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New Insight into America's Skepticism; Assad Warns of Retaliation if Attacked; Obama Makes His Case on Syria

Aired September 09, 2013 - 09:00   ET

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

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. I'm Carol Costello.

It is one of the most important week for President Obama. He and his top aides put on a full court press as they push to ponder Syria. The President's biggest challenge: convincing Congress, the American public and the world with nothing more than circumstantial evidence.

And he's not ruling out using chemical weapons. Listen to what he told CBS' Charlie Rose.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRES. BASHAR AL-ASSAD, SYRIA: Expect every action.

CHARLIE ROSE, CBS' "FACE THE NATION": Including chemical warfare?

AL-ASSAD: That depends if the rebels or the terrorists in this region or any other group have it, it could happen, I don't know. We don't -- I'm not a fortune teller to tell you what's going to happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: But still Assad maintains his soldiers were attacked chemically, not the Syrian people, and there is no evidence, he says, to prove otherwise.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AL-ASSAD: In the area where they said the government used chemical weapons we only had video and we only have pictures and allegations. We're not there. Our forces, our police, our institutions, don't exist. How can you talk about what happened if you don't have evidences?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: In Washington, Congress gets back to work. At the top of the agenda is the president's plan for limited military action. And while they talk on Capitol Hill, President Obama will talk on TV.

He will sit down with our own Wolf Blitzer later this afternoon, as part of a huge media blitz. It follows his sit-down dinner President Obama and vice president Joe Biden had last night with key GOP senators. That's them on the way. In the meantime Syria's President Assad is trying to use the American public's lack of support to protect his own country. This morning, we have new insight into why many of you are so skeptical about military action and why gaining support is such an uphill battle for the president.

Our chief national correspondent John King is here to break down a new CNN/ORC poll.

Good morning, John.

JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

And this poll shows the steepness of the hill for the president. You noted six television interviews, the address to the American people tomorrow night.

Let's look at this first threshold number. The president is trying to swing this number by 10 or 15 points and that is, should Congress pass the resolution authorizing military strikes in Syria? You see right there, six in 10 Americans, 59 percent say no to this threshold question.

And here's another shot at the president, a warning sign to the president, Carol. If the president can't get this approval -- remember the president is on the record saying, I reserve the right to do this, I believe I have the constitutional authority to do this. Seventy-one percent of the American people, more than seven in 10 Americans say, Mr. President, if you don't get Congress' blessing do not do this.

So that shows you how important this is for the president today. And here's an interesting looking as the president tries to make his case.

Carol, you mentioned, you know, does he have a convincing case. Well, look at this, the American people believe that Assad's guilty. If you add up those top two numbers that's 82 percent of the American people are certain the Syrian government has used chemical weapons or likely believed that it has used chemical weapons.

So more than eight in 10 Americans think Assad as a bad actor here, thinking he's guilty of something heinous and yet, and yet, six in 10 Americans still oppose military action. Why is that? Well, let me ask you this question. Take a look at the Middle East -- Iraq, Libya, Egypt, look more.

Has the United States done anything in recent history quickly in a limited way walked away and it looks better? The answer is largely no. And that's driving this number.

Would U.S. strikes achieve a significant goal for the United States? Seventy-two percent of Americans say no. They don't believe the president can do something in a limited way, make a positive difference and walk away without getting the United States locked in to a costly quagmire. That right there, that skepticism, Carol, is the president's biggest challenge this week. Even people who support him personally are very skeptical that he has a plan to do this in a short, limited way, and make things better.

So what if the president loses? What are his options? Well, as I noted he could launch strikes anyway. He says he reserves that constitutional authority, but if you look at our poll numbers, pretty convincing political opinion here in the United States that he should not do that. He could wait for the United Nations, the administration beyond frustrated that they could get anything progress through the United Nations or the president could decide to act in some other way by increasing humanitarian aid or weapons aid.

Obviously, Carol, if you ask the White House they don't want to deal with those questions right now. They think even though they acknowledge the steepness of the hill the president can start day by day, interview by interview, national address by national address to turn those numbers around.

As of today he doesn't have the votes especially in the House but, but this is a major test of this president's salesmanship.

COSTELLO: And the big PR blitz begins in earnest today.

John King, national correspondent, thanks so much.

With all of this in mind the president will go to the Senate tomorrow to try to convince lawmakers to vote yes on Syria but if you take another look at this CNN/ORC poll we've been talking about the majority of Americans want Congress to vote no. That's the headline.

