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Trump Administration Now Sending Additional Forces To Baghdad; A Disturbing Picture Emerging Of The Alleged Hanukkah Stabber. Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired December 31, 2019 - 14:00   ET

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

BRIANNA KEILAR: "Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice," premieres New Year's Day at 9:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific, only on CNN. Happy New Year to you. I'll be back at 5:00 p.m. Eastern on "THE SITUATION ROOM." Ryan Nobles continues our coverage right now.

[14:00:29]

RYAN NOBLES, CNN HOST: Hello, everyone. I'm Ryan Nobles, in today for Brooke Baldwin. Thank you for joining me and welcome to a Special Edition of NEWSROOM.

We begin with breaking news out of Iraq, the Trump administration now sending additional forces to Baghdad as protesters storm the U.S. Embassy there. Security teams firing off tear gas as the mob angry over recent U.S. airstrikes continues to set multiple fires and shout anti-American chants. The violence escalating for hours now. At one point, the group attempting to smash in a door.

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NOBLES: Inside the embassy, American troops standing guard. The compound still on lockdown. President Trump directly blaming Iran saying he will hold the regime quote, "fully responsible." Let's get right to CNN's Ryan Browne. He is at the Pentagon. Ryan, what is the latest from U.S. officials?

RYAN BROWNE, CNN PENTAGON REPORTER: Well, the latest is that the Embassy has not been evacuated as you said. The personnel there remain on lockdown. Now these protesters are still there and many of these protesters are not the typical political protests we've been seeing that have roiled Baghdad for some time now.

These protesters appear to largely be comprised of members of the militia group, the Hezbollah, the same group that the U.S. targeted in airstrikes and senior U.S. officials have asked the Iraqi government to do more to dispel the protesters to safeguard the U.S. Embassy.

The Iraqi government issuing a statement saying while they condemn those American airstrikes, they would like all citizens to not protest, to not riot, if you will, in the vicinity of the diplomatic quarter of these diplomatic posts.

It appears that they are not listening to that and they appear to be hunkering down and that this could go on for some time. NOBLES: So how is the U.S. military responding?

BROWNE: Well, the Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said he was sending additional forces and we now have confirmed that two Apache helicopters flew overhead in a show of force. You see video of that that was released by the military there and they released flares. This is chafing. This is kind of it's meant to protect the helicopter if it's shot at, but it can also be used as a warning flare.

And we've been seeing an attempt to kind of do this show of force warning these militia members that the U.S. military will respond with military force if personnel -- American personnel and facilities are threatened.

And we're also being told that the U.S. has dispatched about a hundred or so Marines from a Crisis Response Unit in Kuwait. They've arrived at the U.S. Embassy to help bolster security there. These are special Marine units that is, you know, on-hand for these kind of crisis response scenarios.

They have the ability to help bolster the military Marine force that's already at the Embassy in addition to contractors and some Diplomatic Security Service personnel.

So it's a large Embassy compound there. You know, it has good defenses, but the Defense Department wanting to ramp those defenses up in the wake of these protests.

NOBLES: All right, the administration, obviously taking it very seriously. Ryan Browne, live from the Pentagon with an update there.

Let's go to the Middle East now. CNN Senior International Correspondent, Arwa Damon is in Turkey. Arwa, what's the perspective there?

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Look, this is a very, very serious situation. Right now from what we can tell from some live images, the fires that were burning appear to have gotten a little smaller, the crowd has slightly dispersed. But from what we understand, this is being called an open-ended protest until these demands are met.

At the forefront of that is a U.S. withdrawal from Iraq and these protesters are not your ordinary protesters. They're members of this umbrella paramilitary entity. They managed to walk straight through all of the security checkpoints leading up to the U.S. Embassy and we heard from Kata'ib Hezbollah, which is a member of this paramilitary unit, ostensibly a part of the Iraqi Security Forces.

Kata'ib Hezbollah again also is that group that the U.S. was targeting on Sunday and they said that their intent in all of this was to send a message to the Americans that they quite literally, Ryan, can walk right up to their front door.

[14:05:08] NOBLES: So, Arwa, obviously that means that the Iraqi government in

some way, shape or form must be complicit with this protest. I mean, how far do you think the Iraqi government is willing to take this and at some point, should we expect them to intervene?

DAMON: Look, the Iraqi Iranian government has a very complicated relationship with this particular group. This paramilitary force known as the Popular Mobilization Force is made up of a number of former Shia militias, many of whom had ties to Iran, and it was created because when ISIS swept through Iraq, almost reaching the gates of Baghdad.

