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U.S. Carrier Group Heads for Persian Gulf; Why Should Americans Care About Iraq?; Bergdahl in Isolation?; Three Teenagers Abducted in Israel; USA Plays Against Ghana in World Cup; Technology to Help California Drought

Aired June 15, 2014 - 18:00   ET

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

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. Don Lemon with the day off. I'm Michael Holmes in Atlanta.

ANA CABRERA, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Ana Cabrera in New York.

This hour, we are fast-forwarding to the week ahead. We'll talk a look all the stories you'll be talking about and hearing about this coming week.

Let's began with our five questions for the week ahead, the Iraq edition.

Now, question number one, will the U.S. get involved in Iraq? President Obama said no to the use of combat troops on Friday, but we do know the State Department has just announced that some U.S. embassy personnel will be leaving Baghdad and a U.S. aircraft carrier is now headed for the Persian Gulf.

HOLMES: Question number two: what do the Iraqis want? Well, Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki in a tough spot without a lot of places to turn for help either. A lot of people think he's put himself in that spot. The United States has no interest in Gulf War number three. American naval resources are moving into the Persian Gulf in case they are needed.

Then, of course, there is Iran. An Iraqi official tells CNN hundreds of Iranian troops have deployed to help the fight alongside Iraqi forces. A very bizarre development. Given the two countries' history, by the way, that's not been confirmed by Iranian officials. They were initially denying it.

Question number three, will President Obama distance himself from Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki? Two days ago, Obama sent a rather harsh message, no U.S. military help unless al Maliki makes a serious commitment to deal with sectarian issues in his country, issues that many believe he created. Just yesterday, al Maliki finally ordered Iraqi troops to stand up to ISIS militants. Is that enough?

CABRERA: Question number four: what about ISIS' execution, beheadings, people being forced to dig their own graves? And this extremist group is advancing at lightning fast speed across the country, our question number four, how far will ISIS go? Will they take over Baghdad and beyond?

Question number five is one of the biggest questions you may be asking right now. Why should I care? After a decade of U.S. military involvement, you and many others may be feeling like this is no longer a U.S. problem.

HOLMES: Now, we've lined up a good group here to answer some of these questions and others.

Former NCIS special agent, a former major general, a national security correspondent, the director of the Middle East division of Human Rights Watch, and a freelance journalist living in Iraq.

CABRERA: Let's focus first on the U.S. embassy in Iraq. We're learning that some embassy employees soon will be leaving Baghdad. Security reinforcements are being sent in there to protect those embassy staffers who will remain in the embassy.

So, let's talk about this developing situation with retired Marine Major General James Williams, also Eli Lake, senior national security correspondent for "The Daily Beast".

And also joining us on the phone, CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr.

And, Barbara, I want to start with you first. What can you tell us about this effort we're learning about to protect the embassy there in Baghdad.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Well, good evening, Ana. What we are just learning from both the State Department and other administration officials, including the Pentagon, that somewhat less than a hundred U.S. troops, somewhere between 50 and 100 U.S. troops have arrived at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, either a mix of marines and army soldiers.

They are going to go and stay put there. They are going to be there to reinforce protection at the embassy. At this point, they are not going to be involved in any evacuation of American employees or American civilians from Baghdad or from Iraq. They are simply going to the embassy to reinforce security there.

But, of course, this comes, as we learned, just a short time ago, that the State Department has indeed ordered a partial evacuation of some Americans working at the embassy. Some will be moved out to Jordan and some will go to other -- at least start by going to other places in Iraq where there is not yet any fighting. They'll head south mainly.

But you know, how long will this sort of interim period for the Americans last? I think the question that everyone is looking at is, can the Americans be kept secure? And if they need to get out, will there be a way for them to get out without being involved in the fighting?

CABRERA: That is the big question because everyone wants to make sure our U.S. members remain safe because there are people working on the ground currently representing our country and we don't have boots on the ground there.

So, Major General Williams, I want to ask you this question. What would be the challenges for U.S. security personnel who may be heading into Baghdad to help protect this embassy? What would they be facing possibly?

