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Obama Vows to Destroy ISIS; Biden Says Hell Is Where ISIS Will Reside; 350 U.S. Troops Ordered To Baghdad; Obama States We Stand With Ukraine; Ukraine Raises Hope Of Ceasefire; Trying To Identify ISIS Executioner; U.K. Tried To Rescue British Hostage;

Aired September 03, 2014 - 13:00   ET

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

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Right now, additional U.S. military support for Iraq in the battle against ISIS. Hundreds more U.S. troops are heading to Baghdad.

Also right now, the world's response to stop ISIS' brutal violence and the search for the man who beheaded a second American before he kills again.

And right now, President Obama heading to a NATO summit to talk about the crisis in Ukraine. And this morning, a strongly worded message by the president delivered right at Russia's doorstep.

From Iraq, London, Moscow and Washington, our team reporters brings you the stories this hour.

Hello, I'm Wolf Blitzer reporting from Washington. Just in, the vice president of the United States, Joe Biden, delivering a powerful rebuke to the terrorist group, ISIS. Just a little while ago, the vice president called ISIS barbarians for beheading two American journalists.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The American people are so much stronger, so much more resolved than any enemy can fully understand. As a nation, we're united. And when people harm Americans, we don't retreat. We don't forget. We take care of those who are grieving and when that's finished, they should know, we will follow them to the gates of hell until they are brought to justice because hell is where they will reside. Hell is where they will reside.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: We're going to have much more on ISIS and the beheading of Steven Sotloff in just a few moments. But first, to this, an announcement of hundreds of additional U.S. troops now being deployed to Baghdad. That brings the total to more than 1,000 American troops on the ground in Iraq right now.

Our Anna Coren is joining us from Erbil in the northern part of Iraq. Anna, 130 American troops were deployed last month to help with security, humanitarian efforts. Tell us what you're hearing about these additional hundreds of U.S. troops, now more than 1,000 U.S. troops, on the ground in Iraq. What's going on?

ANNA COREN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, interesting, isn't it, Wolf? Three hundred fifty U.S. extra troops on their way to Baghdad as we speak. Obviously, there to protect U.S. personnel. That has been the line from the U.S. administration the entire time. But I don't think anyone here is under any illusion that, you know, we know these people are here to assist and to advise, certainly the Iraqi forces and the Kurdish forces. There needs to be coordination, Wolf, on the ground, as far as that offensive goes.

Yes, the U.S. air strikes are happening. They are helping. They are certainly containing ISIS but it's not enough. The U.S. can conduct as many air strikes as they like but it's boots on the ground taking the fight to ISIS that is really going to make the difference. At the moment, the Kurdish and Iraqi forces are operating quite separately so there needs to be that coordinated approach.

We heard from the president whilst he was in Estonia, this part partnership, regionally and internationally, and that's not just to conduct more air strikes over Iraq and possibly Syria, if that's the way that the administration wants to go, but also arming certainly the Kurdish forces who are, at the moment, outgunned by the ISIS militants. They need training on how to operate these weapons and they also need a strategy. So, at the moment, Wolf, it is too haphazard and they really do need that coordination. And, really, the only country that can make that happen is the United States. So, you know, there's very little doubt, Wolf, that those people coming in, those extra troops, will be very much involved in that strategy here.

BLITZER: Anna Coren in northern Iraq for us where the U.S. continues air strikes against ISIS targets in Iraq. Not yet in Syria but in Iraq. We'll see what happens. Much more on this Iraq story coming up. Also, what's going on in Syria.

But I want to quickly get to the crisis in Ukraine and the message for President Obama to Ukraine and NATO members.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Just as we refuse to accept smaller European nations being dominated by bigger neighbors in the last century, we reject any talk of spheres of influence today. And just as we never accepted the occupation and illegal annexation of the Baltic nations, we will not accept Russia's occupation and illegal annexation of Crimea or any part of Ukraine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: The president making those comments in Estonia earlier today, just before leaving for the NATO summit in Wales. He's expected to land there later this hour.

