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Official: 6,000 ISIS Fighter Killed Airstrikes; Belichick and Brady Tackle Deflate-Gate; Interview with Rep. Jim Himes; Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah has Died

Aired January 23, 2015 - 08:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Saudi Arabia's 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.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The deadline to save two Japanese hostages has passed now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Japanese officials are trying to talk to ISIS.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're psychotics at best.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A desperate attempt to save these two men.

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

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The White House assembled some top talent to delve into the president's thinking.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Prepare to empty your brain.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Green lipstick, one for your first wife.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You know something I don't?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Welcome to your NEW DAY. It is Friday, January 23, just before 8:00 in the East. Funeral services for Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah are underway this morning. His death obviously raising concerns about the U.S. influence in the region.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: This comes as another American ally struggles to hold off anarchy. Yemen's president and cabinet resigning in a standoff with rebels, leaving the U.S. scrambling to protect its assets and hoping that whoever ends up in charge will be a willing partner in the fight against terror. We have every angle covered, the way only CNN can. Let's begin with senior international correspondent Nic Robertson. He is in London. What do we know at this hour, Nic?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The funeral is underway for King Abdullah in Saudi Arabia. This will be very quick. It will be a ceremony where the royal family will lead the way to the graveyard, very simply, his coffin lowered into a very simple grave. No trappings of wealth and power. No great head stone will be laid there. Then they will move on back to a palace where there will be condolences and respect paid to the new King, King Salman. This is a man who faces now many challenges on the North, Iraq, ISIS.

To the South, Yemen disintegrating. The Houthis in Yemen believed by Saudi to be backed by Iran. The Iraqi government to the north believed by the Saudis to be heavy Iranian influenced. ISIS a threat to the monarchy to Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia, the home of the two holiest places in Islam. And ISIS itself wants to be a global caliphate, therefore Saudi Arabia firmly in their eye line here. Saudi wants to be more aggressive than perhaps the Western United States does in tackling Syria and ISIS. So there's much at play, much at stake. A huge amount on the new king's plate. But for right now, expect continuity changes, if they come, will be further down the road. Alisyn?

CAMEROTA: Nick, thanks so much for that update. Yemen, Saudi Arabia's neighbor, is a country without a government this morning. Its president, a U.S. ally in fighting al Qaeda, is out along with the prime minister and the cabinet. Senior international correspondent Nick Paton Walsh joins us live from Beirut. What's the latest, Nick?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, at this point, really, Alisyn, there isn't actually much of a latest. We're still in the situation we were last night where the country's president, prime minister, and cabinet have resigned. There's talk potentially that lawmakers could get together as early as Sunday to address this political situation. But we're not talking about an easy time frame here or a mechanism that kicks in. Technically, the speaker of parliament would become the acting president. Many analysts say, observing the Constitution. That could provide some sort of stopgap. But really, the president's resignation was, to some degree, a high stake gamble.

It was effectively saying to the Houthis who had wrestled all political power away from him by their presence on the streets, it was him doing that effectively saying well, this is not a government or any kind of political process which has legitimacy. That has left a vacuum and deep concerns the country may start in some way to disintegrate. We're hearing mixed reports from different parts of the country declaring different things and then changing their minds hours later. It's a very fluid situation. That's why it's so dangerous. That kind of chaos exactly what al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, who have a strong foothold in Yemen, thrive upon and, of course, the greater the chaos and instability and the longer this vacuum goes on for, the harder it is for Washington to retain a good relationship or a functional relationship, at least, with this vital counterterror ally. Michaela?

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Nick, thank you so much for that. While the U.S. Embassy remains open in Yemen, staffing is being reduced due to security concerns on the ground there. The question is, are the remaining Americans there in danger? Turn to our Barbara Starr, joining us live from the Pentagon with more. Good morning once again, Barbara.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Michaela. We now know that the U.S. Embassy officials made a test drive to the airport to check out the security of those roads before the embassy workers went to the airport to board commercial flights. Not a lot of detail about how many have left and how many are still there due to the security situation on the ground. One of the key questions is, who is providing security on the streets just outside the embassy? That has been the responsibility of the Yemeni military and security forces.

