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New Information in Brussels Terror Investigation; Former New Orleans Saint Player Shot Dead; Taliban Making Gains in Afghanistan. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired April 11, 2016 - 07:30   ET

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

[07:30:02] ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Guys, we have to leave it there. Ben, obviously there will be lots of time to talk about delegates and tactics coming up for the next week. Gentlemen thank you very much.

Meanwhile, it is a very big week of politics of CNN, beginning with a new twist, of the presidential town hall, a three-night CNN town hall event featuring the Republican candidates and their families.

On stage answering voter questions tonight at 9:00 Eastern, we saw with Ohio Governor John Kasich he'll be joined by his wife and daughters. Tuesday, Donald Trump and family. And then on Wednesday, Texas Senator Ted Cruz will be joined by his wife. Anderson Cooper will moderate the town hall.

Join us tonight at 9:00 p.m. Eastern for the first time. They even have is their own music there (ph) as you can here.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: I like that.

CAMEROTA: That is great.

CUOMO: We should all have our own theme music. I've been saying that for years.

The terror cell behind the Brussels attacks allegedly planning to strike again but in Paris. That was the plan. So, why did they change course? And could something bigger still be in the works? We have new information ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:35:06] CUOMO: New information in the investigation as disturbing as it is insightful. It now turns out that this Brussels cell was planning to attack Paris again.

Let's bring in CNN Terrorist Analyst and Editor-in-Chief of the CTC Sentinel Paul Cruickshank. This is one of those reports that you really wish was in true. I mean look, what they did already was terrible enough. But why do we believe this and where does it lead us in our understanding of what the cell activities and names are?

PAUL CRUICKSHANK, CNN TERRORRIST ANALYST: Two things, one Mohamed Abrini has told investigators that was going to be the target. And number two, they found on the computer it would appear some plans linked to Paris. It has become abundantly clear that the number one target for ISIS is France, is Paris.

CAMEROTA: Why is that?

CRUICKSHANK: Best hearing the kitchen sink had it right now. Why is that? Because France is playing a leading role in the fight against ISIS in Syria and in Iraq, launching a lot of air strikes. The goal aircraft carried out and there are also just a lot of French recruits. Frank a phone recruitment have join ISIS, giving them the capability to launch attacks in France. There is real concern that there are dozens of ISIS operatives back in France right now task with launching attacks.

CUOMO: So, why did they change their plan?

CRUICKSHANK: Well, according to what they're saying, they changed the plan because Salah Abdeslam, remember him was arrested. They felt the dragnet was coming down on them and they have to act fast, launch some kind of attack were in Brussels.

And according to what they are now saying to investigators, Abrini is saying to investigators, they accelerated and launched this attack in Brussels on the fly of the airport, at the metro. Obviously investigators are not really necessarily taking the word of these suspects at their word. And they are looking into what their plans could have been. And they also found government buildings in Belgium, photos of them, plans of them on the computer of this terror cell.

CAMEROTA: I want to ask you about Muhamed Abrini, who until his arrest has become was the most wanted man in Europe. When I was in Brussels a few weeks ago reporting on the attacks there, we went to his childhood neighborhood, Molenbeek which we've heard so much about because that's where others were radicalized and lived, and where Abdeslam was arrest.

We went to the youth center where he spent his adolescence and found his former counselor who talked about what he was like as a young man. Let me play this for you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BACHIR M'RABET, COORDINATOR, LE FOYER MOLENBEEK, (Through Translator): The only one that came here and that I know was the young Abrini, who came here when he was around 10, 11, 12 years old. He was a calm, even introverted child not extroverted at all. Extremely calm and reserved. And I'm actually surprised to know that this boy who was so calm, even kind, well manner could have gotten to that point.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: Introverted, calm, well-mannered. We've heard this before. What is it that makes them susceptible then to this poison?

CRUICKSHANK: Here's the trajectory for so many of these young men that are part of a cell. They get involved in petty crime and gangsterism in the neighborhood. They then commit a robbery or something like that, they go to jail and it's in jail they are getting radicalized by these people over there who ready radical giving them a sense of redemption, of purpose.

