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NEW DAY

CDC Scenario: Major Spike in Ebola Cases; What's Next in Battle Against ISIS?; Refugees Flee from ISIS into Turkey; Wife of Alan Henning Releases Statement; Obama to Speak to U.N.

Aired September 24, 2014 - 06:30   ET

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


CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: We get what it would take for it to get better and there's going to be that question about what does the rest of the world do. But let me ask you something, you are there, in Liberia, I know you wanted to go. I know you're very passionate about this, in spreading the word.

What is it like to be on the ground there when you know there is this deadly virus everywhere?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: For me, personally, I, you know I'm obviously careful. And I don't get you know, near Ebola patients. This is not spread through the air. So if you're standing at a distance, that's not considered a risky activity.

But, you know, it's definitely a different place than I imagine it was before. When you meet people, you don't shake hands, you keep your distance, some people sort of do this kind of elbow-bump thing, that way you're not touching people's hands, but you can tell that people are aware. You never kind of get away from the virus, it's always here.

CUOMO: Well, look, it's interesting detail from our perspective, it's also important for you to show, that can be the reality, if Ebola is on the ground where people are living.

So be safe. Thank you for the reporting. And we'll be back with you, Elizabeth.

A lot of news this morning, let's get to John Berman, in for Michaela. He's got the top stories.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks so much, Chris.

A life sentence for Suleiman Abu Ghaith, Osama bin Laden's son-in-law. He was once seen as a sort of spokesman for al Qaeda. The decision handed down in New York makes Abu Ghaith the highest-ranking al Qaeda operative to be convicted and punished in a U.S. civilian court. He was found guilty in March on three counts of conspiring to kill Americans and providing material support for terrorists, there is no possibility of parole.

The Iraq war veteran who reached White House security and ran into the executive mansion was questioned twice by secret service agents recently. Once after a traffic stop when troopers discovered an illegal shotgun and a map of Washington, with the White House circled. And of course inside the car of Omar Gonzales, that's his name. And again, outside the White House when he was stopped with a hatchet in his waistband. Both times Secret Service agents determined that Gonzalez, the man with the hatchet in his waistband, was not a threat.

Three people are dead after a former employee opened fire inside a UPS warehouse in Birmingham, Alabama, the gunman identified as 45-year-old Joe Tesney had just been fired a day earlier. Police say two higher- ranking workers at the facility were targeted and killed before the Tesney took his own life. It's not clear why the married father of two had been fired.

The annual Clinton Global Initiative will wrap up today in New York City. The Clintons will participate in panels today, including issues such as equality for girls and women and investing in babies' minds. There's a growth opportunity there.

This year marks 10 years of the conference, established by the former president to discuss solutions to world problems.

And do not miss this, in New York today, the former president will be interviewed by CNN's own Erin Burnett in a special town hall, and you can see excerpts tonight on "ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT", and then at 9:00 p.m., the complete interview airs. "President Bill Clinton: A CNN Special Town Hall with Erin Burnett."

So much going on in the world. That should be fascinating.

Also fascinating, the weather, which I think may be bleak here in the Northeast, so let's get to meteorologist Indra Petersons for that.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Fascinating.

INDRA PETERSONS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: You said it, not me. We're talking about rain up the coast. We're talking about rain on the West Coast and on the East Coast.

Let's track what's going on on the Eastern Seaboard. Just in keep in mind, plenty of available moisture, why? Because the low is on the ocean. So, all the water making its way in. We're talking about rain concentrated around the Carolinas, but slowly making its way in to the mid-Atlantic.

So, by tomorrow, mid-Atlantic and the Northeast, you're going to be talking about the bull's eye for the showers kind of filling in there. But it's not going to be the only thing.

We're talking about heavy rain, two to four inches of it as this guy really takes its time. It's really going to be the story, even as we get in through Friday before it finally clears out of here.

