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Shots Fired Near Camp Shelby; Iran Points Weapon at U.S. Helicopter; President to Speak about Iran Deal; Airstrike out of Turkey; Bush on Women's Health; Terrorists Call for More Action; Plane Debris Identification Starts. Aired 11-11:30a ET

Aired August 05, 2015 - 11:00   ET

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

[11:00:00] KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Confronting him and now some Democrats coming out against him. Moments from now, the president delivering a major speech to try to win over those still undecided.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Attack America first, attack America now. That from al Qaeda's most notorious bomb-maker. A man called the most dangerous terrorist facing the U.S. right now. And his warnings don't stop there.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

BOLDUAN: Hello, everyone. I'm Kate Bolduan.

BERMAN: And I'm John Berman.

The breaking news just in to CNN, shots have been fired at Camp Shelby in Mississippi. Now this is the second day that soldiers reported gunfire near their training center there. So let's go straight to Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr for the very latest on this.

Barbara, what can you tell us?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to both of you.

Obviously concern mounting at this hour about what is happening at Camp Shelby, Mississippi. This is a very rural area. I've been there. It's heavily wooded. Now for the second day in a row, soldiers there reporting that they have had shots fired at them.

According to a statement from the Army a short time ago, the shooter is described as a white male in a red pick-up truck. The make and model of that pick-up truck unknown. But the soldiers now reporting for the second day in a row someone matching this description has fired shots at them.

The camp is secure at this hour. All the military personnel and civilians accounted for. The military, the Army saying it is now working with the local sheriff's deputy to try and find out what is happening, who this person may be and exactly what has transpired. But for the second day in a row, someone fitting this description now having been reported as firing shots at U.S. troops training there in this area of Mississippi. The camp had already been, we are told, on a heightened state of alert

since the recent incident in Chattanooga where Marines died at the hands of a shooter there. Many U.S. military installations at a higher state of alert. The good news is, right now, no reports of any military personnel injured, thank goodness. But the camp at a higher state of alert and the military and the local law enforcement looking for whoever may be behind these two incidents.

BOLDUAN: Yes. And is this the same person behind these two incidents? The search is on right now, Barbara, as you say.

Also want to ask you about some more breaking news that you're picking up. Word of an incident involving an Iranian warship and a U.S. helicopter. What are you hearing, Barbara?

STARR: A very odd incident indeed. But a U.S. defense official has told us and confirmed details. Apparently - and it was two weeks ago - but apparently in the Gulf of Aden, off of Yemen, a place that is a very hot combat zone right now, an Iranian warship was a couple of hundred yards away from a coalition warship, not a U.S. ship, but a U.S. military helicopter had just landed on that coalition warship. When they looked over and saw the Iranian military ship pointing a weapon at them, apparently a gun on deck, believed to be a machine gun - that's what these typically are - was pointing at the U.S. military helicopter and the warship.

But then they noticed something equally bizarre. Apparently there was a camera crew of some sort right next to the gun that was pointing at them from the Iranian warship. So this defense official told me, we don't know what was happening, he says. You know, were they taking a vacation snap? Were they filming some sort of propaganda video? Here we are, you know, pointing our weapons at the westerners? Was some Iranian sailor on that ship, you know, taking a sort of selfie to send to his girlfriend?

It all ended without incident. The U.S. military helicopter flew away. Everybody was fine. But it does underscore how quickly things can potentially spin out of control. This one, thankfully, did not. But, still, it's not to be regarded lightly when an Iranian warship points its weapon at the U.S. military.

BOLDUAN: Absolutely not. Bizarre I think is the appropriate word for it as obviously more details are needed on this one as well.

Barbara, thank you so much, but stand by because we have much more to talk about with you.

But in just a few minutes, in a major speech, President Obama will be pitching the Iran deal at American University. This is clearly a very big moment for this president as he is ramping up his push to sell this deal to Congress, a wary Congress at that. Talking to - he was talking to American Jewish leaders yesterday about the deal saying then that some Democrats may be going, in his words, squishy on the pact.

