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The Lead with Jake Tapper

President Obama at United Nations; Revenge Killing?; New U.S. Terror Alert After Airstrikes

Aired September 24, 2014 - 16:00   ET

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

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: President Obama tells the world there is no nice cure for the cancer of Islamic extremism.

I'm Jake Tapper. This is THE LEAD.

That world lead:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The only language understood by killers like this is the language of force.

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TAPPER: President Obama trying to sell his war ISIS and other terrorists to the world and telling allies they're part of this already, whether they like it or not -- his surprisingly strong message to the U.N. as airstrikes continue.

But just how much support does the president have? We may be able to find out as President Obama makes some history this hour before the U.N. Security Council, unveiling his plan to stop the plague of terror from spreading across oceans.

Also in world news, it could be the first revenge killing for airstrikes in Syria. ISIS supporters behead another hostage in another horrific terrorist video.

Good afternoon, everyone.

We will begin with the world lead. You are watching some live footage from the United Nations Security Council. The commander in chief is on the world stage right now as he presides over that war against terrorists in at least two countries. Plus, he's also chairing that U.N. Security Council meeting and pitching a resolution aimed at stopping the violent extremism and the flow of terrorist recruits overseas.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: Resolutions alone will not be enough. Promises on paper cannot keep us safe. Lofty rhetoric and good intentions will not stop a single terrorist attack.

(END VIDEO CLIP) TAPPER: This all comes as the U.S. issued its first new terror warning since the bombing campaign in Syria began earlier this week, in fear of payback for airstrikes targeting ISIS and other terrorist groups tied to al Qaeda and as militants loyal to ISIS claim to have beheaded another Western hostage in a new video that appears to show a French tourist who had been kidnapped over the weekend in Algeria.

We have an all-star team of correspondents and analysts standing by to cover this pivotal moment for the president and indeed the United States, plus all of the day's developments at the United Nations.

Earlier today in his speech, President Obama addressing the U.N. saying the fight against extremism is not America's fight alone.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: Already, over 40 nations have offered to join this coalition. Today, I ask the world to join in this effort.

Those who have joined ISIL should leave the battlefield while they can. Those who continue to fight for a hateful cause will find they're increasingly alone, for we will not succumb to threats and we will demonstrate that the future belongs to those who build, not those who destroy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Senior White House correspondent Jim Acosta is live at the U.N. -- Jim.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Jake, aides of the president say Mr. Obama wrote much of the General Assembly speech himself today, but it was hard to hear the echoes of past war on terrorism speeches even as the president tried to connect with hearts and minds in the Muslim world.

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ACOSTA (voice-over): President Obama arrived at the United Nations not to make peace, but to expand his new war on terrorism. Chairing a session of the U.N. Security Council, the president called on other nations to stop the flow of Western foreign fighters into 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 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 this terror.

ACOSTA: 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: That network of death line drew instantly drew comparisons to a term used by his predecessor.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: States like these and their terrorist allies constitute an axis of evil, arming to threaten the peace of the world.

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 in 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: Aides 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.

BASHAR JA'AFARI, SYRIAN AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: You cannot be a terrorist while fighting terrorists. This is why I'm saying USA needs reliable partners such as Syria, Iraq and the other secular governments in the area.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: Now, one of the president's top aides was on Twitter earlier today rejecting the comparison to George W. Bush's axis of evil speech. Those White House officials say the president has been talking about terrorism basically the same way ever since he first ran for office.

Either way, what was missing in this speech today is what the president defines as victory on this new war on terrorism, Jake, and just how soon it will be over -- Jake.

TAPPER: Jim Acosta, thank you so much.

Meantime, ISIS targets were hit in Syria and Iraq for a second straight day. CENTCOM said U.S. military forces launched five strikes overnight, four in Iraq and one in Syria, more possibly on the way. And we see the fireballs from the sky in grainy black and white video from the Pentagon. Now we are getting our first eyewitness reports from the ground of the

aftermath of airstrikes in Raqqa, Syria, the center of the ISIS power base, and besides the rubble, it was the emptiness that in many ways was so striking.

