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U.S. To Deploy 350 More Troops To Iraq; Sotloff Execution Video Deemed Authentic; Obama Vows Justice; Interview with Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur of Ohio

Aired September 03, 2014 - 06:00   ET

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

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We will not be intimidated. Their horrific acts only unite us.

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CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news. We will not be intimidated. President Obama speaking out for the first time after another American is beheaded by ISIS. Hundreds more U.S. troops Baghdad this morning. The strategy to battle ISIS.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Also breaking, the White House says the execution video of Steven Sotloff is real. New clues this morning from the tape. Who is the executioner and when exactly was the video made?

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Cease-fire breaking this morning. Ukraine says their president and Vladimir Putin say they have reached a deal for permanent cease-fire. Russia says, though, that's not the case. What's really going on? We're live with the latest.

CUOMO: Your NEW DAY starts right now.

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo, Kate Bolduan, and Michaela Pereira.

CUOMO: Good morning, welcome to NEW DAY. It is Wednesday, September 3 rd, 6:00 in the East and we do have breaking news. Two major crises developing oversees. President Obama is vowing justice after ISIS murders another American journalist. The president now has to tell us what that will mean. The government did confirm overnight the video showcasing the cowardly beheading of another American, Steven Sotloff. They say it is authentic. The president made clear that killing Sotloff and James Foley will bring major consequences for the cowards who committed these crimes.

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OBAMA: Overnight our government determined that tragically Steven was taken from us in a horrific act of violence. Whatever these murderers think they will achieve by killing innocent Americans like Steven, they have already failed. They failed because, like people around the world, Americans are repulsed by their barbarism. We will not be intimidated, and their horrific acts only unite us as a country and stiffen our results to take the fight against these terrorists.

And those who make the mistake of harming Americans will learn that we will not forget and that our reach is long and that justice will be served.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Strong words from the president there. Also though, conflicting reports this morning about a possible cease-fire in Ukraine. President Petro Poroshenko's office says a deal was reached with Vladimir Putin, but moments later, a senior Putin spokesman rejected that claim and pro-Russian rebels expressed doubt that any cease-fire would hold.

President Obama made it clear though in this press conference any hope of peace lies with the Russians.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: If, in fact, Russia is prepared to stop financing, arming, training and in many cases joining with Russian troops activities in Ukraine and is serious about a political settlement that is something that we all hope for.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: Because we have breaking news, let's unpack one crisis at a time. You can see we have a full field of coverage here. Let us introduce them to you. We have John Avlon, the CNN political analyst and editor-in-chief of "The Daily Beast," Major General James "Spider" Marks, CNN military analyst and U.S. army retired and now executive dean of the University of Phoenix, Mr. Bobby Ghosh, managing editor of "Quartz."

And of course, you see Anna Coren up there and Reza Sayah. We'll be getting to our correspondents as well. Let's start the discussion here by going to Anna Coren and getting her piece about what is some action that we are seeing already, which is U.S. troops, more of them, headed into Iraq.

The president has authorized the deployment of 350 additional sets of boots on the ground. The White House sin sifting though they will not be serving in a combat role, so Anna, you're tracking the developments for us. You're live in Irbil, Iraq. What does it mean there?

ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Chris, certainly authorities here welcome news that more U.S. troops will be heading to Iraq. This obviously follows the barbaric beheading of second journalist, Steven Sotloff overnight.

This now brings the numbers up to more than 1,000. As you say, the Pentagon stressing this is not boots on the ground, that everyone here believes that they will be advising the Iraqi and Kurdish forces here who are taking the fight to ISIS to achieve that objective laid out by President Obama in Estonia to degrade and destroy ISIS.

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COREN (voice-over): This morning more U.S. troops now heading to Iraq. Another 350 deployed to help bolster security for the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, bringing the total of U.S. troops deployed to more than 1,000. The order comes only hours after the latest ISIS video was released.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You, Obama, have yet again for your actions condemned another American citizen.

COREN: The executioner speaking directly to President Obama warning the U.S. to halt air strikes in Iraq.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So just as your missiles continue to strike our people, our knife will continue to strike the necks of your people.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's a very chilling and disturbing video.

COREN: U.S. officials and leaders across left reeling over what happens next. A second American journalist, Steven Sotloff, brutally beheaded by ISIS. Sotloff's execution less than two weeks after American, James Foley, was killed.

The video released on the same day the U.S. conducted its 124th air strike near Iraq's largest dam, destroying or damaging 16 ISIS armed vehicles. Sotloff's family says they are now grieving privately.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I ask you to please release my child.

COREN: Only a week after the 31-year-old's mother released a video pleading for her son's life.

