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Egypt Calls for United Arab Force Against ISIS; Al Shabaab Calls for Attacks on Malls; 'Birdman' Flies High at the Oscars; Too Late for Apology from Giuliani?; The Politics of the War Against ISIS

Aired February 23, 2015 - 06:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: The president of Egypt is calling for a unified Arab force to fight ISIS.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is, though, the first time we have heard a president call for a pan-Arab army.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Three teenage friends now at the heart of an international hunt.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If you watch this, baby, please come home.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Westgate style mall attacks in the U.S.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is a drill. Mall of America is now going into lockdown.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What we're telling the public in general is you got to be vigilant.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: A "Birdman's" eye view of all the action.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oprah, come over!

NEIL PATRICK HARRIS, ACTOR/HOST OF THE 87TH OSCARS: Acting is a noble profession.

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo, Alisyn Camerota and Michaela Pereira.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Welcome to NEW DAY. It is Monday, February 23, just after 6 a.m. in the east. And we have a big headline. The Egyptian leader saying it is time to take it to ISIS on the ground, calling for a unified Arab force. Now, there actually is a combined Arab force about 40,000 strong that could be ready to go right now. Will that be the answer?

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: This as ISIS releases a chilling new video showing Kurdish fighters in cages and a new threat by an al- Qaeda-linked group targeting western shopping malls. We have all these angles covered the way only CNN can. We begin with Ian Lee live in Cairo. What's the latest, Ian?

IAN LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Alisyn, we heard last night from the Egyptian president for this pan-Arab force, saying a united Arab force is needed for this growing threat for ISIS, and it's more pressing every day.

He didn't give us too many details about what that would look like, although the United Arab Emirates and Jordan have offered Egypt military assistance in their battle against ISIS. And Libya is something that, for now, Egypt has turned down. The Egyptian president also emphasized that the role of the Egyptian military is to protect the country's borders but added that, if there were needed in other parts of the region, that that could be an option with cooperation from their Arab brothers.

We also are following those -- the caging of those Peshmerga fighters in Iraq by ISIS. A gruesome video coming out, a very telling video, as well. We're seeing that these men are being paraded around, this video interspliced with images from the execution of 21 Egyptian Christians in Libya. We do not know yet the fate of these Kurdish Peshmerga, Chris.

CUOMO: All right. Thank you very much for that. We'll check back with you throughout the morning to see how this develops. We appreciate the report.

There is, however, a new threat this morning from the al-Qaeda-linked terror group, al-Shabaab. They're calling for attacks on shopping malls here in the U.S. Now homeland security officials are giving shoppers an ominous warning to be particularly careful. Nick Valencia joins us now from the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota with more -- Nick.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Chris.

It was clearly a chilling message posted by the Somali terror group, al Shabaab over the weekend. They listed, as you mentioned, a handful of potential targets, mall targets in the west, including West Edmonton Mall in Alberta, Canada, and this mall here in Minnesota, the Mall of America.

A spokeswoman for the Mall of America has responded, saying that the mall is taking extra security precautions. But since that video was released over the weekend, things have been, essentially, business as usual.

Meanwhile, the Department of Homeland Security urging shoppers here at this mall specifically to remain extra vigilant, although they do say there is no working credible threat that they know of.

I also over the weekend spoke to members of the Somali community, including one leader, who said that this is a ruthless group, talking about al-Shabaab, saying the community still is here traumatized after one of their own was one of the shooters in the 2013 Kenya Westgate Mall attack, saying that the group al-Shabaab certainly does not speak for the majority of Somalis here in this community -- Alisyn. CAMEROTA: Nick Valencia, it's hard to know if people will still be

going into that mall behind you, the Mall of America now that this chilling warning has been given. Thanks so much. We'll check back with you, as well.

The new secretary of defense in Kuwait this morning talking about how to defeat ISIS. Ash Carter's unannounced trip to the Middle East comes as the terror group releases a new propaganda video, claiming to show captured Kurdish Peshmerga fighters in cages.

