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Remembering Joan Rivers; Seahawks Drum Packers on Opening Night; NATO Intensifies Focus On ISIS; New Fears ISIS Could Strike U.S. Embassy In Iraq

Aired September 05, 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 NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo, Kate Bolduan, and Michaela Pereira.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, welcome to NEW DAY. Yes, it is Friday, September 5th, 6:00 in the East. Breathe in, breathe out. And we're going to begin with the fight against ISIS because it gets more involved by the day.

President Obama is trying to shore up support to destroy the terror group during the last day of the NATO Summit. CNN also has new information about the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad potentially being ISIS' next target.

And the search to root out ISIS comes to America. This man is a U.S. citizen and is wanted by the FBI. Authorities believe he is the mastermind of ISIS propaganda.

We have all the angles covered starting with White House correspondent, Michelle Kosinski, who is at the NATO Summit in Wales -- Michelle.

MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Chris. U.S. administration officials say there will be a coalition against ISIS coming out of this NATO Summit. They say that there's real willingness on the part of European member states to contribute.

Especially because there is this a widespread fear now of foreign fighters going back to their homelands and staging terrorist attacks. The U.S. says that different states will contribute to the coalition in different ways.

Some through intelligence. Others humanitarian aid and some militarily and, yes, that means the possibility of air strikes at least over Iraq. So far though no one has offered to do so.

The U.K. keeps stopping short of talking about that. In fact, Prime Minister David Cameron was asked, are you any closer to air strikes, and he said vaguely, well, we're closer to making sure we do everything we can to squeeze is out of existence.

What we won't see coming out of this summit is a military decision on Syria. U.S. officials say there needs to be a regional coalition in place and work on that will continue after this summit ends -- Chris.

CUOMO: All right, Michelle, thank you very much -- Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Also this morning, we're learning new information about the White House's decision to send additional troops to Baghdad. There's a growing fear ISIS could penetrate a highly secured green zone as we've all known it in Iraq and launch attacks against the U.S. Embassy there.

Three hundred and fifty troops have now been authorized and deployed to Baghdad to protect U.S. interest there. Barbara Starr is live at Pentagon as always for us this morning with much more, and the threat seems more real than ever -- Barbara.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Indeed. Good morning, Kate. Those troops will finish arriving in the next few days. They will be on station and now we know why 350 additional troops are being sent to the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.

Sources are telling me that as they have continued to look at the intelligence they have gathered about ISIS over the last few weeks, there is growing concern that ISIS would have what they are calling the ability, the capability to penetrate that green zone.

The secure area in Baghdad where the embassy and other installations are located. They say they are not looking at, you know, hordes of is trying to climb the fence line and get into the embassy, but what is has is a very unique ability to stage very specific and tailored attacks.

Suicide bombs, suicide bombers wearing vests, car bombs, that sort of thing, and it could be a cause of real mayhem. So what they want to do is add these additional troops, secure the embassy as best as possible.

Other troops may go to the U.S. airport area in Baghdad, at Baghdad International Airport. They may also send them north to Irbil. This is to make sure everything is as secure as it can be against ISIS -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: I guess you then wonder is 350 enough, and is this just the next step. Barbara, you'll be on top of it for us at the Pentagon. Thanks so much, Barbara.

STARR: Sure.

BOLDUAN: Let's turn now to the manhunt for an American citizen who may be one of the masterminds of ISIS's social media operation. This man we are going to show, Akmad Abu Samra (ph). He is raised in Massachusetts. He is now one of the FBI's most wanted terrorists.

CNN's Deb Feyerick is here with many more of these details. What more are we learning about it -- Deborah?

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: OK, what we do know is that finding this man is one of the FBI's top priorities. He's been a terror fugitive for the last five years. He fled the United States just before federal charges were issued against him. Possible areas of travel for this man, Syria, Iraq, possibly Lebanon and Turkey.

And the reason that they are looking for this man is because they say he's exactly the kind of person that ISIS would want. They say that he has a degree in computer technology. He studied in Boston. He speaks fluent Arabic and English.

