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John Kerry Speaks in Kiev; War on ISIS Intensifies with Jordan Leading; Questions on Saudis Giving Money to al Qaeda for 9/11; Online Marketplace Mastermind Found Guilty

Aired February 05, 2015 - 11:30   ET

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

JOHN KERRY, SECRETARY OF STATE: And we understand the importance of all those who have been advocates of a free and Democratic Ukraine and all those who understand the importance of the effort being expended by the people of Ukraine. It makes it all the more important that we are there for the long term and for the future.

Today, I was very pleased to hear in all of my meetings that the government remains very committed to the path of reform, and the reform process, though difficult, is part of the economic future of Ukraine. That is, in fact, Ukraine's best weapon in the end in terms of this fight for sovereignty and independence and democracy. The more the reforms take hold, the more the reforms take place, the more there will be investment from the outside, the more opportunity there will be to deal with the economic crisis, and the more the people of Ukraine will believe that they are getting exactly what they fought for, which is important.

The prime minister, the president, the foreign minister each highlighted the efforts to me that are already under way in order to root out corruption, to reform the judicial and the energy sector, to fix Ukraine's financial system, and to improve the business climate. Now, obviously, we are focused first and foremost on stopping the violence that has torn through eastern Ukraine. Since last April, more than 5, 350 people have been killed, thousands of residential buildings have been completely destroyed. The shelling by the separatists is indiscriminate, hitting hospitals, schools and public areas where civilians wait in line for a bus for transportation, for food, and for supplies.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been forced to flee, leaving everything behind, that's if they're even able to be able to get out. Families are huddled in basements and train stations without food, without heat, without electricity, not knowing whether they will be able or when they might be able to leave.

So this is the reality that far too many people are facing here in this conflict. As a result of that, as the prime minister mentioned a moment ago, the United States is committing another several million dollars, $16.5 million, immediately in order to help those Ukrainians most affected by the conflict in the Donbas. And like other humanitarian aid that we have provided since the conflict began, these funds are going to support the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, the U.N. Office of Coordination for Humanitarian Affairs, and other organizations, and it is money that will be specifically directed to go to the east, to the very place that Russia's aid to the separatists and the separatists' efforts are having the most negative impact. So we're not overlooking even that area of conflict.

This announcement brings the total U.S. assistance to Ukraine to more than $355 million since the crisis began for the purpose of addressing these kinds of emergency humanitarian needs. That's outside of other assistance that we have provided directly to the government in various other forms, and outside of the loan guarantees that I just mentioned.

Now, we are deeply concerned that the violence in Ukraine is accelerating. That's why I'm here. That's why President Hollande and Chancellor Merkel are here. That's why this weekend we will meet again in Munich, the Munich conference with Vice President Biden, with Chancellor Merkel and others, in order to continue the diplomacy that is taking place here today.

Far from meeting the Minsk commitments, Russia and the separatists are seizing more territory, terrorizing more citizens, and refusing to participate in serious negotiations. Let there be no doubt about who is blocking the prospect of peace here. They continue to refuse Ukraine the control of its own border -- its own border. This is an international border recognized as the sovereign property and line of demarcation of a nation state in the modern world. Yet Russia with impunity, seemingly, has acted to cross that border at will with weapons, with personnel, with the instruments of death that they are bringing into Ukraine.

Russia and the separatists are seizing more territory and continuing to refuse control to Ukraine of its rights as a sovereign nation. Russian weapons and fighters -- and I might add, this is not an accusation without foundation. We live in a modern world of great technology. Everybody understands the ability to see things from high altitudes, whether it's in space or lower. And the fact is we have been tracing and we have seen exactly what they're bringing over, when and how, and there's no question about tanks flowing, rocket systems being transported, convoys of goods carrying both people, weapons and other instruments of battle.

So, unfortunately, a large propaganda system in their media continues to spew what can only be characterized as lies about what is happening on the ground and who is responsible for violence.

Now, we know one thing for sure. President Putin can make the choices that could end this war together, with President Poroshenko's choices to move towards peace as he has evidenced he is prepared to do and wants to do and has done so in good faith in his effort to sign on to the Minsk agreements.

As I have said repeatedly, there have been a number of off-ramps for Russia to take over the course of the past months, but unfortunately they've been left in the rear view mirror. Those off-ramps are narrowing and there's still an opportunity to be able to seize them. There is a way back to better ties with Europe, with the west, with the United States. There is a way to get back to a cooperative set of measures that we can take together. But it begins with a cease-fire and with allowing Russia -- allowing

Ukraine to control its own international border and respect that border and begin to move the heavy machinery, the heavy weapons of war, out to the opposite side of that border. It also begins with the release of political prisoners including Nadia Savchenko and others.

