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ISIS Claiming Responsibility for Museum Attack; Nine Arrested in Connection with Museum Attack; Kennedy Sticks to Schedule Despite Death Threats; Secret Service Director to Testify Before Senators Next Hour; Tapes of White House Incident Possibly Erased; Interview with Rep. Elijah Cummings; Secret Service Investigation; Interview with Yuval Steinitz; Israel/U.S. Relationship. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired March 19, 2015 - 13:00   ET

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

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Significant breaking news happening right now. I'm Wolf Blitzer. It's 1:00 p.m. here in Washington, 6:00 p.m. in Tunis, 7:00 p.m. in Jerusalem, 2:00 a.m. in Pyongyang, North Korea. Wherever you're watching from around the world, thank you very much for joining us.

Let's get to the breaking news on that attack -- that terror attack in Tunisia. Right now, ISIS is claiming responsibility for the attack that left 21 people dead, 44 people hurt, most of them tourists. Two of them suspected terrorists. They were killed. Nine suspects are now in custody. And a new audio recording. The terror group says yesterday's attack is, quote, "just the start." Meanwhile, Tunisia's government says they won't fall prey to terrorism and they're taking steps to try to defend against future violence by mobilizing the military into other parts of the country.

Let's go live to Tunis right now. Phil Black is standing by with more on what's going on. What's the latest, Phil?

PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, that claim of responsibility, as you mentioned there, is believed to have come from ISIS. Its authenticity cannot really be guaranteed. But it would appear to come from a Twitter account that has been used from ISIS in the past. It is an audio recording in which it praises the work of two men that it names, Abu Zakariya Al Tunisi, and Abu Anas Al Tunisi, and says they are responsible for carrying out the attack here. One that they describe as a suicide attack.

This ISIS claim, this responsibility and description of the attack, says the two men actually blew themselves up after they ran out of ammunition and were no longer able to conduct the fight. That's the first time that has been suggested in any account of the events that unfolded here yesterday.

Tunisian authorities, none of the witness accounts, none of the damage that has been witnessed by CNN personnel inside the museum complex to my right, have not seen anything suggesting an actual suicide attack or that these attackers did blow them up, that that actually did take place. It can't be ruled out but, as I said, no definite suggestion.

Here on the ground, the Tunisian authorities have also moved quickly, arresting what they say are nine people that were involved in this attack, four of them directly. Although, they have not said specifically how, whether they assisted practically, whether they were shooters or lookouts. We don't know that level of detail just yet. Five other people have been arrested for being associated with the group that conducted this attack -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Phil, do we know that the museum, that popular museum, was really the original target with all those foreign tourists, mostly European, some Japanese tourists there or was it the parliament building which is literally in the same complex right next door?

BLACK: There have been some suggestions here that perhaps these attackers tried to move on the parliament building first and were rebuffed. We've not been able to substantiate that in any way. It does appear that certainly the main fighting, the main attack against the visiting tourists, that all took place here in this area just behind me where the tourist buses first pulled up. That is where a large number of the victims were gunned down.

And according to witnesses that saw it all unfold, they say that the Tunisian security authorities, they were here very quickly. They circled them and had them locked down to this immediate vicinity and this area here at the museum. So, if the intention was to move onto the parliamentary building after that, it would seem they simply didn't have the opportunity to do so because the Tunisian security forces really blocked any chance of getting access to that building -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Yes. Horrendous massacre, almost 60 people. Mostly foreign tourists from Europe or from Asia. Sixty people either killed or seriously injured in this terror attack. Phil Black on the scene for us. Thank you.

Let's get some more on what's going on, the ISIS claim of responsibility. We'll bring in our Military Analyst, retired Lieutenant General Mark Hertling. He's a former commander of the U.S. Army forces in Europe. He's joining us from Orlando. And joining us from New York our Terrorism Analyst Paul Cruickshank.

Paul, a U.S. official tells our own Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr that the attack was likely carried out by what are described as local supporters of ISIS but may not necessarily have been formally directed by ISIS leaders in Iraq or Syria. What do you make of that?

PAUL CRUICKSHANK, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: Wolf, that's certainly quite possible. But we do know that up to 3,000 Tunisians have gone to fight in Syria and Iraq, many of them joining ISIS. We also know that about 500 have returned to Libya. So, it's possible that these gunmen had fought in Syria and Iraq were experienced in terrorism, in killing people and handling guns and then came back to Tunisia to launch this attack.

