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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Obama's Oval Office Address on ISIS; Global Reaction to Obama's Address; The Radicalization of Syed Farook; Focus on Tashfeen Malik's School Background; Jimmy Carter Cancer Free; London Knife Attack Investigated as Terrorism. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired December 07, 2015 - 04:29   ET

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

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[04:31:18] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: President Obama vowing to defeat ISIS in a new Oval Office address. He says -- how he says the terrorists are evolving and what needs to be done to stop the terrorism.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: More warning signs missed in the California attack. Family and friends of the two shooters revealing what they knew about the killers' radicalization.

Welcome back to EARLY START, everyone. I'm John Berman.

ROMANS: I'm Christine Romans. It's 31 minutes past the hour.

This morning, President Obama trying to reassure the American public that he has a plan to fight ISIS. In a rare Oval Office address that aides say he largely wrote himself, the president sought to calm public jitters over terrorism. This in the wake of the attacks in San Bernardino, California. The deadliest terror attack on U.S. soil since September 11th.

The latest now from senior White House correspondent Jim Acosta.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, as expected there were no major policy proposals in the president's Oval Office address. This was more about reassuring the American people that President Obama has the correct strategy for dealing with ISIS. The president described the recent attack in California as a terrorist attack. And here's more of what the president had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We cannot turn against one another by letting this fight be defined as a war between America and Islam. That, too, is what groups like ISIL want. ISIL does not speak for Islam. They are thugs and killers. Part of a cult of death. And they account for a tiny fraction of a more than a billion Muslims around the world. Including millions of patriotic Muslim- Americans who reject their hateful ideology. Moreover, the vast majority of terrorist victims around the world are Muslim.

If we're to succeed in defeating terrorism, we must enlist Muslim communities as some of our strongest allies, rather than push them way through suspicion.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: The president went on to say the violence in California underlines a major threat facing the country from self-radicalized terrorists who draw their inspiration from ISIS. So the president is recommending that law enforcement and social media companies work together more closely to be on the lookout for extremists who are online and talking about potential attacks on the U.S. homeland. As for possible congressional action, the president asked lawmakers to give him a new authorization to use military force against ISIS, something he's done before.

And Mr. Obama also wants to beef up the nation's gun laws. He's demanding that people on the no-fly list be barred from buying firearms, a proposal that's opposed by the NRA. As for what the president can do on his own, the White House is planning to hold a summit later this month on going after the financing of ISIS. He's also vowing to intensify airstrikes targeting ISIS in Syria along with the British who have just joined that part of the anti-ISIS campaign -- John and Christine.

ROMANS: Jim, thanks for that.

BERMAN: All right. The Republicans running to be president swiftly blasted that speech. Senator Marco Rubio said there was nothing in the speech to assuage people's fears.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He announced nothing new other than we need gun control, even though it would have done nothing to prevent the attack in California. We need to prevent people on the no-fly list from buying his weapons even though there are people that work for DHS that are on the no-fly list. And by the way, these individuals that conducted this attack would not have been prevented from accessing their weapon.

And then the cynicism, the cynicism tonight to spend a significant amount of time talking about discrimination against Muslims. Where is there widespread evidence that we have a problem in America with discrimination against Muslims and the refusal to call this for what it is, a war on radical Islam?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: As for Donald Trump, he was on Twitter during the speech. He wrote, "Is that all there is? We need a new president fast." He also wrote, "Obama refused to say, he just can't say it, that we are at war with radical Islamic terrorists." Earlier in the day Trump spoke about tracking Muslims in the U.S.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[04:35:09] DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: But you have people that have to be tracked. If they were Muslims, they're Muslims. But you have people that have to be tracked. And we better be -- I use the word vigilance. We have to show vigilance. We have to have it. And if we don't, we're foolish people. You know we're really being led by people that don't know what's happening. When you have President Obama talking about global warming as our biggest problem, we have a president that is just not with it at all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Ted Cruz released a statement declaring, "If I'm elected president, I will direct the Department of Defense to destroy ISIS and I will shut down the broken immigration system that is letting jihadists into our country. Nothing President Obama said tonight will assist in either case."

Ben Carson's statement said, "President Obama's declarations tonight that his policies are working was strange. Strange that it took four days from the attack to respond. And even more strange, that somehow the attack on our soil is proof his policies are working."

