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New Day

Battle for Tikrit Intensifies; Boko Haram Pledges Loyalty to ISIS; Interview with Sen. Angus King; Emotions Raw After Unarmed Teen's Death; Fraternity Chapter Disbanded after Racist Video

Aired March 09, 2015 - 07:00   ET

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

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Let's get to CNN's senior international correspondent Ben Wedeman, who's outside Tikrit. He's got the breaking details.

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We're about one mile to the east of Tikrit. Now, just about an hour or so ago here, there were a lot of troops. They were firing rockets in the direction of Tikrit. But what we saw was the entire force has moved forward. The goal today is to retake the town of Ilalim (ph), that's just on the outskirts of Tikrit. And with the taking of Ilalim, they believe that they will now have Tikrit completely surrounded. And it's just a matter of days, the commanders here tell us, before they can retake the city.

Now, while we were here, we had the opportunity to talk to Hed Ilamadi (ph). He's the head of the Badir (ph) organization and he said, yes, we -- there's no -- we're hiding nothing. That we have help from Iran in the -- in the form of advisors and some leadership on the ground providing guidance

But he insisted, he stressed that this is purely an Iraqi operation, that they're receiving assistance from the Iranians, but it's being fought and led by the Iraqis.

And he also had some harsh words for the United States, saying that their assistance has not amounted to what people were hoping for. And he said at this point the Iraqis, with a little help from their friends, can retake not just Tikrit, Mosul, but the rest of Iraq.

CUOMO: Of course, the role of Iran is going to loom large, but there's also the expansion of ISIS. And now we hear they're getting a boost from Africa. The Nigerian terror group, Boko Haram, swearing allegiance to ISIS, giving the group global legitimacy. Let's get to CNN senior international correspondent Arwa Damon, live in Turkey. What do we know, Arwa?

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we haven't been able to independently verify the authenticity of that audiotape by Boko Haram, but he has reportedly pledged allegiance to ISIS.

And this is something that some senior U.S. Special Forces operatives that we came across when we were in Chad just recently, covering America's efforts to train up African special forces, were quite concerned about.

What we have happening, when it comes to the battle against Boko Haram, a heavy focus, of course, on Boko Haram's territory in Nigeria with Chad and Niger also over the past weekend launching a military offensive into northeastern Nigeria. Chad has been very heavily involved in the fighting there.

America also focused on trying to build up the lake basin, the Lake Chad basin coalition when it comes to the fight against Boko Haram.

Boko Haram benefiting from this allegiance with ISIS, because it needs to bolster itself. It has been slowly losing ground to the advancing other African forces in its stronghold in Nigeria. Still fully capable of carrying out devastating attacks, though. ISIS benefits from this, as well, because it is able now to further extend its footprint into Africa.

And as we have been hearing from many European and American commanders, what happens in Africa and even in the Middle East, as we know only too well, terror has no boundaries. And developments there when it comes to these various terrorist organizations can down the road at some stage also significantly impact security in Europe and the United States.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Arwa, thanks so much for that report.

We want to bring in now senator Angus King. He's an independent from Maine who sits on the Armed -- Senate Armed Services Committee and Intelligence Committee.

Senator, thanks so much for being on NEW DAY.

SEN. ANGUS KING (I), MAINE: Alisyn, pleasure to be here.

CAMEROTA: Great to see you in the studio.

Let's talk about what happened over the weekend. Boko Haram pledged its allegiance to ISIS, thereby making their reach bigger and their numbers bigger. How significant is that?

KING: It can't be -- it can't be good news.

First thing to know about Boko Haram is what their name means. "Western education is forbidden." That's what Boko Haram means.

CAMEROTA: Is that right?

KING: That tells you where we -- where we're starting with this group. And it expands the reach of these groups worldwide, of ISIS and -- this is -- you know, this is a serious problem. We've got -- we've got a group that's -- you know, they're bent on some -- reaching as far as they can into Africa. There's a lot of discontent in Africa. Al Shabaab is in Somalia. So this is -- this is bad news.