CNN's Arwa Damon joins us live now from just over the Syrian border in Turkey.

Arwa, you spoke to someone who had just back from Raqqa and said that there were not many ISIS fighters to be found there?

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, he said that that was the case right after those initial airstrikes took place and he was describing how amazing it was to be able to just stand and not be fearful that someone would come up to him and just because he looked suspicious detain him or throw him into an ISIS prison. This is an individual who is actually wanted by ISIS.

But that did not last for very long, Jake, because by nightfall the ISIS fighters were back, yes, in significantly lesser numbers than before, but they were still in the streets and they were still setting up their checkpoints and here's what he said was most worrisome of all is that ISIS in the last two to three weeks had evacuated a lot of their headquarters and were actually embedding themselves amongst the civilian population, living inside homes.

For the residents of Raqqa, a lot of mixed emotions, on the one hand, happy that someone is finally coming to rescue them from this terrorist organization under whose rule they have been living for so long, but fear of what the civilian toll might potentially be, Jake.

TAPPER: That is horrific for the people who live there, the idea that these terrorists would be embedding within them. That's of course one of the reasons why the Pentagon says this campaign might go on for years. But speaking of civilians, Arwa, is there anything you can tell me about any possible civilian casualties caused by these coalition strikes?

DAMON: We have been hearing of civilian casualties, Jake, from a number of different opposition activists as well as opposition groups like the local coordination committees, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, saying that in the airstrikes that took place in Aleppo and Idlib provinces, which were not against ISIS, but rather other Islamist groups to include the Nusra Front that the U.S. designates a terrorist organization, but that the opposition does not view as being such, did cause civilian casualties.

And in those particular two provinces, people are incredibly upset because they don't understand why the U.S. is going after these other organizations, especially because it did cause these civilian casualties, and we are hearing if this campaign does go forward and the U.S. and its allies continue to go after non-ISIS targets, the civilian toll could potentially rise significantly and people are already expressing their fear that that could cause yet another flood, another wave of refugees. We're hearing a lot of warnings, Jake, from a lot of even moderate

opposition activists we have been talking to that have been telling us that America and its allies need to be very careful about who they strike and where.

TAPPER: Arwa Damon, thank you so much. Please be safe.

Let's bring in former Obama White House Press Secretary Jay Carney and "Weekly Standard" editor Bill Kristol. They're going to be joining us for the hour.

Bill, I just want to talk to you. Right off the bat, one of the things that struck me about the president's speech in the U.N. General Assembly was I had never heard him -- he's obviously condemned terrorism many, many times. I have never heard him so starkly talk about the sectarianism and the extremist ideology that fuels terrorism.

He basically said that that extremist Islamic ideology and sectarianism could prevent progress for the entire world, could be the impediment.

BILL KRISTOL, EDITOR, "THE WEEKLY STANDARD": Yes, I think it's nice that he said that. It's true.

It's a pretty long way from -- I was back looking at some of his earlier U.N. speeches and his 2009 speech to the U.N. and his Cairo speech, very different tone. He's been mugged by reality. And to some degree now he's addressing it.

TAPPER: And, Jay, you just heard Arwa Damon talk about the concerns about that, look, the easy targets have already been hit over the last couple of days and now comes the real difficult stuff with civilian casualties and ISIS embedding within the population. This will be a very long, tough slog and it's probably -- I hope not, but probably going to get very ugly.

JAY CARNEY, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, especially in Syria, because the fact that there are more than -- there is more than one enemy in Syria, and there is more than one terrorist group, al-Nusra, as well as ISIS, reinforces the problem of fighting in Syria to begin with, which the opposition to Assad is fractured.

Some of it's moderate, but the most potent groups are extremist and they're linked to al Qaeda. This is -- I think, reinforces the fact that the United States needs to prioritize what they're doing in Syria. I think we need to prioritize going after ISIS first and then al-Nusra as the efforts are made to strengthen the moderate opposition.