It's also possible that they could have trained in Libya. ISIS are operating a number of training camps in the east of Libya near Derna (ph)and Benghazi where Tunisians are believed to be training. It's also possible that these gunmen never left Tunisia but were inspired to do it by ISIS. This ISIS claim of responsibility contains no proof yet that it was actually ISIS behind this attack. It could be an opportunistic claim of responsibility, therefore -- Wolf.

[13:05:08] BLITZER: General Hertling, Paul makes a good point. We see ISIS is gaining some strength next -- right next door in that failed state of Libya. We saw what happened to the 21 Egyptian Christians, laborers that were simply beheaded by ISIS in Libya. There is enormous fear, I take it, that what ISIS is doing in Libya could easily, relatively easily, spread to Tunisia which has been relatively peaceful, relatively Democratic since the start of the Arab Spring some four years ago.

LT. GEN. MARK HERTLING (Ret.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: We -- Wolf, as we've discussed earlier, this was a focus of attention of all the intelligence collection by U.S. AFRICOM, the African command headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany. This was a popular area for, as Paul has said many times, various terrorist groups. And we watch very closely because there is such a short pathway across the Mediterranean into Italy and then into Europe.

But, yes, the various training camps and the so-called ungoverned spaces can affect even an evolving democracy like Tunisia is. It's very difficult to keep those borders clear across those countries and you're going to see some training in some countries certainly affect even an evolving Democratic government like there is in Tunisia and a popular tourist attraction spot.

BLITZER: As you know, Paul, last month, what, 32 militants, including some who had actually fought with ISIS in Syria and Iraq, were arrested, accused of planning what they called spectacular attacks. How does the government, like the government in Tunis right now, prepare for what potentially could unfold there?

CRUICKSHANK: Well, it's going to be very, very difficult indeed because as well as a threat from ISIS, there are also 40,000 followers, it's thought, of Ansar Al Sharia in Tunisia, a pro-jihadi movement there which is very similar in outlook to Ansar Al Sharia in Benghazi which, of course, carried out that attack on the U.S. consulate in 2012. And as well as a threat from Ansar Al Sharia in Tunisia which carried out a mob protest attack on the U.S. embassy back in 2012.

There's also a presence in Tunisia of Al Qaeda in North Africa. That presence is along the Algerian border in a very mountainous region of Tunisia. They have up to about 60 fighters. They've been super active in Tunisia. The most active terrorist group there carrying out attacks against security forces. And late last year, they promised to bring their jihad to the capital, Tunis.

So, there are many challenges that Tunisians face. Now, of course, the big danger is there will be an overreaction, a return to the kind of repression we saw under the previous sort of dictatorship in Tunisia. And that could pour fuel on the fire and make tensions worse and only increase the jihadi threat in Tunisia -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Now, very quickly, General. Is there anything the U.S. can or should be doing to help stop this threat in Tunisia?

HERTLING: Well, we've been doing it for quite some time, Wolf. Again, going back to U.S. AFRICOM and Stuttgart. They have been sending Special Forces and intelligence analysts to help the Tunisia government as well as many of the other governments within Africa, especially North Africa because of the evolution of Al Qaeda.

But this is a difficult problem. And this is, you know, Paul said, the swing of the pendulum. You know, when you have an evolving Democratic government, there is going to be a swing toward more oppression when something like this happens. This attack certainly doesn't mean Tunisia is falling but it is a government that has seen modernization and this is just one of those kind of things that becomes the new normal across all countries.

BLITZER: General Hertling, thanks very much. Paul Cruikshank, thanks to you as well.

Did the U.S. Secret Service erase tape of an embarrassing incident at the White House? The agency is trying to explain away lapses that seem unforgivable to its critics. We're going to ask a top U.S. congressman for his take on the controversy.

Also Hillary Clinton isn't running for president, at least not formally yet, but she might be giving up a rather lucrative job giving paid speeches. Will her last gig today give us any clues about her plans for the future? Stand by.