So with that, we have a system moving in, so we have wind, really building up. We're talking some good wind. It could mean delays at some airports, 30, 40-mile-per-hour winds are going to be out there as the system again continues to climb. You see the winds increasing the farther north that you are as you go throughout the day today. Also, on the back side of this, keep in mind, it is a system, so we're

talking about cool air, as it makes its way closer. Look at the temperatures dive down to the 60s to New York City, and same for Boston. Once it kicks out of here by the weekend, more importantly you're going to see the cold air kick out and it looks nice just in time. So, not a spoiler completely.

BALDWIN: It's been so nice. I'm not complaining.

BERMAN: The glass is half full here.

BALDWIN: I'm little glass half full.

BERMAN: Three inches of rain, 40-mile-per-hour winds, and all you can say is glass half full.

BALDWIN: I know what's going on. She just moved to New York. It's nice now.

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: Berman is bringing a little bite in the morning.

BALDWIN: I know, half empty, half full.

CUOMO: Here's the good news: you get the cool air, OK, you get the rain. It's true.

BALDWIN: Are you explaining science to us?

CUOMO: No, I don't care about science. I care about fishing. And when the ocean cools off the fishing picks up.

BALDWIN: Is that how that works?

CUOMO: It's exactly how it works. Isn't that right, science?

PETERSONS: Fishing forecast from Cuomo daily from here on out, Brooke.

CUOMO: Thank you very much.

We are talking here in the main about fighting ISIS this morning. Is the U.S. winning? Qualified term. What does that mean? Pentagon scrambling to figure out if the first wave hit its targets, what shape ISIS and Khorasan is in now?

A former NATO commander joins us with answers, next.

BALDWIN: And a plea from the wife of Alan Henning. That British hostage being held by ISIS. What message did the terror group send her?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: And welcome back to NEW DAY. A much quieter night in Syria following the launch of air strikes late Monday. No strikes overnight confirmed by the Pentagon, but so many questions linger for this battle against ISIS. What lies ahead, exactly how effective will the strikes be? How will this coalition, how will the nations work together to split the burden?

And then, of course, looking forward -- if the strikes don't slow is, could the U.S. and troops send troops into combat despite repeated denials from the White House?

Let's ask retired U.S. Naval Admiral James Stavridis. He's a former supreme allied commander at NATO and joins me this morning from Boston.

Admiral, good morning.

ADMIRAL JAMES STAVRIDIS (RET), U.S. NAVY: Good morning, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Let's begin bigger picture. We know thus far that no new territory has been re-seized by the U.S. or the coalition. It's been about intense strikes that first Monday night.

Given that fact, how effective was the first wave of strikes and how effective will that be without a really strong group presence on the ground?

STAVRIDIS: Two different questions, we'll know more about the effectiveness of the first three waves of strike I think in the next 24 hours. Right now, the Pentagon, Department of Defense, the intel agencies are listening to chatter on the cell phone circuits, looking closely at the internet, using satellite and overhead images to evaluate.

Hopefully, we'll get good news that some of the leaders of Khorasan have been caught up in the tomahawk strikes. We'll know more shortly.

In terms of longer-term activity, I think, overtime, we're going to need to get some boots on the ground. If not U.S., certainly coalition to help make the strikes more precise and more timely.

BALDWIN: How do you convince the coalition members to provide boots on the ground? Especially if the U.S., at least thus far, is not willing to do so?

STAVRIDIS: Well, as the NATO commander, I led the coalition in Afghanistan and also the one in Libya, and the word I would have for you is patience. You've got to work carefully with coalition partners, because each country has a different culture, has a different set of what are called caveats, things that they will not do, or will do. And each nation has a different political dynamic at work.

So, this is something our diplomats are going to have to work along with our military personnel to make sure that we move the coalition to do collectively what we need to get done. BALDWIN: You know, hearing from the administration officials, we know

that initial first wave, this is the beginning of a potentially very, very long fight, we don't know what the future looks like as far as targets and waves of an attack. What will you be looking for and listening for?

You mentioned potentially taking out some of the leaders which would be a huge win for the U.S. and this coalition. How -- what will success look like moving forward?

