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Brussels to Increase Security against Possible Terrorist Threats; Yemeni President's Chief of Staff Kidnapped; Cover of Latest "Charlie Hebdo" Magazine Causes Riots in Algiers and Jordan; German Magazine Reprints "Charlie Hebdo" Cover; Operation of Terrorism Sleeper Cells Analyzed; Man Arrested for Terrorist Plot Targeting U.S. Capital Profiled; Mitt Romney Reportedly Considering 2016 Presidential Run

Aired January 17, 2015 - 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: All right. Happening right now in the NEWSROOM, the world on edge. Troops deployed alongside police in France and Belgium today guarding potential targets of terrorist attacks.

Plus, terror suspects nabbed in Yemen. Why investigators believe they may be connected to al Qaeda.

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WHITFIELD: And clashes over the latest "Charlie Hebdo" magazine depicting the Prophet Mohammed. French flags torched, churches burned as police try to get control of protesters. The Newsroom starts right now.

All right, thanks again so much for joining me. I'm Fredericka Whitfield.

New developments now from the terrorist hotbed of Yemen. A brazen kidnapping today in broad daylight. The president's chief of staff taken at gun point in the capital city of Sana'a. Shiite rebels have just claimed responsibility. And we're learning that just weeks before the Paris attacks Yemeni officials detained two Frenchmen for suspected links to Al Qaeda.

CNN's Nick Paton Walsh is in Yemen for us. What's the latest on this chief of staff that was kidnapped? Any new demands, anything new about his disposition? How is he?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredericka, you don't get much of a clearer picture as to how much of a failing state Yemen is from the fact that this morning Dr. Ahmed bin Mubarak had been taken from his car by armed men in the very city center of Sana'a behind. Now, yes, we don't have any updates as to his current condition. We do know, as you mentioned, that hours after that abduction, a group called the Houthis, that is a movement here, a combination of political militia and tribes that are predominantly Shia here, said that they had detained him because they were concerned that the president was going to usher in a constitution that they were not happy with as part of a long negotiated peace in transition process here.

The U.S. and U.K. embassies have issued an immediate call for Dr. Mubarak's release and condemned the abduction. And this really show, I think, how increasing my powerful the Houthi movement here feel they are. In the past months they have gained in momentum across the country, taking a lot of territory in the last few months, moving into the capital Sana'a itself. We see their checkpoints on the main roads here. Their opponents are the presidential administration, what's left of the government here, and the loose agglomeration of Sunni tribes and other groups here which sometimes even includes Al Qaeda as well. Al Qaeda often attacked the Houthis here in Yemen.

Yemen, frankly, in a lengthy civil conflict. It's a mess. It's nothing that's going to be calmed by this escalating move by the Houthis today. And it really shows how little executive power is left of government here in Yemen have. And bear in mind, there's an economic collapse coming soon here, too. Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: Oh, my goodness. So Nick, as it pertains to this chief of staff, was he at home? Was he at, you know, public building? Do we know much about the circumstances? What was the opening that made it so easy for him to be kidnapped?

WALSH: He was in the city center. We don't have precise details of the location where this happened, but obviously something like this you need to observe somebody's movements regularly. And of course there's a real sign of the constant Houthi movement feel that they can act with impunity against a government official of that level here in Yemen, too.

The real fear, Fredricka, is that the increasing signs of collapse here in Yemen just make it easier for Jihadi cells like Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula who claim the attacks in Paris which they twistedly refer to as the blessed battle in Paris in their statement a few days ago makes it easier for them to have a foothold here, makes it easier perhaps for them to bring people into the country to assist them and then go on to potentially attack the west as well. Yemen really falling off the spotlight of concern of international jihad in the past few years, and those attacks in Paris which the attackers said were ordered by Al Qaeda and Yemen and Al Qaeda and Yemen responded by claiming responsibility for, that has really put the spotlight on Yemen again, and right now it is in a real state of dangerous collapse. Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: All right, Nick Paton Walsh, thank you so much.

Muslims around the world are keeping up their protests over the images of the Prophet Mohammed on the cover of the current edition of "Charlie Hebdo." Yesterday angry demonstrators clashed with police in Jordan. Similar protests broke out in Algiers over the controversial cover which shows a picture of a tearful Prophet Mohammed holding a sign that says "Je suis Charlie." In Niger the protests turned violent. Demonstrators threw stones at police and burned tires. Police responded with tear gas. The normal distribution of the "Charlie Hebdo" weekly is about 60,000. This week's run now up to 7 million copies.

