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Brussels Terror Cell: Ties to Paris; Clinton Denounces Cruz and Trump. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired March 24, 2016 - 04:30   ET

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

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news this morning: investigators revealing a second bomber may have been involved in the Brussels subway attack. This as we learn new information about the terror cell that ties to the Paris attacks and how European intelligence failed.

[04:30:05] Also, the manhunt for the airport bomber still on the run.

Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Victor Blackwell.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Nice to see you this morning. Thanks for being here. I'm Christine Romans. It's 30 minutes past the hour.

Breaking news this morning: word of another attacker involved in the Brussels bombings. A senior security source tells CNN, a second unidentified person sought in the blast is being sought in that blast, in the Brussels metro system.

Belgian media reports say the individual was caught on video holding a large bag.

And we know the identity of the suicide bomber reported earlier who blew up that subway car. Officials say it was Khalid el Bakraoui who also rented the Brussels apartment that served as the terrorist hideout and headquarters.

Khalid's brother, Ibrahim el Bakraoui and authorities believe Najim Laachraoui, both wearing black in this photo, they were the suicide bombers at the airport. Laachraoui has been on the run since the Paris attacks.

Now, the third man who dropped his bomb off at the Brussels airport and left, the man in the light jacket and hat and glasses, he is still on the run. He is the subject of the intense manhunt. Police conducting raids raising the questions did the men in the pictures act alone? Are there other members of the terror cell out there?

CNN's Fred Pleitgen joins us now from Brussels with the very latest.

Fred, it's just so concerning. The red flags missed. The dots not connected. How close authorities were to these guys in recent days. And now, still unidentified terrorists on the run. FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes,

absolutely. It's one of the things that the Belgian authorities is quite worrying, is that there are potentially, still people on the run, and they say potentially still people who are dangerous and could plot further attacks.

Remember when the police caught Salah Abdeslam on Friday, they said they believed that he was part of the new network forming and planning attacks. And only three days later, we had attacks here in Brussels at the airport and at the metro station as well.

But you said at this point in time, the Belgian authorities believe that there could be two people involved in these attacks who are still on the run. One of them from the airport attack, that man in the light colored clothes who was caught on camera and the second person inside the metro station who was apparently holding that large bag. It is unclear if the person was killed in the blast or if the person survived.

And then, of course, there are potentially other helpers who could be out there.

What they're focusing is right now is the bombs that were made and apparently they were made in the building right behind me. It's in the Schaerbeek district of Brussels. And when the police raided it, they found some 15 kilograms, about 30 pounds of TATP explosive. It's an explosive that you can make from things like bleach, homemade things. But it's quite difficult to make and it's quite volatile when you make it. So, you do have to handle it with some expertise.

The other thing that was found here was apparently a laptop. I want to zoom in to something here, because this laptop was found in a garage can outside the building where the people apparently took off from the airport. If we can zoom in and you see the garbage can is actually right in front of the apartment building. So, inside that garbage can, the authorities here found a laptop, and on that laptop, they apparently found what they believe is something like the last will of one of the attackers.

And in that last will apparently, he was saying that he felt that the authorities were on to him, that they were catching up to him, that time was running out and that therefore, he need to expedite the attacks, so that he wouldn't end up in jail, as for instance, Salah Abdeslam did.

So, a lot of the things the authorities are finding out now, a lot of new things. But at the same time, there could be other people part of the web that plotted the attacks that could be dangerous to the public here in Belgium, but also in the rest of Europe -- Christine.

ROMANS: Fred, are authorities getting help from Salah Abdeslam about other potential terrorists? I mean, he could be the guy who holds the key here to who these other people are?

PLEITGEN: Well, he is in custody. Police believe they could get potentially some information from him. It's unclear at this point in time what exactly he's telling authorities.

We heard in the initial stages after he was captured, that apparently he was cooperating with the Belgian authorities. Apparently he said he was supposed to blow himself up in Paris. He didn't do so. We don't really know any of the other things or how well he is cooperating.

[04:35:01] But certainly, he is someone who could hold the key. But the big question: is he going to divulge any sort of names, anything that could help the police here to find out more people who could be part of this wider cell that they believe is related to the Paris attacks and the attacks here in Brussels, Christine.

ROMANS: All right. Fred Pleitgen for us this morning in Brussels, thanks, Fred.