STAVRIDIS: Well, I think the key is to put ISIS, the Islamic state, under a three-front war, under real pressure from the north, by arming the Peshmerga, who can come down from reactivating the Iraqi army, pushing it to the north, coming up from the south and then the strikes in the West and Syria.

If we put three-front pressure on the Islamic State, we will see that they are not ten feet tall, very different situation than at the moment when they enjoy the interior position and can sortie to the north or to the west. The three-front attack is going to be key.

BOLDUAN: So, three-front attack being key. But how concerned would you be knowing that Congress said yes to training these moderate Syrian rebels, but they may not be ready to roll for potentially another 18 months, you have the air strikes. You have the lag time before they're ready to fight.

Does that concern you?

STAVRIDIS: It does. And I think we need to continually reexamine the situation. We saw General Marty Dempsey talk recently about ultimately presenting more options as the situation changes. Over time, the possibility of putting at least Special Forces into Syria to make the attacks very precise may be an attractive option. We'll see.

We also need to press on our coalition partners, particularly the Arab nations, to be part of that effort. Perhaps the most significant thing about these strikes, Brooke, is the fact that the Arab nations participated. That's a very good sign.

BALDWIN: What about Turkey? There were questions over Turkey's involvement. I mean, basically, you can stand on the border of Turkey and see the black ISIS flag waving in Syria. We know that there was the issue of 40-plus hostages that were they're dealing with tens of hundreds of thousands of refugees in Turkey.

What role do you see Erdogan and Turkey playing here moving forward?

STAVRIDIS: I think we've heard from President Erdogan as recently as yesterday, saying that Turkey will do its part. I take that at face value, they're very important bases, including Incirlik air base in eastern Turkey, that could be very important.

And, of course, Turkey is a NATO member. This is a NATO border. And as a former NATO supreme allied commander, I can tell you, the more we can involve NATO in this activity, the better. So, I think Turkey will be with this coalition over time, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Finally, just looping back to your point about leaders being killed. There are reports that the leader of the al Nusra Front, the al Qaeda-linked al Nusra Front says its leader was killed in the air strikes. If so, what kind of blow would that be to the group?

STAVRIDIS: It would be significant, but not lethal, not existential. As we've seen repeatedly, these groups have the capability to move people up from within. But let's hope that the leadership has been killed, it's a start. As we say in that part of the world, inshallah. Let's hope he's been taken out at least.

BALDWIN: Admiral (NAME), thank you so much for joining me this morning from Boston. Really appreciate your expertise and your time. Thank you, sir, very much.

STAVRIDIS: Thanks, Brooke.

BALDWIN: And President Obama, you know, he has a really tough sell ahead of him while he tries to rally support for the fight against ISIS in his U.N. general assembly speech later today. So, stay tuned to CNN, we'll take it live.

We will talk next with former U.N. ambassador and secretary of state, Madeline Albright. She will be here to join about what the president faces in this fight and the current secretary of state, John Kerry, joins us live. We also have Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby, White House spokesman Josh Earnest, and former NATO commander General Wesley Clark all lined up, coming on NEW DAY. Stay here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: The strikes in Syria are news all over the world, but it matters most on the streets of the Mid East. Remember, five Arab nations are participating in the attack. So, what is the reaction in that part of the world?

CNN has reporters in several of the hot zones. Let's begin with Max Foster in Abu Dhabi. Max?

MAX FOSTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Chris, leaders of the Arab countries that have joined the U.S. coalition against ISIS in Syria have actually been uncharacteristically open about both their involvement and their motivations. For example, the UAE's minister of foreign affairs here has spoken out on the militant threat, saying that nobody is immune, that everyone is threatened. Regional leaders can't afford to be passive.