And of course because they were involved in gangsterism and they got a lot of skills about how to operate clandestinely. And so ISIS is able to draw on a thunder (ph) of operatives who already know how to operate on that sort of criminal manner, you have those connections where they can easily buy guns.

And that's the alarming thing now for European security officials when you say compared it to the al-Qaeda threat, ISIS has been able to recruit some people who are just more effective terrorists who exhibiting greater trade craft, operational security. And the worry is now we're going to see a string of attacks get through in Europe by the next few months.

CUOMO: The worry for you is also what is still unknown, right? And you have specifics of that?

CRUICKSHANK: Well, two concerning things this morning. Number one, a missing bag with potentially with explosives inside it. That back was last scene on CCTV at Metro station in Maalbeek, Metro station in Brussels with those armed (ph) crime, one of the people who are arrested on Friday.

They haven't found that bag yet. They did a raid on that suspect safe house in Etterbeek in Brussels, didn't find the bag, very concerned about that. And also concerned about a missing suspect is still case when Osama Krayem that Swedish ISIS operative who was arrested on Friday was picked up in Ulm, Germany a few weeks before the Paris attack by Salah Abdeslam. There was another suspect who still unaccounted for in that car, the worries that he could strike, he might have the bag. They are concerned there that may be more than a dozen suspects linked to the cells still at large, Chris

[07:40:03] And as we move forward over the next couple of months, here's I think the bigger at large, Chris. And as we move forward over the next couple of months, here is, I think the biggest concern of officials in Europe. We have one of the biggest soccer tournaments in the world about to happen in Europe. Euro 2016 in France, it kicks off in exactly two months' time. Remember what happened with targeting the stadium in France is huge tournament. One of the biggest call spectacular in the entire planet. The worry is, ISIS wants to hit it and hit it hard.

CAMEROTA: Paul Cruickshank , thank you for all the information as always. Michaela.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: All right back here at home, is remembering former New Orleans Saints defensive end Will Smith. He was shot and killed in what appears to have maybe been a road rage case this weekend. He played a key role in the Saint 2009 Super Bowl win. We're going to look back at this man's life, his legacy, and the place he holds in the team's hall of fame.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PEREIRA: The sports world rattled by the death of former New Orleans Saints star Will Smith. He was gunned down in what appears to be apparent road rage incident over the weekend. His allege killer is now behind bars charged with second-degree murder. Smith was set to be inducted into the team's hall of fame this fall, an honor he will receive posthumously.

Joining us now is Ken Trahan, he's the general manager and chairman of the Saints Hall of Fame also G.M. a sportnolo.com and actually just wrote an article memorializing Will Smith the young man taking really in the prime of life.

Mr. Trahan thanks for joining us today. Have you had a chance to talk to the family? How are they are doing? Have you heard any word?

[07:45:03] KEN TRAHAN, GM AND CHAIRMAN, SAINTS HALL OF FAME: Michaela, good morning. First and foremost, it's a tragedy. I have not spoken to the family since the tragic occurrence took place of course on Saturday night. But I had spoken to Will within the last 10 days. He was so excited about the pending induction in the Saints Hall of Fame. He got elected unanimously by our media selection committee.

And that doesn't happen very often we spoke volumes about the quality of his play on the field about what people talked about with Will more than anything else is the way he conducted himself off the field. He was a stand out guy with the media. He was at model teammate and he do whatever it took for a team to be successful. So, this is a real tragedy.

CAMEROTA: Well, it is interesting too because so often times these guys are known for who they are on the field. But this guy, who was not a New Orleans native, he made it his home. He chose -- he and his wife and family chose to live there after his days on the field ended. He made New Orleans home.

TRAHAN: Yeah, he did. He fell in love with the community. And he made his home in suburban New Orleans and suburb Harahan and had a wonderful time doing so. And they were in fact involved in the city to a large degree. That's where they were all day long in French quarter fest when in fact this unspeakable tragedy occurred later on the day. And he was with former team Pierre Thomas as well.

So, it just hard to comprehend where we are, it's not just New Orleans. It's nationwide and beyond. It is very, very frustrating. Because when you see someone of this magnitude, it just puts a face to a problem that continues to exist nationwide.