ISIS in Syria and Iraq, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the Taliban, remember them, in Afghanistan and Pakistan. So many groups, so many potential points of terror. I want to bring in CNN global affairs analyst David Rohde. He is very familiar with what goes on in the mountains of Pakistan and Afghanistan. He was held hostage there for seven months by the Taliban, captured while covering the region for the "New York Times." David, good to see you. I remember reporting on set of your very courageous escape at the time. Good to finally talk with you now.

DAVID ROHDE, FORMER "NEW YORK TIMES" INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER: Thanks for having me on.

WHITFIELD: So let's talk about these groups and how they are now competing against one another, trying to outdo the other, but at the same time sharing, I guess, the same philosophy or ideology. Are they really working together or is it that they are working separately trying to one-up the next?

ROHDE: They are trying to one-up each other. I guess it's a rough analogy but I would compare them to sort of different organized crime groups. You know, none of them are friends with the police. None of them are going to want to help the west in any way, shape, or form, but they are trying to outdo each other nape want to, you know, become more famous, get more recruits, raise more money, and gain more power. So it's very complicated, but they have weaknesses between them.

WHITFIELD: And then today in Yemen with the chief of staff being kidnapped in broad daylight, still the circumstances are a little bit murky but it really does speak to the boldness, maybe even the confidence of some of these terror groups that they feel like they could operate in broad daylight. "Charlie Hebdo," that happened in broad daylight as well. Is there something that's changing about the profile, in your view, about these terror groups or the means in which they're carrying out terror activity?

ROHDE: What helps them, and really what's happening in Yemen is a political struggle. The Houthis, the Shia group that grabbed the chief of staff, that really sort of a nationalist group and an ethnic group. They actually oppose Al Qaeda. But the chaos in Yemen, the weakness of the government, the way the state is falling apart, that helps these groups.

And one of the big things they've done effectively is frankly take advantage of the chaos that's emerged in the Arab spring. You see that mostly in Syria where, you know, ISIS has emerged very powerfully in the civil war there. And then when there's a weak government, when there's sectarian division between Shias and Sunni Muslims, we saw it in Iraq, it allowed ISIS to sort of gain followers there. So the more chaotic the situation, the more they tend to thrive. And the more they divide us the better. One of the main or the of

Muslim American groups say they are getting more threats, American Muslims now in the wake of the Paris attacks. It's the highest level since the 9/11 attacks in 2001. And that helps these -- the debates about free speech which is so important in the west. And then what Muslims see as defaming the prophet, it's helping fuel this cycle of antagonism that the terrorists sort of want.

WHITFIELD: And I appreciate your distinction of the groups that may be suspected of the kidnapping in Yemen versus other terror groups who are known to be carrying out organized terror activity. And I wonder, you know, what's to be said of how they're also, I guess, using the media to recruit. They conduct, you know, bold terror attacks and then they get a lot of media coverage around the world and they are able to turn around and use that to their advantage in their recruitment.

ROHDE: They've really gotten good at that as well. That's the other change in the last couple of years where they seem to be turning back. ISIS in particular is excellent at social media. They're much better at recruiting than Usama bin Laden. He would release these long sort of turgid speeches that didn't really inspire people. Now you have very produced -- very slickly produced videos online. You have great social media penetration by ISIS. And that's the difference now. It's the chaos of the Arab spring and the improvement in online recruitment that's really changed things and gotten so many Europeans, I think, interested in radicalism.

WHITFIELD: CNN global affairs analyst David Rohde, thanks so much. And welcome.

ROHDE: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Next, the editor of a German magazine that ran the latest cover of "Charlie Hebdo," why she said she had to do it.

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WHITFIELD: That is singer James Taylor at an event attended by the U.S. secretary of state John Kerry in Paris. During his visit Kerry also laid wreaths at the sites of last week's terror attacks. He also met with French President Hollande and conveyed the, quote, "full and heartfelt condolences of all Americans." Kerry said he was unable to make it to Sunday's massive unity march because he was in India, as we reported.

