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President Trump Speaks Out on Military Strike; Trump Administration on Path to War With Iran?. Aired 3-3:30p ET

Aired January 03, 2020 - 15:00   ET

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

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ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN HOST: We're back. Top of the hour. You're watching CNN on this Friday. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Thank you for being here.

The breaking news is this: The world is on edge and thousands of U.S. troops are now being deployed to the Middle East.

This is all happening after President Trump ordered the killing of arguably the second most powerful figure in all of Iran. His name was Qasem Soleimani. He was Iran's top military commander. He was killed in a drone strike. And Iran is now vowing harsh revenge.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has been spending the day taking phone calls with his counterparts in the region, including a senior Iraqi official. Earlier, Secretary Pompeo telling CNN that President Trump directed the killing because Soleimani posed an imminent threat.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE POMPEO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: President Trump's decision to remove Qasem Soleimani from the battlefield saved American lives. There's no doubt about that.

He was actively plotting in the region to take actions, a big action, as he described it, that would have put dozens, if not hundreds of American lives at risk.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: We are also just in the last few minutes learning from the chairman of the Joint Chiefs that there was -- quote -- "compelling intelligence" and clear evidence that Soleimani was planning a -- quote -- "significant campaign of violence."

In minutes, we will see the president for the first time since the deadly strike. He leaves Mar-a-Lago a little later this hour. Will he talked to reporters? Will he address this? We are all over that, because the major question right now is, is the U.S. on a path to war with Iran?

Thousands have been out protesting in the streets of the capital city of Iran, Tehran. Soleimani's replacement has already been announced.

And that's where we begin, in Iran, with CNN's Ramin Mostaghim. He is there.

And, Ramin, what has the response been from Tehran?

RAMIN MOSTAGHIM, CNN REPORTER: Just a calling, a petition from across the country by students and different walks of society rallying behind the supreme leader and ruling theocracy, calling for revenge, revenge, revenge as soon as possible.

Today, the Student Mobilization Coordination Council of Islamic Azad University across the country, they have issued a petition to register, summoning people to register to take revenge. So they're mobilizing their forces to take revenge.

That is the mood. But politicians, top leaders are showing self- restraint and thinking what to do. But the attack or retaliation against American interest is a matter of when, not if -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: It's what that revenge was.

Ramin, thank you very much in Tehran for us.

On the revenge, the imminent threats, Secretary Pompeo says Soleimani was planning those imminent threats, the State Department confirming there were attacks against American personnel and facilities in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria and beyond.

So, Tom Foreman is in Washington, D.C., just to explain more about this part of the world and exactly who is friends with who.

So, Tom, the floor is yours.

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Their is no question, Brooke, that Iran has allies of various sorts in Yemen, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, maybe other places as well.

But those are some of the big players out there, where they can certainly call on people to initiate action. What would they initiate against? Well, obviously, we have already seen Iran put pressure here on the Strait of Hormuz, one of the great flow points in the entire world for oil supplies.

You remember the attacks that happened on Saudi oil fields here as well. Between Iran directly and other forces possibly exerting themselves, that also is an area in which they can leverage their own power and the power of other forces nearby to help them win and if they decide they're going to strike back.

The U.S. has allies here as well, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, and so on. There are other people there that can help promote U.S. interests. But this also increases the degree of tension in the area, if this keeps escalating at this point.

And we really want to take a look at what matters here. Besides the simple fact that we have interests like oil there, this is one of the really important things, U.S. troops in the region. We're talking about sending 3,000 more in.

This is roughly how they are arrayed right now. So is Iran likely to try to go after places like Qatar, Bahrain, where you have thousands and thousands? Saudi Arabia? Probably not so much, because there are so many troops there.

But look over here. This is one area that I know some military leaders are concerned about. Remember the big pullback from Syria? Now we're talking about 500 to 1,000 people there. They are very close to some of these Iranian allies in the region, physically very close to them.

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That has to be an area of concern. Look at this region. Look at the Americans there. This becomes not only a fair amount of force there, but also a lot to guard all at once if Iran starts triggering all these different groups to say, strike and strike now.

That is the reason so many leaders are so uneasy right now, because the potential for a counterstrike and an escalation is absolutely there -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Yes, Tom, thank you so much.

Douglas Silliman is a former U.S. ambassador to Iraq, as well as Kuwait. He's currently the president of the Arab Gulf States Institute there in Washington.

So, Mr. Ambassador, welcome, sir.

DOUGLAS SILLIMAN, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO IRAQ: Brooke, I'm very happy to be here. Thank you.

BALDWIN: We had just mentioned that we have learned from the chairman of the Joint Chiefs that there was this clear evidence that Soleimani was planning this -- quote, unquote -- "significant campaign of violence" against the U.S. What might he mean by that?