PEREIRA: Yeah. Well, and you talk about this guy. You know, oftentimes people lionized after, you know, in the state like this when you all reeling to try and make sense, there is no sense to be made of a man being gunned down like this. But we know that he was a figured that larger than life, because of what he did for At Risk Youth in community. He started his own nonprofit. Where there is a will there is a way working with At Risk Youth. TRAHAN: Right. That pretty much defines who he was. If you dealt with

Will Smith often times when you are dealing with athletes, and I have done so for many years in a media capacity in covering sports, you're dealing with guys that often time covet attention. They seek it. They want it.

This was a guy that was anything but that. He was a low key guy that did not want it. Did not covet it. When you went to him he was unbelievably cooperative and genuine. You could accept everything he said is gospel. And I think that's what people really like about him in our business aside from the fact that he was great with the fans as well. Making appearance at the Saints Hall of Fame museum and beyond. People just gravitated to him. And he couldn't have been more patient and gracious with them.

CAMEROTA: Well, tell me about that because you get the real privilege of making that call to these guys when they are elected into the Hall of Fame. Tell me about that phone conversation.

TRAHAN: Yeah, special. You know, you get so many different reactions. But that's one of the best things about what one of my jobs of course running the Saints Hall of Fame, is to call people that are elected on an annual basis and to see and hear their reaction. In the case of Will he's known as a pretty low key guy. And he had a pause when I told him. And he then he just kind of stumbled through his comments. And then he said this is fantastic. I can't tell you how much I appreciate this.

And you could tell how genuine his reaction was. Some guys cry. Some guys laugh. Some guy have other reactions. But this was typical of Will. He hesitated before he responded. And when he did he maintained his low key voice but let you know just how edited he was. And I know he was in subsequent conversations. We were really looking forward to making this announcement in May. But of course had to do this yesterday once all of these broke, the actually introduction will take place in the fall as part of the New Orleans Saints home game in entire weekend of celebration.

PEREIRA: So it will indeed proceed. But it'll be handled somewhat differently. I understand this is rare. It happened once before to be inducted posthumously. It will be a moving tribute to this young man who did terrific work on and off the field.

TRAHAN: Yeah, very much so. And again, we have to remember, this was a 34-year-old young man with three young children and a loving wife. You know, that's the tragedy of this. He's a football player, so it gets an enormous amount of attention unless that issue that's why we're here today. But from the standpoint of the individual involved, you're talking about a father, a husband, and a guy that people respected and really like and of course the fans here love him because he is part of their most beloved time in the history of the franchise. They won a Super Bowl with Will Smith.

PEREIRA: Yeah.

TRAHAN: And he was a prominent reason that they won that Super Bowl. So his legacy is secured just very, very sad that he won't be around to realize just how special he was.

PEREIRA: Absolutely Ken Trahan, thanks for joining us for remember Will Smith.

TRAHAN: My pleasure Michaela, thank you.

PEREIRA: Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: All right Michaela defections from the Afghan army giving the Taliban the upper hand in Afghanistan.

07:49:41] In a CNN exclusive, you'll hear from the fighters who have switched sides in what's being called the endless war.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: Well, there are some hard new realities emerging in Afghanistan where the Taliban is gaining ground and inching closer to retaking a Helmand's province, very important location within that country and just one of the sites where the U.S. and its allies invested tremendous amounts of blood and money. So, why is the Afghan army losing strength again?

CNN Senior Internal Correspondent Nick Paton Walsh live in Kabul with this CNN exclusive. Nick

NICK PATON WALSH: Chris, remarkable after all assurances U.S. and NATO officials gave at the Afghan security forces will be able to hold the Taliban back to see not even 18th months since NATO calm the operation ended. So much territory changing hands, a combination of desertion. And in some cases defection even to the Taliban among Afghan soldiers particularly in Helmand where that challenge is greatest.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know a war is going badly when your enemy is right in front of you. This white flag is the Talibans. They are that close to these Afghans defending one of the last government holdouts in Helman province held. It used to be NATO that shot from these positions near the vulnerable city of Lashkar Gah. Hundreds of Americans and Britains died many in the town Sangin where these pictures show the afghan army recently in heavy clashes.

