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U.S. Makes a Move in the Iraq Crisis; ISIS Seized Control of Iraq's Second Largest City; Bowe Bergdahl Arrived from Germany Yesterday; Cristiano Ronaldo is the Second Highest Paid Athlete in the World; Videos of Brutal Tactics Employed by ISIS Released

Aired June 14, 2014 - 13:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello again, I am Fredricka Whitfield. Here are the big stories we are following in the CNN NEWSROOM.

The U.S. makes a move in the Iraq crisis. Three military ships have been ordered to the Arabian Gulf, the Persian Gulf, that is. We will talk about what that mission might be. And also show you shocking videos from the enemy that Iraq is facing, the group is so radical, even al Qaeda has distanced itself.

Plus, the latest on Bowe Bergdahl, the former Taliban captive, road to recovery could be a long one.

New details now this hour on the U.S. response to the crisis in Iraq.

Defense secretary Chuck Hagel has ordered the aircraft carrier USS George H. W. Bush to move into the Persian Gulf. It has been in the north Arabian Sea. And Pentagon says it will arrive in the Persian Gulf with two other ships later on this evening.

Iraq is in a major crisis as Islamic militants are threatening to march onto Baghdad. The Islamic state in Iraq and Syria, also known as ISIS, has taken Iraq's second largest city of Mosul and they have left a trail of blood and violence behind them.

Today, Iraq's government is rushing to recruit volunteer fighters. Shiite supporters are answering the call, boarding buses, ready to take up arms and fight. That's after Iraqi defense forces failed in Mosul.

Police and soldiers ran from posts, taking off uniforms, in fact, and fleeing. This video shows militants stomping on those uniforms. The prime minister, Nouri Al Maliki had strong words for soldiers that left.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NOURI AL MALIKI, IRAQI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): Those that deserted and left positions shouldn't, they should not think that they are safe in their homes. They are distant to stand accountable before the judiciary and law and harsh legal procedures will be taken against them. We warn them they should rejoin their units and those who do not will be considered a deserter and will face prosecution with extreme penalties that might lead to execution.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. Let's bring in CNN's Athena Jones live at the White House for the latest on the movement of the USS George H. W. Bush, that's aircraft carrier in the region.

And Athena, what other response coming from the White House as pertains to Maliki's latest comments?

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we don't have a response from the White House about his latest comments, but I can tell you about the plans for the USS George H. W. Bush, which as you mentioned should be arriving in the Persian Gulf by later this evening, along with guided missile carrier, USS Philippine Sea and the guided missile destroyer the USS tracks. And I want to read to you what Pentagon spokesperson Rear Admiral General John Kirby had to say about the order.

He said it will provide the president with, quote, "additional flexibility should military options be required to protect American lives, citizens, and interests in Iraq."

As you know, the president asked his national security team to come up with a range of options to try to help Iraq push back the insurgent force. That will be short of ground troops. There won't be any ground troops. But there could be air strikes.

And so, this ship, the Bush, can be used for air strikes, use helicopters to help evacuate Americans if need, and they can use it those helicopters and aircraft to conduct reconnaissance and surveillance missions. So, that's what we expect to happen with this, these crews moving into the Persian Gulf.

One more interesting point to make here is that there have been a lot of questions about what role, if any, Iran has been playing in Iraq. And admiral Kirby was asked about this at the Pentagon Friday. I want to play what he had to say then.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REAR ADM. JOHN KIRBY, PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: I have nothing to confirm that there are Iranian Special Forces inside Iraq. And I am not getting into hypotheticals. The only thing I would say, and it has been said before, is that, you know, we encourage all of Iraq's neighbors, including Iran, to play a constructive role.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: So play a constructive role. That's the message the U.S. is send to go Iran and to Iraq's neighbors in the region, Fred.

WHITFIELD: And I wonder, you know, Athena, is the White House saying anything about its confidence in al-Maliki, and whether indeed can lead the country out of this mess. JONES: Well, you know, that's one of the big discussions, big

questions a lot of folks have. We heard from the president saying this should be a wakeup call for Iraq's leaders. He is talking about the Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. The U.S. has been trying to pressure him for years to make some concessions, make some political accommodations within Iraq, with other large groups, with Sunni minority, with curds, to cap sort of unity government that could bring stability to Iraq. And he has really been resistant to negotiate with his rivals.

