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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees
President Obama Shepherded a Tough Anti-Terrorism Mmeasure Through the UN Security Council; Jesse Matthews in Custody in Texas; Eric Frein Appeared in "Vietnam Appreciation Day"; Tensions Flared Again in Ferguson, Missouri
Aired September 24, 2014 - 23:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR, NEWSROOM: It has been a whole hour.
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: It was fast.
LEMON: Yes, fast. That's it for us tonight. Thanks for joining us. I'm Don Lemon.
CAMEROTA: And I'm Alysin Camerota. AC360 starts right now.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening. Thank you for joining us in this live edition of AC360. We have breaking news tonight on two fronts.
There has been an arrest in the disappearance of University of Virginia sophomore Hannah Graham. We will have details on that shortly.
We begin, though, of course with the latest on the war on ISIS after a big day here in New York. New video tonight of coalition forces hitting targets today.
(VIDEO CLIP PLAYING)
COOPER: These clips come from social media and were taken according to people who shot it in the Syrian city, (INAUDIBLE). A total of eight strikes, activists say in day light as well as in darkness. They claimed these are American airstrikes. The CNN, of course, cannot independently confirm whether they are in Baghdad or from Saudi or Emirati jets which played a major role today.
Also today, a pro-ISIS rally on the streets of a town northeast of the city of Holmes. This video posted by twitter accounts sympathetic to the group. The crowd chanting for ISIS, for al-Nusra, denouncing the Saudi royal family.
Meantime, a busy day for President Obama here in New York chairing the U.N. Security Council winning passage of a new resolution on terrorism. Earlier, he addressed the general assembly issuing a tough new call for every country to do what it can to combat violent extremism and making a case for war against ISIS, vowing to dismantle, his words, the terror group's network of death. Late today, again, we learned the alliance is growing with The Netherland pleading fighter jets and Belgium joining the effort as well.
Joining us now with the very latest, chief national security correspondent, Jim Sciutto. So, what is the latest on these airstrikes? And many of which targeted ISIS oil assets.
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Anderson. You had a very visible demonstration of that alliance just in those airstrikes. I'm told by senior military official that two- thirds of the aircraft in the air were not American. They were Saudi planes. They were from United Arab Emirates. And the majority munitions dropped by those coalition partners and that ties, of course, to the President's message in his address to the U.N. general assembly today. A call to arms, in fact, saying that this is a global fight. It must be a global fight against this group, both with military action, as well as tackling their funding, the flow of foreign fighter, et cetera. And you saw a demonstration of that today.
COOPER: There are oil refinery capabilities in Raqqa where ISIS has been. I'm assuming they weren't hit because of risk to civilian populations. Because these field that were hit were in a much more isolated area. Do we know how much revenue they actually generate for ISIS?
SCIUTTO: We do. I mean, the estimates range from $2 million to $3 million a day. Think about that. That is close to a billion a year. And this gets to one of ISIS' supreme advantages. It has its own revenue stream from oil as well as from other sources, ransoms. It robs banks as wells. It also has an overseas stream funding coming in from groups outside the country.
So you saw today the U.S. and the coalition attacking in effect, two of those revenue streams. One, oil facilities inside the country where they were able to smuggle this out and sell it on the open market. But also this resolution, as you mentioned Anderson, going after the funding that comes from outside the country and requiring all 193, U.N. member states in NATO, in U.N., rather to stop that revenue stream. Stop the flow of foreign fighters. In fact, they make it a crime in all those countries to fund these groups. The intention is, to cut off the funding and by doing that you take away one of its enormous advantages.
COOPER: Jim Sciutto, appreciate the reporting and the update.
Joining us now is CNN global affairs analyst, Bobby Ghosh, retired air force lieutenant colonel Rick Francona and Dan O'Shea, former Navy SEAL and coordinator of hostage working group of U.S. embassy in Baghdad.
Colonel Francona, let's start with you. The airstrikes, how soon (INAUDIBLE). I mean, they're really trying to hit essentially the pocketbook advises.
LT. COL. RICK FRANCONA, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: And they're -- the, as you mention, they are out in the middle of the desert. So the risk to -- for civilian casualties was very much minimized. And so, in keeping with what they are trying to do is to cut off the funding. We saw in the initial airstrike, they hit the finance center in Raqqa. Now they are hitting the oil fields as well. So it is kind of the economic portion of the airstrike package. I mean, this is all a list of pre-planned targets. They know they are going to hit these in sequence and it is time to go after these oil fields now.
COOPER: Dan, I know -- you have said that the U.S. strategy, you believe, has a lot of hole in it. Explain that.