MAJ. GEN. JAMES WILLIAMS (RET), U.S. MARINE CORPS: Well, first of all, any of the navy or marine expedition forces in the area are trained for this. This is one of the principal missions that they do, those forces afloat. So, they're prepared for anything. They're prepared for breaches of the embassy, evacuation of personnel, defense of classified material and all these types of things.

So, we definitely are prepared for this. And I would venture to say that the Pentagon is prepared, as well as the national command authority to execute this if the situation warrants.

CABRERA: What does it tell you the fact that they're even doing this at all? Does that give us any insight as to how serious the situation is or perhaps strategically what the U.S. may be leaning towards taking action of some sort?

WILLIAMS: Well, I think, first of all, you want to protect U.S. property and U.S. personnel. And so, since the majority of our personnel right now are at the embassy, that's going to be our focus of effort.

Now, if we have to go in further action, those Marines could expand and they could be reinforced depending on what the war plan would call for if that is a support action that the president says go do.

And so, the Pentagon is more than prepared to do these types of things. So, if you have a challenge here, if the ISIS forces come in close to the embassy, are we completely prepared to defend it? And I would say absolutely, because we want to get our personnel out of there if they had to evacuate the embassy.

CABRERA: So, we're seeing all of these moves by the U.S. to get in positions to be prepared should there be a necessity to take further action. We know the USS George H.W. Bush aircraft carrier is moving into the region.

So, Eli Lake, I want to bring you into the conversation. What have you learned in your reporting over the years about the military capabilities in that region?

ELI LAKE, SENIOR NATL. SECURITY CORRESPONDENT, THE DAILY BEAST: Well, I mean, there are a number of air bases in and around Iraq at this point that are capable of flying not only the intelligence surveillance reconnaissance missions but also air strikes that have been requested by Prime Minister Maliki. But I would say that there's another problem here at this point which is that there is so little that is known about the leadership and organization of ISIS at this point by the U.S. intelligence community that, while the capability is there to shoot, you know, very precise armaments into positions in Iraq, the target list or who you're aiming at is still very much unknown.

CABRERA: All right. Eli Lake, Barbara Starr, Major General James Williams, we both appreciate your time spending this hour with us. And we'll be talking back with you throughout the hour.

Michael?

HOLMES: Ana, question number two now. Iraqi officials, what do they want? There's no more coalition combat forces in Iraq, of course, and the military force in place so far has not been very effective in stopping ISIS marching towards Baghdad.

Now, earlier today, CNN asked an Iraqi governor if an American bombing campaign could help or not.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NAJMALDIN KARIM, GOVERNOR OF KIRKUK, IRAQ: I think they know better how to do it, but I think block bombing is not going to work here. I mean, they're on the streets and they're in offices mixed with people, probably targeted bombing, and maybe do something in Syria because the head of this organization is in Syria, and their places are obvious, the region, the U.S., Europe -- I don't think anybody is safe from these people. That's why there should be a coordinated effort.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: All right. I want to bring in now Zyad Mohammed. He's an Iraqi journalist, lived in north Erbil in the north of the country.

Zyad, let's forget about the leadership at the moment. What do Iraqi people think about what is going on in their country and the possibility of Western military involvement even just from the air?

ZYAD MOHAMMED, FREELANCE JOURNALIST: Iraqis don't actually welcome Western involvement, especially military kind of involvement, but they welcome political and diplomatic involvement. Iraqis see that America is already involved in this action. America has put them into this.

And they have seen that their country has become so vulnerable, they've never been so vulnerable like this before. And since 2003 they feel they haven't felt any stability. And they feel because the United States has put them into this, that's what they think about.

So, they want the United States now to step in again and try to bring the warring factions and all the parties, help them end the discrimination and sit around the table to talk and bring peace back to them because it seems if it just leaves things to them, everyone will remain flouted and there will be no end for this and they'll be running around in a vicious circle.

