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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
The War on ISIS; American Gets 6 Years Hard Labor in North Korea; Obama Plans Ebola Offensive; Fighting Escalates in Ukraine
Aired September 15, 2014 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: The war on ISIS. Happening right now: world leaders meeting on how to cripple the terror organization days after it executed its latest hostage.
This morning, what other countries will and will not do to help in this fight. This as we learn new information on just how close British investigators are to identifying the ISIS executioner.
Good morning. Welcome to EARLY START. I'm John Berman.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Christine Romans. It's Monday, September 15th, 4:00 a.m. in the East.
Let's begin here with the efforts to build a coalition against ISIS gaining crucial ground this morning. Secretary of State John Kerry in Paris today for an international conference aimed at stopping the terrorist group. Now, he is finishing up a week-long trip across the Middle East. And it's known now that several Arab nations are offered to fly air strikes against ISIS.
Kerry's arrival in Paris comes as ISIS beheads a third Western captive, the British aid worker David Haines. This escalates the political urgency of Kerry's mission.
CNN correspondent Erin McPike has more from the White House.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ERIN MCPIKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Christine, John, this latest act has seemed to have the affect of advancing the efforts of John Kerry's international coalition that he has been trying to build. It's becoming clear what countries are willing to do what thing and the coalition seems to be broadening. He addressed that on CBS yesterday morning. Listen.
JOHN KERRY, SECRETARY OF STATE: We have countries in this region, countries outside of this region, in addition to the United States, all of whom are prepared to engage in military assistance and actual strikes if that is what it requires. Well, we're not looking to put troops on the ground. There are some who have offered to do so, but we are not looking for that at this moment, anyway.
MCPIKE: But this line in the sand that the administration has drawn of no combat troops is beginning to draw some skepticism particularly from Republicans like Senator Lindsey Graham who was on FOX yesterday. Listen to him.
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: This is a turning point in the war. We're fighting a terrorist army. Not an organization. It's going to take an army to beat an army. This idea we'll never have any boots on the ground to defeat them in Syria is fantasy. So, I will not let this president suggest to the American people we can outsource our security and this is not about our safety. There is no way in hell you can form an army on the ground to go into Syria to destroy ISIL without a substantial American component.
MCPIKE: However, what the administration is doing is tracking closely with public opinion. Our latest polling shows that large majorities of Americans want to see additional airstrikes and they want to see something done about ISIS, but they still don't want to see troops on the ground -- John and Christine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BERMAN: According to the State Department, nearly 40 nations have now agreed to join the international coalition in the fight against ISIS. Australia deploying up to eight FA-18 combat jets to the United Arab Emirate and also offering to help with humanitarian relief. France is contributing ammunition and launching reconnaissance flights to help efforts to hit ISIS targets in Iraq. The British are committing to help arm Kurdish forces in support of the new Iraqi government. Though, they have not said they will participate in any air strikes.
And U.S. officials say Turkey has also been at least a little helpful, cutting off the flow of money to ISIS and beginning to stop foreign fighters from heading to Syria to join the extremist groups.
ROMANS: Of course, Turkey is very critical here. So much of that oil is going to the black market right through.
BERMAN: But Turkey not letting U.S. war planes take off from inside that country in airstrikes either in Iraq air space.
ROMANS: Well, I think in Mosul, where there's some 49 Turkish hostages held by ISIS. So, very complicated for them and their internal politics.
BERMAN: Indeed.
ROMANS: Tough talk from British Prime Minister David Cameron following the beheading of aid worker David Haines. Cameron calling ISIS a menace, quote, "We have to confront a poison that needs to be, quote, drained from society." The prime minister adding the U.K. is ready to take whatever steps are necessary.
Does that mean committing to airstrikes targeting ISIS targets?
Let's bring in Atika Shubert live from London.
Clearly, Mr. Cameron, the entire nation angry and mourning. What will be the response?
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is the question being asked. Now, the prime minister yesterday held an emergency cabinet meeting and he did address that issue of how Britain will contribute to the coalition. He said already that Britain's fighter jets have been helping to gather intelligence, for example. But he also, as we heard from Kerry, said it's not about boots on the ground, made that very clear.
