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New Day

Saudi Arabian King Dies, Successor Named; U.S. Embassy in Yemen Remains Open; Deadline to Save ISIS Hostages Passes; Weekend Snow Predicted for Northeast

Aired January 23, 2015 - 06:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM": Saudi King Abdullah has died.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not good news for both the short-term and it may be for the long-term.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It will have significant ramifications.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This might be an opportunity for the Saudis to have to get engaged.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This relationship is absolutely critical for us moving forward.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: The deadline passes for two hostages held by ISIS.

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Japanese officials are trying to talk to ISIS.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're psychotics at best.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Desperate attempt to save these two men.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I fear for the lives of these two Japanese men.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have no knowledge whatsoever. I didn't alter the ball in any way, I don't know what happened. This isn't ISIS. No one's dying.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's obvious that Tom Brady had something to do with this.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo, Alisyn Camerota, and Michaela Pereira.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: All right, good morning and welcome to your NEW DAY. It is Friday, January 23rd, just before 6:00 in the east. And the leader of America's closest Arab ally has died. The funeral for Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah is soon. But the timing could not be more critical.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: And another critical U.S. ally in turmoil this morning. Yemen's president and cabinet resigned after a standoff with rebels, throwing that country deeper into chaos. This, as more U.S. diplomats leave the country amid growing calls to evacuate the entire embassy.

We have every angle covered the way only CNN can. Let's begin with Becky Anderson in Abu Dhabi.

What's the latest, Becky?

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, King Salman certainly a man with experience who has taken over from King Abdullah, who died at 1 a.m. local time in Saudi Arabia. You are right to point out that his funeral will start just within this next hour.

King Salman is a brother. He has experiences on both the domestic and international stage; viewed as a pragmatic and cautious reformer. He served as defense minister and deputy prime minister of Saudi Arabia, which you rightly point out is a vital U.S. ally in the Middle East and has been for years.

Listen, succession is always wrought with problems, particularly in this region, which is why you saw the announcement of this transition almost immediately following King Abdullah's death.

If you look to history books, the first two Saudi kingdoms in the 18th and 19th centuries, wracked by internal family squabbles, exploited by their enemies. And given this current turmoil in this region, the royals in Saudi will want to present an image of stability and strength.

It's the internal machinations as they emerge which will be the most important to watch. Any sense of a coup or counter-coup within an absolute monarchy, as witnessed across this region, would need unprecedented and decisive action.

So watch this space as it becomes clear now who the new King Salman has put in place.

CAMEROTA: Yes, those international machinations are always key. Becky, thanks so much for explaining all of that.

Now to the political upheaval in Yemen. The country's president, prime minister and cabinet all resigning under pressure from rebels, who now appear to control the capital. The Yemeni government was a key U.S. ally in fighting al Qaeda. The U.S. embassy remains open at this hour, but for how long?

Barbara Starr joins us live from the Pentagon. What do we know, Barbara?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Alisyn.

And of course, Saudi Arabia watching its neighbor, Yemen, just to its south. Right now the U.S. embassy has less people than it did yesterday. They say that they are taking some of the diplomats out. They are driving to the airport, getting on commercial flights, trying to draw down the number of Americans at the embassy.

We know, in fact, that they made a test drive to the airport just to make sure the roads were safe before they started taking people to board those commercial flights.

Very little information. They're not even telling us whether all of the draw-down is now complete.

So where do we stand? Yemen in turmoil. The government has resigned, the Houthis still there. Not a very clear picture as to who, if anybody, is in charge.

So the question now is what happens next? Who does the U.S. deal with? The U.S. dealt with the constituted government of Yemen. But there is not one right now. And the risk is both al Qaeda and the Houthis are headed towards even more violence. More concern about the stability in that vital American ally -- Michaela.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Barbara, thank you for that.

The 200 million ransom deadline has passed now. Still no word on the fate of two Japanese men being held hostage by ISIS. Let's turn right to Will Ripley, who has the latest for us on the efforts to free those men, find those men, save those men. He's in Tokyo -- Will.

