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New Day Sunday

ISIS Released New Video of Executions; ISIS Claimed Executing U.S. Citizen Peter Kassig; Doctor Suffering from Ebola Brought To U.S. for Treatment

Aired November 16, 2014 - 06:30   ET

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

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: 31 minutes past the hour right now. Thank you for sharing your company with us. I'm Christi Paul.

JOE JOHNS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Joe Johns in for Victor Blackwell.

PAUL: We want to get to our breaking news this morning. In a video published online today, ISIS claims to have beheaded American hostage Peter Kassig.

JOHNS: And we have got a still photo from that video showing a man believed to be Jihadi John, the ISIS executioner with a British accent who's appeared in previous execution videos. In the video, we see the aftermath of the beheading and the victim is not clearly recognizable. We can't yet confirm the video's authenticity or whether it is indeed Peter Kassig.

PAUL: You know Kassig, he was once a U.S. Army ranger and Iraq war veteran and in his civilian life, he was an aid worker in Syria. That is where he was captured more than a year ago. And while he was in captivity, we learned that he officially converted to Islam going by the name Abdul Rahman Kassig. If this video is deemed authentic, though, Kassig would be the fifth Western hostages apparently beheaded by ISIS. We want to bring in Will Geddes right now, managing director of International Corporate Protection Group and CNN military analyst Major General James "Spider" Marks. Thank you, gentlemen, for being us with.

JOHNS: So, first to you, Will, what do you think would make the difference of what we're seeing in this video compared to the ones we've seen in the past? We know that this is a little bit different thing than some of the other execution videos ISIS has put out.

WILL GEDDES: Yes. It's quite a different framing for this particular video. And in so much as what they're sharing at the very beginning is some executions of two Syrian soldiers. Which would say to me that they are believing that falling on deaf ears in terms of the communications to both the U.S., U.K. and other members of the coalition. And are trying to include within obviously their message the propaganda to try and disable certainly dissuade members perhaps of the Arabian coalition who have been brought to bear to contribute obviously to trying to combat ISIS.

PAUL: General Marks, a lot of people worrying about the timing of this. There was the airstrike last week against their leader - ISIS leaders. Apparently, we do not know if their main leader al-Baghdadi was actually part of that airstrike or if he was a victim of it. We have, of course, General Dempsey who is in Iraq right now. Do you think that this could be timed to those two events?

MAJ. GEN. JAMES "SPIDER" MARKS, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Absolutely, Christi. I think there is very much a correlation between what you see with General Dempsey in country right now, the decision to reinforce our U.S. presence in terms of the training and advice role that is taking place with the Iraqi forces and the results of airstrikes. I look at this and clearly there are no coincidences. This is timed very specifically to those activities by the coalition.

And I would say the results of those activities which are -- there is some very -- there have been some small victories by the Iraqi security forces. There have been some significant victories in Syria as a result of the airstrikes. And so, this is an opportunity for ISIS to now release this barbaric and very depraved video that just demonstrates what their objectives are and it tends to then mute the message that the international community is putting out which is, look, we're reinforcing success and we're trying to put - we're trying to put as much of a stop on ISIS activities as we can.

JOHNS: Now, Will, did I hear you correctly say that as far as you're concerned, ISIS doesn't think it's been getting its message through and so it's decided to do something different in this video? And I ask you that because of the concern about the execution of a convert to Islam. What - who will that appeal to in the Islamic world?

GEDDES: Well, that's a very good question. And one has to look at the message that ISIS is sending out. But fundamentally, they're trying to intimidate not only the international community in terms of trying to create some kind of cessation on the airstrikes and also trying to dismantle it by undermining it saying we're still strong, we're still continuing with our actions and little impact all you are having on us. But I think also to try to intimidate the local community.

Now how this is actually going to work, he's complete - and trying to recruit. I think it is hardly unlikely. I think it will be counterproductive. Certainly there are those individuals within the community whether they be Islamic or otherwise that we'll want to join their ranks. But ultimately, if they're showing that they're not separating their attacks and their barbarism towards, obviously, the Muslim community, will only, I would have thought, work in more cohesive sense in the Muslim community co-joining and creating a far stronger and more aggressive front against ISIS.

PAUL: All right. Will Geddes and General Spider Marks. We've so appreciated your insight today. Thank you for being with us.

JOHNS: CNN's Erin McPike joins us now from Washington with a statement from the National Security Council. Erin, what did you got?

ERIN MCPIKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Joe, that's right. This is coming from the National Security Council. And spokesman there writes, we're aware of a video that claims to show the murder of U.S. citizen Peter Kassig by ISIL. The intelligence community is working as quickly as possible to determine its authenticity. If confirmed, we're appalled by the brutal murder of an innocent American aid worker and we express our deepest condolences to his family and friends. We will provide more information when it is available.