Senior international correspondent Ben Wedeman will have more for us from Erbil, Iraq, momentarily.

CUOMO: All right. So we're going to bring from in Lieutenant Colonel James Reese, and we're going to bring in global affairs analyst -- he's a global affairs analyst and former Delta Force commander, and founder of Tiger Swan; and CNN global affairs analyst and managing editor of "Quartz," Bobby Ghosh.

All right, guys. I want to talk to you about this this morning. We now what the issues are here. We've got two big headlines. OK? We're going to deal with these mall threats and what that means, because it seems like it's scaring people more than it's informing them.

But the big issue, of course, is this perceptible headline in the war. All right, so Bobby, let's deal with the optics of it first. El-Sisi, the president of Egypt, he comes forward and says it's time now. A good start. Can that actually happen?

BOBBY GHOSH, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, the optics are great. This is what you want to hear from Arab leaders, not just el-Sisi but across the Arab world. Can it actually happen? Well, he sent planes into Libya and has tried to bomb ISIS targets there.

So they've already made some progress. Troops on the ground, well, I'm skeptical.

CUOMO: Why?

GHOSH: The Egyptian army is great at beating up unarmed civilians at home but is not terrific at fighting a real armed threat. They've had a very poor record fighting with their own terrorism.

CUOMO: Better than the Iraqis?

GHOSH: Perhaps, but that's a very, very low bar to be set. And so the idea that they will send Egyptian military across -- the other thing, the Syrian army, probably the strongest Arab army in the world with no concern for human rights, perfectly happy -- happy to flatten an entire cities, killing as many civilians as they like, and they haven't been able to defeat ISIS decisively. So if they can't, I'm not optimistic the Egyptians can. But it's important to hear Egyptian leaders take some responsibility.

CUOMO: Especially because we keep saying here in the United States it's the region's responsibility for obvious reasons.

Now, Colonel, you taught me something this morning that I had never even heard of that could be very elemental with this. Egypt is not part of this coalition of existing 40,000-strong fighters that are Arab already that are there in defense of the Arab area. Tell us about them and why they're there and if they could be part of the equation.

LT. COL. JAMES REESE (RET.), CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: So you have the Gulf Council countries, the GCC all based along the Arabian Peninsula. They have a force called the Peninsula Shield, a 40,000- man force made up of all those countries, Saudi, Oman, UAE, all those pieces there. It's been in existence for lots of years. Actually used very small during Desert Storm, for an armed invasion back in to liberate Kuwait. It's also been used at other times. The last time it was used with Bahrain when you had the Shia uprising. They brought some of the forces in over there to help, really, in a police state in Bahrain.

But it shows me is there is a possible aspect or element or force that could be used. Now again not the type that's going to do maneuver warfare through the desert and everything. But again, it shows me there's a possibility that the Arab countries could do this, figure it out. And again, I think we have to be the ones to be the consultant and coach, teach and mentor them along the way.

CUOMO: Well, they've already got a mechanism in place, and that's a huge step forward, all right? Because usually, you're starting at zero. Two catches: the first one is, as you told me, all of the nations have to agree in order for the entire force to go. Otherwise, it goes piecemeal. So you hear about UAE and Jordan, you need everyone to sign on.

The second point that's interesting is what Egypt's motivation may be here. You believe, Colonel, that there may be a very -- a very opportunistic strategy for them. That it's not so much about ISIS; it's about acquisition.

REESE: Absolutely. If I'm Sisi, if I'm President Sisi, those people killed -- you know, ISIS killed my people. OK, great. I applaud him for going in and striking and being proactive. I agree with that. But if you also look at Libya, failed state. The oil of Libya sits right on the Egyptian border. If I'm Sisi, I'm charging into Libya. I'm going to take some ground. I'm going to take that oil.

CUOMO: And that they could do.

All right. So we have some promising information there. We have a force available. There is now a test of resolve. So we'll see what happens, complicated, of course, by the fact that Egypt not part of that group that has that standing force ready to go of Arab fighters.