RIPLEY: More than five hours after the deadline has passed, Michaela, there are serious fears here in Tokyo that perhaps ISIS never really intended to negotiate with the Japanese government. Because, in spite of the government's best efforts since Tuesday to reach out and open a line of communication, ISIS has not responded.

And yet, we're learning now that a local broadcaster here, a public broadcaster has been communicating by email with a spokesperson for the terror group who's been talking about a number of things, including saying that a statement is coming soon.

So if ISIS is willing to talk to the media, but not willing to talk to the Japanese government, what does that tell us? Well, it tells us perhaps that, if they're not willing to negotiate, not willing to perhaps accept a far smaller ransom than the $200 million they're demanding, then they're looking for the next valuable thing, which is headlines and attention.

Because we know that ISIS gains new recruits every time they conduct a brutal execution on video, which means that there are a lot of people here in Japan right now very fearful, even more so than ever, for the lives of these two innocent men -- Chris.

CUOMO: All right. Will, stay on it, and we'll check back with you later in the show.

So let's talk more about what the death of King Abdullah means for the fragile situations -- that's plural -- situations in the Middle East. Let's bring in former U.S. assistant secretary of state, James Rubin. He's also a visiting scholar at Oxford University. Jamie, it's good to have you.

And CNN political commentator and professor at City University of New York, Professor Peter Beinart. Peter, you've been waiting for me to call you that since we were in college together. It's the only time I'm going to say it. Enjoy it.

Let me ask you this. Let's put up President Obama's statement, just to give the sense of importance that the United States government feels -- feels about this. You can read it for yourself. I'll give you highlights. "The country worked together to confront many challenges. I always valued King Abdullah's perspective, appreciated our genuine and warm friendship. As a leader he was always candid and had the courage of his convictions." OK. That's the statement from the White House.

But let me ask you. He is called, Peter, a reformer. What changes did King Abdullah make since he came into authority in about 1996 or so? And is that a fair title?

PETER BEINART, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: No, I don't think so. I think the most important reforms you can say he made were he expanded education for women and he expanded opportunities for Saudis to study abroad. Which over the long-term, these two things may bring some changes, but women can still not drive in Saudi Arabia.

The -- even the municipal elections that they were starting to hold have been put on hold. And the repression of people who criticize the royal family, especially from the Shia minority, is still absolutely vicious by any democratic standard.

So I think, no, not a reformer. Someone who basically continued the status quo. And I think it's going to be up to future leaders to really make dramatic changes that Saudi Arabia needs.

CUOMO: You know, Jamie, we do see the situation with this blogger. They have stalled the last two sessions of flogging the guy. But you hear about the exports of Wahhabism. Some people refer to Saudi Arabia as the head of the snake when it comes to terror. Because they do so much funding of extremist groups. Is that true? If so, should this be a period of reevaluation? And may the U.S. hand be forced by the new king?

JAMES RUBIN, FORMER U.S. ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE: Well, I think it's certainly true that, over the last several decades, certainly since the '80s, when Saudi Arabia worked with the United States against the Soviet Union, Saudi Arabia's foreign funds have played a pernicious role in building support for the most extreme form of Islam, this Wahhabism.

There's no question about the fact that there are mosques and madrasahs, Islamic schools that were funded by the Saudis, that have graduated many of the people who end up committing some of the worst crimes. But most of that funding has not been intended for that purpose. They

have, you know, their version of religion. And I think once the Saudis saw that al Qaeda grew out of this, once they saw 9/11 happen, and when the extremists started to threaten them, they reversed course to a degree and had a major crackdown inside Saudi Arabia. And have worked closely with the United States to try to identify those who would use mass murder to achieve their objectives.

CUOMO: And often it's not about the virtue of the sovereigns involved. It's about shared interests, right? And, of course, we do remember as Jamie pointed out, Peter, many of the 9/11 murderers were from Saudi Arabia.

But now you have ISIS that is openly against Saudi Arabia and basically wants the authority of Saudi Arabia. And Iran, which is another nemesis of Saudi Arabia. Do those two principals wind up making them a friend, no mat another comes in to control?