DAN O'SHEA, VICE PRESIDENT, GROM TECHNOLOGIES: Well, the reality is, you know, we announce we are going to do something 12 days ago. And now we are starting the airstrike campaign. But ultimately, ISIL and ISIS, is on the trail (ph). They're going to fall back into the population. So they won't be that many targets. And with collateral damage even that going after all oil refineries. So, you know, where are we going to be in two, three months when we have taken off the option of putting quote-unquote "combat troops on the ground." Airstrikes alone are not going to solve this problem.
COOPER: Right. I mean, Bob, you can look at Israel trying to get to Hamas by the air. There is only so much you can do without killing large numbers of civilians.
BOBBY GHOSH, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Absolutely. This is a far from ideal situation. Dan is right. But this is the situation.
COOPER: These are the cards that Obama has been dealt.
GHOSH: These are the cards that Obama has been dealt. There is no appetite in this country for boots on the ground. And it is not clear that American boots on the ground are going to be the solution.
What you -- what you are trying to do right now is change the narrative. So far, the narrative has been ISIS takes whatever territory it wants. ISIS hold territories that it takes. And that narrative has to be changed. There has to be some way to push ISIS back.
For two reasons. One, we saw that all these young people who are coming from around the world to join ISIS, they think twice before doing that.
And two, all these tribes that the other tribes, particularly in Iraq that had been supporting ISIS, they now begin to think twice. They are joined because they see ISIS as a successful force. That ISIS is getting things up.
COOPER: Needs to change that narrative.
GHOSH: It begins to change the narrative. They begin to think well, you know, if we join ISIS, we are earning the wrath of the world.
COOPER: Colonel Francona, to Dan's point. Until there is a force on the ground that is able to actually engage ISIS, militarily on the ground, whether it is in Syria or Iraq -- I mean, so far, there has not been a change of ISIS positions. You look at maps from before the bombing and now, in Iraq. And ISIS positions are basically unchanged.
FRANCONA: But that's a success story because if you look at what was going on before the bombing, ISIS was running down the Euphrates valley, running down the Tigris valley.
COOPER: (INAUDIBLE)
FRANCONA: Yes. And so, the purpose of the air power was to blunt that. And as Bobby says, they change their narrative. Stop them where they are. Now, we have to get a ground force in to start rolling them back that. And that has to be done. You can't allow these people to sit on the territory.
In Iraq, we have a ground force to do that. They're just not capable right now. Hopefully, they will be. The question is after you get them out of Iraq, then what happens? The Syria portion of this is, the real key because that is their real power based. And right now, we don't have a viable plan if any boots on the ground in Syria.
COOPER: Right. And Dan, how skeptical are you about this training, the so-called moderate Syrian rebels? I mean, U.S. talking about vetting 5,000, doing it over the course of 12 to 18 months. Do you buy this? Is this just a fantasy?
O'SHEA: No, it doesn't pass the smell test. I have been doing foreign internal defense for, the better course, two decades. In my, in my, in my back ground and my, many of my peers have expressed the same.
The Syrian free army that might have had an option a few years ago, has largely been wiped out. Bashar al-Assad focuses effort to take on Syrian free army, knowing that if ISIS, ISIL rose in the wake that the west would be forcing in fund and that is we at up to this.
So whatever is left of Syrian free army to train them in a year, you know, what are you going have in a year. You don't even have a basic soldier, infantry soldier after one year of turning.
So, no, I am not very optimistic. And frankly, we don't have 12 to 15 months to get boots on the ground. This air campaign is going to solve some short term problems going after the financing, so on, so forth. But you know, the rally is in the Arab modern, naval military aviation. There is only been one war, no battles won. And in one war that stopped by any form of airstrike, and that is World War II. Hiroshima, Nagasaki. And I don't think that is an option on the table.
So we have taken a lot of options off the table. And I think it is Hamstrung us. And it doesn't make -- it doesn't give us a lot of other options. That still need to be on the table because we are telegraphing, we are, and we are withholding our options on the table. And we should never do that.
COOPER: Bobby, I mean, you spent all the time in Iraq. You have covered it for a lot of years. I mean, the problems are well known with Iraqi military. And though there is new government in place in this White House, it is very quick to say, there is a new President. There is a new Prime Minister. You know, there are still no interior minister. Still no defense minister. There is still no real clear plan on the table, beside words about them reaching out to Sunni groups.
But just reforming the Iraqi military. I mean, the U.S. was building the Iraqi military for more than ten years. Billions and billions of dollars. More than 100,000 U.S. troops on the ground. And it still collapsed in a matter of, you know, two or three years.