So now we get back here at home and al Shabaab. Do you see this as a cry for relevance, that we're hearing about ISIS too much? Let's just make some big threat that we can't pull off, but maybe we get lucky and something horrible happens and we can take credit? GHOSH: There's certainly an element of that. Al-Shabaab has been

overshadowed, if you like, by Boca Haram in Africa, their own continent; by ISIS; and by sort of -- we've also seen recently al Qaeda is sort of making noise again. So Shabaab feels perhaps that they've lost relevance.

There have been attacks recently in their home country in Somalia. They're trying to mount a counter attack. It doesn't -- it costs them almost nothing to put out a video saying, "Hey, young people in America," perhaps young Somalis in the Minnesota area. We know there is a large population.

CUOMO: And that's why they said Mall of America specifically...

GHOSH: Specifically.

CUOMO: ... because although it's in Minnesota, there is a Somali population there that might be something they could reach out to?

GHOSH: We know that more than 20 young American Somalis have gone to fight in Somalia with al-Shabaab. We know that at least 15 have gone to Syria and Iraq to fight with ISIS.

So there is a community there that they have been able to reach into and recruit from, in very, very small numbers. But they have some kind of a network, some kind of a chain that allows them to bring these young people out.

Now they're saying, "You know what? If you're finding it hard to come out to us, you can do bad things in your own neighborhood."

And so it is a little bit...

CUOMO: Now all you need is a jackass with a gun, and you have an incident. We've seen that many times without any influence of terrorism, other than, you know, just domestic terror from the deranged mind.

One other thing to get your take on before we go here. The women that we're hearing about, going from increasingly cultivated backgrounds, good students, going to Syria to be with ISIS. What fate would they have there and what, if anything, would be the pull?

REESE: Chris, I think, you know, they're going there, there's this delusion that they can go there and, you know, be with the bad boys and have this neat time. And they're just going to end up, really, going into slavery, getting married off. And unfortunately, I don't think we're ever going to see them again. That's my fear.

And I really believe -- you know, I've talked about it this weekend -- as a father, fathers have to get involved with their young kids in these issues and talk to them, make sure they understand, it's a father thing. That's how I look at it.

CUOMO: Are we just cherry-picking examples, or do you think that there's something trending here? GHOSH: Well, we've seen examples like this before from France, from

North Africa, from across the Muslim world. Lots of young men are being attracted and a few young women. Fortunately, the number is very, very small. But you have to feel for them, because they're clearly going in with a kind of mixed-up idea of what they're expecting to see, and nothing good is going to come of this. Nothing good is going to come of them.

CUOMO: Bobby Ghosh, Colonel Reese, thank you very much. Appreciate it -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: OK, Chris.

A bomb blast shattering a peaceful protest in eastern Ukraine. At least two people killed, including a police officer, and 15 hurt in the city of Kharkiv. Ukrainian officials arresting four suspects they say trained in Russia. This protest came on the first anniversary of violent demonstrations in Kiev.

CUOMO: The mayor of Jerusalem called a hero after helping take down a Palestinian teenager who stabbed an orthodox Jewish man in the stomach on a busy street. The whole thing caught on video. The mayor and his bodyguards were in a car when they noticed the attacker. They jumped out, took him down and held him until police got there. Luckily, the man who was stabbed was only slightly injured.

CAMEROTA: The parents of Kayla Mueller are speaking out for the first time since their daughter, an American aid worker, was killed in ISIS captivity in Syria. In an interview with NBC's "Today Show," Carl and Marsha Mueller, accused the Obama administration of putting its policy not to pay ransom in front of American citizens' lives.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARL MUELLER, KAYLA'S FATHER: These parents out there would understand that you would want anything and everything done to bring your child home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: When asked if U.S. officials did enough to save Kayla, her mother said, "I think they wanted to."

CUOMO: That's the -- you know, that's the big question, do they want to? Of course, they want to save anybody they can. But there's priorities; there's confusion. There seems to be a contradiction in this policy.

