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Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula Takes Responsibility for Coordinating Paris Terrorist Attack; Interview with State Department Deputy Spokesperson Marie Harf; Security Beefed Up At U.S. Airports; Interview with Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas

Aired January 14, 2015 - 08:00   ET

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


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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: AQAP is now claiming responsibility.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is said the arrangements for this operation were made by Anwar al Alaki.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They say they have avenged the Prophet Muhammad.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two individuals just slaughtered 12 people. They're calm, they're cool, they're collected. They have the time to stop and reload.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three million copies of the new edition of "Charlie Hebdo" will hit newsstands.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's people lining up trying to get the magazine.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's filled with the work of some of the slain cartoonists.

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ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo, Alisyn Camerota, and Michaela Pereira.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, welcome back to your NEW DAY. It's Wednesday, January 14th, 8:00 in the east now. Let's get right to breaking news. Al Qaeda's Yemen branch is claiming responsibility for the deadly attack on "Charlie Hebdo" magazine.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: The terror group says the Kouachi brothers were following their orders. A top commander warning of more tragedies and terror to come. This as new video surfaces of the two terrorists just moments after the massacre. We have complete coverage for you so let's get right to senior international correspondent Nick Paton Walsh. He's live in Beirut for us. Nick?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Alisyn, a 12-minute long claim of responsibility for Nasser Ibn Ali al-Ansi, a known spokesman for Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula based out of Yemen. They are clear they consider this, quote, to be a turning point in their conflict against the west, and they detail what they say was a kind of command structure behind carrying out the attacks against the "Hebdo" magazine in Paris. Remember, they are clear that they didn't instruct Amedy Coulibaly, not one of the Kouachi brothers, to attack the kosher grocery store, just saying that was a moment of good fortune.

But in the statement which of course investigators have to piece its claims together with the reality they believe are connections between them and them and Kouachi brothers, in the statement they say that Ayman al Zawahiri I was somehow the initiator of this plot, claiming Al Qaeda leadership chose the target but then specified an American citizen, now deceased, Anwar al-Awlaki in fact had operational control over it. That's going to be key for investigators because he was killed by a drone strike in 2011. And it raises a very important point here that maybe the planning in this came to a head in 2011 and then the Kouachi brothers laid dormant, a sleeper cell if you like to use that term, in Paris for a number of years and then decided to carry out this attack in the last week or so.

Quite a few clues that investigators are going to be looking through because of course anyone can be making these claims, although they are coming from an official channel. The key point is how do they match up to the trail that they're going to be chasing now of the Kouachi brothers around the world. Alisyn?

CAMEROTA: Yes, investigators are looking into all of that. Nick Paton Walsh, thank you for that.

Meanwhile, in Paris Parisians are lining up early this morning to get their history copy of the "Charlie Hebdo" magazine. The new edition selling out across the city exactly one week after heavily armed terrorists stormed the headquarters, slaughtering 12 people. This all comes as shocking video surfaces of the brothers celebrating on the street following that deadly attack. Let's get right to John Berman who is live for us from Paris. John, what's the latest?

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Alisyn. An interesting new development this morning. French officials tell us they have detained dozens of individuals for condoning or supporting terrorism. It is against the law here in France to speak out in support of terror acts. And these authorities have now detained dozens of people, including a very famous French comic. You can be sentenced to prison time for this, 18 to 70 years, so that is very interesting. They are cracking down on what they call hate speech here.

Now, this comes, as you said, as they release this dramatic video of the attack on the "Charlie Hebdo" offices right behind me. You see the terrorists driving on this street. It is chilling to see their calm, eerie calculation.

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BERMAN: Chilling new video captures terrorists Cherif and Said Kouachi moments after they carried out the horrific attack on the offices of "Charlie Hebdo." The video reveals one of the terrorists shouting "We have avenged the Prophet Muhammad" just outside the magazine's offices. The gunmen reload their automatic weapons before slipping into their getaway car and start driving down a narrow road, lights flashing. A police cruiser blocks their path. The hooded gunmen get out of their car and open fire.

SEN. RON JOHNSON, (R-WI) HOMELAND SECURITY COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: They're cold blooded killers. They're calm, they're cool, they're collected, and they go about their business. And that just shows you what we are up against.