[07:55:07] But now, Afghanistan is quite quickly watching from man floor. The Taliban are winning partly because of men like these. This is a rare window into the Afghan government's worse nightmare. Soldiers from the Afghan army who America's spend billions training who say they have defected and joined the Taliban. They are edgy, never dreamed they change sides.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE, (Through Translation): I did 18 months of army training and took an oath to serve this country but the situation changed. The army let us down so we had to come to the Taliban, who treated like guests.

WALSH: They carried their old uniforms, I.D.s and bank cards used to get their old army wages. They fought in violent Sangin where these pictures were more recently filmed, yet now both use their training and experience to train the Taliban.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE, (Through Translation): I decided to leave the army when my dead and injured comrades lay in our base but nobody took them to the hospital. My army training is useful now as I'm now training Taliban fighters with the same knowledge.

WALSH: Men who have seen the tide turn and voted with their feet. This is the center of the Lashkar Gah Afghan town on the Taliban site, tense yet timing. Some visit briefly from areas the Taliban now control.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE, (Through Translation): It's a bit too soon to say whether people are happy with the Taliban in Lashkar Gah. The bazar is not full of people while it used to be empty. That was because the security was bad and some people avoided the government's forces. Others fled to the outskirts from the fighting in flash point like Sangin.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE, (Through Translation): My worst memory from Sangin is how a wedding party was hit by a mortar killing a large number of women and children.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE, (Through Translation): The police left after the fighting intensified and told me to move to a vacant corner of the village but the bullets and rockets followed killing 10 people so I fled here.

WALSH: Just over a year since NATO stopped fighting and here the Taliban's white flags are closer than ever.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: Nick, what do you see in the pace of decline there?

WALSH: It's deeply troubling. We are seeing Helman falling in ways where its NATO officials two years ago would have laughed if you suggested was viable. Afghan official and U.S. officials are very key to pointing out and agree with the perception last regard the defense Minister acting Masssom Stanekzai.

He said resign if that city fell to the Taliban. But police official there are saying Lashkar Gah threaten on two fronts so much of Helmand, they were already in Taliban control. And this is the place frankly which was suppose to be the key to battle ground. If Taliban get it, they potentially control poppies, opium, a lot of cash there. We haven't even enter fighting session now, Chris.

As you give me some breaking news, the U.S. embassy has just -- release here warning American citizens to stay away from a particular hotel here inside of Kabul. This come after Secretary Kerry's visit was kind of punctuated at the end, bomb explosion that hit near the U.S. embassy compound. The capital itself is pretty dangerous and the rest of the country for ordinary Afghans increasingly in peril. Chris. CUOMO: And as we both know we are coming into the poppy growing season right now which means that's there's going to be more money available, more violence. How much concern is there for what this change in the state of play is going to mean for the ordinary Afghans?

WALSH: Well, of course, Taliban, you know, have caused people to take one side during the last decade or so and many, many life and they have chosen the wrong one if they are on the government side. The government is concerned that perception is they are losing. They insist that they are not. They insist that the five and a half thousands security forces Afghanistan lost just last year alone a part of them doing their best to recover from the absence of NATO troops here.

They say they will do better but frankly looking at what is happening here in Afghanistan. It's slipping so much faster than anybody thought. So much faster that any thought so much faster than the U.S. and that NATO official assured people would be the case for Afghan security forces to took over, it looks bleak for the summer ahead.

CUOMO: As you well know, Nick Paton Walsh, that country has a habit of going the wrong way faster than anyone expected. Thank you for the reporting, as always. Stay safe my friend.

All right. There is a lot of news including Donald Trump now slamming Ted Cruz's victory in Colorado. Why? Let's get to it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: When I say this too RNC. You're going to have a big problem folks.

HILLARY CLINTON, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: They are not really held to any standard of reality. It's an alternative universe that they inhabit.

TRUMP: We've got a corrupt system. And we're going to do something about.

SEN. TED CRUZ, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This race has gotten ugly and really personal.

BERNIE SANDERS, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If we're getting attack. I want them to know we're going to response.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thought that $1 million for the 30-year-old suspect who allegedly shot and killed former New Orleans Saints football star Will Smith.

[08:00:03] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We will prosecute Cardell Hayes to the fullest extent of the law.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A family is devastated and shocked.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Major development here in Belgium.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A terrorist behind a deadly plot slammed more attacks in --