[13:09:19]

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BLITZER: We have breaking news following the death threats targeting the United States ambassador to Japan, Caroline Kennedy. Police now say they have arrested a 52-year-old man who admitted to making three phone calls in which he threatened to bomb the U.S. embassy in Tokyo and the U.S. Marine Corps camp in Okinawa. There is no word yet whether those calls are related to the ones threatening to kill Ambassador Kennedy. The ambassador, for her part, is sticking to her schedule. She appeared with the first lady of the United States at an event in Tokyo today. Here is what Kennedy's husband had to say about the threats on her life.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EDWIN SCHLOSSBERG: I worry about the safety of my family every day. Any threat is scary. But I think everyone is taking the proper precautions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Japanese media reports say police are now looking into the case as a potential scheme to blackmail Ambassador Kennedy or the U.S. embassy.

Other news, the director of the U.S. Secret Service says reports of two agents crashing into a gate at the White House, the director says those reports are incorrect. But Joe Clancy still has a lot of explaining to do. He testifies before a Senate panel next hour, two days after he was grilled by house lawmakers. Director Clancy is likely to face tough questions, including these. Why did it take five days for him to learn about the incident? What about surveillance tapes that may have been erased?

Congressman Elijah Cummings is the ranking member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. He's joining us live from Capitol Hill. Congressman, are you satisfied with the answers you've received so far?

REP. ELIJAH CUMMINGS, OVERSIGHT AND GOVERNMENT REFRM COMMITTEE: Not yet, Wolf. And we still have a lot of questions to ask. One of my major concerns is what you just said. Why does it take five days for this information to get to the director? That's just unacceptable. And, two, what is it that -- what is the policy with regard to overwriting the -- and erasing tapes. It's my understanding there is a 72-hour rule. But the tapes are supposed to be maintained -- surveillance tapes are supposed to be maintained.

[13:15:00] If there are -- they can be used for intelligence or protective purposes. And it seems to me that both of those criteria would have been met here but, yet and still, the tapes were apparently destroyed.

BLITZER: Yes, it sounds a little strange because remember the whole purpose of those two agents driving over from that party in Chinatown here in Washington, driving back to the White House because there was an incident underway at that time, somebody was making some sort of bomb threat, so you would think you would want to keep those tapes longer than just three days. That's your concern, right?

CUMMINGS: That is my concern. And, Wolf, I've got to tell you, there are a lot of questions that need to be answered. We don't have all the answers and hopefully the director will be able to provide them for us when he appears before our committee on Tuesday.

BLITZER: Because at issue here is the safety and security of the president, the first family, everybody who works at the White House.

CUMMINGS: Absolutely. Absolutely.

BLITZER: The other day when you and I spoke, you told me you're concerned about the security of the president and the first family. Are you more concerned now a week later after you've gotten into some of these questions or less concerned?

CUMMINGS: My concern is still at the same level because all the questions that I want answered have not been answered to my satisfaction yet. And I think I speak for our entire committee, both Democrats and Republicans. It's clear that Director Clancy has only been on the job for a short period of time. He came in, he dismissed four of the eight assistant directors and the deputy director and replaced the four assistants and is about the replace the deputy. So he came in and he took immediate action. Not only did he do that, but he did a number of things to restructure the Secret Service, much of which is classified.

But I can tell you that clearly there is a problem when the Secret Service director doesn't know about an incident of this nature for five days. This sounds like what was going on before and we - and that's the kind of thing, Wolf, that we're trying to get rid of. It seems to be a culture of complacency and a culture of mediocrity, unfortunately.

BLITZER: One final question, congressman. Do you know whether or not at least one or both of these agents who drove that vehicle into that area, the executive drive as it's called at the White House, were they drunk?

CUMMINGS: That's what we're trying to find out. And hopefully we will know the answers to that very soon. But one of the things we'll be able to find out, too, is, the officers that were on duty that suspected them possibly of being impaired, we'll have an opportunity to talk to them to find out exactly why they felt that way and if they felt that way. So what I would say, Wolf, is, we need to stay tuned. Give Director Clancy an opportunity to address the issues that he has to address. He's got a major job in front of him. And we - and we assured him that we would be doing everything in our power to support him.

BLITZER: Congressman Cummings, always good to have you on this show. Thanks very much.

CUMMINGS: Thank you.

BLITZER: Elijah Cummings is the ranking Democrat on the Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

We'll take a quick break. Much more news right after this.