BERMAN: And the choice of American University today is hugely symbolic. It is the site of one of John F. Kennedy's most famous speeches calling for a nuclear test ban. President Obama, today, will couch the Iran vote in historic terms, telling members of Congress on the fence, this is their most consequential foreign policy decision since the vote to go to war in Iraq.

[11:05:05] Let's go to the White House and bring in our correspondent there, Michelle Kosinski.

A big day for the president, Michelle.

MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Right. We just found out from the White House that he's going to be speaking for 45 minutes. That's a long time as these speeches go. So he's going to cover a lot of bases here. We expect he'll be talking about what happens in the White House's view if there is a deal. They're saying it's going to be unprecedentedly transparent, unprecedentedly strict inspection scheme on Iran.

And what happens if there isn't a deal? Well, the president sees this as a potential for Iran that unchecked getting a bomb within a few months, possibly having countries like Israel or others in the Middle East then talking about military intervention. I mean we - the White House has already said that this is a historic opportunity that should not be squandered.

And he also has convincing to do. I mean we all know that there are those undecided Democrats out there that could be a deciding vote if this did go to the point of trying to pass a presidential veto. I mean some of the most powerful Democrats, Chuck Schumer, Harry Reid, still undecided. And what the White House has been saying over the past couple of days is they know that these Democrats are facing intense pressure.

When you look at the lobbying on the other side, tens of millions of dollars put into convincing congressmen on the other side of the White House, trying to meet with every congressman, buying ads. So the White House has tried to do something commensurate. They've been having hearings and briefings, some of them classified, for both houses. They've been meeting one-on-one. I mean one-on-one meetings between President Obama and undecided Democrats. So they're really trying to, you know, make as much effort on their side as the opponents are.

But - but it seems like we're really hearing from everybody on this. I mean just yesterday we heard from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in this webcast that was directed toward Jewish groups here. So the strength of the argument on both sides is now in full force and we'll wait and see, you know, kind of what sort of parameters President Obama sets out in this speech coming up.

BERMAN: All right, Michelle Kosinski at the White House. Again, we are awaiting the president's speech in just a few minutes, crucial in selling this Iran deal to really a reluctant Congress right now, especially some reluctant Democrats still on the fence.

Thanks, Michelle.

BOLDUAN: (INAUDIBLE).

We're also looking at some more breaking news at this hour. The Defense Department telling CNN that the United States has now conducted the first of its lethal air strikes into northern Syria from a base in Turkey. Let's get back to the Pentagon, with Pentagon correspondents Barbara Starr. She's tracking that as well.

A very big moment in the fight against ISIS.

STARR: Indeed. This piece of news just coming into CNN a couple of minutes ago, actually. What we do know is that yesterday a U.S. military drone, armed with a missile, conducted the first airstrike, lethal airstrike, out of one of those bases in southern Turkey into northern Syria. This is a result of both countries coming to an agreement that the U.S. military can have access to those southern Turkish bases. That puts them much closer to their targets in northern Syria.

What we don't know at this hour is what the target was. There's two potential options here. Either the U.S. flew against an ISIS target or it was another strike to try and defend those rebels, those U.S.- backed rebels in northern Syria that have come under attack from that al Qaeda group known as al Nusra. The U.S. flies offensive strikes against ISIS. They just find a target and go against it. But if those rebels have come under attack again from al Nusra, the U.S. might have conducted a defensive strike, even though that's not typically what has happened in the past.

But what's really important here, the first strike, this puts ISIS on notice in northern Syria that the U.S. has a very quick ability to be very close by and come after them. The next step in the coming days will be to have manned U.S. fighter jets in the air ready to drop their weapons over northern Syria.

John. Kate.

BERMAN: Yes, a key marker in this ongoing conflict. Perhaps a sign of more to come.

Barbara Starr, thank you so much.

All right, here in the U.S., we are on the eve of the first major test for Republican presidential candidates. Political mayhem eve, if you will.