HOLMES: The invasion itself, of course, has its own causes when we're talking about what's going on there, but Iraq has its own responsibilities here. They did elect a man who has basically isolated an entire section of society and created the grounds for ISIS to move in and find some empathy.

Now, what is it that Iraqis need to do when it comes to their political leaders?

MOHAMMED: When it comes to political leaders, Iraqis, they feel they have been -- especially the Sunnis, they think they have been marginalized. They think they have been discriminated. They think they cannot participate. They were deprived in one way or another from participating, from voting in the previous elections.

They think that Nouri al Maliki favors only his sect without giving them a chance to participate and be active part of this government. Nouri al Maliki, that's what they feel, is taking all the cake for himself and doesn't want to share anything with the rest of the Iraqi people.

HOLMES: He certainly has his record there, Zyad. Thanks so much, Zyad Mohammed there in Erbil in the north of the country. Thanks so much.

Now, still to come here, did we miss warning signs? We'll show you a report three years ago warning pretty much this very thing that is unfolding.

CABRERA: Plus, if ISIS succeeds in overthrowing the government in Iraq, what does this mean for the U.S.?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Question number three now, will President Obama distance himself from the Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki? He has already said no U.S. help until al Maliki himself gets his act together and stops being so sectarian in how he governs, shutting out Sunnis. He ordered him to stand up to is militants. Is it too little too late? I spoke with a former Iraqi leader who says it is time for al Maliki to go.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AYAD ALLAWI, FORMER PRIME MINISTER OF IRAQ: He failed to deliver security, he failed to deliver services. Corruption is thriving in the country. Economy is stagnant. And I think it's time for him to leave.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Now, let's discuss this. Sarah Leah Whitson, executive director of Human Rights Watch Middle East and North Africa division, joins us now by phone.

You know, I just got word that Nouri al Maliki coming out, Sarah, and saying we will not allow anyone to divide the Iraqi people saying that Mosul didn't fall, the ones who have fallen are the politicians who bet against Iraq. You know, when it comes to Nouri al Maliki and how the U.S. has handled him, particularly since 2011 when U.S. troops left, back then he was promising inclusiveness and power-sharing, he turned around and did the exact same opposite within 20 hours.

Why has the U.S. not been able to assert more influence on him since then to play ball with the Sunnis?

SARAH LEAH WHITSON, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH: Well, I think the U.S. has chosen not to exert influence. It could have exerted a lot more. And regardless of the repeated broken promises not just to the American, it's really significant, more significantly, the broken promises to the Iraqi people, the U.S. has continued to not just support Maliki, but to arm him.

HOLMES: So, what does the U.S. do now? The U.S. still a big supporter in a military sense of Iraq certainly in terms of equipment and the like. Should they be putting more muscle on him? Or is there -- what can they do?

WHITSON: Well, they definitely should be putting more muscle on him because they continue to arm him. And I think one thing is certain and that this is not going to be won militarily. This is not going to be enough to attack and destroy ISIS if that's even possible militarily. The much bigger task ahead of Maliki is to actually give the Sunni population the vast majority of the moderate Sunni population who only want peace and security a reason to believe in government and the reason to reject ISIS.

And today, millions of Iraqis, millions of Sunni Iraqis, do not have faith in this government because it has done nothing other than abandon them for the past several years.

HOLMES: So they've allowed ISIS to come through their towns the and in some cases support what they're doing.

Sarah, a question, of course, a lot of people say did we miss the signals? I want to play a clip from reporter Fred Pleitgen back in 2012. And have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FRED PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Human Rights Watch saying they discovered several secret detention facilities that were run by security forces controlled by Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki. Let's listen in to what the local head of Human Rights Watch here in Iraq had to say about this.

HAIFA YASIN, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH: Security forces that engage in abuses need to be held to account. They need to be tried, investigated, prosecuted. There needs to be a message from the top that these abuses will no longer be tolerated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: So, I guess the question, Sarah, is that, you know, did the U.S. back the wrong guy? I go back to the 2010 election which Nouri al Maliki lost to Ayad Allawi when it comes to seats, then the U.S., ironically with Iranian help as well, sort of corralled his coalition into being and he continued ruling. Did the U.S. support him for too long?

