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U.S. Troops Pull Out of Yemen; Medical Students Feared to Have Joined ISIS; Hit List Targets U.S. Military Personnel; Ted Cruz Announces White House Bid. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired March 23, 2015 - 06:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yemen is going to be yet again another country that we see falling out of control.

[05:58:48] UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The last remaining U.S. troops have been evacuated from the country.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As ISIS gets a foothold in these environments, you'll start to see state governments fall.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The reported ISIS hit list of U.S. troops posted online.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Names, pictures and home addresses of servicemen and women.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Group of medical students and graduates who may have traveled to Syria to ISIS-controlled territory.

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm ready to stand with you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Senator Ted Cruz announcing his bid for the Republican presidential nomination.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bring on the popcorn and the "Crazy for Cruz" bumper stickers.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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

CHRIS CUOMO, CO-HOST: Good morning. Welcome to your NEW DAY. It is Monday, March 23, 6 a.m. in the east. And there is a new major threat to U.S. security. Yemen, the country on the Arab Peninsula, has been a critic ally to the United States, even called a success in the war against terror just six months ago by the president. Now, it is on the verge of becoming the most dangerous place in the world. The government overthrown by rebels. Al Qaeda, ISIS, Iran, all vying for control.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CO-HOST: The situation in Yemen so dire the U.S. even pulling out its Special Forces, creating a dangerous vacuum for terrorists to fill. Analysts fear that the retreat of U.S. forces will be a win for al Qaeda.

Let's begin our coverage with CNN senior international correspondent Nic Robertson, live in London -- Nic.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, good morning, Alisyn.

The real concern here is, with what is happening in Yemen is that ISIS and al Qaeda will do precisely what they did in Syria, which is take advantage of a civil war to build bases to make themselves stronger and to be a bigger threat against the west.

And all this has taken place against the backdrop of this country, teetering on the edge of civil war.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Shiite Houthi rebels now in control of the international airport in the southwestern city of Ta'izz, the U.N. envoy warning that Yemen is at, quote, "the edge of civil war."

This sectarian violence between Shiite rebels and the Sunni majority government spreading across the country, where Houthis, who control the capital of Sanaa and areas of the north, are now advancing south into Ta'izz, the country's third largest city.

The mounting unrest pushing the U.S. military to pull out over the weekend, following the U.S. embassy evacuation last month.

ISIS claiming responsibility for this suicide attack on two mosques on Friday. More than 130 killed, hundreds more injured.

JOSH EARNEST, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: We are seeing extremists trying to capitalize on the chaos and instability inside of Yemen to carry out these acts of violence.

ROBERTSON: The nation now in an especially perilous position, caught between the Houthis' violent rivalry with the Sunni AQAP terrorists, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. But now, growing concerns the U.S. withdrawal is a serious blow to the counterterrorism mission.

REP. MICHAEL MCCAUL (R), TEXAS: Without the -- good intelligence starts plots against the homeland. Without that intelligence, we cannot effectively stop it.

ROBERTSON: This region home to violent al Qaeda offshoots, the terrorist organizations responsible for plotting several attacks against Americans, including the 2000 attack on the USS Cole, leaving 17 sailors dead; and the underwear bomber attempt on the U.S. airliner in 2009.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTSON: And now all the American presence pulled out of Yemen, the last 100 Special Forces, Delta and SEAL teams pulled out over the weekend. That means the understanding, the reach, the connection with sources on the ground to target and monitor al Qaeda and ISIS. That means that has dwindled down to effectively almost zero -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: OK, Nic, we will talk much more about this in the program. Thanks for that.

CAMEROTA: Also developing story overnight for you. An American reportedly among 11 medical students believed to be in Syria, working in ISIS-controlled hospitals. An official insists that they went to Syria to help fight ISIS but may have been brainwashed into switching sides as more and more westerners are lured join ISIS.

Live for us in Baghdad this morning is CNN's Jomana Karadsheh -- Jomana.

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Alisyn, here's what we know. This is coming from a Turkish member of parliament and opposition law maker. And he's telling us that a group of 11 -- seven British nationals, one Canadian, two Sudanese, and one American -- they got there to Turkey last -- earlier this month, coming from Sudan. Some of them had graduated from law -- from medical school there, and three others were in their final year.

And he says that they crossed into Syria, into ISIS-controlled territory. Now, we cannot independently verify what their whereabouts right now or the motivations behind their travels to Syria. But this lawmaker is telling British media that their families, who he has been in touch with, trying to track them down in Syria, he says they are convinced that they are working for ISIS there and that they have been brainwashed and cheated by the group.