The man arrested last week for allegedly plotting to bomb and open fire on the U.S. capital remains behind bars. Yesterday a judge ordered Christopher Lee Cornell held without bond. FBI agents who were monitoring Cornell arrested him Wednesday. CNN's Alexandra Field is following the story from Cincinnati.

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fred, Christopher Cornell will stay in the Butler County Jail. There's no chance for bond here. A federal court judge made her decision noting arguments from the prosecution that Cornell could be a flight risk and that he poses a significant threat to public safety based on allegations that he was plotting to bomb capital.

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FIELD: Christopher Cornell was a high school wrestling star. His parents say they once had high hope for a bright future, but he didn't seem to find his path after high school.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Breaks my heart. He had so much potential. He could have had a scholarship.

FIELD: Recently there was reason to be hopeful again.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He just became a happier person.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: His attitude changed. He became a lot happier. He said that when he prayed he felt calm and he felt at peace with himself and with god. He became just happy go lucky.

FIELD: He grew out his beard and adopted Islam after reading a lot about it. And his parents saw signs his beliefs had really taken hold.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He would come in at prayer time, say his prayers.

FIELD: At the same time the FBI says he was planning a deadly attack. On Wednesday agents raided the family's Cincinnati home, seizing a book Cornell had written in and a computer. Online authorities say he told an FBI informant he wanted to commit violent jihad. Over several months investigators monitored the plot as it was taking shape. Authorities said pipe bombs would be placed in the capitol and people would be shot as they fled the scene.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, no, no. I don't think Chris ever wanted to hurt anyone.

FIELD: Then why say it and why walk into the gun shop?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I believe he was coerced.

FIELD: FBI agents arrested Cornell Wednesday after he bought two semiautomatic rifles and 600 rounds of ammunition at the Point Blank Gun Shop and Range in Cincinnati.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We had the forewarning that he was going to come in, but then also they had greased the skids a little bit so things would go smoothly as part of the sale.

FIELD: Asked to help authorities in the sting, John Dean sold Cornell exactly what he asked for. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm getting a lot of thumbs up today.

FIELD: How did he strike you? Did he know what he was talking about?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He did. He struck me as someone who had done some research but hadn't actually had a lot of hands-on experience with a gun.

FIELD: Cornell had never fired a gun, according to his parents. They say he never talked to them about ISIS and he showed no signs of anger or violence. They say he spent much of his time alone.

Did he have friends?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He had friends up until about a year ago. And I think when he grew his hair out and grew his beard --

FIELD: On the day of his arrest Cornell left a note for his parents saying he was going to live with a friend who would get him some work. Their son now behind bars, but his parents believe he will come home one day.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel that it wasn't him, it wasn't him.

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FIELD: The defendant's saw his parents for the first time since his arrest when he walked into the courtroom for his detention hearing. His mother said, "I love you." His father said, "Don't trust anyone." His attorney also made several requests to the judge. He asked that her client be referred to during court proceedings by his Muslim name. She also asked that he be given a prayer mat and clock at the Butler County Jail so that he could pray five times daily, and she asked that he be taken off of suicide watch. Fred?

WHITFIELD: Alexander Field, thank you so much.

Coming up later, Mitt Romney, a little cagey about whether he is considering another presidential run.

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MITT ROMNEY, (R) FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The most frequently asked question I get is, what does Ann think about all of this? And she believes that people get better with experience.

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WHITFIELD: What he told members of the RNC last night.

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WHITFIELD: All right, checking our top stories. We've learned that there are now two dead in a Florida mall shooting today. The shooter is one of those dead. A third person injured in the shooting is in stable condition at a local hospital. The shooting happened at a mall in central Florida. A woman who saw it all describes the frightening scene.

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DONNA EVANS, EYEWITNESS: It's pretty close. It was -- it was close. It was -- we were right there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You sort of feel lucky?

EVANS: Very luck. Very lucky. Very, very lucky, because if it had been the other way it would have been us because we were right in the line of it. So yes, god is on my shoulder, whether people believe it or not.

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WHITFIELD: Police say the situation is contained and the mall is closed.

Police say two Kentucky teens are increasingly brazen and dangerous. They're on the run. Police are frantically search for 18-year-old Dalton Hayes and his 13-year-old girlfriend Cheyenne Philips. Authorities say the couple stole three cars, two with guns inside. The teens were spotted in South Carolina and they are believed to be heading to Florida.