CUOMO: What's the implication, though? You can look at it two ways. One is that they'll say, you know, the Arab, their culture, they look down on the African culture, so this probably doesn't mean anything. The Africans usually relegated to suicide missions within those terror structures.

Or -- or is this the beginning of true consolidation? First Boko Haram, maybe al Qaeda, AQAP, and then you have a consolidated terrorist mass against you.

KING: And they -- I think that is the concern. And they have combined resources and information. You know, this is an age of sharing information. And now we've got a whole new set of people we have to be careful about at airports and all of those kinds of things.

And of course on top of all this, the intelligence people tell me the really scary thing is lone wolves. People who radicalized on the Internet or through e-mail, and that kind of thing. And then, you know, some kid in Cleveland that wants to blow up the U.S. Capitol. That's -- that's where -- that's the hardest thing for us to deal with.

CAMEROTA: I mean, there's a lot about this that is scary. And I think it's hard for regular Americans to figure out at what point to become truly panicked. You know, sometimes these groups are likened to the Nazis in terms of their, you know, ethnic cleansing and how they're bent on just killing everything...

KING: Look at the stuff they're doing. I mean, they're destroying historic buildings. They're killing people, throwing gay people off of roofs, crucifying people. I mean, this is -- these guys have 7th Century ethics and 21st Century weapons. That's what's so dangerous.

CAMEROTA: So at what point do we need to turn on the full U.S. military apparatus against them?

KING: I don't think that is a good idea for the simple reason it won't work. That's what they want. If you want to make a gift to is tomorrow, send in U.S. troops. They want this to be a war of the west against Islam. This has to be Arabs, Muslims, taking the fight to them in Mosul, in Tikrit.

We can do the air power part; and we can do the leadership and the training and that kind of thing. But for us to actually send in troops would backfire, no matter how you slice it. We're the invaders, we're the infidels, we're the crusaders. All of that historic reference. They would -- that would make their day.

CAMEROTA: Is that happening where there is a group, an Arab coalition, as the president of Egypt has called for, coming together? Iran helping out? Are you seeing evidence that that is...

KING: Well, it is. What's going on in Tikrit, I think, right now is an example of that. You know, the danger there is, and it gets so complicated, that's being led by Shia militia. Iran's involved. If it's Shia militia against the Sunni tribes, we're back at square one.

CUOMO: If that is what is -- and I think it's an actual point, Senator. Because the reason that we have Dempsey on the ground there isn't because he's leading the assault on Tikrit. It's because of this great concern about what happens after.

KING: That's right.

CUOMO: Isn't the big concern that we wind up creating another situation, and we meaning the United States, where that's how ISIS got formed. Iran, Shia, they go in there with largely Shia militia. We're saying Iraqi forces, but two-thirds of them are not joint forces. They're tribal forces.

KING: But you're right...

CUOMO: And they go up there, and they do ethnic cleansing on the Sunnis. Just like happened the last time.

KING: And then ISIS is in business again.

CUOMO: That's how ISIS was born.

KING: ISIS wouldn't have swept through northern Iraq the way it did unless it was swimming in a friendly sea of Sunnis.

CUOMO: So how does the U.S. stop that?

KING: Well, I think that's -- I think you're right. I think that's part of Dempsey's mission. I think that's the word that we have to get.

I mean, a lot of what we're seeing, ISIS is a direct result of Malaki's mal-administration of not dealing with the Sunnis, of discriminating against them and suppressing them. And so when ISIS came in, that looked like a good deal to the Sunni tribes. They have to repress -- they have to reverse that.

Now the real question with ISIS is, they're so barbaric. You know, they're too barbaric for just about anybody. I think there's a risk that they'll implode, that -- they'll alienate the local population. There's now anecdotal evidence coming out of Mosul, coming out of Tikrit, coming out of Iraq and northern Syria that people are getting a little fed up with, you know, hands cut off, free people being forced to have blood drawn in order to give it to the troops, their daughters having to marry the soldiers. They can wear out their welcome, in effect.