Now, the lawmaker says that the family members are currently on the Turkish side of the border, seven of them desperately trying to track down their children and convince them to come back home.

Back to you, Michaela.

PEREIRA: Yes, very concerning. All right, Jomana, thank you.

Now to the apparent threat from a group allegedly linked to ISIS, calling for attacks against American troops on U.S. soil. The previously unknown group posted names, addresses, even pictures of some 100 servicemen and women as potential targets. The Pentagon investigating, as the credibility of this group is still in question.

Our Suzanne Malveaux is following developments for us live from Washington.

Good morning to you, Suzanne.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Michaela.

There is some skepticism whether or not this group is even real, but despite the fact that the Defense Department cannot confirm whether this online posting is credible, it is responding swiftly and seriously to this potential threat.

[06:05:10] CNN has heard from Army's criminal investigation division, which is now working with the FBI as well as a Marine Corps spokesmen who said they have notified in person all the service members who were named as potential targets.

Now, this reportedly happened on Saturday, a file posted online from a group calling itself the Islamic State Hacking Organization, which called for beheadings and attacks in the United States of these military personnel. At least some of the information was already public, reportedly taken from Facebook and the white pages. So the military officials, they are warning U.S. troops, adjust their privacy settings, limit the amount of personal information online, while they sort all of this out -- Chris.

CUOMO: Suzanne, important story. Thank you for bringing it even while laboring under a cold there.

Let's get some deep analysis on this now. Let's bring in former CIA counterterrorism official, Philip Mudd, and CNN military analyst General Mark Hertling.

Thank you very much, gentlemen, for the audience. Yemen is not an old place. 1990 this place was formed, 26 million people. Important to the U.S. because of its location. And it had been such a major ally, President Obama just six months ago saying this place is a success example in the war against terrorism.

Let's look at it first just from a military standpoint, General. What has happened there? The government has gone, and now it seems like it's a race to see who can make it a home base for terror first.

LT. GEN. MARK HERTLING (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Chris, it's an easy thing to describe. The Houthi insurgency has overtaken the government, which represented the majority Sunni tribes. You now have Houthis fighting not only the Sunni tribes but also al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, a critically important terrorist group.

Add to that now, ISIS claims that they're in the territory. So you literally have a cauldron of inter-jihadi fighting. The Special Operations forces were pulled out of there late last week because, truthfully, we don't have any intelligence to give them. It wasn't the fact that they weren't generating intelligence, but when you take the country teams from the embassy out of the country, you no longer have a government to work with, targets can't be passed to the shooters. And that's why they basically left.

CUOMO: So General, I have, you know, the brothers and sisters on the military side. I have people from the intel side, Philip Mudd saying if you're going to go somewhere, make Yemen the last place on your list to go, because this is going to be the most dangerous place in the world. What does this combination of events there mean to U.S. interests?

PHILIP MUDD, CNN COUNTERTERRORISM ANALYST: Look, you've got to look at counterterrorism operations from two perspectives. One, you can continue some intelligence operations in Yemen, standoff operations with drones, but you cannot replace the on-the-ground capability. Now let me give you one reason why.

When those drones are operating, you want to be working in partnership with local services on the ground so they're conducting raid operations. You want those raids to keep the target, in this case al Qaeda or ISIS, agitated while you're running drone operations.

So it's like a major piece of the puzzle is off the table now. You can collect information remotely and kill leadership of ISIS with overhead drones. But you can't run those disruption operations, because as General Hertling said, there's no partner on the ground to work with. Who are you going to pass the intelligence to?

CUOMO: And Phil...

HERTLING: Yes, Chris, and if I can add...

CUOMO: Go, General, please.

HERTLING: If I can add, what we've just done is we've gone from the strategic offensive in Yemen, where we have, as Phil said, targets being passed to the shooters, two strategic defenses, where we actually have to wait to see what might happen and what might come out of Yemen toward the United States.

Truthfully, right now, we're monitoring in-country developments, because it's critically important. And you also have the Saudi Arabian-Iranian factor, because they're behind the major players there. But truthfully, what we're concerned about is the potential for AQAP to continue to try and strike the United States. So we've gone on the defensive.

CUOMO: So let's put up the president's statement for a second, just so people remember what Yemen was seen as not so long ago. You know, for most of us, we think Yemen, the USS Cole. That's where that happened, in the port of Aden there.

Just as progress, President Obama said this, "The strategy of taking out terrorists who threaten us or supporting partners on the front line, it's one that we have successfully pursued in Yemen and Somalia for years."

What happened there so quickly, Philip Mudd, to change it from a success to now a place where it looks like it's a laboratory for extremism?