The international criminal court has opened an inquiry into attacks in the Palestinian territories including ones that happened during last year's Gaza war between Israel and Hamas militants. The move opens the way for a possible war crimes investigation against Israel. Israel calls the inquiry an outrage, and the U.S. says it strongly disagrees with the court's decision.

And now in Europe, in light of the Paris attacks the world is watching closely to see just where a next possible plan could unfold. Take a look at this map. It shows some of the countries Americans love to visit when they travel abroad. But intelligence sources tell CNN these are nations where terror cells could be ready to strike, in France, Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands. What does that mean here at home? In an exclusive interview CNN's Fareed Zakaria put that question to a man who would -- who is now the former CIA director, Leon Panetta.

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FAREED ZAKARIA, CNN HOST, "FAREED ZAKARIA GPS": It sounds like, Secretary Panetta, you are more worried based on what has happened over the last few weeks, particularly in Paris. And you feel that, you know, this could happen in New York, this could happen in many, many places in the world.

LEON PANETTA, FORMER CIA DIRECTOR: I don't -- I don't think there's any question. I think -- I think what we're seeing, as I said, is a much more aggressive chapter and a much more dangerous chapter in terms of the war on terrorism. And what has happened in Paris, what happened in Ottawa, what has happened in Belgium is something that we need to understand, that these terrorists are now engaged in a much more aggressive effort based on their recruiting, based on what's happening in Syria and Iraq and Yemen. They are engaged in a much more aggressive effort to conduct violence, not only in Europe but I think it's a matter of time before they direct it at the United States, as well.

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WHITFIELD: Watch the rest of Fareed's exclusive interview with Leon Panetta on "FAREED ZAKARIA GPS" tomorrow, 10:00 a.m. eastern, right here on CNN.

Europe's terror threat has the continent on edge with as many as 20 sleeper cells potentially ready to strike. But how exactly do these cells operate and how do they react to massive crackdowns like the one now under way in Belgium?

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WHITFIELD: Hello again, everyone. Thanks for joining me. I'm Fredericka Whitfield.

Beefed up security across Belgium, troops are fanning out across the country. Civilians are on high alert after this week's terror raids and arrests across Europe, this level of armed response not seen in Belgium for decades. Senior international correspondent Ivan Watson is following the story from Brussels.

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IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Belgians woke up Saturday morning to something they haven't seen in more than 30 years, the deployment of soldiers from the armed forces in two Belgian cities, Brussels and also Antwerp. And this is in response to some of the security threats that have emerged not only in the wake of the "Charlie Hebdo" attack in Paris but also after police went after a suspected jihadi cell in eastern Belgian city of Verviers and it resulted in a gun battle Thursday night in which two suspects were killed and a third was taken prisoner. Now, Brussels is not only the capital of Belgium, it's also the capital of the European Union, a Europe that is increasingly on edge amid more and more reports of Europeans who have gone to Syria to join the Islamic state ISIS and are coming back and posing a threat to the continent.

CORINNE FAUT, CHIEF OF COMMUNICATIONS OF THE BELGIAN ARMY (via translator): we have moved to stage three of the terror alert threats. We're offering extra protection to ambassadors, Jewish institutions, and other organizations, embassies and so on, that could be at threat. We need extra vigilance. We need police reinforcement under the command of the federal police.

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WATSON: This is one of the buildings that has gotten additional military protection, the Jewish museum in Brussels, and with good reason, because last may it was the target of a deadly attack that resulted in the deaths of four people. A French citizen has since been arrested and charged with murder in connection of that attack. Before the assault here he is believed to have traveled to Syria and to have been linked to the ISIS militant group. There are thousands of Europeans who have made a similar journey, but this little country Belgium is believed to have per capita more suspected jihadis than any other country in western Europe.

Ivan Watson, CNN, Brussels.

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WHITFIELD: As dozens are arrested in raids across Europe, counterterrorism officials are scrambling to determine just how widespread the threat from sleeper cells may be. And how do sleeper cells work? Brian Todd has more.

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BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A western official with knowledge of the Paris investigation tells CNN there is huge concern over the danger from sleeper cells in Europe and elsewhere. The worry is over the unknown -- when, where, and how they will strike.