But we have to be sure that the Shia militia and Iran doesn't reverse that kind of thing and make these guys look good again.

CAMEROTA: Let's talk about the Iran nuclear talks that are going on. Should the U.S. Congress have the right to sign off on any agreement before it is codified?

KING: The short answer is yes.

CUOMO: On what basis?

KING: That may be the shortest answer you ever get from a politician.

CAMEROTA: Yes.

CUOMO: On what basis?

KING: Because the sanctions were created by Congress. The sanctions originally were created by an act of Congress. I think they have to come to the Congress in some way, shape or form now.

The president has -- has a role of being able to waive the sanctions for periods of time, but also I think it strengthens the whole deal, if the American people are speaking with one voice. It would be very bad to have the president make a deal and Congress just sit on the sides, like, grumbling.

This puts Congress to the test, by the way. My worry is -- and I've said this to Lindsey Graham and John McCain and Bob Corker, the Republican leaders on this -- my worry is that there are Republicans in the Congress who will vote against it no matter what it says, because they want to embarrass the president. That's terrible. This is too important to politicize.

CUOMO: Well, they just had the prime minister of Israel come here and basically step all over the president's plans. The president could only anticipate that.

And when you say they should, Congress should have a role, but they don't have to, right? The president has big powers to have an executive deal here that does not include Congress.

KING: Historically, in the Constitution entrusts foreign policy to the president.

CUOMO: Right.

KING: But it definitely -- it contemplates a congressional role. And as I say, the sanctions originally -- and that's what we're talking about here, which are going to be relieved if there's a deal -- were created by Congress.

And so I'm one of those -- I signed onto Bob Corker's bill. I was a co-sponsor. But when Mitch McConnell grabbed it last week and said, "We're going to bypass the committee and take it right to the floor," and all of that, those of us who signed on said," Unh-uh, you know, we're not going for that next week. Let's take our time."

CUOMO: Because you believe it's a tactic?

KING: I believe it was political. And -- but Mitch has pulled back, bless him. And I think he did the right thing. I think -- you know, I'll give him -- I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. He was caught up with the excitement of Netanyahu. It was that same day. But in retrospect, that wasn't the way to handle this.

CAMEROTA: Senator Angus King, great to have you in studio here on NEW DAY. Thanks.

KING: Always a pleasure. Nice to be with you. MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Want to turn to a story that has emotions running raw in Madison, Wisconsin. A white police officer shoots and kills an unarmed biracial teenager. Protestors peacefully took to the streets, demanding answers. Our Rosa Flores is there in Madison, Wisconsin, outside the home where it all happened -- Rosa.

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Michaela, good morning. You know, there is just so much pain, so much emotion, a lot of that frustration towards the police department.

So I asked the police chief yesterday, how do you begin to repair that relationship? And he tells me that it starts with owning up to what happened and saying sorry.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FLORES (voice-over): Charged protestors unloading anger and frustration at police officers guarding this Madison, Wisconsin, house turned crime scene.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Innocent black children.

FLORES: This is where unarmed 19-year-old Tony Terrell Robinson was shot and killed by police Friday. No one is allowed inside, except for Kathleen Bufton. She lives a thin wall away from where the gunshots rang out.

KATHLEEN BUFTON, NEIGHBOR: ... right here on this wall of the kitchen.

FLORES: Bufton says she was in the kitchen when she heard a scuffle next door, then pounding on the door, she says.

(on camera): Was that the police?

BUFTON: Yes. And he forced the door open.

FLORES (voice-over): What she didn't know, according to police, is that there were multiple calls into dispatch regarding Robinson, including an alleged battery incident.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look for a male black, light-skinned, tan jacket and jeans, outside yelling and jumping in front of cars.

FLORES: Police say Officer Matt Kenny responded, heard a commotion inside the home, and forced his way in and then gunfire.