Phil Black is joining us from Moscow right now. Many of the president's comments squarely aimed directly right at the Russian president, Vladimir Putin. Has there been any official reaction in Moscow, Phil, to the president's speech?

PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Not specifically, Wolf. No, silence really. But we know that there is much about this event that Russia and Moscow will not like. We know that one of Moscow's greatest geopolitical irritants has been the eastward expansion of NATO, the belief that NATO has swallowed up former Soviet states, including those right on Russia's border like the Baltics, like Estonia, where President Obama was today, and done so without any concern for Russian security interests. That's the Russia belief. So, President Putin will not be pleased that Obama was there today, using such strong language vowing to protect those allies and being so critical of Russia's actions and policies towards Ukraine.

We also know that Moscow is deeply unhappy with NATO's talk of expanding, ramping up its activities in this region with more training, rotating through more troops and prepositioning equipment resources as well. Moscow has already said that is provocative and it will adjust its military planning accordingly -- Wolf.

BLITZER: As you know, Russia continues to deny sending troops into Ukraine. I was talking, earlier in the day, with our own Diana Magnay. She's in Eastern Ukraine standing in front of some burnt-out tanks. And she showed us a Russian army-issued bag of rations. There you see it right there on the screen. Even as talk of a possible cease-fire surfaced earlier in the day, the Kremlin said it had no control of anything that's going on in Ukraine. How do they keep denying what clearly is evidence, direct evidence, that Russian troops, you see the bag there, Russian food, military supplies on the ground in front of those burnt-out, destroyed tanks, Russian tanks. Unclear whether those tanks are Ukrainian or Russian but clearly the suspicion is they are Russian.

BLACK: Wolf, they just do, really, with consistency. They had a narrative and they stick to it, regardless of how tenuous it seems at times. We've seen it before. We've seen it earlier this year. When Russian forces occupied Crimea, remember back then, those little gray men that Russia insisted were not theirs, it appears they are now doing the same in Eastern Ukraine as well.

Now, it doesn't carry much credibility internationally, that's clear. President Obama made that clear again today. Domestically, the government is able to get away with it with the help of Russian state media which very much champions the government position. Very much portrays the Ukrainian government. Even the United States, as the -- It says the real causes of instability, the real causes of the Ukrainian crisis.

President Obama tried to pick away at some of this today, talking about the propaganda, the Russian state media, which leads many people to believe that Russia here is getting stronger as a result of its policies in Ukraine, not weaker. He even went through point by point, blow by blow, the Russian narrative and tried to shoot down those many points that he believes are not true.

But it is a reality in this country, where many people only consume and watch Russian state media, that they will not get to see that part of the speech in its unedited form -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Pretty shocking stuff. Phil Black in Moscow for us. Thanks very much.

Let's get some more reaction now, U.S. reaction to a possible cease- fire in Ukraine. Our Global Affairs Correspondent Elise Labott is joining us here. What's been the reaction to the word that there might be some sort of cease-fire?

ELISE LABOTT, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, they're still trying to sort out the details, Wolf. But as you saw, President Putin laid out his own seven-point plan which would entail what would be needed for a cease-fire. And what State Department officials are telling me is that it doesn't address the real source of the problem which is these Russian troops inside Ukraine which is Russian-backed separatists with Russian equipment. And if you remember, several months ago, the president said one of the red lines for more robust action against Russia would be an actual movement into Ukraine with Russian troops.

And, today in his speech, he was pretty clear that that's happening. So, now the question is, what's going to happen at this NATO summit? Will there be concrete help for Ukraine? Today, NATO announced that 1,000 NATO troops would be taking part in joint exercises inside Ukraine later this month. President Putin responded by saying that 4,000 of his nuclear forces would be holding exercises. So, even as there's talk of a cease-fire, there are really signs of an escalation here.

BLITZER: Yes, Putin may not be ready to raise the ante, if you will, and go further.

