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White House Strategy on ISIS Examined; Interview with Senator Joe Manchin; Adrian Peterson Accused of Another Incident of Child Abuse; Debate Over NFL's Domestic Abuse Policy; House to Debate Bill on ISIS

Aired September 16, 2014 - 07:00   ET

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

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: As for those air strikes that are expected to come on ISIS in Syria, a senior administration official said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad would be making a big mistake if he intervened. Any attacks from Assad's forces on U.S. war planes during those air strikes would prompt an American military response, according to senior administration officials.

And of course later on this morning as well, Kate, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Martin Dempsey will be briefing lawmakers of the Senate Armed Services Committee. That will be a big hearing later on this morning, Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Absolutely. They'll be facing some tough questions on the administration's strategy against ISIS. Secretary Kerry, John Kerry, to be following up. He will be testifying late they are week as well. Jim, thanks so much. Chris?

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: All right, so we have the politics of the situation and then the practicalities of what's going to happen and how effective it will be. Let's see if we can bring them together for you. Let's bring in Democratic Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia, a member of the Senate armed services committee, former governor of West Virginia. It's good to see you, senator. Thank you for joining us. The immediate question is, were you told about these bombings going on in Baghdad? Do you approve? Does the committee approve? And are you in favor of the president's plan?

SEN. JOE MANCHIN, (D) WEST VIRGINIA: First of all, I can't speak for all of the people on the committee. Were we told in advance? No. Did we know it was going to happen? Pretty much so.

I support the air support that we have superior support. I support basically our tactical and technology we're using to help those people from the barbaric terrorists and what we see going on. What I don't support -- I applaud the president for putting a plan out. He put a plan out, he laid it out. What I don't agree with the plan is basically arming, trying to spend $500 million, arming the Syrian rebels, whoever they may be.

The ground game should be basically from those moderates, people who live in that region of the world. This should be an Arab ground war, if you will. We have proven it doesn't work and we're not successful at doing that, nor does it help prevent anything from happening over there that's been horrific.

So with that being said, I support using our support, our technical support, our air power support. I do not believe any way, shape, or form that we should be over there trying to pick sides of who we're going to arm, who we're going to train.

The only thing I know for sure, Chris, is at the end of the day most of the arms that we give to people are used against us. Most of the people we train turn against us. And we've seen that in the last 10, 12, 13 years.

CUOMO: Absolutely. We've seen our own stinger missiles found in Iran taken off the battlefields in Afghanistan, so we know what happens. But let's talk about why it's happening, because I believe Congress needs to step up here. The reason you can't figure out who to arm in Syria is because it's very difficult. The reason that you're looking at all is because you don't want to commit to U.S. troops on the ground. You know the Arabs aren't going to commit to fighting this war without U.S. troops on the ground. Is the Congress more afraid of the midterms than it is of ISIS, and that's why it won't commit to the obvious, which is to do this right, putting U.S. troops on the ground?

MANCHIN: I'm not saying that's doing it right. If you think that's doing it right, we spent eight years, almost $20 billion, to arm a 280,000 person army in Iraq, and we saw the results of that. We've been over in that part of the world for 13 years. If money or military might would have changed it we'd have done it by now, Chris.

So to say the right thing to do, I don't agree with that. I have a lot of my close colleagues, my friends, I just respectfully disagree. In West Virginia, at least we know the definition of insanity -- doing the same thing over and over, expecting different results. This has to be a ground game by the people of that region. By the moderates who want a quality of life, who want some tranquility and peace in their life. They're going to have to be able to fight and die for their country.

CUOMO: Right. They won't do it, though. They're not doing it. They're not stepping up. To be clear, senator, I'm not giving you my idea. I'm parroting Senator Lindsey Graham. Lindsey Graham says it's a fantasy that you'll do it without U.S. boots. My question is, if it's a fantasy, then that means the reality is you need U.S. troops. Why is Congress too afraid to do anything but talk on TV and get together and debate, and vote and come up with a plan?

MANCHIN: First of all there should not be a combined vote on a continuing resolution and something so important to the policy of this nation and future generations to come to get us into a long embattled war. We've been down this road before. To think that it would be insanity to think that we can go in with an air attack and no boots on the ground. It boots on the ground would have won it, it would have been over long ago, Chris, and it's not.

So I'm just saying there's going to be turmoil there. There's been turmoil for 1,400 years. It's not going to change overnight. And we as Americans in that part of the world are not going to make a difference on the quality of their life, on the type of life that they're going to live and the direction they're going to go.