BERMAN: Hours later the brothers rob a gas station 50 miles northeast of Paris. These surveillance images show what appears to be an RPG, rocket propelled grenade launcher, strapped to the side of one of the brothers as they steal gas and food.

DANIEL BENJAMIN, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE: The videos get scrutinized a great deal. How they held their weapons suggested that they had some kind of formal training.

BERMAN: It was known that the older brother, Cherif, moved in jihadist circles. In 2008 he went on trial for his involvement in a network smuggling Islamist fighters to Iraq. In this newly uncovered video from the moments just after his conviction, Cherif tells a reporter, quote, "We are just young kids from the suburbs. That is all. We get passionate. We talk like this, but there is nothing more."

Investigators are now taking a look at the money trail, trying to find out how the brothers financed their trips to Yemen and how the terrorists got their high powered weapons.

SEN. RICHARD BURR, (R-NC) CHAIRMAN, SENATE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: What we've been able to accumulate over the last six days is a tremendous amount of data.

BERMAN: As the investigation continues, 3 million copies of "Charlie Hebdo's" new issue hit the newsstands this morning, already sold out at markets across Paris. Prior to the release one of the surviving cartoonists, Renald Luzier, known as Luz, held a press conference. At times his emotions overwhelmed him.

Reflecting on the motive behind the bloodshed, Luz said, "The terrorists were once kids. They drew like us. Then they one day perhaps lost their sense of humor, perhaps their child soul."

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BERMAN: I was at that news conference yesterday. It was very moving. That cartoonist you just saw, Luz, he is only alive today because one week ago he showed up to work late at these offices after the horrible massacre there. And today the magazine that he drew the cover for, it did hit the streets, but we went to newsstand after newsstand and, Chris, every copy already sold out.

CUOMO: It's certainly going to get a strong reaction if for no other reason that, John, that now it is a piece of history.

All right, so on the U.S. side Secretary of State John Kerry is going to travel to France tomorrow to meet with French President Francois Hollande. He's expected to express his condolences to the people of France.

Joining us is now is State Department Deputy Spokesperson Marie Harf. Marie, it's good to have you on the show. Thanks for joining us.

MARIE HARF, STATE DEPARTMENT DEPUTY SPOKESPERSON: Happy to be here, Chris.

CUOMO: Obviously I want to talk about all things Paris related. However, one question on the macro topic, the war against terror, specifically the military actions against ISIS. You are probably aware, but it is not being well communicated to the United States people, I think, that Iran's fighters are actively present in Iraq helping the battles there and are being embraced by the Iraqi government and people. Is that something that the U.S. is acknowledging, at least internally? And why aren't we hearing more about it?

HARF: Well, Chris, I think a couple things. First, it's clear the U.S. is the one country that has unique capabilities that they can bring to help the Iraqis in this fight. And I think the Iraqis understand that. Clearly Iraq and Iran have a long historical relationship and they will continue to have one. But we bring unique capabilities to bear. And I know the Iraqis appreciate that we're providing them with weapons and training that really no one else can. And it's really easy to overstate the Iran-Iraq link here and we should be careful not to.

CUOMO: But what we're hearing is they're on the ground. They're making advances. There are more of them coming in. Does the U.S. then have to avoid any joint missions where the Iranians -- it seems like it's going to get very sticky very quickly.

HARF: We're certainly not coordinating with the Iranians in any way in this fight with ISIL. It's certainly something we're watching. But again, what we're focused on is supporting the Iraqis, the Kurdish forces as they are taking on the fight to ISIL. They have had some success which I don't think has gotten enough attention recently. But they have had some success, but this is going to be a long fight as we've said.

CUOMO: We reported it this morning, Marie. We had an LTC who was just in Iraq and he said that there are advances going on the ground.

So back to France. Let's close the circle on the decision not to go to the Paris march. Secretary Kerry obviously would have been a great choice for that. The criticism really goes to the timing of the decision, the accountability for the decision. Do you know who made the decision not to send the secretary to the march?

