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Terrorist Group Threatens Baghdad; President Discusses U.S. Policy in Iraq; Tens of Thousands of Unaccompanied Children Crossing Southern U.S. Border; U.S. Government Granting $250 Million to Central American Countries to Help Stop Immigration of Children; USA Faces Portugal in World Cup Match; Child Dies after Father Leaves Toddler Son All Day in his Car

Aired June 21, 2014 - 14:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: And they're making process. Iraqi security official says large parts of Al Qaim are now in the hands of ISIS. Meantime, the first of about 300 U.S. military advisers are due to arrive in Iraq very soon. Their first order of business will to assess the capabilities of the Iraqi troops to determine if any additional security measures are needed before more advisers are sent in. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is also headed to the region this weekend. He's visiting Jordan to discuss ways to stabilize Iraq and push for an inclusive Iraqi government that includes Shiite, Sunni, and Kurdish factions.

President Obama says U.S. military efforts are hopeless without a change in government. In a one-on-one interview with CNN's Kate Bolduan, he told her that Iraq needs a political solution to unify the country. Here's Kate with more with what with discussed with the president.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, I started BY asking the president about Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki who the president just a few months ago had commended for ensuring a conclusive and democratic Iraq. But the prime minister has done none of that. So how can anything get fixed with him in power?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We gave Iraq the chance to have an inclusive democracy, to work across sectarian lines, to provide a better future for their children. And, unfortunately, what we've seen is a breakdown of trust. There's no doubt that there has been a suspicion for quite some time now among Sunnis that they have no access to, you know, using the political process to deal with their grievances. And, you know, that is in part the reason why a better armed and larger number of Iraqi security forces melted away when an extremist group ISIS started rolling through the western portions of Iraq.

So part of the task now is to see whether Iraqi leaders are prepared to rise above sectarian motivations to come together, to compromise. If they can't, there's not going to be a military solution to this problem. There's no amount of American firepower that's going to be hold the country together. And I made that very clear to Mr. Maliki and all the other leadership inside of Iraq.

BOLDUAN: But by going into the country to support this Iraqi government, to support Iraqi forces now, there's a real risk that you will very well likely be seen as supporting the Shiite side. Isn't that inflaming the tension further, and thus, doing exactly what ISIS wants?

OBAMA: Yes, actually not, because the terms at which we're willing to go in as advisers, initially to do an assessment of, do they still have a functioning chain of command, and is their military still available, particularly in some of the western and northwestern regions of the country? But what we've also said is that in a joint operation center that we might set up, in any advising that we may do, if we don't see Sunni, Shia, and Kurd representation in the military command structure, if we don't see Sunni, Shia, and Kurd political support for what we're doing, then we won't do it.

The terms on which we send in advisers would be dependent on us seeing that within the military and within the political structure that there remains a commitment to a unified and inclusive Iraqi government and armed forces.

BOLDUAN: No matter what happens in Iraq, can you realistically protect the national security interests of the United States without also going into Syria where this threat emanated from?

OBAMA: I think it's important for us to distinguish from a counterterrorism effort that is ongoing, dealing with Al Qaeda, and the remnants that still exist in the Fatah, creating platforms, taking targeted strike where is necessary, gathering intelligence. All that work has to be done -- would have to be done, even if the crisis in Iraq wasn't occurring.

And there's no doubt that the problem in Syria is one that we've been paying a lot of attention to over the last couple years as you see jihadists coming in from Europe and as far as Australia to get trained and then going back to their own countries. This is something that we've been deeply concerned about.

Part of the reason we've been supporting a moderate opposition effort in Syria is to make sure that there are forces that countering some of the games that some of these extremist organizations have made inside of Syria. But that's different from whether we had the capacity, for example, to send our own into troops Syria. That's different from, you know, some of the decisions that we made -- we are making with respect to how do we pull Iraq together.

BOLDUAN: Finally, you really believe in your gut that those -- this change can happen, that they can unify in Iraq?

OBAMA: I think we'll know soon enough. They don't have a lot of time. There's a timetable that is in place under their constitution. The good news is that so far, at least, all the parties have said that we want to abide by the constitution. You had the preeminent Shia leader inside of Iraq, the Grand Ayatollah Sistani, saying we need to follow the constitutional order and form a government quickly. So they have the chance. But, ultimately, what I think the vast majority of Americans understand is we can't do it for them. And we certainly can't redeploy tens of thousands of U.S. troops to try to keep a lid on the problem if the people themselves don't want to solve it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BOLDUAN: The president says they'll know soon enough, but he does seem skeptical. And that's just part of our conversation. We also had a really interesting and sometimes personal talk about the struggles of working families. This is out of a summit on the topic that he and the first lady are hosting on Monday. We'll have much more of that, the full interview on NEW DAY on Monday. Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: Thanks so much, Kate Bolduan.