As soon as these choices are made, this situation can improve. The only way that it ends is through diplomacy. We have no illusions that there is a, quote, military solution. And contrary to some comments that I've read in the last days coming from some of the folks who have made the choices to fuel this conflict, we are not choosing a military outcome. We are choosing a peaceful solution through diplomacy. But you cannot have a one-sided peace. It takes the parties to come together in an effort to try to achieve it.

Now, people thought that had happened with the Minsk agreement, that that was a significant step with a significant road forward to be able to achieve a different outcome. No one, not Ukraine, not the United States, not our European partners, want this conflict with Russia to continue another day, not another day. All we're asking is, though, that Russia and the separatists support and honor the commitments that they made, that they implement a real cease-fire, including by pulling back those heavy weapons from the cease-fire line at the border, that they remove foreign troops and equipment from Ukraine, that hostages are released and ultimately that they respect the international border and Ukrainian sovereignty.

I can guarantee you the United States of America help be a guarantor of that kind of a peace if it can be achieved. For its part --

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: You've been listening to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who is in Kiev meeting with the leaders of Ukraine, talking about the grave situation in the eastern part of that country, the Ukrainian military battling pro-Russian separatists. In some cases, the secretary says Russians themselves are seizing more territory, terrorizing more civilians. He says there's no ambiguity about it. Whatever propaganda that coming out to the contrary, he says, is simply lies.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Simply lies. The big question and what all the reporters are waiting for, is being able to ask questions about what the United States is going to be able to do in terms of doing more. Are they going to be able to provide defensive lethal aid as debated within the administration, we are hearing? Are they going to go through with that? That's part of the conversation going forward. We'll keep you updated as this develops.

We'll be right back after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: Breaking news. The war on ISIS is intensifying with Jordan now unleashing a new wave of air strikes on the terror group. U.S. warplanes, part of this action. They were flying alongside the Jordanian fighter jets in support of this mission. BOLDUAN: This is all payback for the barbaric murder of Jordanian

pilot, Muath al Kaseasbeh. Jordan's king has vowed, in his words, "a relentless war on the terror group."

CNN global affairs, analyst, Retired Lieutenant Colonel James Reese, is joining us. He's a former U.S. Delta Force commander.

Colonel, it's great to see you.

On this, maybe we call it the first of the new wave. I want to get your quick take on what do you make of this? Barbara Starr reported maybe two dozen air strikes going in Syria from Jordan. What do you make of it?

LT. COL. JAMES REESE (RET.), CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Good morning. What you know is we know this, there are several targets that CENTCOM and the coalition has been building up continuously, and that goes into, as Barbara spoke many times, the air tasking order. In those targets, they take the number of assets available for that day and put them on the targets. King Abdullah said we want to get more involved, we're got more assets, we're ready to launch right now. That's what they did. They took those additional Jordanian assets, put them against the ATO for known targets they have. What the U.S. does, they fly cap support, tanker support, if they need gas while they're in the air, and all the other intelligence and ISR that we know we bring to bear to allow the Jordanians to take the lead on those lead targets.

BERMAN: Colonel, from an operational standpoint, what does this change?

REESE: John, it doesn't really change anything. We get to service additional targets because there's more assets brought to bear by CENTCOM. What I believe and what I hope to see is that this influx of the Jordanian piece starts to bring the other Arab countries into bear and they start wanting to take the lead on this and we can back away a little bit as I call being the consultant for this war against the extremists.

BOLDUAN: Colonel, to this point -- I guess there are probably two sides of this argument -- but this point, by and large, it doesn't seem air strikes alone are, quote, unquote, "defeating ISIS" as President Obama, as other leaders have laid out is the intended goal. A lot of the conversation has been focused on will Arab nations put boots on the ground, who will be putting boots on the ground. What do you think the next step has to be if more and more air strikes aren't necessarily doing it?

REESE: Well, we have to break this down in two different aspects. You have -- I'll call it the Iraq theater now. Now what you have is the Syrian theatre of focus. Unfortunately, we can't bring both of these together. The Iraqis, the American Special Operations forces advising and assisting them and even the Iranian Shia militia are starting to work the boots on the ground, that piece. In Syria, again, things we've been talking about for months, there's no policy what we're going to do. Do I think the Jordanians, Saudis, Kuwaitis, Emirates and even the Turks will get involved with boots on the ground? Yes, I do. But only if the U.S. puts together a policy on how we do this diplomatically.

BERMAN: Lieutenant Colonel James Reese, thanks for being with us.

We'll stay on this and update you on the results.

BOLDUAN: Throughout the day, absolutely.

BERMAN: A few minutes left for us. Did members of the Saudi royal family give money to al Qaeda? The man known as the 20th hijacker in the 9/11 attacks says that happened. But are his words credible?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: The allegations could change what we know about who helped pay and finance the 9/11 terror attacks. The so-called 20th hijacker is pointing fingers now at a key U.S. ally, Saudi Arabia.