BUFTON: You could really hear it. I mean, right here. I mean, nothing went through.

FLORES: Police say Robinson attacked Kenny, provoking the officer to use deadly force. But Bufton has her doubts.

BUFTON: I wonder if it was a white person, if they wouldn't have got shot; they would have got Tased. FLORES: Her thoughts echoed by Robinson's family.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I think the cop shot him because he was afraid of him.

FLORES: This is not the first time the 45-year-old officer used deadly force. Officer Kenny was exonerated for an incident that took place eight years ago.

The police chief says he's working to regain public trust.

CHIEF MIKE KOVAL, MADISON, WISCONSIN, POLICE: We need to start, as any healing or reconciliation would, with an "I'm sorry."

FLORES: But hundreds gathered throughout the weekend, demanding more than apologies.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FLORES: And as you take another live look, you see a growing memorial. Police still here at the scene. And crime scene tape, which is very telling, Chris, because if you ask yourself the obvious question, how long is this investigation going to take, this just shows you, this is a very active scene, and this incident happened on Friday.

CUOMO: All right, Rosa. Thank you very much.

In other news, two suspects have been formally charged in the death of top Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov. Three others are being held. A sixth suspect blew himself up as police went to arrest him. There are reports one of those charged, a former Chechen military commander, confessed to his role in Nemtsov's murder.

PEREIRA: South Korea's president making a surprise visit to U.S. Ambassador Mark Lippert as he recovers from that bloody knife attack. President Park Geun-hye visiting the hospital after returning to Seoul from a Mideast trip. An attacker opposed to joint South Korea-U.S. military drills, as you'll recall, slashed Ambassador Lippert's face and arms as he was about to give a speech Thursday. The ambassador is expected to be discharged from the hospital tomorrow.

CAMEROTA: Student leaders at the University of California, Irvine, overturning a ban on flying the U.S. flag in the student government offices. University officials called the ban, quote, misguided legislation and say it was passed by undergrads without the endorsement of campus leadership. The students say they approved the ban on the flag, because they view Old Glory as a symbol of colonialism and imperialism.

To be in college. You know, the causes we have in college.

CUOMO: Those crazy kids.

CAMEROTA: All right. Moving on, we have to tell you about this story, a racist video forcing a fraternity chapter at the University of Oklahoma to close. What's on this video? We have the details for you next.

CUOMO: And does Hillary Clinton need to speak up about the e-mail mess in order for it to go away? And a new question: why didn't President Obama know that Hillary Clinton had a private e-mail account? Should he know? We discuss.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: Welcome back to NEW DAY. The fraternity SAE just shut down its chapter at the University of Oklahoma after a racist video surfaced, showing fraternity members chanting racial slurs, referring to blacks using the "N" word, threatening that they will never be allowed into the frat. Let's get more from CNN's George Howell.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GEORGE HOWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The audio on this clip is disturbing. A group of young men and women on a bus, who don't seem to know they're being recorded, chanting this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There will never be a (EXPLETIVE DELETED) at SAE. There will never be a (EXPLETIVE DELETED) at SAE. You can hang them from a tree, but they'll never sign with me. There will never be a (EXPLETIVE DELETED) at SAE.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: The clip purportedly shows students from the University of Oklahoma using a racial slur, the "N" word, singing about their fraternity, Sigma Alpha Epsilon. It was allegedly filmed Saturday, as the group headed off to a day (ph) party for the fraternity's Founders' Day.

Within several hours of the clip being posted and shared online, the Sigma Alpha Epsilon national headquarters announced it was closing its O.U. chapter and suspending its members. In a statement, the fraternity's leadership says, quote, "We apologize for the unacceptable and racist behavior of the individuals in the video, and we are disgusted that any member would act in such a way."

It goes onto say, quote, "We are hopeful we can reestablish the Oklahoma Kappa chapter at some point in the future with a group of men who exemplify our beliefs and who serve as leaders on campus and in the community."