And this new development in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin says he's supports the ceasefire plan in eastern Ukraine proposed by Ukraine's president, but Putin said it's not an ultimatum to militants. Meanwhile, Moscow says it will carry out what it calls a surprise combat readiness test for next week. It will involve 65,000 Russia troops. Moscow is already tightening border security with Ukraine. And today, three Ukrainian border guards were wounded when pro-Russian separatists launched a mortar attack.

And this happy story now. Rowan Coach is a U.S. airman from Washington state. He was on his way back to his base in Texas when his car broke down in Utah. A friend of Rowan then posted this on Facebook, "A U.S. serviceman needs help." Several people in the area saw the post and they got involved.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY BASSO, CAR DEALERSHIP OWNER: I think it's time we as a nation serve those that protect us.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was absolutely amazing. The overwhelming support that I got, I really don't know how to put it into words.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So someone stored his car for him for free. And that local car dealer replaced the car's engine for free. And then he got a rental car for free. And Staff Sergeant Coach made it back to base right on time. Nice way of everyone working together.

All right, coming up next, they have captured the man responsible for the attack on the American consulate in Benghazi. But the controversy is not going away for this key suspect. We'll go live to London to see just how it's playing out in the U.K. and around the world.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The capture of the man the U.S. says is responsible for the attack on the American mission in Benghazi, Libya, may not be enough to make the issue go away. Months of intelligence research went into capturing Ahmed Abu Khattala. A week ago, two U.S. Navy SEALs and at least two FBI agents slipped into Libya by sea to nab him and then took him to a U.S.-bound Navy ship for interrogation. The U.S. Justice Department plans to try him in a federal court in the U.S. Joining me from London is Timothy Stanley, a historian and writer for Britain's "Daily Telegraph." So, Timothy, how is the world, from your viewpoint, dissecting this arrest? Does it justified or out of bounds?

TIMOTHY STANLEY, HISTORIAN, OXFORD UNIVERSITY: I think it's probably justified, although, of course, there's anxiety about the U.S. carrying out such extraordinary renditions like this. What the arrest will not do is answer the key questions was the U.S. support for the downfall of Gadhafi worth it? And with about 1,700 different groups now operating in Libya with governments coming and going, some people doubt that. But also it doesn't answer the question of, why did the U.S. government respond the way that it did? And many people still feel, rightly or wrongly, that it responded too slowly, or else it tried to pass the buck by blaming it upon that controversial video.

WHITFIELD: What do you mean responding the way it did? You're talking about the incident of Benghazi, that's what you're talking about?

STANLEY: Yes, exactly, responding to the embassy siege. A lot of people are still raising questions are exact how the State Department responded and what it knew, when it knew, and why it developed the narrative that it is accused of developing afterwards that it was all the responsibility of the video. So I think there are still big questions about competence that come out of the issue of Benghazi.

WHITFIELD: OK, and then, fast forward, we talk about the arrest last week. It's your belief that instead of this arrest being considered a victory in the U.S., it's only deepened the divide. You wrote in fact on this subject for CNN.com's opinion page, and you say this, quote, "Democrats hoping the capture of Ahmed Abu Khattala will bring some kind of closure to the Benghazi issue are sorely mistaken. In fact, in terms of policy events surrounding his arrest only highlight the awful legacy of the Libyan venture." Why is it that you believe this?

STANLEY: Well, first of all, in terms of U.S. policy in relation to Libya, the Libyan government said why did you take him, we want him back? So that reflects the fact that even after having helped liberate the country from Gadhafi, the country still has this very difficult relationship with this country which is simple falling apart.

But also the capture of Abu Khattala will not answer questions about precisely how the embassy siege happened and the State Department's response to it. Obviously it's a good thing that the guy's caught if he's indeed guilty. It looks as though he certainly is. It's a good thing to put him on trial. But the idea that that will actually answer questions about the policies relating to Libya --

WHITFIELD: Is it your feeling that there will ever be answers that will satisfy everyone?

STANLEY: No, no, I don't think it will, because, frankly, this issue has turned into the Iran-Contra of the Obama administration. In the same way liberals after Reagan were always able to look back and say, well, I'm sorry but Iran-Contra defined either issues of competence or morality for me, the conservatives will always look back on Benghazi and say that it defines issues of competence or morality for them. Look at how important it played in the 2012 elections. Not in the way we expected, but in terms of this debate of whether or not Obama had tried to pass the buck on what was to blame for the situation, and the role it played in presidential debates. It's a massive political issue that will dog, in particular, Hillary Clinton, right through to 2016.

WHITFIELD: All right, Timothy Stanley, thank you so much for your time from London. Appreciate it.

STANLEY: It's a pleasure.

WHITFIELD: Still to come, we know a toddler is dead in Georgia. His dad says he accidentally left the boy in the car in searing heat in Atlanta. But is there more to the story?