WHITSON: You know, I think rather than being an exercise in supporting one personality or one horse over the other, the more important thing is what the elected politician or selected politician actually does. And here is where the U.S. has failed by continually allowing Maliki and supporting Maliki while he carried out the formula for exclusion and the formula that's led to the crisis today.

Over the past two years, for example, Iraqis have tried peaceful protests. Iraqis have tried peaceful demonstrations. And how did Maliki respond? He responded by shooting unarmed protesters, killing over 50 for example last year. The conclusion for many Iraqis that there's no hope in democratic process, these peaceful protest, electoral politics, and that, in fact, they should take up arms.

HOLMES: Yes.

WHITSON: This is a direct outcome of Maliki's policies.

HOLMES: Yes, cracking down, as you say, on peaceful protests and that led to ISIS getting a foothold in Anbar province, Fallujah, Ramadi, places like that.

Sarah Leah Whitson of Human Rights Watch, really appreciate your thoughts. Thanks so much.

Ana?

CABRERA: Right. Michael, let's move on to question number four. Just how far will ISIS go?

And let's bring in Robert McFadden here joining me on the set. He's an interrogation transnational terrorism expert, also former special agent in charge at the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.

Thanks so much for joining us, Robert.

We've just learned that the city of Tal Afar has now been taken by ISIS. How concerned should we be with how quickly they're moving and how they continue to show such power?

ROBERT MCFADDEN, FORMER SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE, NCIS: Of course concern. The blitzkrieg for ISIS took most experts in the area by surprise. ISIS now has a tremendous amount even in the last week of resources when it comes to money, which is part of the cycle of bringing in new recruits, showing itself as a force of action, all that is of concern.

But Syria, though, may provide some frame of reference for how far moving toward major cities in Baghdad. On a practical level, ISIS and some of its extremist Sunni counterparts in Syria have shown some practicality that it will try insurgency type of pockets in places that it's not strongest.

And that it may give some indications of how far it might go with resources it has and capability. CABRERA: But when we talk about resources, they continue to gain

resources. They're gaining fighters. They're recruiting more of Sunnis, as they come through these different Sunni areas. They're recruiting them to come and join their cause. They seem to be more passionate at the moment than the Iraqi security forces. That may be an understatement as they're seeing security forces put down their arms and run away. We know that they have that money that they seized in Mosul and the banks there. So, realistically, are they getting to the point where they may have

the numbers and the heavy machinery to be able to break through Baghdad?

MCFADDEN: Well, that's all really good points and one contrast when I mention about Syria as a frame of reference, ISIS being overwhelmingly by and large, particularly Iraqi ISIS, they are Iraqis from the Sunni heartland in the West. So, they have an ability in Iraq in contrast to Syria for leveraging coalitions and alliances to a certain point and to use that to its advantage.

So, yes, the movement has the resources, the weapons, not just small caliber but heavy weapons as well of much concern. More than likely from the military experts we've been talking to, those types of weapons, tanks, APCs, artillery will be used for the defensive positions where they are but they'll continue to push with those small unit tactics that they've been deadly and effectively.

CABRERA: It's been working for them.

MCFADDEN: Certainly has.

CABRERA: They're going to keep on pushing.

All right. Robert McFadden, stay with us. We'll take a break and be back in a moment. Sadly, one of the biggest questions we hear, why should we care about what's going on in Iraq as U.S. citizens? We'll discuss that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: Now, let's look at question number five.

After eight years of war and 4,500 U.S. combat deaths in Iraq, it's easy to see why some Americans are not eager to go back. Maybe you think not our problem or to put it even bolder, why should the United States care?

Let's bring in Eli Lake, senior national security correspondent for "The Daily Beast". Also terrorism expert Robert McFadden and former special agent with the naval criminal investigative service.

Thank you to both of you again.