Also, whether or not Britain will support airstrikes in Syria, this is another question being asked. Remember last year, British parliamentarians actually voted against strikes in Syria. So, there is a bit of legal constraints there, but it's not something that Cameron has taken off the table. Take a listen to what he had to say yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID CAMERON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: David has been murdered in the most callus and brutal way imaginable by an organization which is the embodiment of evil. We will hunt down those responsible and bring them to justice no matter how long it takes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SHUBERT: Now, I just want to emphasize the kind of pressure Prime Minister Cameron is under. Of course, we know that there is a second British hostage as you can see there, Alan Henning. This is him working in a Syrian refugee camp. He will be the second British aid worker now in the hands of ISIS. And there is increasing pressure on the prime minister to do something and try and rescue this next hostage.
ROMANS: Atika, how close are investigators to identifying the man, the ISIS executioner with the British accent?
SHUBERT: We know that investigators have been scouring the video, looking at that audio. It's quite possible that they have identified him. There are even reports that identity has been given to the prime minister. But it has not been made public at this point. And one terror analysts I spoke to said it doesn't make sense to make that name public now. If they want to bring this man to justice, they don't want him to know that they know who he is.
So, this maybe something that we may not know for sometime.
ROMANS: All right. Atika Shubert for us, thank you.
BERMAN: David Haines is being remembered as a family man by family members and a decent selfless man had a joy and passion for humanitarian work. He was only in Syria for three days when he was kidnapped last year. His brother Michael is clearly broken hearted, but trying he says not to be bitter.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MICHAEL HAINES, DAVID HAINES' BROTHER: My first reaction could be one of hatred. But my brother's life wasn't about hate. It was about love for all men. We prayed in our own way. Unfortunately, it was not in our hands. It was not in the hands of the government. It was in the hands of terrorists.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: Michael Haines adding that his brother was most alive when he was helping others.
Meanwhile, ISIS revealed the identity of the next hostage it is threatening with death. He is British aid worker Alan Henning. He was abducted while trying to help Syrian refugees. Aid workers we're talking about here.
ROMANS: All right. Claims by the U.S. that al Qaeda is in decline are nothing but lies, according to the terror group. Al Qaeda's influence in the Middle East is being threatened by ISIS, and while the spokesman for the militant group admits to some slip-ups and errors, he insists al Qaeda is expanding.
The State Department disagrees, saying the organization has been degraded, with its leadership diminished by U.S. attacks struggling to compete for recruits.
BERMAN: Mathew Miller, one of three Americans being held in North Korea, has been sentenced to six years hard labor. During Miller's show trial on Sunday, three North Korean judges found him guilty of committing hostile acts under the guise of being a tourist. It is believes that Pyongyang is using Miller, along with Jeffrey Fowle and Kenneth Bae as bargaining chips in its dispute with the U.S. over the North Korean nuclear program.
President Obama is planning to ramp up the U.S. role in the fight against the Ebola outbreak. Among the moves he is expected to announce tomorrow, sending more portable hospitals, doctors and supplies to West Africa and setting up training for health workers in Liberia, as well as other nations. The president will also urge Congress to approve $88 million to fund these proposals.
Meanwhile, a fourth doctor in Sierra Leone has died from Ebola. Attempts to get her evacuated to Germany for treatment failed. And 10 senior government officials in Liberia have been fired by the president there for ignoring orders to return to that country from overseas trip. Those government ministers got lost.
ROMANS: At the very moment when you need everyone.
BERMAN: That's right.
ROMANS: All right. Eight minutes past the hour. Time for an EARLY START in your money.
European stocks lower. Asian shares ending their day mixed. U.S. stock futures pointing lower this morning. Stocks closed down Friday ending five straight weeks of gains.
The big news this morning coming from General Motors. Attorney Kenneth Feinberg will announce how many deaths and injuries he has tied to the G.M.'s faulty ignition switches. G.M. has officially said the flaw as responsible for 13 deaths. That number is expected to grow.
Feinberg's office has received more than 100 death claims. The families of those who died are eligible for $1 million in compensation, plus $300,000 per spouse and child, plus an estimate of the victim's future earnings potential.
GM has said there is no limit to how much it will pay out through the compensation program. It is up to Kenneth Feinberg. He will hear from him today. He has actually made a career, sort of, of putting a price tag on life for various different disasters. First, September 11th, also the BP oil spill and now GM.
BERMAN: Facilitating a complicated situation.
ROMANS: Absolutely.
BERMAN: Nine minutes after the hour.
Off the field violence and the NFL -- three players now sidelined, investigated for abuse. What coaches, players and fans are saying this morning, that's coming up.
ROMANS: Plus, will she or won't she? Hillary Clinton is stirring speculation in Iowa. What she said about running for president.