And so, the hope is that he will make those political accommodations. In fact, the president said the U.S. help won't be forthcoming unless the Iraqi government shows and it is willing to make big changes.

But that's really the question. I have spoken to former officials, experts on the matter who say look, Maliki has going to have to make these changes. And if he is not willing to make it, then maybe they are going to have to look at who might succeed him.

So a lot is riding on the political solution to this crisis as the president said there couldn't be just a military solution here. There has to be a political solution. And Maliki right now is at the center of that, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Yes. And I don't think there's a lot of confidence that the bench is very deep for leadership there in Iraq.

All right, thank you so much, Athena Jones, appreciate that from the White House.

Let's get down to Baghdad where senior international correspondent Nic Robertson is joining us live.

So Nic, how concerned are people there in Baghdad that the ISIS group is indeed making its way toward that city?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: What we're hearing on the streets today is that people are absolutely fed up with what ISIS is doing. For them, this is the last straw. There was a big gathering of people on the streets not far from here, young men, old men, even a man in his wheelchair, heeding the call of religious leaders to volunteer, to join the fight against ISIS.

So, people really believe that they could come here, that they could destroy that Shiite shrine. That said, there were Sunnis, there were Shi'as, there were even Christians who are on the streets saying that they are going to join and volunteer for this force.

Of course, the flip side of this with ISIS is how are they managing to do this fight by themselves? I sat down with a Sunni tribal leader from Iraq. And he told me that a lot of the people fighting on their way to Baghdad are not just radical Islamists who they don't share the views with. They are just disaffected Sunni tribes men. This is what he told me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ROBERTSON: So who exactly is fighting?

ALI ZAIDAN, SUNNI TRIBAL LEADER (through translator): The people fighting right now are sons of the Iraqi tribes, from all around, regardless of sect. All Iraqis who have been effected by al-Maliki's foreign sectarian policy. They are the ones that bear arms against his politics.

ROBERTSON: What does this mean for Iraq?

ZAIDAN (through translator): We are currently seeking not to enter Baghdad because we want to avoid the bloodshed. We seek to form a caretaker government, made of all Iraqis, so we can prove we are not ISIS and prove that we are not Sunnis, we are all Iraqis.

ROBERTSON: But do you think that this could, where we are going now, could this become a Sunni, Shi'a religious war?

ZAIDAN (through translator): It can, yes, it already began. The Sunni Shi'a war has begun today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: You know, that's what he says. And on the streets here today, people are saying this not a sectarian issue yet. This is becoming very much a sectarian division. The people of Baghdad, Sunni, Shi'a, Christian, all feel the fear. The majority of people and the leaders that are calling them to go to the battle front are Shi'a religious leaders. So, if you're on the Sunni side, it looks like you're getting into a religious war, even if people here don't feel that way, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Nic Robertson, thank you so much. Very complicated situation. Appreciate that.

All right, so who is leading this group of brutal militants called ISIS. Up next, an intriguing report about the man they are calling the new Osama bin Laden and the multi-million dollar bounty on his head.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The Islamic state in Iraq and Syria or ISIS, is a group of militants so brutal that even al Qaeda considers them too extreme. They've already seized control of Iraq's second largest city, and have Baghdad in their sight. Some consider their leader to be the new Osama bin Laden. And as Brian Todd reports, there are fears ISIS is looking to attack the United States.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Some call him the new bin Laden. He is ruthless, known for ferocious attacks. His mission, to fight for Islamic fundamentalist takeover of Iraq and Syria. Much about Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is a mystery, but not his viciousness.

DOUGLAS OLLIVANT, FORMER NATIONAL SECURITY COUNSEL OFFICIAL: Very brutal, very extremist fighter who would execute his rivals.

TODD: As leader of the Islamic state in Iraq and Syria, he is behind the capture of Iraq's second largest city Mosul, and now a push towards Baghdad. But al Qaeda leaders recently severed relations with him, saying he was insubordinate, killing too many civilians.

OLLIVANT: And al Qaeda thought his infliction of random violence was too extreme, even for them.

TODD: Yet now, with his recent victories on the ground, he is growing in power.

PAUL CRUICKSHANK, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is emerging as a central figure in the jihadist movement and his organization is growing ever more popular.

TODD: A counter terrorism official tells us al-Baghdadi is based primarily in Syria, and is just as ruthless as his well-known predecessor, Abu Busam al-Zarqawi. But While Zarqawi released menacing statements and videos before being killed by American forces in 2006, al-Baghdadi keeps a lower profile. Some call him the invisible Sheikh.

