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CNN NEWSROOM
American Killed By ISIS; National Guard Activated in Missouri
Aired November 17, 2014 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Top of the hour now. I'm Pamela Brown in for Brooke Baldwin.
And just minutes from now, we're going to be going live to Indianapolis, where the parents of Peter Kassig are about to speak. Kassig is the former Army Ranger who went to Syria as a humanitarian aid worker, but captured by ISIS. He just became the third American to be beheaded at the hands of the militants, proof of his decapitation coming in the form of a short clip tacked on to the end of the group's latest graphic propaganda video.
But unlike previous murders, Kassig's is not seen. Instead, his head appears at the feet of a masked man. But the video does show in gruesome detail the beheadings of what the group claims are pilots for the Syrian government.
President Obama condemning Kassig's murder as -- quote -- "an act of pure evil," while Kassig's parents released this never-before-heard audio of their son before his capture.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
PETER KASSIG, ISIS HOSTAGE: We have a chance here to make up for a lot of wrong in this part of the world if we stepped in, in the right way.
If we just as a country did what other people helped me to do in that hospital -- how much did I impact the political situation inside Syria? None. How much did I impact the political situation back home? None. But what I did do is that over period of time in that hospital I was able to share a little bit of hope and comfort with some people.
They were able to teach me something about themselves that I wouldn't have known otherwise. And we each were given an opportunity to look at the conflict in a different way.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
BROWN: Joining me now, Arwa Damon, CNN senior international correspondent.
Arwa, you were a friend to Kassig. You met him two years ago, when he was beginning the journey that would see him end up in Syria. Tell us about that. ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That audio that
you just played there, Pam, that really epitomizes so much what Peter stood for. It kind of brings a sad smile to one's face because he really was trying in his own way not just to help the wounded Syrians he was treating or deliver humanitarian aid, but really build an ever- so-small bridge between cultures.
He felt that through his experiences with the wounded Syrians, with the Syrians he was trying to help, he could somehow bring about perhaps less hatred of the United States, of the Western world, bring about a measure of understanding that not all Americans were out to get the Middle East, and that there were individuals like him that genuinely wanted to help, and vice versa as well.
Whenever he would speak to friends and family back home in the U.S. he would be giving them this entire different take on Syria than perhaps the one that they were used to seeing.
Now, we first met him back in 2012 in a hospital in Tripoli. And I have to say, it was quite the sight. There he was,this former Army Ranger, afterwards having trained as an EMT, pale, tattooed, running around, not really speaking a lot of Arabic, but his compassion really transcended the language barrier and he was an individual who believed in doing.
He used to always say wanting to help, saying that you want to help was not enough. You had to go out there and do it. And it was just a few months after we met him, I remember being so surprised when he told us and told me that he had actually accomplished this.
But a few months after we met him, he had set up his own nonprofit that was delivering humanitarian aid to refugees, Syrian refugees in Turkey, inside Syria, but also carrying out much needed medical missions to areas in Syria that were incredibly dangerous, such as Deir ez-Zor. And it was on one of those missions that he was, as we know, kidnapped by ISIS back in October of 2013, Pam.
BROWN: Yes, clearly so brave in so many ways. He told you, Arwa, about his change of heart from a soldier to humanitarian working to save lives. And I'm curious to know. Did he talk to you about the new risks he faced, about whether he was ever concerned for his life?
DAMON: I think you put it best -- and, of course, he was concerned for his life, but he put it best in what he said to a Syrian doctor he was working alongside with. The Syrian doctor had asked him -- and they were in Syria at the time -- it was actually just a few days before he was kidnapped.
And he asked him, are you not afraid for your life? And Peter's response was, my life is not more precious than yours and at this stage I feel as if I am a part of the Syrian revolution.
So, yes, he knew the risks, but he had such a profound belief and need to actually go out there and do something himself that he put that behind him. He acknowledged the risks. He knew what he was getting into. But he really felt that it was so important to help the Syrian people.
And knowing what I know, what all of us know about Peter at this point in time, he wouldn't want the focus to be on what he did or what's happened him to. He would want the focus to be on why what he was doing was so important, why it's so important to help the Syrian people, and why despite what has happened to him and so many others, it's so important for us, whether it's us as journalists or us as aid workers or us quite simply as members of the global community that happen to be more fortunate than others, that we not give up on a place like Syria, that we continue to fight for those that are most desperate, that we continue to do whatever it is that we can, whether it is through spotlighting, highlighting the plight of innocent civilians or delivering humanitarian aid to them.
But this is a point in time that I do genuinely believe Peter would want us to be focusing on what's happening inside that war-torn country, especially to those innocent victims of the ongoing brutal fighting.
BROWN: Yes, and focusing on a purpose bigger than ourselves.
Arwa Damon, thank you very much.
And unlike the glossy productions of the past, at least some of the latest footage appears to be more hastily produced in the latest ISIS video, leading some experts to believe that ISIS is getting desperate.
CNN national security analyst Bob Baer going as far as to say that this one indicates these guys are on the run.