Carly Fiorina's response, very short. She tweeted, "Vintage Obama. No strategy. No leadership. Politics as usual."

ROMANS: Jeb Bush released this statement, "We need to remove the self-imposed constraints President Obama has placed on our intelligence community and military. And we need to put in place an aggressive strategy to defeat ISIS and radical Islamic terrorism, as I have proposed."

Earlier, Jeb Bush also responded to the suggestions that Muslims in the U.S. should be monitored.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We have all of the capabilities to monitor people that are in our country trying to attack us. I'm not suggesting we -- that already exists. And I think that's more than appropriate. The director of the FBI has made it clear that there are hundreds of cases that they are monitoring. And we should redouble our efforts in that regard. We don't have to target the religion. We just have to target those that have co-opted the religion and make sure that we're fully aware of the radicalizations taking place not just here but all around the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: No response to the Obama speech itself from Hillary Clinton, though she did put out a statement on the fight of terror before that address.

BERMAN: What did world leaders think of the president's speech? Do they think the U.S. is doing enough to fight ISIS?

Joining us now CNN's Sara Sidner who is in Turkey with what countries in the region, countries on the frontline in the battle against ISIS were saying.

Good morning, Sara.

SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John. Yes, you know, as far as Turkey goes, it's all about the border and securing the border. And also dealing with the refugee crisis that this country is faced with being right up on Syria and having so many thousands of refugees coming over that border. But really they want to talk about security and they want the U.S. coalition to help them deal with security along that border. And that means they say putting in what they're calling a safe zone. What that would require really is for a no-fly zone inside of Syria.

They have been asking for that for several years now. Hoping that the United States and the coalition decides to go through with that, which would leave a large space between Syria and Turkey as a safe zone for the refugees, but keep the jihadists out of Turkey. When it comes to Iraq, it's a different scenario. They're saying look, we're OK with having the United States send in exploratory special forces. We're OK with training. We're OK with getting equipment and money, but we do not want to see boots on the ground. We do not want to see combat boots on the ground from the coalition. That we can deal with our own security ourselves.

So different countries have different ways in which they want help from the United States coalition but they certainly want the help. And one of the big things that Turkey has said is that a part of the solution, President Bashar al-Assad of Syria has to be dealt with. In the end, that is one part of the solution that must be dealt with in order for things to change along their border and other borders across the country -- John.

BERMAN: Yes. One of the issues each of this countries has very different goals in this conflict.

Sara Sidner for us in Turkey. Thanks so much.

ROMANS: So in that speech, the president calling on the tech community to help fight ISIS.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: I will urge high tech and law enforcement leaders to make it harder for terrorists to use technology to escape from justice.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: It's not exactly clear what that means yet. He didn't really elaborate on exactly what he's talking about. Many think it's a reference, though, to the ongoing battle over encryption. Right now it is easier than ever for two people to have a private conversation from opposite sides of the globe and it's not trackable. Wazzup and Telegram both encrypts text. Wicker sends self-destructing messages. Even Facetime is encrypted making matters even more difficult for law enforcement. The phones themselves are also encrypted. And tech companies have fought government efforts to change that in the name of privacy. BERMAN: New details about the radicalization of San Bernardino

shooting suspect Syed Farook. Farook's father told reporters his son had expressed support for ISIS and was fixated on Israel and its destruction.

[04:40:10] The FBI is now investigating contacts Farook had with other suspected radicals before he and his wife began their bloody rampage.

Let's get more from CNN's Kyung Lah in San Bernardino.

KYUNG LAH, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, John and Christine, the father of Syed Farook has been speaking to reporters on and off. He stopped to speak to reporters from his doorsteps saying that his son was growing more conservative.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SYED FAROOK, FATHER OF SYED RIZWAN FAROOK: All Pakistanis coming from the major cities are liberal people. And he was going towards conservation.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: He was going towards what?

FAROOK: You know, his views were conservative. Mine was liberal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAH: The father detailed much more in an interview with Italian newspaper "La Stampa" saying that his son shared the ideology of al- Baghdadi to create an Islamic State and was fixated on Israel. Relatives in Pakistan tell CNN that they were increasingly becoming concerned about the shift in character of Farook. Throughout the weekend, there was no official news from the authorities. We are expecting that to change later today when the FBI holds a news conference. Also, Farook's co-workers who were targeted during the shooting, they will return to work this morning -- John, Christine.