MUDD: Well, I think the Houthi move into the capital was a surprise. They've been around for years as a player, as a player that was anti- government. But the fact that they can move in and oust the government so quickly, I think was -- took all people, including me, by surprise.

Also, the fact that the former president, who was ousted in 2012, was still playing a role there. I think it was described as a success, and I would have been there. I

was among those who said this is working. It was first the new president was a good operator against al Qaeda, I think a more effective operator than his predecessor. And I think drones were lethally successful in Yemen. And they still will be. That is, we were eliminating leadership left and right, but today it's chaos.

[06:10:07] CUOMO: Well, look, the point isn't to look back and cast blame. We'll leave that to the politicians.

But General, you know, the giveaway for me there was the way I pronounced laboratory. It was a British intelligence source who said to me that this place is a big concern now and no joke, because you have all of the -- it may become a welcoming ground for any extremism that wants to get involved, that the Houthis, you know, just based on what they're about. As long as they're in control, they don't care who is there, as long as it's disruptive. And what could that mean? Having a place where, whether it's ISIS or al Qaeda or whoever you want to put down as a name can come there and share information and grow.

MUDD: Well, your pronunciation was very eclectic there, Chris, you hit it right on its head. Yemen could be the next -- and others have said this -- could be the next Syria. This is very troubling because of the contention between the Saudi Arabian factor and their -- their increasing defenses along their southern border with Yemen and what Iran might do, because they are backing the Houthis. This has become a civil war, and it's going to get worse, especially last night with the indication that the Houthi rebels have overtaken the city of Ta'izz, which is halfway between the capital of Sanaa and Aden, where President Hadi is holding out right now.

CUOMO: And final point here, Philip Mudd, you know, even in Syria, to use the general's analogy, at least there you do have a regime that wants power and has, you know, an infrastructure set up to maintain its power in Assad's regime. You don't have that in Yemen. You have the Houthis. Who knows what they want and why they're there. And maybe they don't care about anything, and they'll let anything happen there. And what could that mean?

MUDD: Yes, I think there is a contrast here, though. Yemen doesn't have the geographic proximity that Syria does. It's going to be hard for Americans, for example, I think Syria and Iraq were already proving to be a huge magnet for westerners, like those medical students or those medical assistants that we talked about earlier in the show.

That said, the problem, as a counterterrorism official, is we are do not have a window on what is becoming a safe haven. In my experience as a counterterrorism guy, if you give a terrorist, let's say, between six to 18 months without pressure from a security service, that person, that terrorist is going to be able to construct a plot.

What we're going to have now is sort of a dead zone for intelligence. We saw the underwear bomber attempt in 2009. I think we'll see operations like that continue, as American forces leave, and the Yemeni government falls apart.

CUOMO: From a success to potentially the biggest threat in just six months. Philip Mudd, General Hertling, thank you for helping us understand this -- Allie.

MUDD: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: OK, Chris, let's talk some big political news. Let the race begin.

Overnight, Texas Senator Ted Cruz launching his presidential campaign on Twitter, becoming the first major candidate to declare in the 2016 race.

Cruz will make the formal announcement in a speech in Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, this morning. And that's where we find our senior Washington correspondent, Jeff Zeleny.

So, Jeff, it is on.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Alisyn, it is on. And Ted Cruz is a Republican from Texas. Of course, he's been in the U.S. Senate for only two years. He drew praise and criticism for that 16-day government shutdown in 2013.

But as you said, overnight he sent out a tweet to his supporters that linked to a video message. He's talking about a new generation of conservatives. Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TED CRUZ (R), TEXAS: It's a time for truth, a time to rise to the challenge, just as Americans have always done. It's going to take a few generation of courageous conservatives to help make America great again, and I'm ready to stand with you to lead the fight.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENY: It is that new generation of conservatives that Senator Cruz is hoping to appeal to. That's why he's speaking here at Liberty University in Virginia to some 10,000 students in just a couple of hours, trying to appeal to them that he is this new conservative leader for this new generation.

Now, we got a glimpse of Senator Cruz and his family last night as they toured the stage, walking around, sort of getting a preview for what is the biggest speech of his political career.

He's 44 years old, kind of similar to another freshman senator eight years ago, Senator Barack Obama. He hopes he has that same kind of luck. We'll see. He's not the last Republican. Again, he's the first. There could be nearly a dozen more to go, Chris.

CUOMO: All right, Jeff. Thank you very much. Appreciate it.

The question -- this is going to be a very interesting development. And we're going to have to see what it means politically. We'll be talking about that for sure.