The university president, David Boren, also promising an investigation, saying, quote, "This behavior will not be tolerated and will be addressed very quickly."

The response online to this clip has been sharp. One group, called Unheard, on Twitter planning a rally Monday. Others changing their profile pictures. Some students on the O.U. campus came together for a prayer circle, denouncing the chant that had some in this video laughing. Fair to say, no one's laughing now.

George Howell, CNN, Atlanta. (END VIDEOTAPE)

CAMEROTA: Joining us now to discuss this is CNN political commentator Van Jones and CNN commentator and senior writer for ESPN, L.Z. Granderson.

Gentlemen, thanks so much for being here.

Van, I don't even know where to start. I mean, how are we supposed to make sense of what we're seeing on this video?

VAN JONES, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I mean, it's so ironic that this past weekend we -- I was so blessed to be there in Selma, 50 years after people were beaten bloody on that bridge. I felt like history had kind of come full circle. You had John Lewis there who as a young man had been beaten. He was able to introduce the president of the United States, African-American. And you even had Ms. Boynton, who had gotten that whole movement going, 103 years old, in a chair walking across the bridge with the president of the United States, first African-American.

It felt on Sunday like maybe we had finally closed a certain circle. You wake up this morning, and you have this kind of stuff still going on.

I think what it means is that young people in America need to understand that these so-called jokes and taunts and that sort of stuff has a very, very ugly history. And we also have to recognize that the other young people on campus responded so well, so aggressively, to say, "Our campus," O.U. highlighted, "Our campus."

And so this battle between the best in America and the worst in America goes on.

CAMEROTA: L.Z., it is so poignant to see the pictures from Selma this weekend, of President Obama hand in hand with other leaders. And of course, progress has been made, a lot of progress. Significant progress has been made. So how do you understand or sort of internalize what you see on that fraternity bus there?

L.Z. GRANDERSON, CNN COMMENTATOR: Well, I think it just kind of bucks the casual thinking when the -- quote, unquote -- old people die, those old racist views will go with them. I mean, those are millennials that are in that video. And so that just tells me and it tells all of us that we still need to continue to have these conversations. We still need to continue to address the issues that were the problem 50 years ago with Selma.

I remember marching in the Million Man March way back in the '90s in Washington, D.C. and we saw racist signs then during the '90s.

And so you know, it's just this constant reminder that there is work that needs to be done. Yes, we've made a lot of progress, but there's still a lot that we have to do to address the criminal justice system, the wealth/income disparity, the education disparity. And occasionally these fraternities and individuals who have these very racist thoughts.

CAMEROTA: Last night, Van, the Sigma Alpha Epsilon, as we reported, the national chapter closed down its chapter on the O.U. campus. Is that enough?

JONES: Well, listen, I think they behaved very responsibly. They moved very, very quickly.

My concern is that that didn't seem like a chant that was made up there on the spot. That seemed like a chant that maybe had been handed down in that chapter. And if that's so, I hope they investigate, when the school investigates. That could mean that there's a, you know, an endemic culture either in that chapter or maybe even beyond.

You know, fraternities have not had to operate in an environment where somebody could have a video camera on their phone that's operating. So you may see as time goes on, other fraternities, other rituals, other chants getting surfaced. I hope that they all follow this initial pattern of an aggressive response. But let's not assume that it's limited. Let's make sure we -- where did that chant come from? It did not seem like it was made up on the spot. That could have been there for a long time.

CAMEROTA: But it does seem hard to believe, L.Z., that this is going on elsewhere and in other fraternities. I remember college. I never saw an example of this. Who are these kids?

GRANDERSON: Well, I think every campus, every fraternity is different. They're all made up of different individuals with different backgrounds. I have seen photos of white fraternity members being in black face and not thinking there was anything wrong with that. We certainly have seen examples of fraternities hanging effigies of black people swinging from trees and thinking it was a practical joke. So it's not as if this is completely an isolated incident. There have been little pockets of these racist activities that have been seen for whatever reasons as jokes.