SILLIMAN: Well, we have seen in the past that the Iranian Quds Force, in conjunction with a number of things proxy forces and supporters in Yemen, in Iraq, in other parts of the region have worked to put pressure on the United States.

And maybe I should walk back about a year and say, after the Trump administration withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal, and then imposed the maximum pressure economic sanctions, we saw a period of time where Iran tried to get Europe to help intervene to lessen those sanctions.

When that didn't work, in the middle of last year, you saw a new campaign from Iran putting limpet mines on tankers outside the Strait of Hormuz, some civilian infrastructure in Saudi Arabia hit by missiles from Yemen, the shooting down of the American drone, and then the significant attack on Iraq -- excuse me -- on Saudi Arabia's largest oil facility at the end of September.

That did not provide any American reaction, the one that the Iranians were looking at. So we saw then, at the end of October, a series of rocket attacks on Baghdad's Green Zone near the American Embassy and on Iraqi military bases where American and other coalition forces are working with Iraqi military.

This culminated on December 27, when a 31-rocket barrage killed an American contractor, two Iraqi policemen, and injured a number of other Americans and Iraqis.

That incident has sparked much greater escalation in the past five days than we have seen before, with the American strikes on five locations in Iraq and Syria, with the attack on the U.S. Embassy, and culminating overnight in the strikes on Qasem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, who was the chief Iraqi lieutenant for Iran inside Iraq.

We know that these two have been planning with some people that they have worked with attacks on American targets in the region. These two have acted over time as both an accelerator and as a break on activity. They have provided leadership and guidance from Tehran and to some of the militias inside Iraq.

And the elimination of both of them, I think, in the Iraq context is going to lead a leadership gap that will permit smaller Iraqi militias to conduct attacks without much guidance and on their own, which could be dangerous.

BALDWIN: Mr. Ambassador, let me just jump in. Obviously, you know all of this inside and out. And that's why we wanted to have you on.

But my I guess my question is, listening to what General Mark Milley is saying about this planning significant campaign of violence, we know that, for years and years, through Republican administrations and Democratic administrations, that this individual was an enemy of the U.S., and that we had been tracking him and we could have taken him out, and we chose not to.

So, given what we're hearing from Mark Milley, do you think that this was a proportional response? Was this a justified response?

SILLIMAN: The answer is, without actually knowing the underlying facts, I really can't judge that.

I think, in the end, history will be the judge of whether or not President Trump took the correct decision. It is clear that Qasem Soleimani and others who were struck have been planning attacks against the United States. The question is whether the strikes against these targets will increase the risk to the United States or to Americans in the region.

And, frankly, will it increase the risk to Americans friends in the region, like Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates or Israel, which are all threatened and have been attacked recently by Iranian proxies or Iran itself? BALDWIN: We know that Secretary Pompeo has said that Americans are now safer as a result of this. But, at the same time, Americans are evacuating this part of the world.

And now we're reporting that we're sending in 3,000 or so more members of our military. So they have to be on edge. I'm just thinking of our military men and women. What are we doing to protect them?

SILLIMAN: Well, from the diplomatic side, we have got very well- secured facilities in Iraq and in most of the Gulf.

In Iraq, we have really just American employees and contractors. In the rest of the Gulf, we have got American military personnel. We have American diplomats, but we also have, in many cases, their spouses and their children.

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BALDWIN: Yes.

SILLIMAN: So, this population is actually more vulnerable than that in Iraq and they live -- out on the economy.

BALDWIN: Yes.

SILLIMAN: It is clear that Washington is sending troops as a show force to make sure that Iran does not overstep.

Washington also needs to work with its European allies and send messages that the United States does not want to escalate the situation and find a way for the Iranians to gradually climb down from the anger that they have expressed and the determination to strike American targets.

I think both the United States and Iran do not actually want an all- out confrontation. And the United States can actually help reduce that confrontation over time by lowering the rhetoric and sending the proper messages potentially through some of our European or Arab allies that have been relations with the Iranians.

BALDWIN: I want to come back to that Iranian anger in just a second.

Let me read this for you. This is what a senior fellow at the Center for New American Security who also has worked in the Obama administration told "The Washington Post" about the strike and the recent militia attack on the Baghdad Embassy.

So they said -- quote -- "Iran was on its back foot. But these strikes were done clumsily without coordination with the Iraqis. The Iranians were trying to provoke this overreaction to change the discussion from Iran to the United States and managed to successfully do it."

And I was reading an article where you were talking to PBS, Ambassador, about how Iran has, in your words, been consistently trying to poke the United States into action over the last however many months.

So did the U.S. take the bait, for lack of a better phrase?