GHOSH: Well, big part of reasons for that was that the elements of the military that were in the north were the possibly, the worst. Because the government was so Shiite centric, it kept its best troops to protect the Shiite.
COOPER: But even -- senator John Kerry -- secretary of state John Kerry today told Christiane Amanpour, Baghdad itself could very easily have fallen.
GHOSH: Yes. I think --
COOPER: Do you believe it? Because if that it is true, that is stunning.
GHOSH: No. Listen. If you told me --
COOPER: Because if that it is true, that is stunning.
GHOSH: If you told me six months Mosul would have fallen, I would have said no. So, nothing is impossible. But I think some of the best elements of Iraqi military were protecting Baghdad and parts farther south, the Shiite areas. The trick is now to get the government to persuade the government to get its best men in to the fight in the frontlines. And as you say, do more than just word, to reach out off to the tribes. And say to them, you break away from ISIS. And we will give you a seat at the table.
COOPER: And that requires confidence, though. And there is not a lot of that.
GHOSH: Now, there is confidence that requires statesmanship, that requires political skill of an art that they haven't shown.
COOPER: Very quickly, Colonel.
FRANCONA: The leadership of the Iraqi army was gutted. That's what caused the collapse of it.
COOPER: Generals buying a generalship.
FRANCONA: And Maliki replaced all of the good Sunni generals with his Shiite cronies and led to the collapse of the Iraqi --.
COOPER: Right. So you got to get new generals in. It takes time. Bobby Gosh, appreciate it. Colonel Francona and Dan O'Shea, Great to
have you as always.
Quick reminder, set your DVR. You can watch 360 whenever you want.
Coming up next, assessing President Obama's impact today at the U.N. Critics were looking for leadership. We will look at whether the President delivered.
And later, the breaking news in Hannah Graham's disappearance. Police have been looking for a suspect. Tonight, he has been apprehended. Details on that ahead.
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COOPER: It is morning right now in the Middle East. Battle damage assessment, no doubt, under way after today's fresh round of attacks on ISIS targets especially on their oil smuggling business.
President Obama spending the night here in town in New York after a busy day as we said at United Nations. He spoke first at the general assembly.
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BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Mr. President, Mr. Secretary-general, fellow delegates, ladies and gentlemen, we come together in a crossroad between war and peace, between disorder and integration, between fear and hope.
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COOPER: As we mentioned earlier, President Obama shepherded in a tough anti-terrorism measure through the security council. Earlier tonight, I asked senior political David Gergen to sum up what the world saw from the United States and how it differs from what it had been seeing up until now. David said and I'm quoting here, were back in the leadership and the president is a forceful president. That was David Gergen's assessment. More now on what went into the change of tone from senior White House correspondent Jim Acosta.
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JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Obama arrived at the United Nations not to make peace, but to expand his new war on terrorism.
In a rare appearance during the session of the U.S. security council, the president called on other nations to stop the flow of western foreign fighters in to the ranks of ISIS and other terror groups.
OBAMA: They may try to return to their home countries to carry out deadly attacks.
ACOSTA: And he told the new Iraqi prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, to brace himself for a long battle. OBAMA: This is not something that is going to be easy. And it is not
going to happen overnight.
No god condones the terror.
ACOSTA: Hours earlier in a tough talking speech to the U.N. general assembly, the President urged the world to join forces to destroy ISIS as he warned the terror group soldiers to clear off the battlefield.
OBAMA: The only language understood by killers like this is the language of force. So the United States of America will work with a broad coalition to dismantle this network of death.
ACOSTA: But Mr. Obama also took aim at the root causes of violent extremism with a candid message to Muslims everywhere.
OBAMA: It is time for the world, especially Muslim communities, to explicitly, forcefully, and consistently reject the ideology of organizations like Al Qaeda and ISIS. No external power can bring about a transformation of hearts and minds.
ACOSTA: Aide say the President added a mention of the riots in Ferguson, Missouri to acknowledge the U.S. isn't perfect.
OBAMA: So, yes, we have our own racial and ethnic tensions.
ACOSTA: Still the President didn't win over any adversaries. Moments after he slammed Russia for its actions in Ukraine, Moscow's delegation was caught on camera laughing. And Syria's ambassador to the U.N. accused the U.S. of siding with Arab partners that support terrorism.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You cannot be a terrorist while fighting terrorists. This is why I am saying USA needs reliable partners such as Syria, Iraq, and the other secular governments in the area.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Interesting there that Syrian ambassador of the U.N., calling Syria a reliable partner.