Now will the Houthis take over that security? Will they continue to protect the perimeter of the embassy? That will be crucial to the U.S. being able to stay. The U.S. wants to stay, wants to keep that embassy open because that is the outpost for them to work with whoever will be in charge in Yemen to work to challenge al Qaeda there, to challenge other militant groups. This is the vital post for any U.S. counterterrorism operation against al Qaeda. Remember, it was that al Qaeda group that is claiming it was behind the attacks in Paris. Michaela?

CUOMO: I'll take it, Barbara. Thank you very much. The fate of two Japanese hostages held by ISIS Still unclear this morning. A deadline for a $200 million ransom has passed. For the latest developments, let's get right to Will Ripley in Tokyo. Will, one of the big concerns had been that the Japanese authorizers said they couldn't get through to ISIS, but now we hear a report from a media station about this. What do we know?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, a network here in Japan has been emailing with a spokesperson for the group and that spokesperson says that a statement from ISIS could be coming at any moment. But this a very troubling sign for the Japanese government, because if the government's best attempts to reach the group have been unsuccessful, this is a group that, by the way, was demanding a ransom but then is not responding to requests to talk to the Japanese government, which doesn't even have an opportunity to present whatever offer they may or may not be willing to give. That could mean something. That could mean that the $200 million random, clearly it wasn't going to happen, it was never going to happen. Perhaps it was just a way for ISIS to get headlines, to get the attention that they crave and everyone's worst fear here that they could be building up to some sort of horrific finale because we know that their numbers are down, coalition airstrikes have taken a huge toll, and perhaps what they need even more than money is recruits and they get a lot of recruits every time they televise a brutal execution. They've done it five times to Westerners since August and there are growing fears, if they weren't big enough already, they're even worse right now. The two innocent Japanese men could soon be added to that awful list. Alisyn?

CAMEROTA: So terrible, Will. Thank you for the update. Joining us now is Representative Jim Himes. He's a Democrat from Connecticut who serves on the Intelligence Committee and the Financial Services Committee. Good morning, Congressman.

REP. JIM HIMES, (D) CONNECTICUT: Good morning, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: We have a lot of intelligence questions for you this morning. Let's start in Saudi Arabia, because as we speak, the funeral for King Abdullah is underway. Are you concerned about the future of the relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia now that King Abdullah is gone?

HIMES: Not particularly. You know, King Salman is a known quantity. He is one of the more senior royals there. He'd been governor of a state in Saudi Arabia. We know him well. Now, you're always a little concerned whenever you see a transfer of power in a non-Democratic society. You know, Saudi Arabia has and will be a strong ally of the United States moving forward, particularly, of course, as you've been talking about this morning, as they see instability, maybe chaos to their south in Yemen. You know, I think what one of the issues that hasn't come up, which is important though, is not only is Saudi Arabia an ally, but they're also a country that we need to push to get them away from the bargain that they have made for generations, or at least for decades, anyway, with their own radical Wahabi extremists in Saudi Arabia. Which of course, if you trace back, a lot of Sunni extremism goes back to that bargain that the Saudi royals made with their own extremists. So that's a conversation that needs to happen in the background with this ally of ours.

CAMEROTA: Let's talk about Yemen and what's happening there this morning. In intelligence circles, did it come as a surprise that the government so quickly gave up to the Houthi rebels?

HIMES: Well, you know, we've been watching for some time now the Houthi rebels make remarkable progress in Yemen. Look, this current president, who is very much a friend of the United States, this is of course something that we really worry about. You know, Yemen is a location from which, we'll call it a platform, from which we go hard after AQAP, the al Qaeda group that we have reason to believe was associated with the Paris attacks. But no, these guys have been making progress for a long time. They're not just a random desert group that came out of nowhere. They are backed by the Iranians. They're getting training, we suspect, and other support from the Iranians. No, I wouldn't say that it comes as a complete shock, but yes, it did happen very quickly and, of course, in a pretty abrupt fashion.

CAMEROTA: What we've learned this morning in talking to experts about the Houthi rebels is that they were tired of being marginalized, but they really don't want to run the country. So now what?