I know that lets Assad off the hook to some degree, but you can't do it all there especially when you're only doing it from the air.

TAPPER: All right, Jay, Bill, stay with us. You are going to be with us throughout the hour. Coming up on THE LEAD: He was kidnapped just days ago by ISIS

wannabes, and now a new video showing this hostage's beheading. How many more terror cells like this are out there and what are they plotting right now?

Plus, a warning to police here in the United States that Americans who have fought with terrorist groups in Iraq and Syria could now be the ones who pose the greatest threat to the U.S. on U.S. soil. What is being done to find them?

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TAPPER: Welcome back to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper.

More on our world lead now. President Obama chairing a summit of the United Nations Security Council. Right now, as another round of airstrikes over Syria targeting ISIS may begin and with the launch of strikes in Syria comes the first new terror warning from U.S. officials since this latest operation all began, that kicking over the anthill could inspire lone wolf attacks here at home. That's the fear. And some of these potential attackers may have never even left the country.

Our justice correspondent Pamela Brown is live in New York City.

Pamela, this alert going out to law enforcement officials across the country. Tell us more about it.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right, Jake.

So, this is an alert sent out by the FBI and DHS to local, state and federal law enforcement agencies across the country, asking them to stay vigilant out of concern the strikes in Syria could create a backlash by homegrown, violent extremists who might want to retaliate and launch an attack in the homeland.

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BROWN (voice-over): It's this kind of attack on U.S. soil that has officials on edge. Two alleged Boston marathon bombers considered lone wolves using pressure cookers to kill innocent Americans. Now, in the wake of U.S. strikes on terrorist targets inside Syria, federal officials sending out a nationwide bulletin, warning law enforcement agencies across the United States to be on high alert for retaliatory attacks on the U.S.

JEH JOHNSON, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: We have to be vigilant in looking for, countering attempts at violent extremism here at home.

BROWN: U.S. intelligence officials tell CNN a few hundred individuals are on their radar as potential homegrown violent extremists, in addition to the handful of foreign fighters who have returned to the U.S. The bulletin lays out potential red flags, changes in appearance and behavior, weapons training using religion to sanction violence and frequenting extremist Web sites. PHILIP MUDD, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: The problem you face in the

homegrown situation is that the youths who are inspired by something like ISIS ideology can transition from thinking about an act of violence to really moving on their ideological inspiration in a matter of days or weeks.

BROWN: It's those radicalized individuals, operating under the radar with detailed bomb making instructions just a click away that have U.S. officials so concerned.

MUDD: Because they're emotionally inspired, they don't know that much about the ideology, they're not really educated in ISIS, that emotion can switch on very quickly, so the timeframe that an investigator has to find somebody like this might be measured in a matter of weeks.

BROWN: Adding to concerns, just this week, a senior ISIS leader for the first time called for lone wolf attacks on the U.S.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Rig the roads with explosives for them. Attack their bases. Raid their homes. Cut off their heads. Do not let them feel secure. Hunt them wherever they may be.

BROWN: Today, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson visited a large Somali-American community in Columbus, Ohio, working with community leaders to help counter the influence of violent extremists here at home.

JOHNSON: ISIL right now is very prominent on the world stage and their social media is as slick as I've seen from any terrorist organization. So, we've got to counter that message.

BROWN: But history shows that most lone wolf attacks in the U.S. are committed by individuals not linked to any terrorist organization. Timothy McVeigh who bombed the federal building in Oklahoma City, and more recently, the man who shot up the Navy yard in D.C.

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BROWN: And to put the latest bulletin into perspective, we're told that law enforcement receives bulletins like this on a fairly regular basis as a precaution.

Jake, I've reached out to law enforcement sources. They tell me that they have no knowledge of any credible, planned attack taking place in the U.S., that this bulletin was just sent out as a precaution to keep law enforcement on high alert.