So, an editorial, Chris, in the national newspaper here in Abu Dhabi set out the reasons behind what's become a battle for a true definition of Sunni Islam. It reads, "The perversion of ideology and religion that ISIL represents poses a real danger to the region. It's not an ideology that can be easily defeated. Air strikes are our first step, and for all the pain and suffering it'll bring. An essential one, but it's not the end." And obviously, as well as the Gulf nations, Jordan has also been

involved in the U.S.-lead assault. A senior government spokesman there telling CNN that the country needs to safeguard its borders and will preempt any effort by ISIS to cross it. All of this sure to play out at the UNGA there in New York, Chris.

CUOMO: Well, it's a point well made. It's not just a military war, it's a war for the soul of Islam. And the people are paying the price. Civil war has been. Thank you very much, Max Foster.

Civil war has been ongoing for years in Syria, and now with recent events there's a huge humanitarian crisis. Tens of thousands of Syrians fleeing the violence first from the war, now the war against ISIS.

So, let's get to Phil Black, he is live from the Turkey-Syria border. A very important place to be right now. What's the situation?

PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Chris, I'm surrounded by those that I guess you could describe as the lucky ones. These are the ones that have lost everything to ISIS, but have not lost their lives.

They've made it into Turkey from a cross in Syria. They have security, but they have suffered enormously. These are the people who over the last week have watched their towns and villages come under attack. The say they've seen people die.

In fear, they grabbed what they could, they grabbed their children. They trekked through the northern Syria to the border with Turkey, and there over the weekend there was a massive influx of refugees. Some 140,000 people crossed the border.

Turkish authorities just couldn't keep them back. But now the Turks are really regulating things, letting them through very slowly. So, some of these people that you're seeing here still holding on to their few precious belongings. These are people that have spent some days, waiting across the border before finally being let in today where they're undergoing medical checks. They're being searched, they're being registered as refugees. And from here they will be taken to refugee camps or to be settled with other family members who are already here.

They have suffered, there is no doubt. They do not know when they can get home. When you talk to them, they say now they don't care who runs Syria. They just want to go home and live peacefully, Chris.

CUOMO: Alright, Phil, also important to be there. Thank you for the reporting because Turkey, when asked about its involvement, often points out the humanitarian aspect that they are dealing with.

Now, another human aspect to this. The hostages. Remember that ISIS is holding many, too many. There's still innocents in the balance here. Brand new this morning audio of one of them, British aid worker, Alan Henning. Henning's wife, Barbara, receiving a deeply disturbing audio recording of Henning, pleading for his life. Erin McLaughlin joins us from London with the latest on that. Erin, what do we know? ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Chris. The wife of

47-year-old British aid worker, Alan Henning, releasing an emotional statement via Britain's foreign office this morning that reads in part, "I and people representing me continue to reach out to those holding Alan. Islamic State continue to ignore our pleas to open dialogue. I have been told that he has been to a Sharia court and found innocent of being a spy, and declared to be no threat. I implore the Islamic State to abide by the decisions of their own justice system. Please release Alan."

Now, Henning was a taxi driver from Manchester, known as a cabbie with a heart of gold there. His wife pleading today for his release. As for his captors, one of them known as jihadi John by the British pres here, he's appeared masked in those grisly ISIS videos. British authorities saying they are close to confirming his identity. The British prime minister, David Cameron, vowing just yesterday to bring him to justice, whether that be in Syria or here in the United Kingdom. Chris?

CUOMO: Well, Erin, they obviously have their own home-grown terror issue in the UK, but they're supposed to be a major part of the coalition. There were big question marks surrounding their role in this first wave of air strikes.

What do you hear about what the UK will contribute to the coalition?

MCLAUGHLIN: That's right. Well, there's speculation here this morning, in the United Kingdom, that British Prime Minister David Cameron could recall parliament on the question of British involvement in air strikes as early as Friday.

He's expected to make a speech at the U.N. general assembly later today on ISIS, as well as the situation in Iraq. Perhaps we'll hear more then, but members of the opposition party saying that they would be open to concrete proposals to that effect. Chris?

CUOMO: Alright, Erin. We'll be waiting on that. Thank you for the reporting this morning.