Let's talk a little bit about ISIS, the beheading of Steven Sotloff, the American journalist, the second American now beheaded by ISIS. The president responded at a news conference in Estonia earlier this morning. Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Whatever these murderers think they'll achieve by killing innocent Americans like Steven, they have already failed. They failed because like people around the world, Americans are repulsed by their barbarism. We will not be intimidated. Their horrific acts only unite us as a country and stiffen our resolve to take the fight against these terrorists.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Strong words from the president. Even stronger words from the vice president, Joe Biden. A top state department official told CNN, stay tuned for details on what the U.S. is planning to do to combat ISIS. What are you hearing?

LABOTT: Well, they're still in the discussion phases. And the question is, how can the international community work together to combat ISIS? And that's what Secretary Kerry will be doing this week, later this next week when he travels to the Middle East. He'll be meeting with Mideast allies, saying, here is what the U.S. can do. How can you help? It's not just about military action. It's about drying up the finances, diplomatic action. But the real question, Wolf, is whether the U.S. would be undertaking strikes in Syria. The administration clearly not there yet but that's definitely on the table.

BLITZER: Yes, it looks like they're moving towards there but they're not there yet.

LABOTT: It sounds like that.

BLITZER: All right, thanks, Elise. Thanks very much.

Intelligence analysts, they are scouring the latest ISIS execution video. They're trying to determine when it was shot, where it was shot, whether the executioner was actually the same person who killed the journalist, James Foley.

CNN's Atika Shubert is joining us now from London. Atika, after Foley's death, the British ambassador of the United States told CNN they were getting close to identifying his killer. Do they think, where you are in London right now, that the person who executed Steven Sotloff is actually the same person who executed James Foley? Are they close to figuring out the identity of this murderer?

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's certainly what the video is set up with. He -- the militant in the video sets it up by saying, I'm back, Obama. He's dressed exactly the same. He even holds the same knife as the James Foley video did. So, it's set up to be the person but what investigators are now doing is they're analyzing that voice to see if it is, in fact, the same man or somebody who's just dressed up like him. They're also trying to figure out the exact time. It does appear that this video was shot at least a few days later. We can tell by the amount of hair growth on Sotloff in that. And it seems to be shot in a slightly different area.

So, these are all factors that investigators are looking at. Have they identified the man in that video? They certainly may have but they have not made that public yet. Because, remember, there's a lot at stake. Not only does the militant have the distinct British accent. But, of course, the next victim that they have threatened to behead is also a British hostage. So, Britain is very much now drawn into this.

BLITZER: And speaking of that British hostage, we saw him at the end of the video being threatened once again. What do we know about an effort, an earlier effort to try to rescue him?

SHUBERT: Yes, British foreign secretary, Phillip Hammond, referenced that earlier today, speaking to reporters saying that there had been an attempted rescue but it failed. He gave no other details. But this is very likely the same rescue attempt to get James Foley. So, it looks like it was a combined effort to try to get a number of hostages out that did not succeed. But Britain says it is determined to try and secure the safety of this hostage as soon as it can.

BLITZER: Atika Shubert in London watching this story. If we get confirmation of the identity of the killer, if we get more information about this third hostage who is now being threatened, let us know. Atika, we'll get back to you.

President Obama clearly under fire not only from Republicans but even from some Democrats for not doing enough or saying enough to stop ISIS. Newt Gingrich standing by. We'll discuss with him.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JANE HARMAN (D), FORMER U.S. REPRESENTATIVE: I think it's time for him to say more and do more. I'm sad he ducked questions on his way to the airplane. Delivering his first remarks in Estonia rather than at America at a time when this country's grieving about this I think perhaps was not the best decision.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: That's former Congresswoman Jane Harman, a California Democrat, offering some criticism of President Obama for his policy towards the militant terror group ISIS after the beheading of a second American citizen. Let's discuss with the former speaker of the House, one of the co-hosts of CNN's "CROSSFIRE," Newt Gingrich.