BEINART: Yes. You know, the United States for a long time has made this kind of devil's bargain, where we look the other way about a very, very repressive Saudi regime. And indeed, as Jamie was saying, a regime that has been a very, very negative force in many ways around the world in terms of exporting a very deeply conserve, if not hateful form of Islam.

But Saudi Arabia's oil capacity is very, very important to the United States, especially now. You know, one of the reasons the U.S. economy is recovering so well is because oil prices are so low. And the Saudis have kept oil prices low, which has weakened Iran and weakened Russia. Remember the two of the countries that America is most concerned about right now, Iran and Russia in various conflicts, in the Ukraine and also vis-a-vis Iran's nuclear program, are suffering because the oil price is so low, because they are oil exporters. and it is the Saudis that are playing a key role in keeping it low.

So this is just one way in which the Saudis strengthen America's hand, vis-a-vis America's enemies; and America is not going to let that relationship weaken, I think, in the future.

CUOMO: Also, you could argue that the Saudis are trying to depress the market in a way that also affects U.S. production. But U.S. margins are better than some of the other countries you're discussing. So Jamie, the new king. What do we know about him? Do we expect a continuation of the norm? Or do you think things change?

RUBIN: I think we should expect continuity. He has apparently got some illness that makes him...

CUOMO: You use the word dementia. Is there any reason to believe that?

RUBIN: I don't know the facts there. But I suspect he is an elderly man. He is one of the last sons of the founder of Saudi Arabia, the modern Saudi Arabia. And I think he is known as a sort of middle-of- the-roader and quite well liked within the family. If you're going to get into the question of Saudi internal politics, I

think the first thing to say about this is I've been doing this sort of work for almost 20 years now; and every year somebody tells me the Saudi regime is on its last legs and it's going to collapse. And it doesn't happen.

And the reason it doesn't happen is because there are thousands of these princes. And they control an enormous amount of money. And when push comes to shove, they hang together to keep the regime going in the form that it now is. A monarchy.

And so, even though there are some difficulties, some differences, some issues that go on behind the scenes, they join together at crucial times, and now is one of them. And I wouldn't expect to see big changes. And I wouldn't expect to see any upheaval in the Saudi government.

CUOMO: And then other than Turkey. They have the most powerful army, you could argue, in the region, as well. Putting Israel in the mix, as well.

James Rubin, thank you very much.

Professor Beinart, appreciate the perspective as always. We'll come back to you when we see what happens next -- Michaela.

PEREIRA: All right, Chris. Thank you.

The prime minister of Iraq warning that declining revenues due to plunging oil prices will impede his country's efforts to battle ISIS. Iraq is looking for more weapons to fight ISIS and wants western allies to agree to deferred payments for arms. Iraq's prime minister made the request after suggesting the U.S. has been too slow to provide weapons to fight the terrorists.

CAMEROTA: Negotiators calling the first round of reconciliation talks between the U.S. and Cuba productive, quote, "respectful and positive." Both sides acknowledge profound differences on issues like the economic blockade on Cuba and its designation as a state sponsor of terror. Also discussed, reopening embassies in both countries. The two sides agreeing to meet again, but no official date set yet.

CUOMO: And proof that bad guys like to innovate. Mexico's drug smugglers, have gone high tech. Now one of them, though, is short a drone. Police in Tijuana discovering an unmanned aircraft crash- landed in a parking lot on Tuesday. The drone was brought down by the weight of its own cargo. Guess what that was? Six L-Bs of crystal meth. Street value, fitty (ph) grand. Border officials say drones are becoming more and more popular among traffickers.

PEREIRA: All right. So the weekend is here, people. There is snow in the forecast targeting the northeast. The question is how much? Chad Myers, is it the type like I grab my snowboard and head for Vermont or batten down the hatches?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Vermont would be good, probably four inches there of new snow, if you want to go play in it. And Central Park, maybe only two inches. We're going to see not this much.