OLLIVANT: Except among his very, very inner circle, he is rumored to disguise his identity, wear masks, wear turbines, wear face cloths, not let his identity be known.

TODD: According to this biography circulating on Jihadi webs site, he got a Ph.D. in Islamic studies in Baghdad, then formed a local militant group. American forces had him in custody for four years in a prison for insurgents where he may have built ties with others. He was freed in 2009, and within a year the leader of the al Qaeda affiliate in Iraq, heading up a renewed campaign of bombings and assassinations. What's Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's future?

CRUICKSHANK: If he is able hold on territory in northern Iraq for an extended period of time, he may well eclipse Ayman al-Zawahiri in terms of being a leader figure in the global jihadist movement.

TODD: But to do that, he has got to survive. All three of his immediate predecessors as top jihadist leaders in Iraq were killed. And right now, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has a U.S. bounty on his head of $10 million.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, let's talk more about the so-called new bin Laden and his followers with Bobby Ghosh. He is a managing editor of qz.com and with time Baghdad bureau chief from 2006 to 2011.

Good to see you, Bobby.

BOBBY GHOSH, MANAGING EDITOR. QZ.COM: Hi, Fredricka. WHITFIELD: So why is it that the general public is just now hearing

about this ISIS when apparently many lawmakers and policy makers have known about ISIS for some time now?

GHOSH: Yes. They began life as al Qaeda offshoot in Iraq. When the war in Syria began, they moved some of their forces there. That's where they gathered steam became bigger, more powerful, started attracting more followers from around the world. And then when they suffered with some setbacks in Syria, they turn their attention more recently back into Iraq, and that's where they have been successful.

WHITFIELD: So was there missed opportunity to kind of head off the growing power?

GHOSH: Well, there were many missed opportunities going back ten years to cut this thing off, head this off at the pass. Getting rid Zarqawi who you mentioned that one of the previous leaders, founder of al Qaeda in Iraq, helped a little bit. But once the American troops withdrew and Iraqi government failed to follow up with security and political measures with the Sunnis in the west, this group sort of got a new lease of life.

So, and now, they are as your report suggested the most successful terrorist group in modern times. This guy is Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is a very different kind of terrorist from what we have seen before. He is not satisfied with blowing things up or having people killed or sending out suicide bombers, although he does all those things.

But he actually wants to hold territory. He wants to build a country. He wants to take big cities like Mosul, two million people. He wants to appoint governors there and district level officials. He wants to rule. And that is very, very different. His group actually is in some ways more similar to the Taliban in Afghanistan than it is to al Qaeda.

WHITFIELD: So you really layout some of the differences between his leadership style and say that of Osama bin Laden, but what is it about him that he is able to, I guess, garner this kind of following, and allow him to be so influential?

GHOSH: Well, the mystery about him certainly helps as you pointed out. Very few people have seen him. There are only two or three photographs available of him, unlike bin Laden, he doesn't issue videos. A couple of audio releases that people think that might be his voice, but we are not 100 percent certain. So, there's an air of mystery around him.

But the real reason why people are flocking to him is because he is successful. That's what it is. Success attracts followers. And in the world of terrorism, he is the most successful leader out there. And so, young people around the world who want to join the jihad, who want to go and fight this perverse kind of fight, they're looking for leaders. And they look at this guy and they say look, he is taking so much territory, he's been so successful in two different countries. This is the person I want to go. WHITFIELD: You know, you say ISIS really took advantage of that kind

of vacuum insecurity in Iraq especially when U.S. troops left. But, was there any alternative? Isn't it the case that Iraq asked the U.S. to leave, more so demanded the U.S. to leave in 2011. And so, there really were no options. It was the mistake of Nouri al-Maliki that perhaps, you know, he didn't have to handle security of this country like he thought he might with U.S. troops out?

GHOSH: Well, absolutely. It was not simply the removal of U.S. troops, which as you point out was done at the insistence of the Iraqi government. The United States want him. The Obama administration just as it is doing in Afghanistan wanted to leave a small force in Iraq, and was told thanks but no thanks. We've got this covered. That's what pretty much Nouri al-Maliki said. I wonder how he feels about that today.