SHIRLEY SOTLOFF, MOTHER OF STEVEN SOTLOFF: I've learned that Islam teaches that no individual should be held responsible for the sins of others. Steven has no control over the actions of the U.S. government.

COREN: Some politicians in the U.S. are slamming Obama for a lack of strategy in dealing with the increasingly high-profile terrorist group.

SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: I had hoped that the president would realize that this kind of barbarity only brings home the nature of the enemy we face and the scope of it. Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be the case.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COREN: Chris, we know that President Obama is under pressure to react to this second beheading of a U.S. citizen and as we heard from the president this is going to take time, not only is he looking for partnerships regionally but also internationally. This is a complex situation.

They just can't come in to Iraq and Syria and bomb these targets. They need to gather the intelligence. They need to know what they are striking, and as the president says, this is not going to be over a matter of weeks, this is over a matter of months -- Chris.

CUOMO: Well, said, Anna. The situations are always ended on the ground, both with intelligence and action, so let's figure out politics and the practicality with our panel of experts that we introduced you to.

Let's start with the politics here. We've got Bobby Ghosh and John Avlon. The politics of this are obvious, we're angry. They are killing Americans. They are beheading journalists and now we are very angry. We want to act.

Do you think there's a little bit of a rush here that may be going on? I know the president is hearing everybody saying he's going too slowly, but now that you're angry about this and rush in, what's the risk?

JOHN AVLON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: I don't see a lot of evidence of rush right now. The president said his goal was degrade rather than destroy ISIS. He's resolute but he's muted in his resolution, the second beheading we've seen. This is a time to get angry in a focused manner to realize we are confronting evil and this is going to be a longer struggle, but it's essential.

CUOMO: You're talking only about the beheadings, right? They are dominating the discussion. And for the respect of the families and the fraternity of people who support the work, you want to hear that respect.

AVLON: Yes.

CUOMO: But it seems to also be leading the intelligence with what you do and why, Bobby Ghosh, you got 350 new sets of boots on the ground. I don't understand how you're on the ground and not part of what takes place there. What does that mean practically?

BOBBY GHOSH, MANAGING EDITOR, "QUARTZ": We've seen when American air power combines with Iraqi forces on the ground, it works. It worked to get is away from the Mosul Dam. It worked to rescue the town of Amerli from ISIS. It shows that that combination works. We're putting more people there.

It's to help the Iraqis and yes to protect the embassy to some degree, but it's to help Iraqis and provide them with intelligence and guidance to do some coordination between official Iraqi forces and the Peshmerga.

They don't necessarily talk to each other and don't have credibility with each other. The United States does have some credibility with the Pershmerga so there's lots of logistical and strategic and tactical support opportunities that the U.S. can and should be providing. Again, if I can just say, there's no question of rush. This has been months and months in the coming. Thousands upon thousands of Iraqis and Syrians have been killed for months, so if -- if we rush now, more fool we because we've not been preparing. I hope that's not true.

BOLDUAN: And the president seems to be trying to say that and -- in some respect when he said that early on, from the very beginning when we got involved, I said this was not going to be a one-week, one-month or even he said a six-month proposition.

GHOSH: Yes.

BOLDUAN: But he did also said at least try to make the case that there is a strategy in Iraq. Pushing back on some of the criticism from that you can call it a gaffe of last week when he said there was no strategy against ISIS.

Spider, weigh in on this. Play a little more of the sound from the president during the press conference who really almost directly takes on that criticism from last week when he says he was taken out of context. He was taking about a military strategy. Listen.

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OBAMA: When this question was asked last week, I was specifically referring to the possibility of the military strategy inside of Syria that might require congressional approval. It is very important from my perspective that when we send our pilots in to do a job that we know that this is a mission that's going to work, that we're very clear on what our objectives are, what our targets are. We've made the case to Congress and we've made the case to the American people, and we've got allies behind us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: So, Spider, from your perspective has the president laid out a clear strategy?

MAJOR GENERAL JAMES "SPIDER" MARKS, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: No, not at all. The president's comment is really a distinction without a difference. You establish a strategy that includes all the elements of power, diplomatic, informational, economic, to include military.

And then there is a military campaign to support, which underpins that strategy and holds it up. What we don't have is an overall U.S. strategy and an alliance strategy, a coalition strategy that says this is how we want to try to attack and what we want to try to do with ungoverned space.

By the way, we happen to have this element called ISIS, which is really taking advantage and has grown as a result of ungoverned space, and we haven't gotten our arms around that. Now the piece of it that is working is the military campaign to go after ISIS.