CUOMO: What do you say then to your brothers and sister who is criticize the president and say, well, this isn't going to work, you got to have U.S. boots on the ground, but they're afraid to take their constitutional responsibility and vote on a declaration of war, because by definition, hostilities over a long period of time is called war no matter what the secretary of state says?

MANCHIN: I agree with you on that. War is war. And the bottom line is, if it looks like a duck and walks like a duck, it's probably war, and that's what we're dealing with over there. And the bottom line is you can't flour this stuff up, you can't make it look good and smell good.

Our past experience, Chris, if we've not learned anything from 13 years of involvement, almost $2 trillion and the amount of blood we've shed over there trying to help liberate those people and they go back to their old ways, they basically will just gravitate to whoever is the strongest kid on the block. We've seen already they're making -- who would, who would think that basically here we are going in trying to pick out, we're going to train 3,000 to 5,000. We're going to say, OK, these people are fighting Assad. Now we are going to say, OK, now all of a sudden we want you to turn right and start fighting ISIS. They're going to say wait a minute, ISIS is fighting Assad with us. We'll just join is. You think those weapons aren't going to be used at some time in the future against Americans?

CUOMO: I think you make a lot of sense. But you have the majority of the people you serve with --

MANCHIN: Let's vote.

CUOMO: -- saying we should take on ISIS. So if they're --

MANCHIN: You and I are having this conversation right now and how important it is, and it does make sense. Don't you think we ought to have the same conversation on the floor of the Senate and the floor of Congress rather than wrapping it into one saying, OK, here you are, you either vote to shut down the government or not shut down the government, but guess what's wrapped into it -- a policy that might get us embroiled for years and years.

CUOMO: And they'll sue the president on executive orders on much less important issues than this, but are letting him have free reign in conducting a war against ISIS because they're afraid --

MANCHIN: I think about a year ago we were ready to bomb Syria because the purpose was to take the chemical weapons. We were able to achieve that without bombing, without lighting the fuse for the third world war. To go in now thinking we're going to pick when we know there's hundreds and hundreds of different sectors and segments of violence over there and terrorists, and we're going to pick and try to segregate 3,000 or 5,000, thinking they'll make a difference. We just armed 280,000. We just built an army in Baghdad couldn't do a thing, turned and ran and turned over the weapons.

And now here we are. We have pictures of our arsenal, if you will, Humvees and MRAPs and everything else, moving into Syria that they confiscated from Mosul. Why would we want to repeat this type of performance? It makes no sense to me. I'm willing to vote. I will vote no, absolutely no, and stand tall in West Virginia to explain my vote, why I vote no to arm, to train, to spend $500 million in Syria and on Syrian rebel who I don't know who they are, what they're going to do, and if they're ever going to be loyal to America. I don't believe that --

CUOMO: And you want no U.S. boots on the ground as well. I know you've said before.

MANCHIN: Absolutely.

CUOMO: Do you think there will be a vote? Yes or no?

MANCHIN: Right now, I think they're going to wrap it into the CR, which is atrocious. I'm going to give a talk on the floor. I would pray to the good lord that they let us have this vote. We've got two weeks. They can't say, if you're voting against this, you're voting for shutting down the government. I say no, I'm not. I'm voting to stay here for the next two weeks until the end of September. I think we should have the debate and have the vote and I think we should separate the CR from the vote.

And it should be two things, Chris. It should be are we voting first of all for air support. I vote totally in favor of air support, tactical and technical sport, absolutely. I do not vote for boots on the ground. I do not vote for putting $500 million and trying to arm the rebels and train them. Now with that being said, have that vote. Let's see where we can stand. I can live with it.

CUOMO: I think that coming into the midterms there may be some big surprises for people. Leadership is about now and voting on this issue.

MANCHIN: Absolutely.

CUOMO: I think if they don't, they won't be seen any or way. Senator Manchin, thank you for standing up and talking to us this morning, always a pleasure to have you on NEW DAY.

MANCHIN: Good to be with you, Chris, thank you.

