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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Yemen Plunged into Political Turmoil; Power Vacuum Erupting Throughout Arab World; U.S. Official: Netanyahu "Spat In Our Face"; Uncertain Fate for ISIS Hostages; Patriots Investigated for Cheating

Aired January 23, 2015 - 16:00   ET

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

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: Is it only now really just a matter of time before ISIS beheads two more hostages and posts that on the Web for the world to see?

I'm Jake Tapper. This is THE LEAD.

The world lead. The masked ISIS killer gave Japan 72 hours, the deadline has now come and gone. As Japan says, they cannot reach ISIS to barter for the hostages' lives, so are those helpless men in the terrorists' hands still alive?

Plus, the politics lead, the U.S. and its strongest ally behaving like anything but. President Obama and Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, will not kibitz when the prime minister comes to town to tell Congress the way he thinks is the proper way to deal with Iran. And now someone from the Obama administration says the Israeli prime minister might pay a price.

And the sports lead. The NFL stuck in a squishy situation. Tom Brady says those footballs were perfect, but now the NFL says they didn't have enough air in them. So is the league going to do anything?

Good afternoon. Welcome to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper.

We are going to begin today with our world lead, and the big question, are they dead or alive? The world is waiting anxiously to find out if two hostages in the hands of the terrorist group ISIS can somehow be saved, or if they have already become Jihadi John's next victims.

ISIS' masked messenger called Jihadi John gave the Japanese government 72 hours to pay a $200 million ransom in which they could save the lives of two hostages held by the fanatical terror group. Right now, it's been just over 15 hours since the deadline passed. It remains unclear if the two men are still alive, this as the U.S.-led coalition's battle against these terrorists could enter a new phase.

The U.S. military's top man, General Martin Dempsey, now says that U.S. troops could be headed back to the front lines in Iraq.

CNN's Barbara Starr has learned that the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is getting ready to recommend to President Obama that American boots be allowed to tag along with Iraqi security forces when they try to retake the key ISIS stronghold of Mosul. Let's go right now to CNN international correspondent Will Ripley.

He's live in Tokyo with all the latest on this rather dire hostage situation.

Will, is the Japanese government saying anything?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What they're saying is that they have been trying since Tuesday to open a line of communication with ISIS, Jake.

And in spite of reaching out through Jordan and Turkey, every intelligence source available to the Japanese government here in Tokyo and also their diplomats in the Middle East, they have not been successful in reaching ISIS. Yet the terror group's P.R. person has been happy to e-mail back and forth with NHK, the public broadcaster here in Japan, saying there is a statement coming very soon about the hostages.

That's raising some very serious fears here that perhaps ISIS never really intended to negotiate with Japan, that $200 million ransom, which they knew they weren't going to get, was just symbolic, they did it to get something that's perhaps even more valuable to them than money right now, and that's attention, headlines.

And sadly, Jake, as we know, the sick reality is every time they post one of these video executions online, something they have done to Westerners five times since August, they get a flood of new recruits, people who are inspired to join the organization. And given that the coalition has seen some success and their number of soldiers is down by thousands, perhaps they need more troops more than they need money, Jake.

TAPPER: That's horrifying. And, Will, you have been doing some reporting on just who these two hostages are. What can you tell us about them?

RIPLEY: So Haruna Yukawa is a man from the Tokyo area who, by all accounts, has had a troubled past. He lost his wife to lung cancer, lost his home and business to bankruptcy and actually went to the Middle East looking for a fresh start.

He found solace in the turmoil there, but he didn't have any experience. And he met Kenji Goto, a war zone reporter who offered to take a fellow Japanese citizen under his wing, show him the ropes. He took him to Iraq. They went there together. So when Yukawa went back to Syria on his own and was captured by ISIS, Goto's friends and family are telling us that he felt personally responsible and actually returned to Syria himself, thinking that he could search for information and somehow find his friend.

He disappeared as well. The two of them then reappeared in that awful video kneeling beneath that ISIS executioner commonly known as Jihadi John.

TAPPER: Will Ripley in Tokyo, thanks so much. The fight against ISIS still raging in Europe, of course. Police are

racing to root out any would-be terrorists, people like Amedy Coulibaly. It's been two weeks since he shot up that kosher supermarket in Paris, killing four innocent men in the name of ISIS.

Today, the now infamous terrorist is in the ground, according to the AFP. Paris police sources tell them that he was buried in the Muslim section of a cemetery on the outskirts of Paris, this as French authorities are passing key evidence to the FBI.

Let's go right to CNN justice correspondent Pamela Brown, who is live in Paris.

Pamela, what can you tell us?

PAMELA BROWN, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: The terrorism crackdown here in Europe continues, Jake.