What needs to happen is it needs to really be much more persistent, much more aggressive. The air strikes need to just be so oppressive against ISIS targets that they don't get a chance to breathe, and they should include targets in Syria.

Clearly that's based on great intelligence. It can be -- it can be acquired through technical means and we have agencies that can develop sources on the ground to really make it that much more precise in Syria. That needs to be so dominating that ISIS can't breathe, and we haven't achieved that yet. We've had a lot of chat.

BOLDUAN: Spider, do you also -- is it important that the president, and Ann Compton I think asked a very precise and follow-up question during this press conference. She said when you're talking about taking on ISIS. Are you talking about destroying ISIS, degrading ISIS, containing them or simply pushing them back? Why is it so important that the president lay it out, and do you think he answered that question?

MARKS: Words are very, very important. What's important to see in this is that the president has answered the question in that he said he wants to -- I think he said to degrade --

BOLDUAN: Yes. Make sure ISIS is not an ongoing threat to the region, and he went on to say that in a couple different ways.

MARKS: There are several ways you can parse that. The real issue you is want to destroy it. That's going to take an overarching strategy that's really dominating in the region with all those elements of power. If you want to hold what you have and not let ISIS expand into Iraq, but right now we've allowed ISIS to continue to fuel itself so they can conduct operations, not only in Syria but elsewhere in Iraq, that's what we have right now.

We're holding what they have -- what they have done. We've not rolled them back. We've not gotten into the destruction of ISIS that's very important to discuss.

CUOMO: And obviously the distinction that the general understands very well is that we could do these things very easily militarily, but it's about the mandate and about the authority, and that is the same logic that's being applied and scrutinized in the situation in Ukraine.

We should bring in Reza Sayah because we're really dealing with two major crises now. What do you do about ISIS in light of this latest beheadings? What is going on in the ground in Ukraine?

Now Reza Sayah, we get what sounds like a headline. The question is, is it a false headline, this idea of a cease-fire between Russia and Ukraine right here on the eve of very important talks about that situation. What do you know about it?

REZA SAYAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There are still many details to sort through and confirm, but without question this is the best indication yet that in this conflict these two sides have reached some sort of breakthrough or a cease-fire. Let's explain to you what we know and how we got here.

Several hours ago, the Russian news agency, Interfax reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko had a phone conversation, and in that phone call they agreed on a path towards getting out of this crisis.

Obviously, we needed to hear confirmation from Ukrainian officials here in Kiev, and a short time later that confirmation came via the spokesperson of the president's office saying that the phone call had taken place, and, in fact, they took it a step further.

They said that a cease-fire had been established. A cease-fire had not been mentioned from the statement in Moscow. We went back to Moscow to confirm, and they essentially said that Mr. Putin could not authorize a cease-fire because he was not party to this conflict, that Russia was not a party to this conflict.

But, again, he reiterate that had Moscow supports the framework that was in place for a cease-fire. We are also hear from the pro-Russian rebels fighting in South Eastern Ukraine. They are essentially saying that we're doubting that a cease-fire can take place until Ukrainian forces leave the region.

That apparently hasn't happened yet, but it looks like we're on the verge of a breakthrough, a remarkable development because up until this morning these two sides, leaders in Moscow and Ukraine were hurling back and forth heated accusations unveiled insults.

BOLDUAN: Reza Sayah on ground for us in Ukraine. Let's continue part of this discussion because this was also a big topic in the press conference. Neither the Estonian president for President Obama seemed to put a lot of weight in the headline of a cease-fire.

I mean, the president himself says, well, we haven't seen much -- we haven't seen this bear fruit in the past, any conversation of a cease- fire. What do you think this means, Bobby?

GHOSH: Well, it seems quite transparent that this is an attempt by Moscow to take some of the heat off of the NATO discussions. The timing is -- just as President Obama arrives in Europe, there's talk of a new framework. I think we can go down the rabbit hole with the word cease-fire.

It's a good thing they are talking. Listen, Putin and Poroshenko are calling each other, that's a good thing, but as the Russians -- as the separatists seem to have said on the ground --

BOLDUAN: One in the same, it seems.

GHOSH: Exactly. What the separatists have said we'll believe this when we see this.

CUOMO: We're actually playing comedically with the main problem here, John Avlon, which it is Russia on the ground.

AVLON: Of course.

CUOMO: I've been there. I've seen them.

BOLDUAN: Right.

CUOMO: They point guns at you. They're real Russians. They're really trained. It's their weapons. They're not old. They are coming in now.

That's the truth. All right? People understand it.

Russia is playing with it. That's OK. The problem is that everybody is playing the same game right now. So, how do you make progress in a situation where you are enabling a lie?