Also, he's one of these people who he knows his way around. He was indicted on federal terrorism charges for providing material support to terrorists. Officials say that in fact they believe when they left the United States he went to Iraq after training in Yemen with these terror fighters.

He was there, and his goal according to officials is he was looking to kill U.S. troops who were there, and so this is somebody who would certainly be extremely attractive to ISIS.

And that's one of the reasons that they wants to get him and that's one of the reasons they want to bring him back. He's been indicted in federal court in Boston -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: Absolutely. Deb Feyerick on it for us on, thanks so much.

CUOMO: And not just the fascination, it goes to the radicalization within the borders of the U.S. And what ISIS maybe looking for in terms of the needs they may be found right here in the U.S.

So let's dig in deeper with Tom Fuentes, CNN law enforcement analyst and former assistant director for the FBI, and Major General James "Spider" Marks, CNN military analyst and executive dean of University of Phoenix.

Gentlemen, thank you for being here and help me understand, what is the news this morning? The first thing, this man that we're talking about right now, an American, Tom Fuentes, let's start with you.

What is the relevance that he is a Syrian and U.S. citizen and may be behind social media? Why does it matter even more that he's American?

TOM FUENTES, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Just the fact that he would know our country so well, having gone to -- having grown up and gone to college here, fluent English and fluent Arabic, and a major that's in computer technology and telecommunications. So that gives them the ability to use his skills for marketing and recruiting of Americans.

CUOMO: A quick follow on that. How important, Tom, is propaganda on social media to terror these days?

FUENTES: Well, it's terrifically important. That's how they recruiting hundreds of people if not thousands from all over the world to travel there and join the fight, join ISIS, and in his case being a dual citizen with U.S. and in Syria.

CUOMO: So pieces of news morning. The first is that this American really goes to how they maybe recruiting this terror group and how they may be getting people who know America even because they'll actually be citizens. That leads us to the second headlines, Spider, which is what they may do with these people, and now we're hearing that in the green zone, which should be the safest area of Iraq, the U.S. Embassy of all places may be being targeted. Do you buy it and how likely is that?

MAJOR JAMES "SPIDER" MARKS (RETIRED), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, I do buy it, Chris, and, again, thank you very much for letting me join Tom this morning. Absolutely. The embassy, however, is probably the most protected piece of property the United States has worldwide.

Years of construction, years of design. However, you take it from the inside and then you work your way out in terms of what those levels and those rings of defense look like. Now, a couple of things to bear in mind.

Number one, ISIS has presented itself as a very conventional force. It has equipment that it's been able to gather. It has a lot of military training. Many of its senior leaders in a real wonderful "New York Times" piece has described these folks as former Saddam Hussein military guys who are terribly aggrieved.

Yet they have great professional skills. So they can present themselves as a military force with all of those capabilities, which include indirect fire, artillery, mortars, et cetera, but more threatening is the ability of is to try to penetrate into the embassy.

If they can recruit guys who are willing based on this recruiting, willing to give up their lives, suicide bombers to get inside and then try to wreak havoc, that is a very legitimate concern, so you have multiple dimensions of vulnerability.

But I guarantee you the embassy and the personnel there have worked their way through these kinds of scenarios before. I would hope everything is in place to try to take care of those particular eventualities.

CUOMO: General, let me ask about this. Tell me if I'm just being a cynical. Is this an end run around boots on the ground?

MARKS: Cynicism is A-OK when you are looking at this problem, Chris. I mean, that's what you have to be.

CUOMO: Here's why I qualify it. They say no boots on the ground. Why is that the message, because Americans don't want the boots on the ground, it's not always best way to make policy. However, is this an end run?

They are putting boots on the ground, they say to protect U.S. personnel and interests, specifically like the embassy. Is this the end run because they really do believe they need more Americans on the ground because that's how likely the attack ISIS?