BERMAN: And breaking news overnight: a major hurricane barreling into Baja. New developments, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: For lovers of politics, Hillary Clinton is still playing hard to get, but she dropped another hint while in Iowa Sunday, about a possible run for the White House in 2016. Have you heard anything about that?
Clinton was one of the feature speakers at the farewell steak fry fundraiser for retiring Iowa Senator Tom Harkin.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: Well, it is true. I am thinking about it. But for today, that is not why I'm here. I'm here for the steak.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: This is the first time Hillary Clinton has been back to Iowa since the 2008 presidential campaign.
BERMAN: You remember when she was there last. ROMANS: Barack Obama was a rock star, and Hillary Clinton didn't do
so great.
BERMAN: She finished third in the Iowa caucuses, that's why this return to Iowa was such a big deal and many people think this is the first event of her next presidential campaign.
ROMANS: You take issue with the phrase playing hard to get.
BERMAN: No, no, I mean, she -- that is what you do if you are running for president, you know, carefully choreographed.
The other big event was Bill Clinton was there and a lot of people thought Bill Clinton stole the stage which he has never done before. From everybody there, he fielded questions for an hour. He was the final speaker because protocol was a president has to speak last. So, he was there for the big splash as well.
Fourteen minutes after the hour.
Could the White House be in progressive Senator Bernie Sanders future? We are talking all presidential aspirations right now. The independent senator from Vermont was also in Iowa Sunday, testing the political waters. The senator laid out his agenda during a town hall event in Waterloo, Iowa. He is holding events across the state trying to gauge his chances for 2016.
ROMANS: Former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice is expected to appeal his indefinite suspension from the NFL. That's s according to ESPN and profootballtalk.com. But the NFL Players Association tells CNN no final decision has been made. Rice has until 11:59 tomorrow night to file. He was cut by the Ravens and suspended by the league just hours after TMZ released a video of him striking his fiancee and knocking her unconscious in a hotel elevator.
BERMAN: Carolina Panthers defensive end Greg Hardy is appealing his conviction on domestic abuse charges. He was fault guilty back in July of assaulting and threatening his ex-girlfriend. On Sunday, Hardy was deactivated by the Panthers for the team's home opener. Head coach Ron Rivera was grilled about the decision after the game.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RON RIVERA, CAROLINA PANTHERS HEAD COACH: At the end of the day, I had to make a decision that was in the best interest of the Panthers, OK? I understand that guys. This is a very difficult situation that the league is dealing with right now. Teams are dealing with this. We are doing the best we can, OK?
We're not infallible. We make mistakes. But the decision I made today was based on the information I tried to get and people I talk with and then going forward.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: The coach says Hardy will be back on the field, but he would not say when.
ROMANS: The Minnesota Vikings playing Sunday without star running back Adrian Peterson who was deactivated after getting indicted and arrested on child negligence charges. Peterson is accused of beating and injuring his 4-year-old son with a tree branch. After the 30-7 loss to the Patriots, his teammates were not very talkative.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRANDON FUSCO, VIKINGS OFFENSIVE LINEMAN: I'm not commenting on anything about Adrian here. We just lost a game and I shouldn't comment about that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not going to comment on that at all.
REPORTER: You sent a message. You texted? Did you talk? What kind of --
JEROME FELTON, VIKINGS FULLBACK: I sent a text message. I'm not going to blow it up right now. And I know he is hurting and he is down. As a teammate and friend, send him a message. You know, we got to focus on getting better this week.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: He is free on $15,000 bond. No word when or if the Vikings plan to reinstate him. The child was 4 years old and he was disciplining him apparently. He said he did not know -- he did not mean to hurt the child.
BERMAN: No, there are lacerations on the back of the boy's legs a week after the incident.
Wildfires burning out of control in California, charring thousands of acres, forcing hundreds of residents to flee. The official report, at least 21 homes destroyed in one northern California fire. Six firefighters suffering minor injuries battling a southern California fire. Their work was made much harder by the triple digit temperatures expected to last through Tuesday.
ROMANS: Hurricane Odile. Is that how you say it?
BERMAN: I don't know.
ROMANS: We have to find out from Indra. OK, making landfall on the southern tip of Baja, California, Sunday nigh. The category three hurricane struck the resort town of Cabo San Lucas, with 125-mile-an- hour wind. The National Hurricane Center has classified this one as dangerous -- a dangerous hurricane forecast up to 18 inches of rain in some areas.