In fact, we are learning about another manhunt under way today for the first time, Belgian authorities asking for the public's help to locate another suspected terrorist on the run in connection with a shooting last May.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN (voice-over): Belgian authorities are trying to hunt down the man seen here purportedly walking behind suspected French Algerian ISIS fighter Mehdi Nemmouche after he allegedly killed four people at the Brussels Jewish Museum last May.

Sources say Nemmouche helped guard Western hostages in Syria before returning to commit jihad in the West. The prosecutor in Brussels says this man may have been one of Nemmouche's accomplice in the shooting, this as they continue trying to track down the alleged ringleader, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, in a foiled attack allegedly targeting Belgian police officers, the manhunt under way amid increasing concern of Islamic radicalization across Europe, according to Interpol's secretary-general.

JURGEN STOCK, INTERPOL SECRETARY-GENERAL: We have independent cells within our countries, maybe not in any command-and-control structure. And, of course, we have the lone wolves. And we have those returning from the conflict zones and posing threats to the countries where they come from.

BROWN: In the weeks following the Paris attacks, at least half-a- dozen European countries cracked down on nascent terror cells, arresting associates of the French attackers, as well as those allegedly planning separate plots.

STOCK: It's very difficult to detect plans, to identify plans before terrorists can take action against innocent people.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: A source I spoke to today, Jake, says that they are still very much in the thick of the investigation into the Paris attacks.

The big concern is that they haven't identified those in the network of the Kouachi brothers and Amedy Coulibaly and that those could be people living here in Europe and on the verge of an attack -- Jake.

TAPPER: Pamela Brown in Paris, thank you so much.

Let's bring in President Obama's former national security adviser, Tom Donilon. He's now a distinguished fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.

Sir, good to see you, as always.

I could talk with you for five hours about all the issues facing the world, but I'm afraid we don't have that much time. So, let me just start with the chairman of the Joint Chiefs saying that he is prepared to send -- to recommend that U.S. military advisers go to the front lines with Iraqi troops. That would seem to be definitively boots on the ground, no?

TOM DONILON, FORMER U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: Well, it depends on exactly what the mission is.

The mission to date in Iraq -- and I think it's been absolutely right -- has been to stop the momentum of ISIS. And we have done that. We have built a very good coalition. We have...

(CROSSTALK)

TAPPER: In Iraq itself, not Syria.

DONILON: In Iraq, not Syria. I'm talking about Iraq. Exactly right.

Stopped the momentum of ISIS in Iraq. When the president decided to undertake airstrikes and build this coalition, the Baghdad government itself was threatened, the stability of that government was threatened. We pushed them back in terms of stopping momentum. And now the next phase is to shrink the amount of territory that they hold and undertake offensive operations.

TAPPER: Did you have any idea back in the day when you were at the NSA, when you were heading -- a national security adviser, that the Iraqi army was ultimately so weak and so vulnerable?

DONILON: Yes, I don't think it was seen that way, as of December 31, 2011, when the United States withdrew.

I think that there were a number of terrible mistakes made by the Maliki government, the former prime minister, in terms of running basically what was a authoritarian sectarian operation. And a number of the military leaders that we knew and had trained were taken out of the chain of command, and more political sectarian leaders were put in.

There was actually reporting by military units into kind of commissar, kind of party people in Baghdad and it was just a terrific deterioration. Indeed, the two reasons that ISIS was able to move as quickly as it did across Iraq was, number one, the deterioration in the quality of the Iraqi security forces, and, number two, the real sense of grievance of Sunni citizens in Iraq.

TAPPER: Your former colleagues, senior administration officials, say they say that -- they say the same thing as you, that they have been able -- the U.S. has been able to stop the progress of ISIS in Iraq.

But one thing that administration sources say is that they were not prepared for how skilled ISIS has been at propaganda and social media and also the ability that they have to recruit young Muslim men to go and fight. What can be done to stop that?

DONILON: Well, a number of things.

First of all, stop the momentum and stop the narrative of success. And that's an essential security part of this. And that's what General Dempsey is talking about. General Dempsey is talking about the most effective way we can, without becoming involved in combat directly, to assist the Iraqi security forces who are the force on the ground that will take back territory.

You can't take back territory from the air. You need a force on the ground. So, in the first instance, we need to stop the momentum and narrative of success. We then need -- and then -- and ultimately to shrink and defeat them. We also need to have a tremendous amount of intelligence cooperation with respect to the number of foreign fighters, those fighters who are not from Iraq or Syria who are fighting a jihad with ISIS from around the world.

And there are thousands of them. The danger, of course, is twofold, one, that they return to their home countries. And there are hundreds of thousands in the Western countries, indeed almost 1,000 from France alone. And, second, that during the course of this fight, they serve as inspiration to those who may self-radicalize or undertake small- scale or individual attacks.