A terror cell disrupted but Europe is still bracing for more attacks. A western intelligence source tells CNN there could be several sleeper cells ready to strike in France, Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands. Now new concerns about their planning and timing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The worry is how and when will they be activated.

TODD: Former jihadist and intelligence officer tells CNN a sleeper cell is usually made up of a few operatives. They're either acting on behalf of a foreign country or a terror group taking instructions from it, or are simply inspired by a group and acting on their own as Paris gunman Amedy Coulibaly appeared to do. They are living in a city where they want to strike, selecting targets.

MIKE BAKER, FORMER CIA COVERT OPERATIONS OFFICER: They already are there. And they have that ability to cross borders. They have that ability to live without being on the radar screen.

TODD: They're highly skilled at blending in, appearing like the guy next door.

MUBIN SHAIKH, FORMER JIHADIST: They will have regular jobs. You might see them at the strip joint, drinking alcohol, anything to take off the claim or suspicion that they might be extremist Muslim terrorists.

TODD: The 9/11 hijackers did that, reportedly drinking heavily in bars, some even going to strip clubs. Mubin Shaikh is a former jihadist who almost went to Iraq to fight. He broke away, went undercover for Canadian intelligence, and helped bust a terror cell in Toronto. He said many sleeper operatives don't communicate with their handlers by the phone or over the Internet. Some are told don't go to mosques, don't give a hint of your religion.

SHAIKH: Could be, shave your beard, remove your religious garb, anything to blend in. That will be determined by the handler or sometimes even the operating in the cell itself.

TODD: Sleeper operatives stay isolated, experts say, sometimes lie dormant for years.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They wait for an opportune moment when world attention is turned away and the planning phase is over to strike.

TODD: And the sleeper cell dynamic is always changing. A U.S. counter terrorism official told me these days terror cells do a lot less sleeping. They actively plot, hope to avoid suspicion, and they very often direct the terror strike themselves rather than wait for a signal.

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WHITFIELD: All right, let's bring tin retired Lieutenant General and CNN military analyst Mark Hertling. For these terror groups, do crackdowns like these stall them or does it kind of expedite, inspire them further?

LT. GEN. MARK HERTLING, U.S. ARMY (RET), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, I think it does inspire them further, Fredericka. And that's exactly what we're facing right now. But to kind of pull together all the commentary by Ivan Watson and others, what we have to continue to do is attack networks. It's extremely challenging to attack individual cells.

WHITFIELD: And how do you even attack the networks?

HERTLING: Well, you go -- you put plants in. You look at communications. You look at the way they operate in terms of selling weapons or transferring weapons or equipment. That's how probably the cell was broken open. It was one mistake that someone made, either an arms dealer or one individual with maybe a little bit too much ego talking about what he was about to do. So you just have to get from an intelligence aspect a little bit of information and that will break the network wide open where you can go after the individual cells. But it's almost impossible to counter every single cell that's out there.

WHITFIELD: It would seem as such. You know, let's talk about some of these raids, the raids that just took place in Belgium. It is also led to the questioning of a lot of potential suspects. But how much can law enforcement, you know, count on these suspects giving them information? I mean, they, you know, are swearing their allegiance to these network groups that you speak of. Is there any real leverage that law enforcement has to try and get information out of them?

HERTLING: Well, this is really an extension of combat, Fredericka. And the analysis of information is critical. The police in Belgium, the police in France and in Germany, all have very good ways to analyze these situations, conduct interrogations. And if you have a live capture, unlike what we saw in Paris, if you have individual cell members that you have captured, you can piece small bits of information, what's called pocket litter, something found on the individual, something that might be on their SIM card in their cellphone, something that might be in their apartment computer. All you need is one little break and it might allow the complete collapse of an entire network. And I think that's what the Belgium police are looking for right now.

WHITFIELD: And then how critical is timing, you know, how patient law enforcement or intelligence has to be to allow suspects to go a certain, you know, length before actually carrying out an attack?

HERTLING: That is the art of all of this, Fredericka. There was a few instances when I was commanding in Europe where we had terrorists operatives within Germany and Italy. We were watching them very closely. You have to make a hard call where you have enough evidence to prosecute, and we were able to do that before they conducted an attack, which they were about to do. So there's not only the science of interrogation and analysis and intelligence collection and breaking down the cell, but there's the art of the timing of when to execute the kind of counter raids and the counterintelligence operations that you're seeing now.