And to that point, Joe and Christie, you've been talking about the timing of this and the release of the video. The effect of that as well is very interesting because, of course, President Obama has been overseas for the last week and now has to travel back. And he, of course, can do anything that he can do in his capacity as president when he is traveling, when he's on Air Force One. But it does make the response a little bit more difficult.

The other thing I would point out is as ISIS kind of fades from the top of American media and is overtaken by other events, obviously we've been talking about Ebola for quite some time. Just yesterday we were talking about everything that's going to be happening in Washington between the vote on the Keystone pipeline, immigration, a potential government shutdown. ISIS has had this ability to get all of that out of the way and come to the forefront of our news coverage. And that is happening in all of these cases. Now this fifth case. Christi and Joe.

PAUL: Very good point. Although we should point out, too, we do not know when this video was actually shot. When it was recorded.

JOHNS: Sure, absolutely. And the other thing that is very interesting about this, and I think Erin, you make a good point, the president on the plane not able to respond, we know that here on television, whenever one of these executions happens and we put it on television in a way we're sort of being used by ISIS just by reporting it. And you have to wonder whether people at the White House and in other places are trying to hold back on their responses simply to reduce the media footprint of this awful story that gives ISIS even more publicity. What do you think about that, Erin?

MCPIKE: Well, Joe, that's so true. And we have covered now this fifth one. And in each case, and they've actually happened quite often on the weekend, and the White House does move very slowly. And you have to think that they generally have confirmation that it is a real authentic video well before they're able to tell us that. But they have to go through a big sort of process and check intelligence and all of that sort of thing. But we always get these very terse, brief statements about the fact that they still have to check that authenticity. They also have to talk to family members of the victims. So there are a lot of steps that they go through. But I think you're absolutely right that they want to tamp down the coverage.

JOHNS: For sure.

PAUL: Erin McPike, we appreciate it. Thank you very much.

JOHNS: When we come back, we'll get to some of the other stories making news. Including ... PAUL: Ebola.

JOHNS: That's right.

PAUL: Ebola. We've got a new patient here in the U.S. with Ebola. We're going to let you know the very latest. Stay close.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: Forty-three minutes past the hour. We'll have more for you throughout the morning on Peter Kassig, the American that ISIS claims to have beheaded. This would make him the fifth Westerner. He converted to Islam and is also named Abdul Rahman Kassig. We've heard from his family and we'll continue to get you the latest on this. But there are some other new stories that we have to get to with you this morning.

JOHNS: Among those stories, a doctor stricken with Ebola is receiving care this morning in a Nebraska hospital. He arrived in Omaha from Sierra Leone yesterday. He is now the tenth patient to be treated for the deadly disease in the United States.

PAUL: CNN's Alexandra Field reports this latest victim is a surgeon and he's critically ill.

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Christi, Joe, a surgeon diagnosed with Ebola in his native Sierra Leone is now being treated for Ebola here in the U.S. Workers in hazmat suits carried Dr. Martin Salia on a stretcher to an ambulance before taking him to the bio containment unit at Nebraska medical center in Omaha. Salia's family says he is a legal permanent resident of the U.S. and he's married to a U.S. citizen. A decision was made to bring him back to the States after his medical team reported he was critically ill and his wife requested to have him flown back here.

According to the U.S. State Department, Salia's wife agreed to reimburse the government for any expense. The team in Sierra Leone carrying for Salia says he is possibly sicker than the first patients who were treated in the U.S. That according to a statement from the Nebraska Medical Center. The doctor had been splitting his time between New Carrolton, Maryland, and Sierra Leone. Christi, Joe.

PAUL: Alexandra Field, thank you so much.

Next hour, by the way, we're talking to a former CDC doctor about the severity of this latest Ebola victim illness and why he was taken specifically to Nebraska.

JOHNS: Let's get you caught up with the morning read.

PAUL: A chemical leak at a DuPont Plant near Houston has left four workers dead, a fifth employee was exposed and hospitalized but is expected to recover, thankfully. The chemical, which is used in insecticides and fungicides didn't pose a risk to the community. But the cause of the leak is certainly under investigation now. JOHNS: Enrollment is now open for buying insurance under the Affordable Care Act. It's the second year of what has been coined Obamacare. You have until the 15th of February to head to healthcare.gov to enroll. So far, no glitches to report for the second enrollment period.

PAUL: In sports, former baseball slugger Jose Canseco says the finger he accidentally lost last month fell off during a poker tournament.

JOHNS: What?

PAUL: That's what he's saying. Canseco tweeted out the news last night saying the finger should have been amputated after he shot it while cleaning his gun. Because as he puts it, it was loose and smelling really bad. I apologize for having to give you that news this morning. Good heavens.

JOHNS: Too much information.

In science, remember the massive asteroid that exploded over central Russia last year? How you could forget that? Well, a new map detailed just how often the sort of thing happens. NASA found that 556 space rocks smashed into Earth's atmosphere during a recent 20- year period. While most are small and harmless, the space agency has increased its efforts to finding and tracking potentially dangerous ones.