ROMANS: All right, Kyung Lah. Thank you for that, Kyung.

New information this morning about the mother behind the California terror attacks. CNN traveling to her hometown in Pakistan. That's next.

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[04:45:50] BERMAN: New information about Tashfeen Malik, the Pakistani-born woman who helped murder 14 people in San Bernardino with her husband. Malik dedicated the massacre to ISIS on her Facebook page. Now investigators are digging into her past focusing on her days as a pharmacy student at a university in southern Pakistan.

CNN's Sophia Saifi joins us now live on the phone. She is on her way to the village where this woman was born.

And, Sophia, what can you us about what you have heard from inside that village?

SOPHIE SAIFI, CNN PRODUCER (via phone): What we know so far is that her relatives are there. We know that the father left the village in the 1980s and left to work as a construction worker in Riyadh. This is the capital of Saudi Arabia. He then called for his family and Tashfeen left when she was still an infant, still around 1-year-old, along with the rest of their family. They're all now settled in there, living in Saudi Arabia, and -- except for one sister which we've learned is based in the United Kingdom. She's a doctor there.

Apart from that, we know that she went to Bahauddin Zakariya University in the town of Multan, which is the main town in the southern Punjab province of Pakistan. We spoke to the spokesperson of that university, he condemned the attacks and he told us that Tashfeen attended that university between the years of 2007 and 2012. He said that she was an ordinary student, she didn't really stand out, she wasn't involved in any of the clubs, in any of the sports clubs. She didn't take part in any of the events. They had a very vibrant debating team at that university and she was not part of that as well.

We then talked to one of her professors who told us that he was shocked of hearing the news that Tashfeen had committed such an heinous act in California, in the United States. He said that it was unthinkable that one of his students could commit such an act and he did that his (INAUDIBLE), said she did cover her face, but that did not mean -- that wasn't really an indication that she was extremely religious because there is a majority of students who do constantly cover their faces and their heads while they are in that university.

We were there ourselves. We saw the campus. It is a very interesting mix of students both wearing normal traditional clothing with their heads uncovered while a considerable amount of females did have -- we were wearing the traditional burkas and covering their face. Was carrying, you know, normal designer bags. She doesn't seem to be somebody that kind of stood out from what we've heard from her professors here in Multan.

So now we're en route. We're trying to chase her family. We're trying to track down somebody to talk to. And it's proving difficult because people are -- they don't want to be associated with us. They don't want to be associated with news. They don't want to be associated with an act such as the one that took place in San Bernardino because they feel that they would have repercussions from the intelligence here -- in the intelligence authorities investigating the case here in Pakistan -- John.

BERMAN: Yes. One of the things the papers here are reporting is that people there have been told by authorities not to talk to foreign press.

What about the university and what about the region itself? Is it known as an area that fosters radicalization?

SAIFI: John, the university does not have any tradition of (INAUDIBLE) radicalization. And it's a public university. It's got -- you know, teaches pharmacy, it's got various schools of English, of humanity, the social sciences. That is the university.

The area itself of southern Punjab does have a tradition of harboring militants. However, these militants are local radicals. There hasn't been any incident of (INAUDIBLE) radicalization. So, you know, more national groups being found in this region, there are more -- there's quite a few radical elements in southern Punjab specifically where we are currently reporting from.

[04:50:08] However, these groups do not have many connection to international terrorist organization -- John.

BERMAN: All right. Sophia Saifi for us in Pakistan. Travelling to the village where this woman was born. Thanks so much, Sophia.

ROMANS: All right. Fifty minutes past the hour. Former president Jimmy Carter is low key even when the news is fantastic. Carter revealed to parishioners at his George church on Sunday that his prayers appeared to have been answered.

We get more this morning from CNN's Nick Valencia.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, Jimmy Carter says he is cancer free. The former U.S. president made this stunning announcement at the start of Sunday school church service in his hometown of Plains, Georgia. After hearing the news, parishioners in attendance erupted into applause the unexpected announcement by the 91-year-old.

It was just this summer that President Carter announced that he was diagnosed with cancer and had to undergo a procedure in August to remove a small mass from his liver. The doctors did say that the cancer was also found in his brain. That melanoma included four spots about two millimeters in diameter.