BOLDUAN: Mayhem eve.

BERMAN: The top 10 candidates in the polls face off in the first presidential debate of the 2016 campaign. The seven others take part in the political N.I.T., that's for you basketball fans. They will do a pre-debate forum. The top seed, at least for now, according to every single poll, Donald Trump.

BOLDUAN: Everyone is also waiting to see how Trump performs, of course, when he's put on the spot on the political stage against seasoned politicians. Over the past days, he has clearly been trying to at least lower expectations of his performance up there. Again, there are nine other candidates up there, all hoping to break out, make a splash and break through with their own message to the American public.

[11:10:05] BERMAN: As he heads into his first debate, Jeb Bush is cleaning up a comment he made about women's health. He was speaking with evangelicals about defunding Planned Parenthood. But listen to what he said and listen to how quickly Hillary Clinton pounced.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You could take dollar for dollar - although I'm not sure we need $500 million for women's health issues.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Jeb Bush said he's not sure we need $500 million for women's health issues. I'm reading it because I want to quote it exactly. Now, he's got no problems giving billions of dollars away to the super wealthy and powerful corporations, but I guess women's health just isn't a priority for him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Now, Bush later did say that he misspoke. He was referring to, his campaign says, to the federal dollars that go to Planned Parenthood. It is important, of course, looking at tomorrow, that Bush, who is second in GOP polls right now, that he avoid misspeaking at tomorrow's debate, though - so, he, of course, doesn't want other Republicans pouncing on that comment as well.

Let's bring in chief political analyst Gloria Borger to talk about more - more about this.

He says he misspoke. It was clear that Democrats were going to jumping all over this very, very quickly, Hillary included. Does - is this a case closed, I misspoke, done deal, or is this going to fall into the category, Gloria, of one of those gaffes that then come back to bite him over and over again?

GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, let me say this, in the Republican primary field, it's probably not going to hurt him at all because most of the people up on that stage are going to actually agree with him. But it's also no surprise that Hillary Clinton, who by the way has been losing some ground with women herself, particularly suburban older women, would pounce on Jeb Bush on that because if Democrats are going to win this election, they need to win overwhelmingly with white women and with Hispanic voters.

And so this was just a huge opportunity for Hillary Clinton. And, of course she took it, as any - as any candidate would do and jumped right on it. Very much a replay of the 2012 campaign. I'm already beginning to see it. The war on women, you know, Jeb Bush, a product of lots of money and beholden to special interests and all the rest and wants to cut Medicare. You know, you can see these little themes already playing out right now. BERMAN: Perhaps also just another example of Jeb Bush not being able

to shake the rust.

BORGER: Right.

BERMAN: That's the kind of comment that a politician who's been running for office over the last four years, the filter would have caught that before it got out of the mouth. In terms of not being able to shake certain things, Gloria, let me as you about Hillary Clinton and her e-mails because word overnight that the FBI is now investigating the server to make sure it's safe. You know, it may or may not be a big deal in terms of national security. But you know what, it's a big deal in terms of this campaign because Hillary Clinton just can't shake this e-mail story no matter what.

BORGER: Well, you know, it's - it's a story that follows her because the narrative becomes, is she trustworthy, right? And you've seen all the polls. Everybody has read all the polls that - that - that - in which questions are raised about the trust issue, the honesty issue. But among Democrats, and those are the people who count right now because she's going for a nomination, among Democrats, she's got a 75 percent or so favorable rating, right? So it's not going to hurt her much in the - in the - in the primaries, I don't think. But I do think, as a general election issue, you've started to unspool this here and it raises all kinds of issues which she is going to have to continue, and I think her campaign is aware of this, she's going to have to continue to push back on that.

You know, her problem is, though, that she's, right now, running against Bernie Sanders, the kind of messed-up hair, authentic, there you have it kind of guy. And it - it - you know, by comparison, she looks a little cloaked, a little unwilling to really speak her mind, unwilling to answer questions. And so I think that kind of hurts her as well.