HIMES: Well, it's a little hard to say, right? They, of course, are Shiites. Shiites are a minority in Yemen. Yemen is, you know, not necessarily what we would think of as a classic nation state. Unfortunately, it maybe is a little bit more like Iraq where you have different sects that are uncomfortably put together within borders that they maybe do or don't agree with. It is obviously a venue in which the Saudis are competing with the Iranians, the whole Sunni/Shiite break that you see all over the region. We don't actually know what their ambitions are. At this point, we're obviously very concerned. They are aggressive towards us. The one bright spot is that if there's one group that they don't like as much as they don't like us, they are, of course, at war and don't like al Qaeda. So in this bizarre region of the world where, for example, in Syria we find ourselves if not working in concert with Iran, at least working side by side with Iran and going after ISIS, in Yemen this group that I think does worry us quite a bit is of course an enemy of al Qaeda. That is a bright spot for us.

CAMEROTA: I want to talk about the Japanese hostages that are being held by ISIS at this hour. We understand from other media reports that ISIS has actually started a countdown this morning towards the execution and beheading of these Japanese hostages. What on earth can Japan or the United States do to ever stop this unfolding massacre?

HIMES: Well, you know, this is one of those really ugly boxes that any country with hostages in ISIS's hands find themselves in. There is evidence that ISIS has released hostages for whom ransom has been paid. The United States has made it clear that we don't pay ransom. It's a gut-wrenching, terrible decision because we saw what happens so vividly and so horribly what happens when ransom is now paid. But of course, when ransom is paid, now you've got a business and ISIS recognizes that, you know, while we bomb their ability to sell oil, which we've been doing pretty successfully, here's another business. And so it's a terrible spot for anybody to be in. You pay the ransom, you encourage that kind of activity. You don't pay the ransom and, of course, we've seen all too horribly what transpires.

CAMEROTA: Of course, ISIS is demanding, as we understand, $200 million from Japan. Publicly, Japan has said that they're not interested in negotiating with ISIS. Do you have any other information as to what other back channels they might be able to use?

HIMES: You know, I don't have any specific information, certainly nothing that I can discuss, but, you know, you know from these situations that it's not just, you know, a country's government reaching out. You know, there were, in situations that we faced with some of our own people who were released, you know, you can work through countries like Qatar, you can work through religious organizations like the Red Crescent. There are lots of opportunities, but unfortunately, of course, what you're dealing with here is a group that, yes, wants money, and I think if they suspected that there was ransom in the offing, they would hold off on some pretty terrible things. On the other hand, as you just pointed out, they're very interested in recruits at a time when the United States and the allies are making pretty strong in-roads against their people. CAMEROTA: Congressman Jim Himes, thanks for all the information this

morning. Nice to see you.

HIMES: Thanks, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Let's go over to Michaela.

PEREIRA: Security has been ramped up at U.S. military bases across Europe. U.S. European command officials point to concerns in the wake of the Paris shootings and the threat of radicalized Europeans returning home from Iraq and Syria. The new measures come on top of new policies already implemented in November, including military personnel being advised not to wear uniforms off base and to use greater caution when using social media.

CUOMO: There was a lot of hype surrounding renewed diplomatic talks between the U.S. and Cuba. How did they go? The word? Both sides left encouraged. Some progress was made, we're told, but the question is on what? Because there still seemed to be profound differences on key issues like reopening embassies, Cuba's economic blockade, and its designation as a state sponsor of terrorism. Negotiators did agree to meet again. No official date set, though.

CAMEROTA: Check out this video. This is a hockey dad losing it at a youth game. Watch here as he slowly gets up, he gets closer to the glass. There he goes. You can clearly see he's not happy with something going down on the ice. He then shatters the glass with one hand while screaming at everyone in sight. Believe it or not, he did have one supporter in the crowd who yelled, "Way to go, Paul!"

PEREIRA: I think that was more sarcastic, "Way to go, Paul."

CAMEROTA: Yeah, I think you're right. It may be safe to say Paul and his alleged fan in the crowd have some anger management issues.

CUOMO: Yeah, he does. He didn't mean to break the glass, obviously.