Take a look at the pictures here. Amarillo, when it snows in Texas it's a pretty thing. I'll tell you what. It snowed there, trust me. Anyway. The snow still came down in Texas, Amarillo, about 12 inches of snow. Now that snow has moved off to the east and to the northeast. There we go. That's the video we're looking for. Snow and shoveling in the cowboy hat, got to love that.

And then finally now, the snow moves up into New Jersey. Eventually, we get into, from Bergen County to Islip into Long Island, a huge different forecast. Like an inch in Islip on Long Island. But you could get six inches in western parts of New Jersey, because the rain moves in and it mixes. So New York City starts as snow tonight, and then all of a sudden it changes over to rain. And then back over to snow as it stops.

So it's not going to be a great pile-up of snow, but for a while the snow will be there for snowmen. It might be a small snowman, about four to six inches, especially western suburbs all the way out here towards the western part. You can go play in the snow there.

And then on up towards the Berkshires, six inches of snow up there. Vermont, probably dry, except the next one comes in, making a little bit more snow for you. But it's cold enough to make snow; and they always do that up there at Sugarloaf or wherever you go. You're going to be able to see some snow all the way up there in the parts of the Northeast.

Guys, back to you.

CAMEROTA: I think Chad called Tom Brady a pretty thing.

PEREIRA: He did?

CAMEROTA: Is that subliminal?

PEREIRA: Now we know what side of it he skis on.

MYERS: He didn't get a tattoo, though.

CAMEROTA: All right, Chad. Thanks so much for the forecast.

So this morning the U.S. is pulling out some staff at the embassy in Yemen. Are American diplomats at risk today? We'll get the latest for you.

CUOMO: And speaking of the Patriots, their star coach and Q.B., pretty boy, gave the full Alfred E. Newman, when asked about deflate- gate by the media. Is their "Who, me?" convincing? I'm going to play what they say, coming up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is Tom Brady a cheater?

TOM BRADY, QUARTERBACK, NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS: I don't believe so. I mean, I feel like I've always played within the rules. I would never do anything to break the rules.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAMEROTA: The U.S. embassy in Yemen pulling out some staff after the president and his cabinet resigned. So is control of this U.S. ally now up for grabs?

Let's bring in Lieutenant Colonel James Reese. He's a CNN global affairs analyst and retired Delta Force commander. He's the founder and chairman of Tiger Swan. Jonathan Russell is the political liaison for Quilliam Foundation. That's an anti-terror think tank. Gentlemen, thanks so much for being on NEW DAY.

Colonel Reese, I want to start with you. Twenty-four hours ago when you were on NEW DAY, we were talking about this tentative peace plan. That there were negotiations going on between the rebel group the Houthis and the Yemeni government. How did the government collapse so quickly?

LT. COL. JAMES REESE, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, Alisyn, we said yesterday that we did not think that was going to hold. And really, what happened is, the U.N. came into, into Sana'a yesterday, and really, the prime minister and his cabinet decided that they knew that they were going to be just a puppet aspect for the Houthis, and they resigned.

One of the key issues right now is, is constitutionally what happens now is, the -- the next person in their parliament steps up, who's a former president, President Saleh's former adviser. So this is a very interesting aspect of what's going on right now. Because the Houthis really are not prepared to take over.

CAMEROTA: So, Jonathan, is the Yemeni government now null and void? Who's in charge there in this U.S. ally?

JONATHAN RUSSELL, POLITICIAN LIAISON, QUILLIAM FOUNDATION: It certainly looks to be a difficult situation there. And another region in the Middle East that is in flux. And therefore, you know, this is troubling for allied countries who are striving for stability and peace in the region. And really don't know where to turn to.

So really, I think we've got to sit tight on this one and do all we can with our interests in the region to push this forward.

CAMEROTA: Colonel Reese, they -- the State Department is pulling some personnel out of the embassy. But they're not closing it. They're not pulling all personnel out. They haven't explained the rhyme and reason on that. Do you think they should pull everyone out today?

REESE: No, Alisyn, I don't. I think they're going through the process right now. And one of the things we can't do is try to manage this from D.C.