BOLDUAN: You're also seeing, at least in one poll in New Hampshire, Bernie Sanders on the rise.

BORGER: Right.

BOLDUAN: Almost in a statistical tie with Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire, a WMUR poll -

BORGER: Right.

BOLDUAN: Which is interesting. And that - this could be part of it, that untrustworthy - that trust deficit, if you will.

Gloria, stick around with us.

BORGER: Sure.

BOLDUAN: We've got a lot more to discuss because minutes from now a major moment for the fate, I guess you could say, of President Obama's Iran deal. He is giving a crucial speech at American University steeped with history and he's speaking directly to the people he's trying to convince.

BERMAN: Plus, attack America now. That warning coming from al Qaeda's most notorious bomb-maker, a guy that some people think is the most dangerous terrorist on earth right now. Does this show a dramatic shift in strategy?

[11:15:15] Plus, the definitive answer on whether the plane debris belongs to Flight 370. That could come any moment. Investigators are analyzing that wreckage right now. We'll tell you what they found.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: At this hour, new calls for attacks against the U.S. homeland from al Qaeda's most dangerous branch. In a letter and video, two leaders of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, known as AQAP, praised recent lone wolf style attacks and called for more of them.

BERMAN: This letter claims to be from master bomb-maker Ibrahim al Asiri, a man that experts call the most dangerous terrorist operating against the United States right now. Al Asiri is believed to be working on a new generation of explosives. This is a very dangerous guy.

CNN terrorism analyst Paul Cruickshank joins us right now.

Paul, you've been following this man for a long time. There are two major issues here. One, what he said if it, in fact, is from him, and, two, the fact that he feels confident enough to say it.

PAUL CRUICKSHANK, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: Well, that's absolutely right. He - he's still alive. He's still operational. He's still this very, very big threat. Perhaps the biggest threat to the United States because he's very skilled at making explosive devices which are very difficult for airport security scanners to detect.

[11:20:08] And over the last several years, three times he's plotted to bring down U.S. aviation. He came pretty close in 2009 with that underwear bombing plot over Detroit. He's now thought to be working on a new generation of devices, even more sophisticated devices, new shoe bomb devices, new underwear devices.

So there's a lot of concern. There's concern because his group is growing stronger and stronger. And that means that he has more resources than ever before to attack the United States and he's now saying it's our number one priority.

BOLDUAN: Why put this - put out this call now, though? Doesn't it, by putting out the call, doesn't it put him at risk?

CRUICKSHANK: It - it certainly does put him at risk. He's been exceptionally careful about his operational security. It's probably the number one target for the CIA. And by putting this kind of message out, is there going to be a courier involved, and, of course, the CIA got bin Laden through courier. So it does put himself at risk. And even in this message say he opens himself up to criticism from fellow jihadis for doing this. But he took particular umbrage at a documentary al Jazeera put out on the group. So it seems he couldn't help himself. Most of this statement is about this al Jazeera documentary, but also this threat against the United States.

BERMAN: So much talk about ISIS day to day here.

BOLDUAN: Right.

BERMAN: And we see small attacks, we see calls for small attacks on America there, yet AQAP, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, is thriving and may be a bigger threat in terms of mass casualty attacks on the United States. And they're thriving because of the war between Saudi Arabia and Yemen and all the unrest in Yemen right now.

CRUICKSHANK: There's complete turmoil in Yemen so that they're expanding big time there. They've got a big recruitment windfall from Sunni tribes because of the anger over the Houthi takeover. They have more resources than ever before. So it's a very, very concerning situation because, of course, the groups like al Qaeda are still plotting to carry out mass casualty attacks in the United States by training westerners in bomb making.

