Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Militants Threaten To March On Baghdad; Iraqi Colonel Speaks Out On Defecting; U.S. Contractors Evacuated From Iraq; Child Migrants Overwhelm U.S. Officials; Hagel Orders Carrier To Persian Gulf; U.S. Faces Ghana In World Cup Opener

Aired June 14, 2014 - 12:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): -- the U.S. government doesn't give them any necessities when they're dropped off at the bus station. Charity groups are there to offer that assistance. Ruth declares she's happy to be here and then the Greyhound bus arrives. The first stop will be El Paso then there will be two more stops. After 80 hours of traveling, she and her baby will be in Washington, living with her brother in limbo in America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TUCHMAN: It is well known among Central Americans that children and mothers with children are treated more leniently once they get to the United States. And that along with the violence is a major reason why we don't expect to see any decrease to the number of children crossing any time soon -- Fredricka.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: That is incredible. All right, thank you so much, Gary Tuchman. We will be talking about the legal questions surrounding this sudden influx of children into the U.S. with our legal guys next hour. We have much more straight ahead in the NEWSROOM and it all starts

right now. Hello again. I am Fredricka Whitfield. Here are the top stories we are following in the CNN NEWSROOM.

The crisis in Iraq, the prime minister there, needing all the help he can get to fight terrorists that even al Qaeda says are too violent. He could get help from the U.S., but in what form? President Obama says it will not include American troops on the ground.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We will not be sending U.S. troops back into combat in Iraq, but I have asked my national security team to prepare a range of other options that could help support Iraq security forces, and I'll be reviewing those options in the days ahead.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Meanwhile, American contractors working in Iraq are being evacuated. But how much time do they have to get out? A live report straight ahead. And how bad is it looking for Team USA in the World Cup? Even their

head coach is saying winning is rather, quote/unquote, "unrealistic." We'll tell you why. All right, our top story, Iraq's government is rushing to recruit

volunteer fighters in the face of brutal militants that want to take over Baghdad. Shiite supporters are answering the call in Baghdad, boarding buses, ready to take up arms and fight. They're trying to beat back radical militants from the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, also known as ISIS.

The group took over Mosul this week, Iraq's second largest city and they didn't meet much resistance from Iraqi defense forces. Police and soldiers ran from their posts, taking off their uniforms and fleeing. This video shows militants stomping on uniforms. And today, Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki says it is not because the military wasn't prepared.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NURI AL-MALIKI, IRAQI PRIME MINISTER (through translation): What happened recently did not result from lack of weapons. But it was a conspiracy, it was a trick. There was no collusion when orders made by people we know were made to some army formations to withdraw, which resulted in confusion that we do not want to happen in the ranks of our army.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The prime minister also says there will be harsh consequences for anyone that deserted the military and he says they will not be safe in their homes. One of those colonels who defected spoke exclusively to CNN's Arwa Damon in Iraq just a few hours ago. He didn't want to reveal his identity, but he explains what happened.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

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

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You grabbed whatever you could as you and your unit were fleeing. 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 callismic calves, 10 sniper rifles, 20 rocket launchers, heavy machine guns, 122-mm mortar rounds.

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

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

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Some very chilling words from an Iraqi colonel who defected this week and deep sectarian divide between Sunni and Shia is putting the U.S. in a very difficult position as it mauls what action to take. President Obama said on Friday that the U.S. will not sending troops back to combat in Iraq, but a security team is preparing a range of options, and he said it is time for leaders in Iraq to step up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We can't do it for them and in the absence of this type of political effort, short term military action, including any assistance we might provide, won't succeed. So this should be a wake-up call. Iraq's leaders have to demonstrate willingness to make hard decisions, and compromises on behalf of the Iraqi people to bring the country together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Alexandra Field is also following the story for us live out of New York. We will get to her in a moment. But right now, I am joined by former U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, Christopher Hill. He was in that role from April, 2009 until August, 2010. Mr. Hill, let's talk about what the prime minister, Nuri Al-Malaki said earlier today. Listen in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AL-MALAKI (through translator): They believed this was the beginning of the end. We say this is the beginning of their end, their defeat because it sparked passion and determination in all soldiers and officers and in all Iraqi people. Iraqis came in thousands. We were unable to mobilize all the people who volunteered and wanted to confront this evil organization, which is pushed by foreign forces that do not want good to Iraq.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, so, you know, he is talking about this ISIS, these militants that have come in. He says in his view it's the beginning of their end, but do we have a bigger problem here, not just with the infiltration, but might it be that some militants are in bed with perhaps the Iraqi army and it is difficult for even the government to discern on whose side some of these troops are on.

