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Political Debate in U.S. Over Fight Against ISIS; Call for United Front to Fight Terror Group; Kerry Reaction Utter Disbelief; Will GOP's Actions Hinder Iran Nuclear Talks; Interview with Sen. Susan Collins; Hillary Clinton E-mail Investigation Widens; Iraqi Forces Take Back Two Hospitals from ISIS; U.S. Military Helicopter Crashes During Training Mission

Aired March 11, 2015 - 13:00   ET

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

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Wolf Blitzer. It's 1:00 p.m. here in Washington, 5:00 p.m. in London, 7:00 p.m. in Jerusalem, 8:00 p.m. in Baghdad. Wherever you're watching from around the world, thanks very much for joining us.

Up first, there is a huge political debate here in the United States over the fight against ISIS. President Obama has now asked Congress for authorization to wage the campaign that's actually already underway against the terrorist group. At a hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, secretary of state John Kerry said approval from Congress would send a strong message to ISIS, also known as DAESH.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KERRY, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: -- that there is an overwhelming consensus that DAESH has to be stopped. Our nation is strongest, always has been, when we act together. There's a great tradition in this country of foreign policy having a special place that politics ends at the water's edge and that we will act on behalf of our nation without regard to party ideology. We simply cannot allow this collection of murderers and thugs to achieve in their group their ambition.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Let's bring in our Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr. Barbara, what are the main concerns that lawmakers have right now about the President's authorization for the use of military force, that request, the AUMF as it's called?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, what the senators are talking about is one of their biggest concerns is could a new authorization open the door to the administration being able to send a large number of ground combat forces into Iraq? And what we're talking about are those traditional military units, large battalions, brigades, formations truly in ground combat. A lot of concern that if they vote for this, this is where it could all lead.

Now, secretary of State, John Kerry, says absolutely not. And he offers some very interesting reasoning about why the U.S. will not send ground troops into the region. Have a listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KERRY: The implications of that would be actually to aid in the recruitment, to create a bigger problem than we face today. And in the answer to the question that was asked earlier, why does -- why do these guys like taking us on, to some degree? Because if it's just us, that's how they grow. And that's what they want. And we're not getting suckered into that. That's why we built this 62 coalition. That's why we worked so hard to get these five Arab countries engaged in the kinetic activities with us is precisely to deny them that narrative.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: So, what they're talking about is that this will be different, different, they say, than the previous U.S.-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. This will be a coalition effort and it will continue to be a coalition effort because if it did become solely a U.S. ground effort, that would give ISIS that edge to recruit even more fighters because the view would be that it's the U.S., again, invading, if you will, that part of the world. But ISIS, it has to be said, doing pretty good on recruiting still -- Wolf.

BLITZER: As you know, Barbara, the President has often said in the past he already has the authority to act against ISIS, doesn't even need any new legislation, any new authorization. The U.S. coalition has been carrying out air strikes for months. So, why is the President now seeking a three-year new authorization bill?

STARR: Yes, it's a great question. Technically, the White House says they don't really need it. But, you know, things have moved on from the old authorizations that were mainly focused on Al Qaeda. Now, you know, 14 years or so later, focused on ISIS. And the sense of it is that this would send a message, if you will, a signal to the coalition partners and even to U.S. troops that the administration very serious about it. It wants to dot all the Is, cross of the Ts, to use that cliche, to have everything legally set out. But, again, this authorization vague in some areas. A lot of concern by members of Congress that it is not as precise as they would like it to be. But the administration still wanting to give itself some leeway -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, Barbara, thanks very much. Barbara Starr at the Pentagon. The secretary of state, John Kerry's, call for unity against ISIS comes at a time when there's a serious partisan divide over Iran's -- the nuclear talks with Iran. In a letter to Iran's leaders, 47 U.S. Senate Republicans warned that any deal reached now might not exist past the current presidency. During today's hearing, the secretary of state was asked how he reacted to this letter.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KERRY: My reaction to the letter was utter disbelief. During my 29 years here in the Senate, I never heard of nor even heard of it being proposed, anything comparable to this. If I had, I can guarantee you, no matter what the issue and no matter who was president, I would have certainly rejected it. I think no one is questioning anybody's right to dissent. Any senator can go to the floor any day and raise any of the questions that were raised in that.

But the right to the leaders in the middle of a negotiation, particularly the leaders that they have criticized other people for even engaging with or writing to, to write them and suggest that they're going to give a constitutional lesson, which by the way was absolutely incorrect, is quite stunning.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: All right, let's talk about this with one Republican senator, one of seven who did not sign that letter. Susan Collins of Maine is joining us. She's a key member of the Senate Intelligence Committee. Congressman, give me your reaction to what we just heard from your former Senate colleague, John Kerry.