Well, Secretary Kerry was in India the day of the march. He absolutely would have been in Paris if there was any way that his schedule would have allowed it. You know, I think, as do other people, how often he's traveled there, how close our relationship is, and the White House has said they shouldn't have sent someone senior. The secretary would have been there if he could. He's going there tomorrow, as you mentioned. He's going to express condolences and have a number of meetings. And Chris, also as he said, this relationship is much more than any one day or one march. No matter how important, certainly someone more senior should have gone.

CUOMO: All right, we'll leave it at that for now. Let's go to something more important that's going on right now. How would you describe the men who committed these horrible attacks in Paris?

HARF: I think we all would describe them as terrorists, period. We've been very clear about that. We've said this was an act of terrorism. And I know that there's a lot of talk about words, and words are important, but what we're focused on is actions. Working with the French to figure out how they were radicalized, who directed them, looking at this new AQAP video today and trying to figure out if it's authentic and if it's real. That's what we're focused on. Certainly I know words matter, but again, we're focused on how you prevent this from happening in the future.

CUOMO: Right, but if the concern is to insulate moderate Muslims from being lumped in with bad Muslims, Muslims who pervert the faith, bastardize it for their own reasons, do you think it feeds the paranoia of Islam when you ignore that these men and women identify themselves as Muslims?

HARF: We're not ignoring that. And we have worked very closely with the Muslim community in the United States and France and encouraged moderate Muslim voices to stand up and say, this is not our religion. They are not acting in the name of Islam. So no one is ignoring the fact that these terrorists claim to be acting in the name of their faith. What we're saying is that's a perversion of their faith. That is not what Islam represents. And more than what we call them, what we're focused on is how you fight them, how you hold them accountable, and how you prevent this from happening again.

CUOMO: Right. But so you think that not using the term "Muslim" or "Islamic" or "Islamist" as experts are telling us is the most accurate way to define them is helpful in the, you know, other level of this war, which is perceptual, which is about the ideas and the understanding that we have about different faiths?

HARF: Well, look, Chris, absolutely. And I think there are some differences of opinion among experts about what to call certain people and certain things and certain terrorists who act in the name of Islam as they claim. We're not ignoring that fact at all. Actually, quite the opposite. We are working with the Muslim community around the world to stand up and say this does not represent our faith. We are acutely aware of the fact that these terrorists try to use Islam as a justification for what they're doing. And it's not about us saying that's not acceptable. It's about the rest of the Muslim world saying that's not acceptable.

CUOMO: Let's go to the same problem in a different part of the world -- Nigeria, Boko haram, horrific, about the worst we've seen in terms of their tactics. They spare no one. Why is the U.S. not more involved in the active fight against Boko Haram?

HARF: Well, you're absolutely right. The reports we're getting are absolutely horrific about the level of violence in Boko Haram right now. We are actively working with the Nigerian military to help them build their capacity to fight this threat. They need to step up and do more. They know that. The Nigerians need to move ahead with elections. We know Boko Haram is trying to use elections as an excuse for violence to drive a wedge among the Nigerian people, and they can't let that happen. They need to stand up to these terrorists and say, we're not going to let you win. We're going to move forward with these elections. So we're working with them very closely, both military cooperation, security cooperation, but also diplomatically to build their capacity to fight this.

CUOMO: Does it concern the United States that the leader, Goodluck Jonathan, did not mention what recently happened with Boko Haram, though he did condemn the attacks in France or at least offered his condolences to the French people? How does he ignore that?

HARF: Well, Secretary Kerry has engaged directly with President Jonathan in a number of phone calls over the past weeks and months to really work more closely with the Nigerians on how they can fight this, not just on the military side but, as you said, from a public side. Perception matters, as we've talked about today and we've talked about a lot before, so obviously that's something we're talking to the Nigerians about, how they can make very clear to their country, to their people how seriously they take this threat. It's an ongoing conversation, though, Chris.

CUOMO: Marie Harf, thank you very much for being on NEW DAY and addressing the issues.

HARF: Happy to be here.

CUOMO: Alisyn?

CAMEROTA: Chris, security is heightened at U.S. airports after Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula published a how-to guide for making a bomb using items typically found in people's kitchens. Rene Marsh joins us live from the Reagan National Airport with more on how the increased security will impact all of us. What's the latest, Rene?

