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Kerry Visits Baghdad as More Cities Fall; Terrorists Seize Cities; New Report on Sandusky Investigation; MLK Museum Officially Opens in Atlanta; MLB Pitcher Wears Padded Hat;

Aired June 23, 2014 - 10:30   ET

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

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me.

Just minutes ago in Baghdad, Secretary of State John Kerry vowed that U.S. support for Iraq will be, quote, "intense and sustained." His comments come after earlier meetings with Iraq's embattled prime minister, Nuri al-Maliki, as well as Sunni and Shiite leaders. Kerry is stressing that the sectarian divisions need to be bridged and a unified government formed before Iraq can stop this terrorist siege that's going on.

Over the weekend, militants fighters managed to capture four more towns and villages and they're now pushing ever closer to Baghdad.

CNN's Jim Sciutto is traveling with the secretary of state. He joins us from the Iraqi capital.

What else did the secretary of state say, Jim?

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, he's still speaking to reporters now but I'd say another headline underlying American support is he said that the president has not ruled out military action before Iraq reaches a political settlement for a more inclusive government. In fact he said that the president has been gaining intelligence. The U.S. and military gaining intelligence. As you remember reconnaissance flights are now going over territory that's been captured by ISIS and as he gets that intelligence, that's giving him more assurances of possible targets.

So holding open the possibility of military strikes before a political agreement here. But that message always coupled with this other message that we've heard from Kerry at every stop he's made on this trip, and that is the solution here lies in a political settlement that gets all of Iraq's competing sects, the Sunnis, the Shias and the Kurds, working together with a government that they can believe in. And that's something that this country certainly lack and U.S. officials believe is part of the reason that it is being pulled apart at the seams right now.

COSTELLO: So, Jim, when you say military action, do you mean airstrikes?

SCIUTTO: Airstrikes, yes. And as you know, 300 -- the president has said he will send up to 300 military advisers. These will not be boots on the ground. They will not be in combat but they will be forward deployed from here at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad. Two centers around the country. They picked a couple locations, one in Baghdad, one in northern Iraq, where they will be based with Iraqi battalions.

So they're at least closer to the fight and therefore can provide better support to the Iraqi military as to where U.S. air assets could conceivably help Iraqi forces on the ground. The trouble is right now those Iraqi forces on the ground aren't doing much. They are defending Baghdad, defending the south, but there are no operations in the north right now to gain back the territory that they have already lost and there are real questions raised in American military assessments about the ability of the Iraqi military to carry out a counteroffensive like that. So right now this country in defense mode trying to keep itself from falling apart before they even get to the level of trying to gain back that territory that they have already lost.

COSTELLO: All right, Jim, I'm going to ask you to stick around because I want to bring in a couple of more guests.

Vikram J. Singh is the vice president for National Security and International Policy at American Progress. And Major General "Spider" Marks is a CNN military analyst.

Welcome to both of you.

Hi, Carol. Good morning.

VIKRAM J. SINGH, NATIONAL SECURITY AND INTERNATIONAL POLICY, CENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS: Hi.

COSTELLO: Good morning.

SINGH: Thank you.

COSTELLO: So, General Marks, I'd like to start with you. So Secretary Kerry says that the United States has not ruled out military action as in airstrikes because it's gathering enough intelligence on the ground. Can you sort of expound on that for us?

MAJ. GEN. JAMES "SPIDER" MARKS, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, what the -- what the president has indicated, and if I can ask a question, guys, I'm getting some other traffic in my ear here, so let me work my way through this. But what the president has indicated is that there will be no U.S. combat forces on the ground engaged in combat. Now clearly the 300 advisers will be at risk, but that's one thing. They will be embedded with Iraqi units and that's their job, number one.

But clearly what they need to be able to do is not only assess what ISIS is up to, but they also have to be able to assess the state of readiness and the willingness of the ISF, Iraq Security Forces, to continue to engage in this process. Clearly they've indicated they are not -- they don't have any objectives in this fight. There is no will to fight. They are currently in Baghdad and clearly the best military is in Baghdad. They are loyal to Maliki. They are predominantly Shia military.