And in this week's "Human Factor," a young woman uses the tragedy that left her paralyzed to help others. Chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: At 14 years old, Sabrina Cohen was your average teenager. She was building a social life simply trying to fit in. So when a few older boys offered Sabrina and her friends a ride to the party they jumped at the chance.

SABRINA COHEN, SPINAL CORD INJURY SURVIVOR: I just remember being concerned with things like not putting my seatbelt on because I wouldn't have looked cool.

GUPTA: Getting into that car and not buckling up was a decision that would cost her dearly.

COHEN: Within minutes they took off drag racing down one of Miami Beach's most dangerous streets at about 90 miles an hour. The other car lost control, hit the car that I was in. We hit a tree and I instantly became a quadriplegic.

GUPTA: Sabrina spent the first several couple months in denial.

COHEN: I was like, oh, I'm going to work out and I'm going to walk again.

GUPTA: It wasn't until she saw others with her condition that the reality set in. After several months of grueling rehab and soul searching, Sabrina decided to use her experience to help others.

COHEN: My principal approached me and said would you do our school a favor and talk to the seniors about reckless driving. And that was the start of my mentorship and public speaking and motivational speaking. GUPTA: She graduated at the top of her class from high school on

time. Then she went on to get a dual degree in advertising and psychology from the University of Miami. Two years after college she started the Sabrina Cohen Foundation.

COHEN: My mental and fitness well-being has always played such an important role in keeping me healthy and active and able to do what I do. So my focus now is to basically allocate funds to people who can't afford to get the best therapy.

GUPTA: And she says leading by example, especially when talking to children, is key.

COHEN: I think I am an example that life can go on and you can live a full life, as I do.

GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A Georgia man pleaded not guilty to murder and child cruelty charges after he admitted to accidentally, in his view, leaving his son in a hot car for hours. His son Cooper died. He was almost two years old. And while this case sounds like a parent's worst nightmare, police are implying there's more to the story. Here's CNN's Victor Blackwell.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Fred, when police outside of Atlanta arrived in a parking lot of a shopping center and they found 33-year- old Justin Ross Harris there with his child, a 22-month-old boy, dead, he told investigators he'd forgotten that he left the child in the car when he went to work, and that he only found him seven hours later on the way home from work.

But we're learning from an officer with the Cobb County pretty near Atlanta that a lot of the details have changed since that tragedy on Wednesday. They tell me, "I've been in law enforcement for 34 years. What I know about his case shocks my conscience, as a police officer, a father and a grandfather." Now, that sergeant, Sergeant Dana Pierce, is not being specific about the details that have changed, but he says that the story about the child being in the car at 9:00 a.m. before Justin Ross Harris went to work, he can't confirm that boy was there. I also asked, did he drive straight to work and then head straight home? Well, that sergeant says he also can't confirm if there was a stop before work or after work.

Here's how they found out that something here was not right. They said that the officer started to question Justin Harris as soon as they got to the scene, and some of the answers he gave first responders did not add up. Now Harris was arrested and charged with first degree cruelty to a child and felony murder. He's pleaded not guilty, but we're also told there's a possibility those charges could change. Possibly additional charges will be added. I also asked when will we get some clarity about this. And because

we're told this is no public safety issue, no one in the public is in danger, that sergeant tells that, quite possibly, as we get closer to a trial for Harris, that's when we'll know what is, he says, shocking to the conscience. Fred?

WHITFIELD: All right, Victor Blackwell, so disturbing. Earlier I talked to criminal defense attorney Holly Hughes about police suspicions. And investigators are pressing their investigation of the father and his claims that his son's death was an accident.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HOLLY HUGHES, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: His answers and his responses when it first happened weren't consistent. They didn't make sense. They didn't add up. So they think there's more to this. They're looking that the child for any injuries that may have occurred prior to this death. So they're going to look at the inside of his mouth. Is his inside lip bruised from where maybe he was suffocated? Maybe this isn't an accidental death. And that's where the investigation is still going. They're probably ordering toxicology to see if maybe this baby was given something, like a super dose of Benadryl so he would sleep in that car and not wake up. Plus, he's 22-month-olds, Fred. If that baby woke up and kicked and fussed, there's a likelihood somebody walking by might have seen or heard something.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And of course we're going to continue to follow that story throughout the weekend.

Another story we're following today, the White House announced that the U.S. will spend more than $250 million to address the tens of thousands of illegal immigrant children showing up at the border mistakenly believing the U.S. would allow them entry. Almost $100 million will go to El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala, where officials say 29 percent of the children originate.

"CNN MONEY" with Christine Romans is next after a short break. I'm Fredricka Whitfield in Atlanta. The NEWSROOM continues at 3:00 Eastern with Deborah Feyerick in New York.

And before were go, today is the first day of summer, even though it's been feeling like summer for everywhere for a long time. And guess what, it's the longest day of year, so longer time to enjoy scenes like this, Hollywood, Florida, the beach perhaps today. Happy summer, everybody.

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