WHITFIELD: So critical. All right, CNN military analyst Lieutenant General Mark Hertling, thank you so much for your time, appreciate your expertise.

HERTLING: Thanks.

WHITFIELD: All right, next, the editor of a German magazine that ran the latest cover of the "Charlie Hebdo" magazine, why she said she had to do it.

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WHITFIELD: A German satirical magazine has republished the first post-massacre cover of "Charlie Hebdo." They said it was in support of the magazine's right to public satirical journalism. In this poll is the magazine's editor and she joins me now from Berlin. So the cover of "Charlie Hebdo" is seen by many Muslims as offensive. You're seeing protests taking place from Algiers to Pakistan. Why did you feel it was necessary and important to republish this cover?

INES POHL, EDITOR, "DIE TAGESZEITUNG": Fredericka, we have a really critical daily newspaper and we have been publishing caricatures of Mohammed and other church leaders, actually, also the pope before that horrible terror attack in Paris. And I think we have to prove now, we have to show that fear is not overtaking our fight for the freedom of the press. So that was the reason why we reprinted the cover.

WHITFIELD: Do you worry this now makes your publication a potential target?

POHL: You know, all papers in Germany get really high police protection. I just talked to the policemen protecting our building right now. Yes, indeed, we discuss that a lot in our newsroom. Has this fear already changed us? Do we have to be more afraid than we have been before? I think we also have to fear -- to fight this fear because now in this crucial time, the freedom of press is more important than it ever has been. So we really should keep doing our jobs and use our weapons, which are words and pictures, to fight the fight of terrorism.

WHITFIELD: Was this a difficult decision for your editorial board to make or was everyone in agreement that this was a smart thing to do?

POHL: There wasn't actually any discussion if you should do that or not, because this was just an act of solidarity. We wanted to show, you know, to the colleagues from "Charlie Hebdo" but also to our readers and actually to all journalists who are working in warzones who are really taking big, big risks to tell the world the truth. So this very decision wasn't any hard to make.

I think what will be harder in the future for German newspaper people, for all journalists all over the world, is do we withstand this fear which is kind of spreading and we saw the horrible pictures today? More and more people get killed because of these cartoons and satires. So we shall see what the future will bring, but I think we have really to enforce ourselves to keep doing our jobs.

WHITFIELD: So would it be difficult as you embark on new assignments, maybe new cartoons or new satirical essays, how will you do that without thinking about what happened in Paris and "Charlie Hebdo"?

POHL: I think it's always there. I think the thought will never leave us. And I unfortunately do think that we will be more attacks somewhere at other maybe news organizations or other people who do things which Islamists don't like. I think we have to face our fears and we have to talk about our fears and reinforce ourselves why we are journalists and how important journalism is. I think this can be the only answer. There is no other answer. We can't step back and we can't stop doing our work.

WHITFIELD: Ines Pohl, thank you so much for joining us from Berlin.

Coming up, he said he wasn't going the run for president anymore, but Mitt Romney seems to may be having a change of heart. What do his fellow Republicans think about him possibly making a third run? Our political panel weighs in.

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WHITFIELD: Mitt Romney has run for president twice and lost twice. And now he's sending shockwaves through Republican Party saying he is considering another run in 2016. Last night, in fact, at the GOP's winter meeting in San Diego Romney sounded like a candidate and attacked President Obama at every turn.

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ROMNEY: Under President Obama the rich have gotten richer, income inequality has gotten worse, and there are more people in poverty in America than ever before under this president. His policies have not worked. Their liberal policies are good every four years for a campaign but they don't get job done. The only policies that will reach into the hearts of American people and pull people out of poverty and break the cycle of poverty are Republican principles, conservative principles. They include family, formation on education and good jobs, and we're going to bring them to the American people and finally end the scourge of poverty in this great land.

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WHITFIELD: All right, joining me now is to talk more about this from our Washington newsroom is Chris Moody, a senior correspondent for CNNPolitics.com, Stephen Collinson, who also covers politics for CNN digital, and Erin McPike at the White House. So Erin, you first. You covered Romney's last campaign. He said he was not going to do this again. What do you think may be inspiring him this time to kind of change his tune?

ERIN MCPIKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, I actually covered his last two consecutive campaigns. And I can tell you, and he has said this, that he really, really wants to be president. And to that end, we have already heard from his adviser Eric Fehrnstrom, who in the "New York Times" this week was quoted as saying "The third time was the charm for Ronald Reagan."