BLACKWELL: ISIS bomb maker Najim Laachraoui, the key tie to the Paris attacks, linked through DNA found in houses used by the Paris terror cells. Investigators had been looking for Laachraoui for months.

His name released to the public after police arrested Salah Abdeslam just days before the Brussels bombing. For more on the Paris connection, let's bring in CNN's Jim Bittermann live in the Paris bureau.

Jim, as we learn more about the connections between these individuals, those who have committed jihad, who -- the suicide bombers and those still on the run, the question is, how much did the authorities know and how much did they know and just not use?

JIM BITTERMAN, CNN SENIOR EUROPEAN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's a big question this morning, Victor. You see it all over the press this morning. In "Le Parisien", they are saying, what has to change now? Meaning, change with the intelligence services. They knew quite a bit of information they weren't connecting the dots.

And criticism has come in from all corners this morning from Turkey, where the president said he had specifically expelled Ibrahim el Bakraoui and warned he was a terrorist. That warning was not heeded. He went to Amsterdam. Authorities did not pass that information on to the Belgians that he was there. And in fact, he moved easily because there is no border between the Netherlands and easily moved into Brussels where he later blew himself up.

So, you have these connections that should have been made. Hillary Clinton criticized the intelligence work. The transportation minister of Israel was absolutely blistering saying that the Belgians were out eating chocolate when they should have been paying attention to the details and linking terrorists together. So, a lot of criticism of intelligence authorities, what they should have known and what they should have done ahead of the attacks. We have to see how this plays out.

But there is a meeting scheduled later today in Brussels. The interior ministers and justice ministers are getting together and they're going to be talking about how they better share information. That is something they promised before and they assured the public before has been in existence, but obviously has not taken place -- Victor.

BLACKWELL: Promises after "Charlie Hebdo" and attacks in November and now promises again.

Jim Bittermann there for us in Paris -- thank you so much.

ROMANS: As Jim mentioned, concern is rising in Europe that law enforcement and intelligence services have not been able to keep up with the tide of returning ISIS fighters returning from Syria and Iraq to their home countries ready to wage jihad in Europe. Turkey now revealing it deported Ibrahim el Bakraoui to the Netherlands, while warning Belgium he might be a militant.

Turkey said El Bakraoui had a criminal record, but no links to terrorism discovered. In the meantime, CNN found that Interpol found an outstanding red notice on Ibrahim's brother, Khalid el Bakraoui, saying Belgium wanted him in connection with terrorism.

So, were there intelligence failures? Could the Brussels attacks have been prevented?

Joining us is CNN military analyst Cedric Leighton, former deputy director of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Welcome back again. Thank you for joining us again this morning. I mean, that sounds to me like a classic intelligence failure. Turkey telling Belgium one of the suspects, we think he is a militant, actually deporting him to the Netherlands and he gets in a car or on a train and cross the border. The Belgians just don't either notice or miss it.

CEDRIC LEIGHTON, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Absolutely, Christine. And, you know, it's one of those things where the red flags were literally there when you see the red notice by Interpol put out on him, when you also see the different warnings that were really passed. What they should have done is they should have surveilled Ibrahim El Bakraoui. They should have taken a look at exactly what his pattern of life was, who his associates were, where he lived, if he was using aliases, all those kinds of things.

Of course, it is easy to do this in hindsight. One of the key things about intelligence work is that there's a lot of drudgery that goes on before you actually get a big break. It's a matter of basically going after all the drudgery work that you have to do in order to get these kinds of people, because they are basically hiding in plain sight.

[04:40:03] BLACKWELL: So, Cedric, how much of what's been exposed over the last 48 to 72 hours is a problem of resources in Belgium, or -- and how much is a structure problem that this has to change? A complete top to bottom change here?

LEIGHTON: Victor, I think it's mainly a structural problem. Of course, you could go into a budget, you know, for a government entity, like an intelligence service and find some things where they are misappropriating funds I'm sure. But I think it's a structural problem. I think it's a bureaucracy problem.

And, you know, quite frankly, it's an attitudinal problem. And, you know, when you have to deal with culture of intelligence agency, these cultures are embedded over a long period of time. And in Belgium, you have divisions that are based on language, on Flemish versus French, you know, some other things like that. There are those divisions. There are political divisions that happen in any country.

And I think the Belgians should take a page from the United States experience after 9/11 and look at the run-up to 9/11 and what the 9/11 commission report said about us. And how bad we were dealing with things on the intelligence side and really use that as a way to move forward, because that's one answer. It's not the complete answer and certainly there are specific things for Belgium that they will have to do. But that is I think one part of what could happen here.