PEREIRA: Then he had to carry on with his --

CUOMO: But what he did mean to do is embarrass his kid. I see it now, because we're in the kiddy's sports game --

PEREIRA: I don't know that they mean to do that.

CAMEROTA: No, they don't mean to do that -

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: Well, here's the thing, you get that intent imputed to you. You wind up owning it, because if you're going to do something that stupid in front of your kid --

CAMEROTA: Right.

CUOMO: -- you know that whether or not it's about you, whatever your indulgence is, you're embarrassing your kid. Who knows if he'll ever forget it.

PEREIRA: Let's hope they know that. Sometimes I wonder.

CAMEROTA: American officials taking credit for killing thousands of ISIS leaders. This as Iraq's Prime Minister says they're fighting the terrorists on their own. So what is really happening on the ground? We'll discuss.

CUOMO: Plus, New England Patriots' quarterback Tom Brady tackling Deflate-gate head on for the first time. His answer to the key question.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is Tom Brady a cheater?

TOM BRADY, 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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: Welcome back.

Airstrikes against ISIS have killed more than half of the terror group's top command and more than 6,000 fighters. Amazing, almost unbelievable numbers, but that's what the ambassador to Iraq says is going on.

Meanwhile, Iraq's prime minister is criticizing military efforts saying that Iraqi troops are fighting ISIS, quote, "almost on their own."

So, what is really happening on the ground there? Let's weigh in on this with some people who understand the situation very well, as well as what's going on in Yemen.

We have senior vice president of the Soufan Group, Robert McFadden. He's also an interrogation and transnational terrorism investigator and NCIS special agent in charge.

We also have CNN military analyst, Lieutenant General Mark Hertling.

Gentlemen, thank you very much.

Let's start with the obvious. Mr. McFadden, do you believe those numbers, especially coming from the U.S. side, when we don't have the best intel on what's going on with the ground right now? Do you think it's 6,000 and half the command is gone?

ROBERT MCFADDEN, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, THE SOUFAN GROUP: Well, like most others, I think there was some surprise at the number. And with the full acknowledgment that there is a sensitivity about the very term body count going back to the Vietnam era. So, as that also as a metric, it's also hard to tell by itself. But with some news coming out about the leadership element, that does show some indication that the progress is being made.

CUOMO: Right. But you are being accurate. I hear you about the numbers. We've heard it said from big lawmakers that the last time we counted dead, the United States, they ended up losing the war, which is, of course, a reference to Vietnam.

Lieutenant General, what do you think about this? Do you think the ambassador got over his skis on this?

LT. GENERAL MARK HERTLING (R), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Yes, very much so, Chris.

I'll tell you from a military perspective, a couple of things are wrong with it. First of all, having been involved in a lot of combat where there have been numbers associated with what we're doing, I'll tell you right now, 6,000 is inaccurate. It's inappropriate for the ambassador to say that and it's also not a measure of success.

The real measure of success is, do the Iraqi people have trust and confidence in their government?

And truthfully, having been in the situation over the last 10 to 15 years where every time I went somewhere as the commander in Europe or Iraq, we always linked with the U.S. embassy, and my first conversation with the ambassador, there's been a great relationship between DOD and the State Department built over the last ten years wholly inappropriate for the ambassador to say that. I think if I had been the military commander truthfully on the scene, I think I would have marched in the office, closed the door and said, Mr. Ambassador, that's not right for you to say and that's not a good measure of success to publicize.

CUOMO: And who knows, that may be coming. Now, what do we think about the other side, the Iraqi prime minister saying, we're doing this on our own. That would be shocking if true. Do we believe that, Mr. McFadden?

MCFADDEN: No, not at all. Within the political realm, it's quite natural for the push and pull coming from Baghdad from the government about the U.S. not quick enough, ally forces not quick enough. But the U.S. position, of course, is, look, we're doing everything we can right now. What Baghdad government must work on is the inclusiveness part of the country to, you know, have that kind of collaboration to fight the enemy.

CUOMO: And I'm sure you heard this, Lieutenant General, but you had former Secretary Hagel -- not former yet, but the significance of the figures. He said is that the measurement of significant progress? Maybe not. I don't think it's the measure. I was in a war where we did body counts every day and we lost that one.