Jim Acosta joins us now from the U.N. Some tough remarks from the President. Was there anything that he didn't say that stood out to you?
ACOSTA: Absolutely, Anderson. What was missing from this speech is what victory against ISIS will look like and when it will happen. And that's for obvious reasons. The President doesn't have the answers to the questions yet. And as he said earlier today, this is going to be a generational struggle. And I think the political translation of that, Anderson, I s that he is likely to hand us war off to his successor.
COOPER: No doubt about that. Jim Acosta, thanks very much.
Stay as U.S. backed security council measure resolution 2178 calls on all countries to suppress the recruiting, organizing, transporting, equipping, and financing of foreign terrorist fighters. States that foreign fighters may and I quote "pose a serious threat to their states of origin, the states they transit and the states to which they travel." That in a phrase is the fear tonight about fighters in this war. Deborah Feyerick reports.
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DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Across the nation it is one of the top security concerns. Foreign fighters, currently Syria and Iraq, returning home to America to launch a Lone Wolf attack.
JOHN KERRY, SECRETARY OF STATE: The minds of these young men and women are poisoned by terrorists who brainwashed them into committing unspeakable atrocities.
FEYERICK: Interpol enhancing its multinational databases to help border control agents around the world better identify terrorists and more effectively share that information globally.
JOHN CARLIN, NATIONAL SECURITY PROSECUTOR: Working very closely with Interpol in order to prioritize the information that they keep on foreign terrorist fighters.
FEYERICK: The Interpol alert system can help countries identify suspected terrorists quickly and get the data to other officials. Red notices or wanted identify terrorists for arrest and prosecution in U.S. courts. Blue notices or be on the lookout, flag possible terror suspects. And green notices alert authorities to hundreds of foreign nationals who have been to both Iraq and Afghanistan.
CARLIN: And you need to be able to identify them, working with our partners before they come back and cause harm.
FEYERICK: During the U.N. general assembly this week, America's top national security prosecutor, John Carlin has been mounting a full press with 30 global counterparts to use the Interpol system to shut down foreign fighters.
How do you think this will help stem the flow?
CARLIN: One of the most critical aspects of stemming the flow of terrorist fighters is making sure that each country as they gather information about who the individuals are has a mechanism for sharing it and sharing it quickly.
FEYERICK: Countries including Turkey, Canada, and the U.S., will continue to have access off to Interpol data and biometrics to identify and stop jihadi fighters before it is too late.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: But Deborah, all that you said is true. I mean, it certainly seems like the lack of sharing information is critical here especially countries like, Turkey who where a lot of the foreign fighters were going to Syria. That's where they are crossing over into. And I have talked to people who have been along the border say it is pretty obvious who is crossing over to start fight.
FEYERICK: Well, that's exactly right. And one of the things is, that he said Interpol has mechanisms in place. So that frankly when people go into other countries they can be flagged. And it is supposed to be a huge database that America could access, Turkey could access, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. And everybody sharing all this information. So you know exactly who is coming in and out. That is not happening. You have the best software in the world. But if people aren't putting in the right information nobody is going to know who is entering which country and that is one of the problems.
COOPER: You also have the problems of European passports. Once somebody gets into Europe, they've can travel, anywhere. And a lot of these countries, it is not as if you are flying directly to Iraq or you are flying directly to Syria. You are going through a circuitous route.
FEYERICK: Well, that is exactly right. Your passport may never have indication that you have been to any of these countries. They are so adept at doing this and moving around under the radar and they know this. And they take advantage of that.
And so, you know the U.S. government is really working hard with its -- with its different partners to make sure that whatever information is out there, whatever information is a available, if somebody does come through Turkey, but they have been gone too long, it is even that kind data is put into the system so that officials know what to look for. A border agent, a smart border agent could look at a passport, understand the length of time they've been away and perhaps ask the right questions. But if you don't have the base line, if you don't have the data, then, it is not going to work.
COOPER: Well, these countries now signed on to security council resolution. We will see if they actually this more is than a paper promise.
FEYERICK: Exactly.
COOPER: Deb Feyerick, thanks very much.
For more on the story, and others you go to CNN.com. There is a lot more there.
Just ahead, we have breaking news in the search for the missing college student, Hannah Graham. A suspect is now in custody. Details just ahead.
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COOPER: Welcome back.
In other breaking news tonight, authorities have arrested the man they have been looking for in connection with missing student Hannah Graham. The University of Virginia Sophomore vanished 12 days ago. Jesse Matthews is in custody in Texas more than a thousand miles from Charlottesville, Virginia where Hannah was last seen. Police say Matthew was the last person to be seen with her. And here's what the Charlottesville police chief Timothy Longo said about the arrest.