Of course, President Obama, the big headliner at the U.N. general assembly today. So there's a lot of news to be following. Let's get to it.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

CUOMO (voice-over): On alert, a warning of pay-back in the U.S. following the first air strikes in Syria.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They were very close to the end game in their planning.

CUOMO: Homeland security urging vigilance nationwide, asking law enforcement to be on the lookout for lone wolf extremists.

The toll of the strikes on the ground becoming clearer this morning.

BALDWIN: This morning, President Obama takes his message to a global audience.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We'll do what's necessary to defend our country.

BALDWIN: Set to push for a stronger coalition at the United Nations. What's his message, how can he rally support, and can the U.S. lead the charge overseas and protect its turf at home? John Kerry, Madeleine Albright, General Wesley Clark, and Josh Earnest all join us live.

CUOMO: A special edition of NEW DAY continues right now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CUOMO (on camera): Good morning, welcome back to NEW DAY.

We're just hours away from President Obama's speech to the United Nations. It's going to be a big pitch.

BALDWIN(on camera): Huge.

CUOMO: He wants to tell the world to stand and fight with the U.S. against Islamic extremists. And this comes just a day after the first air strikes were launched against ISIS in Syria. Concerns are building about possible lone wolf attacks as retaliation in the United States.

We're going to be joined by former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright to get her perspective on this situation in just a moment. But first, let's get to CNN's Michelle Kosinski live at the White House. They have to be big on message this morning. Michelle, what are you hearing?

MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Alright, Chris. Here's President Obama, before the U.N., on this world stage to say, yes, the U.S. is at war against ISIS. Although, I think it's highly unlikely he'll use that word war.

But he wants to say it's not just the U.S., we already have this coalition, we've already taken the fight against ISIS into Syria. Here's why this threat remains so dangerous. Here's how it still affects you, and here's why you should join us.

Now, members of his national security team have given us a few details this morning about more about his speech, and they painted it as this broad vision of American leadership in a changing world, as they put it. Basically laying out how America has led the world on issues like Ukraine, Ebola, climate change, and now ISIS.

It's not as if we're going to see a U.N. resolution authorizing the use of force in Syria, it's already begun anyway, and it could face a veto. What President Obama will look for is a resolution from the U.N. security council to have nations band together and try to stop the flow of foreign fighters to and from the region, as well as stop ISIS' flow of funding. Chris? CUOMO: This is bound to be a different U.N. general assembly, though. The president needs action to come out of this for the war on ISIS. Michelle, thank you very much. Brooke?

BALDWIN: As we await the president's big speech at the UNGA today, calling on the world to unite against Islamic extremists, Pentagon officials are still trying to determine exactly how much damage, how effective those strikes were, against both the al Qaeda group Khorasan, of course as well as against ISIS.

So to the Pentagon we go to correspondent Barbara Starr. Barbara, what are we learning this morning?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Brooke. Well, a day later with first light, the first pictures beginning to emerge now of some of the damage from the U.S. air strikes. We are seeing, quite expectedly, ISIS vow revenge. But the Pentagon is trying to assess that damage, figure out exactly what they did accomplish, in their view, with this first round of strikes and where they go from here.

As far as Khorasan goes, the al Qaeda-related group. They believe they were highly effective against them, and if the damage they caused pans out to be accurate, they say they do believe they have disrupted Khorasan's ability to carry out that attack against the United States.

Now as far as ISIS goes, still continuing to assess, they tell us, the effect of those strikes. Precision weapons used to destroy very specific ISIS targets. They're looking at all of that.

But now, the question that may be emerging very quickly is where are the second round of targets? where's the pressure being kept up on ISIS? We've seen the initial bombing, we've seen key communications arrays, key command centers being destroyed. But there's a lot of concern that ISIS leaders, ISIS militants, may already have fled, may be on the run, may be trying to blend in with civilian populations. It could make the next round of strikes very tough. Brooke?

BALDWIN: We will ask that question, we will press that question of Rear Admiral John Kirby when we talk to him a little later this morning. Barbara Starr, thank you very much. And now, Chris, to you.

CUOMO: Thank you very much.