TAPPER: All right. Pamela Brown, thank you so much.

Let's go now live right now to the United Nations Security Council where British Prime Minister David Cameron just decried the beheading of the French citizen.

DAVID CAMERON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: It's about ISIL. It's about al Shabaab. It's about Boko Haram. It's about al Qaeda. Everywhere there is conflict, everywhere there is poor governance, the poisonous narrative of Islamic extremism has taken hold.

But I believe there are three things that we can do.

First, we must reinforce our counter-terrorist efforts to prevent attacks and hunt down those who are planning them. For our part in the UK, we are introducing new powers to strengthen our ability to seize passports and stop suspects traveling; to allow us temporarily to prevent some British nationals getting back into the country; to ensure that airlines comply with our no fly lists and security screening arrangements; and to enable our police and security services to apply for stronger locational constraints on those remaining in the UK but who pose a risk.

Second, and I believe crucially, we must defeat the poisonous ideology of extremism that is the root cause of this terrorist threat. Yes, there are the Web sites and the preachers of violence and violent extremism, and, of course, those must be taken down. But as the evidence emerges about the backgrounds of those convicted of terrorist of offences, it is clear that many of them were initially influenced by preachers who claim not to encourage violence, but whose world view can be used as a justification for it.

And we know what this worldview is-the peddling of lies: that 9/11 was a Jewish plot or the 7/7 London attacks were staged; the idea that Muslims are persecuted all over the world as a deliberate act of Western policy; the concept of an inevitable clash of civilizations. We must be clear that to defeat the ideology of extremism, we need to deal with all forms of extremism -- not just violent extremism. That means banning preachers of hate from coming to our countries. It means proscribing organizations that incite terrorism against people at home and abroad. It means stopping extremists whether violent or non-violent from inciting hatred and intolerance in our schools, in our universities and even sometimes in our prisons. In other words, firm, decisive action - to protect and uphold the values of our free and democratic societies.

And, as has been said, we need to provide an alternative narrative, particularly for these young people. I was particularly struck by what you said Secretary General that missiles can kill terrorists but governance can kill terrorism. And we have to say again and again that this has nothing to do with the religion of Islam -- a religion of peace. And we need Muslim country after Muslim country and Muslim leader after Muslim leader to speak out as the King of Jordan did so clearly today, condemning these people that say they speak in the name of Islam when they do no such thing.

Third and finally, as well as the action we each take individually in our own countries, we must do much more working together to defeat this threat. The defeat of ISIL will only come about if we use all of the weapons at our disposal. Yes, sanctions against ISIL and Al-Nusra -- and I believe we should do more. But we must use our aid to feed and help the afflicted. We must use our diplomacy and political settlements to strengthen the countries of the region. And we need governments that represent all of their people, and yes, deal with their grievances. The United Kingdom is committed to meeting this challenge. Only a coherent, coordinated response can tackle what is a truly global and indiscriminate threat. It is one part of a comprehensive strategy we have to dismantle and destroy ISIL. Our strategy must work in tandem with Arab states --

TAPPER: You are listening to British Prime Minister David Cameron speaking at the United Nations Security Council.

Let's talk about what he said and what President Obama said earlier about addressing these root causes of terrorism. Let's bring in terrorism expert Fran Townsend, a former Bush administration, homeland security and counterterrorism adviser, and Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, a senior fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracy.

Fran, let's start with you -- very interesting to hear the British prime minister say that a lot of these lone wolf terrorists or otherwise whatever they are, whatever kind of terrorist they are initially initiated into extremist Islam not by preachers who preach violence, but by preachers who preach hatred without violence.

That seems like a very big problem for Western powers to try to combat. How do you do that?

FRAN TOWNSEND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: It's very difficult, Jake, but what he said was very important and that is -- it's not just that we're combating violent extremism. We have to -- we have to commit ourselves to combating extremism in all its forms.