Eli, let's start with you. Can you make a case for why Americans should care if Iraq is consumed by sectarian civil war that some are calling it? LAKE: Well, I think there's a couple cases you can make. The first

and most obvious one is that the lesson of the pre- 9/11 years was that when fanatic barbarians like is get a sort of safe haven they're able to plot attacks in United States and Western Europe and other places. And so, that one of the prime objectives of the post-9/11 era is to deny these fanatics any kind of safe haven and they're clearly establishing one in Syria and Iraq.

I think the second reason is because America is an exceptional nation. And as an exceptional nation, it has invested a lot of blood and treasure in trying to find a decent post-Saddam outcome. A lot of folks -- as someone who has covered Iraq for a long time believe, that was in grasp in 2011 and it has spiraled out of control because of Nouri al Maliki's sectarian decisions and his increasing tendency to become a dictator like Saddam.

But I think it was also in some ways because the United States failed to use its leverage to try to save Maliki, and to save Iraq from Maliki himself.

So, I think there's a values reason and a security reason why what matters in Iraq matters to the United States and average U.S. citizens.

CABRERA: And perhaps the security aspect is most important.

So, Robert, let me ask you this one. How threatening is ISIS to our national security?

MCFADDEN: Well, it's a threat. I agree completely with the point about sanctuary. 9/11 and the response from 9/11 and us going into Afghanistan, of course, to hunt al Qaeda and stop it was to disrupt sanctuaries for a group like that.

So, with the amount of that the groups like ISIS one of the extreme Sunni, Salafi type terrorist (ph) groups on the planet is always a concern.

Now, for the right now, of course, it is greatly hyper-focused on present events in Iraq, territory holding and territory. However, with the influx of foreign fighters especially into Syria right now, we'll see what happens in Iraq, when they come, why they come, the training and experience they get, then when they go home and for what reason and what they might do will continue to be a big concern for us and allies.

CABRERA: I've heard some of the experts say what's happening right now in Iraq with ISIS is similar to some degree what happened with al Qaeda in Afghanistan and how it grew in power and obvious that we all know what happened with bin Laden, 9/11. So, there are a lot of parallels that it seems we are seeing with is.

Eli, short of sending troops back into Iraq, what action can the U.S. really take that's going to make a difference there on the ground?

LAKE: Well, I mean, it certainly kind of formal troops patrolling every major intersection like we saw at the height of the surge is not on the table. But there will be a number of U.S. forces and contractors and people who work in Special Operations that are needed to rebuild the kind of intelligence networks that were largely abandoned in 2011.

Because without those kinds of intelligence networks and without actual eyes on the ground with all the magnificent gadgetry that the U.S. military has, then it doesn't matter if you can strike anywhere you want in Iraq within a matter of couple of minutes, you need to know what you're hitting. And right now the U.S. does not know what it was hitting and it would need to have those kind of spies and special operators on the ground in order to get a good sense of that.

CABRERA: And the president said they are weighing their options. And we are waiting to see what those options are going to look like as we move forward this week.

Eli Lake and Robert McFadden, thank to you both.

Just ahead, Bowe Bergdahl is back in the U.S. It's been two weeks since his release and he still hasn't seen or even spoken to his parents. Will that change in the week ahead?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: As Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl gets reacquainted to life on U.S. soil, he'll be meeting with doctors, psychiatrists, attorneys and security personnel. Some of these he's already been meeting with. He arrived in San Antonio early Friday but his family still is not there with him.

CNN commentator Ben Ferguson and Marc Lamont Hill are joining me now.

And experts say this family meeting can be one of the toughest parts of the reintegration process.

Ben, do you expect we're going to see a reunion this week?

BEN FERGUSON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I would think at some point, yes, but obviously it's certainly odd that he has not spoken with his family yet. It's not like as if they've holding him away from meeting his family or talking to his family. And there must be a big back story to this. And so I would defer to the soldier on this one. And I hope that, you know, when he's ready it will happen because obviously (INAUDIBLE) wasn't and this is one of those tough issues about coming back into this, you know, normal life in the United States of America after being held for five years. And I do feel bad for him in that sense.