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[13:21:48] BLITZER: Now that the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has claimed victory in Israel's parliamentary elections, he has some pressing items on his to-do list, like building a coalition government. And what about mending the rift with the Obama administration? Just a little while ago, the Israeli leader said he's sure he'll be speaking with President Obama soon and that Israel and the United States, he said, will work together and repair the relationship.

Let's go to our White House correspondent, Michelle Kosinski.

What's the view from the White House about the current state, Michelle, of U.S./Israeli relations?

MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think it stunned everybody to hear the press secretary yesterday broadcast this sort of strong statement on what Netanyahu had said. I mean leading up to his election, talking about there won't be a two-state solution while I'm prime minister if I were to be elected. Also talking about Arabs heading to the polls and needing it counteract that by getting out the vote. I mean these - to say that it rubbed the Obama administration the wrong way is putting it very, very lightly. I mean yesterday they were talking about this being divisive and marginalizing people and undermining the shared values that the U.S. and Israel have together.

And also on the issue of not wanting a two-state solution. I mean we're just hearing the prime minister now walking back that statement completely saying, no, no, no, I still want a one-state - a two-state solution. I still want there to be a peaceful demilitarized Palestinian state. But, he said, things have to change and he's putting that onus on Palestine to change things, to break the pact with Hamas.

But the White House has said clearly that if that is the case, that he's not going to work towards peace seriously, if the commitment isn't there, then senior administration officials here are saying, well, we are going to have to reassess things going forward. That changes things. We're going to have to reevaluate our position. It's almost like putting a warning out there directly to Netanyahu, even though the president has not spoken with him directly.

What does that mean in the real sense for moving forward? I mean, we know that there's going to be a lot of tension on Israel, but the bigger question is, what does this mean for the U.S. constantly backing up Israel in the U.N., Wolf?

BLITZER: That's a good question. Let's try to get some answers now. Michelle, thanks very much.

Joining us from Jerusalem, the Likud party member, the Israeli intelligence minister, Yuval Steinitz.

Minister, thanks very much for joining us.

So, what is it? Your government -- it's a Likud-led government right now, it will continue to be a Likud led government -- do you support what's called a two-state solution, Israel living alongside the new state of Palestine?

YUVAL STEINITZ, ISRAELI INTELLIGENCE MINISTER: First, Wolf, it's a pleasure to be with you and I think that what happened here the day before yesterday was a wonderful thing and wonderful token and testimony that there is still one true vibrant democracy in the entire Middle East, and this is the state of Israel, which is also United States best friend and ally in the entire region and so it's going to remain.

[13:25:02] Now, with regard to Prime Minister Netanyahu, I think Prime Minister Netanyahu was quite clear. He didn't say that we are not seeking peaceful solution with our Palestinian neighbors. He said something different that we cannot ignore. Though we want to have peace, we cannot ignore the realities on the ground. And the wider Middle East, and also what happened to us in Gaza after the Israeli withdrawal, and Abu Mazin (ph), (INAUDIBLE) approach to the U.N. and to the ICC, which was condemned also by the Americans. So the fact is, unfortunately, that currently it doesn't seem that we have a reliable partner for peace and security. And this is the main obstacle.

BLITZER: Well, let me press you on that, minister. Is it still the goal, though, and the prime minister said the other day on his watch there would not be a Palestinian state, but today he seems to be totally walking back from that line. Some interviews he's saying, I don't want a one-state solution, I want a sustainable, peaceful two- state solution. So the policy of your government, the Likud-led government, I want to be precise here, will it continue to be that the goal should be two states, Israel and Palestinian?

STEINITZ: Yes, I think that was a goal and we didn't change our policy. What had been changed, fortunately, is the realities on the ground. In Gaza, in the West Bank, in the wider Middle East. So, really, the burden of proof is on the Palestinian shoulders. They have to give us assurances and a positive experience that they can provide peace and security to the state of Israel. And, unfortunately, this is not happening or this is not happening yet. Of course, Israel is eager to have peace in the future, but Israel is not going to risk its security and its very existence on the other hand.

BLITZER: All right, minister, I want you to stand by because it's a critical moment right now in the international negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program. I want to get some precise answers from you on where exactly Israel stands. Much more with the Israeli intelligence minister right after this.

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