CHRISTOPHER HILL, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO IRAQ: Well, no doubt this is a very deep problem. It's a long-standing problem. The Sunni, Shia-schism has been over a thousand years. It's not going to go away with a few efforts by this prime minister. Now, this prime minister is clearly over his head. He is not to be confused with Nelson Mandela. He has not done nearly enough outreach to the Sunni community. But in fairness, I'm not sure the Sunni community has ever reconciled

itself to Shi'a rule. So we have a serious problem in Iraq, and certainly if you look at what's going on today, I don't think the real issue is whether the ISIS will be able to take Baghdad. I think the real issue is whether we will end up with a divided Iraq, a kind of Sunni stand. The Kurdish areas and Shi'a areas in the southeast. So I think the real problem ahead is a divided Iraq.

WHITFIELD: It looks like we have it now. If you look at the map, we already have a divided Iraq, the Kurds, the Sunnis, the Shiites, making up these thirds, the country cut up into thirds. But then one has to wonder whether in a permanent way whether governments can be formed representing these three different factions or tribes, and if going forward, can the world accept that Iraq will be made up of three different compartments so to speak, based on sectarian, you know, views.

HILL: Well, I think it's obviously been a tough proposition to get Sunnis to work with the Shia led government in Baghdad. Those of us that have been there diplomatically have worked very hard to get communication between the sides, but it hasn't been easy. And certainly as this ISIS group came in, we have seen many Sunnis defect to that group that is more interested in being part of a Sunni formation than to be the minority in a Shia government. So this is a huge problem. Whether there's another leader who can

come forward, do a better job than he has done, it is tough to find such a leader. If such a leader existed, that person would have come forward before. Malaki after all did very well in the elections.

So I think he's probably at this point the strongest Shia leader, but he's nowhere near enough to keep that country together. So we have a very serious problem in Iraq, but I would argue we've had that serious problem for a long, long time.

WHITFIELD: You know, this president, we saw him yesterday, he said no commitment now of U.S. troops in Iraq. This is a president whose legacy has been to end the war in Iraq. He voted against the war as a senator, and as president, you know, he wants to be remembered as the man who helped end this war. Now you have Republican Senator John McCain who is saying now is the time for air strikes. There's no other way to handle it. This is a military plan he calls very simple.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: We should be doing air strikes now. We should be, look, the crisis of Maliki's leadership is a political problem. Imminent crisis is the military movement, ISIS, that can even threaten Baghdad, and by the way, you can take out targets in the middle of the desert, it's not that difficult.

(END VIDEO CLIP) WHITFIELD: Is that true? It's not that difficult to engage, whether it is air strikes, taking out a very specific threat, hoping the target hits just ISIS members or does this involve the U.S. to a degree that the U.S. will find itself in a point of no return?

HILL: Certainly there has to be a sort of re-catalyzing of the Iraqi army and certainly air strikes would be a real moral boost for the Iraqi army. They need that army to start functioning, and that army requires its Sunni members to believe that they also need to get into the fight against these extremist Sunni Islamists. So a number of things need to happen. I think there does need to be American engagement in the form of advice and in the form of air strikes, so I would agree with Mr. McCain on that.

WHITFIELD: You do believe that there should be air strikes?