CAMEROTA: Well, I mean, it's also it sounds right. We never negotiate with terrorists.

CUOMO: Except when we do.

CAMEROTA: We don't pay ransom. Yes, that and also what they say and what the parents we've spoken to here on the show say is, it's not working. So that policy, Americans are still taken. Do you think that that means that Americans won't be taken? They're still taken, and then they're killed.

CUOMO: Yes. We're going to discuss it more on the show coming up. Because this continues to happen. So you want to be straight on your policy.

So to the good news, to the good events last night, at least if you are a fan of "Birdman," or part of that production. They soared in that movie, boy. "Boyhood" not so much. The Oscars honoring the edgy comedy about a washed-up Best Picture while largely ignoring the family drama that took 12 years to make. And that wasn't the only surprise. And I know, because I watched Michaela Pereira last night. And she's joining us live from Montage Beverly Hills hotel with the night's biggest moments.

You look beautiful.

PEREIRA: Bleary-eyed.

CUOMO: You almost -- you kind of like cover the rest of the show.

PEREIRA: Well, look, a little bleary-eyed I am this morning, but I'm thinking about all the people that are still straggling in from the parties, Chris and Alisyn, that I think just ended a few minutes, even hours ago. Some of them are coming in here to the Montage Hotel. It was a big party last night, a big night. Moving performances, moving emotional speeches. But more than ever, perhaps, social issues really coming into the limelight in those speeches. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PEREIRA (voice-over): The evening's biggest honor awarded to the black comedy drama "Birdman." Lead actor Michael Keaton snubbed of Best Actor, instead, the prize going to "Theory of Everything" star Eddie Redmayne, who highlighted neurological diseases.

EDDIE REDMAYNE, ACTOR: This belongs to all of those people around the world battling ALS.

PEREIRA: It was a night full of purposeful and compassionate speeches.

JOHN LEGEND, MUSICIAN: The struggle for justice is right now.

PEREIRA: Julianne Moore is taking home best actress for "Still Alice," calling attention to the plight of Alzheimer's.

JULIANNE MOORE, BEST ACTRESS WINNER: People with Alzheimer's deserve to be seen so that we can find a cure.

PEREIRA: Thirteen years after "Boyhood" began its journey, Patricia Arquette was a Best Supporting Actress, the mother of two speaking out for women's rights.

PATRICIA ARQUETTE, BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS WINNER: It's our time to have wage equality once and for all and equal rights for women in the United States of America. PEREIRA: Garnering thunderous applause from the A-list crowd.

NEIL PATRICK HARRIS, ACADEMY AWARDS HOST (singing): I secretly hope someone pulls a Kanye West.

PEREIRA: Host and Broadcast savant Neil Patrick Harris...

HARRIS: Tonight we honor Hollywood's best and whitest, sorry, brightest.

PEREIRA: ... brought his quick-witted sarcasm with a reference to this year's criticism that nominees lacked diversity, and bared it all.

HARRIS: Acting is a noble profession.

PEREIRA: The over three-hour show packed with gripping performances. Lady Gaga's "The Sound of Music" medley receiving a standing ovation as the incomparable Julie Andrews made a surprise appearance.

But it was Common and John Legend belting lyrics underscoring racial injustice in "Glory" that moved the A-list crowd to tears.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PEREIRA: A lot of emotion in the Dolby Theater last night. And as you know, a lot of rain out on the red carpet. We'll talk about that a little later coming up.

We talked about "Selma." Not one of the big winners last night. But all eight movies in the Best Picture category, they all got an Oscar. They all went home with an Oscar. Sometimes not necessarily the ones that they were going home with. But it shows that there was a little bit of wealth spread around to all of the films.

So much to talk about. We'll do that in a little bit later. We've got Nischelle Turner, who I think is out still at one of the parties. Not that I'm judging. So we'll have her join me live here in a moment and talk about some of the fashion and the big moments from the show.