But it was his policies after the U.S. left, his failure to embrace the Sunni who make up 20 percent of his country, to reassure them that they, too, would have a role in the new Iraq. In fact, he did the opposite. He sidelined them. He arrested or issued arrest warrants against their top political leadership. He disenfranchised them. And that contributed to the environment in which this terrorist group then was able to revive itself and then flourish.

WHITFIELD: So miscalculation on one hand and then perhaps mismanagement on the other.

Bobby Ghosh, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

GHOSH: Any time.

WHITFIELD: Five years in Taliban captivity. And now back on American soil. We get a live update from the Texas hospital where Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl is being treated.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: White House officials are condemning the shooting down of a military transport plane in Ukraine. It happened earlier today in the eastern part of the country. All 49 people on board were killed. Government officials in Kiev say pro-Russian insurgents used anti- aircraft machine guns to bring the aircraft down.

U.S. secretary of state John Kerry called Ukraine's prime minister to express his condolences. This is one of the deadliest attacks since the Ukraine crisis began.

And now we turn to the recovery of Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl. The former army POW is back on American soil for the second day. He arrived from Germany yesterday and is at the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio.

Martin Savidge is outside the hospital now.

So bring us up to date on sergeant Bergdahl's condition and what's next for him. MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Fredricka. Yes, medical

experts here said that he is doing pretty good considering the fact he spent five years in captivity of the Taliban. They say that, you know, medically he is stable.

You know, the way they observe him, set the bar fairly low, but they said that he walks, he was able to make under his own power into the hospital, speaking English, returning salutes, following military decorum, so that's a good sign there. Mentally, they say there are some issues, but that's why he's here. This is a place that specializes in those held captive for a long time, and returning them to freedom, returning them to normal life. Has a long way to go, but first steps are looking very positive.

WHITFIELD: And do we have any sense as to whether Bergdahl knows about the controversy surrounding his return?

SAVIDGE: Yes. That was a question that was asked at the press conference yesterday. You know, tremendous amount of media interest, public interest, debate over the trade made for him, how he may have left his post. So that was asked. Does he know anything about how everyone is talking about this case? Here was their response to that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAJ. GEN. JOSEPH DESALVO, COMMANDING GENERAL, U.S. ARMY SOUTH: As we give him a sense of control, we expose them more and more to environments and events around them. So yes, at some point in time he will be exposed to media increased to him, what's going on in the world. But again, you know, past five years, he had no exposure. We want to gradually (INAUDIBLE) to expose it to him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAVIDGE: So the short answer is that no, he hasn't been told anything about it, hasn't seen anything about it. But that eventually as his recovery goes on, he will get exposure to media. In other words, he will be able to read, see, and watch television. It is clear then it will start sinking in. But it is going to be done very carefully.

WHITFIELD: Yes. You have to wonder whether they give him a little counseling on that before it happens because I would imagine it will hit him like a ton of bricks all at one time.

SAVIDGE: Sure.

WHITFIELD: All right, thank you so much. Yes, Martin Savidge, keep us posted in San Antonio.

Baghdad is home to the largest U.S. embassy in the world, with thousands of employees. Well, now, a race to get many of them out as militants marched toward Baghdad.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Iraq defenses are need all of the help they can get today as the terror group pushes its way right toward the capital, vowing to take it over. And just a short time ago, some possible reinforcement from the U.S. in the region. CNN has learned that defense secretary Chuck Hagel has ordered the aircraft carrier USS George H. W. Bush to move into the Persian Gulf. It has been in the north Arabian Sea. The Pentagon says the carrier will arrive with two other ships later this evening.

The Islamic state in Iraq and Syria also known as ISIS has already taken Iraq's second largest city of Mosul, reportedly killing hundreds in their path in just a matter of days. Today, Iraq's government is rushing to recruit volunteer firefighters. Iraqi defense forces failed miserably trying to defend Mosul. Police and soldiers ran from their posts, taking off their uniforms and fleeing. The prime minister says there will be harsh consequences for anyone who deserted the military, and he said they will not be safe in their own homes.

One of the colonels that defected spoke exclusively to CNN's Arwa Damon in Iraq. And Arwa joins me live now.

So Arwa, he didn't want to reveal his identity, but what did he say to you?

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, it was quite interesting. And we started off by asking him what happened on that day when ISIS fighters began pushing towards his position. He does command around 600 men and why did they abandon their posts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We got a call from the brigade commander saying leave the base, move to headquarters, bring whatever you can with you. When we got there, the brigade headquarters was already taken over. The terrorists were right behind us.