That's the reference I was making to Vietnam.

Here's the problem with this. Numbers aside, it's do we know what's going on over there, Lieutenant General? That's the concern. What do you think about that?

HERTLING: I think we do, Chris. There's a lot of really great things happening over there. My contacts tell me there have been a replacement at large of the command and control architecture within the Iraqi army. They are trying to rebuild with more of a view towards inclusiveness and nationalism.

The new chief of staff is a friend of mine, General Riad (ph). He is a Sunni but understands and loves Iraq. One of your pictures showed him near a mortar tube. I think they are moving toward it. The building of the Iraqi national guard, the attack and planning for attacks to regain territory -- all of those things are critically important in this fight within Iraq and I think we are heading in the right direction but as we've said so many times before, this is going to take a long time.

CUOMO: Right. And part of the balance --

HERTLING: We're in the beginning of this.

CUOMO: Part of the balancing act is where do you focus most in the moment? Right now you could make the case that it should be Yemen. How big a concern is it that you have Houthi rebels now in charge of figuring out what happens there vis-a-vis the U.S. to use it as an operating base and have an ally?

MCFADDEN: Yes, well, Sunday is going to be a big day in Yemen, of course, with the emergency session of its parliament to figure out with the resignation of its government and with what the Houthis have consistently been demanding, where do they go next? What's been clear from the Houthi side, in Yemen style, this is an alliance made through the barrel of the gun.

Or if you wanted to have a coup, it's a new definition of coup. The Houthis have been clear they can't run the government, the country by themselves. So, they actually need a government in there, standing government. Whether it's Hadi or someone else, though, Sunday is a very important day in the road ahead in Yemen.

CUOMO: Everybody points the finger at them because they're the ones who overthrew the government. But what about Iran? If they are funding the Houthis, shouldn't this really play large in the negotiations with them for completely you know, just up ending the one ally that we had, that we could operate at?

MCFADDEN: Iran has been and will continue to be a factor as are the Saudis. You can't overestimate how much of a factor that is both in the foreground and background of what's going on in Yemen. You have one of these strange situations in the Middle East with politics strange bedfellows where we would never be fighting side by side with Iran or the Houthis against al Qaeda or Yemen. However, that's an implacable foe for the Houthis as well.

CUOMO: Lesser of evils sometimes and you do what's strategic in the moment.

Mr. McFadden, thank you very much. Robert McFadden, Lieutenant General, appreciate the perspective here on NEW DAY.

CUOMO: Alisyn, over to you.

CAMEROTA: OK, Chris.

A day of denials from New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick and star quarterback Tom Brady. Both told reporters they had nothing to do with deflating football. Were they telling the truth?

And popular YouTube stars sitting down with the president of the United States in rare one-on-one interviews. Seemingly they covered a lot of topics.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How do we bridge the gap between black African- American males and white cops?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAMEROTA: Patriots head coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady addressing the so-called deflate-gate controversy, both telling reporters they had nothing to do with deflating football for the AFC championship game. Are they telling the truth?

CNN's Alina Machado is live in Foxborough, Massachusetts.

What's the latest?

ALINA MACHADO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Alisyn.

Yes, you know, Brady came out and he was very relaxed, he was very calm and at times he was smiling as he was getting peppered with questions from reporters. You know, he came out and spoke about a day earlier than he was expected hoping to put all of this behind him.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRADY: I have no knowledge of anything.

BILL BELICHICK, PATRIOTS HEAD COACH: I have no explanation for what happened.

MACHADO (voice-over): The New England Patriots on the defense. Head coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady speaking out in separate press conferences Thursday, declaring they did not deflate footballs in Sunday's AFC championship game.

BRADY: I didn't alter the ball in any way. Once I approved the balls, that's the ball I expect out there on the field. So, I don't know what happened over the course of the process with the footballs.

MACHADO: The NFL's investigation continues into why 11 of the 12 footballs the Patriots provided for the game were underinflated, any notion of foul play denied by the star quarterback.

REPORTER: Is Tom Brady a cheater?

BRADY: 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.