So joining me now to discuss this, Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, senior fellow, Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
Daveed, thanks for coming on.
There's some notable differences in this video with Peter Kassig compared to the other beheading videos. What struck you?
DAVEED GARTENSTEIN-ROSS, FOUNDATION FOR THE DEFENSE OF DEMOCRACIES: The most striking difference is the fact that it doesn't show the beheading on camera.
ISIS as an organization likes to draw out the horror. And that's why with previous Americans they beheaded, each of these were released as a stand-alone video. Here, you don't to see that at all. Instead, it is tacked onto the end of basically a 13-minute propaganda video that is focusing on other matters.
One of the things that this leads me to conclude is that it's most likely that in some way Kassig disrupted the beheading scene. We know that in the past they have staged mock executions prior to actually killing people. They did this, for example, with James Foley. And the reason why they only have one cut to get a beheading exactly right.
They want the person to be submissive, defeated and ultimately slaughtered. And if the person resists, as Kassig may have, then that disrupts their shot.
BROWN: It was interesting also because in the other videos, the horrific videos, the beheadings and prisoners are really the centerpiece of it. But this was at the very end of a long video, talking about sort of the history of ISIS and then showing other beheadings and at the very end, Kassig. What do you make of that? What do you think the calculation was here, Daveed?
GARTENSTEIN-ROSS: Like I said, I think it's because something went wrong when they were killing him. That's why it's really an afterthought to a video that is focusing on other matters. I think that they ideally for them they would like to have been its own video.
The second thing that is worth noting at the very end is, ISIS has been well-known amongst analysts and people following the releases for having very high production values. In particular, they often have multiple camera angles. And here at the very end, when you have that very awkward jihadist locution by Kassig's head, there's only a single camera.
One thing it suggests is that they may be concerned about airstrikes. That's why they don't have two cameras out there, and that's why they don't have the beheading outdoors. These are possibilities worth considering, but we don't know, I would caution, enough into their strategic thinking as to this video.
BROWN: Right. And just it's all really a guessing game right now. but you do make a good point because it's been said that perhaps Kassig didn't cooperate. When you watch the other videos, you just wonder what was going through their minds when they so calmly, the prisoner so calmly talked to the camera before they were beheaded.
You wonder if there was sort of mock beheadings going on before that and what they were going through. So the bottom line is, we just don't know. But another theory is that perhaps ISIS is trying to build bridges with al-Nusra in Syria. There's been some reporting on that, Daveed. Do you think that could have played in at all to how this video was produced?
GARTENSTEIN-ROSS: As to one point that you made about mock executions, this is something we actually do know occurred in Foley's case.
CNN has reported on that. That's important, because that helps to explain exactly why people are so calm before they are beheaded because they have been walked through this multiple times. As to the reconciliation between Nusra and ISIS, this is something that is very important to watch.
My own read on this is that one of the major reasons that the reconciliation talks are occurring is because ISIS is in a weakened state, such that it sees it as advantageous to at least eliminate one of the fronts that it's fighting on.
If so, then there's still no love lost between Nusra and al Qaeda on one hand and ISIS as the other. My thinking is that all these organizations, ISIS and al Qaeda, would like to play -- or sorry -- ISIS and Nusra would like to play each other. ISIS also wants to play ISIS.
And as to whether that video plays into that, I don't think it does. If you look at the initial video, it's very much taking ISIS' view of the history of al Qaeda in Iraq, which is very different than al Qaeda's own history. So, it doesn't suggest to me that the video plays into reconciliation efforts.
BROWN: Let me just quickly ask you this, Daveed. In a nutshell, do you think U.S. efforts with the strikes, the drone surveillance made a difference here and that's why perhaps in some parts the quality of the video isn't as good and we're not seeing the same in this video as we saw in videos past?
GARTENSTEIN-ROSS: I do think it's a possibility at the very end, that that might be a reason they don't have multiple cameras out there because it can be a giveaway for any sort of airstrikes. But, again, I would caution that it's unclear. But I certainly think that possibility is raised.
BROWN: All right. OK. Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, thank you very much.
And we're still waiting to hear from family of Peter Kassig. That statement is expected at 3:30 Eastern time. We will sure to bring that to you live.
And coming up, breaking news, two cases CNN brought to you on CNN's "THE HUNT," now two people police were searching for have been found. That's ahead.
And also just in, the governor of Missouri activating the National Guard ahead of the grand jury decision in Ferguson. We will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Let's go to some breaking news.
Now the governor of Missouri activating the National Guard ahead of the grand jury decision in Ferguson.
CNN's Sara Sidner is live with details.
Sara, what can you tell us?
SARA SIDNER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We just got this announcement, as did the rest of the state, that the governor has basically declared a state of emergency here and activated the National Guard.