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TIMOTHY LONGO, CHARLOTTESVILLE POLICE CHIEF: We are here tonight to announce that because of the collaborative efforts of the federal bureau of investigation and state and local law enforcement across this nation, Jesse Matthew is in custody in Galveston, Texas. Now we won't go into the circumstances that led to that custody taking place, but by the grace of God and the good work of the Galveston sheriff's office, it took place.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Jean Casarez joins me now with the latest. What more do we know about this, Jean?
JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I have been able to confirm that he is now booked in the Galveston County jail. And he was arrested at 3:30 this afternoon on the beach. And he wasn't brought into the station until 8:00 local time and he was continued to be questioned. So, they have been questioning him for a while now. We have got to remember, this missing person's case. Hannah Graham in just about an hour she well have been gone 12 days. And I think foremost on their mind is where is Hannah, and maybe that he can help.
Now, we are also learning from KPRC in Houston that a Galveston County judge said that what happened was that a suspicious phone call was made to the Galveston County sheriff department because somebody saw someone is a tent on the beach. So they want down there. They ran the license plate on the car. That came up as hot. And they moved in. And they arrested him. He did not at all combat when they were trying to arrest him. They then held him.
But, more information we are learning is that Virginia authorities are going to Texas tomorrow morning. The court proceeding should be tomorrow. Extradition proceeding. He can fight it. he can waive it and come back to Virginia to face the charges. At this point, it is abduction of Hannah Graham that he is facing. It is a 40-year felony maximum.
COOPER: Now, obviously, the question is what happened to Hannah Graham. Authorities don't seem like they're any closer to necessarily finding her at this point?
CASAREZ: You know, Anderson, what the, police chief told you earlier is the latest. They're asking land owners, anybody that has big plots of land to actually look on their land. And see if they find anything unusual. A couple days ago it was tire tracks on plots of land they're looking for. But the current charge is a kidnapping charge.
And so, that it has nothing to do with death or homicide. They're waiting for the forensic evidence off to come in. I've spoke with the lab today that is in Richmond. They're still testing forensically the items that they got from the car and the apartment, should have the results in a couple days that may led to more charges.
COOPER: The authorities did have two encounters with Jesse Matthew before he fled, first at his apartment. And then when he voluntarily came into the police station for questioning. Asked for an attorney. Is there any indication from authorities what happened in between the time that he left the police station to when they were actually charged with him abduction with intend to defile.
CASAREZ: Well, here is what we heard from the police chief tonight. He said that items of evidentiary value from the car and from the apartment led in part to the arrest on the abduction. Items of evidentiary value.
Now we know the forensics are still being done. So it could mean personal effects of Hannah, her cell phone, her purse, her wallet. Also, he has been asking for a week now for witnesses to come forward that saw them. That saw the demeanor. And you know, when somebody is abducted, that could through force, through intimidation, through deception, so what did people see or hear when the two were together in the restaurant and then walking out.
COOPER: All right, Jean Casarez, appreciate the update.
I want to bring in our CNN legal analyst Paul Callan, former prosecutor and now criminal defense attorney.
So they found this guy I guess some 1,300 miles away. You have actually said that legally speaking, fleeing from police is consciousness of guilt. Can you explain this.
PAUL CALLAN, CNN LEGAL CONTRIBUTOR: Yes, and I think, you know, they were looking for an excuse to take him into custody because they knew he was the last person who had been with Hannah. That was the piece of evidence that they had. But that's not evidence of criminality.
When he came to the police station and asked for a lawyer they chose not to question him further. He want out. Gotten his car. And, then they said he fled at high speed. Now, fleeing from the police who are investigating a crime, is considered what the law calls consciousness of guilt. And that added just one additional factor to the case that maybe was enough to convince a judge to issue an arrest warrant on these charges.
Now, of course, as Jean has said, they say that they have recovered items of evidentiary value. That suggests to me that maybe they have things that suggest he was in his car or apartment. But of course, defense attorneys will say that is not evidence of criminality. Maybe they were out together on a date or something.
COOPER: The charge is abduction with attempt to defile which I never heard that before.
CALLAN: It is a very strange charge which exists under Virginia law. And I noted when I was looking at the murder statute in Virginia. If you abduct with somebody with intent to defile, and presumed the judge has defined that as an attempt to sexual abuse or rape a victim. That supports the death penalty in Virginia.