HILL: I do believe that there need to be, there needs to be direct engagement in the form of air strikes.

WHITFIELD: Does the U.S. then run the risk of supporting the Shias in a conflict with the Sunnis, and also by consequence, it also means engaging Iran, mostly Shi'a, so the U.S. finds itself in a huge diplomatic and political mess?

HILL: I think there are a lot of risks here and there are no good options here, but I think sooner or later the Shia led government is going to need some help. I would rather they get it from us than get it from the Iranians, which is also on offer. I think we need to be engaged in the form of some kind of air strikes. So I support that. But I think we also need to be engaged in terms of trying to help get that Iraqi army put back together. After all, we spent years --

WHITFIELD: After $20 billion spent for the U.S. to rebuild or help assemble this army, so the U.S. should devote even more you're saying?

HILL: I think the United States needs to be engaged in trying to help get this army to perform. I certainly take your point. And by the way, those who argue what we need to do in Syria is provide weapons or arm the so-called moderates ought to look at this situation, because I think it is a cautionary tale.

But we are where we are and I think we need some kind of engagement from the air and some sort of systemized advice how to get the army together. Ultimately we have a political issue there where Sunnis don't want to live under the Shia, the Shia don't want to share power with the Sunnis. We are going toward a division of Iraq.

WHITFIELD: You're helping us understand just how complicated this is. No easy answers. Former Ambassador Christopher Hill, thanks so much. Baghdad, home to the largest U.S. Embassy in the world, by the way,

with thousands of employees, now a race to get many of them out as militants march toward Baghdad.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WHITFIELD: The threat of Islamic militants taking over Iraq's capital grows by the hour now. But for American contractors working in Iraq, that threat hits close to home. Authorities are racing to evacuate them right now.

Alexandra Field is joining us from New York. Alexandra, are there a lot of U.S. contractors still in Iraq that are now getting the signal that they need to get out?

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fred, the estimate is there are about 1500 U.S. contractors working in Iraq, but the group of contractors we have been focused on are those working at the military base in Balad. These are the people who had been evacuated the most swiftly. Companies with contracts with the U.S. government have been moving their employees out of that area.

One of the contractors in Balad, Tony, spoke to Anderson Cooper. He talked about being rushed from Balad after it came under fire from ISIS. Here is what he described.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY, U.S. CONTRACTOR (via telephone): Local national security forces, they pretty much dropped their weapons, walked off base. Not the Iraqi army, they stayed, did what they were supposed to do. If it wasn't for the villages on the perimeter, might not be talking to you now. The villagers stood up, helped out the Iraqi army tremendously. They can be very smart and very fast and they can be very threatening.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FIELD: Back at home, families of American contractors in Iraq are obviously staying close to the news, trying to make contact with loved ones. We were able to speak with Tony's wife in Texas, she talked about tense moments she was experiencing as she waited for her husband to be evacuated from Balad. Here is what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

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

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FIELD: In the last couple days, Fred, we have talked to family members of some contractors still in Iraq. A lot of them say their loved ones have been doing tours of contract work for a number of years, some as many as nine years or a decade. They say this tourist as stressful as any they can remember even in early years.

WHITFIELD: I can't imagine. Thank you so much, Alexandra. Appreciate that. All right, hundreds of children crossing into the U.S. illegally

every day, most of them from Central America. Some of them are all alone, no parents, no adults alongside them, and U.S. officials are struggling for a solution how to care for them now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Every hundreds of children cross illegally into the U.S. Some are with their mothers, but so many others are all alone. It has gotten to the point where U.S. authorities are struggling to find space for them. Our Polo Sandoval talked to several of these children in limbo.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This shelter is the last stop for some of thousands of children gathering at the Mexican border city. It is a bridge span away from the United States on the South Texas border. The doors to this place are open to anybody, that includes a recent rush of Central Americans pouring into Northern Mexico, waiting to illegally cross the border into the U.S. Lately that includes unaccompanied children, some as young as four. The 14- year-old Brian waits for his chance to cross, his opportunity for a new life. But the Honduran team says now that he is in Mexico, rumors he heard

about minors allowed into the U.S. appear to be wrong. He says he's afraid. But he says it is too late to go back.