Newt, thanks very much for joining us.

Would you support an immediate decision by the president to launch air strikes against ISIS targets in Syria?

NEWT GINGRICH, CO-HOST, CNN'S "CROSSFIRE": Absolutely. But I would also call on the president to design a real strategy which has to recognize that ISIS is a lot like a virus. It's not just a nation state. The Islamic State by itself is not the key. There are over 10,000 foreign potential terrorists now operating with the Islamic State. There are 600, I think Britains, over 100 Americans. We just had two people from Minneapolis killed. We don't appreciate the degree to which this is a viral epidemic that is spreading across the plant and it's very, very dangerous to all of us.

BLITZER: You're the former speaker of the House. Does the president need congressional authorization to go ahead and effectively go to war against ISIS in Syria?

GINGRICH: No, I think the president, under his commander in chief power, has the ability, as long as the Congress appropriates money, to do what he thinks is necessary to protect America. But I think what's more important is -- and the president, by accident, said it last week, we have no strategies. You know, the vice president today talked about going to the gates of hell. Well, that's exactly the phrase he used in the vice presidential debate talking about Benghazi. We get lots of words, occasionally we get some tactical action, but there is today no strategy for dealing with radical Islamism across the planet. BLITZER: Well, how far would you go right now, not only in Iraq but in

Syria and elsewhere to deal with this problem? Because as you well know, Newt, the American public is war weary after what the U.S. endured in Afghanistan and Iraq.

GINGRICH: Sure. Well, I think the American people are very weary of risking American lives and spending American money and not seeing an effective result. Prime Minister Cameron in Britain has begun changing the rules so you can lose your passport if you go to Syria. They're talking about taking very severe steps in Great Britain to clamp down on people who are arguing in favor of the Islamic State. No, I think we're going to have to look at some very serious steps here at home. We should be very bothered that over 100 young Americans have already been recruited and are currently in Syria and Iraq. This is a real danger to all of us. And I think you've got to design a strategy not just for Iraq and Syria, but you have to recognize, if you have 10,000 potential terrorists from over 50 countries now operating with the Islamic state, this is a big worldwide problem and we don't have today a strategy in any way comparable to the threat we're facing.

BLITZER: Yes, yesterday, Mike McCaul, the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, actually told me that number was between 100 and 200 Americans now operating, working together with ISIS and some of the other terror groups in the region. That's the way he phrased it.

Let's talk about Ukraine for a moment. How far should the U.S. go in dealing with the Russian president, Putin, when it comes to Russian incursions, as the U.S. calls it, into Ukraine?

GINGRICH: Well, NATO should provide equipment and training and should provide intelligence to enable the Ukrainians to defend themselves and should indicate clearly to Putin that you've got to draw a line. You cannot tolerate the Russians, in effect, inch by inch, occupying eastern Ukraine. I think we also are going to have to move NATO assets to Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania to make very clear that being a member of NATO means you will be protected and we're not going to tolerate Putin trying to expand to the old Russian empire.

It's been very troubling to me, as somebody who used to study history, to listen to Putin use language that goes all the way back to the 18th century czars in describing the eastern parts of Ukraine. And it's a very dangerous patterns he's getting into of behaving as though he can annex item by item everything he wants around the Russian periphery. I think that has to be stopped or it gets very, very dangerous.

BLITZER: And as Phil Black, our reporter in Moscow, told us earlier, what he's doing, and this is very worrisome, seems to be very, very popular with the Russians back home. Newt Gingrich --

GINGRICH: Absolutely.

BLITZER: Yes, Newt Gingrich, thanks very much for joining us.

Just ahead, pressure building on President Obama to take action against ISIS, not only in Iraq but in Syria. We're going to examine the policy, the politics of his effort to confront this terrorist group.