ROMANS: Cedric, you mentioned 9/11, one of the pairs of brothers involved in attacks. These are another pair of brothers here. Should law enforcement and counterterrorism people and intelligence analysts, do they need to focus in a little more on I guess what is the formula for growing these jihad terror cells?

LEIGHTON: I think so, Christine. And we have to realize that that formula, or at least the details of that formula may change over time.

But you're right. There are a lot of familial connections, a lot of brothers working together, a lot of cousins. So, terrorist groups tend to go with groups that are associated with each other like that.

With this particular series of attacks in Brussels and even the Paris attacks, we notice there are these brother to brother connections. And with that, you have to look at not only how they are connected, but also what kinds of lives these people lead. So, you are talking about anything from a petty criminal to a serious criminal activity of that is now connected also to the terrorist world and to ISIS specifically.

And those are the connections that need to be examined. And the fact -- the apparent fact that the Belgians have said let's look at this and keep it on the criminal side. That I think was a mistake.

ROMANS: Indeed. All right. Cedric Leighton, thank you so much for that. An excellent analysis for us this morning.

Forty-two minutes past the hour.

Donald Trump and Ted Cruz demanding Muslim neighborhoods in the U.S. need to be patrolled. President Obama lashing back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:47:12] BLACKWELL: Thirteen minutes until the top of the hour now.

The terror attacks in Belgium are dominating the conversation on the campaign trail this morning. Donald Trump is calling on members of Muslim communities here in the U.S. to be more cooperative with local law enforcement. He claims they are turning a blind eye to radical behavior.

Trump and his rival Ted Cruz are also calling for more aggressive policing in Muslim neighborhoods.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We need to be using proactive policing. We need to be using proactive law enforcement and intelligence and national security resources.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: They're protecting each other, but they're really doing very bad damage. And they have to open up to society. They have to report the bad ones.

When they say trouble they have to report it. They're not reporting it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Hillary Clinton insists the anti-terror plans offered by Trump and Cruz prove both candidates are, quote, "loose cannons", and she says loose cannons tend to misfire.

The former secretary of state and President Obama denouncing the idea of profiling Muslim communities and stepping up surveillance of them. Both Democrats claiming that plan just doesn't make any sense.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: When Republican candidates like Ted Cruz call for treating American Muslims like criminals and for racially profiling predominately Muslim neighborhoods, it's wrong, it's counterproductive, it's dangerous.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I just left a country that engages in that kind of neighborhood surveillance. Which by the way, the father of Senator Cruz escaped for America, the land of the free.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: While everyone is focusing on Brussels and terrorism, the Republican establishment is quietly coalescing behind Ted Cruz. The Texas senator widely seen within the party as the only hope to derail Donald Trump. Jeb Bush endorsing Cruz on Wednesday with Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker expected to follow suit.

Meanwhile, John Kasich is dismissing calls to step aside and turn this into a two-man race. The Ohio governor insisting the race is effectively over if he's not in it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. JOHN KASICH (R-OH), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Let me tell you, I drop out, Donald Trump is absolutely going to be the nominee because -- I mean, I'm not out here to stop Donald Trump, but I can tell you the reality of it because I don't believe that Senator Cruz can come to the east and win.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Meanwhile, things are getting more nasty and personal between Donald Trump and Ted Cruz. Trump threatening to, quote, "spill the beans" about Cruz's wife Heidi after an anti-Trump ad displayed on Facebook of Trump's wife posing nude.

ROMANS: And there's even development in the past few minutes where Donald Trump has retweeted someone's tweet that shows Ted Cruz's wife, an unflattering picture of Ted Cruz next to a very flattering picture of Melania Trump, so yes.

[04:50:04] BLACKWELL: After we talked about hands and spray tans, and all that. Now, we're on wives.

ROMANS: All right. Starbucks CEO Howard Shultz says the candidates are deceiving voters. Here's what he told Poppy Harlow.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOWARD SHULTZ, STARBUCKS CEO: I look at the current political primary situation and I think many people are embracing what I would loosely describe as fool's gold, that divide and anger and anxiety is not going to produce what we need.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Not going to produce what we need. He said it's just not good for the country.