SILLIMAN: Well, I don't know that the U.S. took the bait, as much as the Iranians actually believed what the administration was stating was its red line.

Through all the attacks I mentioned earlier, the Trump administration took a very, very patient and nonconfrontational response, including the strikes on Saudi oil facilities. But the administration has messaged both publicly and privately that its red line was always American casualties at the hands of Iran and Iranian proxies.

And in the attack on the December 27 in which the American contractor was killed, the Iranians breach that line. I also note what Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Milley said, that this was an attack by 31 rockets, which was not an attack attempting to send a political message, but rather an attack to cause casualties.

So I think that Iran was trying to provoke an American reaction, took President Trump and Secretary Pompeo's statements about American casualties being a red line at face value, but probably underestimated the response of the United States to that one American -- unfortunate American contractor's death.

BALDWIN: Ambassador Douglas Silliman, thank you so much, sir, incredible, incredible inside on this part of the world. Thank you.

SILLIMAN: Thank you, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Many Democrats on Capitol Hill are calling the president's actions illegal, because he failed to brief Congress before launching this deadly attack -- details on who he did tell about this plot in advance.

Also, taking a look at the big board here, stocks in oil markets taking massive swings today in reaction to this targeted killing.

And President Trump leaving Mar-a-Lago this hour down in Florida, headed to a rally in Miami. We will be watching to see if he stops and talks to reporters. And if he does, we will take it live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: ... executed a flawless precision strike that killed the number one terrorist anywhere in the world, Qasem Soleimani.

Soleimani was plotting imminent and sinister attacks on American diplomats and military personnel. But we caught him in the act and terminated him.

Under my leadership, America's policy is unambiguous to terrorists who harm or intend to harm any American. We will find you. We will eliminate you. We will always protect our diplomats, service members, all Americans, and our allies.

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For years, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its ruthless Quds Force, under Soleimani's leadership, has targeted, injured, and murdered hundreds of American civilians and servicemen.

The recent attacks on U.S. targets in Iraq, including rocket strikes that killed an American and injured four American servicemen very badly, as well as a violent assault on our embassy in Baghdad, were carried out at the direction of Soleimani.

Soleimani made the death of innocent people his sick passion, contributing to terrorist plots as far away as New Delhi and London.

Today, we remember and honor the victims of Soleimani's many atrocities, and we take comfort in knowing that his reign of terror is over. Soleimani has been perpetrating acts of terror to destabilize the Middle East for the last 20 years.

What the United States did yesterday should have been done long ago. A lot of lives would've been saved. Just recently, Soleimani led the brutal repression of protesters in Iran, where more than 1,000 innocent civilians were tortured and killed by their own government.

We took action last night to stop a war. We did not take action to start a war.

I have deep respect for the Iranian people. They are a remarkable people with an incredible heritage and unlimited potential. We do not seek regime change. However, the Iranian regime's aggression in the region, including the use of proxy fighters to destabilize its neighbors, must end, and it must end now.

The future belongs to the people of Iran, those who seek peaceful coexistence and cooperation, not the terrorist warlords who plunder their nation to finance bloodshed abroad.

The United States has the best military, by far, anywhere in the world. We have the best intelligence in the world. If Americans anywhere are threatened, we have all of those targets already fully identified.

And I am ready and prepared to take whatever action is necessary. And that in particular refers to Iran.

Under my leadership, we have destroyed the ISIS territorial caliphate, and, recently, American special operations forces killed the terrorist leader known as al-Baghdadi. The world is a safer place without these monsters.

America will always pursue the interests of good people, great people, great souls, while seeking peace, harmony, and friendship with all of the nations of the world.

Thank you. God bless you. God bless our great military. And God bless the United States of America.

Thank you very much. Thank you.

BALDWIN: Will he stop to answer questions? No.

But here you have it, the president about to leave Mar-a-Lago headed to this rally tonight.

Hang on one second. I'm hearing my E.P. in my ear.

So, the president there, the line that I highlighted, "We took action last night to stop a war, not to start a war," although, Kaitlan Collins -- pop my earpiece back in -- Kaitlan Collins is covering the president for us. She's down there at Mar-a-Lago.

And say -- so, his critics are fearful of otherwise.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, his critics are.

You have heard that from Democrats today, essentially saying that they didn't agree -- disagree with the decision to strike and kill this commander, but they were questioning what the aftermath was going to look like and what the larger strategy was going to be from the administration.

Now, you didn't hear the president highlight that or go into what exactly he thinks the response here is going to be, not even predicting what he says Iran he thinks is going to do, but defending his decision to authorize this strike that killed Iran's most powerful military leader, saying: We did not do this, take this action to start a war. We took this action to stop a war.

Now, that comes, as we have been reporting, that the president has been hearing a little bit of pushback from some people, questioning what the aftermath of this is going to look like.