AVLON: First by not enabling a lie but pretending that people changed their character overnight. We all hope for peace, but let's not be naive here.

Bobby is exactly right. This is transparently an attempt to sort of take some of the energy out from underneath the NATO summit, which has the opportunity to revive the organization from being a Cold War relic to something relevant in the 21st century if they feel the sense of urgency. Clearly states like Estonia do, but Vladimir Putin is the kind of guy who throws the first punch, films the fight, calls a cease fire, and ask for a Nobel Peace Prize.

So, you're not -- you're talking about something that's so transparent, so let's be real about the actions here.

CUOMO: But isn't that --

BOLDUAN: Funny if it wasn't so sad.

CUOMO: Right. Right, because the sad part is, well, what can you do about it? This is not ISIS.

BOLDUAN: Is that not where the role of NATO does come in though?

GHOSH: That's the other lie that is sort of circling around this. We're not going to war for Ukraine. NATO is not going to war for Ukraine.

Estonia is a different kettle of fish. They are Article V, they're obligations. We're not going to war -- we're not going to war for Ukraine, and we shouldn't allow the Ukrainians to think that we will, because that stops them from making the bargain they have to make at the end of the day with Russia.

BOLDUAN: Spider, jump in and have a lost thought on this. This was the whole point of President Obama going overseas. He's going to this NATO summit. This is going to be top of mind. NATO, this could be the new age of NATO, is how a lot of people have -- have kind of described this moment in history.

What's the role of NATO here?

MARKS: Well, I need to take issue with what Josh said a little bit tongue in cheek in that NATO has not been a relic of the Cold War, it's been incredibly relevant all in the '90s and 2000s. It really is a coalition that is -- has been well-defined and has modified and adapted itself to new realities.

The issue with Ukraine is an international concern that we all should have. It's not just simply NATO's concern. We have the invasion of a sovereign nation by another, and we're sitting there going, well, I guess this is the new norm.

I mean, it's really quite amazing to me that the United States frankly as a leader internationally -- the United States has the power to convene, and we have not convened a discussion of what's taking place in Ukraine. We've simply observed.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

MARKS: So, there's a lot we can do in a very practical sense. We can provide great intelligence and provide advisers, and we must acknowledge that we can't get into a hot war with the Russians. We never got into a hot war with the Soviets and we created NATO so that we could prevent that.

But now we have this enterprise. Let's use it appropriately.

AVLON: But there's a bright line in international policy in the post- Cold War world and post-war world is that national sovereignty is sacred, that troops can't slow -- whether you slow roll an invasion or you hot roll it, that there is a bright line there, whether or not it's Article 5 or not in the world of nations. That's been violated. It's been violated slowly over the past several months and if we allow that to be downgraded that's a whole world of hurt in the 21st century we're unleashing.

MARKS: We're in agreement, total agreement.

(CROSSTALK)

GHOSH: The point that spider made there. The president hasn't convened. Who is international?

The Chinese don't care, the Indians don't care, the Africans don't care, Latin Americans don't care. The vast majority of the world doesn't care what Putin is doing in Ukraine.

We've got to make them care instead of just sort of blustering across borders in Europe. We've got to make the rest of the world hold Putin to account, and the president is not even beginning to try to make that happen.

CUOMO: True.

BOLDUAN: And many European countries have also been slow to get on the bandwagon for any sanctions that could potentially have any hurt on their side. They have been really slow to impose any sanctions on Russia, the ones with real teeth.

CUOMO: Talk about a theme that's often avoided here is, that you know, you talk about slow. Europe is running like the Road Runner compared to Saudi Arabia and Jordan when it comes to dealing with really ISIS as an extension of this movement for a Sunni state. Where are they on all of this? So, there are a lot of themes to pick up on.

BOLDUAN: Really seeing the important issues that the president is addressing in his press conference. We'll continue to hear from him throughout the moment and we're going to have coverage of that throughout the show.

Bobby Ghosh, John Avlon, Spider Marks, thank you all so much. Thank you very, very much this morning, guys.

MARKS: Thank you, folks.

BOLDUAN: All right. We're going to be digging deeper into this with the co-chair of the Ukrainian Congressional Caucus coming up. Is this a real cease-fire and what does it mean for Ukraine? We'll have much more on that.

CUOMO: And, of course, you have the politics and with that, you need to know what's going on on the ground and that gets to intelligence. And officials are examining this horrible beheading video for clues that could lead them to the murderer behind it. We'll tell you, ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: Following breaking news this morning. President Obama speaking out for the first time about the ISIS video that shows American Steven Sotloff being horrifically executed.