But that's where we stand right now. So the president is kind of on a very, very thin line to ensure that he doesn't lose the government in Baghdad and he has to be able to bolster what Maliki has in place so that you can then get about the business of trying to establish a political referendum of some sort --

COSTELLO: All right. So the Obama --

MARKS: -- that clearly is more inclusive.

COSTELLO: So Obama's administration clearly thinks there's some sort of solution here. It's interesting because Senator Rand Paul thinks the opposite. Yesterday, he actually said, you know, I don't blame President Obama for this. This is what Senator Paul told NBC News. Has he really got the solution? Senator Paul says maybe there is no solution. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. RAND PAUL (R), KENTUCKY: If we were to get rid of Assad, it would be a jihadist wonderland in Syria. It's now a jihadist wonderland in Iraq precisely because we got over involved. Not because we had too little involvement.

RICHARD CHENEY, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If we spend our time debating what happened 11 or 12 years ago, we're going to miss the threat that is growing and that we do face. Rand Paul, with all due respect, is basically an isolationist. He doesn't believe we ought to be involved in that part of the world. I think it's absolutely essential.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Except Vice President Cheney, I think that the administration that you belong to were wrong on so many counts on Iraq, as for precisely what would happen if American troops went in and Senator Paul is saying the same thing. Maybe there isn't a solution. Maybe we don't know what's going to happen and we should just stay out of it.

Does he have a point, Vikram?

SINGH: Well, I don't think we should just stay out of it. I mean, I think regardless of the mistakes going in, which were substantial, right now facing the massive growth of a terrorism extremist threat like ISIS is significant and facing the potential collapse of Iraq is also significant. And I think the administration is taking a smart approach to how to look at this. These are not quick fix kind of problems. So ISIS threatens Iraq and Syria, where it's immediately operating.

It threatens the neighbors of those countries, including Turkey, Jordan, the Kurdish regional government, and eventually it could threaten, you know, beyond that region. And so America needs to have a major role but the countries of the region and the Iraqi government have to look at their roles as well.

COSTELLO: Well, Jim Sciutto, I'll ask you that question. Why does America have to have a major role? Why can't America just let that part of the world hash it out for itself?

SCIUTTO: Well, I think Vikram got to the point. This is a point that Secretary Kerry has made very clearly on his stops in Egypt and Amman and now here in Iraq, that this is not just an Iraqi problem or a Syrian problem, it's a regional, in fact a global problem. He said yesterday that no country is safe when al Qaeda-tied militants have a safe haven in a country like this. And I've been hearing from intelligence officials in the U.S. even before these last couple of weeks of crisis in Iraq, about the outward threat from ISIS militants because they are the number one magnet in the world today for foreign fighters.

And those foreign fighters not just from Central Asia, the Middle East, but from Europe and the U.S. We know that there are 60 to 70 or 80 some odd Americans who have volunteered there and the concern is what do they do when they come home. That is a threat to the American homeland. It's been called a threat to the American homeland.

And you'll remember President Obama when he gave his foreign policy speech at West Point a couple of weeks ago, he said that the U.S. will not use military action unless U.S. interests are directly threatened. You know, U.S. officials are getting very close to saying or perhaps they are already there that U.S. interests are directly threatened by ISIS, and that is their motivation here for military action. Not an invasion, not an occupation. Advisers, forward positions, not combat troops, military strikes but military action.

COSTELLO: OK. I just want to center on airstrikes for just a minute, General Marks, because everybody thinks that's completely safe. Is it?

MARKS: Well, no, it's not. There's always risk involved when you're going to put manned or unmanned aircraft up there. We have the capability and we have it from a distance to create the target folders through technical means. We can go after prominent targets that ISIS has provided.

When you have ISIS intermingled with the population, clearly you have a collateral damage problem. That has to be worked through very, very precisely, and then with advisers on the ground you can now start getting some human intelligence hopefully to flesh out the -- flesh out the picture, but any time you put an aircraft in the air you've got a requirement to have search and rescue. You've got to have a bunch of support elements leaning forward to ensure we don't have a pilot being picked up by ISIS and now we have an incredibly inflated problem.

COSTELLO: Jim Sciutto, General Marks, Vikram Singh, thanks to all of you. I appreciate it.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, was the Jerry Sandusky molestation case handled property? We'll talk about a new report that's about to come out next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Just minutes ago, Pennsylvania attorney general Kathleen King released a new 339-page report detailing the Jerry Sandusky child molestation investigation.