There's not only concern about the affiliates in Yemen, but also a lot of concern about the affiliates in Syria, Jibat (ph), al Nusra, that Barbara was mentioning earlier in this hour, they've expanded significantly in recent months. And you could make the argument that al Qaeda in Syria is now stronger today than al Qaeda in Afghanistan was on the day of 9/11 just in terms of manpower, resources, territory. The difference so far is that they haven't prioritized attacking the United States. The worry is, of course, that could change down the road.

BOLDUAN: And it seems that maybe with this statement, that's a little bit of an indication - an indication there.

Paul, stick with us. I want to bring in Jim Sciutto, our chief national security correspondent.

We were talking to Paul about this new call coming from AQAP, but it also kind of brings to mind, Jim, and I know that you have pointed this out previously, James Clapper in a speech in Aspin, pointing out that he thought that AQAP was, in his words, the most concerning al Qaeda element in terms of a threat to the homeland. And that raised a lot of eyebrows because everyone's thinking ISIS is top of mind.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, they're not mutually exclusive. And I was - I was meeting with a European counterterror official this morning. They have the same view. AQAP is arguably the more capable terror threat. They still aim for the mass casualty attacks. AQAP is intent on getting a bomb on an airliner. That's the kind of thing they're focused on.

ISIS is more the small board kind of attack. And they've told their supporters something that al Qaeda in the past has avoided. They've said, listen, any way you can attack, go ahead and do it. If you can get a knife, stab someone. If you get a gun, shoot someone. They're aiming for smaller, easier to carry out attacks. So when I speak to U.S. officials, counterterror officials, Europeans, they say, listen, they're both threats. ISIS more likely just because it's a much lower bar, much easier to carry out the kind of attacks that they are looking for. AQAP still aims for bigger.

But the one point I would add is this, ISIS has been getting so much attention lately as a threat and this is frankly a competitive business. AQAP wants to wave the flag, say, hey, we're still here. So to hear al Asiri say, guys, we want you to attack the U.S., too, is in effect - you know, it's a competitive play here to say, don't forget about us. It doesn't all have to be big stuff. We can do the small stuff, too. You know, this is a competitive business. And they are competing not just for attention but they're competing for recruits. We've seen in Yemen where some folks have gone from AQAP to ISIS because it's soaking up all the oxygen in the room.

BERMAN: One-upmanship with very dangerous possible consequences.

BOLDUAN: (INAUDIBLE) think about it, right?

BERMAN: All right, Paul Cruickshank, Jim Sciutto, thank you guys so much. Appreciate it.

Right now we are waiting for a speech from President Obama. A big moment for this president in what could be his signature foreign policy move, the deal, the nuclear deal with Iran. He delivers a major speech just moments from now trying to convince people on the fence not to vote against it.

[11:25:01] BOLDUAN: And it vanished without a trace. Now experts are examining in meticulous fashion the plane part that could be from MH Flight 370. An answer to that mystery could come anytime.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: Happening now, experts from France, Malaysia and Australia examining the airplane part, the flaperon, that washed up on an island in the Indian Ocean. They want to determine if it is indeed part of the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.

BOLDUAN: Work's being done at a specialized laboratory near Toulouse, France. Our Saima Mohsin is outside that lab and she is joining us now.

So, Saima, the question on everyone's mind at this point is, has any timeline yet been offered when we can expect results?

SAIMA MOHSIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kate, I can tell you that the French prosecutor's office has told CNN that they will make an announcement of some kind through a press release. They said that if they have found something, that information will be given in that press release.

Now, just about three hours ago, all the investigators, the United States, NTSB, Boeing, Malaysian officials, Chinese and Australian officials have decided to join the teams as well within the last 24 hours, came through here. They rushed straight to that building over there, which is the entrance to the DGA. That's the lab run by the French Ministry of Defense, which has all the very latest technology to carry out these scientific and forensic examinations that need to take place.

[11:29:52] Now, of course, Kate, the answer that everyone wants right at the top is, does this flaperon belong to MH370? We know that it's from a 777 aircraft and of course we know there is no other 777 aircraft missing in the world right now. This is, of course, one of the greatest aviation mysteries of all time. But they don't want to just say that