The president says the country is grief-stricken by Sotloff's death and the second beheading by ISIS after American James Foley. Mr. Obama says the U.S. will not be intimidated by ISIS terrorists, and he also says justice will be served.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: Bottom line is this. Our objective is clear, and that is to degrade and destroy ISIL. So, it's no longer a threat, not just to Iraq, but also the region and to the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: The president also addressed Russia's role in the conflict in Eastern Ukraine and conflicting reports about a cease-fire deal there.

Let's talk about all of this -- and there is a lot going on -- with the Democratic Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur. She's co-chair of the Congressional Ukrainian Caucus.

Congresswoman, thank you so much. It's great to have you here on this very important morning.

REP. MARCY KAPTUR (D), OHIO: Thank you, Kate.

BOLDUAN: Let's first -- of course. Let's first, if we could, talk about that grisly video, the execution of Steven Sotloff, the American journalist in Syria, the president speaking out for the first time about his death this morning, saying that justice will be served and also talking about the goal of the United States to degrade, to destroy ISIS, to take them on.

How does the death of Steven Sotloff changed the calculation in what the United States should do right now, in your perspective?

KAPTUR: It's a very difficult situation, and our hearts go out to the Sotloff as well as the Foley families, and we thank them for raising such patriotic Americans dedicated to truth and to liberty globally.

What incredible men these were, and their memory will live forever in the hearts of the American people. They are symbolic of the struggle that remains in our world for justice, for liberty and for truth, and we feel it very deeply in our hearts. I agree with everything that the president said there.

I think that trying to supply and provide intelligence to those who want to bring some measure of order to that legion of the world is an appropriate role for the United States. We have lost thousands of lives and spent billions of dollars in that part of the world to try to create some form of modern order as these very rubbery states with imposed boundaries going back many decades try to -- try to reach the future.

But the world simply can't accept the kind of nihilism and death ideology that pervades those who perpetrate these horrific acts against civilians.

BOLDUAN: And with that in mind, do you agree with Senator Dianne Feinstein that to this point when it comes to the president's approach against ISIS, when you talk about how terrible that terrorist organization is, do you think he's been too cautious?

KAPTUR: No. I think that it's been very difficult to penetrate those networks. They are not tradition military networks. They don't operate by rules that nations, normal nations that have militaries do.

So, I think it's been very hard to gather the intelligence to be effective. We are about that task. We have been for several decades now, but it has been extraordinarily difficult.

They don't operate by normal procedures. You know, you sort of tamp it down here, it springs up somewhere else, so I think it has been a real task for those who understand this threat to penetrate. And many nations in the region do not have militaries and intelligence networks that provide the kind of helpful information that would be valuable.

BOLDUAN: And, Congresswoman, as I mentioned at the very beginning, you were also the co-chair of the Congressional Ukrainian Caucus.

KAPTUR: Yes.

BOLDUAN: My goodness, if you were awake early this morning to see the back and forth it's a little unclear as to what is happening on the ground at this moment in Ukraine. We heard -- we saw -- heard of a cease-fire.

We heard of a phone call between the presidents of Russia and Ukraine, and then we hear that there's not so much of a cease-fire. What is your understanding of what is going on this morning? And more importantly, what do you think it says about the state of play?

KAPTUR: Well, I think the fact that our president, President Obama, has gone to Estonia knowing Russia's ability to manipulate propaganda, there needed to be some kind of a response on the Russian side and so, in a way, it looks like a convenient form of headline for the news globally to say that some sort of cease-fire is in the offing.

BOLDUAN: So, real quick on that.

KAPTUR: One would hope that it would be.

BOLDUAN: You don't put a lot of stock into it? You need to learn more. What do you think?

KAPTUR: Well, let's say I'm very doubtful. Would I hope that we would be moving towards that, but the foreign minister, Mr. Lavrov, has talked about this times. It's never happened, and I don't think there's any evidence on the ground that anything has changed overnight in terms of Russian supplies and troop formations and so forth, tank brigades. I haven't seen any evidence that any of that has changed.

But I do know that Russia has enormous expertise in propaganda and with our president and with all of Europe gathered for this very, very important NATO gathering, where NATO is going to be discussing a security umbrella for the new Europe, I would expect Russia would have some sort of response like this.

BOLDUAN: You want to see more action to offer assistance in Ukraine.

KAPTUR: Yes.

BOLDUAN: What more do you want to see? What more do you want to see done? Because to this point the president in the press conference, he says that the sanctions that have been put in place, they have had an impact. They were hurting the Russian economy, but they sure are not slowing Vladimir Putin.