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Obama Reiterates No U.S. Combat Troops in Iraq; Scotland Vote for Independence Tomorrow; Kerry Due to Talk Coalition-Building Against ISIS

Aired September 17, 2014 - 13:30   ET

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

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BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The American forces that have been deployed to Iraq do not and will not have a combat mission. They will support Iraqi forces on the ground and they fight for their own country against these terrorists. As your commander-in- chief, I will not commit you and the rest of our armed forces to fighting another ground war in Iraq.

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WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Strong words from the president.

Let's continue the conversation. The president spoke at the U.S. military Central Command in Tampa. You probably saw it live here on CNN. He's meeting with the troops. He's reiterating his vow that American troops will not be forced into so-called combat roles as far as the fight against ISIS is concerned in Iraq or Syria.

Idaho Republican Senator James Risch joins is a key member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He's on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. He's joining us live from Capitol Hill.

Senator, thanks very much for joining us.

When you hear the president make a firm statement like that, you hear the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, General Dempsey, making statements sort of opening up the door to combat troops, what goes through your mind? What is it?

SEN. JAMES RISCH, (R), IDAHO: What went through my mind is Dempsey's going to get a call very quickly from the White House when this was over. I think that probably did happen. He's disconnected from what the boss is saying. But just as importantly, there are few, if any, members of Congress who are interested in putting boots on the ground in the Middle East again. And the same is true of the American people. They've had it with putting boots on the ground. But, Wolf, in today's world, we can do a lot without putting boots on the ground. With the weaponry we have developed in the last five, six years, we really can do what needs to be done, should be done, without putting boots on the ground. In the last segment, you mentioned the Kurds. If you want to hire somebody to put boots on the ground, the Kurds are very, very effective fighters. They've been a friend of the United States. They're not going to drop their uniforms and run like the Iraqis did when ISIS showed up.

BLITZER: Why did the Iraqi military -- these are 200,000, 300,000 Iraqi troops, a U.S.-trained military with a lot of U.S. equipment. They got threatened by ISIS coming into their second-largest city of Mosul, Fallujah, all sorts of cities where the U.S. military paid a huge price liberating those areas, and all of a sudden, the Iraqi military goes MIA. Why did that happen?

RISCH: Look, they're not us. You can do all the training you want. You can give them all the speeches you want. You can give them all the weaponry that you want. But if they are not committed to fight, if they don't have a cause that they believe in and a cause that they're willing to die for, they're going to do just what they did. And they are not us. And they certainly don't have the national patriotism that American troops have, even fighting in a foreign land, as we frequently do.

BLITZER: Do you have confidence that this new Iraqi government will do any better than the old Iraqi government of Nouri al Maliki, this new prime minister, Haider al Abadi, is any better?

RISCH: That remains to be seen, Wolf. They have such a polarization over there that one really has to wonder whether that's going to happen or not. They always talk about Americans being polarized in the elections, what have you. We can't hold a candle to the way their polarized, based upon religious issues that most of us don't understand.

BLITZER: The president wants you to support legislation providing half a billion dollars, $500 million, to help train and arm the so- called moderate Syrian rebels. Will you vote in favor of that?

RISCH: Not right now. I'm not convinced of it. As you say, I sit on the intelligence committee, and we've been following this for well over a year. There's about 200 groups within Syria that are aligned along religious or ethnic or a combination of both. They have two things in common, all the groups, number one, they want Assad out. And number two, they want to be in power. But beyond that, they don't have a lot in common. They wind up fighting with each other. And I have real, real reservations about arming those people. So I want to hear a lot more. And I keep asking the questions on the details. And it is a detail issue. We don't have somebody like the Kurds in Syria that I would have confidence in, that I would have faith in to say, look, go get them. I really question whether that exists there.

BLITZER: I know there's a lot of questions going around. A lot of members are totally in agreement with you right now. They want more answers.

Senator Risch, thanks very much for joining us.

RISCH: Thank you, Wolf. Good to be with you.

BLITZER: Secretary of State John Kerry is going to be up on Capitol Hill in the next hour. He's going to try to answer some of those questions about this crisis involving ISIS. Should the U.S. arm those moderate Syrian rebels? What are the risks if the U.S. were to do so?

And one pivotal question facing the United Kingdom right now, will it stay united? A divided Scotland set to vote on independence. We'll update you on what we know.

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BLITZER: Welcome back. I'm Wolf Blitzer, reporting from Washington.

We'll have much more on the threat ISIS poses to the United States and friends in the Middle East, what the president is planning to do about it. That's coming up, new information coming in.

But first, there's another important story we're following right now. For more than 300 years, Scotland has been a part of Great Britain. But tomorrow, Scots will vote on whether they should break free and become an independent country.

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BLITZER: It's a debate causing serious contention with polls showing the country split down the middle. The British Prime Minister David Cameron warns the consequences will be far-reaching and irreparable if Scotland chooses to leave.

Our Erin McLaughlin is in London.

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ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, this race is very close. In fact, it's too close to call. And anyone aged 16 or older is eligible to vote. They have to live in Scotland. A simple majority is required to win this referendum.