CNN's Sarah Ganim went through it all. She joins us now with more.

What did it say? What was the outcome?

SARAH GAMIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Carol. I want you to take a look at this. 300 and almost 40 pages. This is a huge report and it details a lot of missed opportunities. This is a theme we've heard all throughout this investigation, where investigators could have acted faster, when the investigation stalled.

I have to tell you a couple of big ones. One, back in 2009, when the very first victim came forward, Jerry Sandusky apparently agreed to an interview with a social worker and that social worker didn't tell police. Police were not able to sit in on that interview, and that's huge because never again during the course of the investigation did Jerry Sandusky ever talk to police. The next time that we heard from him was when he talked to the media right after he was arrested.

Now another big one, investigators had this police report that was essentially right under their noses from 1998. It was sitting in Penn State Police headquarters and investigators didn't find it for two years. For two years this investigation was about one victim and they were fruitlessly trying to find more and all the while here's a police report right under their noses at Penn State that they could not find.

COSTELLO: So many people suffered through all of this. Will any heads roll because of this report?

GANIM: Well, interestingly enough, within Pennsylvania politics there was always this talk, the attorney general at the time was running for governor and people wondered if he stalled this investigation because Penn State is such a big deal, Jerry Sandusky was so loved. That he was -- you know, was afraid. Now this report finds none of that. There is no accusation that any of this stalling had anything to do with politics or anything malicious at all.

This is all -- all the accusations are missed opportunities. People who didn't do things that they should have done, but it was mostly miscommunication and missed opportunities. Nothing malicious.

Now this report does make recommendations on how to handle child sex abuse cases in the future, but does not go after people for acting poorly because of who Jerry Sandusky was or because of who Penn State was.

And I also want to note, you know, everyone talks about Joe Paterno when they talk about this case and his firing and his widely debated whether or not he should have been treated that way, this report makes almost no mention of him at all and draws no conclusion on his role. COSTELLO: Sarah Ganim, thanks so much.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, Atlanta is the home of civil rights icon Martin Luther King, Jr., and today the city is opening the doors to a brand new museum dedicated to the movement. Victor Blackwell is there.

Hi, Victor.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol. And it's in the hometown of an icon of the civil rights movement, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. But I spoke with a close friend of Dr. King and he says that Dr. King would not like it. I'll tell you why in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: It's a beautiful museum, right? Ten years ago, lawmakers and activists here in Atlanta began their efforts to establish a museum that would not only honor the civil rights movement but also highlight the link between the struggles of the '60s and today.

Today that museum, a 43,000 square foot space, officially opens to visitors. John Lewis, the Georgia congressman who was the youngest speaker at the march on Washington, recently toured the facility and reflected on his role in the movement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JOHN LEWIS (D), GEORGIA: For this museum to be opening, having to see so many of my friends and colleagues from the movement. This is almost too much. To see people that I was arrested with, jailed with, beaten with, we were a family. A band of brothers and sisters. We bled together. So to see them here, it's very moving. I hope that people, all people, but especially children and young people that pass through this museum will be inspired.

My folks had told me over and over again when I would ask them about those signs white waiting, colored waiting, white only, colored only, they would say that's the way it is. Don't get in the way. Don't get in trouble. But Dr. King and Rosa Parks inspired me to get in trouble, good trouble, and maybe, just maybe this museum would inspire another generation of young people to get in trouble -- good trouble, necessary trouble -- to make our country and make our world a better place.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: CNN's Victor Blackwell is at the new -- is at the new museum. It looks fantastic.

BLACKWELL: Yes, it's a beautiful museum. I took a walk through it just a few days ago and I thinks what's really striking are the sounds. There's a grand opening ceremony just wrapped up and members of the general public are seeing it for the first time. But they're the voices of the movement. Not just Dr. King but also Bo Connor and George Wallace. You know, another thing that they have there are the King papers.

Really the highlight of this museum. Thirteen thousand documents on rotation, on loan from Morehouse College, Dr. King's alma matter. His speeches, his notes, his report cards from his childhood.