They needed people to be able to go out and fight on the ground and even the U.S. will tell you that this force was instrumental in the battle against ISIS.

It is ostensibly under the umbrella of the Iraqi Security Forces, though not necessarily, many will tell you, in the control of the Iraqi government.

But when that strike happened on Sunday, the Iraqi government very much viewed this as being a strike against its own forces versus what the Americans are saying which is that it was a strike against this one particular militia, Kata'ib Hezbollah.

So the Iraqi government is in a very difficult position right now as well. We heard from the Prime Minister who has repeatedly condemned these strikes by the Americans, who has said that they were a violation of sovereignty, but who at the same time has called on these protesters not to threaten the U.S. Embassy or the lives of us personnel.

But as to whether or not the government would get into some sort of direct confrontation with this particular force? That would be a very, very difficult position to be in for them.

NOBLES: Arwa, thank you for clearing that up for us. It seems in this case, the enemy of our enemy, maybe no longer the friend of the United States. Arwa Damon, live from Istanbul.

Let's talk more about this now with Aaron David Miller, CNN global affairs analyst, a former Middle East negotiator for the State Department. Aaron, you see what's happening there? The recent U.S.- Iran tensions, obviously have stoked fears of maybe a new proxy war in the Middle East.

If these protests continue to escalate, just how dangerous could this situation get?

AARON DAVID MILLER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, you could end up with a significant confrontation not only between the United States military, 5,000 forces deployed and in many respects, vulnerable to IEDs and asymmetrical attacks or you're going to end up with a U.S.- Iranian confrontation. I don't think it'll go that far.

But I think we've reached a new level, Ryan. When you essentially attack a U.S. diplomatic establishment, the echoes here of 1979 in Teheran, and even Benghazi, faint though they may be, suggests a new sort of level of political and perhaps military confrontation.

I don't know whether the administration thought through carefully enough the reactions of attacking five bases, killing 25 fighters and wounding scores of others, but somehow, we, not just the Trump administration, but previous administrations have this notion that when America acts, the adversaries can't react. They have a vote, too, and you're seeing that on the ground.

And we're not playing on our own court. This is an away game and it's an away game on a field which the United States, however preponderant its military advantage, asymmetrically faces a situation where you have Iranian militias. You've got an Iraqi government that is torn between its dependence on Iran and its reliance on the United States.

So I suspect this is not a one-off. We'll be dealing with this particular situation at the Embassy for days to come.

NOBLES: It's interesting you compare it to the situation in Tehran and then even go as far as to compare it to Benghazi. How concerned are you that what we're seeing is more a symbolic problem here, that they're just trying to, you know, rabble rouse to a certain extent, or that it's a legitimate security threat that could perhaps overwhelm the protection forces there at the Embassy?

MILLER: Yes, I mean, I don't want to push the Tehran-Benghazi analogy too far. My only point in raising it is it raises the question about whether U.S. decisions, in each of those cases, were carefully thought through.

NOBLES: Right.

MILLER: Putting the United States at a real disadvantage. I mean, I think the Iranians don't want and neither does this administration and this President in an election year want a messy confrontation with Iran, but again, the administration is going to be torn between wanting to step up and be tough and demonstrate American credibility in one hand and not trip into an unwanted major escalation on the other, and it's not clear to me yet which direction this is going.

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NOBLES: Well, to that end, I want to read to you what President Trump tweeted earlier today, he said, quote, "To those many millions of people in Iraq who want freedom, and who do not want to be dominated and controlled by Iran, this is your time."

I'm having a hard time trying to understand exactly where the President is going here. It's almost as if he's asking, you know, average Iraqis to kind of rise up against the Iranian regime. Couldn't that lead to even bigger problems?

MILLER: I mean, I think that would be an unmitigated disaster because we certainly don't have the capacity to protect the Iraqis, even from their own security forces. And I think that -- you know, I'm no expert on the President's

Tweetology. But I think to a large extent, you know, the President is like a modern-day Gulliver, wandering around in a region of the world, in the Middle East that he doesn't understand, tied up by smaller powers whose interests are not our own, and by our own illusions.

And one of the illusions is that somehow the United States through military action and economic sanction can force these smaller powers to do their bidding.