And just this morning, British Prime Minister David Cameron acknowledged that he's sweating the very real possibility of an independent Scotland.

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DAVID CAMERON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: We must be very clear. There is no going back from this, no rerun. This is a once-and-for-all decision. If Scotland votes yes, the U.K. will split and we will go our separate ways forever.

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MCLAUGHLIN (voice-over): Will Scotland soon be an independent country? The latest poll of polls shows a race too close to call, with 51 percent voting no and 49 percent voting yes.

The leader of the Yes Campaign argues, as part of a union, Scotland has not been getting a fair deal.

UNIDENTIFIED LEADER, SCOTLAND YES CAMPAIGN: It's a universal law that the best people to govern a nation are the ones that live and work in it. They're going to make the best decisions.

MCLAUGHLIN: The No Campaign says the U.K. needs to maintain its global standing.

CAMERON: It will be the end of a country that launched the Enlightenment, that abolished slavery, that drove the industrial revolution, that defeated fascism. The end of a country that people around the world respect and admire.

MCLAUGHLIN: The historic vote could have major repercussions. The Yes Campaign says the British will have to share the pound with an independent Scotland. The British government says it won't. The two camps are divided about how much oil actually exists in the North Sea. The Yes Campaign is optimistic there's enough there to drive the Scottish economy. Some say Scotland would have to reapply to be a member of the European Union.

A yes vote would mean a new flag for Scotland and possibly for Britain. The iconic Union Jack, which signifies the combining of England, Ireland and Scotland's crowns, could look much different if Scotland's blue-and-white flag is removed. The Scottish capitol is likely to remain Edinburgh.

As for Britain's fleet of nuclear armed submarines, they're currently based in Scottish waters. The Yes Campaign promises to kick them out. But it's not clear where they would go.

A winning yes vote would mean Scotland would be a commonwealth, much like Canada and Australia. The queen likely will remain the head of state.

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MCLAUGHLIN: Still, some historians say her role would be to be written into an independent Scotland's new constitution.

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MCLAUGHLIN: Even if the no vote wins tomorrow's referendum and Scotland remains a part of the United Kingdom, the political landscape here will change. The British government has already offered the Scottish parliament more powers. And there are implications for countries around the world with strong separatist movements, such as Spain and Belgium. Ukraine will be watching what happens tomorrow very closely -- Wolf?

BLITZER: We will.

Erin McLaughlin reporting from outside Number 10 Downing Street in London. We'll watch that vote very closely.

Secretary of State John Kerry will be back up on Capitol Hill less than an hour or so from now to talk about U.S. plans to deal with the ISIS threat. We're covering it live for you.

And a key question facing the United States: If the U.S. arms the so- called moderate rebels fighting is in Syria, what are the risks?

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BLITZER: Next hour, the Secretary of State John Kerry will be up on Capitol Hill answering questions about his coalition-building efforts in the Middle East. We'll have coverage of that.

In the meantime, let's bring in our chief congressional correspondent, Dana Bash, outside the hearing room there -- or maybe she's inside the hearing room from what I'm seeing.

Set the scene for us, Dana. What's going to go on?

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. I'm in the well of the hearing room. This is where John Kerry is going to come in about 45 minutes. The Senators will obviously be here. Chairman Bob Menendez is going to lead this. This was the committee that John Kerry, when he was a Senator, led himself. So it is going to be at another time he's going to come back, sit in the witness chair, and answer questions along the lines of what you've been talking about all hour with your guests. Primarily, the mixed messages that we've heard from the administration, from John Kerry himself telling our Elise Labott that we're not at war, the U.S. is not at war with ISIS, but then the administration trying to backtrack on that. And of course, the testimony from the military chiefs yesterday, before the Armed Services Committee, specifically saying that there should be ground troops left on the table, and that's setting off basically a five-alarm political fire at the White House because the president does not want to send that signal at all.

So those are going to be the kinds of questions we're going to hear from the secretary of state -- for the secretary of state in about 45 minutes. Obviously, there will be more diplomatic questions about the mission, the strategy and so forth.

BLITZER: And in the meantime, the House is going to be voting shortly on whether or not to appropriate that $500 million the president wants to arm and train the so-called moderate Syrian rebels. Is it a nail- biter? What's going to happen?

BASH: It is. Talking to leaders in both parties, they do believe that it is going to pass, that the House will authorize what the president has asked for, to specifically -- it's narrow -- to specifically go after -- go out there and arm and train Syrian rebels. There will probably be just as many Democrat defections as Republican defections. Both leaders on both sides say they're not necessarily arm twisting, that it's a vote of conscious. But they are extending the signal that this is something they do believe the commander-in- chief should have, since he asked for it. It is going to be a stand- alone vote. But it will be part of, ultimately, the bill that will be funding the government. So what's going to happen is the House will have that vote later today. The Senate is probably not going to have a vote specifically on that. And that is the subject of a lot of debate and a lot of disappointment by a lot of Senators who say, you know what, we shouldn't be ducking and running for cover here. We should have a vote on this kind of issue in the light of day. And it looks like, as of now, they're not going to do that. But as you said, first up is the House this afternoon.