We also have brand-new video for you. It turns out there was a third gunman in that terror attack against a museum in Tunisia. He was only spotted after Tunisian security forces took a closer look at the surveillance tapes. He's reportedly on the run right now. Authorities say he won't get far now that they know he exists. Twenty-three people were killed in that attack, most of them tourists visiting that museum.

[06:15:05] PEREIRA: Afghan President Ashraf Ghani is in Washington for his first official visit to the United States. President Ghani meets with Defense Secretary Ash Carter this morning and with other cabinet secretaries later today before he sits down with President Obama tomorrow. Ghani is expected to urge the president to be more flexible on troop draw downs in Afghanistan over concerns full withdrawal by the end of 2016 could jeopardize security.

CAMEROTA: OK. Now an update on story we've been covering. The co- owner of a bar near the University of Virginia campus says 20-year-old Martese Johnson was, quote, "polite and cordial" after being denied entry last week, not belligerent, as he was described by state officers who arrested him. The owner also says Johnson did not appear to be intoxicated.

The violent arrest, captured on video, triggering protests and allegations of racial profiling and police brutality. State police are investigating this incident.

PEREIRA: Well, it throws out the police statement altogether.

CAMEROTA: It does. I mean...

PEREIRA: It contradicts exactly what they said.

CAMEROTA: This is a big development. He wasn't intoxicated. He was sober and he was cordial.

PEREIRA: And polite.

CAMEROTA: So why bloodied on the sidewalk?

PEREIRA: With a knee on his neck.

CUOMO: And the point is, you've got to keep asking the questions, and you have to wait and see what they wind up doing in this situation, because that's what usually happens, is that these stories start hot and then fade off and we don't really know what happens. So you have to stay on it.

CAMEROTA: There is an investigation.

Meanwhile the race for the White House is officially under way, with the first candidate formally declaring that he's running; and the critics are already piling on.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GOV. JERRY BROWN (D), CALIFORNIA: I think that man has rendered himself absolutely unfit to be running for office.

CAMEROTA: Who exactly is California Governor Jerry Brown talking about? We'll tell you.

CUOMO: Now, it may be too early to say who you want for president, but we do know what you want. An exclusive new poll reveals the choices. And boy, do they send a message. We have them for you coming up.

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CRUZ: It's going to take a new generation of courageous conservatives to help make America great again, and I'm ready to stand with you, to lead the fight.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: That was Senator Ted Cruz, throwing his hat into the presidential ring, becoming the first major 2016 contender to formally declare. So what will a Ted Cruz candidacy look like?

CUOMO: Let's discuss. We have CNN political commentator and Republican strategist, Mr. Kevin Madden; and CNN political commentator, Democratic strategist, and senior adviser at the super PAC Priorities USA Action, Mr. Paul Begala.

So Kevin Madden, we start with you. He's the first man in. Is this the last time we refer to him as a first?

KEVIN MADDEN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Look. He is somebody who excites a lot of grass roots conservatives out there. He's somebody for a lot of voters who, I think, for a lot of -- a lot of voters who want to see the challenge, the status quo in Washington and the status quo, quite frankly, within the Republican Party challenged. You know, Ted Cruz gives a lot of voice to those voters. So he's going to have, he's going to be making some big waves in places like Iowa and elsewhere on the calendar.

CAMEROTA: Paul, here's the latest Real Clear Politics average polling on Ted Cruz among others. He is rating right now at a 4.6, which is quite far down the rung from some of the other Republican -- all of the other Republican candidates that we've heard talk about it so far. But do you think this -- talk about the timing of him getting in now. Does that give him momentum?

PAUL BEGALA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think it does. I think this is why he's moving first. I recall a freshman or a second-year senator from Illinois who was polling about that low named Barack Obama. He wound up doing pretty well.

I think Kevin is right. I would not mis-underestimate Ted Cruz. I think there's a real capacity. You are exactly right. Republicans want an alternative to the establishment for him to catch fire, and here's why.

I think Kevin is exactly right. Republicans want an alternative to the establishment, which is Jeb Bush, Scott Walker, a lot of establishment candidates. It seems to me he can weave together all three strands of the insurgency in Republicans. He can weave together the Tea Party, because he led the government shut-down. The Christian conservatives: he opposes abortion even in the case of rape and incest. And the libertarians. He says Social Security is a Ponzi scheme. That is -- those are three really powerful strains of anti- establishment Republicanism, and he could harness them.

CUOMO: I think Begala is setting him up here. He wants to set up Cruz as being an attractive candidate, because he thinks he's going to be easy to beat. Kevin, let's discuss that. He has been the anti- guy, right? They call him the Cruz missile the way he was trying to blow up the government there and shut it down. That's what he's been harnessing.