RENE MARSH, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Well, Alisyn, I could tell you, if you are flying, you should expect random checks that could happen. As you're going through the security line, it could happen once you get to the gate, also luggage maybe randomly checked as well. As far as passengers go, you could see something where a TSA officer may swab your hands searching for explosive residue.

This is all a part of ramped up measures happening at airports across the country. The concern is these nonmetallic IEDs or explosives that can make their way through certain airport scanners.

The problem is, only body scanners, you know, the airport screeners that essentially give you the outline of the flyer's body, they can detect these nonmetallic explosives. However, metal detectors cannot. We do know that the body scanners don't exist at all airports. Some smaller airports only have metal detectors. If these explosives are nonmetallic, then you have a problem.

Back to you, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Absolutely. That's what's so scary, Rene. That they are undetectable. Rene Marsh, thanks so much for that update.

All right. There's more headlines. Let's get over to Michaela.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Good morning once again, everyone, at 15 minutes past the hour.

Breaking news: the fuselage, the main body of AirAsia Flight 8501 has been found. It is a significant development because that is where many of the passengers' bodies are likely to be found at the bottom of the Java Sea. Indonesian officials also report they have now successfully downloaded the content of both the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder.

New details emerging about an alleged plot by a country club bartender to kill House Speaker John Boehner by either poisoning him or shooting him. The former bartender, 44-year-old Michael Hoyt, is now undergoing a mental evaluation. He was indicted last week on charges that he planned to kill the speaker after being fired from his country club job.

Two families whose children were killed in the Sandy Hook School shooting, they are suing the town and the school district. The lawsuit alleges there was a lack of security at the elementary school and that the staff needed more training. In the meantime, the Connecticut school district claims it has made major changes to keep children safe since that December 2012 shooting.

Talk about cutting out the middleman. Check out this dog. It's a black lab mix named Eclipse loves going to dog parks so much, she often goes without her owner, meaning she rides the bus without her owner. Commuters on the Seattle bus route apparently are so used to seeing Eclipse riding solo, sits in the seat like a human, knows exactly which stop to get off for the park and off she goes.

(LAUGHTER)

CUOMO: I must know more.

PEREIRA: I kind of love this.

CAMEROTA: Does she have a metro card that she carries in her collar?

PEREIRA: I think she kind of slips under the turnstile.

CUOMO: My -- how did this begin?

CAMEROTA: I don't know. CUOMO: We must know.

CAMEROTA: We must know the back story.

CUOMO: We must know.

PEREIRA: We must a do a segment. I will do some digging. Please hold.

CUOMO: We have to know.

CAMEROTA: All right. Thank you, Michaela.

Back to our top story. A terror alert in the U.S. following last week's deadly attacks in France. The Department of Homeland Security issuing new security measures that could affect you.

CUOMO: ISIS wants you to know that it allows children to execute hostages. They actually put out a video showcasing this. We're going to take a closer look at how hopefully this backfires, ahead.

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CAMEROTA: After last week's terror attacks in France, growing concerns about the threats on U.S. soil. This week, the Department of Homeland Security announced new security measures, including ramped up searches at U.S. airports.

Joining us is Republican Senator Tom Cotton. He's a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee and the Senate Armed Services Committee. He's also a veteran of the conflicts Iraq and Afghanistan.

Good morning, Senator.

SEN. TOM COTTON (R), ARKANSAS: Good morning, Alisyn. Great to be on with you.

CAMEROTA: I want to ask you about this new security measures. We just heard a report from Rene Marsh about how airports are on heightened alert because there was this magazine, a terrorist magazine that put out this call for these kitchen bombs, homemade bombs that are undetectable by metal detectors at the airport or even as we understand it, dogs. What does the TSA do about that?

COTTON: Well, Alisyn, it's very appropriate to be on heightened terror alert right now and to be very sensitive about this kind of new weapons. But it really just goes to show as the attack in Paris does last week, that we can't win the war in Islamic terror on defense. We have to be on offence.

Remember, "Charlie Hebdo" magazine had been under Islamic terrorist threats. In fact, they had been attacked in the past. French authorities had protective measures in place. Yet, there were still a massacre of 12 journalists and four Parisian Jews. That's why we have to be on offense around the world and kill them over there before they have a chance to kill us here. CAMEROTA: Well, let's talk about that, because just yesterday,

Senator John McCain was on NEW DAY, and he talked about what he thinks it will take to really put a dent in ISIS over there, and he talked about many more American soldiers on the ground.