The ambassador, the regional security officer who's the senior diplomatic security officer in the embassy, and then the senior military adviser there, they're the guys on the ground. They have got to advise the commander and the ambassador; and they'll make that decision.

Right now what they're doing is they're getting noncritical staff out, which is very -- which is a smart move. They're going through their protocols to make sure, but right now, I would just say everyone stay calm. We want to stay involved here. Because if we pull out, we may not be able to get back in.

CAMEROTA: Jonathan, I want to move on to what's going on with ISIS and these two Japanese hostages. I personally am starting to feel uncomfortable talking about this, because it feels as though we are playing into ISIS's hands. They are trying to keep the media in suspense. They're saying, "We'll tell you in a few hours." They're sort of ginning up interest. And were they ever going to spare these hostages anyway to begin with? That's not their history.

RUSSELL: You're absolutely right, Alisyn. I think one of ISIL's strongest suits is its propaganda. And as we've seen, they're running out of western journalists, western aid workers, construction workers that they can take as hostages. And they've started to look east.

And it's in this that they're really clutching at straws. But they know that the western media, the international media will continue to broadcast what is a -- a public interest story. And therefore, will give them the air time. And really give them the platform for ISIL propaganda, for this jihadist messaging that we're seeing.

That strikes terror into international populations. Of course, they end up in ransom payments and, therefore, funding terrorism. But crucially, also improve their stature and their scare factor that is so crucial to their success.

CAMEROTA: Yes, look, it's a very tough one. We care about the fate of the Japanese hostages. We want to know what's happening with them. But it just doesn't seem as though any sort of negotiation has ever worked with ISIS.

Colonel Reese, I want to move on to something the U.S. ambassador to Iraq said about ISIS. He told this to al Arabia TV yesterday, that the U.S.-led airstrikes, he believes, has taken out more than half of the ISIS leadership. And he used this amazing number, killed more than 6,000 fighters in Syria and Iraq. We hadn't heard that number anywhere before. Do you think 6,000 ISIS fighters have been killed?

REESE: Alisyn, who knows? Candidly, I think the ambassador made a mistake. I think that was an emotional response from him, based off some of the friction that's going on between the embassy there and the Iraqi leadership, about that we're not doing enough. And I think that was an emotional response back for him.

You know, this is not about Vietnam. But it's just not the smart way of doing it. Right now we are showing and, you know, the territory that the Iraqis are winning back, we are showing that, if you look at the Tigris River Valley that runs up to the north, we've taken back Tajji, Badgi (ph), Balad. There are moves afoot right now. You know, things are static out in the west. So those are the things that really show us. CAMEROTA: Lieutenant Colonel James Reese, Jonathan Russell, thanks so

much for all the information this morning.

REESE: Thanks, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Let's get over to Michaela.

PEREIRA: All right, Alisyn. President Obama's interview with several YouTube stars provided more than a few viral moments. The question is, though, did his message resonate with the younger, broader audience?

CUOMO: Super Bowl, super scandal. The Patriots star coach and Q.B. say they have no idea how those footballs got deflated. Though Tom Brady admits he prefers footballs less inflated. What does that mean? Hall of fame quarterback says his denials may be just -- wait for it -- a lot of hot air. The latest allegation, ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PEREIRA: Just shy of half-past 6 here in the east. Let's take a look at your headlines.

The funeral for Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah is set to begin in about half an hour's time. The king died Thursday at the age of 90 after a bout of pneumonia. One of his brothers, Crown Prince Salman, has ascended to the throne. The death of King Abdullah, a key U.S. ally, is causing concern now about America's dwindling influence in the Middle East.

Opening arguments in the trial of suspected bombing marathon -- Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. It will not begin Monday as planned. That is because the process is taking much longer than expected. Lawyers for Tsarnaev are now pushing for a third time to get that trial moved out of Boston. They insist too many potential jurors are biased, more than half stating they believe the 21-year-old is guilty on their questionnaires.

They could be the Republicans' best hope in 2016. Jeb Bush, Mitt Romney meeting privately in Utah Thursday.