PAUL: Do stay with us. We're going to have more for you on Peter Kassig, the 26-year-old American former U.S. Army ranger.

JOHNS: We heard from the family.

PAUL: We heard from the family. ISIS is claiming that they have beheaded him. But there is something very different about this video than what we have seen in past videos.

JOHNS: Right. And the National Security Council and others trying to authenticate that video. Still haven't said absolutely it is Peter Kassig. But a lot of experts think it is.

PAUL: We'll have more in just a moment. Take care.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: We want to get you back to our breaking news this morning. In a video published online today, ISIS is claiming to have beheaded American hostage Peter Kassig.

JOHNS: Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. Here is a still photo from that video showing a man believed to be Jihadi John, the ISIS executioner with a British accent who's appeared in previous execution videos. In the video we see the aftermath of the beheading and the victim is not clearly recognizable. We cannot confirm the video's authenticity at this time or whether it is indeed Kassig. PAUL: The Kassig was once a U.S. Army ranger and Iraq war veteran.

And in his civilian life, he was an aid worker in Syria. And that's where he was captured back in October of 2013. So a little more than a year ago. While in captivity, he officially converted to Islam and went by the name Abdul Rahman Kassig. If this video, though, is deemed to be authentic, he would be the fifth Western hostage apparently beheaded by ISIS. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JOHNS: And our breaking news this morning. The apparent execution by ISIS of American aid worker Peter Kassig also known as Abdul Rahman. We have seen a video this morning suggesting he was beheaded. There was a threat against him some time ago. He's been held by ISIS for more than a year. And this video also is being described as one of the most gruesome videos ever produced by ISIS, which also includes apparently the execution of a number of Syrian aircraft military personnel.

PAUL: Sajjan Gohel is joining us now. He's a terrorism expert. And Sajjan, I wanted to ask you about that. We've heard from several people who say this is the most barbaric video that they have seen yet. Does that show, do you believe, a change in ISIS strategy or does it show on their part perhaps a fear that they feel they have to get more serious?

SAJJAN GOHEL, TERRORISM EXPERT: Well, it is a combination of both. Unfortunately, this incident was inevitable. We have seen ISIS do this before. It served the propaganda purposes and to instill the fear factor. Certainly the group has been under a lot of pressure recently with increased focus on strikes and also the purported attempted elimination of the leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. So in many ways, this is a message to the West that they are very much active and they will continue their campaign and that if there are any more airstrikes, they'll utilize their propaganda machinery to precipitate the fear factor.

JOHNS: Now, does a video like this actually appeal to anyone or is it just being released purely to terrify people?

GOHEL: On the one hand, it is designed to terrify people. But unfortunately, and as disturbing as it may sound, this is also part of their propaganda machinery. It is designed to appeal to their constituents to attract new supporters to their cause. This is something that unfortunately ISIS has done very much in the last year. And certainly what is also disturbing is they utilize media to project themselves and also use it as oxygen on publicity in propaganda.

PAUL: Sajjan, I just want to ask you something that I saw you heard and I don't know if I misunderstood it. So I want to clarify. We know that last week there were airstrikes against some of ISIS leaders. And there were questions about whether their main leader, their main spiritual leader al-Baghdadi was a victim of those airstrikes. Did you say that he had been eliminated?

GOHEL: Well, there was an attempt to. And there wasn't any clarity and suddenly it went viral on the Web forum about where he was, was he OK? Had he survived? And certainly, there is no evidence to say that he's been eliminated. But there has been a lot more pressure put on the group with the airstrikes. And certainly this is perhaps a message to show that they're very much active and that they cannot be intimidated. On the contrary, they wish to intimidate the West.

JOHNS: Terrorism expert, Sajjan Gohel, thanks so much for coming in and talking to us this morning.

PAUL: We appreciate it.

JOHNS: Pleasure.

PAUL: Top of the hour now. 7:00 Eastern. I'm Christi Paul.

JOHNS: I'm Joe Johns. More on our breaking news. ISIS claims to have executed its fifth Western hostage in a video posted online today. The terror group purportedly shows the beheading of American Peter Kassig.

PAUL: Twenty-six-year-old former U.S. Army ranger here. Captured while doing aid work in Syria more than a year ago. Karl Penhall has been following this as well. So, Carl, I wanted to ask you, what do you make of the differences that we see in this video compared to what we have seen in previous videos? For one, it's being most barbaric as we've heard from most people and also that it's in a different location. It's longer than the previous videos. What does that mean? What meaning is behind that?

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. Absolutely, Christi. There are significant differences. This is (INAUDIBLE) video that lasts in total 16 minutes. The longest video before that was probably only a third of that length. It is different from the previous videos as well, however. It gives a long background to the origins of Islamic state or ISIL.