Mexican authorities ordering evacuations in coastal areas, preparing shelters for 30,000 residents and tourists.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We got woken up by a call from the hotel who said they were evacuating the place and our flight had been canceled and a bus leaving in a half hour. It was a 20 to 22-hour bus ride.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Ooh, my gosh. It is expected to lose strength as it passes over Baja, California.
BERMAN: All right. Let's get an early look at your forecast and what's next with Jennifer Gray.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: John and Christine, we are going to see warmer temperatures this afternoon, after a cool start this morning -- actually frost advisories in place for some of the higher elevations in the Northeast. Unreal. Temperatures well below normal.
But nice, 73 degrees this afternoon. We'll ill take it. Sixty-two degrees in Chicago. Temperature is 82 in Atlanta, not quite feeling that cooler air yet.
Scattered thunderstorms will remain across much of the Southeast today, into Florida. We'll see those scattered storms stick around. Cooler air, though, still hanging on in the North. In fact, some pleasant weather for the Northern Plains today and tomorrow.
Look at Texas, though, some much-needed rain, possibly getting pumped in.
We've head Odile off the coast of Mexico. It could be bringing in quite a bit of moisture. We will look at the possibility, though, of some of those heavy rains, reaching Arizona. And so, we could see a bit of flooding there, something to watch for sure over the next couple of days. Scattered storms, though, sticking around for the Southeast -- John and Christine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: All right. Jennifer Gray, thank you for that.
Is Russia trying to recreate the Soviet Union? Stringing accusations from the Russian prime minister, as war escalates between the country's military and pro-Russia rebels. We are live with the very latest on that, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BERMAN: The 10-day old cease-fire in Ukraine in serious trouble, if not completely shattered -- heavy fighting breaking out with government forces and pro-Russian rebels in the city of Donetsk. The airport there destroyed, with Ukrainian troops said to be surrounding it.
So, far, at least six people had been killed. Ukrainian officials announcing weapons shipments from NATO nations are now arriving. This as Russia deals with a growing refugee crisis, more than 800,000 Ukrainians are already crossing the border this year, to escape that fighting.
Our Reza Sayah joins us now live from Ukraine where the U.S. is now conducting military exercises there.
Good morning, Reza.
REZA SAYAH, CNN CORRESPNDENT: Good morning, John. U.S. and NATO forces are now on Ukraine soil. In many ways this is NATO and Washington flexing their muscles at Moscow, essentially telling Russia, look at our alliance, look at our military might and look how far our reach is.
We are in Yavoriv, Ukraine, a town that's about 10 miles east of the Ukraine Polish border. This is where the NATO exercises are going to take place in the next couple of weeks. NATO says this event is designed to promote stability and security for the region and it's also designed to help Ukraine work more effectively with NATO and its ally forces.
But, obviously, this event comes at a very sensitive time, at a time with a fragile cease-fire and conflict in the east on one side. We have pro-Russian rebels on the other side. We have European backed Ukrainian forces.
And that's why critics of this event, including Moscow, say, maybe this is not the best time to put on an event like this, maybe this is not the best time to have U.S. and NATO boots on the ground here on Ukrainian soil, because it could fuel the tension.
Nevertheless, the exercises will continue in the coming days. We'll see roughly 1,300 soldiers, including more than 100 soldiers do all sorts of exercises, practicing handling IEDs, rescue operations, working with command centers. They say this event has nothing to do, John, with the conflicts in the East, but many people will be anxious to see how Moscow reacts.
In the meantime, as you mentioned earlier, heavy fighting continues in Donetsk -- a clear indication that both sides are violating the cease- fire.
BERMAN: Cease-fire in name only.
Our Reza Sayah for us in Ukraine -- thanks so much, Reza.
ROMANS: British Prime Minister David Cameron hitting the campaign trail in Scotland. Again, he's trying to convince voters not to secede from the U.K. It's his second visit in a week. In three days, Scots head to the polls to vote for their independence. Cameron is warning them if they separate from Britain, there will be no turning back.
The latest polls say the vote is too close to call. But I can tell you, the banks that operate in Scotland have been saying, there is so much uncertainty if there is a yes vote on seceding from Britain. They'll have to move their headquarters to England.
BERMAN: This is an unbelievable story and it's all unfolding this week. I encourage everyone to pay attention to this one, because no one knows which way it's going to go.
Twenty-six minutes after the hour.
A worldwide offensive now against ISIS. Happening this morning, world leaders trying to figure out how to destroy the terror group after it executed another hostage. We are live with the latest developments right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