That's the challenge.

(CROSSTALK)

DONILON: This intelligence challenge is a very serious challenge, Jake -- I will finish up on this -- because of the numbers.

TAPPER: I want to talk about King Abdullah in the short time we have left, because I know you dealt with him, the late leader of Saudi Arabia.

The statements from President Obama, President Bush, other world leaders have been effusive. I think a lot of people like me think, why? This is a country that is backward in so many ways. Why all the praise for the dictator of a country that has so little freedoms?

DONILON: Yes.

Well, King Abdullah was a very good ally of the United States. He was essentially the leader of Saudi Arabia for 20 years. He brought 20 years of stability to Saudi Arabia. He was a very cautious reformer, a cautious -- I think you need to take that point -- but a very solid, very solid ally.

And what the Saudis have done here in the last 24 hours, of course, is I think do a pretty effective job of indicating stability with a quick announcement with respect to succession, continuity of policy, including the oil policy.

They kept on the oil minister and have signaled no change in policy. But really importantly, Jake, they have also signaled the next generation of leadership. Mohammed bin Naif, who has been made the deputy crown prince, he is a grandson of the founder of modern Saudi Arabia, someone we know very well called Ibn in the United States, who is a very, very confident person who is essential in terms of our joint efforts to combat terrorism.

TAPPER: Tom Donilon, always good to have you on. Thank you so much.

(CROSSTALK)

TAPPER: Hope to see you again.

In other world news, the United States now evacuating staff from the U.S. Embassy in Yemen, as the security situation there deteriorates. But could pulling Americans out hurt America's ability to fight al Qaeda terrorists in Yemen? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

In other world news today, a key U.S. ally in the fight against al Qaeda has been plunged into political chaos. Yemen's government has completely collapsed after an agreement between Iran-backed Shiite rebels and the country's Sunni president fell apart on Thursday in response to the worsening security situation. The State Department is drawing down embassy personnel and preparing to completely evacuate if the order is given.

I want to go right to CNN senior international correspondent Nick Paton Walsh who has just left Yemen's capital, Sana'a, yesterday. He's now safely in Beirut, Lebanon.

Nick, at this point, who is running Yemen day-to-day?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I think on the streets of the capital, it's the Houthis, no doubt about that. We drove to the airport, they were calmly, politely checking all cars, I think looking more for Yemeni officials perhaps than foreigners like myself but clearly, the streets under their control.

Do they run the government? Well, is there a government? That's the first question you have to ask yourself. Big political gamble by the president, really, to resign and effectively as one of his former ministers said to me, name and shame the process the Houthis are putting Yemen through which is effectively saying we want to run everything but not have the titles ourselves.

So, very much a sense of chaos at this point. The troubling thing is you keep hearing these reports different parts of the country, the south, the east, wanting to secede. They're eventually died or conflicted. But I think as long as that chaos continues, people are going to be deeply concerned that Yemen's effectively, the lights are on but nobody's driving at the moment.

TAPPER: And, Nick, in the U.S., obviously the fight against al Qaeda in Yemen is very important to the Obama administration. How do you believe that what's going on right now, this coup or however you want to couch it, how will that affect the fight against AQAP which is constantly trying to attack not just the United States but the West as well? They successfully staged the attacks at the "Charlie Hebdo" headquarters in France.

WALSH: Well, there are three basic problems, Jake. The first is the more chaos in Yemen, the easier it is for al Qaeda to have a foothold there and then recruit, train, et cetera, make their bombs and all the things that enable attacks towards the West.

The second is the collapse of the Yemeni government means there's very few people perhaps that Washington can call to get intelligence assistance, to be their allies effectively within the country.

The third is that the Houthis, if they do eventually take over the reins of power, one of their slogans is "death to America". While they are not overly hostile towards us or necessarily towards foreigners inside Yemen at this time, it's going to be obviously difficult, that being part of their main mantra for them to form a harmonious partnership with the U.S. who are very suspicious of them, too, and believe they have a substantial amount of Iranian backing behind them.

All in all, those three points spell a very bad potential future for counterterror relationship between Washington and Sana'a, Jake.

TAPPER: Nick Paton Walsh, thank you so much.

Yemen is not the only Middle Eastern country undergoing a potentially seismic shift in leadership today. So is Saudi Arabia, after the death of King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Thursday at the age of 90.

Well, King Abdullah is credited are some small reforms to the oil-rich nation, in helping the West wage war on terror. Many of the country's laws and restrictions on women's rights, human rights, religious and other freedoms are frankly draconian, the U.S. ally exports its severe form of Islam, Wahhabism, to madrassas worldwide, and observers say it's no surprise that 15 of the 19 terrorists from 9/11 were from Saudi Arabia.