Well, already though, Fred, we are hearing from some conservative thinkers, Peggy Noonan in the ""Wall Street Journal" also wrote a column this week, and she said, look, Mitt Romney is not Ronald Reagan. She's trying to disabuse conservatives of this idea in saying that Ronald Reagan was a movement really, and Mitt Romney wasn't.

But let me also point out here that Ronald Reagan didn't run I three consecutive cycles. And in 1968 and 1976 he didn't get the Republican nomination. Mitt Romney, of course, was the Republican nominee in 2012, so he was already presented to the entire American public in the general election.

And also in 1976 when Ronald Reagan ran that second time there was no social media, there was no Internet, there was no cable news. So there wasn't this echo chamber that Mitt Romney has been dealing with. And right now people are talking about Bush fatigue and Clinton fatigue. But can you imagine Romney fatigue in three consecutive cycles? So this may not be something he's really considered.

WHITFIELD: OK, and Steve, you know, Republicans didn't really, I mean, warmly embrace him right away. It took some time. And then he became, you know, the nominee. So now this time potentially. Would he be embraced by the party or is the party saying we want something new and something different?

STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL DIGITAL REPORTER: Well, I think you've already seen a lot of ambivalence by not just GOP lawmakers but in the wider conservative universe. Erin mentioned the "Wall Street Journal." There was a lacerating op-ed this week in "The Journal" which basically said Romney shouldn't try it again and there wasn't really a rationale for him to run again. Having said that, I think last night's speech was very interesting and

in some ways it was quite artful. I think it was the best, most plausible case we've had yet as to what a Republican campaign in the post-Barack Obama era might look like. He advocated a hawkish foreign policy. He said that it's time to bring opportunity, economic opportunity to more Americans. That's sort of referring to the fact that many of the middle class have been left behind by this recovery. And he even spoke about launching some kind of anti-poverty crusade.

The question is, you know, not is that not a good message for the Republican Party in 2016, but the question is, is Mitt Romney, you know, the man that Democrats demagogue for writing off 47 percent of the American population in the last election, the right man to carry that message forward?

WHITFIELD: And Chris, you heard in that sound bite we played earlier where Mitt Romney was blaming President Obama for helping the rich to get richer and the poor getting poorer. He talked about income inequality has gotten worse and more people are in poverty than ever before. And this was the candidate who so many people criticized being completely out of touch last go-round. So now is this an indicator that he's changing his tune, that he's become a little bit more compassionate if not more understanding of the average American's plight?

CHRIS MOODY, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT, CNNPOLITICS.COM: Well, it's quite hard to get into the heart and mind of a politician who has a whole record and record of statements, as well, stating kind of the opposite. It's going to be very difficult for him to make this case. As we saw in 2012 it was difficult for him to attack Obama on health care because of what he did as the governor of Massachusetts. Now looking forward to 2016 it's going to be difficult for him to talk about wage inequality and income inequality because of what he said when he said I'm not concerned about the very poor, and of course that hidden camera when he talked about the 47 percent.

So as Stephen said, he's not necessarily the best messenger. But, you know, a bold proclamation last night and we'll see if he can pull it through. But I'm skeptical and so are a lot of other people.

WHITFIELD: OK, all right, guys, don't go anywhere. Erin, Stephen, and Chris, we're going to talk more about the real president, the president right now, and his State of the Union address scheduled for Tuesday night. Let's talk next about the content of his speech.

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BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It is time to heed the call of business leaders, labor leaders, faith leaders, law enforcement, and fix our broken immigration system.

When people come here to fulfill their dreams, to study, invent, contribute to our culture, they make our country a more attractive place for businesses to locate and create jobs for everybody. So let's get immigration reform done this year.

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WHITFIELD: All right, that was the president at last year's State of the Union address. And Tuesday he will go back to Capitol Hill to layout his plans for the coming year. Back with us now, CNN's Chris Moody, Stephen Collinson, and Erin McPike. So Erin, we saw the president kind of position himself for the State of the Union. Already this week he proposed free community college, better cyber- security, and even paid sick leave for everybody. So what is expected to be on his agenda Tuesday?