DAMON: You grabbed whatever you could as you and your unit were fleeing. So what kind of weaponry and military hardware did you leave behind that's now in the hands of ISIS?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Twenty five humvees, 80 other vehicles and trucks, weapons, 600 (INAUDIBLE), ten sniper rifles, 20 rocket launchers, heavy machine guns, 122 millimeter mortar rounds.

DAMON: You say your unit is predominantly Sunni and these are predominantly Sunni areas of Iraq. And so, there wasn't really that desire to fight on behalf of the predominantly Shi'a government. But what's going to happen when ISIS and its allies reach the capital? Will Iraqi security forces there stand up and fight?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): If they get to Baghdad, the Shi'a are there, the Satirists (ph) are there. There will be blood all over the streets. The Sunni officers and soldiers won't fight, just the Shi'a ones will, because the Sunnis are not loyal to the Iraqi army.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DAMON: And Fredricka, the reason why ISIS has been able to advance so rapidly is because it does have the support of various over Sunni insurgents groups and tribes as well, not because they subscribe to ISIS ideology per se, or because they want some sort of Islamic caliphate, but because they do believe that this has become an existential battle between Sunni and Shi'a for power and control in Iraq.

WHITFIELD: All right, scary situation. Thank you so much, Arwa Damon.

For American contractors working in Iraq, threat of a terrorist takeover hits very close to home. Authorities are racing to go evacuate many of them now.

Alexandra Field joins me from New York with more on this. How tire is the situation?

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, companies are certainly taking it very seriously. There's clearly a real safety concern here. What we are seeing her is that certain companies have taken steps to evacuate their employees. We are talking specifically about the contractors who are working in Balad since Thursday. The effort have been under way to evacuate those contractors.

Here at home, family members have been trying to make contact with loved ones to know that they're safe, to know that they have been moved. In fact, we spoke with one woman in Texas who says her husband was in Balad. She heard from him. And then there was a long wait before she heard he was safely evacuated. Here is how she described those moments.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAYLA, HUSBAND IS A CONTRACTOR IN IRAQ: It was saying, you know, I love you and just be safe, and you've done the hero thing, just come home, you know, you're a hero to us. Just come home, you know. They need a dad on father's day, like be here. He had to get off and I didn't hear from him the rest of the day. Normally, I hear from him early in the morning, and then late at night, and I didn't hear anything. So I was worried.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FIELD: Right now, the evacuations concern people who are in Balad. And again it is being done by companies, companies choosing to relocate employees. But clearly, the rapidly deteriorating situation in Iraq is causing concern for other families back here in states who loved ones working under contract in Iraq.

We spoke to another woman in Maryland. She says that right now there are no plans for her husband to relocate, but certainly she's keeping a close eye on the situation and hoping to keep close contact with him. Here is what she says.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHERYL, HUSBAND IS A CONTRACTOR IN IRAQ: Obviously his family, you know, all of us want him safe and out of harm's way. We know the person, you know, my husband is, and he is just the type that he's going to do, you know, whatever he can to help protect those that are still there and needing protection.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FIELD: And while companies relocate their employees, the state department says that staffing at the embassy and consulates remains unchanged at this point, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Alexandra, thank you so much.

Straight ahead, what CNN's Fareed Zakaria said about Iraq that got him called to the White House?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A new step in the U.S. response to the crisis in Iraq today.

U.S. defense secretary Chuck Hagel ordered the USS George H. W. Bush aircraft carrier into the Persian Gulf. The Pentagon says it will give President Obama flexibility should military options be required. That comes after Obama said yesterday he will consider a range of options in Iraq, but sending troops back into combat is not one of them. Obama also put the pressure on Iraq's leaders, saying this should be a wakeup call to them.

I asked Fareed Zakaria what the U.S. can and should do in this situation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FAREED ZAKARIA, CNN HOST, FAREED ZAKARIA GPS: I think that what the president is trying to do is to force the Iraqis, particularly Prime Minister Maliki to make some political overtures to the Sunnis. Because I think he recognizes at the heart of this problem, what you have is a disaffected population, about 20 percent of Iraq that is fueling and supporting the insurgency.