And the truth is, you know, 17, 18, 19 years of involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan, you know, has proven that it's a cautionary tale, Ryan, great powers meddling in the affairs of smaller ones, at least in this region at their own risk.

NOBLES: And so finally, additional troops are being sent into the area to protect the personnel around the Embassy. You know, President Trump ran a campaign where he promised to pull the United States out of all these military entanglements, not that sending a small security force in means a ramp up in terms of troops in that region. But what does it mean going forward? I mean, how long will they need to be there to try and stabilize the situation?

MILLER: Well, it depends whether this event is a headline or a trend line. They've set up tents outside the walls of the compound. I mean, I don't know, the Iranians -- it might be to the Iranian advantage, frankly, to see this as a longer term effort to regain a propaganda advantage.

Look, President Trump would be out of Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria tomorrow if he had his druthers. I don't think that's going to be possible, but remember, he has got to compete with a drawdown in Afghanistan, which he wants to achieve. It seems to me the 5,000 Americans in Iraq, at least for the moment aren't going anywhere.

NOBLES: Aaron David Miller, as always, excellent expertise on this very volatile region. We appreciate you being here.

MILLER: Thanks, Ryan. And Happy New Year.

NOBLES: Happy New Year to you as well, my friend.

A disturbing picture emerging of the alleged Hanukkah stabber. Prosecutor say Grafton Thomas researched Hitler and synagogues online. Now, we're learning more about a possible link to the military.

Plus, as 2019 comes to a close, President Trump is ramping up his reelection campaign, but will his approach resonate with voters?

And goodbye 2019, hello 2020. Tight security and a lot of excitement on New Year's Eve. We will go live to Times Square.

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[14:17:38] NOBLES: The District Attorney for Rockland County, New York says that

he will file attempted murder charges against the man accused of stabbing five people during a Hanukkah celebration over the weekend.

Grafton Thomas, who was detained by a Federal judge after appearing in court Monday is already facing Federal hate crimes charges, and we're learning more about Thomas's background including serving a short stint in the military.

CNN's Brynn Gingras is at the site of the attack in Monsey, New York. Brynn, what's the latest?

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Ryan, well, you're right. We learned that Grafton Thomas, 37 years old, the suspect in this case. He served in the Marines for a two-year stint, and something the family's attorney really pointed out in a news conference after that criminal complaint, that Federal indictment was filed regarding those five hate crime charges, and essentially, they're sort of painting a picture about Thomas as saying, you know, he has a history of mental illness.

He is on medications. He has been hospitalized multiple times. And there's really nothing in his blood that points to any sort of anti- Semitism.

Of course, if you read this six-page criminal complaint filed by a U.S. attorney, it's a very different picture. We know from that complaint that Federal investigators uncovered a lot of evidence from Thomas's car and from his home and some of that evidence that really points to anti-Semitism as a possible motive.

In the home, authority say they found a journal with writings with Hitler references, Nazi references, also pictures of the Star of David and swastikas.

And also we learned from that criminal complaint that investigators did a search on his cell phone and he did online searches with sort of anti-Semitic sentiments, searches of nearby synagogues, searches about businesses owned by Jews, things to that nature.

So again, two very different pictures that we're seeing from the family members of Grafton Thomas and also from authorities. As you noted to your viewers, he is facing Federal hate crime charges. He is in Federal custody right now, but he also is going to be in court this Friday on those state attempted murder charges -- Ryan.

NOBLES: And Brynn, okay, we're going to -- Brynn Gingras, thank you for that report. We appreciate it. We're going to bring in Peter Beinart now. He is a CNN political commentator and a contributing editor at "The Atlantic," and a senior columnist at "The Forward."

Peter, you know, there have been kind of a range of emotions that have gone through people's minds in the wake of these attacks, you know, fear, outrage, confusion, maybe even a mix of all three. I mean, what's been your reaction to what you've seen?

[14:20:14]

PETER BEINART, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I have to say I've never really as an American Jew, you know, almost 50 years old, I've really never quite experienced anything like the mood just following social media, thanks for my kids' Jewish day school synagogue -- just the response.

I mean, starting a year ago, of course, with the shooting in Pittsburgh, but now with this terrifying and kind of bewildering series of attacks around New York.

I think part of what's so bewildering about it is that many American Jews, I think, grew up on the one hand, knowing that anti-Semitism was this incredibly powerful force in our history, but also believing that America was a different kind of country, and that there was a trajectory of progress and that our lives would be different than the lives of our parents and our grandparents.