So this is being set up as a death penalty case if Hannah turns out to have been killed as a result of this incident. But interestingly, and giving maybe a little hope to the family, no murder has been charged here so far. And they certainly would have charged murder if they thought they could support the charge.
COOPER: When I tacked to the police chief, you know, early on, there wasn't probable cause. So the fact that he fled the scene that gave them probable cause.
CALLAN: Yes, probable cause is really --
COOPER: Do you think they let him go?
CALLAN: I think they set it up deliberately. At first I thought they were idiots for not having brought him in and questioned.
COOPER: But they were tailing him at the time. They saw him drive --
CALLAN: Well, I think what happened was they put, probably, it was supposed to be a quiet tail on him. He probably picked up the fact he was being tailed and then increased speed and got away. They then said, that was reckless driving. So he committed crime, the crime of reckless driving. And he was fleeing a police investigation. So they then, went to a magistrate and said to the judge, hey consciousness of guilt. Last person to be with the victim. That's enough for a warrant.
COOPER: Is it possible -- I supposed he could try to fight extradition.
CALLAN: Well, he can. But it is very, very difficult because extradition only requires two things. One that whatever he is charged with in Virginia would be a crime in Texas too. And that is certainly is the case here and that he is the person named in the warrant. That's it. Texas doesn't have the right to have a hearing about whether there was enough evidence to a warrant. That will, that battle will be fought when he is brought back to Virginia.
COOPER: So how long do you think it would be before he would actually brought back?
CALLAN: Well, interesting. If they don't have much of a case against him, this thing is going to give law enforcement authorities in Virginia more time to investigate because he can be held in Texas for as long as 60 days while they are dealing with the extradition issue. Now that puts him in custody. Virginia can continue to investigate and hopefully develop more evidence to support the charges. Because some day they're going to wind up in court. And they are going to need more than a guy fleeing in a cr. They are going to need real evidence.
COOPER: Why would a defense attorney fight extradition if it is not a winnable battle? To buy time? CALLAN: They almost never do. They usually waive extradition, 90
percent of the time. And in fact, I think that is even going to happen here because if he goes back to Virginia, then he is going to have a hearing or presentation to the grand jury right away. Stays in Texas gives them more time to investigate.
COOPER: Got it. All right. Paul Callan, thanks very much. Appreciate it.
CALLAN: OK, thank you.
COOPER: Another search continues in rural Pennsylvania's hundreds of law enforcement officers are still looking for the man who took down one of their own. Tonight, we have a new perspective on Eric Frein, the suspect in the killing of the police officer. He appeared in an upcoming documentary about Vietnam war re-enactors. I'm going to speak with the filmmakers about what they thought of him and you will clips from the film in which Eric Frein talked.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE), I would stress that it is not a re- enactment. It is a living history. And it says not about re-enacting battles or anything. It is about teaching the public and showing the equipment that was used talking about the history of it all.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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COOPER: Tonight a new perspective on the subject of intense manhunt in rural Pennsylvania. For 12 days now, up to a thousand law enforcement officers have been searching for Eric Frein, the suspect in the shooting that kill one Pennsylvania police officer and wounded another. There have been a number of possible sightings but he continues to elude capture.
Now investigators describe Frein as both a survivalist and war re- enactor. As it turns out, he appeared in an upcoming documentary about Vietnam war re-enactors called "Vietnam appreciate day." You are going to hear from the filmmakers in just a moment. But first, here is a clip from the documentary.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ERIC FREIN, COP-KILLER SUSPECT: My name is Eric Frein. (INAUDIBLE). Here at a Vietnam Remembrance day.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How do you feel having been to a few of these that the re-enactment went to day? Can you give us a commentary on that?
FREIN: The re-enactment we saw today was -- hard to call it a re- enactment. And bunch of guys went out and popped off some blanks. Blank came in from the rifles. It's remembrance day. It is to commemorate the veterans. It is not really to play army. To, basically enact a fantasy. (END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: The filmmakers Patrick Bresnan and Ivete Lucas join me now. Thanks so much for being with us.
Patrick, what do you think of this guy? I mean, did anything stick out about him to you? Did you see him -- did anything surprise you about him?
PATRICK BRESNAN, DIRECTOR, VIETNAM APPRECIATION DAY: Sure, Anderson. He was quite aloof. Many of the re-enactors are really good people. They're historians. They love the history channel. And they're, out to kind of express their hobby, physically, for the public. To do -- education.
Eric, kind of kept himself to the side. He had mannequins that he brought that he dressed in uniforms. He was very meticulous about the layout of those mannequins, the weaponry that were with them. He had magazines from the period, letters from soldiers back to their family and a lot of photography.