(on camera): The toughest part of Brian's journey is still ahead. He still has to cross the Rio Grande. And once on American soil, the dangers don't end there. His trip could take him through the thick South Texas brush, and if a smuggler is spooked by a border patrol, he could be left living behind in the brush for days with no food or water.

(voice-over): That's just what happened to 16-year-old Juan from El Salvador, but it paid off. He made it to the U.S. He put his life in the hands of a smuggler to get across the border and when he was abandoned on the U.S. side, he says he became sick from a makeshift of murky canal water and oranges, living for five days in a nearby orchard, he had enough.

He tried turning himself into a U.S. resident, but instead of the authorities, he was told to go to a church in McCallum, Texas. Now arrested and feeling better, Juan faces another difficult decision. I ask what's next for him. His answer? Turn myself into immigration. After the long and dangerous journey, he wants to go through proper channels and get processed by U.S. Customs.

He says unlike so many others, he will make his court appearance, and hopes that he will eventually be set on the path to U.S. citizenship. They are two young boys, making adult decisions that will shape their future lives.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: And Juan and Brian just two of the estimated 90,000 unaccompanied minor that are expected to cross the border by end of the year. We want to put both of these boys' stories in perspective. We are in the Rio Grande Valley, an area about four hours south of San Antonio. What you see behind me an international boundary that separates Texas and Mexico in that often the distance, 300 feet away is Mexico. We are so close, earlier this morning could hear people speaking in

the brush, you can hear their voices and some of the cattle there with bells. That sound making its way over here. And really, people and children like Juan, this is the river they have to cross. And while it looks serene, there are deadly currents beneath.

Which is all right for many adults, however, but think about it, Fred, children as young as 7 years old crossing this on their own, and then eventually making their way to the road to try to flag down help. Border patrol police, whoever they can find -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: They are treacherous waters for many years. Many people have died trying to make that dangerous crossing. Thank you so much, Polo Sandoval, appreciate that. We are not done talking about this topic. Our legal guys, Avery Friedman and Richard Herman will be joining me

in a few minutes. There they are. What legal protections do these children have, even though they're not U.S. citizens? More on that straight ahead. And President Barack Obama says he is not sending any combat troops

to Iraq. Just what are the options on the table for the military? Will anything be enough to stop the advance of extremists quickly taking control of key cities and making its way to Baghdad?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, new details now on how the U.S. responds to the crisis in Iraq. The Pentagon says Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has ordered the aircraft carrier "USS George H.W. Bush" to move into the Arabian Gulf. The carrier will be accompanied by a guided missile cruiser and a guided missile destroyer, all that make up the aircraft carrier fleet. The "Bush" was in the North Arabian Sea already. The Pentagon says

the order will give the president flexibility in case any action needs to be taken. Just what might be the best case scenario that could come out of the current Iraq crisis and what's the worst? And what's the most likely? CNN's Tom Foreman has a look.

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fredricka, let's talk about the best case, the worst case, and the most likely case to come out of all this. We bring in the map. We start with this area up here where ISIS has had so much success. They have been supported by the Sunni population, people that feel like they have been given a bad deal from Baghdad, and have been able to steadily march city by city by city up toward Baghdad. In a worst case scenario, this continues. They get more support from

Sunnis that are dis-affected. That multiplies their fighting number from a few hundred, 800 or so people into millions. You could see the government toppled, establishment of a whole new state. That's worst case scenario.

Best case scenario, well, some military analysts have said if the Iraqis push back with real force, they can exploit the fact that this group here, ISIS, is not capable of holding the territory they claimed here, there simply aren't enough of them. If they can strike a deal that turns the Sunnis against them, then the ISIS fighters become isolated in a few pockets and they're beaten into retreat. That's the best case scenario.