So Chris, Alisyn, did you guys get at least a chance to see a little bit of it?

CAMEROTA: Just the very first part. I had to be disciplined and go to bed. But I can't wait to see all of your highlights.

It's great stuff, Michaela. Thank so much.

There is action behind her at this hour.

CUOMO: Yes, I saw an embrace.

CAMEROTA: I just watched that, as well.

CUOMO: People going their own separate ways.

CAMEROTA: We will need to know the back story.

And on this story as well, Rudy Giuliani clarifying his controversial comments, questioning President Obama's patriotism. Is he now making matters worse for Republicans?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAMEROTA: Congress returns today from a weeklong recess to continue the debate over authorizing war against ISIS. And this weekend, Rudy Giuliani has clarified his comments, sort of, about President Obama's patriotism.

CUOMO: Let us break it down, shall we? We have CNN political commentator and Republican consultant Margaret Hoover, along with CNN political analyst John Avlon, editor-in-chief of "The Daily Beast." This topic so daunting, they couldn't even be in studio with us together.

CAMEROTA: They are together apparently.

CUOMO: I start with you, Margaret. Your team a little slow on what some would have thought would be the need for an obvious rebuff of Rudy Giuliani, but then he puts out his "Wall Street Journal" op-ed, and now you feel it makes better sense?

MARGARET HOOVER, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Look, Chris, first of all, you may or may not know that John and I probably wouldn't be here if it weren't for Rudy Giuliani.

CUOMO: What?

HOOVER: We met working on his campaign.

CUOMO: No!

HOOVER: So -- So I may owe Rudy Giuliani my marriage. I've got to be honest, Rudy Giuliani...

CUOMO: No bias.

HOOVER: And the hard part for me as a Republican who once fresh (ph) faces in the Republican Party and one new wave of reform Republicans is that Rudy Giuliani used to represent that new wave of reform Republicans. He was an urban reformed turnaround mayor in the 1990s and had different views on social issues but was a hero of 9/11 and might have forged a path forward for the party and now has really retreated to what is essentially, you know, the same place as Sarah Palin in the sense that, you know, he's never going to run for office again. He is simply a caricature of himself and has very little consequence in the Republican Party but for comments like these, which really just create a charade.

So I agree, you know, Republicans should have pushed back earlier. Of course the president loves the country. And it just -- it demonstrates sort of the way the fear of the base permeates this early primary process. CAMEROTA: John, for people who are just waking up, let's recap. Rudy

Giuliani had said last week that he does not believe the president, President Obama loves America, and then he's just put out this clarification in the "Wall Street Journal."

Let me read a portion of it: "I did not intend to question President Obama's motives or the content of his heart. My intended focus really was the effect his words and his actions have on the morale of the country and how that effect may damage his performance." It sounds like he really -- Giuliani was not expecting any of the backlash that he's gotten, John.

JOHN AVLON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, he should have been. I mean, this op-ed in the "Wall Street Journal" is definitely an attempt by Rudy to effectively walk back the comments to try to clarify what he said. And what he said in that sentence essentially is he didn't mean to say that the president didn't love America. He didn't -- Rudy is saying that he didn't mean to question what's in his heart or his motives. But that's, of course, what that statement does.

And the initial doubling down, I think, compounded the problem. Look, you know, Rudy is -- was a great transformational mayor. I was proud to work for him. But there's no question, the last few days haven't been his finest hour. And that's led to this attempt to clarify. Sometimes these play-to-the-base comments made in private really don't reflect the best in us. They don't reflect the best in our politics or ourselves. And I think that this is one of those cases.

CUOMO: Well, here's the hope, Margaret. Maybe, my favorite line in his op-ed is he says I'm hoping that what I said can be the basis of a conversation about the confidence and optimism we need to move forward. I mean, obviously, the irony couldn't be more thick. That he said that, and then he's talking about confidence and optimism.

But maybe it is a chance, at least for your team to say, "We're not going to do this, at least not for the near future." Because this was really ugly and cheap, and nobody liked it.