We are already getting responses from some of the people who have been protesting here, even some of the residents who I have talked to, who are saying this seems to be a huge overreaction, being that there's been no real violence over the past 90 days of the protesting. We're now at about 100 days-plus of daily protests here in Ferguson. Some people are saying this is inflaming the situation more, but the
governor has said over the past week or so that he wanted to make sure that the state is prepared, wanted to make sure that business and residents here in Ferguson and surrounding cities of Saint Louis felt that they were protected and safe. The protesters for their part have said we have been protesting peacefully. Yes, we have been loud. Yes, we sometimes use words that the police do not like. Yes, sometimes we're in their face. But we have been generally peaceful and this just adds fuel to the fire trying to paint us as violent protesters.
That being said, we do know that there are a few cells out there who have been talking and planning on doing things that are destructive. The protesters that have been here on a daily basis and who are residents here in Ferguson have said if we see someone being violent, if we see somebody acting out in that way, we will do our best to stop them from hurting our community, but we do want to be able to speak our minds.
This has been a very, very difficult time here for some people in Ferguson. The businesses saying that they are hurting because of what has been happening. On the other hand, they do believe in people's right to be out in the streets as long as it's peaceful, and it has been peaceful for most of the time. This announcement by the governor, it will be interesting to see, by the end of the day, how that affects the protests tonight.
BROWN: Yes, because we heard the governor last week say that he would have the National Guard on standby, but now he's activating the National Guard. Do we know anything about the timing of this, what prompted this now? Of course we're waiting for the grand jury decision, but do you know if there's anything else at play here?
SIDNER: We do not know. We're trying to get in touch with the governor's was to ask if this was something that they are trying to let us know that there's something about to happen or if this was just something they would normally do to make sure that the National Guard is ready to be activated if, indeed, it's needed to help support the local police.
We do know there are 60 police departments in and around Ferguson who could at any time be called to come in. The protesters, again, it infuriates them, because they say, look, for so many days, for so many weeks, we have been out protesting peacefully. We don't need a huge police force out here. We're trying to police ourselves.
And they have shown an example of that throughout this hundred days or so. So there is a lot of frustration on the side of protesters who feel that they are being painted a certain way when they say they are just exercising their rights of freedom of speech and assembly.
On the police side, they are wanting to be prepared and the governor has said time and again we're going make sure that the police are prepared to deal with whatever happens when that grand jury decision comes down. Now, we do know from the prosecuting attorney's office that the grand
jury is expected any time now, because they have been telling us time and again that it would happen some time between mid-November and late November. We're already at mid-November. And so there's a lot of folks who are looking at the date and saying it's got to happen very soon.
BROWN: Yes, so much anticipation for that. Sara Sidner on the ground there in Ferguson, thank you.
And another breaking news story we're following, two cases CNN brought to you on CNN's "THE HUNT." Now two people police were searching for have been found. That's ahead.
And Peter Kassig wanted to help people in the Middle East. Instead, he ended up dying there, the latest victim of ISIS. And in just a few minutes, we will hear his family talk about what he meant to them. We will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Breaking news just into CNN.
A mother wanted by marshals for 10 years has just surrendered in New Hampshire. She was profiled on John Walsh's CNN show, "THE HUNT." Officials have been looking for Genevieve Kelley since she allegedly took her then 8-year-old daughter. Kelley accused her ex-husband of touching their daughter. But when police investigated, they decided not to charge father and sought to investigate Kelley instead for her -- quote -- "bizarre behavior," according to police.
And then Kelley fled with the girl. Marshals say Kelley turned herself in, in the town of Lancaster today. But it's still not clear where her daughter is. She's now an adult. Her lawyer says Kelley wants to face a jury on her custodial interference charge.
And Deputy U.S. Marshal Jamie Berry joins us now to talk about this.
First off, if you would, tell us what happened today.
JAMIE BERRY, DEPUTY U.S. MARSHAL: Well, Pam, what happened today was Genevieve Kelley turned herself in at approximately 11:00 a.m. today at Coos County Sheriff's Office.
BROWN: We know she was recently profiled on "THE HUNT," John Walsh's show here on CNN. Do you know if that played a role at all with her turning herself in after so many years of being on the run?
BERRY: We don't have any hard facts on that, but we do believe it played a role in that.
When it was aired, soon after that, her attorney stepped up some communications to the Coos County attorney and, you know, wanted to develop some sort of agreement or deal on turning herself in.
BROWN: Do we know how her daughter is doing? Because, of course, when she first allegedly kidnapped her daughter she was 8 years old at the time. Do we know how she's doing now?
BERRY: That's actually some of the information we're trying to get at this point in time.
She has an attorney and she's exercising her right to remain silent. From what I understand, the only thing she's said so far is that Mary is now 18 and is an adult and she's safe. And that's all we have been able to get so far.
BROWN: Did the attorney give any more indication of why now, why she's surrendering now? As you mentioned earlier, it's believed that "THE HUNT" did play a role. But are you hearing anything else of why now?
BERRY: No, nothing else as to why now, just a lot of speculation amongst attorneys and investigators on why she would turn herself in after this period of time.
BROWN: Well, of course we hope that her daughter is doing OK.
Deputy U.S. Marshal Jamie Berry, thank you for bringing that to us. We appreciate it.
And we will be right back with more news right after this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