But these are the first public comments the president has made since reports of these strikes first broke last night. And the Pentagon later confirmed that, yes, it was the United States behind it and, yes, it was the president who ordered it.

Brooke, something else that stuck out there about what the president said, he was praising U.S. intelligence, which, of course, is what the Pentagon, the secretary of state, everyone has been citing all day for what was behind how they found out that there was going to be this imminent threat, they say, from this leader.

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And the president saying there, we have the best intelligence in the world.

Of course, that comes as the president, who was often criticized the U.S. intelligence agencies, whether it comes from in regards his campaign or in that conclusion that it was Russia the interfered in the election, something you have seen play out throughout his time in office, but, there, the president was praising it in this situation, something that they have gone back increasingly and relied on.

He talked about Soleimani, saying, we caught him in the act and eliminated him, as he spoke with reporters just for a few moments there, Brooke, and did not take any questions, didn't detail exactly when he made the decision to carry out this order.

We know that our reporting shows he made this decision in recent days. It was something that he had been briefed on by his team earlier this week. And, of course, as Lindsey Graham stated this morning, he found out about it, it being an option several days ago.

So, the president not going any further than that, but saying -- quote -- "Take comfort in knowing that his reign of terror is over."

BALDWIN: But to your point about how critical this president has been of his own intelligence, you can already hear the critics pointing out how he just cherry-picks what he chooses to hear and listen to.

Kaitlan, thank you very much for that quick analysis.

Ramin Mostaghim is our reporter in Tehran.

And, Ramin, you and I were just talking a couple of moments ago, and I was asking you, what's the sentiment out of Tehran? The word you kept using was revenge.

When Tehran hears President Trump saying that we took action to stop a war, not to start a war, how will that sit with Tehran?

MOSTAGHIM: Tehran -- in mind-set of Tehran, I think they say, OK, we will give you a lesson unexpectedly, and we catch you by surprise in a very harsh way, just to give you a lesson and admonishing him in near future.

That is the mind-set going on. But, at the same time, Iranian Foreign Ministry has summoned Swiss ambassador in Tehran as in charge of the American interests section in Tehran just to submit to process.

So it means that Iran is playing double tracks and follows double tracks, in one hand, diplomatic attempts and at the same time verbal war is escalating. So, we are at the climax of a verbal war. And this can lead to a loud war, or, hopefully -- wishful thinking -- back-channel negotiations somewhere covertly or secretly -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: We wait. We wait to know what the next steps are.

Ramin, thank you in Iran for us.

Let's go now to Washington, D.C., to Manu Raju on Capitol Hill.

And, Manu, the president defending his decision, but members of Congress there, they're frustrated, aren't they?

MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, well, it's sharply divided along party lines. You're hearing Republicans support what the president has done, saying that they believe that getting Soleimani off the battlefield was the right and decisive action by this president.

But Democrats are coming out, raising serious concerns about what they're hearing, including senators and congressmen who have been briefed by the administration. Now, they did not get briefed ahead of time.

Democrats, in particular, were left in the dark, including members of the so-called Gang of Eight, that people who get -- are privy to the most sensitive intelligence, who typically would get briefed ahead of time. Some of those members have gotten some information after the fact.

Mark Warner, who's the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, spoke to Gina Haspel, who is the CIA director. And he told me that he's concerned about this could lead to significant ramifications for the U.S. interests abroad.

Also, Adam Schiff, who's the House Intelligence Committee chairman, someone who's also part of that Gang of Eight, also raised some serious concerns as well, saying that he does not see a vision or a strategy that the administration has put in place. He said other administrations have decided not to move forward in going after Soleimani, both -- from both parties, but this administration did.

And when I asked him what the imminent threat was that was described by the State Department earlier today, he said he has not gotten a -- quote -- "adequate answer" yet.

Nevertheless, Republicans, as I noted, Brooke, are supportive of what the president said, are fine going forward. The question is, if this drags on, if there's a broader escalation of force potentially, will there be a vote in Congress to authorize this going forward?

Democrats are already pushing for that, including Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia. Will Republicans also get behind that as well? That's going to be a debate for Congress' return to session next week -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Yes, Monday.

Manu, thank you.

We have seen vastly different reactions to this deadly strike from people in the Middle East. In Iraq, some danced in the streets when they heard the news. In Iran, people took to the streets in protest.

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We will take you live to that part of the world next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: And, if you are just tuning in, just moments ago, President Trump spoke from Mar-a-Lago about the killing of Iran's top military general in this U.S. drone strike. Qasem Soleimani had been a key player in the Iranian military and government for decades. And he was blamed by the Pentagon for so many attacks in recent months that led to the deaths of Americans and our allies.

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