So what's most likely? Well, one military analyst says what's most likely is you get something in between. If you can get the Sunnis to turn off their support for the ISIS fighters, then they become much more isolated, they may in fact come to Baghdad, be held off by the army.

And then even though they'll have some attacks with car bombs and things into Baghdad, that could turn into a long, slow grind, it will not be the collapse of the government nor the establishment of an independent Islamic state out here -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much, Tom Foreman. Up next, the legal road ahead for children crossing the border,

making their way into the U.S. by themselves. It is a crisis and it is getting even bigger. I'll ask our legal guys what is happening and what can be done.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: It's a dangerous, scary journey. Thousands of unaccompanied children, mostly from Central American countries like Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, flooding to Texas through Mexico. The numbers are so huge, the federal government is now over whelmed. They're actually being held by the U.S. in detention centers, and often held in cramped spaces.

Homeland Security Chief, Jay Johnson, says he is talking with ambassadors from the Central American countries about returning many of these children as soon as possible. Let's bring in our legal guys, Avery Friedman, a civil rights attorney and law professor in Washington, D.C. today, and Richard Herman, a New York criminal defense attorney and law professor joining us from Las Vegas. Good to see you, gentlemen. OK, so help folks understand. Under federal law, immigrants from

these countries are treated differently than immigrants from Mexico or Canada. Let's take a look to help folks understand better. U.S. law prohibits the Department of Homeland Security from immediately deporting the children if they are not from Canada or Mexico.

Children are turned over to the Department of Health and Human Services supervision within 72 hours of being taken into custody. Immigrants are given a court date, but very few show up, and the children often become one of millions of undocumented immigrants in the U.S.

So Avery, does this law have the unintended effect of encouraging immigrants to come here because a lot of the kids from Central American countries are told that they do have special status and they will eventually be accepted into the U.S. system?

AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Maybe, maybe not, Fredricka. The reality is that it is time to develop a policy that means something. The president has authority, has discretion to deal with this, but ultimately it has to be underwritten by Congress. The fact is, here in Washington there are 400,000 Central Americans living. It will be a magnet for bringing these children in. We are

Americans. We are humanitarian people. The crisis exists not because of what's coming from the administration, but the failure of Congress to enact meaningful immigration policy. That's where the problem is and that's where we're stuck now.

WHITFIELD: So Richard, help us understand when we hear stories of some of the young people, some Central American children coming in, they may have a relative like the one young man and woman whose family had a brother in Washington, D.C., because that person is able to establish I have a relative who does reside in the United States. I can now get on a bus after illegally crossing into the border

because I am from any number of these Central American countries, and get on a bus, and go to this city where my relative is, and it is expected that I then follow the process to see if I can get the proper paperwork to allow me to stay here. Help us understand how this works and why it is set up this way.

RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: There's a law, Fred, that deferred action for childhood arrivals, which allows for this procedure to take place, but basically these children have only two options. One, apply for asylum, or go through the immigration process. If they select the immigration process, they have a court date, many don't show up.

WHITFIELD: They're likely afraid that it means being deported or sent --

HERMAN: Right. And they join the 11 million undocumented citizens in the country. So what happens is if they go to court, they need a lawyer. Most of them don't have a lawyer, they have burden of proof, they have to get up there and speak in a process, which they have no idea what they're doing. Fred, for a country that cloaks itself with a humanistic philosophy, Ellis Island, in the words take down that wall. The Congress is paralyzed on this issue, and with Cantor losing the

election, the prospect of true and any kind of immigration reform is basically dead at this point. It is a tragedy. These facilities, some are put in detention centers that are deplorable. It is a true crisis -- Fred.

FRIEDMAN: Border patrol officers are not social workers, and that's part of the problem. Congress doesn't underwrite protection, what are you going to do with what will be 90,000 children coming into the United States? You can't send them back to Central America. It's not like Canada or Mexico, as you identified.