But how much can that really get you? Let's play you a sop that he said recently about global warming. And it kind of speaks to what he's appealing to.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CRUZ: I just came back from New Hampshire where there's snow and ice everywhere. And my view actually is simple. Debates on this should follow science and should follow data.

And many of the alarmists on global warming, they've got a problem, because the science doesn't back them up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: My 9-year-old knows from third-grade science that just because it's cold doesn't mean that there's no global warming. What is his play here? He is obviously intelligent. Dershowitz says he is the smartest law student he ever taught.

PEREIRA: Is that right?

CUOMO: So what's going on here?

MADDEN: Well, look, I think this is a lot of his appeal to so many grassroots conservatives around the country. If you remember, Ted Cruz has said this, himself, the reason we lost to Mitt Romney or we lost with a John McCain is because we tried to paint in pastels. And what we need to paint, in order to appeal to a larger electorate in order to win, we have to paint really broad colors.

And that's what he's trying to do. He is -- he wants to be the voice of this sort of clash of political cultures in this country right now. He wants to take on the status quo in Washington. He wants to take on the last, you know, what will have been eight years of President Obama and offer a new direction to a lot of conservatives who really want to see these bold contrasts between the way the Republicans think the country ought to be run and the direction we ought to be going. And those who supported Barack Obama for the last eight years.

So that's what he wants to do. He doesn't want to meddle around in the middle. He wants to really draw some tough contrast and force people into a stronger choice.

[06:25:12] CAMEROTA: Well, that's interesting. That Kevin says he wants to paint things in these bold colors. Maybe it's just painting in black and white, and maybe that is what it takes to win the primary. But as you know, that's more of a challenge for the general.

BEGALA: But the general -- I think any of these Republicans, so many of them. And frankly, there's a lot of talent in their field. So I think they're mostly worried right now about winning the primary.

And I think Kevin here is exactly right. Think about this. My one liner, my thumbnail sketch of Ted Cruz is this. He has Barack Obama's education and Sarah Palin's politics. So he goes on a late-night show and pretends that climate science is not real. A very anti-science, anti-intellectual position. But he's got the pedigree of a champion debater at Princeton and a top law student at Harvard.

But he will go out there and he -- there is a Republican base out there that does not believe in climate science. They don't believe in biological evolution or gravity or photosynthesis, or electromagnetism. He will speak to the anti-intellectuals with an intellectual pedigree. I think it will be very powerful.

CUOMO: You know what the concern is going to be, to kind of change topic, but this as an example of it is you can't just oppose all the time. And that takes us to Loretta Lynch.

Kevin, do you think that there's a chance that this may backfire on the GOP, holding up her nomination? They say they don't like Eric Holder. Now they have somebody who should be a shoe-in. And they're holding it up over what just seems like politics. Is the obstructionism of it too obvious?

MADDEN: Look, I think it's -- I think it's too easy to paint it as political obstructionism when, in fact, you really do have a couple of folks up on Capitol Hill who believe very strongly and have a substantive disagreement about her comments and remarks that the president can just go ahead and change the lock, if he doesn't like it.

I think right now we have a lot of procedural obstacles up on Capitol Hill that are preventing a vote. Ultimately, I think she ends up getting an up or down vote. But it will be close, because the opposition is substantive in this case. But, you know, because she is an African-American and because she's a woman, some of the transparent cynicism we see from -- from some folks who oppose anybody who opposes her, there will be that -- you know, that politics is going to happen.

CAMEROTA: Paul, is she going to get a vote or has this gotten too bogged down in politics?

BEGALA: I think she will get a vote. But Republicans just insist on shooting themselves in the foot on this. The sticking point, they say, is really abortion. And abortion is an important issue; it's a divisive issue. It's a really serious issue. But it really has nothing to do with whether Loretta Lynch should be the attorney general. I mean, even the demoted socialist Rudy Giuliani says that Lynch would be a good attorney general. Why not put her on the job, let her get to work enforcing our laws and protecting America, and then they can have their fight over a woman's right to choose.

CAMEROTA: Paul, Kevin, great to see you guys.

MADDEN: Great to be with you.

CAMEROTA: Let us know what you think about all this. Please tweet us, @NewDay, or go to Facebook.com/NewDay. We will read your comments.

CUOMO: We're telling you about Yemen this morning, because it could become the most dangerous place on the planet. Remember, just six months ago, President Obama called Yemen a success story. Now, it could become a clubhouse for terror groups. We're going to tell you what it means for your safety ahead.

PEREIRA: And speaking of safety, imagine this road trip, quite like no other we've ever seen. A 3,500 journey from California to New York, in a car with no one behind the wheel, no driver? Hmm, we'll tell you more ahead.

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