I don't want to say that's been completely eroded. I mean, America obviously is a different country, but we see that these things are more fragile and we realized that and that's a new feeling.

NOBLES: Yes. You know, it does seem that there's been an uptick in hate crimes across the board.

BEINART: Yes.

NOBLES: And not just necessarily targeting Jews, just kind of an idea that if someone's different that somehow makes them bad or wrong or dangerous. Do you have any idea what could be prompting this type of behavior?

BEINART: I think you're making a really important point. I think it's important for us to see this in this larger picture, this terrible rash of attacks against Muslims and Latinos that have taken place.

And I think the response to this has to be a kind of a joint response, putting aside differences.

Obviously, Donald Trump bears some responsibility for this broader climate, certainly when it comes to anti-Muslim and anti-Latino hate crimes.

But I think we also see in these cases -- this case and others that anti-Semitism is -- and bigotry in general is a truly mysterious force. This man seems to have been a deeply troubled individual with mental illness, and yet there was something in the ether in our culture that led him to move towards anti-Semitism. That's frightening.

NOBLES: Right. Right. I want to read to you from a new column on cnn.com from our former correspondent, Frida Ghitis, and she writes the following, "If you think that this is a New York problem, or Jewish problem, or perhaps a far right or far left or a black or white problem, you should think again. History has engraved a lesson about anti-Semitism for all humanity."

"Anti-Semitism is a symptom of a larger societal problem. Sure, when Jews are unsafe, it is they who are most at risk, but Jews are the canary in the coal mine, an early warning sign of a community or a nation losing its moorings. The coal mine is filling with toxic fumes."

Is it that bad? Should we be that concerned as Frida writes?

BEINART: I think that's exactly right. Jews historically have been different. We've been set apart in a whole series of ways. And so when societies revile difference, when they cannot accept difference, often they turn against Jews.

And what we're seeing in this era in American history, I think, is an intolerance of difference not only expressed against Jews, but also against Muslims, against Latinos, against trans people. And I think to some degree, it's being fueled by our political leaders, particularly Donald Trump.

Again, I'm not suggesting that Donald Trump is responsible for this man's attack in Monsey in any way. But I am suggesting that as that column suggests, that in a climate in which we come to denigrate and deride difference, usually Jews are imperiled and society as a whole is imperiled.

NOBLES: I mean, it does seem and it's not just President Trump, but you do see across the world, leaders taking advantage of the fact that people are leaning into this type of hatred in -- kind of across a broad spectrum.

BEINART: Absolutely. If you look at what Modi is doing in India, or what you see or Bolsonaro in Brazil, to some degree, even Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel, what you see is leaders who in diverse societies are holding up the notion that minority groups are a threat to the homogeneity and purity of the nation in various ways.

Again, I'm not suggesting that those leaders bear responsibility for this attack. But I am suggesting that we have a cultural problem, which has erupted around the world in a growing intolerance and a growing unwillingness to recognize that pluralism has to be at the heart of liberal democracy.

NOBLES: Right. And one of my questions for you is how do we fix it? But I would guess that one of your answers would be that it needs to come from leadership, right? We need those in power to be the ones that separate out this, call it out when it's a problem, and then lead by example.

BEINART: Yes, and I think what's particularly powerful is when people who are from not from the group affected speak out. It's been -- it's tremendously important I think that other Americans who are not directly affected by anti-Semitism respond in this moment, just it is so important that Jews respond, that we respond when Latinos are attacked or Muslims are attacked, that ultimately the strength I think is in people coming together across these divisions. NOBLES: Right, and I suppose beginning it as a conversation like

this. So Peter, I appreciate your being.

BEINART: Thank you.

NOBLES: Happy New Year. All right, a unique approach to fighting violence. Still to come, police in Chicago touting a dramatic drop in the homicide rate for the third year in a row, and it is all because of a strategy that involves compassion and outreach.

And the NYPD pulling out all the stops to protect one of the biggest parties of the year. We will go live to Times Square for a New Year's Eve tradition that's been around for more than a century.

[14:25:26]

NOBLES: As the waiting game continues in Times Square, celebrations are already underway in other parts of the world. People in Bangkok, Thailand rang in 2020 about two hours ago.

In Taiwan a show in the sky as thousands of fireworks were shot off the city's tallest building, Taipei's 101 skyscraper was lit up floor by floor as a countdown to the New Year.

And fireworks were also front and center in Marina Bay, Singapore.

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