CABRERA: Well, he certainly has the answers to so many questions, not just about why he hasn't seen his parents but obviously about what happened when he was in Afghanistan and taken captive.

Marc, do you think there's a reason for this delay we're seeing in his reintegration and seeing his family or could it be procedural? MARC LAMONT HILL, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think it just might be

procedural. I don't want to jump to any conclusions or presume what the military is trying to do here. What we know for sure is that he was there for an unusually long amount of time. The longest prisoner of war -- he's been held longer than any prisoner of war since Vietnam. So this is sort of an unusual circumstance.

They've kept him away from the media, he doesn't have access to a television. He doesn't even know that we're talking about him right now, not just in terms of me and Ben but in terms of the big national story and international story that surrounds his release.

So I think they're trying to slowly integrate him into this. And I think keeping him from his family for a bit might be partly due to that fact, they want to keep him away from this story, they want him to heal. They want him to recover. I think the biggest thing we can do for him right now is give him all the resources, psychologically and medically necessary for him to be whole again.

CABRERA: And we know that now the U.S. government is investigating. In fact, the U.S. Army has appointed a two-star general to begin investigating the circumstances surrounding how and why Sergeant Bergdahl left the base there when he was working in Afghanistan and was taken captive and apparently he's going to be getting on this week.

So, Ben, is it likely the military will release any details about the capture and what we learn in this investigation?

FERGUSON: I think a lot of that is going to come out. I mean, you got to be compassionate and cautious with this young man because he is going to have a lot of really tough questions to answer. And a lot of people went out to find him. Very well may have caused their lives. Everyone that's served with him has come out and said that they believe that he left that base on his own accord, he was a deserter.

And so you certainly want to get him back to the best place you can and then also at the same time hold him accountable. And I think that's where the compassion comes in because once that starts and once he has to start answering those questions, it's going to be probably pretty tough on him because he's also going to find out a lot about what happened in trying to find him that he may not have known about for the last five years that he's going to have to deal with as well and maybe even remorse that comes with that.

CABRERA: It seems like there's been a lot of secrecy since he was released from the Taliban.

Marc, do you think they should make the information public, what they learn in this investigation that this two-star general is going to be undertaking?

HILL: Absolutely. I'm always for transparency. Oftentimes we haven't seen enough military transparency under this Obama administration. So I'd love to find out exactly what happened. We owe it to Bergdahl to hear his voice, to let him tell his story before we jump to conclusions. But we also owe it to his fellow troops to find out the truth of what happened here. Because he's only a deserter if -- desertion is based on intent, not just the fact that you walked off. We deserve to know the truth for him but also for the people who risked their save him. I want the truth.

CABRERA: Those soldiers want the truth as well. That's right.

Marc Lamont Hill and Ben Ferguson, thank you to you both -- Michael.

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks. We actually have new information on three teenagers kidnapped in Israel. Secretary of State John Kerry weighing in today calling it a despicable terrorist act. So what is being done to free them? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: Still no sign of those three Israeli teenagers, one of them is an American, whom the Israeli government believes were abducted by Hamas.

HOLMES: Yes. Secretary of State John Kerry today denouncing the kidnappings as a, quote, "despicable terrorist act."

CNN's senior international correspondent Ben Wedeman is in the West Bank with the latest on the manhunt to find the boys.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RACHELI FRANKEL, MOTHER OF KIDNAPPED TEEN: Thank you all, and God willing we'll all be able to celebrate their return safely.

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hopeful words today from Rachel Frankel, the mother of one of the three Israeli teenagers abducted Thursday night in the West Bank. Her son Naftali reportedly also holds U.S. citizenship.

FRANKEL: We want to express the utmost thanks and to all the support and all the work everybody is doing and the security forces, the American embassy in Tel Aviv is very supportive. And we just -- we feel waves and waves of prayers and support and positive energy in this direction.