CUOMO: All right, a lot of news this morning. Let's get you to Michaela for the headlines.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: All right, thanks, Chris. Eight minutes past the hour. Three members of the International Security Assistance Force have been killed by a suicide car bomber in Kabul overnight. The Taliban has taken responsibility for the attack. It is the first significant violence in Afghanistan in weeks, the blast taking place just a few hundred yards from the main entrance of the U.S. embassy. Just in to CNN, the World Health Organization says more than 2,500

people have died from Ebola. This as president is set to reveal an expanded strategy to stop the spread of Ebola. Today he is expected to announce as many as 3,000 military personnel will be sent to Africa to respond to the outbreak. He's also going to announce the construction of Ebola treatment centers in West Africa with about 1,700 beds and is expected to set up a command center in hard-hit Liberia to coordinate the international effort.

Extreme heat and strong winds fueling a wildfire east of Sacramento, California, that now has exploded in size. The king fire has burned more than 8,000 acres. It is coming dangerously close to homes. This is just one of 11 major wildfires currently burning across the state.

Federal researchers report that fewer Americans are going without health insurance. The government's national health interview survey found an eight percent decrease in the number of uninsured Americans in the first quarter of this year. That's about 3.8 million people, the first survey of health insurance coverage since the affordable care act went into effect last year.

Those are your headlines, guys.

BOLDUAN: Thanks, Michaela.

PEREIRA: No problem.

BOLDUAN: The NFL continues to be in crisis, to say the very least. Adrian Peterson expected to play Sunday despite a second allegation that he's facing now of child abuse that's being leveled against him. He denies it, though, vehemently. Ray Rice prepares to appeal his suspension. Will he get to play again soon?

CUOMO: So we had Hillary having a little cheesesteak action in Iowa. Now we have Chris Christie, New Jersey's governor, going on the road this week, campaigning for some big Republican names in this year's midterm elections. But just don't ask him any questions about running for president. It has nothing to do with that, coming up on "INSIDE POLITICS."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PEREIRA: Minnesota Vikings star Adrian Peterson denying new child abuse allegations this morning. CNN affiliate KHOU reports that Peterson was involved in a second alleged incident of abuse involving a different son from a different woman. CNN has not been able to independently confirm these details, but through his attorney Peterson vehemently denies the report.

However, the running back will be back on the field this weekend as the team begins to feel fallout over the controversy. Radisson hotels has suspended its sponsorship of the Vikings. All of this as former Baltimore Raven Ray Rice is expected to appeal his indefinite suspension from the NFL by midnight.

Joining us, Mel Robbins, CNN commentator and legal analyst. I also have Steve Almond here; he's contributing writer to "The New York Times" magazine and "The Boston Globe". Also the author of an interesting book, "Against Football: One Fan's Reluctant Manifesto." I could talk to you for hours about that book right there.

Steve, Mel, thank you. Do you mind if we kind of go through the laundry list of items we have to talk about the NFL today? Why we don't we start with the fact that Adrian Peterson, Mel, has been reinstated. Let me give you the statement from his website. I'll read it to you here.

"I have to live with the fact that when I discipline my son the way I was disciplined as a child, I caused an injury that I never intended or thought would happen. I know that many people disagree with the way I discipline my child. I also understand, after meeting with a psychologist, that there are other alternative ways of disciplining a child that may be more appropriate."

So, Mel, he sought help from a psychologist. He has said mea culpa. Think he should go back to playing?

MEL ROBBINS, CNN COMMENTATOR AND LEGAL ANALYST: Not yet, and here's why. The NFL, Michaela, is either going to have a no-tolerance, zero- tolerance policy against violence in the home -- or they're not. And if the first offense is supposed to garner a six-game suspension, whether it's domestic violence when you hit a full-grown woman, or it is child abuse when you hit a kid with a stick, you should get a six- game suspension, Michaela.

PEREIRA: Steve, I want to play some sound from some of his colleagues on the field. They're reacting. Listen to this and I'll get your reaction.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: Should Ray Rice be allowed to play again?

ERIC WINSTON, PRESIDENT, NFL PLAYERS ASSOCIATION: I think so. I think that we're all entitled to a second chance. Obviously he made a horrific mistake and he's going to pay for it. He's already been disciplined once, actually been disciplined multiple times by the commissioner.

BURNETT: So Roger Goodell, should he keep his job?

WINSTON: Obviously there's an issue with player conduct, like you've been referring to. And maybe it's time to take it out of the commissioner's hands and put it into a neutral arbitration process where there can be a fair process for everybody involved.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PEREIRA: That was actually president of the NFL Players Association on "ERIN BURNETT" last night talking about the Ray Rice situation and Roger Goodell, which I want to get to in a moment. But I wanted to run the sound, and I can just paraphrase some of it for you, Steve. He's getting -- Peterson is getting support from his colleagues, from some. Jarius Wright, Vikings wide receiver, says that we know the type of guy this man is, that he's a good family man. People outside of our team can say what they want. Another cornerback is sort of saying, you know, I understand that we have to support him, one of the best running backs in the league. We can't wait for him to come back and play.