Plus, the brutal killer behind the black mask. Investigators trying to find out if the same ISIS killer who executed Steven Sotloff is the same person who did the same thing to James Foley. The clues they are zeroing in on. That's coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Our reach is long and justice will be served. Those words today from President Obama, directed at the terror group ISIS following the execution of a second American in two weeks. But is the president sending a mixed message about his plans for confronting ISIS? Let's discuss with our chief political analyst Gloria Borger, our chief national security correspondent Jim Sciutto. He's joining us today from Newport, Rhode Island, where he's getting ready to interview the secretary of defense.

Gloria, the killing of Steven Sotloff, it's clearly going to put a lot of pressure on the president to ramp this situation up.

GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes, I think -

BLITZER: Take direct action against ISIS not only in Iraq but in Syria.

BORGER: Yes, I think we heard that, a little bit of that, the effect of that today. I think it's clear that members of Congress, both Democrats and Republicans, are talking about authorizing air strikes. You've got a Democrat in the Senate who's going to put that on the table in the Senate. I think you've had these two beheadings. It's different in many ways from the way it was when you think back to a year ago when the president was thinking about getting congressional authorization for air strikes in Syria because of that red line on chemical weapons.

There was a point at which he could not get congressional approval. Fast forward a year later, now, it would seem to me that if the president specifically outlined his strategy, his goals, the mission, the limits of the mission, what he's willing to do to the American people, I think Congress would be there with him.

BLITZER: What are you hearing, Jim, from your sources? We know the president's going to spend today and tomorrow in Wales at the NATO Summit. He'll be back over the weekend. What are you hearing about a time line when the president might directly address the American people, the Congress, and lay out a specific strategy for dealing with ISIS?

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: You know, frankly, U.S. officials aren't saying at this point. I think you heard more urgency in the president's comments this morning than we've heard from the president before, talking about degrading or destroying ISIS going forward. You heard Vice President Joe Biden take it even a step further, saying that the U.S. will follow ISIS to the gates of hell.

So now after these beheadings, you have more -- more of a forward- leaning public posture. But we know, in the past several months, with the way this administration has responded to other crises, in Iraq, in Syria, in Ukraine, that the president wants to get his goals in mind, the best options in place, before he makes a decision that he doesn't want to -- I think Tom Friedman wrote about this in "The New York Times," he doesn't want to fire, ready, aim. He wants to be ready, aim, fire, to get all his ducks in a row before he makes a decision, particularly on military action.

BLITZER: Listen to what the president said today about ISIS and potentially military action. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Our objective is clear, and that is to degrade and destroy ISIL so that it's no longer a threat, not just to Iraq, but also the region and to the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Later, he also spoke about shrinking the ISIS so-called sphere of influence and effectiveness and financing of its military capabilities, where the problem is manageable. That's the phrase -- the word the president used.

Gloria, is he sending some sort of mixed message here when he says degrade and destroy but also manage?

BORGER: Right. Yes. I think you can sense his own ambivalence here about what ought to be done. I mean he wants to destroy it, but then manage it. I mean what he is effectively saying is there has to be some limits to an American mission that we can't expect that we're going to completely eradicate ISIS with the kinds of things that we're going to be doing, but we can make it manageable. I would argue that perhaps that means -- and I think he needs to explain it, that what he might mean by that is that he would -- he would guarantee that they would be unable to strike the homeland. But, again, that question of manageable is going to be an issue that people are going to be picking apart.

BLITZER: Yes, and we're going to -- I'm sure Jim Sciutto's going to be going through a lot of this. Jim is standing by. He's going to be interviewing the secretary of defense at the naval war college in Rhode Island, where you are, and I'm sure you're going to get into all these points, not only on what to do about ISIS, with Ukraine, a lot more. That interview will air live right here on CNN, 3:00 p.m. Eastern. Ukraine, ISIS, the terror threat. Jim Sciutto's interview with Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel. You will see it live right here on CNN, 3:00 p.m. Eastern.

Up next, much more on President Obama and his message to ISIS. He says justice will be served, but does the threat fall sort of flat, or without a clear strategy on what to do in Syria? We'll take a closer look.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)