COOPER: It is also interesting because in the clip we showed, I mean, he seems like he doesn't want to criticize them but he clearly is not happy with the level of the re-enactment that he just, just took part in. That police have said he might have assumed the simulation role and is now acting it out in real life. Does that make sense to you given how dedicated he seemed to be to these re-enactments.
IVETE LUCAS, PATRICK BRESNAN'S WIFE: Yes. That makes a lot of sense because he was very specific, very precise bout what he did. And he actually preferred to do what they call, tactical re-enactments which are re-enactment that are private and that performed in the woods where they actually go out and hunt the, you know, in this case, Viet Cong.
So that, that, he did that, quite a lot. So that, that makes a lot of sense to me that, he might have just snapped and took the fantasy a little bit, well way more seriously.
COOPER: Well, it also indicates certainly that he feels comfortable in the wood which is obviously the huge concern for law enforcement.
Patrick, I want to play another clip in the documentary. Because again, he sort of expressing disappointment at the lack of accuracy in this. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FREIN: I mean, that you don't really do anything by that with the public as far as teaching them anything. It is not Vietnam. We are in the middle of Pennsylvania. We are in a revolutionary war fort. It is not a place to try to really and try to re-enact the battle. That's my personal opinion, though.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: He certainly seemed to have very strong idea about how things should be re-enacted.
BRESNAN: He was quite ambivalent about the other re-enactors. Re- enactors are clans. They come from different regions. And usually these events are a time when they can all come together. Kind of show off what weaponry they've been collecting. Show off their uniforms. Most of them are decent people. Eric was there. He was looking down on the other re-enactors. He felt he was better than them. And that was very interesting because it supposed to be a social gathering. But he was looking at these people very critically.
COOPER: Right. And it seemed to be kind of taking it to another level that some of the others maybe perhaps weren't or they viewed it differently.
Ivete, the culture that these re-enactors are steeped in is really fascinating as you shown in your film. I understand a lot of them have collections of vintage weapons and are very concerned about police taking those away from them, is that right?
LUCAS: Yes. You know, the re-enactments are a place where violence is basically acted out. And they collect some lot of weapons. And so, they have all kinds of weapons, very antique weapons. But also, you know, more modern, AK-47s, M-16s. And I guess hoarding all these weapons that there is that a culture of , you know, they are going to come and take our guns.
And so, I think that with Eric being out there right now and the FBI following him, they might be concerned, you know, about invasion of their privacy. And of course, their guns being taken away.
COOPER: Patrick, I'm curious. When you heard that, you know, police were searching for him, you heard what he has been accuse of doing, what went through your mind? And you realized, wait a minute, this is the guy that we spent time with. That we have in our film.
BRESNAN: It was shocking. Our field producer in Pennsylvania, sent us the news online. And in this hobby, there is a small percentage that take too seriously. That are hoarding weapons. And the empowerment that they feel when they're re-enacting and holding thee weapons and being photographed. There is the point in which the fantasy of being a soldier kind of gets blurred and they become a soldier. And I think that's what we are seeing here with Eric.
COOPER: It is just fascinating. Patrick Bresnan, I really appreciate you spending time with us. Ivete Lucas as well. Thank you so much.
LUCAS: Thank you.
COOPER: Just ahead tonight. New tensions erupt in Ferguson, Missouri.
Plus a rare interview with the prosecutor who is the focus of so much anger in the wake of the killing of Michael Brown.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COOPER: As we said earlier, today the United Nations, President Obama called on nations to reject extremism and then he preempted America's critics by saying this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: In a summer marked by instability in the Middle East and eastern Europe another world took notice of the small American city of Ferguson, Missouri where a young man was killed and a community was divided. So, yes -- we have our own racial and ethnic tensions. And like every country, we continually wrestle with how to reconcile the vast changes wrought by globalization and greater diversity with traditions we hold dear.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: President Obama's mention of Ferguson was especially timely. Today, tensions flared again in the small town where 18-year-old Michael Brown was unarmed, was shot dead by police officer in August. Much of the anger is now directed at the prosecutor who convened the grand jury that is going to decide whether or not to indict officer Darren Wilson.
In a rare interview he sat down he sat down with CNN's Ana Cabrera.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANA CABRERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A new explosion of violence in Ferguson, Missouri.
CAPT. RON JOHNSON, MISSOURI HIGHWAY PATROL: This behavior will not be tolerated. The safety of the officers in the community will be maintained.