I want to bring in our senior White House correspondent Brianna Keilar and our political director Mark Preston -- Mark Preston, rather, to break this down further.

So, Brianna, the president would say this is a case of national security. If so, should polls matter to lawmakers?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think there's obviously two schools of thought on that. If they believe of course that this is an issue of national security and their constituents just don't see it, then you know obviously there is an argument to be made that they should go ahead and do maybe what isn't popular.

But I also think, Carol, that you have a lot of lawmakers who maybe see that there's a national security risk or issue because of what's happened in Syria, but they don't necessarily feel that President Obama's recipe for intervention is the right one. In fact they worry not only will it not change things, some of them worry that it could make things worse and between I think that uncertainty and then what they're hearing from their constituents, I think a lot of them are feeling like they don't have a good footing maybe to go along with President Obama. And when you look here, President Obama, yes, he has a problem here with Americans and he has a problem with members of congress, but he has a problem with a lot of these folks in his own party, his former political arm, Organizing for America, hasn't even touched Syria, and you're hearing a lot of the reticence coming from Democrats in both the House -- the House and the Senate.

And Carol, you just heard from Deputy National Security adviser Ben Rhodes, he said in the end he thinks the votes will be there in the House and Senate but I think there is a very real feeling, a really sort of shift here in the last few days at the White House where they realized how much trouble they're in when it comes to getting some sort of congressional approval.

COSTELLO: You got that right, Brianna Keilar. Thank you.

Let's go to Mark Preston now. The CNN/ORC poll also shows a majority of Americans do not want the president to go it alone if Congress votes no. Again, if this is about national security, does it matter?

MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Well, Carol, it certainly -- it does matter for the president. We had this full court press right now. A lot is on the line not only what's going to happen in the next couple of days but for the remainder of his presidential term.

A lot of people think right now, Carol, that if he loses this vote in Congress not only is he going to be damaged here in the United States trying to get what other domestic issues he needs to through Congress and let's not forget we are coming up against the end of the fiscal year right now. There is going to be some hard negotiations on spending.

We're also going to see the implementation of health care and Obamacare and President Obama could be damaged politically if he's not able to get this vote through Congress but also internationally as well. What does this speak to the world, President Obama is not able to convince his own lawmakers here at home that this is the right thing to do.

COSTELLO: Brianna Keilar, Mark Preston, John King, thanks to all of you.

Still to come in THE NEWSROOM, we'll have a closer look at the Obama's administration push to will Congress and the American public and whether there's anything the president can say to move the needle in his favor.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Syrian President Bashar al-Assad made no bones about it, telling CBS that if he's attacked there will be repercussions. He said expect everything, including chemical weapons.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROSE: Will there be acts against American bases in the Middle East if there is an air strike?

AL-ASSAD: You should expect everything. You should expect everything. Not necessarily through the government. It's not only the government, are not only -- not the only player in this region. You have different parties, you have different factions, you have different ideology. You have everything in decision now so you have to expect that.

ROSE: But we'd like to know more. And I think the president would like to know more, the American people would like to know, you know, if there is an attack, you know, what might be the repercussions and who might be engaged in those repercussions.

AL-ASSAD: Before the end of September, in my discussion with many officials in the United States, some of them are congressmen, I used to say that don't deal with the terrorists as playing games. It's a different story. You're going to pay the prize if you are not wise.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: So let's bring in CNN Pentagon correspondent Chris Lawrence for more.

So, Chris, Assad sounded like, what, like he's taunting the United States? Threatening? And what did he mean by "terrorist attacking" if the American government means to attack his government, not the rebels?

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Carol, what he's saying basically is that he himself does not have to retaliate in order to hit back against any U.S. air strike, and what he's talking about first and foremost is Iran and Hezbollah. U.S. intelligence officials have picked up some information that Iran may be planning a retaliation strike against the U.S. embassy in Baghdad if the U.S. were to hit Syria.

Also Hezbollah, they can mobilize tens of thousands of fighters, they probably already have targets picked out in Israel. There are also indications that they could go after American interests, consulates, embassies, things like that.

I think it's one of the reasons why you saw the U.S. evacuate a lot of its folks from the embassy in Beirut, just on Friday.

In addition, mixed in with some of those threats were also accusations aimed directly at President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry, saying they don't have the evidence that they are talking about to the public.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AL-ASSAD: I think the most important part of this now is -- let's say the American people. But the polls show that the majority now don't want a war anywhere, not only against Syria. But the Congress is going to vote about this in a few days. And I think the Congress is elected by the people and represent the people and vote for their interests.