Can that country evolve? Crown Prince Salman has ascended to the throne but what will his reign mean for the kingdom's future and, frankly, for yours?

CNN's Tom Foreman joins us now from our virtual room with an up-close and personal look at the ever-changing Arab world -- Tom.

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it really is changing right now. That's the reason the whole world is watching this region because there is so much uncertainty now about what's coming next and it does start right now with Saudi Arabia.

This is a long-time powerful U.S. ally in the region, for better or for worse. Some people have their complaints about that but it has made a big difference. And now, in this transition even though they say they will carry on the same policies, there are questions about whether the new leader will do exactly what the past one did.

Why does that matter? Oil, of course. This is the largest petroleum exporting nation in the world. All of the oil we use here from foreign sources, only Canada sends us more than Saudi Arabia.

More importantly, they have a powerful military and they exert influence throughout the entire region against many forces that the U.S. is very concerned about.

Just to the south, let's go to another here to talk about -- down to Yemen, if you go to the southern tip of Saudi Arabia, you get to Yemen. Why is Yemen such a big deal right now? Because of this turmoil there, the idea that basically, we don't even know who's in charge right now.

We know that rebels have moved in, they have exerted tremendous influence and we can't say exactly who will be in charge there in the future, and what difference that will make. But Yemen for years has been a base for terrorism that has been a real threat to many other countries, including al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. So that's a concern.

And now, let's look further up north and talk about Syria and Iraq. And we're putting them together not because they are anything but geographic neighbors but because beyond that, they have a common problem and that is ISIS, which has tried to set up its caliphate, its Islamic State, along their border spanning it on both sides.

And, of course, in Syria we have the continued problem of a civil war that's been going on for four years there. So, that's just three examples of places that are in real flux right now, all of which could have a big impact on the West -- Jake.

TAPPER: And that's just four countries of many, many.

Tom Foreman, thank you so much.

Coming up, there will be a price to pay. That warning from an unnamed U.S. official to an Israeli newspaper when asked about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's surprise visit to the United States without telling the White House first. Now, new details on what is described as an angry phone call between President Obama and the Israeli prime minister.

Plus, a major winter storm that already slammed Texas with a foot of snow is set to strike the East Coast in just a few hours. We'll have the latest forecast, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

Some diplomatic focus in our political lead, it's as cold as ice. I'm not just talking about the winter weather here in Washington. No, I am referring to the typically warm and cozy relationship between the leaders of the United States and Israel. That has gotten downright frosty, the chill has been going on for quite some time whether it's Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lecturing President Obama in the Oval Office or Obama making Netanyahu take the side door in for a 2010 visit.

Let's be clear -- the respect each man has for the other knows bounds but believe it or not, it has gotten even worse recently after Netanyahu accepted an invitation from house speaker John Boehner to address Congress in march about the president's decision to keep negotiating with Iran over its nuclear weapons program, and they didn't tell the White House first.

According to the Israeli newspaper, "Haaretz", President Obama told Netanyahu in a phone call Monday to butt out of American foreign policy, and the article quoted an unnamed U.S. official as saying Netanyahu, quote, "spat in our face publicly," unquote.

CNN's global affairs correspondent Elise Labott is live with the latest in Jerusalem.

Elise, things seem to be as bad as they have ever been between these two leaders.

ELISE LABOTT, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jake, every time we say it looks as bad as it's ever been, it keeps getting worse. Officials I have been speaking to say that it is very serious. And it's getting ever more personal, they feel, against President Obama.

And U.S. officials are warning that Prime Minister Netanyahu's actions could cost his country critical support from its closest ally.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LABOTT (voice-over): Prime Minister Netanyahu's plans to address Congress on March 3rd, two weeks before the Israeli election, is causing new fractures in an already brittle relationship. The White House is furious with the Israeli leader for accepting House Speaker John Boehner's invitation. Aides say President Obama in an angry phone call warned Netanyahu not to interfere in his battle with Congress over Iran sanctions.

But they say Netanyahu secretly plotted to do the opposite, arranging behind the president's back to deliver a speech critical of his policy.

JOSH EARNEST, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Certainly, if we had the opportunity to weigh in on that schedule a little bit more, we would welcome that opportunity and probably make a variety of changes.

LABOTT: It's the latest confrontation in a series of growing tensions between the two allies. Last March, in a testy Oval Office meeting, Netanyahu rebuffed Obama's attempts to accept a peace deal with the Palestinians. In October, the White House denied the Israeli defense minister high level meetings over his harsh criticism of Secretary of State John Kerry's peace efforts.

But frustrations reached new heights after a top White House official used an expletive to describe Netanyahu, saying in an interview with "Atlantic" magazine, he had, quote, "no guts" to make peace with the Palestinians.