SEN. SUSAN COLLINS (R), MAINE: I think that the letter did represent the wrong approach. Our job in the Senate is to give advice to the President, to the negotiators, to Secretary Kerry. I don't think it's the right approach nor our job to write to the Iranians and tell them how our constitutional system works. So, I think the letter was a mistake, even though I, too, believe that Congress -- that the Senate, rather, should be involved in reviewing the ultimate agreement if there is one between our government and the Iranian government.

BLITZER: If the letter, Senator, would have been addressed, let's say, to the President of the United States or addressed to the American people, would you have signed that letter?

COLLINS: If the letter had been to the President or Secretary Kerry and had outlined what we think should be the goals of the agreement and the fact that the agreement should come before the Senate for consideration, I would have signed such a letter. But that's not what this letter was.

BLITZER: Yes, that's absolutely correct. What do you want the role of the Senate to be? Because the White House is making it clear whatever deal there is -- and there's no deal yet. There might not even be a deal. But it's say there is a deal. The White House is saying this will not be a treaty which would never have to go, necessarily, to the U.S. Senate. They said the only role the Senate would have and the House of Representatives, presumably, would be to ease sanctions imposed by Congress against Iran as part of this deal, because only Congress can ease or reverse some of those sanctions.

COLLINS: It's certainly true that the sanctions are part of the laws, so the President has some authority to ease the sanctions. But if he's going to lift them substantially, he has to come to Congress. But it's also important that he bring the agreement to the Senate and have us look at it, review it and give our advice and consent or our disagreement to it.

The President is making a real mistake when he does not communicate with the Senate. That's part of what's wrong here in Washington. And he should want the Senate to review an agreement that has such important ramifications for the security of our country, the Middle East, Israel. And it's an extremely important agreement, provided one is reached by the end of this month. I don't understand the administration's resistance to bringing the agreement to the Senate. And that's why there's bipartisan support for a bill introduced by Senators Corker and Menendez to require the administration to bring us the agreement and to let us express our view on it.

BLITZER: Would there be a formal roll call vote on this agreement? Is that -- because reviewing -- you can obviously review it. You'll -- everybody will read it. It'll be made public. You can review it. The question is, will it require some sort of vote in the United States Senate in order to go into effect?

COLLINS: It should, in my judgment. I view this as being very similar to a treaty where we pass a resolution of ratification that either tells the President that he can go ahead and ratify the agreement or he shouldn't ratify the agreement that takes a two-thirds vote of the Senate. And I would think the President would want to have the Senate work its will on this agreement. And if it's a good agreement, then we would be happy to endorse it. If it actually leads to the Iranians dismantling their nuclear capability, I think all of us would happily be for it.

But it's an important role for the Senate to play. And in contrast to the letter, which I thought was an inappropriate role, it is appropriate for every senator to cast a vote on whether or not the President should proceed with this agreement with the Iranians.

BLITZER: We'll see if they heed your advice, Senator. I know you've got a lot of members who would -- who would like the President to accept that advice. But as of now, they're making it clear they do not regard any agreement, if it emerges as a treaty which would indeed need to go to a vote, at some point, for a resolution of ratification in the U.S. Senate.

All right, Senator, thanks very much for joining us. Susan Collins of Maine, always good to have you here on CNN.

COLLINS: Thank you, Wolf.

BLITZER: Coming up, ISIS making gains in Iraq and now launching a new attack in Syria. We're going to show you where and what's being done to hold them back.

And Hillary Clinton's news conference failing to put an end to the controversy over a use of those private e-mails. Now those who work with her, they may have to answer some questions as well.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Iraqi forces are pressing ahead with their offensive to retake the city of Tikrit from ISIS. The joint military forces say they're now in control of the city's military hospital.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP) BLITZER (voice-over): Troops have been steadily advancing on Tikrit, that's the birthplace of Saddam Hussein. It fell to ISIS last June. Iraqi forces say ISIS fighters are retreating toward the center of the city. But today, ISIS launched a new military offensive on another Iraqi city, Ramadi.

An official there says the city is being attacked, quote, "from all directions."

(END VIDEOCLIP)

BLITZER (on camera): Let's go to our senior international correspondent, Ben Wedeman. He's joining us now from Baghdad.

Ben, how significant is it that these Iraqi forces together with their Shiite militia allies, Iranian revolutionary guard advisers, they've retaken at least that hospital in Tikrit?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONA CORRESPONDENT: Yes, not just the hospital, Wolf, but also a neighborhood to the north called Alcaldesa (ph), and also they've taken another hospital on the southern edge of the city previously known as Saddam hospital. So, they do seem to be gaining ground.