MARKS: I like the way you're thinking. The president should not take off the table things -- he should not say what he's not going to do because the problem is a domestic America message that we don't want to put boots on ground. We're tired. We don't want to go at war. We've been at war too long. This is not something we want to do. However, the message is now being received by our enemies as a sign of weakness. Certainly, I mean, this -- this could -- this could be a Gulf of Tonkin where we build ourselves in -- which took place in Vietnam and was a justification for putting forces in Vietnam.

We could be moving down the path of suddenly having a presence, having command and control, having senior officers on the ground and an architecture that would allow us to expand more aggressively, but our president will have to go to Congress at some point with that justification.

This certainly needs to be done, but this truly with the numbers they have and the capabilities they have, this is truly very, very focused on trying to provide intelligence to the Iraqi security forces and to very specifically protect this embassy.

CUOMO: So it's interesting. These men and women being put on the ground, it's not just theoretical. They are there because they know there are practical threats that they may well involve in getting fighting with. I don't think the president will have to go to justification for the Congress.

I think the big process here is when Congress decides to take its constitutional authority seriously and becomes accountable for the decision of what the U.S. Military does going forward, their job, not his under the constitution.

This propaganda video out of the State Department, OK, what does that mean in terms of where we see the level of threat of their recruiting online, and is this the best way to combat it?

FUENTES: Well, it's one of many ways to combat it, and it may be as effective as any other way because it's trying to reach the same people that their propaganda is reaching, you know, without the military solution. That you have kids in this country watching these videos that they are producing, and they are so desensitized anyway to violence.

Any video game, the war-like video games that are out there, are twice as bad as any of the live videos of people being beheaded, so to try to reach that audience that thinks all those videos are great and get inspired to go join the cause.

You know, counter videos that say it's not such a great cause to join and you better think twice about it, in their own terms, in their own mindset, and I think that it's a pretty bold move to do that because they have to produce fairly violent videos to match is, but I think it's a good idea.

CUOMO: The question it raises though is are you giving them too much respect by fighting them on their own battlefield and agonizing over what to call them every time they change their name. At the end of the day how much respect do you give a group of terrorists.

FUENTES: We have to choice but to respect their capability and try to fight it.

CUOMO: Right, but it's how you do it and deal with them and that's part of the ongoing struggle. Tom Fuentes, thank you, very, very much. Always a pleasure. Gentlemen, have a good weekend -- Mich.

PEREIRA: All right, Chris, thanks so much. It's 11 minutes past the hour. Good morning, everyone. A look at your headlines, the Ukrainian president says a cease-fire agreed between Russia and Ukraine could be implemented today this. Announcement obviously being met with cautious optimism as heavy fighting rages on in Eastern Ukraine.

Ukrainian forces have been engaging in a bloody struggle with pro- Russian separatists near a key port city. In the meantime, the U.S. is preparing an additional round of sanctions levied at Russia.

The third American to be diagnosed with Ebola, Dr. Rick Sacra arrives at the Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha today. He will be treated for the virus in the hospital's bio containment unit. Doctors say he will not be treated with the experimental drug, ZMapp because there are simply no doses left.

Sacra's wife said she spoke with her husband or actually the doctor who was treating her husband in Liberia. She said her husband is in good spirits and was, as you can see, able to walk under his own power on to the plane.

A grand jury has indicted the father of a boy who died after being left in a hot car. Justin Ross Harris faces eight charges, including murder, in the June death of his toddler son.

Harris told police he had forgotten his son was in the back seat when he arrived at his job at Home Depot in Atlanta. Police say his 22- month-old son Cooper spent seven hours strapped in the back seat of the car.

The district attorney says he will decide in the next few weeks whether to pursue the death penalty. Of course, we'll have more on this story ahead on NEW DAY.

The former governor of Virginia is now facing prison time. A jury found Bob McDonnell and his wife Maureen guilty of wire fraud, conspiracy and influence peddling. The couple was charged with illegal accepting gifts from a wealthy donor in exchange for backing his business.

Bob McDonnell sobbed in court as that verdict was read out loud. He was once a rising star in the Republican Party. The McDonnell's are due to be sentenced on January 6th. They promise, however, to appeal.

BOLDUAN: That's been an amazing fall from political stardom.