What are your thoughts to that?

STEVE ALMOND, CONTRIBUTING WRITER, THE BOSTON GLOBE: Well, look, the NFL is a $10 billion a year corporation. They have a cash register where their conscience should be.

PEREIRA: Sure they do.

ALMOND: They have a cash register where their conscience should be.

PEREIRA: Interesting, say that again.

AMLOND: They have a cash register where normal human beings have a conscience, so they're going to do whatever they need to do to keep the product going. That's how it works. It's a big business.

It ultimately goes down to the fans. The point of my book is that it's upon the fans. If you're outraged about Ray Rice, if you're raged about Roger Goodell or Adrian Peterson, stop watching the game. Stop paying their salaries.

PEREIRA: It's interesting because -- to both of you, and, Steve, I'll put it to you first -- the NFL seemingly refusing to implement their own mandatory six-game suspension. It seems as though, you know, there's discrepancy on how they deal with all of these things. Peterson is one of their highest paid guys; he's one of their top performers, the biggest star on the team. It goes to your point about the cash register versus the morals.

ALMOND: Look, this guy is a hugely valuable asset. And if you think the NFL for one millisecond might view him as a human being in crisis, which is what I think he is, but ultimately he is, and so is Ray Rice for that matter, these guys really don't need a media scrum.

PEREIRA: What do they need instead?

ALMOND: They need counseling. They need time to work out the issues they need to work out. They do not need a media scrum and they don't America looking at the most painful moments of their lives over and over again. That's not helping anything. If we're concerned about them as human beings.

But they are also assets to this hugely valuable league, and that's the way they're being treated. Get them back on the field. It's the same thing when they shoot up players with painkillers and do whatever they can to get the assets back on the field where they generate huge revenues from us, the fans. We're the --

PEREIRA: Instead of thinking about their longevity and health and quality of life, et cetera.

ALMOND: We just found out that nearly one-third of NFL players wind up with long-term cognitive damage. That's a way bigger story, morally. One-third of the employees in an American workplace in 2014 may end up with pretty severe brain damage. Is that not alarming to you? That to me is a much bigger headline, and the NFL is probably delighted that there are these little scandals that are distracting from a much bigger, more disturbing story.

PEREIRA: Well, let's talk about what's going on in the NFL's offices, Mel.

ROBBINS: Yes, I don't think they're delighted by any of this actually.

PEREIRA: No, well, Mel --

ROBBINS: One of the things I wanted to say, Michaela --

PEREIRA: Go ahead.

ROBBINS: Is in response to Steve, one of the reasons why these guys need to be off the field and the NFL needs to stick to its own rule of a six-game suspension, is because clearly these guys do not respect women. They don't respect kids. But they do respect being pulled off the field. And so when you talk about the fact that there needs to be some sort of culpability, it's got to be the kind of culpability that makes them stop and think. Yes, they need therapy, but they also need to be held accountable.

Personally with Ray Rice, I do think he should get a second chance, because the fact is he wasn't suspended because the NFL saw the tape, he was suspended because you and I saw the tape.

PEREIRA: Mel, I want to ask you also for your reaction about the fact that Roger Goodell has now announced that he's going to bring in four -- a panel of four females to join the ranks in positions of consultants within the NFL organization. They'll consult with the commissioner on league policies. Good move? Strategic move? Is it enough? Is it just speaking to appearances? What are your thoughts?

ROBBINS: I think it's a good move, particularly given the fact that one of the women ran the sex crimes unit for the prosecutor's office in New York.

However, this is a very simple thing that the NFL needs to do. They need to have a black-and-white rule. And the rule is this -- if you get arrested for domestic violence or child abuse, you are immediately suspended for six games. Period. It's simple.

Put the onus on the players not to put themselves in situations where they're getting arrested for this crap and let the NFL focus on running the game of football. Have the panel of women there to advise the NFL on what kind of services their players need and what kind of support they can give to the kids and to the wives. But in terms of figuring out by a case-by-case basis, it's ridiculous. The rule needs to be simple. It needs to be clear. It needs to be understood, and it needs to be enforced.