BERMAN: Zacarias Moussoui claims members of the Saudi royal family gave al Qaeda money, members of that family, including a former ambassador to the United States. Before you say these are accusations coming from a mentally unstable terrorist, those claims seem to corroborate with some of what U.S. lawmakers have said, among them, former chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Bob Graham. He wants part of the 9/11 Commission report released, part of it that has been classified, 28 pages. Why? He says these 28 pages primarily relate to who financed 9/11 and they point a very strong finger at Saudi Arabia as being the principal financier.

BOLDUAN: Congressman Stephen Lynch, from Massachusetts, he's joining us now to discuss this.

Congressman, you are also asking that President Obama declassify these secret pages, Part Four, if you will, of the report. Why do you want these pages declassified? What do you think are in these pages?

REP. STEPHEN LYNCH, (D), MASSACHUSETTS: I've actually read the pages, so I know exactly what's in them. The reason we want them disclosed is, number one, transparency is a good way to operate. This is 14 years after the fact of the attacks on 9/11. We think that the families deserve it. A number of them are in lawsuit against certain individuals they feel may be complicit in those attacks. Lastly, I think having those 28 pages disclosed to the public will inform our foreign policy going forward, which will be very helpful at this stage.

BERMAN: Sir, I don't want you to divulge information that's classified, but you read these pages. Does it corroborate what Zacarias Moussoui says that members of the Saudi royal family funded al Qaeda terrorists?

LYNCH: It is classified. I am bound. But let me just say this. I have read Mr. Moussoui's testimony, the excerpts that have been made public. I've also listened to Senator Graham's statements, which were very forceful. The contents of the 28 pages do not contradict anything that those two people have said.

BOLDUAN: Think -- without you having to say it, Congressman, that's confirmation that you're corroborating what you think Zacarias Moussoui has said, these allegations.

(CROSSTALK)

BERMAN: Go ahead.

LYNCH: I'm sorry, go ahead.

BERMAN: What do you think the Obama administration is hiding then? Why won't they declassify?

LYNCH: Remember, remember, this was the Bush White House that originally -- they did not just redact these pages. They excised 28 pages from the report that was public. So the Obama administration has also abided by that -- that decision to keep these classified.

(CROSSTALK)

BOLDUAN: Congressman, I'm sorry to jump in. We're running out of time. We've got a lot of live events going on today. I want to get a key question in to you about this because you're getting some push back, especially Republicans, some of your colleagues on the Hill saying, why does it matter now, what is the value on this information now, what is the value of this information now? The war on terror has shifted significantly since 2002. The players in the region have shifted significantly. What's the value?

LYNCH: The value is that, in those 28 pages, there are people named, there are transactions identified. I think it's important for people to know this. What are they afraid of? Put this information out there. Let us assess it and -- but I think it will inform our foreign policy going forward. I also think the truth is important. And these families that have suffered unbelievably because of the attacks on 9/11, we owe them a full accounting. That's what this is all about.

BOLDUAN: Congressman Stephen Lynch, thank you so much for your time. We'll definitely be following up on this.

LYNCH: Thanks, Kate.

BOLDUAN: Lot of news to get to. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: The mastermind behind an online marketplace that allowed users to buy and sell everything from drugs to hacking tutorials, has been found guilty of drug trafficking and other charges.

BERMAN: Ross Ulbricht could face up to life in prison for his involvement in a site called Silk Road. He will be sentenced in May. His parents maintain their son's innocence.

"CNN Money" tech correspondent, Laurie Segall, is here with us. You've got more on the background of the story and you also spoke with

those parents.

LAURIE SEGALL, "CNN MONEY" TECH CORRESPONDENT: I did. This trial is really unprecedented. It puts on trial the dark web and the future of how we browse the Internet. His parents do say he's innocent. I pushed them on that because there's a lot going against him. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEGALL: Is it possible there was a whole other side to Ross that you guys just didn't know?

LYN ULBRICHT, MOTHER OF ROSS ULBRICHT: I think in 30 years, there would have been a glimmer among either us, his family, all his friends, and everyone who knew him.

KIRK ULBRICHT, FATHER OF ROSS ULBRICHT: I feel like I know Ross as well as a father can know a son. We were very close. We were buddies.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SEGALL: They say they're going to appeal this. They also say they don't believe there was enough evidence presented. They say there was evidence suppressed.

That being said, their son is facing life in prison. These are very serious charges.

BOLDUAN: Life in prison.

SEGALL: The max is life in prison. They said for anyone who has a criminal enterprise online, look at this. That's what they said after the trial.

BERMAN: Laurie Segall, no one knows the dark web like you do. Thanks so much for being with us.

(LAUGHTER)

Thank you so much. Appreciate it.

BOLDUAN: Thank you so much, Laurie.

All right. That's all for us today. Thank you so much for joining us.

BERMAN: "LEGAL VIEW" starts right now.