President Carter did start to undergo radiation treatment as well as an experimental drug called pembrolizumab. He mentioned that drug in a statement he released to the media, which said, "My most recent MRI brain scan did not reveal any signs of the original cancer spots nor any new ones. I will continue to receive regular three-week immunotherapy treatments of pembrolizumab."

We did speak to one of the leaders of the church who said that they had been praying for this announcement but didn't expect it to come. They called it a miracle -- John, Christine.

ROMANS: Great news for him. 92 years old. You see him walking there at that work site. You know, just --

BERMAN: It's so nice to see.

ROMANS: A vigorous, vigorous guy. We wish him all the best. You know, he taught Sunday school yesterday as he always does.

All right. Oil prices plunging. Some good news for you at the gas pump, folks. That's next.

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[04:56:26] BERMAN: Police in London treating a weekend knife attack in a tube station as a terrorist incident. Officials say two people were injured in the attack, one seriously. And the suspect is being charged right now with attempted murder.

CNN's Frederik Pleitgen is following the developments live in London for us -- Fred.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: John, it certainly was quite a scare for people. This happened at around 7:00 p.m. in a London subway station. So at that point in time there were a lot of holiday shoppers there, generally, a lot of travelers inside that subway station when all of a sudden this man pulled out a knife and wounded one man who's 56 years old severely by stabbing him in the neck area. Also lightly wounding another man and threatening a woman before finally the police came and tasered him.

Now of course there being so many people inside that subway station at that point in time, many people recorded what happened there. And I want to listen in to what one witness said the scene was like.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Another guy told me as soon as I got there, this guy just slit the other guy's throat. I look over, I see a guy huddled on the floor behind the barriers, and the guy brandishing a knife. It was a small blade at about three inches long. And he's screaming go and then run, run.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PLEITGEN: Now luckily the man with the fairly severe wound, the police is now coming out and saying those wounds are not life- threatening. But as you said the knife-wielding man, 29-year-old called Muhyadin Mire, he is going in front of court today. He has already been charged with attempted murder. And of course the police treating this as a terrorist incident as apparently on tape he was heard saying, quote, "This is for Syria," John.

BERMAN: Fred, you were riding this subway. That line when it happened, it had to be very scary. But at the same time, there's sort of a collective defiance now rising up inside London, yes?

PLEITGEN: Yes, there certainly is. And that is personified, if you will, by a hash tag because apparently while this man was being restrained after a police tasered him, one man could be heard on the audio of one of the recordings saying, "You ain't no Muslim, bruv," which sort of means you ain't no Muslim, brother, here in the way the Londoners speak. And that has turned into a hash tag which has gone viral, which has actually been put out on many of the London subway stations to show the city's defiance in the face of terrorism.

Of course London is always a city that is under threat. We've talked about this in the past, John. The terror threat level here has been at severe for over a year now -- John. BERMAN: All right. Fred Pleitgen for us in London. Thanks, Fred.

ROMANS: All right, 59 minutes past the hour. Let's get an EARLY START on your money. European stocks climbing, U.S. stock futures are higher, too, after a big rally on Friday. The Dow gained -- look at this -- 370 points on another solid jobs report, paving the way for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates next week. Uncertainty about the Fed's strategy has held markets back for months. The Dow barely up for the year. The S&P 500 up just 1.6 percent but there's been a nice rally this year for the Nasdaq.

Oil prices falling further this morning. Oil below $40 a barrel after OPEC failed to agree on an output target. That leaves production near record highs, prices stay low. It's a standoff among global energy producers. Here in the U.S., overall production has barely declined. Some analysts say it could actually rise next year. Great news for drivers. The national average for a gallon of regular gas just $2.03 this morning. I saw $1.77 yesterday morning.

BERMAN: I was in Boston. It was so cheap.

ROMANS: Was it?

BERMAN: It's so cheap.

ROMANS: You fill up? Fill up?

BERMAN: Yes. I kept on filling up every 20 miles.

All right. EARLY START continues right now.

[05:00:02] ROMANS: President Obama vowing to defeat ISIS in a new Oval Office address. His call for action for Congress and how he says terrorism has evolved.

BERMAN: New information this morning on the shooters in California.

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