But I think there are also other elements of campus life that this gives an opportunity to look at. Sure, we can go to the video, because it seems to be really sort of, you know, sensationalized, if you will, because it's a video that's easily tweetable.

But I'm also concerned about the lives of minorities on that particular campus. What's the retention rate? Why are people leaving that campus if the retention rate isn't particularly high? Are they saying they don't feel comfortable on campus? And so while it might not just be a video, it may be the overall environment that may not feel welcoming.

And so this just gives them an opportunity to take a breath, yes, punish the fraternity, but also just take a look at culture -- at the culture of the campus itself and make sure that it is diverse and that it is inviting once people are on campus.

CAMEROTA: Yes, this will be a clarifying moment, obviously, for that campus as they do that investigation.

Let's talk about another investigation that's going on in Madison, Wisconsin, this morning. There have been protests throughout the weekend over the shooting of this, as far as we know, unarmed biracial teenager by a white officer. Tony Robinson is the name of the teenager.

Yet Van, you know, it's easy to see this as a pattern. It's easy to put his name along the list of other unarmed black teenagers. But this one, there were two 911 calls that said that there was some sort of disturbance, there was some sort of violence. He was alleging running in and out of traffic or allegedly assaulting somebody. I mean, I just want to be careful, because police do have to do their jobs when they get 911 calls like this. How do you see it?

JONES: I certainly agree they should do their job. Here's the problem. This young man was unarmed, not according to the family, not according to friends, according to the chief of police that he was unarmed.

Also, he has a apparently in the past, he's you know, run across the street, done this, done that. Other neighbors say, "Listen, this guy's a gentle guy. He's a nice guy. He's not somebody with a really strong track record of doing negative things."

I think the pattern people are concerned about is, when law enforcement officers have a different level of response, of aggressive response when they see a young person of color.

In this situation, nobody's alleging he was armed. Nobody's alleging that he was posing a lethal threat, and yet he winds up dead.

And I do think it's important that we wait for all the facts to come in. But when you have the chief of police coming out and saying he's sorry, when you have the chief of police coming out and saying this is -- 19 years old is too young, the chief of police saying, "Listen, go ahead and demonstrate, we are going to help you exercise your rights," I think that shows a level of both concern and restraint and professionalism on the part of the police force. They're not coming out saying, "This guy was a horrible guy who was going to kill our officer." And that is a part of why people are so concerned about what is going on.

CAMEROTA: L.Z., very quickly, you don't have to have a weapon to be a threat to a police officer. Just because this teenager didn't have a weapon necessarily for whatever reason, the 911 calls made it sound as though there was an assault or a threat happening. How do you see this case?

GRANDERSON: Well, again, obviously I agree with Van. We have to wait until all the facts are out there.

But any time that an unarmed citizen, regardless of color, is shot multiple times by a police officer, it's only smart for us to pause and make sure that everything was followed in the proper protocol. But I also will add that just because a person isn't armed doesn't

mean they aren't perceived as a threat. And we know from science, we know from research that African-American men are perceived to be threats far more in society than any other counterpart that they have. So while the officer -- while the officer may have gone in because of a 911 call, because the person was African-American, what we know based upon research, perhaps he is perceived as a much greater threat than if he had been of a different color.

And that, too, is part of the reason why it is very good that the police officer or the police chief is sensitive to that aspect of the conversation, as well.

CAMEROTA: OK. L.Z. Granderson, Van Jones, thanks so much for the conversation.

We do want to know what you think about all of this. You can tweet us, @NewDay or you can go to Facebook.com/NewDay. We'd love to read your comments.

Let's go over to Michaela.

PEREIRA: All right, Alisyn.

No comment so far from Hillary Clinton. No sign the controversy over e-mails is going away any time soon. Does she need to speak out? We're going to get perspective from both sides of the political aisle coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)