Look, it is -- it is a challenge, and I think that's why it's very important to have public, private partnerships. You know, this week, Ambassador Mark Wallace, formerly with the U.N. during the bush administration and I announced the counter extremism project. The idea is to provide that counter-narrative, to create a public/private partnership with where non-governmental organizations can actually help.

You know, in the U.K., there is an organization of young, British Muslims, Not in My Name. There's the Project for the Promotion of Peace in Muslim Societies led by a sheikh, a Muslim sheikh.

You need all of these groups and voices to come together and work collaboratively with the government effort because governments can't do it alone. It is very difficult for governments to attack this problem.

TAPPER: And, Daveed, let me ask you, because I saw criticism online of one of the individuals. It may have been the sheikh that Fran was just talking about, for having belonged to an organization of Islamic scholars that years ago supported a fatwa allowing Muslims to fight against the Americans in Iraq. At one point this year, the State Department counterterrorism division, tweeted a link to this sheikh's Web site and then after it was criticized because of positions the sheikh had taken, they deleted the tweet and said they shouldn't have tweeted it.

It's not always easy finding pure individuals to represent this cause of moderation, I suppose.

DAVEED GARTENSTEIN-ROSS, FOUNDATION FOR DEFENSE OF DEMOCRACIES: Yes. That's absolutely rue, and it's difficult to, number one, make sure the people who are representing a moderate cause have a good track record. But number two, conversely make sure that they have credibility with the audience that you're trying to reach.

This creates a dilemma, which is what exactly is the audience? Is it young people who are at risk of succumbing to extremist ideology? If so, someone who has a perfect track record as a moderate might be seen as not speaking to their particular world view, but conversely, as you pointed out, some -- when people are too edgy or perhaps aren't really moderate at all, that obviously presents its own dilemma.

TAPPER: Fran, Americans have felt like targets for terrorists for a long time, but of course, we've seen in the past few weeks British citizens, a horrific video today of a French citizen. Are our eyes opening in this country that other Westerners are just as much victims of this kind of terrorism or, indeed, are they becoming more and more targets along with Americans?

TOWNSEND: I think for sure what you're seeing is that ISIS and groups like it are expanding their target set. What they're trying to do, you know, this is an incredibly virulent form of political Islam, right? What they're trying to do is use the beheadings as an attempt to influence the foreign policies of not only the United States but our Western allies. They're going to fail at this for the most part.

I'm not sure, I think we've got to understand why a country like Turkey isn't doing more, isn't more active partner in the alliance because if they -- if is and groups like it get the sense that they can really intimidate and influence government policies they'll do more of this and that's dangerous for everybody. And so, the president's effort at the U.N. this week is very important, but more important than the speech is going to outcomes. This time income year, will those same countries who voted unanimously this afternoon on the resolution be willing to stand up and say what have they actually done and what have they actually accomplished?

TAPPER: Daveed, I want to get your view on this Algerian terrorist sheikh, Jund al-Khilafah, translated loosely as "Soldiers of the Caliphate". They beheaded a French hostage. The leader of the sect pledges allegiance to the leaders of ISIS. They are not officially a part of ISIS. What else do we know about this group?

GARTENSEN-ROSS: Jund al-Khilafah had been around for a while. It originally was known as the al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb Center Zone, and actually, their pledge of allegiance to ISIS isn't new. They had pledged allegiance several months ago. It's just that they now took on this new name Jund al-Khilafah, and also announced the pledge of allegiance to Baghdadi again.

One thing that should be said is they're pretty established. They -- actually, in the Algerian civil war, they're part of the armed Islamic group GIA, whereas al Qaeda supported the GSPC, which is their competitor in Algeria. The reason I mentioned that was the GIA was the more hard lines of the two groups, and this relates to how groups are breaking, which is that groups attempt to be more hard lined, and a bit more prone to indiscriminate as opposed to strategic uses of violences tend towards ISIS rather than to al Qaeda.

The thing that should be reassuring is the fact that isn't a fly by night operation. They've been around for a while and even though the beheading is absolutely gruesome, it's also not very strategic.