MCPIKE: Well, Fred, you're right. And White House officials have decided that they need to start putting this out before the State of the Union and after so that Americans can get more of his proposals in more digestible bites. And some of the other things we're going to hear him talk about lowering rates for federally backed mortgages and also expanding high speed Internet. I also want to point out that we will see him hit the road after the State of the Union to sell more of this, Fred.

WHITFIELD: OK, Chris, what are the points that this president needs to really hit hard?

MOODY: Well, you got to consider the audience. The room will be filled mostly with Republicans for the -- including with the Senate for first time in a long time, although there have always been Republicans in the House since 2010. But so they're feeling emboldened after their victory last year in the 2014 election cycle, and I think they're going to want to hear how he's going to work with them. But he's never necessarily been very good at that. That's not his strong suit. So it's going to be fascinating to see if he comes out there and says here's what I want to do, get with the program or don't, or strike some more conciliatory tone and puts forth some kind of olive branch to them.

WHITFIELD: And Stephen, it will be interesting, too, if the president takes this opportunity to say, yes, I want to work with you, Republican controlled House and Senate, or if it will underscore his initial response not long ago where he said, you know what, I'm going to get things done even if it means executive order.

COLLINSON: Right. And if you talk to people in the White House they say they're actually quite pleased where the president is right now politically. They think they've sort of built on the momentum that the president triggered last year when he was bouncing back from that debacle in the midterm elections. You remember those executive orders. He signed on immigration reform and ,Cuba which sort of helped him tick up in the approval ratings. And they believe that they sort of sustained that over the start of this year despite the fact that the Republicans have taken over the Senate and you've had a lot of news coverage on the GOP presidential race that's just starting off.

And momentum is very important for a president in his seventh year. He's facing the prospect of becoming a lame duck because it translates to political relevancy. So this is an important speech for the president to keep up that momentum and stay in the limelight in the Washington political arena.

WHITFIELD: All right, Stephen Collinson, thanks so much, Chris Moody, Erin McPike, thanks to all of you, appreciate it.

CNN's State of the Union coverage starts Tuesday, 7:00 p.m. eastern time. Be sure to join us for the complete coverage of the president's speech to the nation.

And a look at our top stories right now before we go this hour. A typhoon in the Philippines forced Pope Francis to cut short a huge outdoor mass today. Despite high winds and drenching rain thousands of worshippers showed up for the services on Tacloban. That's the same area that was devastated by a super typhoon back in 2013. After the service the Pope headed to Manila, and that's where he will deliver an outdoor mass to more than a million people tomorrow.

And a major announcement from the U.S. Supreme Court. The justices have decided they will hear arguments on whether states have the right to ban same-sex couples from marrying. Right now 36 states allow same-sex marriage, including the District of Columbia. The justices will hear arguments in April and issue a ruling by June.

And a show of support for law enforcement officers in Washington, D.C. It's called the Sea of Blue March and it was started by wives of D.C. area police officers. They organized the march in response to the protests last year against police officers after the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner. An event spokesperson talked about the risks and pressures officers face each day.

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ANDY MAYBO, CHAIRMAN, NATIONAL MEMORIAL COMMITTEE: It's not a matter if. It's a matter of when. And that's for every law enforcement officer. At some point in their career they're going to be challenged. When you look at the police officers, whether it's city, town, sheriffs, you know, the U.S. capital police standing behind me, everybody comes to work every day knowing the risks, but they do their job every day, they go home to their families. And for those that don't go home to their families, those are the ones we need to remember and honor through rallies like this, also.

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WHITFIELD: People who attended were urged to wear blue. Organizers say they wanted to send a message to police officers that they are appreciated.

Thanks so much for being with me this afternoon. I'm Fredericka Whitfield. We have much more straight ahead in the Newsroom. And it all starts right now.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Hi there, everyone. You're in the CNN Newsroom. I'm Poppy Harlow joining you live from New York. This is our live coverage, our special coverage of some really extraordinary developments happening around the world as we speak. In France, in Belgium, troops are now being deployed alongside police guarding potential targets of terrorist attacks. This as a manhunt for terrorist sweeps across Europe is taking place, raids and more than two dozen terror arrests, anti-terrorism police thwarting attacks and storming sleeper cells.

And we're also getting news of clashes over the latest "Charlie Hebdo" magazine cover depicting the Prophet Mohammed.

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