Schultz says the U.S. need a vision of inclusion. Something he says he's not hearing. He publicly identified himself as a Democrat, but Shultz has not endorsed any presidential candidate or made any donations. He also blasted rhetoric about trade, saying it is easy to look back and criticize deals like NAFTA, but what really boost America's economy is working with trade partners, not against them.

All right. Oil falling again, and that means more volatility for stocks. I'm going to show you the numbers when we get an early start on your money, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:55:16] BLACKWELL: Five minutes until the top of the hour now.

And we are getting new information this morning about the victims of the Brussels terror attacks. The U.S. State Department says it is aware of about a dozen Americans who are heart in the ISIS sponsored attacks, but no deaths.

A number of U.S. citizens remain unaccounted for, like Stephanie and Justin Shults, a Tennessee couple who now live in Belgium. Last seen when they dropped off Stephanie's mother at the airport.

In other cases, Americans are hoping desperately for word from European loved ones. Twenty-one-year-old Bart Migom was on the way from his home in Belgium to visit his girlfriend Emily Eisenman in Athens, Georgia. She says he never made it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EMILY EISENMAN, BOYFRIEND MISSING IN BRUSSELS: In the last two days, they have been something I never thought I would feel. It's been the worst days of my life. I guess I didn't know how much one person can love another until you just don't know where they're at.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Joining us now, CNN's Atika Shubert live in Brussels.

Atika, give us an idea. We talked this morning about how overwhelmed intelligence services are there, but for the medical services, are they as overwhelmed by the number of injured who are filling up hospitals?

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Fortunately, the hospitals were well prepared. Ironically, they were preparing for a natural disaster o or catastrophe. The military medic that I spoke to yesterday, he is one of the first people on the scene yesterday.

He said it was unlike any other war zone he had been to. He had gone and it was chaos and dust everywhere and people screaming for help and, you know, the worst kinds of blast injuries, limbs missing. Perforation injuries, people really just peppered with shrapnel wounds.

So, this is the kind of thing he had to deal with. He also said that for those victims closest to the blast, they were quite literally ripped apart by the explosion. That's why it's been difficult to identify the victims. Basically, what's required is fingerprints, DNA or dental records. Families had been going from hospital to hospital giving whatever information they can to try and find their loved ones.

In fact, we spoke to a man who is trying to find his girlfriend. They have a 1-year-old son together. The last he heard was when she was headed for school on the metro.

So, this is the kind of agonizing wait for families. Out of the 31 people who have been killed, only three have been identified. Of the wounded, also four at least that have not been identified, because they are still in a coma. For families, there is some small glimmer of hope that perhaps their family members are wounded and simply in hospital, but it is a very slim hope and grim reality that they're facing -- Victor.

BLACKWELL: A reminder beyond terror and international intelligence, this is a tragedy for individual, for families, for communities, not just there in Belgium but around the world.

Atika Shubert for us -- thank you so much.

ROMANS: We're coming up on the top of the hour, 4:58 a.m. in the East here. Let's get an early start on your money.

U.S. stock futures are lower. Oil prices are weighing on stocks right now. Losses in European stock markets, sliding further since they open almost an hour ago. Shares in Asia also lower. Volatility is back. Oil sank yesterday, dragging stocks down with it. That after a report that U.S. crude oil stock piles at historic highs.

ROMANS: More trouble for Yahoo this morning. Activist hedge fund Starboard Value is reportedly trying to replace the entire nine-member board of directors. The two sides are locked in a battle for months.

The CEO Marissa Mayer has cut thousands of jobs, she has shuttered parts of the company to try to turn Yahoo around. The company is considering a sale of all or part of its businesses.

But Starboard says that's too little too late. It wants more control of Yahoo. The stock is up 4 percent this year. Shares have plunged 22 percent if you look at it over the past 12 months. They are up a bit in pre-market trading, Victor.

BLACKWELL: All right. More breaking news coming in this morning.

EARLY START continues right now.

(MUSIC)

BLACKWELL: We begin with breaking news. A second bomber revealed to be involved in the Brussels subway attack as we learn new information about the terror cell. Ties to the Paris attacks and how intelligence failed. Also, the manhunt for the airport bomber still on the run.

Good morning to you and welcome to EARLY START. I'm Victor Blackwell.

ROMANS: Nice to see you this morning, Victor.

BLACKWELL: Good to be with you.

ROMANS: Thank you for being here.

I'm Christine Romans. It is Thursday, March 24th, 5:00 a.m. in the East.

Breaking news this morning: word of another attacker involved in the Brussels bombings.