HOOVER: Look, you know, I hope you're right. I don't think it's a positive development when a former presidential candidate in -- at the beginning of the presidential cycle tees off a -- what was essentially a Tea Part 2010 sort of wing-nut riff. This isn't -- it's just not positive or constructive for the country or for the Republican Party.

CAMEROTA: You know what? It's interesting that you say a wing-nut riff, because this is not a new narrative. All sorts of conservative media, from the Heritage Foundation to FOX News have made the point that the president is always on an apology tour, that he thinks America is flawed. But Rudy Giuliani was just continuing that -- that wavelength that we've heard a lot.

Go ahead, John. You can take it.

AVLON: Yes, if I may just, as the author of a book called "Wing Nuts," you're right that this is a deeper rift. And that's one of the reasons it caused such ripples. Right? You had a narrative that had been very much resuscitated by somebody

who has commanded broad respect in the country, certainly in the wake of 9-11 and had been a force for the former Republican Party. This rift that the president is somehow anti-American or un-American is a core wing-nut narrative, and it really had sort of proliferated and then fallen back. And I think one of the reasons this conversation exploded again is because it ripped off these earlier wounds from an unexpected source.

CUOMO: Right. And if you want to fight, Margaret, there's a much better situation to fight on for both parties right now, and that is the AUMF.

The mainline criticism from your team is he doesn't have a strategy. Well, he just laid it out. He wants statutory authority. It's now time for Congress. Where's the action?

HOOVER: Yes, you're right. Congress should vote. They can't even get a DHS vote through. And so they can't get anything through right now.

But you're right. It was Republicans who are calling for the president to have a clear strategy and actually authorize military force. Remember, it was the president who was very confused about whether to use the AUMF from 2001 and 2002, which you wanted to pull back last July, said we didn't need it any more. Then in August, suddenly as scrambling saying, "We're going to need to rely on that AUMF." Yes, we should pass a new AUMF. We should, in order to support ongoing...

CUOMO: You've got the power. You've got the numbers. You guys keep making the case, so you have to do more, to be stronger on this war. OK. Where is it?

HOOVER: Yes, do it. It's a great plan. They're tied up in knots on the Department of Homeland Security right now.

Look, this is hugely problematic for Republicans. Because Republicans said they were going to run and they were going to get things done. They were going to pass things. Mitch O'Connell had a really good first four weeks. He was able to pass more votes on amendments than happened in the entire Senate under Harry Reid. I mean, there has been some progress, and they have passed some measures. We now have a drug czar. We now have a surgeon general. There have been actions from this Congress.

But -- so to suggest that it's a do-nothing Congress. But again it does work against the narrative and Mitch McConnell is going to have to resolve this in the next 48 hours in order to not get pinned on being no better or no worse than the previous do-nothing Congress.

CAMEROTA: Yes, John, what's going to happen?

AVLON: Look, this DHS deadline is a really big deal. And every time in the last several Congresses, we have been assured by leaders, particularly Republican leaders, that there is no way we're going to go over the cliff. We're just playing chicken with the cliff. We've got to mollify our base a little bit. We always end up going over the cliff.

And so here we are again. Yet another deadline looming towards us, totally anticipatable, this one having to do with the funding of homeland security at a time when we are getting threats from al- Shabaab on American targets, when the cascading effect of this would be devastating to a lot of localities and states. And we're watching this. And let me tell you guys, I would like to think this won't happen, but every time we have had faith that Congress could get out of its own way and not do something stupid, they do.

So watch this deadline. It's coming up fast, and it has huge implications.

CAMEROTA: OK, will do. John and Margaret, great to see you guys. See you soon.

CUOMO: It's a deep freeze. People can't move. And it seems like it will just never end. Oh, by the way, I'm talking about the weather, because the cold snap is now from the Rockies to the Deep South. And the temperatures just keep plunging. So we've got hundreds of flight cancellations to tell you about. And how bad will it be? And how long will it be. We have it for you right after the break.

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