But I spoke with a close friend of Dr. Kings, Ambassador Andrew Young, who says Dr. King would not like the museum because he'd never wanted people to look back, to rest on their laurels. He wanted them to continue to move forward.

Now that may just be a commentary on his commitment to the movement because there's also a section dedicated to the fights of today, Carol. Women's rights, LGBT rights, human rights around the world, and workers rights. So that also is a part of this museum, $80 million, 10 years in the making. You know, a lot of people who didn't want it in downtown Atlanta because they thought it would be depressing, that it would remind people of an era that just made America uncomfortable.

But they believe that this is an uplifting inspiring facility that will change as accomplishments and advancements are made in the fights of today -- Carol.

COSTELLO: I can't wait to visit. Victor Blackwell, many thanks.

Tune in to CNN this Thursday when the original series "THE SIXTIES" returns with a long march to freedom, stories of men and women who blazed the trail for civil rights. That starts Thursday night 9:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM for the first time in MLB history, a pitcher dons a padded helmet meant to help guard against concussion. How he fared at his first game, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: San Diego Padres relief pitcher Alex Torres is the first Major League pitcher to wear a padded cap meant to protect against concussions. The 26-year-old got fitted with the cap last month. One of his teammates was hit in the head with a line drive just last season. Major League Baseball approved of the hat design this past January. He is the first pitcher to don this hat.

Andy Scholes is here with us.

So, how did he do? Did it bother him?

ANDY SCHOOLS, THE BLEACHER REPORT: Well, he says it doesn't bother him. And he didn't do too bad. He gave up a hit and a run and had two strike outs and one ending pitch with big old hat on his head.

But, Carol, you know, he said he really wanted to start wearing this hat because he saw a teammate, Alex Cobb, with the Rays, last year firsthand take a line drive right off the head. Now luckily for Alex Cobb he walked away with just a concussion. But we've seen much worse happened to pitches a couple of years ago. Brandon McCarthy took a shot in the head. He had to have -- emergency surgery because his brain was swelling.

Now as you see, the hat that Torres was wearing, it's pretty big. It looks a little awkward. He says it doesn't bother him but a lot of Major League pitchers say they're reluctantly to wear it because they think it could affect their pitching and it looks funny.

Now people, of course, were rooting Torres on Twitter, his own teammates, he said, were making fun of him because of the way the hat looks.

COSTELLO: Well, it kind of makes me kind of irritated because, you know, he's protecting himself. Like if my son were playing baseball and he was pitching, I want him to wear that funny-looking hat. And I'm sure they'll improve the design with time. Right?

SCHOLES: Yes. And that's the thing. That's what they really need to do and a lot of players said they would wear a protective hat if it looks more like the traditional hat they wear now. But Torres he --

COSTELLO: Looks has nothing to do with it. It's protecting your head.

SCHOLES: As, you know -- exactly. That's what people should think and that's what Torres says. He says he doesn't care what it looks like. It's protecting me, and he wants to see his kids grow up. He doesn't --

COSTELLO: Well, an interesting thing. I went to spring training a couple of years ago. Of course for the Tigers. And I talked to Justin Verlander about wearing such a helmet. He said that the weight of it might bother him and affect his pitching style, although this sure maybe he should try, yes. Because he's not doing so well and that's just a joke.

I talked to Max Scherser, too. He said he would definitely think about it. But if it affects their pitching, I'm sure most pitchers would say no.

SCHOLES: And see, that's the thing. Brandon McCarthy said right now they're too big, too itchy, and too hot to wear. And he thinks that will eventually affect his pitching on the mounds so he won't wear it. Hopefully as we go forward, these hats will get smaller and even more protective.

COOPER: I hope so.

SCHOLES: Because then more pitchers will be wearing it.

COSTELLO: No game is worth it. I'm sorry, Cy. It's not worth is. It's going to affect the test of your life and we've seen that in football, right? We've seen even a case in baseball maybe, right?

SCHOLES: Yes. And that's the thing. A game should never affect the rest of your life.

COSTELLO: Amen, Scholes. SCHOLES: There you go.

COSTELLO: Thank you.

(LAUGHTER)

COSTELLO: Thank you so much for joining me today. I'm Carol Costello. "@THIS HOUR" with Berman and Michaela starts now.