And we understand that really the only ISIS fighters who are left are foreign fighters who are ready to die in the battle. Many of the Iraqi fighters, perhaps not quite as committed to the cause of ISIS, have left the city. They were the ones that we were reporting earlier who had received instructions to shave off their beards, cut their hair, put on civilian clothing and sneak out with fleeing civilians. But as they're making progress in Tikrit, the situation in Ramadi is somewhat worrying.

The attack is now over, but the city is on extremely high alert after this attack which came from a variety of directions, as many as 17 car bombs and truck bombs at security checkpoints, at government facilities. We understand that four Iraqi policemen were killed. As many as 100 have been wounded in this attack as well as more than 30 civilians.

Now, in addition to that, there's been a car bomb in the Hariya neighborhood of northeast Baghdad where 11 people were killed and many more wounded. So, ISIS may be on the run in some areas, but it hasn't certainly retreated from others.

Wolf?

BLITZER: We're also hearing that there's some new battles going on, ISIS making a major offensive along the Syrian/Turkish border. What do we know about that?

WEDEMAN: That's in northeastern Syria in a town called Roseline (ph) which is right on the Turkish/Syrian border. According to the reports we're hearing, it's been a fairly concerted attack there as well by ISIS and it looks like they may be trying to repeat what they tried but failed in the town of Kobani, a Kurdish town right on -- not far from there on the Syrian/Turkish border.

Now, the question is, you know, in Kobani, it was really due to the coalition air strikes that eventually ISIS was defeated in that area. So, it may be another repeat of that. It may, however, be that ISIS is desperate for some sort of battlefield victory. It's been a while since they've had any, really since before Kobani. And this may be a way to lash out as they're losing territory in parts of Syria, in the north in Iraq, in the Kurdish areas as well as in Tikrit. Wolf?

BLITZER: Ben Wedeman in Baghdad for us, watching what's going on. Ben, thank you very, very much.

Coming up, a U.S. military training mission goes horribly wrong off the coast of northwest Florida. Seven U.S. Marines, four U.S. Army crewmen, they're all feared dead in this helicopter crash. We're going to get the latest on the search and the investigation. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

BLITZER: We have the breaking news in the search for 11 U.S. service members presumed dead in a helicopter crash off the coast of northwest Florida. We're expecting to get new details any moment now in the crash and the search for bodies. We're awaiting a news conference. We'll bring it to you live once it happens.

Military officials now say human remains have washed ashore near Eglin Air Force Base, the accident happening during a foggy night time training mission.

CNN anchor Victor Blackwell is joining us now live from Hammond, Louisiana, that's where the helicopter was based.

Victor, I know you have some new information on the investigation. What are you learning?

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: New information from both the officials at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina and from the officials there at Eglin Air Force Base, Wolf. First, the only glimmer of good news in this entire story, that the weather is starting to clear there in the search area. The fog had been such a major problem hampering the Coast Guard efforts, the Florida fish and wildlife efforts to find the victims of this now-determined still missing, some officials believe they're all presumed dead there.

We also know that from officials there is in Camp Lejeune that the relatives of the Marines who were on board that Black Hawk that went down, they are in the process now of being notified and a command level official is en route from Camp Lejeune to Eglin Air Force Base. Of course, this all happened on a foggy night, last night, during a training mission involving two Black Hawks from this station here at Louisiana Army National Guard.

One of them went down, the other landed safely. We're told the Marines on board that Black Hawk that landed safely, they have not yet been questioned or screened, but they will be screened to find out if they can give any indication, any idea about what happened here. It was very foggy, and we're told by a spokesperson from Eglin that there were weather issues. It's not abnormal for these training missions to happen in inclement weather. But they have not yet determined if that is the sole contributor to this accident, Wolf.

BLITZER: So, this investigation, Victor, clearly just beginning. Once again, we're standing by for a news conference. We'll have live coverage once it begins. Victor, don't go too far away. We'll check back with you as well. A very, very sad story for these Marines and soldiers.

Still to come, his family says ISIS recruited him but the extremist group says he was spying on them and his death is sending shock waves across the region. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer reporting from Washington.

ISIS is also waging a war on social media. Brutal new video has emerged of an Israeli Arab man being shot and killed by a child. The video is so horrific, CNN has decided not to show any part of it, and that includes still pictures from the video. In it, ISIS claimed the victim was an Israeli spy. CNN's global affairs correspondent Elise Labott is joining us now live from Jerusalem.

Elise, tell us what the Israeli defense minister is saying about this ISIS claim.

ELISE LABOTT, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, The defense minister claimed that even though 19-year-old Mohamed Musallam had Israeli citizenship, he was a Palestinian that held Israeli citizenship and his family lived in East Jerusalem, he was not, I repeat, not a member of Mossad or had any ties to Israeli intelligence, which was the claim that Mussallam did in this confession that definitely appeared to be under duress in this video, Wolf.