WHITFIELD: Complicated there, too, many are coming with just the shirt on their back, don't have documentation that says I am from Honduras, El Salvador. Believe me I am not from Mexico, so you got to treat me under special conditions. It seems like a real mess.

HERMAN: They're not coming with birth certificates and passports.

FRIEDMAN: They're coming with nothing.

HERMAN: With nothing. And they're dying in the desert to make this trek. Imagine why they're leaving, Fred. Imagine the violence and poverty that they're seeking to leave, they're coming here, and what are we doing? It is a tragedy, and no one is acting here. People are pressing President Obama, use executive action, do something.

FRIEDMAN: That's what he's doing!

HERMAN: Something has to be done.

WHITFIELD: No easy answers here. Guys, I appreciate it. Our Rosa Flores is actually in Central America, one country and will help us see what it is so many of the young people are risking their lives, and why the families are willing to put a 4-year-old in the face of danger.

HERMAN: Imagine how bad it is.

WHITFIELD: Across the border without a parent. It is unbelievable. Thanks so much. Avery, Richard, appreciate it. Always love your points of view. Straight ahead in the NEWSROOM, the U.S. sends a carrier into the

Persian Gulf. What else should the U.S. be doing? Hillary Clinton and John McCain all sounding off next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The Pentagon is sending a U.S. aircraft carrier into the Persian Gulf. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel issuing that order for the "USS George H.W. Bush." It comes as President Obama considers other options for the crisis in Iraq. Meanwhile two high profile politicians are also weighing in, first,

former U.S. Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: The underlying problem though, here, is not one of military preparedness and security, although we've seen neither is present in the current conflict in Iraq. The problem is the conception of leadership and governance that that he brought. He would not commit to inclusive government. He would not share power except with a very, very small circle. He was often quick to attack, even investigate, charge with crimes,

those that politically disagreed with him, and as a result the inclusive governing structure that reached out to the various elements, particularly the Sunnis in Iraq, to try to overcome yes, very deeply felt historic differences, but necessary changes if there were to be stability in Iraq, never happened.

And the result of that failure at the governance level combined with the extraordinary success of Islamist extremist groups in Syria, and in particular one known as ISIS, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, has made the latest crisis especially dangerous. You don't have a government that can inspire loyalty.

Even among its army, and certainly not among its disparate groups, and you have well trained, very savvy fighters coming out of Syria, coming out of Iraq, often aided and abetted perhaps we're learning by former officers in the disbanded Saddam Hussein Iraqi army, and it is a recipe for horrendous conflict.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Senator John McCain has a very different perspective, he is calling for heads to roll at the White House. Senator McCain spoke with Wolf Blitzer in "THE SITUATION ROOM" Friday. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM": The president is largely blaming the prime minister of Iraq for not doing the right thing, foraging a comprehensive coalition, including Shia, Sunni, Kurds, and as a result the situation there has created a vacuum and is exploding now. Do you have confidence Nuri Al-Malaki will do the right thing and reassess his position?

SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: Actually, I am very concerned about Maliki getting in bed with the Iranians, because us not really doing anything and waiting days to figure out what we might do, that the Iranians come in and they're even, I am hearing rumors, some people say that might be good in our interest. That would be -- the Iranians are our enemies, wherever we have anything to do with them would be a horrific mistake. Wolf, I predicted this would happen when they decided not to have a

residual force. Anybody tells you they couldn't isn't telling the truth. I was in Baghdad at the time with Lindsey Graham and Joe Lieberman, and we could have done it if they had wanted to. That's why I predicted these events would take place.

BLITZER: Let me interrupt a moment because the Secretary of State, John Kerry's spokeswoman, Marie Harf, says you're dead wrong on this issue. I'll play to you what she said at the State Department today.