PEREIRA: Well, we know that Radisson hotels -- additionally, another piece of news that we have -- they're the first response record -- sponsor to go on record announcing that they're suspending their limited partnership with the Minnesota Vikings in light of all of the scandal that's going on.

So much that we can talk about still but we'll have to leave it here. Mel Robbins, Steve Almond, thanks so much for joining us. A great conversation; I'm sure we'll be continuing it.

An alleged serial killer accused of murdering four people in two states, he's raising new concerns about home-grown terror here on American soil. Why aren't officials calling this suspect a terrorist?

The mid-terms may be just weeks away, but the 2016 presidential election certainly on the minds of many this morning. A lot of folks are taking a closer look at Republican Jeb Bush. We'll tell you why INSIDE POLITICS.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PEREIRA: 26 minutes past the hour. Let's give you a look at your headlines.

U.S. air strikes hitting ISIS targets near Baghdad in the first time that America has attacked the extremist group so close to the Iraqi capital. The Pentagon confirms the nature of this mission was more offensive than previous attacks.

The Ukrainian parliament has passed a bill granting broad concessions to the pro-Russian rebels. This measure was presented by President Petro Poroshenko in a bid to end the uprising by creating a special status for the region. The law grants greater political autonomy, amnesty for rebel fighter, and allows the region to form deeper ties with Russia.

At least 19 deaths have been linked to faulty ignition switches in General Motors vehicles; that is up from GM's previous estimate of 13 deaths. Attorney Ken Feinberg, who is administrating GM's compensation fund for victims of the defective switches, said he expects that number to go up as more cases are reviewed. GM recalled more than 2.5 million cars because of the flawed switches.

Days before Scotland votes on an independence referendum, Prime Minister David Cameron making a plea for unity. The Prime Minister was in Scotland campaigning as polls show a narrow margin for Thursday's vote. Leaders of Britain's three main political parties pledged to grant Scotland extensive new powers if it votes to stay in the U.K. Voter registrations have increased by 8 percent ahead of that referendum.

All eyes will be watching the vote; very intriguing.

CUOMO: I know the Ebola story is kind of getting that, like, oh this is the story we have to follow that we're not following as much. Of course, we're covering what's happening. That story has huge implications for the U.K. and the European community. Did I say huge enough?

BOLDUAN: Huge.

CUOMO: Thank you very much. Sounds better when you say it.

BOLDUAN: Also huge things going on in politics.

CUOMO: Strong segue. It's time for INSIDE POLITICS on NEW DAY with John King.

JOHN KING, CNN HOST, "INSIDE POLITICS": Good morning. 49 days from a big election here or else maybe we would take the INSIDE POLITICS team and go over to Scotland and watch that one.

BOLDUAN: Good idea. There you go.

KING: Michaela, Chris, Kate, good morning to you. Let's focus on the president's big priority right now, is trying to get approval in Congress, right, for his actions in the Middle East against ISIS. Well, let's talk details, where this debate's heading.

With me this morning to share their reporting and their insights, Jackie Kucinich of "The Washington Post, Manu Raju of Politico.

I want to start with a quick aside. Josh Earnest is the White House press secretary. The president is going to Atlanta today, not to talk about ISIS, to talk about something else, but how much is this crisis dominating their thinking? Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHS EARNEST, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: There will be some additional announcements that will be announced by the administration that represents the kind of whole government approach the president believes is necessary to confront the threat that's posted by ISI -- the threat of Ebola.

Justin.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Almost said ISIL.

EARNEST: I did, I did.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: So they're thinking a lot about this. And one of the big questions is what does Congress give them?

There's no question the president will get the money, it seems, to arm the Syrian rebels. The authority to have the Defense Department do that, not the CIA.

Where is Congress on the big question, a separate bill, clear legislation that says here's the president's authority, here's how much leeway we think you should have, or will it just be snuck into a funding bill?

JACKIE KUCINICH, THE WASHINGTON POST: It's not going to be snuck into a funding bill. The House looks like it's going to vote today on an amendment that is separate from the continuing resolution. And this has two reasons, one is political and some of the others are policy. It allows members to debate this and it also allows them to vote, if they don't agree with it, it allows them up or down on this measure. But I think you're right; I think it looks like the president is going to get what he wants. But not without some restrictions.

KING: What kind of restrictions is the big question, Manu. And listen to Rand Paul here on the Senate side. You mentioned it will start in the House with the continuing resolution, that's Washington speak for the legislation to keep the government up and running.