WEDEMAN: The teens were coming home from their school when they went missing. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says it's the work of Hamas, warning of serious consequences if the boys are not returned safely.

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: And this attack should surprise no one. Because Hamas makes no secret of its agenda. Hamas is committed to the destruction of Israel and to carrying out terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians including children.

WEDEMAN: Neither Hamas nor any other credible organization has made any public claim of responsibility. Today the Israeli Army continues to search for any clues on the whereabouts of the missing teens. More than 100 Palestinians have also been detained by Israeli soldiers. The search effort is being coordinated with Palestinian police.

The kidnappings continued to test the already contentious relationship between the Israeli government and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas who recently formed a new government of unity which includes the support of Hamas.

NETANYAHU: Instead of abiding by his international obligation to disarm Hamas, President Abbas has chosen to make Hamas his partner. Israel holds the Palestinian Authority and President Abbas responsible for any attacks against Israel that emanate from Palestinian- controlled territory.

WEDEMAN: For the parents of the missing, they just want to see their sons come home.

FRANKEL: We trust that Eyal and Gilad and Naftali will be with us here and we'll hug them soon.

WEDEMAN: As the massive search effort continues, Israeli officials say they continue to work upon the assumption that the three boys are still alive.

Ben Wedeman, CNN, Gush Ezion, the West Bank.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CABRERA: Even all this blame with Hamas, Hamas spokesman denying involvement in the boy's disappearance saying Netanyahu's accusation was, quote, "stupid and baseless."

Let's head to Brazil now. The U.S. preparing to begin play in the World Cup.

HOLMES: Yes, but the coach, well, he's lowering expectations. Let's put it that way. We'll explain when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Welcome back. At the World Cup Team USA about 24 hours away from their opening round game against Ghana. And remember the U.S. lost in overtime to Ghana in the last World Cup, so now it's payback time. Hopefully they can correct it.

I want to go now to Fred Pleitgen who is part of our team covering the World Cup in Brazil.

And before we get to the U.S. and football, Fred, you're seeing more demonstrations on the streets?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, absolutely. This is the first day that there's actually a game here in Rio de Janeiro. And we've been on the streets the past couple of hours, Michael, and there were some rioting going on here. It was a small demonstration, only about 300 people that tried to storm the area of the Maracana Stadium. And once they got fairly close to the place, the police opened up with tear gas, with stun grenades as well. The police clearly making a statement that they would not tolerate any

sort of demonstrations close to where the soccer venues actually are. That demonstration was dispersed fairly quickly, however it did go on for a pretty long time beforehand. There is a lot of discontent, of course, with the World Cup but clearly the police here made a statement today saying, we're not going to tolerate any of this close to the World Cup venues.

The demonstrators did try to storm the arena but didn't even get close -- Michael.

HOLMES: Yes. A lot of grassroots anger continuing there in Brazil among those who feel that too much money has been spent on the World Cup in putting on the tournament there.

Fred, on the pitch, though, the U.S. coming out to play their match against Ghana. We're obviously looking for a little bit revenge from the last time they played in the last World Cup.

What's the mood like about all of this?

PLEITGEN: Yes, I mean, the last two times. So the U.S. is clearly looking for revenge. Look, Coach Jurgen Klinsmann is trying to take the pressure off the Americans but he said from the beginning that he doesn't believe that the U.S. has any sort of chance to win the World Cup. It does seem as though the team is in fairly good shape. It's a fairly young team, although some of the better players like for instance Clint Dempsey are people who not in the European leagues anymore or playing in America, but nevertheless the vibe that we're getting from the U.S. team is that they feel that they're ready for this match.

And also if you look at the Ghanaians, they haven't been playing too well as of recently. It seems as though a lot of their stars from the past two World Cups where thye did so well, are knocking up the U.S. out effectively from those tournaments, a lot of those stars are aging. The Ghanaians also recently haven't been playing too well.

So certainly the U.S. has every chance to win that match, but they are going to have to play a very, very good game. And I could tell you, I was actually e-mailing with Jurgen Klinsmann only yesterday. He does appear to be ready for this match -- Michael.