PEREIRA: Quite. It really has been amazing and sad to watch, too.

CUOMO: Difficult to understand.

PEREIRA: Really hard to understand.

BOLDUAN: Don't accept gifts from people who want things from you, and then you won't get in trouble. That's what I feel.

CUOMO: That's why I forget birthdays and stuff like that, just so you know. I'm doing it to protect you.

PERIERA: Is that what we're going with?

CUOMO: Today.

PEREIRA: Tomorrow is different.

BOLDUAN: Exactly right.

All right. There's a little less humor in the world today following the death of Joan Rivers. We're remembering the comedy pioneer as two investigations are launched into her death.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOAN RIVERS, COMEDIAN: Can we talk here for a second? It's no big deal to have a woman in the White House. John F. Kennedy had 1,000 of them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RIVERS: When I was 21, my mother said, only a doctor for you. When I was 22, she said, all right a lawyer, CPA. Twenty-four, she said, well, grab a dentist. At 26, she said, anything.

If he can make it to the door, he was mine, you know? What do you mean you don't like him? He's intelligent. He found the bell himself. What do you want?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PEREIRA: A great, great Joan Rivers. The world has certainly lost one of our great comedians. Joan Rivers being remembered this morning for her sharp-tongued brilliance.

Her funeral will be held Sunday in New York. The 81-year-old Rivers died Thursday, a week after going in a cardiac and respiratory arrest during an outpatient medical procedure. Her death is now under investigation.

Nischelle Turner is here with more on this incredible life. Those are the early days on stage when she was just killing it.

NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Career spanning five decade. Not many like her in this world. Probably won't be many like her again, but it is sad that her death is surrounded by so many questions this morning. Her family, her loved one and the fans though are desperate to know what went wrong at that clinic.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TURNER (voice-over): This morning, two investigations into the death of legendary comedian Joan Rivers now under way.

New York state officials launching a full investigation into the outpatient clinic where the Tony-nominated star went into cardiac arrest during a throat procedure last week. Rivers was then rushed to Mt. Sinai Hospital where she remained on life support until she passed peacefully Thursday, according to her daughter, Melissa Rivers.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're so sorry.

TURNER: Medical examiners also requesting an autopsy as questions are raised as to why an 81-year-old in fine feisty form just the night before doing an hour-long standup event would suddenly stop breathing.

RIVERS: Enjoy your bodies now. Add a brassiere, this is how I go to the bathroom --

TURNER: The Emmy-winning comedian showed no signs of slowing down --

RIVERS: Yes, you have to wear dead animals because I tried and live ones bite. You must wear dead --

TURNER: -- ever since her debut on "The Johnny Carson Show" in 1965.

RIVERS: I never cook when I was single because I figured if the Lord wanted a woman to cook, he'd give her aluminum hands.

TURNER: Her career skyrocketing throughout the decades.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here's Joan Rivers.

TURNER: Becoming the first and only woman to host a network nightly talk show.

RIVERS: You're still a pig, lose more weight.

JIMMY FALLON, "THE TONIGHT SHOW" HOST: She hadn't done "The Tonight Show" in I would say over 26 yeas.

TURNER: Current host Jimmy Fallon tearing up, remembering the first time she returned to "The Tonight Show."

FALLON: She came out and she came over to me, and she started crying and gave me a kiss. It was really emotional and really nice.

TURNER: Rivers, a trailblazer for female comics who poured out in remembrance.

KATHY GRIFFIN, COMEDIAN: I owe my career to her, no doubt about it.

TURNER: Fellow comedian Kathy Griffin breaking down on Anderson Cooper after he played this clip about a woman who says she never wanted to stop making people laugh.

RIVERS: I'll show you fear. That's fear. If my book ever looked like this, it would mean that nobody wants me, that every I ever tried to do in life didn't work, nobody cared and I've been totally forgotten.

TURNER: At the Hollywood Walk of Fame, her legions of fans prove the iconic comedian's fears were misplaced.