MCCAIN: Sure.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MARIE HARF, DEPUTY STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESPERSON: And how would a few thousand Americans saying don't do that stop this? I would press Senator McCain to say specifically how it would have prevented what we saw from happening and what he thinks we should do now. I also heard Senator McCain say he is not supportive of military options at this time. You're so concerned, you think it is existential threat to the United

States, what would you do? You don't just get to attack on us, call on us to resign, you have to come up with your own ideas.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: All right, Senator, you heard what she said.

MCCAIN: First of all, I'm not in the business of responding to that kind of trivia, but first of all, we left troops behind in Korea, in Germany, in Japan, even in Bosnia. They are a stabilizing force. That's what the influence would have been. Maliki got progressively worse after we left, had no influence over him. There are things we could have provided, such as intel. Same reason we remain behind in all those countries.

BLITZER: So what should we be doing?

MCCAIN: We should be doing air strikes now. Look, the crisis of Maliki's leadership is a political problem, the imminent crisis is the military movement, is, that can even threaten Baghdad. And by the way, you can take out targets in the middle of the desert, it's not that difficult although the Pentagon will tell you that it would.

BLITZER: I spoke to Pentagon officials, they say it is not that simple because these ISIS terrorists that are moving in, they are so intertwined with civilians and families in populated areas, they could send air strikes in, but they don't know where to go.

MCCAIN: Well, first of all, we could have some people on the ground, select few, identifying them. Second of all, they have to go over open spaces in order to move from one place to another. But the Pentagon under this leadership will always find reasons you can't do anything. That's what's been so horrifying.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Two views from Senator John McCain and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as America waits for President Obama's next move on Iraq. All right, still to come, the U.S. takes on Ghana Monday at the World

Cup in Brazil. What are the chances the U.S. might win?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, let's talk World Cup soccer, shall we? What are the chances the U.S. could actually win the World Cup? Let's put it this way, even Team USA's coach is calling it not really that realistic. Lara Baldesarra has a look at the tough road ahead. LARA BALDESARRA, CNN SPORTS: Fredricka, let's get this other way right now. The USA is going to struggle, not because they're a poor team, or they are undeserving of a spot in the World Cup, or even because of the horrible weather I am standing in right now. It is because they're in the group of depth. That's the group that's the most difficult for teams to play their

way out of because all of the teams in this group are just very, very strong. What exactly is it that makes this U.S. team what they are?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BALDESARRA (voice-over): Let's start at the top with the coach, Jurgen Klinsmann. He likes to describe the core of the squad as the spine. We will call him the brain. He is a World Cup winner with Germany, a team he coached in the World Cup. German by birth, not American. He doesn't always have the traditional positive American outlook.

JURGEN KLINSMANN, TEAM USA, HEAD COACH: Talking about winning a world cup is just not realistic. First we have to make it through the group. Stay with our feet on the ground, say let's get that group first done and then the sky is the limit.

BALDESARRA: You see, not very traditional, but kind of honest. The USA isn't the favorite to lift the most coveted soccer trophy in the world, in fact, their odds are 100 to 1. That doesn't mean they're not in Brazil to actually win. The 23 players that are on the squad dreamt of playing on the grandest stage of soccer since they were kids.

MICHAEL BRADLEY, TEAM USA MIDFIELDER: For one month every four years, the world stops, everybody is watching. To have the opportunity to represent our country, to wear our colors, there's nothing else like it.

CLINT DEMPSEY, TEAM USA: It is a dream come true. As a kid, I used to watch the World Cup, pray about one day playing on that stage in front of crowds like that, doing something I love.

BALDESARRA: Michael Bradley, Clint Dempsey part of the spine of the team. Two of six players that played in a World Cup before. Bradley easily the best American midfielder of his generation who truly carried the USA out of the group four years ago. Dempsey is the captain, gave up a lucrative dream career to play MLS. He wanted to raise his kids in America.

Meanwhile, the 17 other players include youngsters ready to make a break through, like Erin Johansen, 23-year-old born in Alabama, raised in Iceland, caused a major uproar when he chose to play for the country of his birth over Iceland.