HOLMES: Well, now you're just showing off, Fred, e-mailing with Jurgen Klinsmann.

All right, thanks for that, Fred. Keep an eye on the protest and the football for us. Appreciate it.

Fred Pleitgen there on the spot in Rio.

All right. Coming up the Iraqi prime minister not backing down. He has a new message for ISIS as they continue to fight their way towards Baghdad.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) CABRERA: As California continues to face the worst drought conditions in the state's history, San Diego County is turning to an unlikely place for help.

Here's CNN's Rachel Crane.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RACHEL CRANE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): With California experiencing one of the worst droughts in the state`s history, access to fresh water has never been more important or more difficult.

Here in Southern California the largest desalination plant in the western hemisphere is being constructed. It will soon take water from the ocean and create 50 million gallons of fresh water a day.

BOB YAMADA, SAN DIEGO COUNTY WATER AUTHORITY: California is in a serious drought right now and any new water supplies are important to the region.

PETER MACLAGGAN, POSEIDON RESOURCES CORPORATION: We have a $190 billion economy in this region. It`s dependent on water. The question you need to consider is what`s the cost of not having enough water.

YAMADA: Unlike, let's say, water that comes from rainfall or water that comes from snowpack, we are utilizing what essentially is the world`s largest reservoir, the Pacific Ocean.

CRANE (voice-over): The Carlsbad desalination plant will cost approximately $1 billion. The fresh water will be pumped 10 miles underground to a regional delivery system. Providing water to an additional 300,000 San Diego County residents.

(On camera): Customers, they won`t know whether they are drinking desalinated water or not.

YAMADA: That`s right. That`s right. It will just become part of the overall supply.

CRANE (voice over): Through a process called reverse osmosis, the plant will convert every two gallons of seawater into one gallon of fresh water, filtering out 99.9 percent of the salt. The salt, or brine that`s removed is discharged back into the ocean. The desalination process traditionally takes a lot of energy.

A plant this size would normally use as much energy in a single day as 70 homes in a year. Officials at the Carlsbad plant say theirs will use 46 percent less energy.

The project is not without criticism. Environmentalists point out that desalination requires a lot of energy, and that brine discharge can negatively impact marine life.

MACLAGGAN: We are creating more marine wetlands in the south and the San Diego Bay to create new habitats where fish can reproduce there. With the respect to the brine discharge, we dilute the brine with seawater before it leaves the site.

CRANE: The plant is expected to be completed in 2016.

YAMADA: And everybody is extremely excited to see this project coming online and providing us with new water supplies.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Iraq's prime minister spoke on television today as a brutal militant group runs roughshod over his country almost to Baghdad. Nouri al-Maliki lashing out at Iraqi politicians that he called conspirators. He also called out countries who are helping the violent group called ISIS and criticized the Iraqi soldiers who laid down their weapons and fled.

Al-Maliki said in part, quote, "We will not allow anyone to divide the Iraqi people." And then bizarrely said Mosul didn't fall. The ones who have fallen are the politicians who have bet against Iraq.

Now also today the Pentagon confirming that between 50 and 100 U.S. Marines and Army soldiers have now arrived to provide additional security at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad -- Ana.

CABRERA: Pakistan's military launched a major offensive today against militant fighters there on the border with Afghanistan. They say their purpose is to finish off the militants, quote, "once and for all." It's in the province of north Waziristan. Airstrikes today, targeted at meeting of militant leaders where a reported 50 people were killed. Pakistan's defense minister says they are doing this alone, no American help.

And from all over the country, radio, music and show business types are going online sharing their memories of broadcasting legend Casey Kasem. The man behind one of America's most famous radio voices died today at a hospital in Washington state.

Now Kasem's health of course has been failing. His family was very publicly fighting over who should care for his in his final days. Casey Kasem was 82 years old.

Thanks for joining us. And Happy Father's Day. Including to you, Michael. I'm Ana Cabrera.