out." Not going to happen.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's fascinating. I mean, I think J-mart's story really put this perfectly: the meeting was set to have Jeb show respect to the party's 2016 nominee, who now may want to be the 2016 nominee. So does the meeting end up being two guys who say, "I'm going to run." "Well, I'm going to run, and we're just going to have to fight this out?" Or do they try to come to some agreement for the good of the party?

It seems unlikely at this point, given the signals that they're sending.

But I think that, coming out of this, we will get a better sense of whether this is going to be a wing of the party that is divided or united going forward.

KING: And Governor Bush did this with John McCain a few weeks back, too. He's done this with other senior party leaders, essentially, give me your advice.