The first question that they should ask themself, what do wars give America? Things we have until now, nothing. No political gain, no economic gain, no good reputation. The United States is at all low time, the credibility is at all low -- all-time low. So this war is against the interests of the United States. Why?

First of all, because this is the war that's going to support al Qaeda and the same people that kill Americans in the 11th of September. The second thing that we all want to tell to the Congress, that they should ask and that what we expect, we expect them to ask this administration about the evidence that they have regarding the chemical story and the allegations that they presented.

I would then tell the president when he have the option because we were disappointed by their behavior recently because we expected this administration different from Bush's administration. So we expect -- expect something from the -- from this administration, it's not to be weak, to be strong to say that we don't have evidence, that we have to obey the international law, that we have to go back to the Security Council and the United Nations.

ROSE: The question remains, what can you say to the president, who believes chemical weapons were used and were used by your government that this will not happen again?

(CROSSTALK)

AL-ASSAD: I would tell him very simply, present what you have as evidence to the public, be transparent.

ROSE: And if he does?

AL-ASSAD: If he does?

ROSE: If he presents that evidence?

AL-ASSAD: This is where we can discuss the evidence that he doesn't have. He didn't present it because he doesn't have it. Kerry doesn't have it. No one in the administration has it. If they had it, they would have presented it to you as media from the first day.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAWRENCE: This was a man fully cognizant of all the internal debate that's going on right here in the United States. He was speaking not only to the undecided members of Congress who have yet to vote on whether to authorize this strike on Syria, but also to the American people, bringing up al Qaeda, suggesting he is fighting al Qaeda elements within his country, and that a strike on Syria would essentially help al Qaeda.

These are very, very poignant messages and they're being made by a man who understands fully the internal debate that's going on here in the country right now -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Fascinating. Chris Lawrence live from the Pentagon, thanks so much.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, parents watch in horror as a carnival ride malfunction leaving more than a dozen children hurt. The ride reportedly had been inspected just two days earlier. Now parents want answers.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Checking our top stories at 19 minutes past the hour.

A fast-moving wildfire east of Oakland, California, forces dozens of people to flee their homes. Fire has already scorched more than 1500 acres in the area of Mt. Diablo State Park. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

A 30-year-old man has died after falling from an elevated platform on to a sidewalk at San Francisco's Candlestick Park. Police say the man was walking with his brother. Witnesses told police the man appeared to be intoxicated. In August a Georgia man died after falling from an upper deck in Atlanta's Turner Field.

Basketball bad boy Dennis Rodman expected to hold a news conference next -- I know you're digging his hat, aren't you? Anyway supposed to hold this news conference next hour. He's just returned from his second trip to North Korea. Rodman was tightlipped at the airport but he did reveal several interesting details in an interview with a British newspaper.

Rodman says he spent time with Kim Jong-Un's family and actually got to hold his brand new baby. He also revealed the daughter's name -- Kim Jong-Un's daughter, that is. Her name is Ju-Ae.

A frightening scene for parents in Connecticut over the weekend. At least 12 children were injured after a carnival swing ride lost power, throwing riders from their seats and slamming them into the ground. Families of the victims now want answers.

CNN's Pamela Brown has more for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I heard a big bang. And the whole apparatus, the swings came smashing down into the bottom of the swing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I looked to my left and I saw the swing ride. It collapsed. All these people were there. I actually saw someone fall out of the cart.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This swing ride in Norwalk, Connecticut, became a dangerous terrifying thriller on Sunday when the ride suddenly lost power, sending children to the ground.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We just injured kids everywhere. The parents ripping out the gate just trying to get to their kids. I mean, it was just -- it was horrible. BROWN: Sitting in chairs suspended by chains, 13 children were injured, at least two seriously, when the ride malfunctioned. Other rides at Norwalk's Annual Oyster Festival were shut down as a precaution but soon reopened following inspections.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: I apologize for that. We'll have more on that story a little later on. We're having some technical problems as you can see. When we get the audio fixed we'll run that story again.

Sorry, Pamela Brown, not your fault.

Coming up in the NEWSROOM, too, there is actually talk of impeachment if President Obama puts boots on the ground in Syria. We'll tell you about that after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Happening now in the NEWSROOM, make or break week. President Obama pleading his case to Congress and you on why we should attack Syria. New insights this morning as to why the majority of you are skeptical and what the president has to do to change your mind.

Plus where's the concrete evidence? Where are the photographs, the intercepts? Either you have it or you don't. The latest on what the administration knows and doesn't.