BLITZER: Let's see what happens in the House. Two House members, Gregory Meeks, Michael Paul (ph), they were on the show this hour. They both said they would vote for the $500 million. Senator Risch, of Idaho, said he would vote against it. So we'll see what happens when the actual roll call takes place.

Dana will be watching for all of us.

Thank you, Dana.

War isn't just left to the military. There's also a political component. Just ahead, two party strategists will size up the mixed messages about taking on ISIS.

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BLITZER: President Obama speaking at the U.S. military Central Command in Tampa earlier this morning. He made it clear U.S. ground troops will not, repeat, not be fighting ISIS in Iraq or Syria.

The Secretary of State John Kerry is also expected to drive home that point when he testifies before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in about half an hour or so from now. We'll have live coverage coming up in the next hour right here on CNN.

Let's discuss what's going on. Joining us from New York, Republican strategist and contributing author of the book "Lean Together," Sabrina Schaeffer, who is also the executive director of Independent Women's Forum; and also Democratic strategist and CNN political commentator, Maria Cardona.

Maria, are you confused at all about the mixed messages we've been getting? The president very clear, no combat ground troops will be involved. The Chairman of Joint Chiefs testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee saying, well, he might, down the road, if the current strategy doesn't work, have to go to the president with a recommendation to deploy combat troops.

MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR & DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Not at all, Wolf. I don't think it is a mixed message. The president has been very clear. And Secretary Kerry I believe will be very clear today that right now there's no plan to put American combat troops on the ground. That hasn't changed. What we heard yesterday from the general is a general doing what he should be doing, military planning. Military -- a fantastic military mind looking down the road to see what contingencies might arise in answer to a question. If he hadn't said that, I would be, like, this guy is not competent. I would be worried, in fact. That is his job. The president said that he wants him to do that kind of planning and he wants him to come back to him, if at some point down the road he feels like that's what needs to be done. He was very clear yesterday also. That is not where we are today and that's not what we're recommending.

BLITZER: Sabrina, would it be smarter -- and I've heard this from a bunch of people out there, I wonder if you agree -- if the president and chairman of the Joint Chiefs, other U.S. officials, simply said all options the U.S. goal is to degrade and ultimately destroy ISIS. All options are on the table, keep everyone guessing about what the United States of America may be doing. Would that be a smarter strategy?

SABRINA SCHAEFFER, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST & AUTHOR & EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, INDEPENDENT WOMEN'S FORUM: Well, for me, that's what I want to hear, Wolf. Look, I'm a mom up here in New York, but I'm usually in D.C. The first thing I think about when I get up today, are my kids safe when they go to school in D.C.? Are we safe up here in Washington? The thing that's missing from this conversation is I haven't heard the president make me feel any safer. I don't get a sense that there's any kind of consistent, coherent foreign policy. We're in the situation today because of inactions he took last year with Syria at this very time. I think that people want to know that there's a strategy in place. That it's clear headed. We're leaving options on the table and we're smart about our approach to both al Qaeda and ISIS.

BLITZER: I want to play a clip, Maria. This is from the president earlier today talking about America's role in the world. Listen to this.

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OBAMA: In an uncertain world full of breathtaking change, the one constant is American leadership. In a world where technology provides a small group of killers with the ability to do terrible harm, it is America that has the capacity and the will to mobilize the world against terrorists, including the group in Syria and Iraq known as ISIS.

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BLITZER: That seems to be different than what he said at West Point, the speech in May, when he said America cannot be the world's policeman.

CARDONA: I don't think it's that different. The two are consistent. It's not inconsistent to say that when people are in trouble in the world, they do look to America. I think that's exactly right. The question for us is, when do we get involved? I think that's exactly the discussion that we're having right now. And it's a healthy discussion.

But I want to address something that Sabrina said. She's right. Moms -- and I'm one of them -- wake up every morning and think about the safety of our kids. What the president has said also that I think is very important is that right now there is no intelligence that indicates there is any imminent threat to our homeland today. One of the things that we have to be very wary about -- and this is a war wary nation -- is we don't want to send our troops and have moms and dads saying good-bye to their kids for another global conflict.

BLITZER: Go ahead, Sabrina.

SCHAEFFER: Right. I couldn't agree more. I'm not going to have to sacrifice the way so many families have if we were to put troops on the ground. I think one of the ways that we can be a leader is not always having troops on the ground but how we're using them. Are we using special operators in a way to make sure that we're mentoring and training and helping the Kurds and the other Iraqis and bringing in Sunnis to make a difference on the ground? So there are other ways to be leaders other than a ground war.

BLITZER: Sabrina Schaeffer, thank you very much.

Maria Cardona, thanks to you as well.

That's it for me. Thanks very much for watching. I'll be back at 5:00 p.m. eastern for "The Situation Room," another two-hour edition.

NEWSROOM with Brooke Baldwin, featuring the testimony of Secretary of State John Kerry, starts right now.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Wolf, thank you so much.