Listen to this.

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SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: We have to commit to really defeating ISIS and having a strategy to do so. That means more Americans on the ground, not from a large combat troops but a lot more Americans on the ground to provide the capabilities that frankly the Iraqis don't have, and there is a total absence of in Syria.

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CAMEROTA: Senator, do you agree that it will take many more Americans on the ground?

COTTON: Alisyn, we're currently not winning our fight against the Islamic State. We've stopped some of their advances in Iraq but again, you don't win wars on the defense, you win them on the offense.

CAMEROTA: What does that mean?

COTTON: We need to increase the number of bombing missions that our Navy and Air Force are conducting every day. Those missions should be greatly advanced if we had forward air controllers on the ground working with our local allies so they can sight in the bombs when they come in.

We also are probably going to need to increase the presence of Special Operations forces as well because those are great force multipliers, as we saw in the early days of Afghanistan. It didn't take tens of thousands of troops to topple the Taliban. It took a few hundred troops on the ground to help the northern alliance get organized and become an effective fighting force.

But what we have to do is get on the offense. We are fighting to defend territory in Iraq but take territory back and ultimately defeat the Islamic State in Syria where they started.

CAMEROTA: So, exactly are you talking about? Sending in you say, what, 500 more soldiers to Iraq and how would you get them into Syria?

COTTON: Well, Alisyn, that's a matter for the professional judgment of our generals and our admirals. That's something we certainly want to hear.

But it's going to take more force on the ground in Iraq and Syria to protect our citizens around the world and here at home. We just saw an attack in Paris, similar attack like that could happen here in the United States. And Islamic terrorists are on the offense around the world. That's why you saw an attack like you did in Paris, why Boko Haram just had its biggest massacre yet. And now, former Taliban in Pakistan and Afghanistan are associating with the Islamic State.

These terrorists want to kill us here in the United States. That's why we have to kill them there first.

CAMEROTA: You were part of a closed Senate intelligence briefing yesterday. Can you share with us if you were told about any credible threats here at home?

COTTON: Alisyn, I can't share what we were briefed on in a classified meeting of the Senate Intelligence Committee. I can tell you that the threat around the world is as great as it's ever been because al Qaeda is on the march. They now control more territory than they did before the 9/11 attacks.

This president has consistently minimized the threats of al Qaeda. A year ago, he called the Islamic State the jayvee team. Two years ago, he said al Qaeda was on the run and his re-election campaign said they were largely defeated.

They're not largely defeated. They're on the offense. And that's what we have to get back to.

CAMEROTA: Just yesterday, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Richard Burr, told CNN's Jake Tapper that he believes it likely that the brothers behind the "Charlie Hebdo" attack, the Kouachi brothers, did have contacts in the United States. Do you think that that's right?

COTTON: Well, Senator Burr and I obviously are monitoring the situation very closely and we're looking for all kinds of links, not just between the brothers that conducted the "Charlie Hebdo" massacre and Americans, but also with the terrorists in al Qaeda and Yemen who just this morning claimed responsibility for these attacks, just as they were responsible for the Christmas bomber five years ago.

Those kinds of attacks on American soil are likely if we don't get back on offense all around the world against Islamist terrorists.

CAMEROTA: Are you saying it's time to send U.S. troops into Yemen?

COTTON: Well, we just sent U.S. troops into Yemen into December to conduct a hostage rescue that unfortunately didn't work. We have to be willing to send troops or drones or any other asset of national power to kill terrorists or capture them wherever they are if they pose a threat to American citizens and our interests around the world.

CAMEROTA: All right. Senator Tom Cotton, thanks so much for joining us with your perspective on NEW DAY.

COTTON: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: Chris?

CUOMO: All right. Alisyn, there is a new ISIS propaganda video showing a child killing two men. Why is ISIS using kids to kill? And "Charlie Hebdo's" first issue since the massacre now released. The cover is once again perceived as offensive. But what's inside the magazine? We'll tell you.

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