RIVERS: If anything happens, Melissa --

TURNER: In 2012, Rivers' humor took a serious turn with her daughter. Before undergoing plastic surgery, she assured Melissa that if anything happens, her time was well spent.

RIVERS: I've had an amazing life. If it ended right now, amazing life, and life is so much fun. It's one big movie.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TURNER: All right. Joan Rivers is still the number one trending topic on Twitter this morning. And Joan, even at 81, was big on social media. Her Twitter profile, because we all have one, says a simple girl with a dream, and I would say a vibrant career spanning five decades, Ms. Joan, your dream was fulfilled.

PEREIRA: Well said, Nischelle, well said. My goodness.

And, of course, all of you out there have a favorite memory of the comedian Joan Rivers, her fashion, a favorite joke. Let us know. Go to our Facebook page, Facebook.com/NewDay.

Nischelle, thanks so much for a beautiful look at her life.

Chris?

CUOMO: Let's get something a little bit -- you know, something a little --

BOLDUAN: A little different.

CUOMO: A little cheerier this morning because it's going to be a tough morning having known of the Joan Rivers loss. We'll talk some sports. All right?

Last night, we had the kickoff of the season. Super Bowl champion Seahawks taking on Packers. Green Bay is supposed to be a strong team as well but the Seahawks did --

BOLDUAN: Didn't look so strong.

CUOMO: Well, the Seahawks were just so strong.

BOLDUAN: Yes, I was going to say.

CUOMO: Brian Mcfayden has more in this morning's bleacher report. I mean, Seahawks looked like the Jets, they looked so good.

BRIAN MCFAYDEN, BLEACHER REPORT: Oh, man!

BOLDUAN: What? He's been drinking this morning already.

(LAUGHTER)

MCFAYDEN: Good morning, Chris and Kate.

The Seahawks -- they started where they left off last year, by blowing out the competition. The Seahawks and the NFL put on quite a performance last night. Pharrell performed the pre-game concert, and Seattle unveiled their Super Bowl banner in front of the rabid home crowd on the field.

It was all Seahawks. They dominated both side of the ball. Packers never really had a chance in this one. Seattle wins it big, 36-16.

It was a close one for Roger Federer going for his 18th career grand slam title and need to get by super talented 20th seed Gael Monfils. Monfils, by the way, hadn't dropped a set of this year's U.S. Open. It took Federer all five sets for the win and is now two more wins away to capture his sixth U.S. Open title -- guys.

CUOMO: Amazing.

BOLDUAN: Yes, no kidding. Good stuff.

CUOMO: Seahawks look great, but that's why Roger Federer is making the case to be the best ever.

BOLDUAN: One of the best of the best.

Thanks so much, Brian.

Eliminating the threat from ISIS -- it's been a primary focus of the NATO Summit. But can it be done without American ground troops? What one military commander is saying what he thinks should happen, coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: This morning, President Obama and world leaders are wrapping up the NATO summit, where they have been focusing in large part on the threat of ISIS. The president has faced heavy criticism here at home for a lack of strategy and dealing with the terror group. One action though he has ruled out, combat boots on the ground.

Listen to what the president had to say back in June.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We will not be sending U.S. troops back into combat in Iraq, but I have asked my national security team to prepare a range of other options that could help support Iraq's security forces, and I'll be reviewing those options in the days ahead.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: But can the president stick to this plan as the group becomes more and more dangerous?

Our next guest suggest no. Commander Kirk Lippold was commanding officer of the USS Cole when it was bombed by al Qaeda terrorists back in 2000.

Commander, good morning.

COMMANDER KIRK LIPPOLD, FORMER COMMANDER OFFICER, USS COLE: Good morning, Kate.

BOLDUAN: So, as you heard it right there, and the president has said it many times since, as well as many of his deputies. He's made it clear combat troops will not be heading back into Iraq.

You think that is a wrong strategy. Why?

LIPPOLD: I think it's a wrong strategy because the president at this point, if ISIS is the threat, that obviously General Dempsey is the chairman and secretary of defense say it is, along with our intelligence services, and even national security team members of the White House.