NEWSROOM continues now.

Good morning. I'm Carol Costello, thanks so much for being with me.

In Washington, a showdown is in the making as lawmakers return to Capitol Hill and prepare for a critical debate on Syria. The Obama White House continuing to make its push for why military intervention in Syria is necessary. And now one of the few Republicans to support the president, House Intel Committee chairman Mike Rogers, is speaking out on the consequences of a no vote.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MIKE ROGERS (R), HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: So we've seen human nature here, if he can use it to his advantage, he will. It sends a pretty important message to North Korea and Iran if they can use it to their advantage and there's no consequence they likely will at some point.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: But President Obama does have a tough sell ahead in making his final push to build support for strikes on Syria. The president is sitting down with six -- count them, six -- television networks including CNN. Obama will also address the nation tomorrow night.

Yes, you could call it a full court press.

CNN's Wolf Blitzer will interview the president later today. He joins me now from Washington.

Good morning, Wolf.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, Carol.

COSTELLO: Allow me to be blunt. Unless the president outlines a plan, tells the American people why they should fear Syria, and then outlines a post-strike plan, not many Americans will be listening to anything the president has to say.

BLITZER: He's got a huge hurdle ahead of him, he's got a lot of explaining to do to the American people and he's going to be doing the best he can today, tomorrow, all of this week. He may -- he may, it's not for sure, he may get the votes in the Senate that he needs. If there's a till buster he'll need 60 votes.

It's going to be very close. But let's say he gets those 60 votes, it's unlikely, at least right now based on everything we're seeing, he can get the 218 votes he needs in the House of Representatives.

So he's got a lot of work to do with the interviews. Today obviously the private conversations he's having with key members of the Senate and the House and his address to the nation tomorrow night, because as you know the polls are not with him right now.

COSTELLO: Bashar Assad, he was interviewed by Charlie Rose on CBS and Bashar Assad seems to be taunting the president saying, hey, the American people don't believe that the United States should carry out a military strike on Syria. There's no hard core evidence of our use of chemical weapons, so Mr. President, maybe you should just sit back to listen to -- and listen to the Congress and the American people.

BLITZER: You know, he was very blunt. I saw the interview with Charlie Rose earlier today and Bashar al-Assad said if the president of the United States has the intelligence, he releases these declassified summaries, but if he's got the hard intelligence, Charlie Rose used the word transparent -- excuse me Bashar al-Assad used the word transparent.

Be transparent, Mr. President. That's what Bashar al-Assad said. Release the information. If you say you have intercepted phone calls, conversations between Syrian commanders and -- and other leaders ordering them to go ahead and use chemical weapons against the Syrian rebels, the Syrian civilians, release that information.

If you have other pictures, you have other information, go ahead and release it. What's on social media, he dismissed as irrelevant, if you will. So we'll see if the administration this week. I suspect they will, if they do go ahead and become more transparent, and release some of the original, the hard intelligence that they say they have, that proves that the government in Syria, the government of Bashar al-Assad was directly responsible for killing those 1400 people.

BLITZER: The other thing that Bashar al-Assad said that I found interesting, you know, in his taunting of the president, he intimated that, you know, chemical weapons might be used if America strikes Syria. I'm not a fortune teller but it could happen.

BLITZER: Yes, he was blunt. He said, you know, all options are on the table basically, if the U.S. were to launch these air strikes against targets in Syria. There would be retaliation and he didn't -- and he said not just from Syria, but from others. I assume he was referring to Hezbollah, his Lebanese allies, and the Iranians potentially down the road, so he was clearly pretty blunt in saying, and he was addressing an American audience with Charlie Rose on CBS and PBS.

He clearly wanted to make his point. You know, you attack us, we'll attack you. That was the bottom line, and it's something that people here are certainly going to have to consider.

COSTELLO: So you're going to sit down later this afternoon and talk with the president? And when can we expect to see that interview, Wolf?

BLITZER: We're going to -- I'm going to go to the White House, you know, later today at 1:00. I'm anchoring our CNN NEWSROOM at 1:00, then I'm going to go to the White House. We're going to tape the interview with the president I think around 4:00 and then at 5:00 I'll be in "THE SITUATION ROOM" under the agreement with all the networks, the six networks that are doing these round robin interviews with the president, we can't release the interview until 6:00 so right at the top of 6:00 in "THE SITUATION ROOM" 6:00 p.m. Eastern in the United States and around the world. People will be able to see my interview with the president.