Remember, Fredricka, the problem is not arms or men. The Iraqi army is about three-quarters million men strong. They have been trained in equipment supplied by the United States for ten years. The insurgents are about 2,000 or 3,000 people. So the fact that they can't, you know, that the insurgents that taking this down tells you that the basic problem is not a military on, it is a political one. The army won't fight. The Sunnis in the area are providing support for the insurgency.

The only way to solve that is political. And I realized that time tables are often that you got to work militarily. But at the heart of this problem, you have a political breakdown, not a military breakdown. WHITFIELD: Now, is this a surprise something like this would happen

or is there a bubbling of problems that sent a signal this is inevitable, this kind of scenario.

ZAKARIA: You know, it was inevitable in the sense it was predictable because we have seen this movie before. This is exactly what happened in '04, '05, and '06 when the Shi'a government in Iraq essentially started persecuting the Sunnis, purging them from office, disempowering them in various ways, and the Sunnis started fueling and funding insurgency. That's what created the civil war in Iraq.

And the solution to it was General Petraeus coming in, a very important set of military moves, but also political outreach, crucially, political outreach to the Sunni community.

The problem of the last three years is Prime Minister Maliki undid all that good work. He stopped paying off the Sunni tribes, stopped providing patronage to the Sunni groups. He started persecuting Sunni politicians, jailing them, in many cases killing them through death squads and all kinds of mechanisms.

So you're back in exactly the same problem, disaffected minority, moves to insurgency, al Qaeda moves in, and they tacitly support al Qaeda. The solution is General Petraeus solution. They have to show some military strength, but they have to do political outreach.

WHITFIELD: So, it also sounds like al-Maliki was simply the wrong choice, the wrong leader. Or was there a feeling that he was going to be able o appeal to Sunnis, and somehow in your view, you know, he turned on the Sunnis along the way?

ZAKARIA: It is a great question. In my opinion, he was the wrong man always. I met with him before he was prime minister. I wrote a column in "the Washington Post" at the time saying this guy is a Shiite thug, hard line, shows no signs of compromise.

Between us, not between us, I mean, at that time I was called into the White House, and given a briefing that they thought he was a great democrat and he was going to do all kinds of outreach. I think that you have to look at these parties, these Shi'a religious parties. They are hard line religious parties that were funded by Iran for 20 years, and they're showing their true colors. The United States in a sense picked a side in a very complicated sectarian society, and were reaping the consequences.

WHITFIELD: So, wait a minute. And there is a danger for this administration or any administration to take sides in this case. Is this what is in large part keeping the White House or the U.S. military from engaging, making commitment to engage because again, the U.S. would be picking sides?

ZAKARIA: Absolutely. If the United States were to go in full-bore and provide support to Prime Minister Maliki, what it would be doing is acting as the air force for a very sectarian, very oppressive, ruthless regime in Baghdad, which by the way is allied with Iran.

WHITFIELD: So how does this end in your view? What is the next chapter?

ZAKARIA: Unless the Iraqi government makes major political overturns to the vicinities, I think what you are going to see is the defector partition of Iraq. The curds will keep their northern part, which is Kurdistan, the Shi'a will keep the southern part, which is all Shi'a Stan if you will. And in the middle, there will be a bad land, which will encompass not just Iraq but Syria. It will be bad lands ruled by a variety of crazy radical Sunni groups, very messy, very chaotic. And a place where, you know, nobody should go and travel.

I think at that point the United States' best strategy would be to try to give security and support to the stable parts of the region and just accept that there are going to be some places that are essentially bad lands.

WHITFIELD: My goodness. What an abysmal scenario here we are talking about.

All right. Fareed Zakaria, appreciate it. Thanks so much.

ZAKARIA: Pleasure.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, still to come, just how brutal is that extremist militant group the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria? The images might startle you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: CNN has obtained a collection of videos, evidence of the draconian and brutal tactics used by the radical Islamic group ISIS to control much of northern Syria. This is a group so radical that even al Qaeda has distanced itself. We're about to show you some very graphic images. And you just might want to look way. The videos recorded by ISIS showing members interrogating prisoners and conducting executions. Again, the images are very disturbing.

Now CNN's Ben Wedeman's exclusive report on what can you learned from these recordings.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A voice off camera asks, how old are you?

I was born in 1980.

Are you married?

Yes, he responds. I have two children.

Do you want to see them again?

God knows I do. I have nothing to hide.

A man who calls himself Basal and a doctor, pauses, collecting his thoughts.