CABRERA: The fresh unrest. A reminder of the tension still simmering in this small town. Tensions that could reach a full boil depending on the actions of the Saint Louis county grand jury. Now, more than six weeks after officer Darren Wilson shot and killed Michael Brown.
Why did you decide to take this case to the grand jury?
BOB MCCULLOCH, ST. LOUIS COUNTY PROSECUTOR: Well, a couple of reasons. One is that forever we have taken all homicide cases to the grand jury.
CABRERA: Prosecutor Bob McCulloch has done few interviews since his office got the case. He remains a target of protesters who want him to step aside.
MCCULLOCH: You don't just walk away from a case because, you know you are catching a lot of grief over it. I can be fair. I have been fair.
CABRERA: People are still angry and worried there is a bias, because your father was killed in the loon line of duty police officer and killed by an African-American person. MCCULLOCH: Yes. All of that is correct. And all of that is
irrelevant in terms of whether there is any bias or prejudice on my part. I know what it is look to lose a loved one to violence. And so, I know what that feeling is. If it causes me to lean one way or the other, it causes me to lean towards victims of violence.
CABRERA: Did you think ever about maybe making a grand gesture by stepping down from this case and letting a special prosecutor take over?
MCCULLOCH: There is a very vocal group, don't get me wrong, that thinks, you know, that I am the devil incarnate and shouldn't be on the case. But when you look at the ones making the allegations look behind them.
CABRERA: McCulloch insists there is no hidden jury behind grand jury secret proceedings. Their term extended until January. But a decision could come sooner.
MCCULLOCH: That has taken longer than we anticipated on each witness. And so, it is likely to go to probably the end of October until to the first part of November, maybe as far as middle of November.
CABRERA: He says the seven men and five women selected randomly by a judge are hearing from every witness, seeing every piece of evidence, all of which he says will eventually be made public when a decision is made on whether to indict officer Wilson. A community desperate for answers. These protesters say they will not rest.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everybody stays for Mike Brown. Everybody is here.
CABRERA: It is justice they demand no matter how long it takes.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: So Ana, prosecutor McCulloch is certainly was implying an ulterior motive from some of the people calling for his recusal. Did he give any indication what he thought the reasons were, some of the local politicians? Do you think it was politics? What's the ulterior motive?
CABRERA: That's definitely what he is implying, Anderson. There is an upcoming election. And he believes that at least some of the more loud voices recently who are speaking out against him have political aspirations and motivations and calling for him to step aside as the politically popular thing to do.
But he feels very confident that he has made the right decision to stay on this case saying he was elected by the people, to serve in this capacity. He has been the prosecutor in St. Louis County for 24 years. He was just re-elected to that post in August prior to the shooting. And so he believes he still has the majority's support.
But I asked him what about the minority? What about the African- American community or the protesters who continue to feel so passionately and have these serious concerns. Are their voices being heard, I asked. And he said absolutely yes. That is one of the key reasons he plans to make all of that witness testimony, all of that evidence that goes before the grand jury. And we will even hear the grand jury's questions to those witnesses when this process is complete. And he hopes that proves that this process was done fairly and justly. And hopes that that build trust in the system, Anderson.
COOPER: All right, Ana Cabrera, thanks very much.
Just ahead tonight, will the death penalty be on the table when a Georgia man goes to trial for allegedly murdering his son by leaving him a in a hot car? The prosecution has decided that next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Let's get the latest on the stories we are following tonight. Susan Hendricks is here with the 360 news and business bulletin -- Susan.
SUSAN HENDRICKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Anderson, prosecutors will not seek the death penalty against the Georgia man who is accused of murdering his toddler by leaving him in a hot car. The district attorney did not elaborate on why he decided against the death penalty. Meanwhile, Harris' arraignment has been postponed until next month.
NASCAR driver Tony Stewart will not face charges for hitting and killing fellow driver Kevin Ward Junior on a race track in August. A grand jury decided there was no evidence to charge Stewart with any crimes.
And a startling new look at music producer convicted killer Phil Specter. The California department of corrections has released never before scene photos that were taken in 2013. As you can see, Specter has not been allowed to have his wigs in prison. It certainly a different looks for him.
And take this the next one with the grand assault because it is all base on before it is online. The people are claiming that when they carry their new iphone 6 plus with the prolong time in their pocket, the phone can bend against like were. Apple though has not responded just yet on this one -- Anderson.
COOPER: Uh-oh. I want that phone. It bends? Hmm. I don't know -- we'll see.
Susan, thanks very much.
That does it for this edition of AC360. Thanks for watching.
A CNN town hall with former president Bill Clinton, hosted by Erin Burnett, starts now.