So talk. Answer quickly. Are you cooking up lie, shouts the other?

This video is one of eight interrogations obtained by CNN from Syrian opposition activists. The interrogators speak with distinct Iraqi accents and ask questions about what's going on in a town northeast of in Aleppo.

From the questions it's clear the interrogators are not with the regime of President Bashar al-Assad but rather with ISIS, the Islamic state of Iraq and Syria. It's not clear what happened to these men but another chilling video we'll show you later may be a clue.

Earlier last year ISIS emerged as a major power in opposition- controlled areas of northern Syria. Since then the ultra extremist group imposed strict Islamic law, held public floggings and executions and most recently embattled other opposition groups in fighting that has left well over 2,000 dead.

Even al Qaeda's leader demanded ISIS leave Syria. Missing in the interrogations is any mention whatsoever of the Assad regime. The only concern is the challenge posed by other opposition factions and the local populace to ISIS.

(SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

WEDEMAN: Who is erasing the slogans and symbols of ISIS on the walls, demands the interrogator.

I swear I don't know, as God is my witness, says this man who identifies himself as Hamen (ph).

Another interrogation. What were they saying about the Islamic state? He has asked. Say the truth. Save yourself.

I'll speak the truth even if I lose my head responds this man, who says he is called Mustafa. All of these clips found in the residence of this man known by (INAUDIBLE) his name, an Iraqi, or the Iraqi. Activists describe him as an ISIS emir, a commander and intelligence officer. They found the abandoned video in January after he fled fighting between ISIS and other factions.

Some of the clips and still shots show a young woman in the company of (INAUDIBLE) trying her hand at shooting an AK-47 assault rifle.

Steady, he tells her. Steady. ISIS is imposing the strictest possible dress code on women in the area it controls, given that her face is uncovered, clearly this was for (INAUDIBLE) and this unidentified woman, a private moment.

So what happened to the interrogated men? It's not clear from the video, but one of the last recordings documents in detail ruthless ISIS-style justice, execution by flashlight.

Ready, asks a voice off camera. Fourteen men, some apparently quite young, are shot, one after the

other. The scenes are too graphic for us to show. Some fall into the mass grave, already dug.

The new boss in this part of Syria, not unlike the old boss.

Ben Wedeman, CNN, Turkey.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: OK. Get ready for world cup matches, four on the schedule today, and a match just completed. Colombia beat Greece three to nothing and later on today, Uruguay versus Costa Rica and England in taking on Italy. And the last match will pits the Ivory Coast against Japan.

Cristiano Ronaldo. You know the name? Well, more than 80 percent of the world's population does. And for the world's best soccer player the business of being Ronaldo is looking pretty good.

Here's Christine Romans.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The world cup is finally here, and being Cristiano Ronaldo, arguably the biggest star of the biggest sports in the world is very big business.

Now the most bankable soccer star, Ronaldo, made his name at Manchester United where he reportedly brought home $238,000 per week. That made him the highest paid player in team history.

CRISTIANO RONALDO, SOCCER PLAYER: I think I'm not that --

ROMANS: But he became the most expensive foot ball ever moved to Real Madrid, a transfer worth $132 million. He is currently signed to a five-year $206 million deal.

RONALDO: A lot.

ROMANS: Ronaldo won soccer's highest individual award last year for the second time. So go ahead, ask him who's the best in the business?

RONALDO: I'm thinking it's me.

ROMANS: He's been named the most marketable soccer player. He has a Nike deal worth millions, plus deals with Samsung, Emirates, Armani, Toyota, and many more.

Ronaldo brought home $28 million in endorsements last year. Add that to the $52 million he made on the field. That's $80 million making him the second highest paid athlete in the world.

RONALDO: Definitely, yes.

ROMANS: Ronaldo's brand had made him the sport's most famous star. He is known by a stunning 84 percent of the world's population. That's according to sports marketing company, Repucom.

RONALDO: We are famous and we have to deal with that.

ROMANS: He is the most liked athlete in the world with almost 85 million thumbs up and had nearly 27 million twitter followers. He started his own line of underwear, his own magazine, even his own museum.

But for all of those accomplishments, Renaldo has yet to win a World Cup for Portugal. He is hoping the business of being Christiano Ronaldo is the best in the world.

RONALDO: I live like a dream.

ROMANS: Christine Romans, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, and more of "CNN MONEY," which begins right now. See you in 30.